Some Things Never Sleep
by Lucky Strike's alter ego
Summary: "You never learn when to quit, Spider-Twerp." She told him. "Spider-Twerp?" Spider-Man questioned in disbelief as he glared. Emma smirked. "Well, you annoyingly seem to get in my way all the time. That and you don't look or sound like a man to me." She explained. "I am a man." He told her angrily. "Somehow I doubt that." The first time Emma and Peter met didn't exactly go well.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: To my long time readers, I'm in the process of re-editing this story. There won't be a lot of things that are changed but maybe one or two things which I'll mention later.**

 **Full Summary: Emma Rogers, AKA The Viper Assassin, has been under Hydra's thumb for nine long years until the Avengers rescue her from a Hydra base after receiving anonymous intel from the Winter Soldier. She's thrown into a world of freedom which she's never known but with the help of her grandfather, Captain America, she slowly becomes accustomed to her new life until Tony Stark brings up the Sokovia Accords. Emma is caught in the middle of a war as she becomes intent on protecting the man she calls her father and siding with her grandfather. Not to mention she crosses paths with a certain webslinging nuisance that knows just how to push her buttons like no other...what Emma would give for the days she spent knife fighting with her father in Siberia.**

 **Will cover Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War with AU storylines before Captain America: Winter Soldier and in between The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. I'm currently writing an AU storyline post Spider-Man: Homecoming but I will be adapting the Avengers: Infinity War storyline to fit my own when the time comes.**

 **Eventual Peter Parker/OC(Extreme SLOW BURN!)**

 **Bucky Barnes/OC father daughter relationship**

 **Steve Rogers/OC father daughter relationship**

 **Peter doesn't show up until Chapter Twenty Two. I just want to emphasize that this is an extreme slow burn story because Emma is a very stubborn person. There's also a lot of character development in this story which is why I waited so long to bring Peter into this story. Her background was very important to me. The only reason I labeled this story as a romance is because there will be a lot of that later on in the story but not for a long time. Just be patient and I promise it'll be worth it.**

 **Trigger Warnings: Just a warning that there will be mentions of rape and child abuse in this story. I'll never go into vivid detail but I just wanted to warn you guys.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Marvel except the ones I make up myself. I also don't own the title of the story or the title of any of the parts which are song names and lyrics. 'Some Things Never Sleep' is a lyric from the song 'Queen of Peace' by Florence + The Machine. Part I's title is 'Long & Lost' by Florence + The Machine. Part II's title is 'Hardest of Hearts' by Florence + The Machine. Part III's title is 'Little of Your Love' by HAIM. I obviously really love Florence + The Machine if you couldn't tell. **

**Anyways...I hope you enjoy the story.**

* * *

 _ **Rush Springs, Oklahoma**_  
 _ **2005**_

"Emma, sweetheart, why don't you go play in the living room? Daddy's cooking in the kitchen." Margot Rogers called out to her daughter. A four year old little girl was playing with her plastic toy horses on the kitchen floor, the linoleum cold against her small feet. She was a cute little thing with her pale blonde pigtails and big ocean blue eyes. Emma Rogers looked every bit like her father with her hair, eyes, and Margot was even beginning to see her daughter form the same smile. Emma looked picturesque in her pink sundress with flower patterns decorating every inch of it. It was still morning but the dress was already stained with grass and dirt strains which the rambunctious four year old had obtained from outside.

"Okay, mommy." Emma said obediently. It made more sense to play in the living room since there was much more space to play anyways. Steven Rogers Jr. watched from behind the kitchen counter as his daughter got up from the floor, her arms full of toy horses, and proceeded to the living room. It was moments like these that caused him to think about his own father, both an American hero and icon, who died before he was born and even before his mother discovered she was pregnant with him. Steven felt saddened suddenly because he realized that his father had missed out on a lot and above all…fatherhood which was the best thing that had ever happened to Steven.

Emma entered the living room and immediately sat herself on the floor, her feet warmed up by the soft carpet. Her mother sat on the couch, her green eyes glued to a magazine, and Emma briefly found herself wanting to be as pretty as her mother someday. Emma's mother had emerald green eyes that contrasted against her vibrant red hair and pale alabaster skin. It was no wonder that Steven had fallen so hard for her even with the large age difference. Steven was fifty two when he met Margot who had only been thirty five at the time. The older man had been working as a Shield agent when Margot, another Shield agent, was assigned to him as a partner during a mission.

The rest was history.

The family was quite content in their two story house that was situated in the middle of nowhere. Their only neighbors lived a couple miles away so the Rogers were embraced with peace and quiet which was all they could really ask for. Both Steven and Margot had retired from Shield when Margot became pregnant with Emma. Nick Fury and Margot's father had been sad to see them go but it was about time they settled down. Margot was about to flip the page in her magazine when she heard a soft thud coming from upstairs. A normal, ordinary person would've passed it off as a bird landing on the roof but not Margot. She slowly glanced up at the ceiling as she held her breath, all time seemed to freeze as she strained to hear anything from the second floor. Margot turned her attention to the entrance of the kitchen as her husband popped his head around the corner. She knew she wasn't being paranoid.

Steven and Margot shared a knowing look as Margot carefully stood up from the couch without making a sound. They made discreet hand signals from over their daughter's shoulder and Margot walked towards him until she was right in front of him. Emma was oblivious to it all as she continued to play with her horses. Steven gave his wife another look and Margot nodded in silent reply before Steven placed a chaste kiss to her forehead. He softly padded over to a gaudy looking painting of wild horses on the wall and lifted the painting up, reaching his hand behind it and pulling a gun out. Margot stood in front of Emma, blocking their daughter's line of sight, and Steven silently began to creep up the stairs.

Emma went on her merry way, playing with her toys, while Margot kept staring at the ceiling. Steven would be alright, she told herself. He had enhanced hearing and would be able to get a head start on anyone up there. Emma tore her eyes away from her toys, sending her mother a vibrant smile, and Margot forced a smile in reply even though she was beyond worried. There was more loud thumping from upstairs which seemed to draw their daughter's attention this time. The thumping was followed by two loud gunshots which caused the little girl to yelp in response. Margot took a defensive stance in front of Emma as she watched the stairs for any sign of movement.

"Mommy, what was that noise?!" The four year old cried but Margot just hushed her. There was nothing but silence for the next couple of minutes until Margot heard quiet footsteps making their way to the top of the staircase. The top of the staircase was too far away for Margot to see in her position so she was left with no other option but to wait. She eyed the decorative side table by the front door with longing. Her gun was duck taped underneath it but she would never be able to reach it in time to protect Emma. If it came down to it Margot would just have to rely on hand to hand combat. It was a moment later when she was able to see feet coming down the stairs and rest of the figure was revealed to be her husband. Margot sighed in relief when she saw him.

"Thank god." She said. Steven gave her a small smile, his gun tucked away in the back of jeans, as he made his way down the stairs.

"Don't worry it's all taken care of. I just wouldn't let Emma go up there for a while…not until we clean up." Steven said and Margot nodded in response. She was about to open her mouth to say something when three loud gun shots rang out, causing Emma to scream and Margot to look up in horror. Steven, with all his semi enhanced abilities, didn't even have time to duck out of the way when the shots hit him…in the head. A second later and his brains were splattered against the wall of the stairwell, gushing red brain matter decorating the white wall.

"Emma! Run! Get out of here!" Margot screamed at her daughter but the little girl did nothing to move. "GO!"

Finally Emma did as her mother told her and raced to the kitchen, making a beeline for the sliding glass door but she stopped. How could she leave her mother? She couldn't just leave without her mother. Her mother usually told her to never leave the house without her. Why should that suddenly change? The four year old did something very stupid…she hid under the kitchen table and watched from under the tablecloth as her father's killer entered the living room.

A large man with dark eyes and dark hair entered the room with a huge grin on his face but it was nothing like the smile her father would always give her. No, there was something very scary about that smile on his face. He looked like the wolf in the book 'Red Riding Hood' her mother would always read to her. Margot glared at the man, willing herself not to cry at the sight of her dead husband but that was an impossible task in itself.

"Margot," He greeted in a sickly sweet tone. "It's always a pleasure to see you."

"Rumlow, what the hell did you just do?!" Margot all but screamed at him, trying to remain calm in a terrifying situation.

"What do you mean? Oh…Rogers? That old prick?" Rumlow laughed a humorless laugh as he looked at Margot. "I don't know what you ever saw in that asshole but I took care of him."

"What you just did was cold blooded murder. It's even treasonous considering who you just murdered. Shield will have your head on a stick and that's after I get done with you…if there's anything left, that is." Margot told him, with pure venom in her tone. She was one second away from tearing Rumlow apart piece by piece. Brock Rumlow, however, didn't look the least bit worried.

"Oh…my poor Margot. So brainwashed by your husband that you failed to see what was right in front of you after all this time." He said in a patronizing tone. "Can't you see we're meant to be together? All this time's gone by and I still can't stop thinking about you. Remember when we used to date? We were the perfect couple and I screwed it up. I see the error of my ways now. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones."

"You're delusional." Margot spat.

"We can start right where we left off but now we have a daughter to add to the equation. I'll even raise little Emma as my own." When Rumlow mentioned Emma, Margot's glare darkened.

"You'll stay away from Emma. You've really lost it this time, Rumlow, and when my father finds out what you just did –"

"Who do you think sent out the order?" Rumlow deadpanned and Margot's eyes widened in surprise before she narrowed her green eyes at the Shield agent.

"Are you suggesting that my father is treasonous?" Rumlow smirked.

"Not at all, Margot. Your father's doing exactly what's needed to protect this country…to protect the world. He just might have a different way of going about that." Margot wasn't sure if she should believe him or not but at the moment she didn't care. She was alone in this either way and she needed to protect her daughter.

"Just come with me, Margot, and we can be a family. Me, you, and Emma together." Margot glared at him hatefully.

"Never." She hissed before bringing her knee up and kicking Rumlow in between the legs so hard that he nearly fell over from the pain. It didn't take long for him to recover as Margot lifted her leg up to deliver a roundhouse kick and he quickly ducked out of the way.

Rumlow delivered a quick punch to her face which she easily blocked until he kicked her in the abdomen when she was distracted. Margot recovered from the hit and delivered a punch to his side, causing him to wince in pain, which allowed her to deliver another kick to his side. Rumlow harshly grasped her leg when she was about to deliver another kick and flipped her onto the floor.

She gasped in pain as her head hit the floor but was quick to dodge his punches. Margot grasped one of his wrists as he was about to punch her and forced his hand back with all the force she could muster until she started hear a spine tingling, cracking sound. Rumlow grunted in pain and used his other hand to punch Margot in the face. The force of the blow impacted her nose, causing it to instantly break, a stream of blood gushing out. She retracted her grip from his wrist, allowing him regain control of the fight. He wrapped his massive hands around her pale, delicate looking throat and began to squeeze.

Margot started wheezing with the increased force Rumlow used against her and she started turning purple from the lack of oxygen. She wrapped her hands around his wrists and tried to lessen his grip on her throat but Rumlow was much too strong for her. Margot then got a new idea. She quickly wrapped her legs around Rumlow's waist and started squeezing her thighs together with all her might. One of the many lessons she learned in training was that men were bigger and stronger, yes, but women could be just as strong if they directed their strength in the right direction. Thigh strength could be a woman's most powerful weapon as well as speed.

Rumlow grunted in pain from Margot's attack and began to lose grip around her throat, causing her to rip his hands from her before she kneed him in the stomach.

Rumlow was quick to get back on his feet as he lifted himself up from the ground. He gripped Margot by her long red hair before throwing her onto the coffee table, making the glass shatter. Margot gasped in surprise as some of the glass cut into her back but she rolled over to the side before Rumlow could deliver another kick. She grabbed a shard of glass, so tight in her hand that the palm of her hand began to bleed, and slashed Rumlow's face as he went towards her again. He hissed in pain, holding his face as he tried to regain footing.

Margot used the distraction to her advantage and delivered a harsh blow to his legs, causing him to be knocked off his feet. She rolled on top of him and immediately began using her thighs to choke him out. His arms were trapped by Margot's legs as he struggled to get her off of him.

Margot placed her thumbs against Rumlow's eyes and began to squeeze. Rumlow screamed in pain as she applied pressure to his eyes. However, what Margot unfortunately didn't account for was the fact that Rumlow was able to slide one of his arms out from under her. She was too busy trying to gouge Rumlow's eyes out that she didn't even noticed when he grabbed one of the shards of glass. Once Rumlow had a firm grip on the shard of glass he quickly made a sharp motion with the shard of glass, taking Margot by surprise.

Rumlow had brought it up to her throat and slashed his way across it. Margot's eyes widened in surprise as she felt the stinging pain across her throat. Her grip loosened against his eyes and her thighs lost their strength around him. The blood gushed out from her throat, splattering Rumlow in the face, before she fell back off of him. She struggled to get back up but actually managed to although she was very weak.

"You know, Margot, this didn't have to end this way." He said as Margot staggered back and Rumlow stalked towards her like a wolf would stalk its prey. Margot lost her balance once more and fell onto her back. The pain was torturous and she could feel herself slowly drifting away but the only thing she could think of was her daughter. She knew this was the end for her even if she tried to fight against it as hard as she could.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of your daughter…your father will make sure of that." Rumlow told her, a sadistic smile on his face. He then knelt down beside her and watched her green eyes, gleaming with horror and fear, and he knew she only had mere seconds left as she bled out. He leant down close to her, his lips an inch away from her ear.

"Hail Hydra." Rumlow whispered and he could feel Margot's heart beat quicken at a rapid pace just for a moment before it slowed back down and then there was nothing. Rumlow pulled back to look at the dead body of Margot Rogers. She was still just as beautiful in death as she was alive. He gently tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ear before placing a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Oh, Margot…I'll miss you. I really will." Without sparing her another thought, Rumlow got up from the floor and set out to finish the rest of his mission. He really hadn't wanted to kill Margot but she left him no choice and now he had to find her daughter to finish this mess once and for all. He quietly stalked towards the kitchen, making sure that his footsteps were silent. Rumlow knew that she wasn't upstairs seeing as he had already looked and she couldn't be in the living room either. He would've heard her if she had been in the living room.

Rumlow grinned as he then heard a soft whimpering coming from under the kitchen table. He could even see tiny bare feet from under the table. So there was Margot's precious daughter...her little Emma. Rumlow easily grabbed the kitchen table and threw it against the wall, causing the four year old to scream in fright. He looked at her, expecting to see some similarities between her and Margot but all he could see was the same cute, pixie looking nose and natural rosy pink lips. Rumlow looked at her in disgust because everything else was completely Rogers. From her golden blonde locks to her bright blue gaze and she would probably even have the same stupid arrogant smile that Rogers had once she got older. No, her mother was barely there in her facial features and for some reason that pissed off Rumlow.

"Come on, little girl, don't be afraid." The little girl was sobbing pathetically and Rumlow couldn't believe Pierce was wasting his time trying to get this girl. How would she ever become what they needed her to be if she was too busy sobbing and screaming?

"Y-you did something to d-daddy and m-mommy." She cried and Rumlow grinned at her but that only seemed to scare her more.

"That's right and if you don't get up from that floor right now I'll do worse to you." This seemed to terrify the little girl more because a pool of urine appeared on the linoleum floor. Rumlow gave her another disgusted look.

"Don't worry, once we're done with you you'll never piss yourself again…not unless you want some broken fingers and I would hate for you to break anything. It would be a shame." Rumlow told her in a sickly sweet tone before grabbing her roughly. She let out a surprised yelp as he threw her over his shoulder and turned in the opposite direction.

Tears streamed down Emma's face and she cried even more hysterically as she spotted the dead bodies of her parents. She knew something was wrong even though she was too young to understand the concept of death. Her father unrecognizable on the staircase with his blood splattered all over the wall and his brains blown out. Her mother on the floor, her throat slit, a pool of blood surrounding her body as she continued to bleed out. The sight was traumatic but Rumlow had little care as to how something like this would impact a four year old.

"We'll take good care of you, little girl, don't you worry a hair on that pretty little head of yours." However, this did nothing to comfort Emma as the small girl was torn away from her home and away from the parents who had adored her. The day her parents died was the day her childhood had been stolen from her. It would almost be a decade before Emma was able to retrieve it again.


	2. Chapter One

**Part I: Long & Lost**

* * *

 _Is it too late to come on home_  
 _Are all those bridges now old stone_  
 _Is it too late to come on home_  
 _Can the city forgive, I hear its sad song_

 _I need the clouds to cover me_  
 _Pull in the dark, surround me_  
 _Without your love I'll be_  
 _So long and lost, are you missing me_

 **\- Florence & The Machine**

* * *

 **Hydra Base**

 **Location: Siberia**

 **2006**

"Что такое столица Йемена?" (What is the Capital of Yemen?) A man with a thick Russian accent asked.

"Sana'a." A small voice answered with the correct pronunciation. The Project, formerly known as Emma Margaret Rogers, was sitting in a single wooden chair in the middle of a dark room. It was empty except for Emma and the Russian Colonel. Colonel Vasily Karpov was a decorated military man who was admired by many in the Russian Armed Forces but little did they know that he was actually head of the Hydra operation inside Russia. The man was weathered from years of working on the Winter Soldier program but he was finally having more success. The last decade had proved to be difficult with the other subjects involved with the program but he was finally making some progress through the new program Hydra had created.

The Viper Assassin program.

And the blonde just so happened to be the first subject of said program. After the failed experiment of the Winter Soldier project, where many of the subjects had to be put on ice, Hydra was putting a lot of their hopes on the Viper Assassin project. The girl was likely to make it a success too because of her heritage. The others had been weak but maybe the girl would be stronger. It was in her blood, after all.

The room was cold which left Emma a shivering mess in her chair but the older man paid no attention. There were no windows inside the room and the only light came from a singular lamp in a far corner of the room. The floors and walls were made from concrete and looked as if they hadn't been washed in years. Gathering from the large stains of blood left over, they probably hadn't been clean in even longer since the blood had dried into a crusty looking brown color.

A year ago Emma Rogers had been a cute four year old little girl with a rosy tint to her cheeks and her blue eyes gleaming with happiness. Now she was just a mere shell of who she used to be with her sad eyes, pale ghostly looking skin, and her hair looking ratty and filthy. The entire appearance of the now five year old looked dirty and abused. Smudges of dirt smeared her pale looking skin and bruises helped decorate that very same skin. It was no condition for a five year old but Emma had learned a while ago that there was no use crying about it. Hydra had made that very clear and even a small child like herself was able to understand that.

"Каково нынешнее население Йемена?" (What is the current population of Yemen?) Karpov questioned, analyzing the small girl. She had lost what passion and fire she had a few months ago, letting herself succumb to her fate. Emma stared blankly at the Russian man.

"Nineteen thousand six hundred and eighty five thousand…approximately." She answered in English and Karpov glared her at her in anger. He slapped her across the face harshly, causing Emma to whip her head back from the force and she struggled not to whimper at the pain. She knew if she cried the pain would only increase. This was a lesson Hydra had been teaching her since she arrived at the base more than a year ago.

"In Russian, you stupid girl!" He hissed angrily in English and Emma looked him in the eyes, pleading with herself to not allow any tears to brim her eyes.

Emma, with a dejected look on her face, then spoke the answer in Russian without missing a beat. Emma didn't bother apologizing because she also learned a long time ago that apologizing was for the weak. Karpov analyzed Emma's body language and facial expression with close attention, looking for any emotional response but she held his gaze steadily. Satisfied with her overall appearance, he pulled back and continued in his quizzing.

"Что является основной религией в Йемене?" (What is the primary religion in Yemen?")

* * *

"Это очень важный день для тебя, дитя." (This a very important day for you, child) Karpov announced.

Emma was brought to a different room in the base than the one she had come to know as "The Cold Room". The only rooms she had previously known were her room, "The Cold Room", and the lab. She was never allowed anywhere else but those three rooms and she often found herself curious about who else was there besides her and Colonel Karpov. The small girl had seen some men in white coats which she had summed up as them being scientists. She had watched enough _Dexter's Laboratory_ in her lifetime to know what a scientist looked like.

This room was much nicer than "The Cold Room" Emma observed as she stood in the center of it. The floors were cleaner than they had been in the "The Cold Room" but she could tell they were just as hard. Some punching bags were placed in one corner of the room while other exercise equipment was seen around the room. For the most part, however, the room was spacious which drew the question as to what it was used for. As Emma looked around the room her attention was drawn to someone who was standing in a dark corner of the room.

It was a man who stood there and he looked like the most imposing looking person she had ever laid her eyes on. He was tall with longish, brown hair that went down to just below his chin and his pale blue eyes stared at her with such coldness that it chilled her right to the bone. The man dressed head to toe in what looked to be some sort of black combat gear. However, what was most jaw dropping about the man was the fact that he had a silver looking arm made out of some sort of metal. It glinted under the dim lighting and her eyes caught sight of the bright red star that stood out against the silver.

"Я хочу, чтобы вы встретились с зимним солдатом. Он будет вашим личным тренером." (I would like you to meet the Winter Soldier. He will be your own personal trainer.) Karpov told her with a firm tone. He recognized the small amount of fear in her eyes as she struggled to contain herself. Normally he would beat the fear right out of her but for this to work she would need to fear the Winter Soldier just a little until she proved herself. This would be the best way to control her.

"Он будет тренировать вас, как бороться и как убивать. У вас будет хороший учитель, так как он лучший, что Hydra имеет." (He will be training you how to fight and how to kill. You will have a good teacher since he's the best that Hydra has.) Karpov continued and Emma struggled to not let them see her fear. Fight? Kill? What did that even entail? Emma was only five years old and barely understood the concept of death and that was only because she watched her parents get murdered right in front of her. Her parents were about to enroll her in school early because she was far beyond most other four year olds but she was even too young for most of the stuff that Hydra wanted out of her. Karpov then focused his attention on one of the observation windows towards the front of the room.

"ОтПравь одного из них." (Send one of them in.) Karpov ordered and it wasn't even a moment later when the door opened and a man was tossed into the room, landing on the floor with a soft thud. This man didn't look as composed and intimidating as the man in the corner but he instead looked frightened, confused, and angry. He was dressed like a soldier with lots of green and neutral colors…Camo. The man's brown eyes looked around the room rapidly as he tried to figure out where he was and why he was there. He quickly got up from the floor and backed up against the wall, his eyes wild as he looked around the room.

"What in the bloody hell is this?! Do you realize who you've kidnapped?!" The man demanded with a thick English accent. Emma recognized his accent as English since her grandmother had a very similar one. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought about her grandmother. She missed her kind and sweet grandmother who used to tell her bedtime stories about how she met Emma's grandfather. Emma would give anything to be back in the arms of her grandmother right now instead of here in this room with Karpov and the scary looking man in the corner. "I'm a British Commando and when you-" He tried to say but Karpov interrupted him.

"You're about to be a part of a little demonstration for the girl." Karpov told him in English with a sinister grin on his face. The man's eyes flashed towards her and they softened as he analyzed the small, abused looking girl.

"What is that child doing here? What are you doing with her?" He asked, anger and pity clear in his voice.

"That's no concern of yours." Karpov said coldly, the grin falling off his face.

"The hell it is! I took an oath to serve and protect! I'm a British commando and when they find out what you're doing here-"

"Trust me, they know." Karpov said, cutting the man off. The man's eyes widened in shock as he struggled to comprehend that his own government knew what was going on. How could his own country condone the torture of children? No, that man was lying. He shouldn't even believe that Russian. "Don't worry, not everyone in your government is aware of our presence. Think of us as a government inside of a government. Only a select few know of our existence."

"You're insane!" The man yelled at him but Karpov remained unfazed by the hysterical British Commando.

"Maybe but that's not what you're here for. You're not here to classify my psychological condition. You're here to fight." Karpov told him coolly.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Karpov only rolled his eyes at the British commando before turning his attention to the Winter Soldier who watched the situation unfold with detached curiosity. He spoke one word to the Winter Soldier which set off a chain of events and Emma could only watch in horror as her first day in training began.

"Атаки." (Attack.) Karpov said, sending the Winter Soldier into action as he approached the confused British Commando. The man watched with frightened eyes as the tall, imposing figure of the Winter Soldier approached him, determination in his eyes.

The Winter Soldier grabbed the British Commando by the throat and lifted him up from the ground by one hand. The commando struggled for breath as he tried to pry the Winter Soldier's hand from his throat. He did the only thing he could think of and kicked the Winter Soldier in the stomach with all the force he could muster.

The action did little to harm the Winter Soldier but the assassin threw the commando to the ground anyways. As the commando landed on the ground, he gasped for air as he tried to catch his breath. He then quickly got up from the floor before the Winter Soldier could make a grab for him again.

The commando got into a defensive pose this time and waited for the Winter Soldier to approach him. The commando's defensive position didn't seem to cause the Winter Soldier any worry as he stalked towards the shorter man.

When the Winter Soldier finally reached the man, the commando delivered a swift kick to his side which the Winter Soldier gracefully dodged. When the commando tried to deliver a punch, the Winter Soldier easily grabbed his wrist in his hand. With a slight jerk the Winter Soldier managed to completely fracture the man's wrist, causing the commando to scream out in pain.

With the commando distracted by the pain, the Winter Soldier grabbed the man by his neck and threw him across the room with little to no effort at all. Emma winced as the man hit the wall with a loud thud. It didn't look like he was getting up anytime soon as the commando continued to scream in pain. When the man saw the Winter Soldier approaching again, his eyes widened and he began to beg for mercy.

"Please! No, stop! I promise I won't tell anyone about what you're doing! Just don't!" The man pleaded but it was no use. Once the Winter Soldier was given an order there was no point in trying to stop him.

The Winter Soldier placed his booted foot against the man's throat and the commando struggled from underneath it. Emma watched in terror as the Winter Soldier began to apply pressure to the man's throat, causing the man to let out an animalistic cry as he screamed. Emma wanted to place her hands over her eyes and ears so she wouldn't have to witness the ugly scene before her but she knew the Colonel would most likely beat her if she did such a thing.

The man continued to scream until a sickening snap echoed through the room.

The Winter Soldier stepped of the man and turned around to face Karpov. Emma knew that the man was dead even without looking at his body. This wasn't the first time she experienced death.

The first time when she was four and her parents had been murdered by the man with the wolf like smile.

"Очень хорошо, зимний солдат." (Very good, Winter Soldier.) Karpov said with a tone of approval before looking down at Emma. There were silent tears streaming down her face as she stared at the Winter Soldier in horror. Karpov frowned and backhanded Emma across her face, giving her a look of distaste.

"Глупая слабая девчонка! Когда вы будете когда-нибудь учиться?!" (Stupid, weak girl! When will you ever learn?!) Emma struggled not to show any sign of pain as she tried ignore the pain of the abuse. _Don't let them see weakness_ , she told herself. If she showed anymore weakness they would beat her senseless until she was empty again. If she had any dignity at five years old, it was all gone because all that mattered to her now was survival. Emma wasn't sure if it was an instinct she had learned from her time spent in "The Cold Room" or if it had been there all along.

"ПоТяните себя вместе, девочка! Ты видела, что там только что произошло? Это твое будущее. Это не будет долго, прежде чем вы также будете ожидать, чтобы атаковать и убивать так же грациозно и безжалостно, как зимний солдат. Это его работа, чтобы научить вас, как." (Pull yourself together, girl! Did you see what just happened there? That was your future. It won't be long before you'll also be expected to attack and kill just as gracefully and mercilessly as the Winter Soldier. It's his job to teach you how.) Karpov ranted at her and Emma could only watch him in silent observation as he explained her destiny to her.

As she glanced over his shoulder at the Winter Soldier, she knew what threat was hidden amongst Karpov's rant. If she didn't comply with his demands then she would be brutally killed. If she didn't learn how to kill she would end up just like the man lying dead on the floor, ruthlessly murdered by the bare hands of the Winter Soldier. In that moment Emma could only think of survival and if that meant going along with whatever they demanded of her then so be it. Emma might've only been five but her time at Hydra taught her things like logic and common sense. She wasn't stupid.

"Вы готовы к соблюдению?" (Are you ready to comply?) Karpov asked, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. She stared at Karpov with an empty look in her blue eyes before she slowly nodded, causing the older man to grin.

"Да, сэр." (Yes, sir.) Emma replied quietly, obedience in her tone.

"Умница. Теперь давайте вернемся к вашей комнате, чтобы вы могли немного отдохнуть и подготовиться к вашему первому уроку завтра." (Good girl. Now let's return you to your room so you can get some rest and prepare for your first lesson tomorrow.) Karpov told her before patting her gently on the back, causing Emma to stiffen from his unwelcomed touch. He then began to lead her out of the room but not before Emma turned her head to look over her shoulder.

She locked eyes with the Winter Soldier who watched her with the same chilling coldness as before. He looked familiar to Emma but for some reason she couldn't place him. Emma tucked away the thought because why would the Winter Soldier seem familiar to her? Even as Emma tried to ignore that thought she couldn't help but get the feeling that she _had_ seen him before.

* * *

For the next six months of Emma's training with the Winter Soldier she was taught defensive and offensive strategies in close quarters combat. He had demonstrated the different moves on the guards at the base who were surely near death at the makeshift hospital inside the base. The guards were dropping like flies, having to be dragged out of the training room by other guards. Emma had feared from day one that she would end up like that British Commando but the Winter Soldier never attempted to kill her. He trained her, at times gently guiding her hands to make the correct formation, but that was as far as he went.

The Winter Soldier rarely talked which was something Emma learned early on, he only guided, but Karpov would narrate whatever lessons the Winter Soldier gave her. In a rare sort of circumstance Karpov narrated the lessons in English which she summed up as him believing that the strategies would stick better in her head that way.

"Remember, child, that a well-trained woman is not nearly as strong as a well-trained man." Karpov narrated in his thick Russian accent as the Winter Soldier demonstrated a new sort of defensive stance. "Women need to find strategies that will help them gain the upper hand against men."

Emma immediately mimicked the Winter Soldier's stance as she also listened to what Karpov had to say. The Winter Soldier then threw his leg out, so fast that she almost missed it, and displayed what would be a quick kick to someone's side. He then threw his fist out with just as much speed as before and Emma pictured him punching the British Commando in the chest. It was a move she had seen before as she began to realize.

The day her parents were murdered.

Emma had seen her mother use the same move against the man with the wolf like smile. However, the thought of her dead mother and father made her sad so she forced the images of that day out of her mind and instead focused on the task at hand.

"Speed…agility…rapid decision making…these are all qualities that the best female fighters have. Qualities that your mother had." Emma whipped her head around to look at the colonel, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

"My mother? What do you know about my mother?" She questioned and Karpov gave her a sharp look, frowning in distaste at her.

"Pay attention, you silly little girl! This is more important than your dead mother." He scolded and Emma quickly returned her attention to the Winter Soldier who was patiently waiting for her. He nodded at her to mimic the move he had shown her from before. Emma quickly got into the correct stance again before delivering a quick kick to the air and then punching the air with the same fast speed.

"Attacking one section of your target's body is a good way to distract them from a more fatal section. You could kick them in the shins and then deliver a forceful hit to their throat which, depending on how much force used, could prove to be fatal." Karpov continued and Emma forced herself not to think of her mother yet again. It had been a year and a half since her parents died but the memories of them were already fading. The small girl was frightened that one day she wouldn't remember them at all.

"Okay, next move, Asset!" Karpov ordered the Winter Soldier and the imposing man got on the floor as he then signaled for Emma to get on the floor as well.

She wasted no time following his demand and he motioned for her to kneel forward and attack. Emma was a little taken back by this since they had yet to spar with each other but she did what he asked of her anyways even if she was a little hesitant at the prospect. She threw her fist forward, intending to hit him in the face, but was taken by surprise as he caught her fist in his hand and pushed her to the ground. The Winter Soldier loomed over her and it was then that she realized how dangerous he was.

He held both of her wrists against the ground as he stared into her eyes. Emma could tell that his grip was looser than it should be and it became evident that he was holding back. She discovered that it would be incredibly easy for him to kill her. Emma laid there motionless against the ground, staring into the pale blue depths of the Winter Soldier's eyes and she was surprised by how much emotion she saw in them.

Fear.

Loneliness.

Confusion.

Anger.

Emma recognized these emotions because she had seen them in herself but never did she expect to find the Winter Soldier showing such emotion. She gazed at him in wonder, watching her own reflection in his eyes.

"Steve?" The Winter Soldier whispered as he stared at her. Emma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared back at him. Did the Winter Soldier really just say something? "S-Steve? Steve? Steve?" It didn't appear as if she was imagining anything because his voice only grew louder.

"Asset, what's going on?!" Karpov called from behind him but the Winter Soldier ignored him as he continued to hysterically chant, his grip growing tighter around Emma's wrists.

"Steve! Steve! Steve!" He kept chanting and Emma struggled to get out from underneath him. The situation was close to becoming quite deadly. Emma could feel the tears silently streaming down her face as she struggled to not make a sound. Making a sound could mean death in this case instead of just another beating and Emma was smart enough to be afraid of him in that moment of time.

"Выведите его от сюда! Он должен быть уничтожен снова!" (Get him out of here! He needs to be wiped again!). Karpov yelled out in the distance but Emma was too caught up in the Winter Soldier's crazed state.

While he still scared her from time to time he was the only person in the facility that she liked and held any respect for. He didn't grin at her like the man with the wolf like smile and he didn't beat her like Karpov. Deep down Emma knew that he was no better than a serial killer but he was never aggressive towards her…at least not until now.

There was an emptiness about the Winter Soldier that always made her think that he wasn't like any person she had ever met before. The emptiness in him was robotic and unnatural so it made Emma think that maybe he really _was_ some sort of robot. Her father used to watch the _Terminator_ movies so it was entirely possible that the Winter Soldier looked human but had all the metal and wiring that the Terminator had.

Wasn't that tragic?

A robot was kinder to her than any human at the base.

It wasn't long before ten guards swooped into the room and attempted to grab the Winter Soldier. The moment one of them laid a hand on him, however, they were thrown across the room like they were a mere rag doll. The guards had their guns pointed at him and Emma never felt so terrified in her whole life. Not even when the man with the wolf like smile murdered her parents. She realized that she wasn't terrified for her own life but she was scared for the Winter Soldier.

He was insane and much older than her but he was the only friend she had in the whole facility. She would truly be alone if they were to kill him. It took all the guards, the ones who were uninjured anyways, to restrain the Winter Soldier as he struggled. They finally managed to pull him off of Emma who would surely have bruises on her wrists come tomorrow morning but she found herself not caring. Emma watched as they dragged him away, his eyes completely glued to her as they forced him out of the room. It was like she was the only thing he could see as they dragged him away and it made her heart beat rapidly in both fear and bewilderment. His mouth kept forming that name.

Steve.

The small girl was only left with one question as she watched him disappear behind the door.

Who was Steve?


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: I just want to say that the face claim for Emma is actually Elle Fanning. I just wanted to mention that since she's the one in the cover of the story which I didn't create. The cover was created by angaran who did an amazing job. I really suck at making covers but the one angaran made is really beautiful. There's also a trailer that knarl made that's on youtube although the face claim in the trailer is Chloe Grace Moretz which is only because that actress has had way more action type scenes in movies than Elle Fanning. It's an amazing trailer and I'm so glad to see that I have fans of this story who are much more creative and tech savvy when it comes to that stuff. Here's the link to the trailer. I'm not sure if it'll work.**

 **watch?v=WCnFOnDuOW4**

 **I'm currently re-editing this story as of 4/29/2018. Long time readers of this story don't be alarmed because I'm not really changing it. I'm just fixing some of the mistakes within the story so don't fret.**

* * *

"Sir, I think she's ready for the program." Colonel Karpov said in his usual thick Russian accent. He was walking beside a slightly shorter and older American man who looked like the kind grandfatherly type which stood out against all the slimy looking men occupying the Hydra base. From the older man's stance, you could tell he was someone of great importance. Karpov seemed slightly nervous as he awaited the American's answer.

"How could she be ready? She only just turned six." The man said and Karpov gulped at the man's sharp tone.

"Well, she's far more advanced than what we originally thought. She's already passed all of our evaluations and she's now proficient in several languages." Karpov paused as he decided to add in something else. "She soaked up every lesson the asset taught her and I think it would prove to be beneficial to us if we started the program right now." The American man sighed as he stopped walking and turned to look at Karpov.

"And why's that?"

"Well, the sooner we can train her, the sooner we can send her out in the field. Right now she's too fragile to do any real sparing with the Winter Soldier even with what's left of Erskine's formula in her." Karpov informed the stately looking man. "If we can inject her with Stark's leftover serum then she could train with the Winter Soldier right away." The American man stood back and thought long and hard about what the Russian colonel just told him. It was true. Emma was stronger, faster, and smarter than the average six year old…Hell, she was almost as strong as a full sized man with her grandfather's leftover super soldier serum that managed to be passed down to her.

However, it still wasn't enough for them.

The original plan was to obtain Emma Rogers and then prepare her for her destiny with Hydra. She was too young to understand how powerful of a weapon she was going to be for them. They had the Winter Soldier but if they had Emma then Hydra would be unbeatable. It was all they could hope for since the previous Winter Soldier program failed. It didn't look like they would be able to use those other super soldiers anytime soon so the Viper Assassin program was the only hope they had left. Emma specifically was the only hope they had left. The older American man looked back at a hopeful Karpov, his decision already made.

"Wait another year and by then she'll be ready for us. Send me all recordings of her training sessions in the meantime; I want to keep an eye on her progress." Karpov nodded furiously as he agreed to the man's request.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Pierce. Thank you." Alexander Piece clapped a hand against Karpov's shoulder, giving him a friendly smile.

"Don't mention it, Karpov. Good job by the way. Hydra appreciates your hard work." Karpov smiled in return, humbled by the fact that one of the head operatives of Hydra was congratulating him. There was nothing better he could ask for. Pierce gave him one last look before walking away from the excited colonel.

This would prove to be an eventful year for Hydra.

* * *

"Colonel Karpov, Sir?" Emma asked and the colonel in question gave her a glare. They were in "The Cold Room" again which was where Emma was permitted to focus on her studies. She knew that the colonel hated when she spoke English but he had been more laid back on the language ever since she had proven to be fluent in various other languages. Emma was currently reading a book about Sudan's economics, required reading apparently, when the question popped into her head. It wasn't the first time she had thought of the question but it was definitely the first time she had gathered enough courage to ask it.

"What?!" He hissed and Emma tried to bury any fear of another beating before she answered.

"Where is Winter?" This threw Karpov off as he stared back at the nervous looking six year old.

"What the hell are you going on about, girl?" He demanded and Emma forced herself not to feel frightened.

"I was just wondering where the Winter Soldier is, sir? He's supposed to be my trainer but I haven't seen him in months." She replied in a quiet voice. Karpov noticed the way she talked now differed from when she first came to the Hydra base two years ago. The girl had talked too much like an infant for his liking then but now she talked like an adult. That was the way it was supposed to be, after all. The girl learned fast but not fast enough, apparently, since she had the audacity to demand answers from him like he was her servant.

"How dare you ask such things, you silly little girl!" He raised his hand up to strike her but for the first time Emma didn't flinch. She stared back at him like she expected him to do it. The action slightly unnerved the colonel and he was reminded a little too much of the Winter Soldier. But that's what Pierce wanted, wasn't it? He wanted another Winter Soldier…a new and improved Winter Soldier to be precise.

"Well, you seem to finally be learning." Karpov commented but Emma didn't falter. She seemed to be determined to get an answer and Karpov admired her for that. It was about time she stopped acting like a child because Hydra was no place for children.

"Not that it's any of your business, anyways, but the Winter Soldier has been briefly compromised so he's currently being reevaluated until he's fit for duty." Karpov told her. Emma knew that it was a lie and it was all thanks to the Winter Soldier himself. One of the tactics he had shown her was showing her how to detect lies. It seemed to come in handy at the moment. Even though Emma knew that it was a lie, she didn't dare call Karpov out on it. She knew enough to know that she could get away with questioning the colonel once but certainly not twice.

"Your training will be continued with Agent Rumlow until further notice." Karpov told her. Emma stared at him in surprise because the name sounded eerily familiar to her ears. Rumlow? She knew that name but she just couldn't remember where from. It didn't matter who the man was to Emma. Training wouldn't be the same as it was with the Winter Soldier. She had a strong feeling that this Rumlow guy might not be as patient with her as the Winter Soldier.

* * *

Unfortunately, Emma had turned out to be right about the mysterious man known as Rumlow. She realized who he was the second Karpov walked her inside the training room and she desperately wanted to run back out. Rumlow turned out to be the man with the wolf like smile…the same man who murdered her parents and stole her from her home. She had seen him around the base when she first arrived but then he was gone which she had been grateful for. Nothing had changed much about him. He still had the same dark eyes and sinister grin but now the large cut that had been on his face had scarred, making him look even scarier than she had remembered.

"Long time no see, kid." Rumlow said, smiling at her in the same way he always smiled at her in her nightmares. Emma struggled not to show any signs of fear as Karpov walked her up to Rumlow.

"Agent Rumlow, it's nice to see you. We're most appreciative of your time here at the base since we all know you're one of Pierce's most decorated agents." Karpov complimented but his tone sounded cold…like he had said the compliment many other times.

"Don't mention it, Colonel, I had to make time so I could see my favorite girl." It was clear that the comment was directed more to her than it was to Karpov. The way he said it chilled Emma right to the bone. She wished more than anything right now that she was anywhere else other than the training room with Rumlow. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Are you not going to answer, you stupid girl?!" Karpov demanded when Emma didn't say anything. "This is your superior and he demands your respect!"

"Yes, of course, sir." Emma replied as she looked from Karpov back to Rumlow. Rumlow didn't look offended in the least but instead looked amused.

"Calm down, Colonel, the kid didn't mean anything by it. Besides…there will be plenty of time to learn respect while we train." Rumlow told the Russian, giving Emma a wink. The action did nothing to comfort her and she instead dreaded the training lessons she would have with him. She already knew that any training lesson with him wouldn't be as gentle as the ones with the Winter Soldier.

"Of course, Agent." Karpov replied and Rumlow glanced back at Emma, not even paying attention to Karpov. His dark eyes were locked onto Emma's figure as Karpov continued to speak. Emma felt a flood of fear surge through her as she tried to keep eye contact with Rumlow, refusing to get another beating from Karpov just because she showed weakness.

The way his dark eyes glinted as he looked her over gave Emma a sick feeling and she could also feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. There was something about the way he stared at her that gave the young girl a very bad feeling. The words "Stranger Danger", her parents tried teaching her, echoed through her head over and over again.

There was something about this man that was wrong. Something that made him seem like the real life bogeyman to Emma and it went beyond what she saw him do to her parents. Emma knew then, from her gut instinct, that this man was far more dangerous than the Winter Soldier and Colonel Karpov combined. It was a different kind of danger. A more sinister kind that made Emma freeze in her steps.

"You're a lot like your mother, you know that?" Rumlow told her, cutting off Karpov and interrupting the young girl's thoughts. Karpov looked like he wanted to yell at Rumlow for the interruption but the Russian was also curious about what Rumlow had to say. He speculated that it could be a move that would benefit the small girl, not for her own sake, but for their own perhaps. Emma's eyes widened in surprise as the man mentioned her mother. Karpov sometimes mentioned her mother but he never went into detail about her. She was desperate for information about her parents even if that information came from the man who killed them.

"You knew my parents?" She asked in a small voice and Rumlow smirked.

"I knew _of_ your dad but your mother I definitely knew. We practically grew up together…your mom and I." Rumlow told her and Emma hastily soaked up the information he gave her.

"Really?" Rumlow nodded.

"Yes, she was a curious little thing and was always getting herself into trouble." Emma just stared at him as he told her more about her mother. She wanted to know things about her mother that made her mother more of a person in her mind than a distant fading memory. Emma wanted to know her mother's favorite color. She wanted to know what her mother liked to eat and what she thought was terribly gross to eat. Maybe her mother's favorite animal was a dog or maybe it was a lion. These were all things that Emma didn't know but would desperately love to find out about her mother.

"Were you friends with her?" She asked innocently and Rumlow stared at her like a predator might stare at it's prey.

Emma looked awfully like Margot in that moment even though the small girl shared more looks with her father than she did with her mother. Margot always had that look of innocence going on about her. Something that always allowed her to gain the upper hand in fights and Rumlow could tell that it would also be Emma's greatest strength. Although, Emma had the Rogers' famous blonde hair and blue eyes, everything else was her mother. It made Rumlow all too painfully aware that she might look a lot like Margot once she was all grown up. The same stunning pixie looks that would break a million hearts.

"Yes, I was." Rumlow replied in a flat tone. Emma desperately wanted to punch him or kick him in retaliation. _Then why did you kill her?_ She wanted to scream at him. If she was his friend then why did he have to kill her? Doesn't everyone have a choice? That's what her father used to tell her whenever she got into trouble. Rumlow didn't look the least bit remorseful over the murder of her parents and that filled the small girl up with more rage than she had ever felt before.

"You hate me." Rumlow said but it wasn't a question…it was a statement. "That's good. Use that anger and rage. You're going to need all the help you can get."

His statement angered Emma even more because it sounded so patronizing to her ears. All the adults talked to her like that, except for the Winter Soldier of course, but hadn't she earned the right to be spoken to like an adult? They were always forcing her to think and act like a grown-up yet they still treated her like the child she was. Emma glared at him, her mind filled up with so much hate and anger that it nearly blinded her.

Emma made a promise that day. She made a promise to herself that one day, when the time was right, she would murder the man with the wolf like smile just like he murdered her parents. Emma would listen to everything he had to teach her and she would use it against him when she was strong enough.

For now, however, she would just have to wait.


	4. Chapter Three

**Hydra Base**

 **Location: Siberia**

 **2008**

"Она уже готовилась к инъекции. Бак готов к работе?" (She's already been prepped for the injection. Is the tank all ready to go?)

Emma opened her eyes, trying to make sense of her vision but everything was blurry. Her eye lids felt heavier than normal as she fought to keep her eyes open but she just felt so drowsy. The voices she heard sounded distant so she could barely make out a word they said.

"Да, сэр. Все системы готовы к инъекциям. Мы просто ждем мистера пирса." (Yes, sir. All systems are ready for the injection. We're just waiting for Mr. Pierce.)

Emma felt sickly as she laid there on what felt like a bed. She thought she may have been dreaming at first because the bed felt like it was moving. She strained her eyes to make something out between the blurriness but all she could see were deformed shapes and lights that were only a little too bright. Emma coughed before she tried getting up from the bed only to find out that she couldn't.

The seven year old then tried getting up again but to no avail. She attempted to lift her arms up but she found that they were stuck. Her arms were pinned above her head and the small girl struggled with all her might to break free from whatever was holding her down but she just couldn't move.

"Поторопись. Девушка становится слишком тревожным." (Hurry up. The girl is getting too anxious.) Emma felt a tear stream down from her face in frustration as she began to squirm around in the moving bed. It was then that her sight began becoming clear again and she was able to make out the deformed shapes she had seen before.

Some of the Russians she could recognize, having seen them around the base. She saw Karpov as he talked with the German man known as Strucker. At least, that's what Emma knew him as but she had only seen him briefly in the labs whenever they were injecting her with the needles. She hadn't understood German at the time but now she did. He, however, wasn't speaking German but instead Russian which made Emma wonder if the base was located somewhere in Russia since the majority of the people in the base spoke Russian.

No one would ever tell her where the base was situated.

Emma was always on a need to know basis.

Emma met Strucker's eyes as he looked down at her and she realized that she liked him even less than she liked Karpov. Karpov was a military man with anger issues but he wasn't sadistic like Rumlow or Strucker. She heard rumors around base that Strucker had a sick fascination with experiments of the unnatural kind. Emma had a feeling that Strucker wasn't beyond experimenting even with the likes of someone as young as her. At least Karpov, even with all his beatings, never used violence beyond what he thought was necessary.

"Mach dir keine Sorgen, Kleine, alles wird klappen. Du hast keine Ahnung, was du für unsere Sache machst, aber du wirst perfekt sein."(Don't worry, little one, everything will work out. You have no idea what you're about to do for our cause but you'll be perfect.) Strucker told her in German as he stared at her in what could only be described as an expression of pure awe.

"Das perfekte Exemplar. Besser als der Winter-Soldat und Captain America zusammen." (The perfect specimen. Better than the Winter Soldier and Captain America put together.) He remarked with a soft tone.

Emma stopped struggling, becoming very still as she stared up at the face of Strucker in confusion. What did that mean? Before she could think anymore on the subject she was released from her restraints. She immediately sat up in the bed and felt a little light headed as she did so. It seemed like she may have gotten up a little too fast.

"Где я? Что это?" (Where am I? What is this?) Emma said in Russian, completely expecting to receive a slap across the face for her directness but she was taken by surprise when Strucker just grinned at her and Karpov didn't make a move.

The room was an altogether different room than what she had been in before. Emma didn't recognize it with its openness and darkness but she realized that it was even colder than "The Cold Room"...if that was possible.

The room was so cold that she could see her own breath.

Scientific equipment and machinery filled up the large, spacious room and there was more people there than she could ever remember meeting. Small looking men with white lab coats and glasses, thinning hair that they tried to comb over their bald spot. She saw some of the men, and women too, standing near the entry point of the room dressed in black combat gear and large guns in their hands.

Guards.

Rumlow was standing in the back, right next to an older looking man. It was the older man that grabbed Emma's attention right away. He was much shorter than Rumlow but something about him practically breathed authority. The man's skin was weathered, possibly from much time spent under the sun. His hair was a much darker blonde than her own that was obviously dyed due to the obvious gray roots. His were eyes a dark blue that were also much darker than her own eye color. His eyes chilled her to the bone because they seemed be locked onto her in that very moment. He looked at her as if he knew her which struck Emma as odd. He was incredibly familiar to her for some reason but she didn't think she ever remembered meeting him.

She would've remembered him if she had.

Emma tore her gaze away from the old man and sought out one person in particular. She scanned the room quickly and quietly as she tried to pick him out from the other imposing figures. There was no way she could have missed him with those cold looking blue eyes and his shaggy looking brown hair. She felt disappointment surge through her as she failed to find the Winter Soldier in the midst of all the others.

Emma had trained with him for only six months but he had become more than a mentor to her. No, he was the only one she could call a friend in this dark and cold place. It had been a year since she had last seen him and she missed him so much. Rumlow was never careful with her or precise like the Winter Soldier was and his advice was never rational either. Rumlow sparred with her for real and she ended up aching and sore every time.

The Winter Soldier never talked much but she appreciated his silence unlike Rumlow who talked too much for her liking. Rumlow was also a little too easy to read and most of the time Emma didn't like what she saw in his eyes.

There was something very sinister that rested in those dark eyes of his.

"Mr. Pierce, it's time!" A Russian scientist called out to the older man who had been watching Emma earlier.

Pierce?

No, Emma couldn't have possibly known that man. She had never heard the name Pierce in her short life. The man named Mr. Pierce gave a sharp nod to Rumlow, causing the man to smirk. Whenever Rumlow smirked it almost always gave Emma an uneasy feeling since nothing good ever came out of Rumlow smirking. Rumlow stalked towards Emma with a delighted gleam in his eyes before he picked her up and started carrying her in his arms much to Emma's surprise.

"Come on, princess, you're just going to have a little medical operation. Nothing to worry about." He said in a smug tone and Emma wanted to wipe the conceited smirk off his face. Her father used to call her princess. What gave this man, her parents killer, the right to call her by the same exact name? Before Emma even had time to voice her thoughts, her attention was captured by an odd looking contraption.

It looked to be some kind of water tank, not too different from the dunking tanks she used to see at the county fair her parents used to take her to when they were still alive.

It stood at the height of a grown man but almost twice as high as Emma's height. The tank was completely glass and round, much like a giant glass cylinder, and had small plastic tubes sticking outside the tank and hooked up to another contraption. The contraption was mechanical looking with smaller glass cylinders sitting on top of it, pumping what looked to be like some sort of blue substance. Numbers were flashing on the screen connected to the mechanical contraption but Emma didn't understand what any of it meant.

There was a set of metal stairs next to the glass tank that led up to a platform at the top of the tank.

A man stood at the top, he looked to be one of the scientists who were now all crowded around a computer looking at numbers. Rumlow set her back down on the ground at the bottom of the small, make shift staircase. His smirk was now gone and was replaced with a serious looking expression. Rumlow was always so smug and sinister looking around her that his serious expression almost frightened her.

"Go up the stairs." He told her in a firm tone. Emma gave him a confused look as she looked between him and the glass tank.

What was going on?

"Why?" He glared at her, wrapping his hand around her wrist before squeezing.

"Because I said so. Now go up the damn stairs and do as you're told." He said and Emma knew that this would be a fight she wouldn't win. His tone told her that he wasn't fooling around this time so Emma decided to comply. She had developed enough self-preservation skills to know that it would be better for her and everyone else if she just listened and did as she was told.

So with that Emma began to walk up the stairs to the creepy looking scientist. He didn't smile at her in that sinister way Rumlow or Strucker did but he just looked at her in an almost calculating way. That seemed to make her more nervous than anything else.

"полоса" (Strip.) The scientist told her in Russian but Emma was afraid she may have heard him wrong.

Strip? What did that even mean?

"Excuse me?" She replied in English but the scientist only glared at her in annoyance. He gestured to her body before answering.

"Газа! Сними одежду! Все это! Сейчас!" (Strip! Take off your clothes! All of it! Now!) He said in a frustrated tone and Emma nodded, quickly doing what she was told and taking off her clothes.

As a seven year old she wasn't quite embarrassed to take off her clothes in front of adults. She may have talked and acted like an adult but she was still childlike in mind. Her mind was too innocent to not fear taking off her clothes in a room full of men. When Emma grew up she'd be old and wise enough to be afraid.

It wasn't long before she was completely nude and Emma tried to cover herself, not out of shame but because the room was so cold.

The man then began to analyze her as he looked her up and down with that same cold look as before. He lifted up her arms, paying close attention to every detail, before pushing her blonde hair to the side and staring at her neck. The scientist seemed satisfied with whatever he was searching for so he dropped her arm and her arm fell to her side.

It made her uncomfortable the way he had scrutinized her but she knew better than to speak aloud about her discomforts. He turned to look at the others who were watching from down below.

"Все выглядит хорошо, полковник Карпов, думаю, она готова к уколам. Всякий раз, когда вы готовы, сэр." (Everything looks good, Colonel Karpov, I think she's ready for the injections. Whenever you're ready, sir.) The scientist said to Karpov who only nodded as he glanced back at Pierce. Karpov then looked back up at the platform, looking between the scientist and Emma.

"Вставь ее." (Put her in.) Karpov said and the scientist nodded.

Emma looked between Karpov and the scientist, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

She didn't understand.

What was happening?

Before Emma could think any further about the situation, the scientist shoved her hard and she lost her balance, falling into the glass tank. She moaned in pain, the floor of the glass tank was padded but it was still a high fall. Her expression of pain quickly morphed into one of anger as she glared back up at the scientist who had pushed her. She quickly stood up from the floor of the tube.

"What was that for?!" She yelled, glaring at the man in question.

She sounded much like a normal seven year old who might have said the same thing to a boy that was tugging on her pigtails. This, however, was a much more serious situation than the small girl could ever imagine. Her complaints went ignored as the scientist climbed back down the stairs and joined the other scientists who were all huddled around the computers and the odd mechanical contraption she had seen from before.

"С этими расчетами мы договорились?"

"Можете ли вы дать мне показатель выживаемости, и я сравню его с другими предметами?"

"Какой процент формулы Эркскина в настоящее время в ее системе?"

"Когда мы добавляем сыворотку, какие побочные эффекты мы можем ожидать?"

These were all the questions she could hear the scientists rapidly firing off at each other as they fumbled around the lab in the midst of all the computers. They weren't even paying her the slightest attention.

Emma padded her way over to the glass and pressed her hands against it. She spotted Rumlow watching her with the man named Pierce, both of their eyes focused entirely on her. Strucker was hovering over the scientists as they tried to figure something out but Emma couldn't tell what they were trying to do. Karpov stood off to the side, quietly observing the situation before him, sometimes glancing at the scientists but also sometimes looking at her.

What were they going to do to her?

What was her purpose?

Emma didn't have the slightest idea about what her purpose or worth could be to everyone. It wasn't a question that she had thought about for a long time but just the past few months.

It was always quiet at night, right before she fell asleep, and she couldn't help but let herself think. Her thoughts soon drifted to what Hydra wanted from her. She hadn't questioned anything when she first arrived because she was practically a baby back then and she had spent her time crying for her parents. Hydra's intentions were no concern of hers back then. It wasn't until one of those quiet nights that she replayed something that the Winter Soldier had once told her during one of those rare instances where he actually talked.

 _"_ У каждого есть мотив. Гидра ничего не делает бесплатно. Если у вас есть цель, они позволяют вам жить. _(Everyone has a motive. Hydra does nothing for free. If you have a purpose they let you live.)"_

The Winter Soldier had whispered that to her one day when no one was listening. Karpov was too busy overlooking paperwork to pay them much attention that day and the Winter Soldier's voice had been so quiet that even Emma had barely heard it.

 _Maybe he was onto something_ , Emma thought.

At the time his advice had seemed random and senseless but now she understood it a bit better.

Why would Hydra keep her around?

They spent time teaching her and training her but it couldn't have been out of the goodness of their hearts. Rumlow murdered her parents but he didn't kill her.

Why?

He just took her and brought her to the Hydra base.

What did they want with a seven year old girl?

"Заполните бак." (Fill the tank.) One of the scientists said and Emma was broken out of her thoughts.

She suddenly felt a coldness around her feet and looked down only to find that water was quickly entering the glass tank. The small girl watched as the water pooled around her feet and started to move up to her ankles.

She didn't understand.

The blonde girl looked up at the scientists in confusion.

"What is this?!" She called out to them but they ignored her. Emma glared at their backs because she was beyond tired of being ignored.

"Что это?! Пожалуйста! Смотри на меня!" (What is this?! Please! Look at me!) She started calling out in Russian but it did little to gain their attention.

The water was about waist deep this time and it didn't look to be stopping anytime soon. She watched as a scientist climbed up the stairs in what looked to be a diving suit before climbing down the ladder of the glass tank.

There was a ladder?

Then why did that man throw her in?

Emma didn't feel relieved that this scientist was climbing in the tank with her because she honestly doubted that they intended to help her.

The diver had a plastic contraption in his hands.

It looked to be some sort of mask connected to the plastic tubes that went through the glass tank. The diver, without missing a beat, grabbed Emma by the back of her head and put the nozzle over her mouth. The plastic tubes, that were attached to her mask and the glass tank, were then subsequently shoved up her nose with no mercy. She yelped in pain and felt the water coming up to her shoulders. Emma could feel the air from her nose go down through the plastic tubes, entering the nozzle, before traveling through the other larger plastic tubing that went through the glass tank.

The diver, with their job completed, went back to the ladder before climbing back out.

Emma tried to remove the nozzle or do something but it was really stuck.

She heard a distant beeping noise and watched as couple of the plastic tubes, not connected to her nozzle, started moving on their own further into the tank. Emma looked at the tubes in horror as they seemed determined to make their way towards her. She tried to swim away from the tubes but the glass stopped her.

Emma could only watch as one of the tubes stopped once it reached one of her arms, it seemed to hover there for a moment, before it suctioned its way onto her arm. The water was now past her nose and in less than thirty seconds she would be completely submerged in water.

Emma let out a loud scream from beneath her nozzle as the tube punctured her skin and began to dig its way into her body. She lurched forward as she tried to grab onto something to pull herself free but it was useless.

Emma was about to reach over and pull out the tube but her other arm was attacked by another plastic tube. She soon felt the same sensation happen to that arm as well.

It wasn't long before the other plastic tubes found their way to other parts of her body.

Her left leg.

Her right leg.

The left side of her abdomen.

The right side of her abdomen.

The left side of her neck.

The right side of her neck.

Her left hip.

Her right hip.

The tubes were suddenly everywhere and caused the seven year old to scream out in agony but no sound could be heard from under the water, the bubbles could only be seen as evidence of her pain.

Emma watched the plastic tubes as she was completely submerged underwater. She could hear the top of the glass tank closing as the water neared the top of it but she was too occupied with the tubes to pay any attention.

The tubes were empty, the cuts that the tubes made were so clean that no blood escaped from her body. Emma didn't dare move or struggle because the more she moved, the tighter the tubes grabbed ahold of her.

They were a lot like snakes in that way, constricting just like she had read about in the books that Hydra made her read. They wrapped around their prey, tightening their hold more and more until the prey's bones started shattering and they suffocated. It was then that the snake would eat them, entirely consume them without even taking a bite. It was surely a painful way to die and Emma could relate to the prey in that moment.

She watched everyone going about their business outside the tank although she couldn't make out their faces very well with the water in the way. Emma could hear their voices but they sounded distorted from underwater.

A flash of color captured her attention as she glanced to her right, spotting the plastic tubing that was latched onto the right side of her body and ran through the outside of the glass tank. It was the same tubing that was connected to the mechanical contraption she had seen earlier that was pumping the mysterious blue substance.

Her eyes widened as she spotted the blue substance begin to enter the plastic tubing and it seemingly made its way towards her. Emma felt her heartrate climb as she started to panic, the blue substance entering the glass case from inside the tubing. She could see the vivid blue coming closer and closer, causing her to try and move away but the tubing only constricted around her more.

There was no escape.

When the blue substance first entered Emma's blood stream she felt nothing.

However, the feeling of numbness didn't last long.

It was only about five seconds later that she started feeling a burning sensation.

The burning sensation only increased as time went on and more of the blue substance was pumped into her body. She tried screaming but it was muffled from underwater. Emma no longer cared about the tubes constricting as she continued to struggle to break free but there was no point. Emma had never felt such pain in her life and she had experienced a lot of pain so far.

Watching her parents die had been painful and then all the training sessions with Rumlow had also caused her pain…not to mention Karpov's beatings but none of it could even compare to the pain she felt in that moment. It felt as if her entire body was on fire as the blue substance entered every part of her body. It even entered through the tubing that went up her nose.

The substance was everywhere.

It wasn't long before Emma had passed out from the pain and everyone on the outside of the glass tank could only watch in fascination as their little project was in progress. It made them wonder whether or not they would be successful with this subject unlike their work with the previous subjects.

Only time would tell.

"Good job, Dr. List, I have a good feeling about this one." Strucker told the scientist. It was the very same scientist that had analyzed Emma before throwing her into the tank. The scientist seemed a little less confident than Strucker was. They had never used the serum on a subject that was as young as the Project before.

"Don't get your hopes up, Strucker. She may not even survive the injection." Dr. List told him honestly but Strucker only smiled. He watched the blonde girl submerged in the tank. She had long since passed out from the pain but the serum was now within her body. There was no going back for her now. When she awoke, she would be a new and improved human being. Far more advanced than even Captain America.

The girl would be the next step in Hydra's progress in creating the perfect super soldier. Or rather...super assassin. The Winter Soldier wouldn't even stand a chance against the young girl when she became of age. The blonde would be stronger, faster, and better in every way. She would be the perfect specimen but she would also belong to Hydra. The girl would be Hydra's property forever.

"I don't think so, Doctor. She's special." He smirked as he thought about the future that the girl was going to set up for Hydra. "You're looking at Hydra's most powerful weapon."

* * *

When a certain genius billionaire playboy philanthropist was kidnapped and kept imprisoned in a cave in Afghanistan, Emma was already on her third anniversary of her kidnapping while being kept in a cold and dark Hydra base in Siberia. Although...he wouldn't know about that. Like everyone else, the famous billionaire thought that she, like her parents, were dead. Hydra made it look like a tragic house fire but that was far from the truth.

The billionaire would sit in the cave at night and remember a small girl with blonde pigtails and an adorable smile. A cute little toddler who used to smile at him and cheer him up in a way no one else could. She was the daughter of someone who was a friend, father, and brother to him. A combination of every male figure that he severely lacked in childhood.

The man in the cave remembered going to that small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and spending time with that family that seemed to welcome him into their cute little quiet life in the country even if he didn't always deserve it.

Most of all...the man in the cave remembered having somewhere to go for the holidays.

As he thought about the cute blonde girl, the girl he forced himself not to think about for the past three years with the help of a lot of scotch and beautiful women whose names he always forgot in the morning, he realized how good it felt to have someone in his life that was happy to see him. The feeling then faded as he remembered that he'd never have something like that again.

Emma used to remember the man with the odd facial hair and expensive clothes.

She thought of him often during those first few days at the base after her kidnapping. The blonde hadn't understood death at the time but she understood that her parents were gone and weren't coming back. However, she also held hope that maybe her Uncle Tony would find her and rescue her from the very cold and dark dungeon as if she were a princess locked in a tower and he was her knight in shining armor.

That was just the thing though.

He never came and she soon lost hope.

Her uncle never saved her nor did anyone else for that matter. It was almost like Emma was a forgotten footnote in history. Like she never existed at all. People went about their lives after the supposed death of the Rogers family. The people who were the closest to the family would always carry pain with them wherever they went but they still moved on.

The world went on too for that matter.

It didn't take long for Emma to forget her uncle either. His face, much like her parents' faces, became an empty space in her mind. She soon forgot his name as well. Emma could still remember the idea of him but she no longer remembered him as a person. Her young age and not to mention Hydra's very subtle and discreet brainwashing seemed to erase more and more from her former life in Oklahoma. Soon Emma would no longer have any attachments to her previous life and she would be committed to her purpose in Hydra one hundred perfect.

That's what Hydra hoped for, at least.

* * *

 **More Russian Translations:**

С этими расчетами мы договорились: Are these the calculations we agreed upon?

Можете ли вы дать мне показатель выживаемости, и я сравню его с другими предметами: Can you give me the survival rate and I'll compare it to the other subjects?

Какой процент формулы Эркскина в настоящее время в ее системе: What is the percentage of Erskine's formula currently in her system?

Когда мы добавляем сыворотку, какие побочные эффекты мы можем ожидать: When we add the serum what side effects can we expect?


	5. Chapter Four

"Emma? Emma, sweetheart, it's time to wake up." Emma's eyes fluttered open as she awakened from what felt like a deep sleep. The first thing that struck her was how bright it was and not from the usual florescent lights that she was used to at the Hydra base. No, it felt warm against her face…the heat making her feel healthier than she had felt in a long time. It was the sun.

Emma smiled as she felt the sun against her skin. She hadn't seen the sun since she was taken from her home in Oklahoma. It had been years and Emma had long forgotten the way it had felt against her skin. It struck her in that moment just how much she had missed the sun. Too much time had passed since she had last felt this warm. Emma sat up from the ground where she had been laying. The grass was green and lush, feeling soft against her back and the ground beneath it was earthy. She could see miles upon miles of green as far as the eye could see. The sky was incredibly blue without a cloud to be seen and sun was so bright and warm that she had to shield her eyes from its brightness.

"Oh, Emma, you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?" Emma turned to look at the person speaking. The voice sounded so familiar to her ears that it caused her to briefly lose her breath. Emma's eyes widened surprise as she saw the one person she never expected to see again. Her mother.

Margot Rogers still looked just as she did the last time Emma had seen her alive. Her pale skin practically glowing under the sunlight, her dozens of freckles making her look even more like the fairy she resembled. Her vibrant red hair shone in the sun, making her look more angelic than anything. Maybe fairy was the wrong word for her. Her emerald green eyes stared at Emma with such lovingness that it completely floored the small girl. No one had looked at Emma like that in so long. What was most mesmerizing about Emma's mother was her beautiful smile. Margot's smile felt like the sun itself.

"Mommy?" Emma said, sounding exactly like the age she was…the age she forgot she was.

"Hello, Emma." Emma's eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she looked at her mother's face. Analyzing every detail and storing it in her memory.

"What is this?" Margot smiled.

"A place where only light and happiness can enter." Emma sniffled as she struggled not to cry. Her years at Hydra had made it a habit of hers…not to cry or show any signs of weakness.

"Am I dreaming?" Margot's smile didn't falter as she gently pushed a strand of Emma's blonde hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear with more grace than humanly possible.

"Yes. That's why only light and happiness can enter because you're full of light." Emma felt saddened that it was only a dream but she didn't care. If it meant that she got to spend any time with her mother, even a dream version of her mother, she would take it.

"What about daddy? Is he okay? Is he with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Edith?" Emma asked in reference to her deceased grandfather on her father's side and deceased grandmother on her mother's side. Emma knew it was only a dream but it would be nice to know if everyone was safe and happy.

"Yes, he's on a fishing trip with your Grandpa Steve as we speak. They're talking about things only a father and son can understand." Her mother told her as she ran her fingers through Emma's hair. Emma smiled as she listened to her mother tell her about the happy life they were living. It was a nice notion that her father could be reunited with his father in death… the father he never got to know. None of it was real but it was a nice thought.

"That's nice." Something occurred to Emma in that moment. If this was a dream then she would have to go back to the real world… The Hydra base. "When I wake up I'll be back at the base, won't I?"

"I'm afraid so." A tear escaped Emma's eye as she leaned forward and hugged her mother as tightly as she could. She buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck and basked in the vanilla scent of her mother's hair.

"I don't want to go back, mommy. I want to stay here with you…forever." Her mother soothingly stroked her back, wrapping an arm around her.

"I know, sweetheart, but you can't."

"What do I do, mommy? Hydra wants me for something and they scare me so much." Emma cried and her mother pulled away to look her in the eyes.

"You stay, Emma, you do exactly as they tell you. You listen to them…You learn from them…and then, when the time is right, you'll fight." Margot told her seriously and Emma took in her words. "Promise that you'll do as I say, Emma." The little girl nodded furiously.

"I promise, mommy." Margot seemed satisfied so she backed off a little.

"When Winter comes back stay with him. He'll keep you safe." Emma didn't say anything as she listened to her mother. She knew who her mother was talking about and for some reason she already knew that she could trust him. It had been so long since she had seen him but Emma was sure she'd see him soon. Maybe sooner than she had ever expected.

"I love you, mommy, and I miss you every day too…I didn't know if you knew that." Emma told her mother but her mother only smiled.

"I know, sweetheart, I've always known. I love you too…more than I've ever loved anything." Emma smiled back at her. Her mother's emerald green eyes locked onto hers, green meeting blue.

"Stay strong, Emma."

* * *

Emma coughed as she woke up from her dream and instantly felt the loss of warmth and sunshine. She didn't feel as light and free as did back in her dream with her mother. She felt pure agony and pain…It was almost as if her entire body was on fire if anyone could comprehend that. She moaned in pain as she clenched her fists before moaning in more pain because she clenched her fists too tightly. How odd? Emma opened her eyes and immediately shut them from the amount of color that just flashed before her. The flash of color had been so bright that it felt blinding. It was then that her other senses started coming out of the wood work and it all became too much at once.

She could hear the chattering of what felt to be like a dozen or so people in her ears. It was like they were right in the room with her, talking into her ear, but she didn't feel anyone's presence in her room. Sensing whether someone was in a room with her or not was something that Winter had taught her but she couldn't sense a single person in that room with her. The sound of gunfire could also be heard but yet she felt no vibrations within the room from the gun shots. Emma heard a clicking and clacking sound that she normally only heard when someone was typing on a keyboard but no one ever kept computers near her.

Her sense of smell hit her like a truck, it was so overwhelming that her head began to hurt. She could smell the scent of the lab but like nothing she had ever smelt before. It smelled like alcohol and cotton balls but she could also smell other scents. Emma could smell the strong scent of cabbage soup that was normally served in the kitchen of the base, all the seasonings and ingredients. There was also something foul that smelt like it might've been coming from somewhere else…a smoky smell…could it be…gunpowder?

Emma opened her eyes and was immediately hit with the brightness once again. It was like every color imaginable was being flashed right in front of her eyes. She had seen different shades of colors that she had never even seen before. It was incredibly beautiful and bright but then it got progressively worse. It wasn't just the hospital room she saw around her with all the medical and laboratory equipment. No, it was all the fibers in the blanket strewn across the small bed she was currently occupying. It was every chip in the white paint on the wall and every scuff mark on the concrete floors. She saw the little bare spots on the buttons of the lab equipment where the paint had been rubbed off from excessive use. It all became too overwhelming for Emma especially when everything was coming at her all at once. She began to feel a pounding ache in her head and immediately shut her eyes before placing her head between her knees, trying to block all the senses that were coming out of her.

She screamed at her new found heightened senses as well as the burning sensation that was all over her body. A group of people entered the room, she could feel their presence, and the pain became worst because she could smell every single one of them. Emma cried, tears streaming down her face, and she felt them begin to restrain her. They grabbed at her, trying to rip her out of her fetal position. This angered Emma as she reopened her eyes, blue orbs full of too much anger and hatred for a seven year old. She ignored the burning of her eyes, from the colors, and grabbed one of Russian scientists roughly. Emma gripped the front of his shirt, bringing him mere inches away from her face. He stared at her in fear, the expression clear in his eyes, and it was the first time someone at the base had ever feared her. She growled at him before throwing him backwards with just the slightest amount of force, sending him crashing into the wall in back of him. Emma's anger vanished as she stared in shock at what she had done. All the other scientists had let go of her at the point, too afraid of what she might do to them.

"Zvonite v okhranniki! Teper'! Yey nuzhno uspokoit'sya!" (Call in the guards! Now! She needs to be sedated!) They yelled out. It was only a moment later when the guards came into the room, Rumlow at the head of them, guns pointed in her direction. Her eyes widened a bit at the sight and she settled down a bit more but she still whimpered from the pain of everything. Rumlow smirked at her.

"Well, I see Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"What did you do to me? Why does everything burn?" Rumlow, seeing that Emma had calmed down somewhat, nodded at the others to back off.

"What did we do _to_ you ? No, princess, I think you mean what have we done _for_ you." Rumlow quipped. "You've always been special but now you're even more so. Even more special than your father or his father before him."

"I don't understand." Rumlow only smirked.

"You will someday." He ruffled her hair which caused her to give him a heated glare.

"Make it stop. Make the pain stop." She begged but Rumlow just gave her a patronizing look. A look that she learned to hate in the past year since she became better acquainted with him.

"I'm sorry, princess, but pain is a mere side effect to your greatness. You're just going to have to grin and bare it." Rumlow paused briefly as he looked at her with an expression of crazed admiration.

"Just remember…It's all for Hydra." Rumlow glanced back at the other agents. "Restrain her."

Emma cried out in pain as they cuffed her hands with heavy chains, tying her to the posts of the bed. Emma screamed and tried to break out of the chains but it was much too strong for her in the state she was in. The feeling of fire flooding through her veins returned now that she was free of all distractions. If there was a God out there Emma begged that he would end the pain right then and there…She begged him to do anything just so she could be free from the pain and free from Hydra.

* * *

It was one week later when the burning finally stopped and Emma made it through the aftermath of the injections. Most of the scientists thought that Emma wouldn't make it but she managed to pull through. The only one who had any faith in her endurance was Strucker but that was mostly out of the insane need for her potential rather than concern for her well-being. Her senses were still out of focus but Emma was functioning as well as she could. She knew that they injected her with something that had heightened her senses as well as her strength. Emma was seven but she wasn't stupid. The only problem that she had was that she still didn't know why she was doing all of this and why her of all the seven year old girls in the world. Rumlow had called her special and also called her father and grandfather special. What made them all special?

"It looks like you have a special guest today, child." Colonel Karpov said as he walked into her room. She had been moved the day before after she made a full recovery. There had been nothing much to do since she was moved back to her room. The scientists said the training wouldn't be a smart idea since she was still getting used to her enhancements. So Karpov had supplied her with books to further her studying. It wasn't as if Emma was complaining because any distraction was preferred. She glanced at him as he entered the room but was taken surprise when she saw who had followed him into the room. It was the Winter Soldier.

He still looked just how she remembered him with his cold blue eyes, long brown hair, and serious facial expression. Emma felt the suddenly need to hop out of bed and hug him but she reminded herself that it would be quite silly of her to do so and also possibly deadly. Winter didn't seem like the cuddly type. It had been over a year since she had seen him last but she found that he still looked just the same as she remembered. Emma cleared her throat as she forced herself to look calm and collected.

"Hello, Winter…It's been a long time." She greeted coolly in English. The Winter Soldier just stared at her, his expression unwavering.

"You'll have to excuse him, child, he's been away for a very long time so his memory might be a little hazy." Karpov said as he smirked like he knew something that she didn't. "I'm sure you'll understand."

"Of course, sir." Emma answered but was a little confused as to what Karpov was talking about.

"The Winter Soldier will continue with your training effective immediately." Emma stared at him when he said that. She looked between Winter and Karpov, trying to make sense of what he just told her.

"So does this mean Agent Rumlow won't be training me anymore?" Emma asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. Karpov only smiled as he watched the small girl try to disguise her hopefulness. Sometimes she really was a little too easy to read. They would have to fix that.

"Agent Rumlow is being called away for the current time being so he will cease your training…for now. Besides…we believe that you have a lot more in common with the Winter Soldier than Agent Rumlow." He told her and Emma wondered what he meant by that.

Why would she have anything in common with any of them? They were all grown men and she was a seven year old girl. Granted now she had enhanced abilities but she was still just a girl.

"Now that you've undergone the injections we can start your _real_ training." Karpov said although he seemed a little too happy for Emma's liking. Real training? Then what had she been doing for the past almost three years? Emma didn't know what Karpov meant by real training but she didn't think she was going to like it…and she was right.

"You'll need to be quicker than that, you insolent child." Karpov called out to her as he watched The Winter Soldier and Emma spar. It was the first time Emma had ever fought Winter and she could already tell that he was a lot stronger than Rumlow. Emma was currently learning how to dodge attacks but Winter was very unpredictable in his fighting. He kicked out his leg, trying to deliver a kick to her side, and nearly kicked her when Emma dodged the kick last minute. While Winter was extremely powerful and strong, Emma was a lot faster and agile than he was. This was something they learned very quickly. "Good…very good. Now you must learn how to attack as quickly as you dodge and avoid."

When Winter turned around and attempted to deliver a punch to her side, she quickly dodged the attack again. This time, however, she had tried to deliver a punch of her own since he was distracted by the miss. It was a move that Winter had shown her nearly a year ago when he was last training her. As Emma flung out her wrist to deliver the punch, it didn't seem as though she was quite at the level with her attacks as she was at her level of dodging attacks. Winter immediately caught her hand in his grasp before flipping her over and placing her in a headlock on the floor. She winced at the pain but the pain was only there for one second and then vanished in an instant.

"Your attack was sloppy. You have to be quicker than the enemy in not only your avoidance of hits but also in your deliverance of hits." Karpov told her in a scolding tone and Emma glared at him as she tried to fight her way out of Winter's headlock. He had grabbed her with his nonmetal arm but he was still just as strong with that arm as he was with the other. An idea quickly formed in Emma's head as she struggled underneath his strength. Emma leaned her head forward and then clamped her teeth down hard on his hand, biting him until she drew blood. Winter's grip slackened from the force of the bite and Emma was able to disentangle herself from his arms, rolling away from him before she got back up in a defensive stance. Winter surveyed his wound before looking at her with an expression of bewilderment and annoyance. Karpov could be heard chuckling in the background.

"Yes, fight dirty. There are no wrong moves as long as you can walk away from a fight. Whatever means necessary." He told her. Winter then began to stalk towards her and Emma got ready to attack again or at the very least dodge one of his attacks. When he got closer, Emma planned out what she was going to do in her head. She planned to punch him in the left side of his face. It would be a move he wouldn't expect since she was way too short to reach his height. With all the effort she would have to jump and fling herself in his direction it better be a surprise. As he approached Emma quickly jumped in the air, expecting to fling her wrist out and punch him before landing back on the ground but she was sorely mistaken. Emma never landed back on the ground.

As she flung herself through the air towards Winter she felt herself going higher and higher instead of flailing through the air. The Winter Soldier watched in fascination as, instead of landing on the ground, Emma appeared to be flying backwards through the air. Her eyes widened in both fear and surprise as she felt as if some mysterious force was pulling her back and away from the ground. Emma didn't stop flying through the air until her back hit the ceiling of the training room. The small blonde flailed her hands out around her as she searched for something to grab onto. She could spot the figures of both Winter and Karpov on the ground. Karpov was watching her in shock.

"Ona mozhet letat'." (She can fly.) Karpov remarked, although it sounded like he was talking more to himself than anyone else. Emma could still hear him with her enhanced hearing. "neimovernyy." (Incredible.)

"Um… I don't know how to get down." Emma said, as she prayed to anyone who was listening that she wouldn't fall from that high up. She wasn't sure if her enhanced abilities could heal her from a fall that high.

"You flew up there." Karpov said, a smile on his face which was a rare sight to be seen. "You can fly back down."

Emma nodded, swallowing in fear. It was kind of gross being up there against the ceiling, especially since it was very dirty and smelled foul. She would like nothing more than to be back on the ground again, the floor beneath her feet. If she pushed herself off the ceiling would she fall or just simply float down? Emma really hoped that she floated down like an angel rather than fall down on her face like an idiot. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before she threw herself down from the ceiling. Emma was absolutely positive it would feel like she was falling but she was wrong. It felt like she was swiftly gliding through the air almost like how she felt when she was swimming. She opened her eyes again and saw that the ground was becoming closer and closer. In what felt instinctual to Emma, she turned her body the other way with her feet positioned towards the ground and braced herself for landing.

Emma landed on the ground softly, her eyes still wide with shock. It felt like a dream…Flying that is. She had a dream once where she flew far away from the base and flew all the way back home to that farm house in Oklahoma. It was only a dream but it felt real…almost as real as it felt when she was flying through the air just now. Emma glance down at her body, trying to look over her shoulders to see if she sprouted any wings but there nothing of that sort. Winter just stared at her with an unreadable expression but Karpov looked at her like he had never looked at her before. His expression was of pure awe and admiration which surprised Emma seeing as how he wasn't an easy man to impress.

"I need to get the others. Strucker and Pierce will want to know about this…yes, they'll be very pleased with this new information." Karpov said but she got the strongest feeling that he wasn't really talking to them but himself. He looked purely delighted at the sight of Emma and it made her feel like this was good news. Whether it was good news for her or them she did not know. He glanced at Winter.

"Watch her. I will need to inform the others about this." Karpov told only gave him a brief nod before Karpov went racing out of the room. Emma and Winter watched him leave with identical looks of curiosity. They were silent for a few minutes as Winter watched her while Emma was locked within her own thoughts. Despite how happy Karpov had seemed, which was about as rare of a sight as a unicorn, something told her that this wouldn't end well for her. What was good for Karpov might not have been good for her. Emma looked at Winter who was still staring at her with a stoic expression; he was taking his task to heart it seemed.

"What does this mean, Winter?" Emma asked him. She had taken to calling him Winter ever since they resumed their training. At first Emma had been afraid that he might not have accepted the nickname but Winter never gave any indication that he minded the name. "Is it a good thing?"

"It means that Hydra's found your purpose." He said quietly without any falter in his blank expression. To anyone else's ears this might have sounded reassuring but something in those pale blue eyes told her that this wasn't reassuring at all. His tone was cold and empty but Emma knew him well enough to hear the faint falter. Could it be concern? There had never been one person at this base who had ever felt concern for her so hearing something that was so out of the norm in Winter's voice caused her think that yes…it was concern. She remembered what he told her before he mysteriously vanished. If she had a purpose than she would live. It didn't mean that this was necessarily a good thing. It just meant that Hydra might keep her around a lot longer than they originally planned for. Just like Winter she had become an asset instead of a project. There was no telling what this would mean for her but she got the distinct feeling that things at the base weren't about to get any easier for her.


	6. Chapter Five

Hydra Base

Location: Siberia, Russia

2009

She was finally privy to Hydra base information or that's what Karpov told her at least. Not that she really believed anything he ever told her. Apparently she was finally acting like an adult so she got to know some of the things that adults at the base got to know. It had been a long nine months of training since the injections but Emma was finally being put through the final trials. It made her the slightest bit excited just because she had worked so hard on her training and she was about to be recognized for it.

Spending so much time training with Winter had made her admire him…it made her want to be like him in fact. How could she not want to be like him? He was full of grace and power, everyone feared him…even Rumlow and Karpov feared him on some level. Emma wanted them to fear her just like they feared him but unfortunately Rumlow and Karpov were immune to the same kind of fear that the majority of the Russian scientists held for her.

Her days at the Hydra base in Siberia, were she had grown up, consisted of fighting in hand to hand combat that wasn't just limited to Winter anymore. Karpov had her fighting real Hydra agents and she defeated them all with little to no effort given her enhancements. Hydra had her trained in weaponry…from shooting anything from a .22 magnum pistol to a bazooka as well as everything in between. Emma learned how to drive a car in the circumstance that she might have to drive a getaway car…they even taught her how to steal one in case of a bigger emergency. She took lessons from several of the explosives experts, at the base, on how to make bombs. They were a little disturbed at just how excited Emma got over the explosions and made an effort to hide all explosive equipment away from the now eight year old girl. Hydra gave her advanced swimming lessons that were really just lessons on deep sea diving and a test to see how long she could hold her breath underwater. The answer was thirty three minutes and twenty seven seconds.

Hydra prepared Emma for every possible situation and every possible outcome. A lot of the time they were sadistic in their methods. They laid out scenarios in which Emma would be tortured like water boarding which was how they learned she could hold her breath that long underwater. Electrocution. Knives. Pliers. Poisoning. And of course Emma just had to learn what it felt like to be beaten within an inch of her life or shot a couple of times. Emma watched as Strucker and Rumlow stabbed her countless times with knives of different shapes and sizes because they were curious how fast her healing factor was. It was fast, they found out, but not fast enough for Emma.

She wasn't immune to pain and sometimes the young girl was glad that she could feel the pain because the pain only continued to fuel her hatred for Rumlow. She was getting stronger every day but she knew now was not the right time to end him. Eventually but she was going to wait until she was much older. Old enough that she could come up with an elaborate plan of his murder and how to get away with it without Hydra finding out. It seemed almost impossible since Rumlow was one of Hydra's top agents but Emma knew that she could pull it off if she was patient enough.

Her ability to fly, which had been discovered nearly a year ago, provoked Hydra into trying to improve the ability although they were clueless how. It wasn't like there was anyone else that could fly at the base. Winter didn't seem to have that ability although it often made her smile when she would try and imagine him flying. With time she was able to control her flying a lot better and be able to direct herself towards more specific locations rather than flying every which way. It was a nice ability to have especially when she needed to have some time to herself. She could just hang out around the ceiling whenever she tried to avoid Rumlow. There was always the fact that she would have to come down eventually but at least she got an extra fifteen minutes to herself.

"Akt, polkovnik Karpov khotel by videt' vas v svoyem kabinete." (Asset, Colonel Karpov would like to see you in his office.) One of the Hydra agents told her. Emma was reading up on a book Karpov had assigned to her. Chemical warfare. How…kind of him. She looked up from the book, sparing the agent a glance as he looked at her from the doorway of her room. She had been to Karpov's office a few times in the past but it was only when he was inquiring about how well her training and studying was going. Since her training had ventured into other areas, she hadn't seen as much of him.

Emma nodded as she got up from her place on the bed, setting her book down on the bedside table. Her room was as sterile looking as any other room in the Hydra base with its concrete floors and white colored walls. There was only a small twin sized bed with a pillow, gray sheets, and a comforter. There was also a metal bedside table with a plastic lamp that didn't work half the time and a tiny closet with about four outfits inside of it. A basic outfit which consisted of gray form fitting pants, a white shirt, and white sneakers. Her hospital gown that was used for her trips to the lab. Her training outfit that consisted of black leggings, a loose gray shirt, and black running shoes. Finally…a simple navy blue bathing suit. There was no items of any personal value within the room unless you counted the books that she was assigned to read by Hydra and she didn't count those books.

"Konechno." (Of course.) Emma said as she started to follow the man out of the room. She was finally getting used to being called Asset even though it was a confusing concept since Winter was also called Asset. Emma kept a stoic expression on her face as she walked down the hall, something that she had copied from Winter in an attempt to be more like him. All the other Hydra agents also seemed to keep similar expressions on their faces at all times but Emma liked to think that hers was the best since she copied it from the best.

When they reached Karpov's office, Emma was a bit more surprised at what she saw waiting for her. She barely noticed when the agent left the room, closing the door behind him. Inside Karpov's office was not only Winter, Rumlow, and Strucker but also the mysterious man that had been there when she received the injections. The man who they called Mr. Pierce and the very same man that had seemed familiar to her. Today, he didn't seem quite as serious as he had before. The man seemed almost…nice as he looked at her with a fatherly looking smile on his face. Emma was taken back by that look.

"Ah, Asset, I've see that you've finally arrived." Karpov commented in English with a small but fake looking smile. He looked to be mimicking the same expression on Mr. Pierce's face but it really didn't suit the Russian Colonel. It looked more like grimace on him than a smile.

"Is this about my training, sir?" Emma inquired politely. She knew that it most likely wasn't about her training if a whole group of important people were huddled inside Karpov's office. It slightly unnerved her but Emma kept her expression calm and collected, something that she had managed to master these past several months.

"In a sense…yes." Karpov replied. "It's actually why Mr. Pierce has come all the way here from Washington D.C." Emma looked between Karpov and Pierce curiously as the older man took a step forward.

"Hello, Emma, I don't believe we've officially met." Pierce greeted as he took her hand in his before shaking it. Emma was a bit taken back by the gesture but the calm look on her face was unwavering. It freaked her out a great deal that the man called her by her real name since she hadn't been called Emma by anyone in years. Everyone referred to her as "The Asset" or "Stupid Little Girl". "I'm Secretary Alexander Pierce with Shield but with Hydra more unofficially of course."

"It's a pleasure, Secretary Pierce." Emma greeted formally, not knowing what else to say.

"I've been watching your progress here at Hydra with a close eye and I have to say I'm very impressed." Pierce complimented and Emma swallowed, completely at a lost.

"Oh, well, thank you." Pierce smiled.

"I have to say that I had my doubts about you…what with your young age but you've really proven yourself." Pierce continued to say. "You've proven yourself so much that I believe you're ready for the next step."

"Next step?" Emma asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Pierce grinned as he lazily wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders as if they were old buddies.

"Yes, the next step. Your first mission." Pierce told her, causing Emma's eyes to widen in surprise. Her first mission? Emma knew that she was going through the final trials but she thought they would make her wait years before giving her a mission. She felt excitement surge through her because this was finally it. All the training she had worked so hard at in the past four years and it all finally paid off.

"My first mission?" Pierce gave her an amused look at the excited look on her face. Her devotion to their cause seemed to be a lot greater than he originally hoped. Little did he knew that Emma actually didn't care about the cause but more about actually getting out into the field and putting all her training to good use. Her main goal was to prove to everyone that she was just as strong and powerful as Winter…just as scary too.

"Yes, but since this will be your first mission the Winter Soldier will accompany you for good measure." Emma nodded and was even more excited at the prospect as she glanced at Winter who was watching everything unfold with a blank look on his face. She couldn't wait until they got to leave for their first mission. Her first mission and it was with her best friend? Well, he actually didn't know he was her best friend but still.

"Of course, Secretary Pierce." She replied. Pierce only stared at her but there was something that flashed in his eyes that Emma couldn't quite decipher. How odd…

"Now that we've got all that settled, let's move onto the mission." Rumlow stated as he changed the subject and got things moving in a different direction. There was a large screen in Karpov's office that Emma had always been curious about. She couldn't picture the Russian Colonel watching movies all day so she always wondered what it's use was for but now she knew. Rumlow brought up a profile of sorts onto the screen and Emma saw the picture of a Middle Eastern looking man. He was an older man, looking to be somewhere in his fifties, probably middle aged.

"Dr. Amir Farhad Bahrom." Rumlow announced the name. "A nuclear engineer, one of the most decorated ones in the world currently and was also a faithful member of Hydra until yesterday." Emma watched before her eyes as words and pictures filled up the screen. There was brief details about Dr. Bahrom's accomplishments in the world of nuclear engineering as well as details about his family. A wife and two sons who were only a little older than Emma herself.

"Dr. Bahrom has decided to defect over to Shield although Shield still has no idea about Hydra's existence but I'm sure the good doctor will be all too eager to inform Shield of that bit of information." Rumlow said the last part with a bit of a sarcastic tone before moving on. "He has vital information about our organization that could potentially destroy everything we've built if it ends up in the hands of Shield."

"Tomorrow afternoon, at approximately 3:25, a Shield agent will be escorting Dr. Bahrom in a 2009 beige Hummer H3." Rumlow continued as another picture flashed up on the screen. This time the picture was of a woman who looked to be in her mid to late twenties. She was very beautiful, Emma noted, and she reminded Emma a lot of her mother with the same vibrant red hair and emerald green eyes. "Agent Natasha Romanoff, formerly known as Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, other alias…The Black Widow. A Former KGB agent, she was trained from a young age and is now considered to be one of the world's greatest spy and assassin. She defected to Shield a few years ago and has proven to be loyal to the agency ever since. She is the Shield agent that will be escorting Dr. Bahrom tomorrow to a Shield safe house located just outside of Odessa, Iran."

Emma was in awe of what she had learnt from Rumlow about the woman called the Black Widow. She was beautiful yet deadly. A woman that was considered the best spy and assassin in the whole world. Rumlow had said that the Black Widow had been trained from a young age…that wasn't so different from her. It sounded like Emma and this Natasha Romanoff had a lot in common.

"Your mission is to eliminate your target, Dr. Bahrom, as covertly as possible." Rumlow ended the presentation and looked around the room. "Any questions?"

"Is Agent Romanoff a target too?" Emma asked curiously. She kind of hoped that Natasha Romanoff wasn't also a target. The woman reminded her too much of her mother and she also seemed to have a lot in common with Emma. It would be a shame if she was given the order to kill the older woman but Emma supposed she would have to if it came down to it.

"Only if Agent Romanoff gets in the way." Emma nodded as she took in Rumlow's information. Rumlow then began to dismiss Emma and Winter. "The both of you will be heading out early tomorrow morning so you should start preparing now."

"Wait…" Strucker said before Emma and Winter could leave the room. He walked forward with a box in his hands. Emma gave him a curious look and Winter stopped at the door, waiting patiently for the moment that he and Emma could leave.

"Dr. List has developed a special suit for you, Asset." Strucker told her as he began to open the box. Emma had a confused expression on her face once she saw what was inside. It looked to be some sort of one piece, spandex uniform. A catsuit? That's what it looked like. It was black in color and Emma could tell it would be very useful to her in the field, allowing her to move quicker and faster than she was able to in her regular training outfit. There were two gun holsters positioned on each hip as well as various other clips located on the catsuit, proving that it could contain multiple weapons. Emma spotted a flash of vibrant green around the belt of the suit and became even more intrigued when she saw the symbol of what looked to be some sort of snake. The sight unnerved her because Emma was desperately afraid of snakes ever since the injections. She could still feel the plastic tubing constricting around every time she struggled underneath the water. It gave her nightmares to this very day.

"What is that?" Emma asked as she pointed at the symbol of the snake. She fully knew what it was but she wanted to know what it was doing on the suit.

"That, my dear, is a snake…a viper to be precise." Strucker told her with a smile. Emma nodded but her eyes never once left the haunting symbol.

"Why?" She inquired.

"Because it's your code name in the field, silly girl. The Winter Soldier already has his own title and yours can't be the same even if you're part of the Winter Soldier program." Strucker told her although there was no malice in his tone. He seemed delighted to speak more of the topic. She figured it was something he had been planning for a very long time. "So you will be called "The Viper Assassin", another ghost story for all the intelligence agencies. It will be the name that will strike fear in the hearts of male and female agents alike…all around the world too."

"That sounds good, sir. Thank you for the suit." Emma said formally although she hated the idea of being named after the one thing that still gave her nightmares. Strucker smirked at her.

"That is not all." He lifted the suit up, showing her the sleeves. Emma saw more streaks of green that went down from the shoulders and ending right at the wrists. It looked more like the plastic tubing she remembered from the glass tank but it was a lot thinner. Emma watched the green inside the plastic tubing move and she soon realized that it was some sort of substance. For a moment she feared that they would inject her with it like they had with the blue substance but she realized that was silly. It was in her suit after all.

"What is it for?" Emma asked, inquiring about the green substance.

"It's a toxic gas that Dr. List created. It shoots out of the suit in lethal dosages, just in case your targets get a little too close for your liking and you need to eliminate them quickly." Strucker told her before grabbing her arm. She stiffened as he grabbed her but did nothing to stop him and instead watched as he turned her arm over. Strucker kept her arm still but pushed the palm of her hand down. "Whenever you make this sort of motion with your hand, the gas will be released. Don't worry…it's not harmful to you. It only effects standard humans and not the enhanced. Dr. List and I call it "Viper Bites"."

"Thank you again, sir. I most appreciate your considerate gift." She said, thanking him again although she was deeply disturbed by the deadly substance that would be sitting in her suit whilst she wore it. Strucker did say it wasn't harmful to her but that didn't make her feel any less creeped out about it. Strucker nodded, seeming pleased with her reaction and with that both her and Winter were dismissed from the room.

"Good luck on the mission and hail Hydra." Strucker said and everyone repeated something similar to the notion of "Hail Hydra". Even Winter repeated the saying before all eyes fell onto Emma. Emma had never been considered high enough of rank to ever be in participation of a meeting that used the familiar greeting so she was taken by surprise when she was also expected to express the saying. Emma blushed as all eyes were on her before she bravely said the two words with as much passion and devotion she could muster…words that she couldn't even comprehend or understand the meaning behind.

"Hail Hydra!"

* * *

They walked side by side down the hall and Emma couldn't help but seemed as impassive as ever but part of her felt that he might've been a little excited too…deep down.

"Can you believe it, Winter? I'm finally being given my first mission!" She said excitedly and the Winter Soldier only spared her a quick glance before staring straight ahead.

"Come on, you have to be kind of excited too. Instead of hanging around stupid Rumlow you get hang out with me instead. I'm a lot more interesting, you know." He still didn't say anything, causing Emma to sigh.

"Well, that was interesting. I got my first mission, a uniform with a toxic gas, and we're also going up against one of the top spies/assassins in the world. That's got to be a little intimidating, right?" Still no answer. "Well, Secretary Pierce seemed really nice. He even called me Emma…no one's called me Emma in years. I think I like him."

"He's not your friend." Emma whipped her head around to look at her unofficial friend. His voice was gruff and quiet as usual. For a moment Emma thought she may have been imagining things since Winter gave no indication that he had said anything. He was still staring straight ahead with a stoic expression on his face.

"What was that?" She questioned.

"Pierce is not your friend. You're an asset to Hydra so you serve a purpose and that's the extent of how he feels about you." His head didn't move but Winter's eyes glanced down at her. "Don't trust him."

"Um… okay. I'll keep that in mind." Emma told him awkwardly as she considered what he told her. Secretary Pierce had seemed kind and fatherly. There didn't seem to be anything evil and nasty about him. There was also the fact that Emma could swear that she had met him before…maybe in her other life. The life where she lived in a farm house in Oklahoma with her parents. However, the Winter Soldier rarely spoke so when he gave her that advice, Emma was left with the thought that she might have to take it to heart. When had the Winter Soldier's advice ever failed her?

"It's super hot out here, Winter." Emma complained as they were driving somewhere out in the desert. It had been such a shock to Emma when they got out of the plane in Iran and the sun hit her face. Emma hadn't seen the sun in years…ever since she was taken from her home when she was four. It didn't take long before the hot Iranian heat started to get to her because spending four years in an underground base in Siberia will do that to you. Luckily, Emma didn't seem to sweat due to her enhancements.

Winter was driving a discreet hummer that almost matched the one that Agent Romanoff was supposed to be driving. It felt like they had been driving for hours and they probably had been. Winter didn't say anything during the whole ride. Emma had learned not to mind his silence a long time ago. She was used to being the one who did all the talking while he was the one that remained silent and just listened.

"How much further do we have to go?" Emma inquired and this time Winter did speak.

"Five miles." Emma's eyes lightened up as she heard his answer. She smiled and felt the excitement surge through her.

"Only five miles? Wow…we're so close." She commented but the smile fell off her face. It was then that it finally hit her that this was her first mission. This would be the mission that was going to be a test to show Hydra whether or not she had reached her full potential. Emma would be expected to kill and act just as ruthlessly as Winter. Could she really be that ruthless? She admired Winter more than anyone but could she kill like he did? Could Emma walk away and feel nothingness like he did? Suddenly Emma wasn't so sure.

"Winter, how am I supposed to do this?" Winter threw her a look that said 'Are you really asking me this now?'.

"Don't look at me like that. I mean I know how to do it. This is what I've been training for all these years but they don't teach you how to go through with it." Emma explained and Winter gave her a look of understanding. He looked back at the road without giving her another look.

"I will show you how." He said quietly. His tone was firm and determined, making Emma feel like she wasn't completely alone in this.

"Thank you." Emma whispered quietly but he didn't reply and he didn't have to.

Winter parked the Hummer on an elevated hilltop amongst all the other smaller, brownish hilltops. They were well above the main road that really was more of a pathway than an actual drivable road. Their chosen location gave them a wide view of any oncoming vehicles down on that desert road. It wasn't too far away from the road so that if the target escaped them that they would still be able to chase them down.

Emma had a sniper rifle in her hand, positioned in front of her as she lay on her stomach right behind the edge of the hilltop. Winter was standing in back of her, leaning against the hummer and out of view from down below. The plan was to wait for the target's hummer to arrive on the road and then to shoot out the vehicle's tires. The action would send the hummer careening over the cliff and hopefully eliminate the target. Once the hummer was sent over the cliff then both her and Winter would survey the area to make sure that the target had been successfully eliminated.

"How long do we have to wait for?" She complained but Winter did not answer her. The sun was beating down on her and it was making her feel stir crazy.

"I thought they were supposed to be through here twelve minutes ago? What if we missed them?" Emma questioned further.

"They will come." Winter told her in that firm tone he always used when he didn't want to argue with her. Emma rolled her eyes before she looked through the scope even though she really didn't need a scope with her enhanced vision. She surveyed the surrounding area, spotting little desert creatures every now and then. The desert was immensely quiet, not a sound to be heard which was a rarity for Emma since she could usually hear everything all at once. Recently she had been able to block out certain sounds and only focus on ones in particular. It was then when Emma heard the sound of a car engine and the crunching of rocks underneath the tires. Emma took a sharp intake of breath as she centered the scope on the designated location. They sounded to be around a mile out.

"They're coming. Can you hear them?" Winter didn't say anything but his silence spoke more than words could. The vehicle was nearing and Emma stiffened because it was finally happening. The moment that would define the mission. She felt a cold hand upon her shoulder and she knew it was him because the coldness reminded her of that metal arm of his. Emma relaxed a bit from his touch.

"You'll do fine." He whispered so low that Emma thought it might have been the desert wind but she knew better than that. She wanted to thank him for comforting her because Emma knew that it went far beyond his nature to do so but he would most likely deny it if she said anything. Emma instead relaxed and focused on the task at hand. She watched as the hummer vehicle, the very same one that Rumlow had talked about, appeared within her scope. Emma spotted the nuclear engineer in the passenger seat, looking calm and relaxed as he sat there. Did he know that he was going to die? Did he ever understand that it was a possibility? Or did he really think he could escape from Hydra? Maybe he did. Maybe he felt safe once he contacted Shield and he felt protected because why wouldn't he? He was being escorted by the world's best spy and assassin so he had every reason to feel safe.

She gritted her teeth as she located the tires, aiming her rifle at them. Emma held her breath because if she screwed this up who knows what Hydra would do to her? They probably wouldn't trust her enough to put her out on another mission for years to come. The hummer was almost within her sight. Emma bit her lip so hard that it drew blood, a hard task to accomplish seeing as how unbreakable she was. And there it was…the tires were within her reach.

Without thinking too much about it Emma released fire. Four gunshots rang out through the quiet desert that was empty except for a Shield Agent, a Nuclear Engineer, an Assassin, and an Assassin Trainee. The large vehicle began to swerve in all directions as the driver tried to keep it on the road. It was no use, the vehicle was too large and without all tires there was nothing holding it onto the delicate desert road. The vehicle then careened itself over the cliff, falling down the cliffside and a loud crashing sound could be heard as it hit the ground down below.

Emma immediately stood up from her position, sniper rifle in hand, as Winter stalked over to the driver's side and got in. She threw the sniper rifle in the backseat before hopping into the passenger side of the vehicle. Winter didn't waste any time driving down the clifftop, not even waiting for Emma to close the passenger door. She grabbed her goggles and the black mask from the seat in between them. The goggles were much like Winter's goggles except for the fact that the lenses were a vivid green to match the color of the toxic chemical in her suit. The black mask that covered the lower part of her face and was the exact same as Winter's mask. Emma couldn't be more pleased.

Emma clasped her .22 magnum in her hand tightly after retrieving it from one of her gun holsters. They drove down the empty desert road, driving down the hillside so that they could arrive at the scene of the crash at the bottom of the hill. As soon as their car came in sight of the crash site, gun fire was released upon them. Winter seemed undisturbed by the gunfire and Emma didn't even flinch. She had grown up listening to that noise so it had no impact on her whatsoever. Emma wasn't even scared at the possibility of being shot. Hydra had shot her during her training so she knew what it felt like and she also knew that it would never kill her. She was almost unkillable.

Winter nodded at Emma, giving her a silent signal that only the two of them understood. She opened the car door as it was moving and jumped out, rolling away as Winter drove the car away. She already knew Winter's plan. He was going to park the vehicle in a hidden location and then wait if she called for back-up. This was her mission and her mission alone. She needed to take out the target and prove that she was worth something to Hydra.

That was her mission.

The gun shots were fired to the left and right of her, causing Emma to focus her sights on where the gunfire was coming from. She spotted the familiar redheaded woman, from the profile, only about a few hundred feet from herself. Agent Romanoff and the doctor must have survived the crash but they looked a little worn down if the cuts and scrapes on their skin was any indication of that. The man cowered behind Agent Romanoff, looking beyond terrified, and Emma felt a bit bad for him. She had been like that once. Hiding behind Colonel Karpov until he deemed her too pathetic and then gave her a beating for being so weak.

Agent Romanoff fired a couple more gunshots and Emma thought she was a pretty bad shot for being such an accomplished spy and assassin. Although her bad aim may have temporarily been due to Emma's element of surprise. Emma smirked once the gunshots ended and all that could be heard was the quiet clicking sound. The spy had emptied her whole round.

The look on Agent Romanoff's face, when the dust from the sand settled, was remarkable. The woman's emerald green eyes widened in shock as stared not at any regular assassin but at a young blonde girl who couldn't have been older than seven or eight. Emma stalked towards the woman just like she had seen Winter do. It was something that always instilled fear in the hearts of everyone around him.

Even through the goggles and black mask the agent could tell that this girl was very young. Agent Romanoff felt her heart clench at the sight of the young girl whose gun was pointed in her direction. She was reminded of her years in the red room when she wasn't much older than the girl walking towards her.

"Remove yourself from the target _right now_." Emma demanded, her tone becoming serious and deadly.

"You don't have to do this, kid. This isn't something you want to do." Agent Romanoff told her. The girl was too young to comprehend what she was doing so Natasha was just going to have to talk her out of it. The redhead would be damned if she let the girl end up like she did. No, she couldn't let that happen.

"I will not repeat myself again, Agent Romanoff." Emma's tone didn't even falter. Natasha was stuck on the fact that the girl didn't sound much like a kid. She sounded entirely like an adult and Natasha remembered being the same way.

"You're young. Whoever is making you do this is manipulating you. I was like you once…a long time ago. They make you feel important…like they need you more than anyone else and then they get you to do things…unspeakable things." Emma stiffened as the agent talked to her. Is that what Hydra did? They often made her feel important and how could she not feel important? There was no one else her age at the base and they all gave her special training sessions. Wasn't she important? That's why Winter was with her, right?

"You can still walk away from this. With me. You'll never have to see them again and you can actually have a life. You can forget whatever they've shown you…whatever they've done to you." Agent Romanoff reasoned. "You can still have a place in this world."

Emma considered what Agent Romanoff told her and if she was being honest the whole idea sounded very pleasant to her ears. What was tying her to Hydra? She sure hated the lot of them especially Rumlow and Strucker. What would life be like for her away from Hydra? What did normal eight year olds do? For some reason Emma doubted that they spent their time learning how to clean guns or being taught two hundred and thirteen different ways to kill a man.

There was a time when she wished more than anything else to go home. She wished that someone would save her and bring her back to that farm house in Oklahoma. Her parents would come running outside at the sight of her, waiting to wrap her tightly in their arms and never let go. Then Emma remembered. Her parents were dead now. They were never coming for her and there was no scenario where they would be waiting for her to come home. Another family probably lived in that farm house in Oklahoma now and they most likely didn't have the slightest idea as to the tragedy that took place there.

What was holding her to Hydra? Everything…They had taught her everything they could to ensure her survival. Hydra had injected her full of a substance that would always make her above average which would be seen as odd in the perspective of others. She could never leave Winter alone. He was already too sad and alone without her so how could she possibly leave him? She was his best friend even if he didn't know it yet and best friends stuck together. There was also her revenge on Rumlow…the man with the wolf like smile. She hated him and would do anything to see his blood on her hands. If she left she would never get the revenge that was rightfully hers. No, there was nothing left for her in this world that Agent Romanoff talked about. There was no one to go home to and definitely no one to wait for her. Hydra was all she had left.

"I have no place in this world." Emma told her, her voice had since grown shaky. Emma gripped the gun tightly in her hands, her finger now trembling against the trigger. Tears brimmed her blue eyes from under the goggles. The tears that Emma had tried to hide for so many years but now there was really no point. Emma stood there for what felt like hours as she stared at the redheaded woman. Agent Romanoff was the only thing standing in the way of her mission but she found it suddenly difficult to pull the trigger. It was then that Emma saw her.

Agent Romanoff's features had somehow morphed into the features of her mother. She saw her mother staring at her with sad eyes. Her emerald eyes losing that usual happy gleam she was so used to seeing. Her mother seemed disappointed with Emma…like she expected better of her. It was the same expression she used to give Emma whenever Emma stole a couple of cookies out of the cookie jar. The disappointed look felt a hundred times worse in this situation and Emma felt her heart beat increase. She could practically feel it pounding against her chest as her hands began to shake. All of a sudden Emma heard a loud shot ring out and heard it coming towards them before it finally hit the target. She watched in shock as the bullet hit her mother, blood spurting out from the impact.

Emma blinked a couple of times before her mother morphed back in Agent Romanoff and she briefly wondered if the desert really did play tricks on people's minds. She looked behind her and saw Winter standing on the edge of the cliff, his rifle still in hand. Emma realized what he had done…he had shot through Agent Romanoff to eliminate the target. She whipped her head back around and began to approach Agent Romanoff and the target with extreme caution. Agent Romanoff was gasping in pain as she was bleeding out, her gunshot wound located just above her left hip. She then moved onto the target, Dr. Bahrom, where he was positioned just a couple of feet away from Agent Romanoff. His eyes were wide open, horror must have been the emotion to cross his eyes, but she still felt his pulse to be certain. Yes. He was definitely dead.

Emma then returned to Agent Romanoff's side, watching as the woman desperately tried to apply pressure to her wound. She watched the look of fear in the woman's eyes and wondered if Agent Romanoff thought she was going to die. Probably. Emma doubted much else would strike fear in the heart of such a famous and ruthless killer. A part of Emma wished that she could've run away with Agent Romanoff. To go see the world that the older woman talked about. A world that might have a place for someone like her. Unfortunately that just wasn't possible.

"I wish I could go with you." Emma told her quietly. "But I can't. I still have a lot left to do…revenge, if you want to call it that. I'm just biding my time until then." Emma paused for a brief moment as she looked at Agent Romanoff.

"You understand that, don't you?" Emma asked and Agent Romanoff watched with a bewildered look on her face. She looked at Emma like she had met her before and that was because she had. Natasha had met Emma before because she used to be exactly like Emma once upon a time. Agent Romanoff slowly nodded and Emma could tell they had some sort of understanding.

"Good." Emma glanced around the area surrounding Agent Romanoff, trying to find something. Her gaze once again found Agent Romanoff's eyes.

"Do you have a panic button?" Emma sighed when the redheaded woman didn't answer. "It's okay. You can tell me." And for some reason Agent Romanoff found it in herself to trust the small blonde.

"The right back button of my jeans." Agent Romanoff confessed and Emma smiled although the older woman couldn't tell behind Emma's mask. Emma reached inside Agent Romanoff's pocket and pulled out a small device the size of a USB drive. It had a little button on the side and without sparing a second thought Emma pushed the button. She set the panic button down the ground before she got up.

"There. Shield will come for you and you'll get medical assistance." Agent Romanoff watched her in surprise. Was she saving her?

"It was an honor meeting you, Agent Romanoff. Hopefully we'll never meet again." Emma told her and then turned in the opposite direction, walking away. Natasha watched as the small girl left without another word, her figure becoming smaller and smaller the more she walked away. The girl got into the vehicle and then drove off into the desert, leaving Natasha with a million questions. Who was that girl and why did she save her?

Little did they both know that it certainly wouldn't be the last time they would meet.


	7. Chapter Six

"I screwed up big time, didn't I?" Emma voiced her fear as Winter drove them away from the crash site. They were probably about ten miles out by the time Emma finally spoke. Winter had been silent the whole time although that wasn't unusual. She tore off her goggles and mask before throwing them in the back seat. Her blue eyes were brimmed with tears and she could actually feel a few tears fall down her cheeks.

"I thought I could do it but when I was actually there…my finger on the trigger…I don't know. I just couldn't, I guess." Emma paused as she thought about Agent Romanoff.

"She looked like my mother, Winter." Emma told him quietly. Winter glanced away from the road, his eyes locked onto the sad looking blonde next to him. "I saw her standing there and all I could see was my mother. She looked so disappointed in me."

"Your mother's dead." He told her bluntly and Emma glared at him, angrily wiping the tears off her face.

"You don't think I know that? I know she's dead and I know my dad's dead too but I just can't help wondering what she would've thought of all of this. My mother, I mean." Emma stared out the window, more tears streaming down her face. She usually tried not to cry in front of anyone. It was a habit that she had been forced into a while ago.

"What's Hydra going to do, Winter? I messed up big time. I was supposed to eliminate the target but I made you do it instead."

"You didn't make me do anything." He said. Emma didn't seem to be convinced by his statement.

"I made you do my mission." Emma bit her lip as she turned to look at him. "How do you do it, Winter? How do you kill people?"

"You know exactly how I kill people." He replied and Emma groaned in frustration.

"You misunderstand me. I mean, how do you kill people and not feel anything? How can you walk away and not feel sorry?" Winter looked at her out of corner of his eye.

"Hydra has made me an effective asset for their cause." He replied in a monotone voice and Emma rolled her eyes. It sounded so rehearsed and it didn't help her in the least bit…not in the current dilemma she was in.

"Yes, thank you for your advice." She said sarcastically before turning to look out the window again. There wasn't much to be seen except for miles upon miles of desert. Her expression became grim as her thoughts went back to Hydra and what their intentions were.

"The doctor is dead." Emma told him but Winter didn't show any emotion. "Agent Romanoff is still alive."

"She'll die out in the desert. She'll bleed out." He told her as if he were reassuring her but Emma shook her head.

"No, she won't. I pushed her panic button." That warranted a surprised look from Winter. "We're a lot alike in many ways. She understood me."

"Hydra's not going to kill me for this…I know that." Emma said quietly.

"They've spent too much time on me but they've hurt me before for a lot less so they're not going to overlook this, are they?" She continued to ask but Winter didn't say anything…not that she expected him to. The silence between them was nearly deafening as Emma contemplated her future and Winter drove. It was why it caused Emma to give him an incredulous look when he finally spoke.

"You'll be fine."

* * *

"Mission report." Colonel Karpov demanded as soon as they walked into his office. The Russian Colonel had a serious expression on his face. An expression that Emma actually learned was just his face. Rumlow and Strucker were missing from the office Emma observed but Secretary Pierce was there instead. Emma was actually a little glad that Rumlow was nowhere to be seen. It would make all of this a lot easier if he was out of the room. Emma swallowed nervously as she gained the courage to speak up. She kept a stoic expression on her face, refusing to show any bit of weakness as she looked at Karpov.

"The mission was successful, sir. Target was eliminated efficiently." Emma told him seriously and Karpov nodded, glancing between the Winter Soldier and the Viper Assassin. She hoped he didn't ask about any details regarding the mission. Colonel Karpov usually wasn't the type of man that cared how something was done as long as it was done in the end.

"That's good…I'm glad to hear that and I'm sure Secretary Pierce is also pleased with this information." Emma glanced back at the older man, noticing that his focus was primarily on her rather than Winter. Secretary Pierce then stepped forward. He had a kind smile on his face but his eyes were serious.

"That I am, Colonel, but I'm much more interested in hearing about Emma's progress." Pierce said, once again using Emma's birth name. She forced herself to calm down as she looked the older man in the eyes. Pierce smiled at her before the smile fell off his face completely when he turned to look at Winter.

"I think the Asset could tell us exactly how well Emma did today in her mission. Isn't that right, _Winter Soldier_?" Emma narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked at Secretary Pierce. His tone sounded more insincere with a slight sarcastic bite to it as he addressed Winter. Emma got chills from the way Pierce said his name mockingly. Maybe Winter wasn't completely wrong about Secretary Pierce.

Winter just stared at him with a blank expression, not an ounce of emotion to be seen in his eyes. Emma felt her heart rate increase again and she knew that she would be punished. Winter was a loyal Hydra weapon. He would tell them everything that had occurred on the mission and Emma couldn't blame him for that. It's not like she expected him to lie to Hydra. That would be potentially deadly. She needed to take responsibility for her actions and accept the fate that Hydra would bestow upon her. Hopefully they were at least a little forgiving.

"So tell us…how did she do?" Pierce asked and Winter held his gaze steadily without the slightest falter. It seemed like they had stared at each other for minutes rather than seconds before Winter finally replied. Emma held her breath, fearing the worst.

"The Viper Assassin completed the mission successfully, eliminating the target without difficulty." He finally said and Emma forced herself not to look shocked. In her mind, she was completely bewildered about what Winter just said. What was he doing? He knew what had happened out in that desert. He was the one who had to finish the job Emma couldn't do and Emma had even told him everything else so he knew everything. So why was he lying? Secretary Pierce stared at him for a moment longer, holding his gaze before he looked away from the taller man. He smiled at Emma in that fatherly fashion she was used to with him.

"Well, that's good to hear." Pierce told him. Emma snuck a couple of glances in Winter's general direction as soon as Pierce and Karpov turned their backs. Winter just stared ahead, ignoring her gaze. Emma tried to get his attention but like always Winter could be very robotic at times, especially when he was ignoring her. Emma turned her head back to copy his stoic expression. This would have to be a matter she discussed with him later when they were both alone. Secretary Pierce continued in his little assessment of Emma's first mission but she could only nod in response. Her mind was otherwise occupied.

* * *

"You lied." Emma stated in the midst of all the silence. Emma and Winter had been dismissed from Karpov's office earlier and had immediately headed towards the weapon's room to change out of their outfits. After they had changed, Winter grabbed one of his guns and began to clean it. Emma leaned against a wall as she watched him with a look of disbelief. He sat there quietly, seemingly oblivious to Emma and her astonishment of him.

"Will you just answer me for once? You lied…you never lie." Emma told him, annoyed by the way he always ignored her. "I just can't understand why you would do such a thing…such a dangerous thing too."

"Can't you just thank me?" He said in a flat tone. Winter didn't even spare her a glance as he cleaned his gun which infuriated Emma even more.

"No, I can't just thank you. Not when you could get into a ton of trouble with Karpov over this." Emma said, a worried look crossing her face. "I mean…Winter, you lied right to Secretary Pierce's face. If what you said is true about him then he's not likely to be the type to forgive easily."

"Let me worry about Pierce." Winter told her firmly. He didn't seem that bothered by the prospect of Pierce finding out what he did but it didn't make Emma worry any less. The look on his face told her that he wanted to drop this conversation but there was so many things going through her mind. So many questions that she needed to have answered.

She thought she didn't understand Winter before but Emma feared that she understood him even less now. The silence grew into several minutes as Winter cleaned his gun and Emma contemplated the situation she found herself in. A question then popped into her mind as she watched Winter clean his gun. She frowned as the question began to bother her and there was no way she could just ignore it.

"Why did you help me?" She asked. The question must have taken Winter by surprise because he immediately stopped cleaning his gun. A confused expression formed on his face and Emma was taken back since she had never seen the Winter Soldier show that much emotion in the time she had known him. He glanced up at her, his own pale blue eyes locked onto her ocean blue ones. It seemed like he was trying to search for something in her eyes but furrowed his eyebrows when he couldn't find it.

"You remind me of someone." He admitted, causing Emma's eyes to widen in surprise. Not just at what Winter said but how he said it. She had never heard his voice sound so soft before.

"Who?" She questioned and just like that all the emotion vanished from his face and was replaced by his standard stoic expression. They fell into another round of silence and Emma thought he wasn't going to respond. It felt like it had been forever when he finally did respond to her previous question much to her surprise.

"I don't know."

* * *

"Get up, princess! Get your ass up right now!" Emma was awoken from her sleep by an alarmingly loud sounding voice. The voice sounded familiar and for some reason Emma felt a unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach from the voice. It must have been someone unpleasant to be able to get that sort of reaction out of her. She opened her eyes slowly and her gaze met dark eyes that were only a little too familiar to her. Rumlow. She could almost throw up at the sight but something was different about him…his face was different. It occurred to Emma then, even in all of her sleepiness, that Rumlow looked angry.

"What?" She said tiredly but Rumlow didn't seem to have any patience for her. He roughly yanked her out of her small bed.

"Shut up and do as you're told!" He yelled at her and then proceeded to drag her out of her room. Emma started waking up more as he and a couple of other Hydra agents dragged her down the hallway, her bare feet freezing from the ice cold concrete floors. As she started to feel more awake, Emma glanced at the agents with a confused look on her face. What was going on? She tried to recall what she may have done that could've pissed them off enough to drag her out of bed in the early hours of the morning but she came up with nothing. As far as she knew she hadn't messed anything up in any of her training sessions and it's not like she went out of her way to piss off Rumlow. Emma tried to avoid him at all costs if she could. While she did hate him, Emma was also terrified of him at the same time. Then it hit Emma.

There was only one thing she could've done that would evoke this kind of reaction from Rumlow. It was the only thing yet it was probably by far the worst. It had been almost two weeks since her mission in the desert. Her failed mission that no one knew the truth about but Emma started to gather that they had finally found out. Why else would Rumlow seem so pissed? She suddenly felt sick to her stomach at the idea that everyone knew. What would this mean for Winter? What would it mean for her? She supposed that nothing could be hidden from Hydra but a girl could dream.

Emma knew that it would be quite easy, with her enhanced strength, to overpower the agents but she also knew that there were way too many agents at the base to hold all of them off. It would be a stupid and silly mistake to make. Even if Emma was able to escape the base there was the fact that the base was located in Siberia and she would never survive the cold weather outside even with all her enhanced abilities. She wouldn't last long in the below freezing temperatures and both Emma and everyone at the base knew that.

They finally stopped when they reached a new and different room that Emma didn't think she had seen before which was odd because she was pretty sure she had familiarized herself with the whole base. It looked to be some sort of make shift lab with all the medical and scientific equipment inside of it. The floors were concrete and the walls a bland white, like the majority of the rest of the base, but it seemed far more empty and barren than any other room in the base. It felt more barren than perhaps even "The Cold Room". All the people, that Emma had labeled as important, were there in the room. Colonel Karpov and Secretary Pierce stood in the middle of the room with grave expressions on their faces as Strucker and Dr. List were off to the side looking to be in a deep discussion. It seemed that Emma and Rumlow had been the last two to arrive except for Winter. Emma was just about to worry about Winter when she spotted him right in the center of the room.

There was a chair that reminded her of a dentist's chair. Just like the one she used to sit in when her mother would take her to the dentist. Winter looked to be strapped to the chair but didn't make any move to remove himself from it. Emma noticed a machine not that far from the chair and wondered if it was somehow connected to the chair or had something to do with it. Winter didn't have his usual stoic expression which took Emma by surprise as she looked at the angry look on his face. She was taken back by the look since Emma had never seen Winter angry before. She had seen him when he was annoyed, confused, and surprised but she had never seen him angry.

"What's going on?" Emma questioned and Rumlow immediately backhanded her across the face. Emma winced at the sudden movement and felt a slighting stinging sensation across her face but the pain soon faded as her healing factor kicked in.

"You don't get to speak unless spoken to." Rumlow spat at her, malice in his tone. She had seen Rumlow with sadistic looking smiles before but she had never seen him look deadly…not since she watched him murder her parents. He then grabbed her face roughly, her chin in his grasp as he forced her to look at him. "You don't so much as look at anyone unless we want you to."

"Rumlow…" Secretary Pierce called out, his voice sounded like a warning. Rumlow glanced back at the older man and held his gaze for a moment before reluctantly letting Emma go. She narrowed her blue eyes into an angry glare as Rumlow stepped away from her.

"Viper, how nice of you to join us." Pierce stated coolly as he addressed Emma. Emma felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Pierce always called her Emma…at least since she had met him. The look he gave her was even more chilling than Rumlow's angry look. Pierce looked oddly calm given what Emma thought he knew. He smiled when he looked at the bewildered look on Emma's face. His smile was different than it had been before. It seemed far more forced than any of the other times. "It's okay…don't be frightened."

"I'm not scared." The eight year old said confidently but even with all her practice there was a slight falter in her tone.

"You don't have to lie to me." He told her with an amused look on his face. Emma struggled to maintain her composure. "I don't know how much you know about me but I used to be a father."

"Used to be?" Emma asked as she raised an eyebrow in question. Pierce only smiled as he nodded at her.

"That's right. I had a little girl once upon a time so I know all about what goes through their minds." He said, a sad expression on his face.

"What happened to her?" Emma inquired, receiving another death glare from Rumlow but it went ignored by both Emma and Pierce.

"She died…unfortunately. She was a very troubled girl and I tried to help her but…it just wasn't enough." Emma felt a little bad for him since she also knew what it was like losing someone. She had lost her parents and the memory of their deaths still haunted her all the time no thanks to Rumlow. However, Emma didn't say anything because she didn't think Pierce said that so he could get her sympathy.

"You look like your father, you know." Pierce said suddenly as he changed the subject almost out of nowhere. Emma's eyes widened as he spoke about her father who she knew even less about than she did her mother. "You have his eyes and hair…his smile too but you have your mother's nose."

"You knew them? My parents, I mean?" Emma questioned and Pierce shrugged.

"I guess you could say that. Your parents were good people. You should know that." Emma narrowed her eyes as he spoke. Good people? If they were such good people then why did Rumlow murder them?

"Then why have them killed? Why murder them?" She thought that she might be backhanded again for being so forward but Pierce did no such thing.

"You have to understand. Your parents were poking their noses into other people's business. They were good people, yes, but they were also incredibly nosy. Too nosy for their own good." Emma scoffed.

"So you just had them killed? It doesn't make any sense. If they knew so much then why let me live? Why risk everything to keep me alive? Wouldn't it have been easier to let me die with them?" She ranted at him but Pierce kept a steady composure.

"Because you're special." Pierce replied as if it were that simple. Emma blinked, giving him a blank look.

"Special?" She repeated and Pierce smirked as he began to explain.

"Yes, special. Think about it, Emma, just think. You're enhanced, far more than any other eight year old your age." Emma shook her head.

"Because you made me that way. You injected me with something that made me like this." She insisted but Pierce immediately disagreed.

"Not just anyone can accept the serum. No, it takes a very particular kind of person." He looked at her with something akin to fascination. "You're the first person since the Asset that's been able to successfully accept the serum without any repercussions."

"What are you talking about? My body felt like it was on fire. I almost died." She said angrily.

"Of course there were side effects but all the other subjects went crazy. You're the first one to ever maintain their sanity." He told her and Emma bit the inside of her cheek out of anger.

"That's reassuring." She said sarcastically, sounding much older than her eight years. It didn't help that she had practically grown up inside a base occupied entirely by adults. Emma suspected that she probably learned the craft of sarcasm from Rumlow who frequently used that sort of humor.

"Emma, you don't understand…all the other ones before you were mere failures in comparison to you." He glanced back at Winter who was still strapped down to the chair, angrily glaring at Pierce and looking like wanted to kill the older man. "Even the Winter Soldier is nothing compared to you. And how could he be? You had a different serum inside you long before we injected you with the new one."

"What?" Emma asked, confusion taking over her angry expression. What was he talking about? How could she be better than Winter who had taught her everything she knew? Winter who was her idol. And what did Pierce mean by a different serum?

"Your grandfather was a famous war hero during the second world war." Pierce told her and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. This story just kept getting weirder and weirder. "He was a small man, not meant to be in battle, so he allowed a German scientist by the name of Abraham Erskine to experiment on him using a super soldier serum he had developed."

"You see, Dr. Erskine was a genius of a man and there's never been anyone quite like him since. The serum was a major success but unfortunately the man was murdered not long after the experiment and no matter what efforts were made after his death, no one's been able to duplicate that serum." He explained. "Little did anyone know that they wouldn't have to duplicate it. Steve Rogers, your grandfather, impregnated a woman by the name of Margaret Carter, your grandmother, right before he vanished."

"As it would turn out, the serum would be passed down to your father." Pierce said with a pleased looking expression on his face. "Your grandmother kept him close to her, never letting anyone but Howard Stark or Colonel Phillips close to him. Hydra was never able to grab a hold of him and we thought the serum would be lost forever…that was until you were born. A true miracle." Realization dawned on Emma as she looked at Pierce with a shocked expression. Out of everything she expected to hear, it had not been that.

"You killed them to get to me?" She questioned and he gave her a grim look.

"They were nosy, yes, but they had you. We thought that if you already had the serum running through your veins then you would be much more accepting of a new serum…one that would make you stronger than your grandfather and the Asset put together." Pierce confessed without hesitance and Emma struggled to take it all in. It suddenly made sense to her why they kept her around all these years. Why they spent so much time training and teaching an eight year old girl rather than leaving her in the hands of an orphanage or just finishing her off. Her purpose seemed much more than she thought it had originally been. They just didn't pick a random little girl. No, they picked her because of her family. Her grandfather was some war hero that had been experimented on. Everything made so much more sense.

"You really don't understand the significance of your existence, Emma. But how could you? You're still only a child." Pierce said as he continued. "Which is why I find it very displeasing when one of my other weapons completely undermines my authority and messes with your progress."

Pierce glanced back at Winter, making it clear who he was talking about although Emma didn't have any trouble figuring that one out. It was pretty obvious or so she thought. The look Pierce gave Winter was disconcerting. It was a look entirely made up of contempt and hatred. Emma started to really wish that she hadn't gotten on Pierce's bad side because it looked like both her and Winter were going to regret it.

"You can understand my confusion over this entire situation especially since when I questioned the both of you after your mission two weeks ago, I was told the mission was successful and you did more than well." Pierce told Emma, his expression hardening. "Apparently that was all a lie."

"I'm not sure I know what you speak of, Secretary Pierce." Emma replied innocently. Big mistake. Pierce glared at her with so much anger that it nearly blinded her.

"Don't play games with me, Viper, we have connections with Shield and we know for a fact that Agent Romanoff survived." Pierce hissed. Long gone was his pleasant, kind expression and now the man seemed to be showing his true colors.

"Agent Romanoff was never a target, sir." Emma said, maintaining an even tone in her voice.

"Yes but you were ordered to kill her if she got in the way and from what I hear it sounds like she did." Pierce told her, it was evident that he was no longer playing games with Emma. "She was standing right in front of the target yet you never fired your weapon. Not once."

"I didn't have a clear visual of the target, sir. He was standing in back of Agent Romanoff so I couldn't be sure whether or not I would miss." Emma said, trying to make herself out to be as innocent in this as possible for both her and Winter's sake.

"Bullshit! You want to know how I know that?" Pierce inquired. "Agent Romanoff talked about a young blonde girl, no older than seven or eight, who not only didn't take the shot but also saved her life after a mysterious man shot through her to kill Dr. Bahrom."

Emma felt her heart beat start to increase, pounding against her chest as she struggled to keep calm. It seemed as if her lies were catching up with her. How could Pierce know such a thing? How could he know what Agent Romanoff said? Shield was supposed to be the enemy, weren't they? So how could he know what they were saying about the targeted killing of Dr. Bahrom? All of it was all so confusing to the small blonde girl as she fought to maintain her composure.

"You know what I think happened?" Pierce asked, his question obviously rhetoric. "I think that you didn't have a problem killing the target but when you came face to face with Agent Romanoff you chickened out. I think that she may have reminded you of your mother or whatever emotional bullshit you want to call it."

"She probably tried to help you…trying to convince you to come with her and you just couldn't find it in yourself to kill her." Pierce said before he continued. "I think that when you refused to end her right then and there, the Winter Soldier stepped in and did the dirty work for you."

"What astounds me the most, however…" Pierce spoke as he walked back near Winter who was still strapped to the chair in the middle of the room. "Is the fact that the Winter Soldier not only did what you couldn't do, when he was ordered to just be a silent observer on your mission, but also lied for you. Lied!"

"He did no such thing, Secretary Pierce, I think you're mistaken." Emma told him and that was the worst move she could make. Pierce snapped, grabbing Emma by her blonde hair and yanking her towards him roughly.

"Do I look stupid to you, Viper?! Huh?!" He yelled angrily. Winter began to struggle in his chair as he watched Pierce roughly grab Emma. Pierce smirked as he watched the Winter Soldier's reaction before letting go of the small blonde. "Just what I thought…"

"You're a very interesting girl, I have to say. You've managed to get one of Hydra's most lethal weapons wrapped around your little finger." Pierce told her as he gently patted her shoulder and Emma glared at him. The Winter Soldier was completely right about him. The man wasn't her friend and he definitely wasn't to be trusted. "I'm very impressed."

"You're insane." Emma told him but Pierce didn't seem to be fazed at all by her statement. It reminded of him of a time from so long ago. When his own daughter had uttered the same words as she looked at him with a look that could only be described as disgust.

"As impressed as I am by this newfound attachment you two have got going on here, I'm afraid I can't allow it to go on." Pierce said, completely ignoring Emma's statement. "Prepare yourself, Emma, we're about to show you what really happens to your friend whenever he mysteriously vanishes."

"Wipe him and prepare him for the Cryo-Chamber!" Karpov ordered to the scientists in the room as Pierce made his statement. Before Emma could even contemplate Pierce's words all the scientists started rushing around the room. They typed in assortments of different numbers into the machine positioned off to the side of Winter. They carted a metal tray filled with various needles and other medical equipment. Emma had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as she watched the way Winter began to anxiously struggle under his restraints. She glanced over to Karpov who stood at the opposite side of the room, right next to Strucker and Dr. List. Rumlow was standing a few feet to her left with a couple of other Hydra agents. He wasn't paying much attention to her; his focus was much more the Winter Soldier than it was on her. Pierce was still standing right in front of her. He couldn't have been more than three feet away from her.

The Winter Soldier was strapped into the chair off to her left, trying to fight but looking even more helpless in the process. Emma really felt for him because he wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for her and the fact that she really messed up that mission. This was all her fault, she told herself as tears began to flood her eyes. He shouldn't have done what he did but Emma knew that he would've done it all over again. There was some kind of unspoken thing between the two of them. It was a connection that Emma wasn't sure existed because of the super soldier serum or not. He cared for her even though she knew he would never admit to it and Emma knew that she cared for him…she was even sure that she loved him. She didn't love him in an unnatural way. No, Emma loved the Winter Soldier like a daughter loved her father. The love was unconditional and something that Emma hadn't felt in the years since her parent's murder. She knew that she couldn't let anything happen to him. Emma would have to do something and she would have to do something fast.

Without even thinking about it, Emma immediately threw both of her hands out in front of her which strongly impacted Pierce as she committed the action. As soon as her hands reached his chest, she pushed with all the force she could which then threw the older man back. He flew backwards through the air as Emma pushed him, crashing into Karpov as he landed harshly on the ground. Rumlow and the other agents immediately pointed their guns in her direction but Emma reached them before they could pull the triggers. She grabbed all three of the guns and tossed them to the side before she grabbed two of the agents and threw them backwards much like she had done to Pierce. When she got to Rumlow, Emma punched him in the face which immediately knocked him unconscious. They weren't the only ones with weapons though and this was something Emma immediately realized when she stood in front of Winter's bed in a protective stance. Strucker and Karpov pointed their guns in her direction but Emma looked at them defiantly, daring them to even try and shoot her. Pierce only watched her in fascination, not even caring that she had thrown him backwards but more interested in what was going through her mind.

"Ubiraysya ottuda, glupaya devushka." (Step away from there, you stupid girl.) Karpov demanded in Russian as he still held his gun up but Emma just sneered at him.

"Ne pokrovitel'stvuy mne, starik." (Don't patronize me, old man.) Emma replied.

"Vy delayete ochen' glupuyu oshibku." (You're making a very stupid mistake.) Karpov said, trying to get her to step away from the Winter Soldier.

"Vy nichego ne znayete." (You know nothing.) She said with a bitter tone before she said something that would forever shock the head operatives of Hydra. "A teper' ostav' moyego papa, ili ya uverena, chto ty pozhaleyesh' ob etom." (Now leave my father be or I'll make sure you regret it.)

Pierce, Karpov, Strucker, and even Dr. List stared at the fierce looking eight year old in astonishment as she continued to defend the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was still struggling in his restraints but he hadn't looked the least bit surprised by Emma's statement. It could've been because he was distracted or maybe it was because he already secretly knew. Pierce replayed her words in his head, trying to figure out whether or not he had misheard her since he wasn't very proficient in Russian. However, from everyone else's expressions he could see that he hadn't been mistaken after all. She had just called the Winter Soldier her father. It was an unexpected development, something that Pierce hadn't considered when he told Karpov to have the Winter Soldier train the girl. He knew that they had become close but he didn't know how close. It seemed that he was going to have to rethink his method.

The group of Hydra operatives then began to move closer to one and other after hearing the latest development. This was something that just couldn't be taken lightly because the Viper Assassin and the Winter Soldier had formed a closer attachment than any of them had originally thought. It was shocking especially since the Winter Soldier had been wiped so many times that he was practically an emotionless robot. It was obvious he cared for the girl but Pierce had never known the extent. Now things were slightly more obvious.

"Did she just say what I thought she said?" Strucker asked quietly in a thick German accent. It became evident that they were having a private conversation with each other as they decided how to approach Emma. Emma was still watching them while in her defensive stance.

"I think she did, Strucker." Dr. List replied.

"Things are a lot worse than we feared." Karpov commented as he looked between each of the operatives.

"I agree." Strucker stated as he looked at Karpov. "We're going to have to wipe him and maybe her just to ensure that their attachment isn't too tightly formed."

"Is that necessary?" Pierce questioned and everyone stared at him in surprise as he worded the question. Strucker was the first one to answer, however.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid we must. The Winter Soldier and the Viper assassin have become too close. They're both compromised."

"Are they?" Pierce repeated with a doubtful look. Everyone seemed a little disturbed by Pierce's odd statements but they didn't say anything as he continued. "I'm just saying that maybe we should look at this from a different perspective."

"And what perspective would that be, Secretary?" Karpov inquired as he gave the secretary a bored expression.

"The one where we let the Viper Assassin and the Winter Soldier continue their attachment."

"That's insane!" Strucker exclaimed. "They'll ruin everything we've worked for if they're emotionally compromised."

"No, I don't think so, Strucker." Pierce replied. "No…I think this could work in our favor."

"And how's that?" Dr. List asked curiously as he listened to what Pierce had to say. Pierce smirked as he took a deep breath before he started to tell them what was on his mind.

"Think about it, gentlemen, we can use them against each other. If one leaves we can use the other to bring them back. They'll never be one without the other. They'll rely on each other during missions and get the job done quicker. It'll be a partnership of sorts…two of our most deadly weapons completely reliant on each other. It's just what we need." Pierce explained and all of the men deeply considered what he was telling them. If they were being honest then they would have to admit that it all made a lot of sense.

"So you're saying that we use one as leverage against the other?" Strucker said, trying to understand what Pierce was getting at. Pierce nodded.

"Yes." He answered.

"Are you sure that would work?" Karpov asked. Pierce glanced back at the small girl who still stood in her protective stance, making sure that no one dared to so much as look at the Winter Soldier let alone touch him. He smirked as he saw the protectiveness written all over Emma's face as she guarded the Winter Soldier with her life.

"Something tells me that the Viper Assassin won't even have to have her memory wiped. She'll do anything for her beloved father."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Shield Headquarters**

 **Location: Washington D.C.**

 **2014**

Steve Rogers was still reeling from the long night he had. The image of Nick Fury's death still circulated in his mind as well as the man with the silver arm who killed Fury. There was so much that had happened that he couldn't even comprehend. Why was Fury killed? Why did Fury give him that flash drive? Why did he tell him not to trust anyone? All those questions continued to bug the Captain as he sincerely wished some of his team was here.

He had Natasha but Steve still wasn't sure if he could completely trust her half the time. Barton was who knows where on some classified mission. Thor had returned back to earth, or so he had heard, but was much more content staying with his astrophysicist girlfriend than hanging around any of them. Stark and Banner were locked up inside Stark tower, or as it was now called Avenger's tower, and continued to do their little science projects together. None of them were here but Steve wasn't so sure that they could help him.

Not with this anyways.

Steve exited the elevator on one of the top floors. It was very strange how insistent Rumlow was about him getting to Alexander Pierce's office. He knew that it was necessary but Rumlow had been adamant and impatient about it. The Captain briskly walked towards Pierce's office just as a certain nurse was leaving it. Steve narrowed his eyes at the woman he had previously known as Kate, the nurse/neighbor, but who was actually Agent 13.

"Captain Rogers." She greeted as they passed each other and Steve gave her a curt nod.

"Neighbor." He retorted and the woman blushed, looking down at the ground as she walked away. Steve knew that she was probably only doing her job but he was kind of hurt by her lie. They would occasionally flirt whenever they bumped into each other in the hallway and Steve thought that she might've even liked him. He wasn't as smooth as he thought apparently since it was all for show. Steve stopped in front of Pierce's door; the much older yet truthfully younger man was standing just outside his office.

"Oh, Captain." Pierce greeted with a kind smile. "I'm Alexander Pierce."

"Sir, it's an honor." Steve greeted formally before they shook hands firmly.

"The honor's mine, Captain." Pierce replied. "My father served in the 101st. Come on in."

Steve observed Pierce's office with a small bit of interest as he looked around. It was large and spacious, everything someone as powerful as Pierce would have in an office. Steve had heard a lot about Pierce in the past. He was a good man that had done a lot of good for both his country and the world. A well liked and well respected man who had accomplished so much in his lifetime.

It was difficult to find someone that held little respect for the older looking man. From what it sounded like, Fury had also greatly respected this man. Pierce sounded like a mentor to the recently deceased Shield director. Steve noticed a couple of pictures lying on top of a table and gently picked them up out of curiosity. The first picture was of a much younger Nick Fury looking to be sworn into duty by a younger looking Alexander Pierce.

"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met, when I was at state department in Bogota." Pierce explained as Steve quietly observed the picture. "E.L.N. rebels took the embassy and security got me out but the rebels took hostages."

"Nick was Deputy Chief at the Shield station there and he comes to me with a plan." Pierce continued as he began to walk towards Steve from across the room. "He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, "No, we'll negotiate."

"It turned out the E.L.N. didn't negotiate, so they sent out a kill order. They stormed the basement and what do they find?" Pierce asked rhetorically as he stood in front of Steve before sitting down in one of the chairs. Steve copied his movement and sat down in a chair as well. "They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil and saved the lives of a dozen political officers as well as my daughter."

"So you gave him a promotion?" Steve inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I never had any cause to regret it." Pierce replied. Steve didn't say anything as he looked away, returning his attention back to the photos. He flipped through the one of Fury and Pierce before he caught sight of a much different picture. It was a picture that he had seen before. Only the picture he had was of the whole family.

The photo Steve possessed showed a beautiful redheaded woman with emerald green eyes next to an older looking man… a man with hair as blonde as Steve's own hair as well as eyes that were the same exact shade of blue. His son. In their arms had been a baby that could've only been a few months old. The family looked incredibly happy and it killed him to know that he would never get to meet any of them. They had all died around six years before Steve had been pulled from the ice.

The photo Steve was now looking at didn't contain the same man he was used to seeing. No, he didn't see the familiar blonde man anywhere in the picture. Instead, he saw the same beautiful redheaded woman with a small looking toddler in her arms. The redhead had a delighted look on her face as she held the tiny looking blonde girl that also had hair as blonde as Steve's and eyes just as blue. Steve felt his throat grow thick with emotion as he stared at the happy little girl with blonde pigtails. She couldn't have been more than two or three in the picture.

"I see you've found the picture of Margot and Emma." Pierce stated as he watched the captain stare at the photo longingly. "It was tragic what happened to them…the house fire."

"Why do you have this?" Steve asked quietly.

"I guess they didn't tell you but Margot was my daughter, Captain." Steve looked up at him in surprise but Pierce just smiled. Pierce's daughter was Margot? Margot Rogers? Did that make Margot the same daughter that Pierce had previously mentioned Fury saving? "I guess that would make us in-laws, wouldn't it?"

"I didn't know." Steve admitted.

"Yes, Margot was a sweet girl and I hadn't been exactly thrilled when she told me she was going to marry Steven, with the age difference and all, but when she got something in her head she never let anyone talk her out of it." Pierce chuckled at the memory. "She was headstrong that way."

"What were they like?" Steve asked curiously. He didn't know much about them other than what Peggy or Fury had told him.

"Well, like I said before, Margot was very headstrong but sweet. She was an amazing mother just like her own mother before her. Steven was a good man. He was honest and trust worthy…a lot like you I gather." Pierce told him, a small smile on his face. "Emma was a cute kid. She adored both her parents and she was pretty hyper but she was good. I didn't know her very well. You see, I didn't visit very often because I was always busy with work but not a day goes by where I don't regret not spending more time with them."

"They sound amazing. I would've liked to have met them or…gotten the chance at least." Steve told Pierce honestly. Pierce nodded with a faraway look in his eyes and Steve suddenly found it odd. He found it odd how he was connected to this man through their children…though their grandchild. Steve looked back down at the picture of Margot and Emma, feeling incredibly saddened by the fact that he never got to know them. The cute face of Emma Rogers looked back at him with such happiness that it tugged on Steve's heartstrings that the poor little girl had died so young. Why did this always happen to him? He woke up and everyone he knew and loved were already dead except for Peggy, of course. But now…his family that he never had the chance to even know, but who he still loved, was already dead.

"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked Steve, immediately changing the subject. Steve glanced back up at him, setting the pictures back down on the table as he looked at Pierce. He shook his head.

"I don't know." He replied.

"Did you know it was bugged?" Pierce questioned further.

"I did because Nick told me."

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Steve just stared at Pierce, not liking the way his tone sounded when it was directed at him. This was starting to sound more like an interrogation than anything. Steve briefly wondered if Pierce only showed him those photos to try and get something out of him. Probably. Fury had said not to trust anyone, after all.

"I want you to see something." Pierce told him as he turned his attention to the screen that was on the wall in back of Steve. It was video of Batroc being interrogated by Shield. Steve curiously watched the video as the interrogator asked Batroc who had hired him to hijack the ship.

"Is that live?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night at a not-so-safe house in Algiers."

"Are you saying he's a suspect?" Steve inquired. "Assassination…it's Batroc's line."

"No, no. It's more complicated than that." Pierce stated as they continued to watch the interrogation. "Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the _Lemurian Star_ and he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts. The last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve questioned as Pierce handed him the file.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago." Pierce told him as Steve flipped through the file, skimming the pages for any information. "His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437."

"Are you saying that Fury hired the pirates?" Steve asked, giving Pierce a look of disbelief. "Why?"

"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death." Steve looked down at the file in silence as he listened to what Pierce was saying. Something wasn't right here. While, yes, Steve didn't exactly agree with what a lot of what Fury said or did, he also knew that Fury wasn't the type of man to jeopardize his own agency in such a way. Especially not in a way where a lot of people could get harmed or killed.

"If you really know Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true." Steve told him firmly.

"Why do you think we're talking?" Pierce got up from his chair and then proceeded to walk towards the window.

"You see, I took a seat on the council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to because we were both realists." Pierce told him, staring out the window upon the city of Washington D.C.

"We knew that, despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric…to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. The people you love and hold most dear having to make sacrifices for that better world as well." Pierce said as he glanced back at Steve with a hardened expression on his face. Steve had since stood up from his seat, staring at Pierce with an unreadable look on his face. "And that makes enemies."

"Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today…makes me really, really angry." Pierce spoke and Steve got the distinct feeling that he wasn't talking about everyone in general. No, he got the feeling that Pierce was talking about a very specific person from the emotion in his eyes.

"Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive." Pierce said, changing the subject again. "I don't think that's an accident and I don't think you do, either. So…I'm going to ask again. Why was he there?"

"He told me not to trust anyone." Steve told him after giving Pierce a long stare. Something in Steve told him that Fury's advice also included Pierce. Even though Steve and Pierce shared this connection through their children, Steve got a gut feeling that told him that he couldn't trust this man and Steve always trusted his gut.

"I wonder if that included him." Pierce remarked. Steve didn't say anything in regards to Pierce's remark but just feigned an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry…but those were his last words. Excuse me." Steve said before excusing himself from the room. He grabbed his shield off the chair, putting it onto his back, and then proceeded to exit the office.

"Captain," Pierce called out to him from his desk. Steve turned to look at him, wanting more and more to get out of that office with every second he spent in there. Pierce was starting to give him a very bad feeling. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. _Anyone_."

"Understood." Steve said as he gave Pierce a curt nod. Steve then turned back around and left the room, feeling Pierce's eyes on him the whole way out. Something wasn't right about any of this. This was a lot bigger than Fury's death.

That was something that Steve knew for sure.

* * *

"I know who killed Fury." Natasha said with wide eyes as Steve glared down at her. Steve searched her eyes to see if she was telling the truth but that was an impossible action given just who Natasha was. "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe they exist. The ones that do call them the Winter Soldier and the Viper Assassin. They're both credited with over two dozen assassinations each. In the last fifty years for the Winter Soldier…the last five years for the Viper Assassin. I guess you can say that she's a newer recruit."

"So they're a ghost story?" Steve questioned. Natasha, however, ignored Steve and went on with her story.

"Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out. But the Viper Assassin and the Winter Soldier were there." She told him as she recounted the memory that still haunted her. The small blonde girl whose face couldn't even be seen from under the goggles and mask.

"I was covering my engineer so the Winter Soldier shot him straight _through_ me." Natasha then lifted up her shirt to show the wound. "Soviet slug. No rifling. Bye-bye bikinis."

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now." Steve retorted sarcastically.

"My point is that the Viper Assassin was supposed to take the shot but she didn't for whatever reason. In fact…she saved my life." Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"If she's a deadly assassin then why did she not take the shot? Why did she save you?" Natasha shrugged.

"I don't really know. I looked at reports following the other assassinations after the incident in Iran and from what I could tell she didn't spare any of them. I couldn't tell you why…I doubt that even _she_ could tell you why." Natasha said, lost in thought as her mind went back to that small girl. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have nightmares about that little girl most nights. The regret ate her alive and fed into the guilt she had from everything she did while working for the KGB. "Going after them is a dead end. I know, I've tried."

"Like you said…they're a ghost story." Natasha told Steve, holding up the flash drive. Steve took the flash drive from her.

"Well, let's find out what the ghosts want." Natasha bit her lip as she stared up at Steve. She really wasn't even sure if she should tell him this. Natasha wasn't even sure if the Viper Assassin was a part of Fury's assassination since Steve had only seen the Winter Soldier and not the infamous blonde hanging around.

"There's another thing, Steve." Natasha announced and Steve gave her a curious look. "The Viper Assassin isn't a woman…she's a girl."

"What?" Steve asked in surprise.

"She's just a girl. She couldn't have been older than seven or eight when I met her. She's got to be older by now. Probably in her early teens."

"Why would a girl that young be an assassin?" Steve asked, disgusted by the idea of a little girl running around killing people. Children weren't meant to be killers. It just wasn't done.

"Because she looks innocent." Natasha admitted. "That's why anyone would make a little girl into a weapon. Children look innocent. They don't look capable of being cold blooded killers."

"I tried to get her to come with me, you know." She confessed and Steve just stared at her. "I think that she wanted to come with me too but she said that she couldn't." Natasha looked down at her hands as she remembered the girl.

"She reminded me a lot of myself and I wanted to help her but…she was probably too far gone. Brainwashed maybe." Steve shook his head.

"No one's that far gone and she's just a little girl." Steve didn't want to believe a child could be a cold blooded killer. How could that even be possible? He knew there were child soldiers in other war torn countries but the idea of there being an abused child out there hurting when Steve could fo something about it…well, Steve couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

"A little girl that most certainly isn't a little girl mentally. She's a trained killer, Steve. She's dangerous. Killing is most likely all she knows." Steve's expression hardened as he looked at her.

"No child should have to live like that…not if there's anything I can do about it."

* * *

"This can't be the data point. This technology is ancient." Natasha said as both her and Steve looked around the hidden underground room. All the computers looked like they came out of the early 60s so how could this be the data point? Natasha smirked as she glanced at the old technology but the smirk immediately fell off her face when she saw the USB ports. She took the flash drive out of her pocket and plugged it into the USB port with some hesitation. Natasha and Steven looked around the room as everything began lighting up and the computers began to work.

"Initiate system?" An electronic voice said from the computer. Steve and Natasha stared at the green words on the screen for a moment before Natasha moved towards the old computer.

"Y-E-S spells yes." Natasha spoke as she began typing. The redhead then smirked as a certain movie came to mind. " _Shall we play a game?_ It's from a movie that was really-"

"I know…I saw it." Steve said as he cut off Natasha's teasing. Honestly, it was like everyone still expected him to be that far behind on the times. He had been out of ice for nearly three years now so that gave him plenty of time to catch up on things. There was still a lot he was missing but he was getting there. Steve wasn't completely helpless.

"Rogers, Steven Grant." A familiar voice said as a blurry face appeared on the screen. Steve narrowed his eyes at the familiar voice. "Born 1918." The camera then pointed itself towards Natasha who looked up when it said her name.

"Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna." The voice said with a certain eeriness to it. "Born 1984."

"It's some kind of recording." Natasha rationalized.

"I am not a recording, Fraulein." It replied which drew surprised looks from both Steve and Natasha. It was some kind of artificial intelligence…a pre-Jarvis kind of AI system. "I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945. But I am." Steve's eyes widened in surprise as a picture of a familiar doctor flashed on screen. Natasha turned to look at Steve, her face contorted in confusion.

"You know this thing?" She questioned.

"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years." Steve explained as he investigated the room, looking to see if anyone else was down there with them…someone trying to play tricks on them.

"First correction, I am Swiss." Zola said. "Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving…on 200,000 feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

"How did you get here?" Steve inquired as he went back to stand next to Natasha, his shield ready.

"Invited." Zola answered with a smug tone if that was possible for an AI system.

"It was Operation Paperclip. After World War II Shield recruited German scientists with strategic value." Natasha explained.

"They thought I could help their cause." Zola confirmed her recount of Shield's history. "I also helped my own."

"Hydra died with the Red Skull." Steve told the computer, dismissing Zola's insinuation.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." A picture of the familiar symbol then appeared on screen. Steve narrowed his eyes at the sight of it.

"Prove it." Steve demanded.

"Accessing archives." Zola said as more pictures started flashing up on the screen. Steve clenched his jaw when he saw the picture of Red Skull on the computer screen. "Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom."

"What we did not realize that if you try to take that freedom, they resist." Old archive footage of Captain America was then presented on screen. "The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly."

"After the war, Shield was founded and I was recruited." Another picture flashed on screen but this time of Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and Colonel Phillip. The original founders of Shield. "The new Hydra grew. A beautiful parasite inside Shield."

"For seventy years, Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war, and when history did not cooperate…history was changed." Pictures of the Winter Soldier popped up on screen with his familiar metal arm that had the bright red star stamped across it. More recent looking photos of the Viper Assassin also started popping up on the screen. Steve noticed that Natasha had been right about the lethal assassin. The Viper Assassin looked to be a little girl with golden blonde colored hair and porcelain skin. Her eyes couldn't be seen behind her green lensed goggles and the lower part of her face couldn't be seen from underneath the small black mask that covered the lower part of her face. Steve felt sick at the thought that this little girl could not just be an assassin but an assassin for Hydra of all organizations. Hydra that was supposed to be long dead.

"That's impossible." Natasha said, her tone slightly faltering. "Shield would have stopped you."

"Accidents will happen." Zola said gravely as Natasha and Steve were left to watch the screen in complete and utter shock. The faces of Howard and Maria Stark flashed before their eyes as it began to be confirmed that their deaths weren't accidental but instead direct hits from Hydra. Fury's face also flashed before their eyes but that wasn't what took them by surprise. The faces of Steven and Margot Rogers are what caught them by the most surprise. Articles, that indicated that they had perished in a fire along with their four year old daughter, flashed on screen before pictures of the real, unburned bodies of Steven and Margot Rogers were shown.

It was a picture of Steven Rogers lying face down on the ground with his brains splattered across the wall in front of him. Another photo showed Margot Rogers lying on the floor with her eyes wide open in horror, her throat was slit and blood looked to be pooling around her. The photos were both gruesome and devastating all at once because it changed everything Steve thought he knew. Steve's blue eyes flooded with unshed tears as he looked at the pictures of his dead family who, as it turned out, were brutally murdered. There was nothing accidental about it.

"Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom…to gain its security. Once a purification process is complete, Hydra's new world order will arise." Steve watched in defeat as pictures of a new weapon appeared to be shown on the computer screen, the photos of his dead family long gone.

"We won, Captain, your death amounts to the same as your life. A zero sum." Zola bragged and Steve gritted his teeth, punching the screen with as much force as he could muster. The screen then went dark from the impact of his punch.

"As I was saying…" Zola's face then appeared on another screen.

"What's on this drive?" Steve demanded as looked at the screen.

"Project Insight requires insight. So, I wrote an algorithm."

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha quickly asked.

"The answer to your question is fascinating." He answered. "Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." The doors to the elevator then began to close, capturing Steve and Natasha's attention. Steve quickly threw his shield at the closing doors but it was already too late. His shield hit the closed doors before it bounced back.

"Steve, we got a bogey." Natasha announced as she looked at her phone. "Short range ballistic. Thirty seconds tops."

"Who fired it?" Steve asked.

"Shield." She replied quietly, her answer proving that Zola was right.

"I am afraid that I have been stalling, Captain." Zola said as Natasha took the flash drive out of the USB port and stuffed it inside her pocket. "Admit it. It's better this way. We are, both of us, out of time."

Steve rushed towards a metal floorboard in the floor before he proceeded to rip it out. Steve tossed the floorboard to the side as he ushered Natasha down below the floor before jumping in behind her. He covered both her and himself with his shield as the bogey hit the facility, trying to avoid any debris falling on either one of them. Even as the explosion hit the facility, Steve's mind was still locked onto the grisly images of his murdered family.

Here, he thought that they had tragically died in a fire. That was probably what Peggy thought too and Steve hoped to God that she would never find out the truth. Peggy was suffering enough as it was. Steve was only relieved that they didn't show photos of Emma Rogers, his granddaughter, being murdered. He didn't know if he would be able to see that and still be the same person. An image of a happy, giggling little blonde girl with pigtails flooded his mind as he held up his shield with all his might. The granddaughter that he had never gotten to know and the granddaughter that he should've been around to protect.

* * *

"Want some milk?" Pierce asked the Winter Soldier after his maid Renata had finally left. The Winter Soldier was seated at Pierce's dining table, the darkness covering his face. The assassin just watched Pierce in silence as the older man poured a glass of milk for himself. "Timetable has moved. Our window is limited."

"Two targets, level six." Pierce continued as he walked over to the dining table, taking a seat across from the Winter Soldier. "They already cost me Zola. I want confirmed death in ten hours." The Winter Soldier said nothing as Pierce told him this.

"I would call in the Viper Assassin for assistance but this is too close to her. I can't risk one of the targets finding out who she is. She's too big of an asset for me to lose." Pierce said as he thought of the familiar blonde. After Pierce had threatened the Winter Soldier's life, the stupid girl devoted herself to Hydra. Like they would actually kill the Winter Soldier when he already served a purpose to them. They couldn't afford to lose the Winter Soldier. Pierce couldn't complain though. The girl had turned out to be a great assassin, never again failing them in any way. He had the distinct feeling that she would go beyond even what the Winter Soldier could do.

"No, I think she's better off staying at the base in Argentina until the targets are eliminated." Pierce said although it was more to himself than it was to the Winter Solder. Pierce was taken away from his thoughts when his maid reentered the room.

"Sorry, Mr. Pierce, I…" She paused as she noticed a strange looking man under the cover of darkness. A man with a metal arm and who gave her a chilling feeling as he watched her in silence. "I forgot my…phone."

"Oh, Renata, I wish you would have knocked." Pierce said, regretfully. He grabbed the Winter Soldier's gun before he pointed it at Renata, firing at the maid without hesitation. She screamed in horror as he shot her not once but twice. Pierce coldly looked away from the dead maid before resting his eyes on the Winter Soldier once more.

"Just make sure you eliminate both targets. If the Viper Assassin tries to contact you, ignore her."

* * *

"You know me." Steve told the Winter Soldier after he lifted the debris off of him. They were on one of the helicarriers and it was slowly falling down from the sky. There wouldn't be much time before they would crash into the Potomac River. The Winter Soldier gritted his teeth and snarled in anger as he punched Captain America.

"No, I don't!" He yelled out in frustration. He was frustrated because he did know the man yet for the life of him he couldn't figure out how he knew him. There was something about those eyes…They were a deep blue, the color of the ocean but he didn't know how he knew that. Maybe it was because had seen those exact same eyes but somewhere else… _on_ someone else.

"Bucky." Steve said as he got up from the ground. Both Steve and the Winter Soldier were panting for breath, struggling to catch up even though they were both super soldiers. "You've known me your whole life."

This only caused the Winter Soldier to grow angrier. His frustration infuriated him because he knew deep down who that man was but with all his hardest effort, he just couldn't remember his name. The Winter Soldier growled and punched Steve once more, both of them falling down as the helicarrier crashed into another helicarrier.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes." Steve told him fearlessly, not willing to back down from him or shrink back in fear like most others did. Most others except for one individual in the world. A certain small blonde girl who had looked at him in fear once when they first met but had since looked at him in admiration and love…something he knew that he wasn't deserving of.

"Shut up!" The Winter Soldier yelled, knowing that Steve was right but not wanting to hear it. He came at the captain again, punching him once more and knocking Steve down. Steve took off his mask, revealing his face to the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier stared at him silently as Captain America dropped his shield, the shield falling down through the open floor of the helicarrier.

"I'm not going to fight you." Steve said. "You're my friend." The Winter Soldier roared with anger as he pushed Steve to the ground roughly.

"You're my mission." The Winter Soldier told him before pulling his fist back and punching Steve in the face with as much force as he could. The Winter Soldier repeatedly punched Steve in the face with all the anger he felt running through his veins. Anger at all the memories he had lost…the memories that he knew were back there but had been stolen from him long ago. Steve only laid there and let his friend beat him to a bloody pulp.

"Then finish it." Steve told him tiredly. "Because I'm with you 'til the end of the line." The Winter Soldier froze as Steve uttered those words.

Steve.

The Winter Soldier stared in horror at the beaten form of Steve Rogers. He remembered a smaller version of the man in front of him. Someone who was very weak and small yet always started fights that he would have to get him out of. Steve who had always been there for him through thick and thin. Steve who had been allergic to almost everything in the world. Steve who was always shy around the ladies. Steve who was a kind, honest, and an all-around good guy that fearlessly risked his life to stand up for anything he deemed morally right.

It was then that Viper's face flashed before his eyes. He had always found something so familiar about the small blonde girl…something that drew him to her. She always asked him why he helped her…why he cared. The Winter Soldier never had a good answer for her because he wasn't quite sure himself. There was always something so familiar about her eyes and every time he looked into those ocean blue eyes he knew there was something there. He had desperately searched those eyes for something that might tell him the truth and just when he was on the verge of knowing, he was left empty handed. But now he knew. Viper, or her real name which was Emma Rogers, was related to Steve…She was the man's granddaughter. There had always been a connection between himself and Viper but that connection turned out to be Steve. His best friend and Viper's grandfather.

The helicarrier then impacted the other one more harshly, causing Steve and Bucky to be pushed out. Steve, being the one closer to the bottom, fell from the floor and was dropped through the air as he started to fall down towards the river. The Winter Soldier held on tightly to the edge of the helicarrier as he watched Steve fall, fear flooding his eyes.

"Emma." He whispered softly before jumping off the helicarrier, diving into the water beneath him to save his best friend. Emma's grandfather. The Winter Soldier didn't feel the coldness of the river as he dove in after Steve. He just knew that he had to save him…just like before. He swam into the depths of the river, spotting the unconscious hero sinking towards the bottom. The Winter Soldier quickly grabbed him from under the captain's arms. He then proceeded to swim upwards, swimming towards the shore.

The Winter Soldier set him down along the shore before he gave the captain a long look. He looked a lot like Emma when he slept, The Winter Soldier observed. They even had the same jawline. The Winter Soldier looked over the destroyed helicarriers which also meant the destruction of Hydra. Although it wasn't the complete destruction of Hydra, since if you cut off one head two more shall grow in its place. No, Hydra wasn't finished but he was. This might be good. Maybe not for him but it would be good for Emma…The Viper. She was now thirteen and had since faded from the hopeful, positive little girl she once was. Maybe that could change but not with him around. The Winter Soldier stared at Steve with a more determined look on his face.

"You two need each other."


	9. Chapter Eight

It had been three weeks since the battle over the Potomac River had ended and Natasha had leaked all of Hydra and Shield's files over the internet. Steve had been hoping to find out more about Bucky from the leak as well as the mysterious Viper Assassin but he had come up empty handed. All he had was the file that Natasha gave him on the Winter Soldier but all of their leads had turned up cold. Steve had tried getting something from Natasha on the Viper Assassin but she had said that she gave him all the information she had…which was almost nothing.

Steve had decided to leave Washington D.C., tired of the reminder of Hydra and Shield, returning to New York to live in Avenger's Tower with the rest of the team. The team had all seemingly moved into the tower together which was a first for them. There were times when one or two of them occupied the tower but never at the same time. Stark had given Steve his own floor of the tower, a suite that was much too large for him, and a big bed that was equally as large but much too soft for his liking.

Everything had seemingly slowed down now that Steve had returned to the tower. Thor had returned from Asgard after the weird space elf incident in London and Tony had returned after the Mandarin attack. Steve had returned after the fall of Shield and Hydra leak but now he was finding it more and more difficult to return to normal. What was normal, anyways? Steve didn't think normal existed in his life. There was no room for normal. Steve was only a little regretful of moving all the way to New York which was a distance away from Peggy in D.C. He still visited her on weekends even though it broke his heart more and more each time he saw her, but it would've been nice to be closer to her.

Steve still remained in close contact with Sam who was now following up on a lead in Russia. Apparently in the search for Bucky, Sam was equally as devoted to finding him as Steve was. Steve couldn't be more grateful but he guessed that's what friends were for. Even Stark was trying to help locate Bucky and he didn't even consider them to be that close. Steve almost didn't know if he wanted him to help considering what happened with Tony's parents and Bucky's involvement in that. It seemed wrong but Steve didn't want to tell him. He was afraid that Stark would go looking for Bucky out of revenge rather than friendship.

"Captain Rogers." Jarvis called out. Steve was sitting in the living room, of his suite, on one of luxurious couches that Stark had placed in there. He was currently reading _Brooklyn_ a book about an Irish immigrant moving to Brooklyn, New York during the 1950s. The book reminded him of the Brooklyn he used to know…A Brooklyn that was now long gone. Steve looked up from the book and stared at the ceiling. He needed to look somewhere because it felt weird just staring into space when he was being addressed.

"Yes, Jarvis?"

"A package has arrived for you in the lobby, sir." The British AI system told him and Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. A package? He didn't order anything. Sometimes he received fan letters or care packages from fans but that was only after Pepper looked them over, making sure that the letters or packages didn't contain any chemical powders. What was weird was that Jarvis was personally telling him that he had a package.

"A package?"

"Yes, sir. I thought the package looked much different than your usual mail so I took it upon myself to scan the contents." Steve swallowed nervously as he continued staring at the ceiling.

"Yes? And what did you find?"

"The package appears to contain a flash drive." Steve was dumbfounded. A flash drive? Honestly, Steve was a little tired of flash drives after the whole Hydra incident. "The package doesn't seem to contain any explosives or chemical powders. According to my diagnostics, it's completely safe."

"What's the return address on the package?" Steve asked.

"That is what's odd, sir. The return address is a location in the Andes mountain range in Argentina but I am unable to get any pictures of the location via satellite. I believe that exact location is Patagonia, Argentina." This was becoming all the more confusing to Steve. He shook his head before he got up from the couch, putting his book down on the coffee table.

"Never mind. I'll go retrieve the package…call the others in for a meeting." Steve told Jarvis as he began walking out of the room. "I have a feeling that this package is a whole lot bigger than just a simple flash drive. It's always is."

* * *

"So you've put together a meeting because someone sent you a flash drive?" Tony Stark questioned the captain, a smug smirk on his face. The billionaire in question was reclined in a relaxed position in his seat. The rest of the Avengers were also seated at the long table in their designated conference room that hadn't even been used yet. There was a first time for everything. "It's probably just porn. I bet that cute little nurse/spy sent you her good stuff…something to get the relationship kick started. Every relationship needs a good porno to get it started."

"I called this meeting because I believe we have a lead in the Winter Soldier case." Steve said formally but glaring at Tony as he did so. He also sent a glare towards Natasha because it didn't take genius to figure out who had told Stark that bit of gossip. "Today a package arrived in the lobby addressed to me with a return address that Jarvis has pinpointed from somewhere in the Andes mountain range, narrowed down to Patagonia, Argentina."

"Why would some mountain man from the Andes send you a flash drive?" Natasha questioned.

"That's exactly what I would like to know. There's no picture available from satellite imaging so the location is close to non-existent." Steve explained. Clint Barton spoke up next from his seat next to Natasha.

"Still…I bet Captain America has fans from all over the world." He commented and Steve nodded but not before shaking the package, causing the flash drive to fall out and land on the table with a quiet clattering noise. Steve held up the small flash drive to the light and pointed out a suspicious looking symbol on it. It was the symbol of Hydra.

"True but not all flash drives have Hydra symbols on them." He remarked before Tony snatched the flash drive away from him, analyzing the symbol.

"Hmmm…that's interesting. I can't imagine you could buy something like this from Target?" He said sarcastically and everyone just rolled their eyes at him. "Best Buy? Radio Shack? No?"

"Are we sure we want to plug that thing in?" Bruce Banner questioned with a doubtful tone. "What if it's some sort of virus? What if they're trying to hack into Stark Industries?"

"I don't think Hydra is the one that sent this." Steve told him honestly.

"That would never happen anyways." Tony added as he still analyzed the flash drive with curiosity in his eyes. "I don't care who Hydra has but they would never be able to hack into our system or upload any sort of virus. Even if they happened to have a genius that rivaled my intellect, which is impossible by the way, Jarvis would shut the program down before any damage was done."

"Then what is stopping us from facing our foes?" Thor asked, his voice loud and booming like always. "We shall plug in the tiny, odd contraption and see what this person has sent to us in the form of a message. We are prepared for anything."

It seemed like Thor's decision had resonated well with all of them although Natasha and Bruce still looked a bit concerned by what the flash drive contained. Tony reached for the USB port, much like the one in the underground Hydra facility that had housed Zola, and plugged in the flash drive without much more thought. Steve didn't know what he would see come popping up on the holographic screen when Tony plugged in the flash drive. Part of him expected to see Zola again and from Natasha's expression he could tell she was thinking the same thing. It only took a second before what looked like a file popped up on the screen. Dozens and dozens of pages flashed before their eyes, the pages filled with photos and video footage. Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he tried to decipher the pages but everything was popping up on the screen at a rapid pace.

"What is this?" Steve said, voicing his thoughts as all the Avengers watched the file pop up on the screen. They all shared similar expressions of confusion.

"It looks to be some sort of file." Natasha responded but she sounded just as confused as Steve was.

"Is it Bucky's file?" He questioned but Natasha shook her head.

"No, I gave you his file but this definitely isn't it. There's a lot more here." She stated. It was then that a familiar name flashed in front of their very eyes. It was the first time that something appeared on screen long enough for them to read.

The Viper Assassin.

"The Viper Assassin? Who's that?" Bruce asked as he stared at the screen, confusion in his eyes. Steve was left even more dumbfounded than before as he stared at the screen. He had been sure that Bucky might have sent him something to tell him where he was located but this didn't seem to have anything to do with that. He was absolutely sure Bucky sent this but why would Bucky send him a file on the Viper Assassin? Did he want him to find the Viper Assassin? Why?

"She's a ghost story." Natasha replied, filling them on the piece of information both her and Steve had left out when they enlisted in the other's help to find Bucky. The only other one who knew anything about the Viper Assassin was Clint but what he knew was only limited to what Natasha had told him. "She's just like the Winter Soldier, an assassin forced into submission by Hydra. I think she's a companion of his or something."

"So…" Tony trailed off, smirking again. "She's like the Winter Soldier's little girlfriend? Didn't think the guy had it in him." Steve glared at him, annoyed by his humor that always had to make a cameo in the worst situations.

"She's a girl, Tony."

"A girl?" Bruce asked, looking even more confused by this piece of information. Natasha sighed as she continued to explain.

"I met her five years ago just outside of Odessa, Iran while I was escorting a nuclear engineer to a safe house. The guy was a target and I guess the Winter Soldier and the Viper Assassin were ordered to assassinate him." Natasha paused as she looked at all the guys, glancing at each of their faces. "The Viper Assassin shot out all four of my tires and sent us over a cliff. I pulled both of us out and that was when I saw her there."

"I had already run out of bullets when their car drove by so I just had to hope for the best." Natasha swallowed as remembered the small girl. "She couldn't have been older than seven or eight. A child. She had the gun pointed right at me. I tried to talk her out of it… to get her to come with me and I thought she would. There was something holding her back though. She refused to leave but she still couldn't take the shot. "

"It was then that the Winter Soldier shot through me to get the nuclear engineer and he did. I was bleeding out in the desert and I thought I was going to die. I was so sure she would finish me off but she didn't." Natasha said, smiling faintly at the image of the girl helping her. "She got my panic button from my pocket and pushed it. She saved me."

"So what? She's an assassin with a heart of gold?" Tony asked, with a confused look on his face. "I don't know if it's me but I'm just not getting the moral of the story."

"My point is that she's just a child that's been brainwashed by Hydra. A casualty of a war that she has nothing to do with." Natasha stated as she sent a glare in Tony's direction. Bruce and Clint looked as though they didn't know how to feel about this while Thor just looked enraged.

"A child?!" Thor yelled furiously, throwing his fist down against the table. The table cracked underneath the force of Thor's strength, making everyone flinch from the sound. "What kind of world allows a child to kill for them?! Children are sacred, innocent gifts that are bestowed upon us from Valhalla! They are not meant to be corrupted by acts that are so evil and heinous."

"It's not uncommon, Thor. Child soldiers, I mean." Clint told the angered God of Thunder. "It still happens today although it's more common in countries like Columbia, Afghanistan, and Syria. Trust me…it's not exactly a well-liked practice."

"So why is the Winter Soldier supposedly showing us a file on the Viper Assassin?" Bruce asked as all the Avengers returned their attention back to the file on the screen. It was a question that was going through everyone's minds as they started going to work, flipping through the various pages and photos on screen.

There was a video clip that showed a small blonde girl watching every fight move that an older, taller looking man was showing her. It was the Winter Soldier. She watched the Winter Soldier closely as he showed her the different moves and techniques before he finished, gesturing for her to copy him. The girl seemed all too eager to do as he requested as she mimicked all the moves he made with nothing short of perfection. The video clip then switched to another one where it showed the very same blonde girl being questioned by an older Russian man. Steve narrowed his blue eyes as he looked at the face of the small girl. He hadn't been able to see her face in the last video. Just the back of her head. Why did she look so familiar? He knew that this was the Viper Assassin but something about her face told Steve that he knew her from somewhere else.

"Na kakom kontinente nakhoditsya strana Sokovia?" (What continent contains the country Sokovia?) The Russian man asked her in fluent Russian.

"What's he saying, Romanoff?" Steve questioned. He was fluent in French and German but Russian was beyond his understanding.

"He's asking her which continent Sokovia is located in." Natasha translated, her tone full of fascination. Tony snorted.

"What? They don't have internet or books in Russia? Can't he look it up himself?" He asked sarcastically and Natasha only rolled her eyes at him.

"I think he's teaching her." She replied shortly before they continued to listen in on the video clip.

"Sokovia nakhoditsya v Europe, Ser. Vostochnyy sektor." (Sokovia is located in Europe, Sir. The Eastern Sector.) The small girl replied, her voice soft and delicate sounding which made her sound very much like the little girl she was.

"She told him that it was located in Eastern Europe." Natasha translated again.

"Is she Russian then?" Bruce inquired but Natasha shook her head.

"I don't think so, Bruce. Her English was perfect when I met her. She might be Russian but she would have to be some sort of genius to speak English that fluently and at that age." Natasha remarked as she stared at the image of the small girl, undergoing geographical lessons. "Her Russian doesn't sound perfect. There's something off about it…it's her accent I think. I doubt that she's really Russian. She's more than likely American."

The group moved onto another video clip but this one was much darker than the other ones. This one showed some sort of laboratory that contained various medical and scientific equipment. This piqued the interest of both Bruce and Tony as they paid more attention to the video clip. A large glass tank sat in the middle of the laboratory as it was filled with water. Steve clenched his jaw in anger when he saw two familiar faces standing with the other scientists as they observed the tank. Pierce and Rumlow.

Pierce had thankfully been killed by Fury but Rumlow had managed to survive and was sent to a hospital which he also managed to escape from. That was only a week ago and Fury had contacts searching everywhere for the missing Hydra agent but the man was gone without a trace. Steve looked at the clip more closely, his eyes widening when he noticed that someone was inside the tank. It was her. The little blonde girl that looked eerily familiar to him. The Viper Assassin.

She was underwater and seemingly held down by constraints made by the very same plastic tubing that also seemed to be attached her skin. She struggled under the constraints desperately but the tubing automatically held her down. Steve watched in horror as a blue liquid starting moving through the tubing before entering her body. Nothing could be heard since the girl was underwater but the pain must've been immense. Bubbles escaped the girl's mouth from under a breathing mask as she struggled furiously. The constraints tightened more around her, refusing to let her go as the blue liquid entered her body.

All the Avengers watched in terror as the poor little girl suffered through what no person let alone a child should have to suffer. Thor looked furious at the very sight as he began to clench and unclench his fists, looking like he would very much like to punch something. Bruce even felt the other guy stir inside him as he watched the girl be tortured in such an inhumane way. Natasha bit her lip, knowing that what that girl went through was far worse than she ever imagined and she regretted not dragging that girl along with her that day in the desert. Clint glared at the screen, feeling the anger boiling through his blood because even though most of the Avengers didn't know it, he was a father himself. He had a little girl of his own at home and she could've ended up just like the girl on the screen. For all of Tony's faults and uncaring attitude, even he felt anger and sadness towards the girl in the glass tank…if he had known about the girl he could've done something to rescue her years ago. Lastly, Steve felt just like he did when he found out about Bucky. He felt like it was his entire fault and he could've found a way to prevent it.

"Stop the video." Steve said quietly and Tony immediately exited out of the video clip but stayed within the file.

"Does this mean that she's like you?" Clint asked Steve after they all fell into a period of silence that felt like it had lasted for an hour rather than a few short minutes.

"I'm assuming whatever they injected into her must be some sort of super soldier serum." Bruce said as he glanced at a part of the Viper Assassin's file on screen. The doctor adjusted his glasses before he flipped through the file, looking at what looked to be a diagram of the glass tank the girl had been in. "It looks like the glass tank was hooked to this mechanical device over here." Bruce pointed to the schematics for an odd looking mechanical contraption. "This seemed to house the serum or whatever they injected into her and pumped it in through her blood stream."

"So does this make her a super soldier jr.?" Tony inquired, trying to make light of situation. The billionaire hated tense situations. It reminded him too much of the fights his father and mother used to have.

"I could only assume. The schematics of the mechanism and tanks are all that's in here. There's nothing that gives any clue as to just what it was that they injected her with."

"I do not understand this." Thor stated, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would these people pick a child to subject their horrors onto? A full grown being would be much more susceptible to their evil crimes."

"None of this seems right." Clint said as he took into consideration what Thor had said. "Thor's right. Why would they pick a little girl out of all people? I get that Hydra's full of evil assholes but wouldn't an adult be better for their experiment? Wouldn't an adult be stronger?"

"Hydra experimented on Bucky when his unit was captured back in '43." Steve commented. "There were no records of them ever experimenting on children. The only thing I can't understand is why choose to experiment on a child now? Why not back then if they were going to do it?"

"I told you, Steve, children are innocent…people don't expect them to kill in cold blood." Natasha said but Steve didn't seem convinced.

"It can't just be that, Natasha, there's got to be more to it than that." Steve argued. "The Viper Assassin wasn't there in D.C. Why is that? If she's one of Hydra's top assassins then why wasn't she there? What happened to her?"

"Maybe she died." Tony said, stating the obvious even though he didn't like the thought. She was just a little kid after all. "Hydra might have killed her off. From what you've told me, Hydra engineered super assassins seem to be a little on the temperamental side. Maybe Hydra thought she would be more useful to them dead than alive. She's bound to be more temperamental than your old war buddy if she's just a kid… especially a teenage super assassin. Those hormones must be crazy."

"I don't think Bucky would send me her file if she was dead." Steve told them, sending a glare in Tony's direction. Tony's sarcastic tone wasn't much appreciated by the super soldier in that moment. "What would be the point? No, Bucky's trying to tell me something about her…I think he might want us to find her."

"Uh…guys?" All heads turned to Bruce. The doctor had been quiet as they all discussed what the file could possibly mean to them. He was usually quiet but this time there was something different. Bruce stared at the screen with an expression akin to complete and utter shock. Natasha feared that he might start turning green with the way he was staring at the screen.

"What is it, Banner?" Steve inquired in a serious tone that was full of authority. Bruce tore his gaze from the screen and looked directly at Steve.

"I think I know why Barnes sent you this flash drive. Just take a look." Bruce had seemingly found a page of the file that told them just who the Viper Assassin was. The picture on the screen displayed the same girl from the videos but only this time she looked much older. The girl looked to be in her early teens at the most, her face a lot thinner although she still had some of that baby fat from her youth. The girl's skin had a striking pale porcelain look to it which highlighted the purple shadows underneath her eyes, something that someone that young shouldn't have.

Her eyes were a stunning ocean blue that looked all too familiar to the Avengers. There was a cold and tired look to them, almost as though the girl had given up. Her nose was thin and upturned, reminding them of a woodland fairy, and most of her other features were delicate as well. Her lips were a naturally rosy color and were pursed into a frown as she stared into the camera. The girl's jawline also seemed familiar to the Avengers as it looked to be firmly clenched…as if she were fighting the urge to attack whoever was taking her picture. The girl's hair was an almost golden shade of blonde. It seemed to go down to the middle of her back and was completely straight without a hair out of place. The girl had a slender and tall figure, making it evident that she could've been an athlete rather than an assassin. There was something about her that infuriated Steve because he felt as though he knew her. What was it about this girl?

"Look at her bio." Bruce whispered, his voice sounding hoarse. Steve began to read the biography of the Viper Assassin, the others did the exact same, and felt his jaw drop open as he read the information.

 _Name: Emma Margaret Rogers_

 _Born: January 17_ _th_ _, 2001_

 _Place of Birth: Rush Springs, Oklahoma(USA)_

 _Mother: Margot Stephanie Rogers (Nee Pierce)_

 _Father: Steven Grant Rogers Jr._

 _Biography: The Asset, formerly known as the Project, was taken from her home in the U.S. following the elimination of her parents and placed at the Hydra base in Siberia, Russia where she was raised. The Asset is the only child of Agent Steven Grant Rogers Jr., a retired agent of Shield and former deputy director. She is the last of the Rogers bloodline, inheriting Erskine's original formula from her grandfather Steven Grant Rogers, also known as the war hero Captain America._

 _The formula did not appear to be potent in her blood work but after injecting her with a new serum, we've found that her body has been much more accepting of the serum than past subjects. The serum has proven to be successful as it has enhanced the Asset in more ways than we thought possible. Her agility, strength, speed, and healing factor has seemingly rivaled that of her close companion The Winter Soldier. We believe, when she's reached maturity, she will be stronger than both the Winter Soldier and Captain America put together. Hydra's perfect creation. As the Viper Assassin she has successfully completed twenty four missions and twenty six assassinations. A true success after the incident in 2009 outside of Odessa, Iran. The Viper Assassin is Hydra's most powerful weapon and with the return of Captain America she will be our main defense against him and his team of misfits._

 _Abilities: Enhanced strength, enhanced speed, enhanced reflexes, enhanced agility, enhanced healing factor, enhanced intelligence, enhanced hearing, enhanced sense of smell, enhanced vision, enhanced survival instinct, and flight._

 _Report edited by: Agent Wolfgang von Strucker (Febuary 22_ _nd_ _, 2014)_

Steve Rogers stared in shock at the face of the Viper Assassin. No, as the face of Emma Rogers stared back at him. He fell back into his seat from the shock of it all, his heart beat elevated as he tried to make sense of what he had just read. The other Avengers all had similar expressions of shock on their faces as they reread the file over and over again, not believing it the first time. While they all looked shocked at this new development of information none of them looked quite as confused, sad, and angry as Steve was...except for maybe Tony and Clint.

"Captain Rogers, I've detected an increase in your heart rate. Do you wish for medical assistance?" Jarvis asked as Steve struggled to maintain his composure. He didn't know if he wanted to cry or yell out in anger. Steve gritted his teeth as he looked scathingly towards the ceiling.

"I'm fine, Jarvis." He managed to say before staring back at the picture of Emma Rogers. "How is this possible? How is she not dead? Fury told me that they had all died in a house fire back in 2005." Steve asked, whilst taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down. It was the first time any of the Avengers had ever appeared frightened of him. The look of pure rage was so shocking that not even Tony made a smart ass comment.

"Steve, you remember what Zola showed us…" Natasha told him in a calm tone. "They didn't die from a house fire. Hydra had them killed. We should've known that she wasn't dead when Zola didn't show us a picture of her."

"Is that why they're dead?" Steve questioned, trying to get a grasp on this new predicament. "They wanted her so they killed her parents and took her from her home. They placed her in some Hydra base and trained her to be an assassin…trained her to be a killer. God, twenty six assassinations? She's only thirteen for Christ's sake!"

"Why wasn't all this revealed when Shield fell? A lot of Hydra files were leaked, weren't they?" Tony questioned, steering the conversation from Cap's granddaughter. It didn't seem wise to let Steve's thoughts linger on his assassin granddaughter…no matter how shocked that even Tony found it that Emma Rogers was still alive. Someone he had thought was long dead.

"Most of the Hydra files were leaked but that's only the ones we were able to find." Clint replied, answering Tony's question. He was still reeling from this new information. Unsure of how to feel about Margot's daughter still being alive. Relief and shock seemed to be the two emotions he was feeling above all the others. "Hydra probably has a lot of files and projects that are buried deep. There's still a shit ton of stuff out there that we probably don't know about."

"This is what Barnes wanted, Steve." Natasha said, bringing the conversation back to the Viper Assassin. She stared directly at Steve as he looked up and met her gaze. "He sent you the flash drive because he wanted you to know that she's out there and she's alive. He wants you to find her…to help her."

"This is all my fault." Steve said as he looked down at the table, his gaze focused on the color scheme of the conference table. "I should've been there to protect them but I wasn't. I was stuck in the ice for all that time. Do you know what it's like? Waking up from decades upon decades of sleep only to find out that everyone you knew and loved were dead or that they moved on with their lives." He looked back up at his team mates as he spoke the next words. "It only felt like a night's worth of sleep."

"How about waking up and finding out that you finally had the American dream." Steve continued and all the Avengers looked at him with sympathetic expressions on their faces…even Tony. "A beautiful girl, one that you would've married the second the war ended, and a strong, healthy boy. He would grow up and marry a beautiful girl just like the one you married. They'd get a nice house, somewhere quiet, and have a little girl of their own. Then you wake up from that dream and realize that it was all real except that you weren't in it and your entire family was murdered…and that cute little girl was taken and made into a weapon because you weren't there to protect her. I couldn't even protect my own son."

"This isn't your fault, Steve." Natasha argued, causing Steve to glare at her. His blue eyes were brimmed with unshed tears, his face contorted in anger.

"Isn't it, Romanoff? I wasn't there to protect any of them not to mention the only reason they took her was because of my blood that runs through her veins. The serum, that I volunteered to be injected with, runs through her veins." Steve spat. The others were shocked, they had never seen the Captain in such a state before. Steve was normally the nicest, most understanding man around…a true gentlemen. It wasn't like any of them could necessarily blame him for how he was acting now. He had just found that his granddaughter was still alive and forced to be an assassin for Hydra. An organization that Steve thought he had sacrificed his life to end.

"Yes, you weren't there but it was only because you were frozen in ice. There is no scenario where you could have been there in any capacity." Tony stated, his tone more serious than it had ever sounded in the past. The other Avengers glanced between the two as they glared at each other. It was no secret that Steve and Tony barely got along. They butted heads all the time but they were still friends in a way. "When you let my dad and Erskine experiment on you with the serum there is no way that you could've foreseen the future. I don't believe that clairvoyance is an ability that comes with the super soldier serum. If it is then my father and Erskine were even bigger geniuses than we thought."

The two Avengers stared each other down, both of their glares unwavering. Bruce smirked at the two because it sounded like Tony really cared and he spent enough time with the billionaire to be able to read between the lines of Tony's sarcasm. Natasha and Clint eyed the two with caution as they prepared to stop the conflict if the need arose…if the two reached over the table and started choking each other to death. Thor didn't look the least bit bothered by the situation but instead had a rather serious, thoughtful look on his face as he looked at his teammates.

"This child is the Captain's relation…is she not?" Thor asked, his voice breaking the tension filled silence.

"Yes, she's Steve's granddaughter, Thor." Bruce told him when no one replied. Thor, however, completely ignored the one he knew as Banner, the other half of the fearsome beast known as the Hulk, and kept his gaze on Steve.

"Captain?" Thor asked, making it known that he insisted on Steve being the one to answer the question.

"Yes, Thor, she's my granddaughter." Steve glanced down at his hands as he thought about Emma, wondering what she was doing right at that moment. It chilled him right to the bone as he wondered whether or not she was being tortured by Hydra or sent out on another mission to assassinate some politician. "She's all I have left."

"We must rescue Lady Emma since she is the last remaining family member of the Captain. Family is of the most importance on Asgard." Thor declared both happily and fiercely at the same time before he reached out his hand, silently calling out for Mjolnir to return to him. The hammer flew through the air and Thor caught it easily in his hand.

"It's not that simple, Thor. For instance…we have no idea where she might be." Clint told him as he quickly flipped through the file on the screen again. "There's nothing here that indicates where she's located. I guess Barnes forgot to send us that part."

"Not necessarily." Natasha added as she glanced from Clint to the orange Manila folder carelessly strewn across the table. She picked up the folder and analyzed the return address. "Why would the world's greatest hide and seek player leave a return address if he's the kind of guy that doesn't want to be found?" Steve looked at the folder that the flash drive had been in. He gestured for Natasha to hand it over to him and she did as he requested.

"I thought that this was where he might be…that he might want to be found." Steve trailed off as he stared at the return address. "I think you're right, Natasha, if he wanted to be found then he would be here already. He left this return address because he wants us to find Emma and he knows exactly where she is."

"And where's that again?" Tony asked. His decision was already made whether or not he would help in this mission but he wanted to know the exact coordinates so that he could prepare to kick some Hydra ass and rescue Cap's kid in the process.

"Patagonia, Argentina…somewhere located in the Andes mountain range. It's not really that specific." Natasha answered.

"That's a very general location. Are we absolutely sure there's satellite imaging of this location?" Tony inquired but Steve shook his head.

"No, Jarvis said that there's nothing that looks like a base located anywhere within the Andes…especially in Patagonia." Steve said, stumped as to where this mysterious Hydra base could be.

"Didn't you guys say that you found that Hydra computer room, with the creepy dead scientist guy, in that old Shield facility in New Jersey? Maybe Hydra did the same thing…I can't imagine that they would have a base out in the open." Clint questioned as the thought came to mind. Everyone turned their heads to look at the archer. Natasha frowned as she considered his question and it was a good point but she still didn't think it had any relevance to the Hydra base in Argentina.

"Yes, but Clint…that old Shield facility stuck out like a sore thumb. There's nothing like that in the Andes." She told him but Clint didn't look convinced.

"In the 1970s Shield put out a bunch of stations within mountain ranges like the Himalayas, Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains…the Andes." Clint told them which drew everyone's curiosity. "They were small scientific stations which housed maybe one or two scientists at a time. The stations were definitely not big enough to be called a facility or a base…more like shacks really." Bruce threw Clint a bewildered look as he thought about what Clint had suggested.

"Wait…are you saying that Hydra might have built an underground base beneath a science shack?" Bruce asked incredulously and Clint only shrugged.

"It would be a smart move…the base would be undetectable and under radar because who really cares about a tiny, old science station in the Andes?" Clint said and the Avengers had to admit that he had a really good point. Tony glanced away from Clint with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Jarvis, search for any Shield science stations in the Andes. Narrow the location down to Patagonia, Argentina." Tony told the AI system. There was a brief moment of silence as the Avengers waited for Jarvis's response. There was a lot on the line now…this would dictate whether or not they could rescue Cap's long lost granddaughter. Steve looked impatiently eager as he longed to hear for some good news for once.

"Sir, it would appear that there is one Shield science station located in Patagonia, Argentina within the Andes mountain range." Jarvis told them and they nearly all sighed in relief. "The station was abandoned in 1991 due to unknown reasons." Tony raised a brow at that.

"Unknown?" Tony inquired.

"The information regarding the abandonment of the station has since been redacted." Tony frowned at the AI system's shady answer.

"Yeah, well, I think we can all guess why it was redacted." Tony commented as he looked at the other Avengers who all had thoughtful looks on their faces. It was obvious they were all planning out their next moves.

"Jarvis, send the coordinates to the Quinjet's navigation system." He told Jarvis quietly.

"Of course, Sir." Jarvis answered. The Avengers then took turns glancing at one and other. They were successful in retrieving the location of the mysterious Hydra base which really was where Barnes said it was. What was curious to them was why he was so hell bent on making sure that they rescued Emma Rogers. It only made them wonder about the closeness of the relationship between Steve's best friend and granddaughter. It was quite possible that the Winter Soldier hadn't been as emotionless as everyone thought.

"Then it is decided!" Thor announced jovially. "We must storm the mountain kingdom of Argentina and rescue the heir to the Captain's bloodline. This sounds like a most honorable quest."

"Yeah, I'm with tall and mighty over here." Tony stated, a grin forming on his face. "Let's go kick some Hydra ass and rescue Mini Cap." Everyone seemed to be in agreement with Tony and Thor except for Steve who looked saddened by the whole prospect.

"I can't ask you guys to do this. This is my mission and my mission alone." He said with a melancholy tone. All the rest of the Avengers looked at him in disbelief but Natasha understood him. Steve was so selfless that he didn't want any of them to risk their lives for what he deemed as his mess.

"Steve, you're kidding, right?" Natasha said. "We're a team, aren't we? This girl's the only family you have left and we can't just leave you to go to that Hydra base on your own. Besides…she saved my life. I owe her a great debt." She paused as she thought about the small girl who had turned out to be Steve's family. "I told her that she could come with me and my mistake was letting her go. This is me making up for that."

"We're with you, Steve." Clint told him with a determined look on his face before Steve looked at Bruce who looked slightly nervous but just as determined as Clint.

"She's just a kid…no one deserves what Hydra's done to her. She's already been there way too long." Bruce said and Steve finally met the gaze of Tony whose expression was soft for once without any trace of humor or sarcasm.

"Face it, Cap, we're all in this together." The billionaire told his friend. "Besides…this is like killing three birds with one stone. We get to rid the world of more Hydra ass clowns, rescue Hit Girl like a princess locked in a tower, and look for that nifty little glowy stick of Loki's." Tony glanced at Thor for confirmation. "Isn't that right, big guy?"

"That is correct, Man of Iron. Loki's scepter has mysteriously vanished and the universe could be in grave danger if it falls into the wrong hands." Thor confirmed and Tony nodded slowly.

"Right…what he said." Tony quipped before he glanced back at Steve. "See…it's not all about you and your long lost granddaughter so none of that guilt trip bullshit. We're going to be there on official boy band business whether Mini Cap's there or not." Natasha gave Stark a death glare which caused the billionaire to gulp.

"Right, right…boy band plus one super awesome cool chick on the guitar that totally makes the rest of us doomed without her." Tony locked eyes with Steve, giving the Captain a sincere look.

"Come on, Cap, let's go get her." Steve's answer was a quick nod which caused the rest of the Avengers to smile in relief. Steve then took back control of the meeting, beginning to make plans so that they could rescue Emma Rogers…his family. It was something that Steve thought he would never have again yet in the matter of an hour, he managed to have a chance to get back the part of his life that he thought he'd lost when he crashed into the ocean. Steve was adamant that he wasn't going to fail Emma like he had failed her parents, her grandmother, and Bucky. No, Emma was going to have a life away from Hydra and away from all the bloodshed and war even if that meant that he had to die in the process.

She was going to have a life…that much he knew.


	10. Chapter Nine

Hydra Base

Location: Patagonia. Argentina(The Andes Mountain Range)

2014

Emma's eyes fluttered open as she heard something in the distance. It was well known around base that the Viper Assassin had extraordinary hearing abilities. She was a relatively light sleeper due to her enhanced senses so whatever sound she heard had easily roused her from her sleep. Emma barely dreamed of anything but nightmares these days so the noise was a welcomed alarm clock to her ears. The blonde girl immediately sat up in her small bed, surveying the room for any sign of a threat. She slid her hand discreetly underneath her pillow, grasping her .22 magnum in her hand. Someone might call it paranoia but Emma just called it life. Old habits die hard.

Emma had spent one month inside the top secret Hydra base which was much more hidden away than the one in Siberia. It wasn't as if she was unused to being moved from Hydra base to Hydra base but normally she would transition between Hydra bases in Europe. Argentina was drastically different from the other Hydra bases she frequented. She could tell that the base was built in a hurry because it was practically built underground and all the while was falling apart.

Emma had really thought the base in Siberia was small but this place could even make someone like her feel claustrophobic. Her room was even smaller than the one back in Siberia and she didn't even have the luxury of her own bathroom. The agents at the base were okay but she much preferred the cold silence of the Russian Hydra agents to the smugness of the Argentinian agents…they reminded her too much of Rumlow. Emma gritted her teeth at the thought of the dark eyed man and forced herself to let her mind drift away from painful memories. Rumlow would get what he deserved soon enough.

The thirteen year old had grown up a lot within the past five years. Killing had been something she had once been hesitant about doing but things changed…people changed. It was hard at first for her, of course. Her parents were brutally murdered in front of her so how was she expected to do the same to someone else? It was simple actually…threaten the life of the one person in the world who she cared about then Emma could become very cooperative. It was difficult at first but her father helped her through it. No one ever said killing was easy but it did become less and less difficult with time. It became more and more like a chore to her rather than a job. Jobs could be fun sometimes but there was no part of Emma that actually enjoyed killing. It was something that she had to do because it was either that or Hydra would decide that she and her father didn't serve a purpose anymore.

The last month spent in the shabby looking base was really starting to take its toll on Emma. She had been sent to the base a month prior due to unknown reasons. Colonel Karpov had just informed her that she would be temporarily stationed in Patagonia, Argentina until further notice. Emma, like always, knew that it was best not to question Karpov's orders. She had a stronger endurance to pain than she had when she was little and the Russian man would beat her for her insolence but she also knew there were other ways he could punish her.

Speaking of which…she hadn't seen her father in almost a year. It was always like that between them. They would see each other on and off within the past few years because Hydra was very adamant about keeping him in the Cryo-Chamber whenever he didn't have a mission. The last time they were together was when they were given a mission in Thailand. The moment they got back, Hydra put him back in the Cyro-Chamber and Emma hadn't seen him since. They only spent short amounts of time together but Emma cherished that time together all the same. He had been gone a year and Emma missed him more than she would ever admit aloud.

Emma hadn't been completely sure as to why Hydra decided to suddenly move her to the base in Argentina but she had her suspicions. They never gave her any information that they thought would benefit herself rather than Hydra. She and her father were essentially on a need to know basis because they didn't work for Hydra…no, they were enslaved by Hydra. Still, Emma heard rumors around the base and those Argentinians sure liked to gossip. There were rumors of the destruction of Project Insight as well as the fall of Shield. Shield? Emma thought. No, the fall of Shield couldn't be good for Hydra. Shield was a foundation for Hydra. It was one of their top resources. They also spoke of the death of Alexander Pierce and Emma really hoped that rumor was true. She hated Pierce almost as much as she hated Rumlow…almost.

The blonde girl ended her surveillance of the room, coming up empty. She sighed tiredly as she ran her hands through her long blonde hair. Emma winced at the oily feel of her hair…she hadn't washed it in a couple of days due to a lack of water within the base. Everyone was permitted to one shower a week which wasn't the brightest of ideas considering the place was like an oven filled with sweaty men. She was about to dismiss the noise that had woke her up when she heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from above ground…like there was something moving up there. Emma stared up at the ceiling, her blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, before she made a decision. She quickly grabbed an all too familiar uniform off a single wooden chair in the corner of the room.

It was time to see what the hell was going on out there.

The Viper Assassin emerged from her room much to the bewilderment of the Hydra agents hurriedly passing through the hallways. It had been a quiet month for Emma and it had been clear that her skills weren't needed at the Hydra base which made her wonder why she was even there. She literally did nothing all day and mostly just stayed in her room, reading whatever books Hydra had permitted her to read.

She calmly walked through the base with a stoic expression on her face. Emma's Viper Assassin uniform looked mostly the same during the past few years except for the adjustment in size considering that she was still growing. The only thing that was missing was her goggles and mask. Emma usually only used the goggles and mask while she was out on missions so she felt no need to use them for walking around the base. She watched one of the young looking, but still much older than her, Hydra agents running by in a hurry. She quickly analyzed the nervous yet frightened expression on his face and decided that he was the one to question. Emma reached out and gripped his arm tightly, forcing him to stop in his hurry. The young Hydra agent gave her a frightened look as he realized just who she was. The Viper Assassin had earned something of a legendary reputation during these past few years.

"Qué está pasando?" (What is going on?) Emma questioned in fluent Spanish. The Hydra agent swallowed nervously as his eyes locked onto the cold, blue eyed gaze of the Viper Assassin.

"Lo siento, pero no puedo revelar esa información." (I'm sorry but I can't disclose that information) He told her and Emma sneered at him.

"Dime lo que sabes de buena gana o te haré decírmelo. Confía en mí ... Puedo y lo haré. Las interrogaciones son una de mis muchas especialidades." (Tell me what you know or I'll make you tell me. Trust me…I can and I will. Interrogations are one of my specialties.) Emma told him with an eerie evenness to her tone. It was enough to frighten the young, inexperienced Hydra agent into telling Emma everything he knew.

"La base en bajo ataque." (The base is under attack.) The agent told her reluctantly and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Por quién? Cómo encontrarían la ubicación? Nadie sabe sobre esta base ...Ni siquiera la mayoría de Hydra sabe sobre esta base." (By who? How would they even find the location? No one knows about this base…Not even the majority of Hydra knows about this base.)

"Los Vengadores parecían habernos encontrado de alguna manera." (The Avengers seemed to have found us somehow.) The agent told her with a suspicious tone. Emma's eyes widened as she took in this new piece of information. The Avengers? Emma didn't know how to feel about this new information. The Avengers were here? How did they even find the base?

"Cómo? Eso es imposible." (What? That's impossible.) Emma told him, managing to keep her curiosity at bay in regards to the Avengers.

"Dile eso a tu precioso soldado de invierno." (Tell that to your precious Winter Soldier.) The agent all but spat out, gaining some courage. Emma felt a little speechless at what the agent just told her. Did he really think her father told the Avengers the location of the Hydra base? Why would he do that? Her father sometimes pushed his own boundaries to help her but he was still brainwashed and wiped of most of his his memories at the end of the day.

Emma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion because she tried remembering when the last time she heard any information regarding her father was but she couldn't remember hearing anything. She couldn't even remembering anyone mentioning whether or not he had been taken out of the Cyro-Chamber. This Hydra agent seemed to think that her father had something to do with the Avengers being here and Emma had no idea why.

"Me prepararía para una guerra completa si yo fuera tú. Hay sólo una docena de nosotros aquí. No hay manera de que podamos contenerlos." (I'd get ready for a full out war if I were you. There's only a couple dozen of us here. There's no way we'll be able to hold them off.) He told her coolly before he yanked his arm out of her grip and hurried away to wherever it was he was ordered to be. Emma stood there, other Hydra agents passing by in a rush, but she was incredibly still as she thought about what she was going to do. Emma realized what this would mean for her. She would finally come face to face with her grandfather…Captain America.

Pierce never told her the name of her grandfather when he finally disclosed why Hydra chose her of all people to use the serum on. Emma wasn't stupid though. As soon as she got her hands on a computer she did a little research. How hard was it to find a war hero from World War II who had also been experimented on with a super soldier serum? The answer was that it wasn't hard at all.

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, was quite famous and had mysteriously vanished in 1945 when he crashed into the ocean. It suddenly all made sense to Emma as she pieced everything together. Not only did they have the same last name but they were also both super soldiers and what other reason would Hydra want her for if not just for her being related to that man? All the stories that her grandmother Peggy had told her about the man she had loved, the man she had lost, suddenly made sense.

When the alien invasion in New York happened, it sent tremors through Hydra and especially the scientists who would've liked nothing more than to get their hands on some of that alien technology. It came as a shock to her that her long lost grandfather wasn't actually dead but was alive and well. There had been faint rumors, before then, in Hydra that Captain America had been found but she had just assumed that his body had been found. That was true to an extent but Emma thought that they had found a dead body…not an alive one. She felt indifferent to the Captain the more time she thought about him. To Emma he was just another Avenger…another person that continued to be a pain in Hydra's side. She knew that it was likely that she would be required to respond to a hit on him so it was best not think about just how much he looked like her dad…her biological one, not the Winter Soldier.

Emma clenched her jaw tightly as she forced the thoughts of the patriotically dressed man out of her mind. It wasn't the right time or place to dwell on such things. Emma moved from her position in the hallway and started to devise a plan on how to hold off the Avengers. There was six of them and one of her but Emma wasn't normal, after all. She would fight them and kill them if she had to because Emma wasn't going to let them take her. Emma had a job to do and that included protecting both her and her father. The Avengers weren't about to get in the way of that and Emma was prepared to do whatever she could to prevent their interference. Emma heard a loud explosion coming from the main hangar of the Hydra base followed by some hysterical screams.

"Es Iron Man! Ellos estan aqui! Están en la base! Envía noticias a Sokovia! Con rapidez!" (It's Iron Man! They're here! They're in the base! Send word to Sokovia! Quickly!) One of the head operatives at the Hydra base ordered. Emma could hear one of the subordinate Hydra agents hurrying out of the way to do what his superior ordered of him. So this was it. The Avengers finally made it into the base. If this was any other situation Emma would've laughed at the terrified looks on all the faces of the Hydra agents. They were so not prepared for this. Emma's face was calm as she peeked around a corner towards the main hangar. This was the difference between them and her. She was prepared for everything.

Emma glanced into the main hangar, her hand on her gun that was situated in her gun holster on her right hip. She watched with mild curiosity as Iron Man flew through the main hangar of the base, blasting Hydra agents with his repulsor beams. Emma looked at the scene, remembering that Stark had been one of Hydra's targets that should've been taken care of by Project Insight. It was no secret about just how much Pierce despised the man so of course Stark was one of the first targets on the list. It was a little amusing about just how much the tables had turned. Emma only wished that Pierce had lived long enough to see this for himself.

She watched as the other Avengers entered the main hanger which included a long haired blonde with a flowing red cape and a hammer. Thor. Now Thor was someone that Emma had been immensely curious about but how could anyone not be? He was from an entirely different planet and also happened to be a prince on top of that. A man with a bow and arrow had seemingly found a highly elevated space, watching the ground with a close eye as he aimed his weapon at the unknowing Hydra agents. Emma recognized him to be Clint Barton. Shield's resident archer and one of their top agents until the agency fell.

Emma's eyes then lit up in mild interest as she spotted an all too familiar face fighting on the ground next to Thor, her moves as quick and graceful as a dancer. Agent Romanoff. It had been a few years since Emma had seen her last but the redheaded woman had managed to make an impression on her. She felt a little annoyed that the spy couldn't seem to stay away especially with the warning Emma gave her when they last met. She had meant it too. It really wouldn't be wise if they met again yet here Romanoff was. That was when Emma noticed the man fighting off a Hydra agent next to her.

He was wearing a blue mask which covered the top part of his face but Emma knew who he was just by that ridiculous looking uniform. Captain America himself. The man fought a lot differently than Romanoff did, Emma observed. His movements were less graceful but not less effective. While he lacked the fluidness Natasha Romanoff had, he made up for it with forceful punches and faster speed. Emma had to admire his defensive stance as memories of her earlier training sessions with her father flooded her mind. She looked away from Captain America and instead looked at all the Avenger's positions, assessing their moves as well as where they were in the room. The only one Emma noticed that was missing was the Hulk. She figured that the Hulk was probably a last resort. A smart move, she calculated as she briefly praised their battle strategy.

A Hydra agent was suddenly thrown across the room by Thor, crashing against the wall Emma was hiding herself behind as she assessed the situation. The agent groaned in pain before he opened his eyes, Emma filling his vision. He looked at her in disbelief as she just simply stood there and watched him with an emotionless expression on her face. The man gave her a questioning look, obviously wanting to know why she wasn't helping, but Emma only ignored him as she silently moved more behind the wall. Thor came back to retrieve the man and Emma held her breath, hoping that he didn't have any sort of enhanced sense of smell or hearing like she did. If he did then he didn't notice, Emma thought, as Thor grabbed the man and flew back into the main hangar.

She peeked around the corner again, noticing that Hydra's numbers were decreasing quickly. Emma decided that she needed to make a move soon if she was going to get of that place. There was no way she could defeat them all on her own, maybe if her father was there, so she would need the Hydra agents to distract some of them as she made her escape. This worked in her favor since the Hydra agents were already providing the distraction Emma needed. She couldn't wait until all the Hydra agents were dead because that would mean she would have the Avenger's full attention.

No, she could hold off a couple then escape when she defeated them and by then the other ones would be too late. Emma wasn't about to fight Thor because he wasn't human and wouldn't likely be harmed by her attack. She might be able to fight off Iron Man but there was no telling what fancy gadgets his suit had but Emma could just rip him out of that suit if she had to. As for Captain America…Emma really didn't want to face him for personal reasons more than anything else. No… her best hope was Romanoff and Barton. Both of whom were highly trained killers but they were normal humans and would prove to be easy for her to gain the upperhand against before she would make her escape.

Without another thought given to her decision, Emma quietly stepped out from her position behind the wall before she stood in the middle of the hallway. It was still a distance away from the main hangar so Emma was sure none of the Avengers on the ground would notice her but those weren't the ones whose attention she was trying to get. No, her eyes were locked onto a certain archer. If the stories were true and his name did him justice then the man, also known as Hawkeye, wouldn't have any trouble finding her. It was then that the older man spotted her as she looked directly at him with a stoic expression. His face hardened when he saw her and Emma gave him a slight nod before she disappeared down the hall. He would follow her and then it would only be a matter of time before he found her. This was going exactly as according to plan.

Emma hid around a corner in the south end of the Hydra base as she waited for Barton to find her. It took a bit longer than she thought it would but she knew that it was only because he was being cautious. It was quite obvious that the Avengers might know who she was and that was something that Emma didn't like. She usually gained the upperhand in most of her missions because her targets thought she was just a sweet, innocent young girl. If the Avengers knew who she was then she wouldn't have that edge to her. Emma then stiffened as she heard soft footsteps pad their way down the hall.

She had to commend Barton since his footsteps were unnaturally quiet, probably something he spent many years practicing, but unfortunately for him Emma had enhanced hearing. It was also unfortunate for him because Emma also had enhanced speed which was something the archer soon found out as Emma jumped out from behind the wall and in the blink of an eye landed a hard kick to his stomach, sending him careening into the wall to the right of him. Barton groaned from the forceful impact of the young blonde's kick but recovered quickly. He didn't spend years as one of Shield's top agents for nothing. He went to grab Emma but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that she was already gone. How did she do that? She was just there a second ago. Clint cautiously raised his bow, holding it out in front of him and waiting for any sign of the blonde. The arrow he was about to use was a tranquilizer of course but it still filled him with uneasiness over having to use it on a child.

"I'm not here to hurt you, kid." Clint spoke to the air as he searched for a flash of blonde hair but came up empty.

"That's what they all say." The girl replied and before Clint could react he felt himself being shoved forward. He turned around to respond to the shove when he felt his bow being ripped out of his hands. Clint turned to face the young girl when he saw that she had his bow in her hands. The expression on her face was blank save for a raised brow as she looked at him.

"You should really hold onto your toys with much more care." She told him before snapping his bow in half, causing his jaw to drop. It took some effort on her part since it was a bow Stark had specially designed just for him, after all. However, it eventually snapped into two pieces when she applied more force. Clint looked disheartened by his broken bow and immediately looked up at her with a glare. It was so on. He suddenly raised his leg in the air quickly as he made a move to knock her legs out from underneath her. Hopefully she would stay down after that. Clint didn't really want to fight her anyways…they were all there to save her, after all.

It seemed that Emma had already anticipated his move as she briskly dodged the kick and retaliated with a hard punch to his shoulder. Clint winced before he tried to respond with a punch to her side but it seemed like for every move he tried to make…Emma was two steps ahead of him. It made him feel all the more old as she supplied him with brutal punches and kicks before she dodged all his moves with so much ease it looked as if she were dancing around him. It was clear to Clint that she fought almost exactly like Natasha.

When Clint was about to dodge one of her kicks to his right side, she punched him harshly in the head which automatically knocked him unconscious. Emma watched curiously as he fell to the floor limply but she didn't have much time to observe the man as someone grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. She groaned in pain as the person yanked harshly on her long blonde hair before she grabbed their hand and twisted it back before the person let go. When Emma turned around, she could only be reminded of that day in the desert from over five years ago. Natasha Romanoff.

The redheaded woman hadn't changed much in the looks department but she still looked just as fierce and dangerous as she had back then. The woman smirked at her, her green eyes flickering with mischief. If Emma was being honest then she had to admit she was a bit cautious about fighting the famed assassin. Only because the last time she saw this woman was when she had failed her mission because she couldn't take the shot. Romanoff held a very similar resemblance to her mother, after all.

Emma narrowed her eyes, not wasting anytime as she delivered a swift kick to the woman's side but this woman wasn't like Barton. Romanoff seemed to anticipate all her moves and Emma suspected that was due to her training which was rumored to be very much the same as Emma's training. She winced as Romanoff landed a harsh punch to Emma face, causing Emma to become very annoyed with the woman. Emma reached out and grabbed Romanoff's arm before she turned the older woman around with her enhanced strength, twisting the red head's arm behind her back. Romanoff stifled a groan of pain as Emma applied more pressure to the grip she had on her before she heard a sickening snap. Emma shoved her all the way to the ground, giving the former Russian spy a cold look.

"I warned you that it wouldn't be good if we met again." Emma told her as she stalked towards the redhead. Natasha managed a smirk as she looked up at the young blonde but underneath she felt guilt. Something had changed about this girl. The Viper Assassin hadn't even been able to harm her the last time they met but something was different now.

"Yeah, well, I don't listen that well." Natasha told her with a snarky tone but before Emma could respond with a comment or a kick, her attention was captured by something else…someone else.

"Emma." The voice called out and Emma slowly turned around. Pierce always called her Emma but it still sounded strange to hear her name. The way this person said her name wasn't as mocking as Pierce. No, her name sounded softer coming from this mysterious person.

Emma was soon face to face with none other than Captain America himself. His blue eyes, which were identical to her own, were locked onto hers. His expression seemed softened at the sight of her as he stared at her. Emma swallowed, not knowing what to say or do in this sort of situation. She didn't really want to fight him because he was technically related to her but she knew she would if she had to. She feigned a confident, smug look as she looked at the man who was supposedly her grandfather.

"Captain America," She announced with a sarcastic tone. "How nice of you to show up. I wasn't expecting a family reunion today or I would've worn something nicer."

"We're not here to hurt you." The Captain told her in a serious tone. Steve had to admit he was a bit surprised that Emma seemed to know who he was. He thought Hydra would have hidden that from her but apparently not. Steve glanced behind his newly found granddaughter and noticed an unconscious Barton on the floor as well as Natasha cradling a broken arm. Hydra wasn't kidding when they said that she was enhanced.

"The archer said the same thing…so I broke his bow. I can't imagine he'll be happy about that when he wakes up." Emma quipped and Steve gave her a look of amusement.

"No, I don't think he will." He paused as he stepped a little closer to Emma, not missing the way she stiffened when he did so. She eyed him in a suspicious and distrustful way. Steve had done some charity work not too long ago at an animal shelter to benefit the public's opinion of the Avengers but also because he wanted to help. The way Emma was reacting to him reminded Steve of those abused and neglected dogs that used to bare their teeth and snarl at him whenever he grew close. It seemed like Steve might just have to treat this situation like that one. "I know you know who I am."

"Yes, how could I not? You're on the news all the time." Emma told him as she carefully assessed any movement he made.

"You know that's not what I meant." Steve replied and Emma sighed.

"What? Did you think that I'd come running into your arms and we'd live happily ever after." Emma said, her voice laced with too much bitterness for a thirteen year old girl. "I'm thirteen, not four. Maybe if you came around here nine years ago, I would've done that but I've grown up."

"I thought you were dead…everyone thought you were dead, Emma. They told me you and your parents died in a house fire." Emma scoffed at Steve's explanation.

"Well, I don't think I've heard that one before. I don't remember any house fires but I do remember my parents being murdered in front of me…it's kind of hard to forget something like that." Emma said coolly and Steve winced at her response. He hadn't wanted to believe that she had watched her parents being murdered but Hydra, like always, wasn't merciful. It also struck Steve just how much she sounded like an adult…a very bitter, cynical adult. It nearly broke Steve's heart because she shouldn't be like that. Not at thirteen.

"You're still a kid, Emma, you shouldn't be involved in any of this."

"Well, I am." She snapped as she glared at the man who was technically her grandfather. "I know why you're here. You want to take me away but I won't let you."

"Emma, you don't have to stay here anymore." Steve said with persistence but Emma just shook her head.

"Yes, I do. I still have things to do…things that someone like you wouldn't understand." Steve furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Someone like me?" Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, a do gooder like you couldn't even comprehend the things I've had to do. What? You think I like killing people?" She scoffed. "No, I don't kill people because I like it…I kill people because I have to. It's my job and it's survival. If protecting myself and the one person who's ever cared about me means that I have to kill a few politicians and scientists then so be it."

"Bucky?" Steve questioned suddenly, causing Emma to give him a confused look.

"What?"

"The Winter Soldier." Steve corrected himself as she stared at him suspiciously. "He's the person you were talking about. The person you're protecting."

"I wouldn't tell you if he was." Emma replied but Steve just shook his head.

"I knew him before he was the Winter Soldier." Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're lying to me." Steve looked her right in the eyes, trying to signal to her that he was being honest.

"I'm not lying. His name was James Buchanan Barnes, we grew up together…he was my best friend." Steve told her as Emma listened to him intently. "I thought he died years ago but he was experimented on like me and you. The experimentation saved him and he survived."

"No, you're tricking me." Emma accused, her blue eyes frantically glancing over him. "You're tricking me just like they've tricked me. They always trick me."

"I'm not tricking you…it's the truth." Steve told her seriously. He needed to get her to come with them and soon. She was starting to get hysterical. "Bucky escaped Hydra. He's on the run now. He's the one that sent us here. He told us where you were because he wanted me to find you…to help you."

"I don't need your help!" She hissed. "Papa would've never have left me alone if that were true. He would've found me himself and not sent a bunch of superheroes." Steve felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion as he listened to her. Papa? Before Steve could analyze anymore of what that could mean he replied to Emma's statement.

"He sent me because I'm the last family you have." Steve said as he moved closer, his expression softening as he looked at her. "You're all I have left, Emma. Please just come with me and leave this all behind you."

"I will never go with you!" Emma said bitterly although she really wanted to say yes. She didn't belong in Captain America's world. What place could a person like her have in a world like his? No, she belonged in Hydra…it was where she was intended to be. It was just too late for her. "You have your world, _Captain,_ but I have mine and it's most certainly not-"

Before Emma could continue her little rant she felt a pricking sensation in both sides of her neck. She pressed her hand to the side of her neck and felt something odd. Emma pulled at the thing she felt sticking out her neck and was surprised to see an arrow in her hand. It didn't look like a normal arrow, the point was very thin and needle like. Emma's eyes widened in realization as she pulled out the other arrow.

Tranquilizers.

She didn't even have time to react because her vision started becoming blurry. Captain America became a disfigured and blurry shape in her vision as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. It was only a second later when she began to collapse, everything going black as she passed out. Steve rushed forward to catch her before her head hit the ground. He glanced back up at a guilty looking Natasha and Clint, sending a glare their way.

"Did you have to tranquilize her?" Steve questioned and Natasha shrugged before wincing, remembering her broken arm.

"She was talking a little too much." Natasha explained with a calm expression on her face. "I don't think she was going to come willingly…she seemed a little hostile actually."

"She broke my bow." Clint said as if that explained everything. Steve just shook his head as he scooped Emma up into his arms and began to walk back down the hall, Clint and Natasha following him. Clint groaned in pain as he began to move. The thirteen year old had sure taken a toll on him which was embarrassing for him to admit to himself. "I'm going to be sore in the morning…that's for sure."

"You're not the one with the broken arm, Barton." Natasha retorted before looking ahead at Steve. "Your granddaughter sure knows how to fight, Steve. You're going to have your hands full with this one." Steve just smiled as he looked down at the unconscious blonde in his arms. She looked so peaceful when she was resting, a far change from what she looked like before. Emma would be okay, Steve told himself, she just had to be.

"You got her, Cap?" Tony said through Steve's ear pierce. Steve smiled a grim smile as he looked up from Emma's sleeping form.

"Yeah, I've got her."


	11. Chapter Ten

_"_ _Shhh…be quiet, princess. We wouldn't want anyone to hear us now, would we?"_

 _"_ _You look so much like your mother…I can see her in your cute little nose and those rosy pink lips."_

 _"_ _Don't cry. The pain won't last long, I promise."_

Emma eyes shot open as she woke up from her nightmare. It was the same nightmare she had repeatedly been having for the past three months…ever since _it_ happened. She didn't have the nightmare every night…just on the nights that she dreamed. Emma was forever grateful for a night where she was locked into a dreamless sleep. She could only pray for nights like those.

Emma calmed her breathing down as she sat up in her bed. The blonde looked up, expecting to see her tiny, shabby looking room back at the Hydra base but was met with a much different sight. Instead of the concrete floors and white walls, Emma was met with the sight of marble floors and glass windows that took up the entire wall. She stiffened when her memory started coming back to her. The Avengers invading the Hydra base…Barton and Romanoff.

Captain America.

Emma quickly surveyed her surroundings and deduced that she was in some sort of medical room. There was medical equipment all around her, making it look much more like a hospital room than any sort of random room the Avengers could've put her in. It was empty for the time being which Emma found odd. Why would the Avengers leave a Hydra assassin alone in a room without some kind of guard watching over her? Something felt a little off to the thirteen year old and Emma decided that she didn't like it one bit.

"It's good to see that you've finally awoken from your rest, Miss Rogers. Might I ask how you're feeling?" A British voice inquired and Emma narrowed her eyes as she searched for whoever it was that was speaking. She couldn't spot anyone in the room with her and it also sounded like the voice was coming from the ceiling. How odd.

"Where are you?" She demanded in a hostile tone.

"I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark's Artificial Intelligence system." The voice told her. "Do I need to call for medical assistance, Miss Rogers, your heart rate has elevated at an alarming rate."

"I know what my heart rate is!" She hissed although she felt kind of stupid for being angry with something that wasn't even a real human being. "I don't need some computer to tell me that."

"Very well. Since you're awake I shall alert Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho right away." Jarvis told her. Emma couldn't help but wonder if his tone sounded a little offended when she had spoken to him like that. Wait…should she even refer to him as a he if he was, in fact, an artifical intelligence system. Emma wasn't entirely sure who Jarvis was talking about but she needed to prepare herself for the worst possible outcome. She wasn't about to let another couple of scientists experiment on her like Hydra did. Emma was new to these people so they would probably have to start all over and she simply refused to be put through that again.

Emma watched intently as two people made their way into the room, both of them pausing when they saw her sitting up in her bed. It was a man and a woman. The woman looked very petite and small…delicate looking and Asian, Emma noted. Her skin was like porcelain, her eyes a soft brown color, and her hair just as dark. The woman only looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties at the most. She knew that it wouldn't be difficult taking the woman down if she had to.

The man, on the other hand, was a bit more sturdy looking although he still looked very soft. Not at all muscular like Barton and Captain America. The man had a slight tint to his skin, proving that he had spent a lot of time in warmer climates. His hair was a dark brunette with unruly curls and streaks of gray that made him look a little older than he actually was. Emma guessed that he was probably in his mid forties. His eyes looked to be a warm, comforting sort of brown but Emma knew better than to trust someone just because their eyes looked kind. The man offered her a kind smile as he walked into the room and looked at her.

"Hello, Emma, I see that you're finally awake." He greeted softly. "My name is Bruce Banner, I'm a friend of your grandfather, and this Helen Cho…she's been working with us for a while." He grew closer to her, offering his hand for her to shake but she just stared at his hand coldly. Bruce awkwardly rested his hand at his side when he saw that Emma wasn't going to shake his hand.

"Where am I?" She asked in a demanding, cold tone. Bruce was surprised by the coolness of her voice as she spoke. It wasn't something he had expected from a thirteen year old.

"You're in Avenger's Tower, Emma. You've been here for the past two days." Bruce told her gently. "You gave all us quite a scare when you wouldn't wake up."

"I'm in New York?" She inquired, ignoring his comment of concern. Emma was sure it wasn't real anyways…Hydra had always pretended to be concerned for her well being as well but she had long ago figured out it was just another one of their many tricks.

"Yes, you are." Bruce confirmed before glancing at Dr. Cho. There was something oddly chilling about the way the blonde stared at him. Her eyes were the act same shape and color as Steve's eyes but they held none of Steve's friendliness or kindness. Those familiar ocean blue eyes just looked cold and calculating on her. "Do you want me to call your grandfather? He's been very worried about you."

"No, I don't want you to call my _grandfather_." Emma sneered as if Bruce just suggested something that was entirely silly and foolish. It was odd how she could make a person feel stupid just with her tone of voice.

"Alright…maybe later then. How about you let Dr. Cho and I take a look at you in the meantime just to make sure you're doing okay?" Bruce suggested softly. "Is that alright with you?"

"Sure…whatever you want." Emma replied with a feigned tone of acceptance. Bruce should've known that it wouldn't be that easy but he didn't think any of it when he gestured for Dr. Cho to follow him over to one of the holographic computer screens. As soon as both of their backs were turned. Emma eyed the metal tray of medical utensils that was laying off to the side of her. How stupid was it of them to leave a tray full of potential weapons. Emma quietly grasped her hand around one of the medical scalpels, not even making the slightest bit of sound as she obtained the the scalpel with ease.

"You two aren't the smartest, are you?" Emma questioned in a bored tone as she held up the scalpel, pointing it in their direction as they turned back around to face her. "It's not that wise to turn yours back on someone like me." She told them as she waved the scalpel around with an alarmingly amount of confidence. Bruce and Dr. Cho stared in shock as the sweet faced thirteen year old pointed the scalpel in their direction. Bruce had heard about how resistant the girl had been before. Clint's broken bow and Natasha's broken arm were enough evidence of that but he hadn't expected her to be _this_ hostile.

"You don't want to do this, Emma, just put the scalpel down." Bruce told her gently, trying to coax her. Emma narrowed her eyes at him as her grip around the scalpel tightened.

"No? I don't want this?" She questioned sarcastically as she glared at him. "I'll let you in on a little secret, _Bruce Banner,_ I've done a lot more to people for a lot less. I'm not about to let you poke and prod me with a bunch of needles. Hydra cured me of that curiosity."

"We don't want to poke and prod you with needles." Bruce told her honestly. "We just want to make sure that you're doing okay."

"I'm fine." She spat. "I don't need a doctor to tell me that. I must implore you not to patronize me like I'm a child since I really hate doctors. So be smart and don't test me." Emma threatened and Bruce took a deep breath. Dr. Cho gave him a wide eyed look, probably afraid that he was about to turn green. She's just a little girl, Bruce told himself, there's no need to feel threatened by her.

"Emma, what are you doing?" A new voice said and Emma turned her head, seeing Captain America standing in the doorway with a bewildered expression on his face. Her grandfather himself. Emma gritted her teeth as she looked at her relation.

"I'm not letting those two doctors anywhere near me with a needle." Emma hissed but the captain just a wore a calm expression as he slowly approached her.

"No one's going to use a needle, Emma. They just want to make sure you're healthy." He explained but Emma still looked distrustful.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, changing the subject. Steve's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden demanding tone of her voice.

"I already told you why. We came to rescue you from the Hydra base so you could leave it all behind." Emma scoffed.

"I don't need to be rescued." She told him. "I'm perfectly fine on my own. I've been on my own for the past nine years so I think I've managed pretty well so far."

"You're thirteen, Emma, you shouldn't have to be on your own." He reminded her and Emma glared at him.

"I know how old I am! I don't need you to remind me!" She said venomously, anger in her blue eyes. "I know I may look like a kid but I've been trained to think and act like an adult so don't insult my intelligence by talking to me like I'm a child." Steve, Bruce, and Dr. Cho were all taken back by how much malice and coldness lingered in her tone. She did seem to talk like an adult but that still didn't make her one.

"Fine." Steve relented but then spoke in a more serious tone, his voice full of authority which reminded everyone in the room of his role as team leader. "But you're not on your own anymore. You're here now and you're never going back to Hydra. I'll make sure of that."

"What? Are you going to make me spill all of Hydra's secrets?" Emma asked sarcastically. "I didn't work for Hydra…I was their slave so good luck with that."

"I don't care about Hydra, Emma." Steve told her firmly as he fearlessly took a seat next to her on the hospital bed. He didn't seem to care if the scalpel was dangerously close to him.

"I'm here because I care about you…we're family and I intend make sure you're treated as such. You're here to stay so you better get used to it." Steve paused as he glanced at the scalpel in her hand. "Now can I have the scalpel?" Emma looked between Steve and the scalpel in her hand carefully as she thought about her next course of action. She listened to his heart beat to see if he was lying but she couldn't detect it beating any faster than normal. His eyes seemed sincere and Emma wanted to trust him. She just wasn't sure if she could.

"I promise that no harm will come to you while you're here. No harm will ever come to you again if I have anything to say about it." Steve promised. Emma stared at him for what felt like an eternity, identical blue eyes locked onto each other. It was a moment later when she finally relented, loosening her grip on the scalpel and turning it over in her hand, holding the small utensil out for him. Steve smiled at her warmly before he took the scalpel away.

"It's not like I need it anyways. If they attack me I can just kill them with my bare hands." She defended bitterly but Steve didn't look bothered by her comment.

"Thank you." He told her before getting up from the bed. Steve went to stand at the other side of the room so Bruce and Dr. Cho could do their work. "Oh and I wouldn't test that theory on Dr. Banner…he's a little temperamental." Emma glanced curiously at the nerdy looking doctor after Steve made that comment. Why? What could the doctor do that was so intimidating? Part of Emma was curious to know and another smarter part of Emma told her that she really didn't want to know.

It was hard for Emma to put even the slightest bit of trust in Steve but she knew that she didn't have much of a choice anyways. She was in a strange place with strange people. Emma had absolutely no clue what her surroundings were or what other possible options she had to escape. Where would she even go? Now that she was free from Hydra it's not like she really wanted to go back anyways. The other thing that was holding her to Hydra was her father but apparently he was gone too. So what was the point in going back? It wasn't like Emma had Stockholm syndrome or anything. No, Emma was better off with her newly found grandfather and all his weird friends. At least for now…until she could find her father.

Oh Papa, Emma thought to herself, what have you gotten me into?

* * *

"He never left the room when you were asleep." Emma looked up from the book Steve had lent her. It was entitled _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ and the book was apparently a popular children's book. Emma had protested at first at the idea of reading something for a child but she eventually relented when she got bored enough to actually open it and read the book. The blonde was surprised by how much she enjoyed it and realized that this was the first fictional book she had ever read. Hydra never wanted her to read fictional books because they told her they didn't serve a purpose…nothing that would help her out on missions.

It was Natasha Romanoff that had spoken. The redhead was looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face. The former Shield agent had been tasked to keep Emma company while she was in the hospital looking room. Emma also suspected it was to keep Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho safe from her after the events of the day before. Things were a little awkward between Emma and Natasha especially with Natasha's arm now in a sling which was pretty much Emma's fault. Emma hadn't wanted to attack the redhead but at the time she was trying to escape and Romanoff was in her way. Emma felt a bit curious at Natasha's words but she knew exactly who the woman was talking about.

"Oh, really?" She asked in a bored tone, feigning disinterest as she casually flipped a page in her book. Natasha smirked and Emma got the strongest feeling that the spy could read her like no one ever had before. The feeling was unsettling since Emma spent most of her life trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"Yeah, ever since you arrived he spent every waking moment in this room with you." Natasha told her. "He was very worried about you. Banner and I had to practically drag him out of the room so he could get some rest. You woke up not long after that."

"That's nice." Emma said in her fake bored tone.

"He was really pissed when he found out that Banner didn't call for him right away." Natasha looked the bored looking girl over but she could tell from her quick glances, in her direction, that the blonde was more curious than she would like to admit. "He cares about you a lot." Emma snorted at Natasha's comment.

"He doesn't even know me. And if he really did know me then he would've left me there." Emma told her coldly.

"He already knows everything about you, Rogers. Barnes sent him a complete file on you. Steve knows all the experiments that were done on you, your training, all the torture…he even knows how many people you've killed." Emma's eyes widened as she looked up from her book. It was the first time that the blonde had displayed any real, genuine emotion.

"He knows?" She questioned and Natasha nodded.

"We all know." Emma stared at her for a moment, her blue eyes analyzing her under close scrutiny.

"Then why am I here? Why didn't you kill me? Why not send me to some prison for spies and assassins?" Emma questioned. She was a little scared at the prospect of someone knowing that much about her let alone a group of people. How could someone possibly want her there in the same building as them knowing all the things she had done?

"Because you're just a kid." Emma glared at her. If there was one thing she hated most in the world it was being patronized like she was a child. "What? You _are_ a kid, Rogers. It's not like any of that was your own choice." Natasha told her and Emma looked down at her book with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Well, no…but that doesn't change what happened." Natasha's gaze softened as she looked at the blonde. The older woman then sat herself down on the bed next to Emma as she tried to think of something that would bring the young girl some comfort.

"We're a lot alike you and me." Emma looked up when she said that, her eyes wide and curious.

"I may not have been raised by Hydra but I was raised by the KGB." Natasha told her as Emma listened intently to the redhead's story. "I was only a few years older than you were when you were kidnapped from your home. They trained me to be a killer from the very start…made it seem like it was just ballet but it was so much more than that. They pitted us against each other, making us fight to the death and we would because it was survival. We had to kill to survive because it made us stronger and it made it easier to kill outside the Red Room." She paused in her story as she looked at the young girl who had a look of understanding in her eyes.

"You understand, don't you?" She asked Emma and the blonde nodded. "Killing for us isn't a choice…it's survival."

"But how did it you make it out of there? How did you leave it all behind?" Emma asked her honestly, curious as to how someone like the famous Black Widow was able to retire from that kind of life and become a Shield agent and Avenger.

"Someone decided to take a chance on me." Natasha told her with the small hint of a smile. "He had an order to take me out but he saw something in me…something redeemable so he gave me a chance."

"And it was that easy for you? To just let everything go…just like that?" Emma said, her voice laced with doubt. The smile slowly vanished from Natasha's face as she answered Emma's question.

"Nothing's ever that simple but with time I was able to let go but it never goes away completely. It still haunts my dreams most nights but I've been making up for it…trying to get the red out of my ledger. All this avenging really helps, I guess." Emma watched Natasha's expression closely, trying to see if the redhead was lying but she didn't seem to find any signs of deceit. Emma frowned. It seemed as though Natasha actually believed that. It was sad really…nothing could make up for all the lives she had taken. There was nothing in the world that was able to erase that unless she could find some sort of time machine.

"Steve's your person." Natasha told her suddenly and Emma was broken out of her thoughts. The smile had returned to the redhead's face but Emma only looked at her in confusion. She was at a lost as to what the former Russian spy meant.

"What?"

"Steve's the person who's taking a chance on you. He sees something in you and not just because you're a kid or his granddaughter but because he genuinely sees you." Emma swallowed as she processed what Natasha was trying to tell her.

"I can't be the person he needs me to be. I'm not going to be granddaughter of the year or anything." She said although her tone sounded sad. Natasha just shrugged.

"He doesn't expect you to be. You're his family and he wants to get to know you." Natasha stared into her eyes with a serious expression. "Let him in. Steve's a good guy and he won't hurt you. Sometimes he's so nice that it's actually kind of sickening."

"Fine…I'll give you guys a chance, I guess. It's not like I have anything better to do." Emma reluctantly said after Natasha stared her down for a couple of minutes. She went back to reading her book with mild interest, her thoughts still lingering on Steve…her grandfather. Natasha seemed satisfied with the blonde's answer and got up from the bed to go back to standing by the door. Emma glanced back up from her book, her eyes focused on Natasha's broken arm that was in a sling.

"I'm sorry I broke your arm. I'm also sorry that I broke Barton's bow." Emma told her, sounding as sincere as she possibly could. Her expression seemed innocent enough as Natasha stared at her but Natasha knew better than that. Natasha was the leading expert of innocent, pretty faces after all. She practically invented false innocence so there was no way this kid was going to fool her.

"No, you're not." Natasha deadpanned, looking quite bored. Emma allowed a small smug smile to reach her face before she buried her nose in her book. Maybe staying in Avenger's Tower wouldn't be so bad. She still wouldn't say that she trusted them but Emma didn't think they were out to hurt her like Hydra was. Besides…this place had to be a million times better than Hydra. It was only her second day there and she was already allowed to read a fictional book and not beaten for her disobedience. If this was what freedom was like then Emma was sure she could get used to it.


	12. Chapter Eleven

It was the next day when Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho finally decided to release Emma from the room. She seemed to be more than healthy without any bruises or marks on her left from the fight with Clint and Natasha. The same couldn't be said for the former Shield agents. The only suggestion that Bruce had for Emma was for Steve to make sure that she ate much more since her metabolism was so fast. It wasn't something unusual to the super soldier since Steve also had a fast metabolism due to his enhancements. It was a tough couple of days for Steve as he eagerly waited to hear whether or not Emma was doing okay but Bruce and Dr. Cho assured him that she was.

He had visited Emma a couple of times during her time spent in the make-shift hospital room inside the tower but she had been quiet…alarmingly so. They mostly just kept each other company while Emma ate and Steve read some files that Stark had sent him on his Stark Industries issued tablet. It was obvious that Emma was still coming to terms with being away from Hydra. It had only been a couple of days, after all.

Emma still watched Dr. Banner and Dr. Cho with suspicion whenever they entered the room but she seemed a little more trusting of Steve and Natasha but that didn't mean she completely trusted them. With her spending so much time confined to the hospital room, Emma hadn't even met the other Avengers yet. Tony and Thor had seemed to be really curious about the teenager but Steve told them it was best that they didn't come to visit. Emma was still getting use to just him and Natasha as it was. Clint pretended to still be bitter about his broken bow but Steve knew that the archer was deeply concerned for Emma deep down.

"They're finally letting you out of this place." Steve announced as he walked into the room. Emma looked up from her book at him. She was currently reading the second Harry Potter book after finishing the one from last night. It appeared that she was becoming quite the fan of the series and Steve was glad to see that something was bringing her some comfort. Steve had a bag of clothing in his hand that he proceeded to place on her bed. Pepper Potts, Tony's girlfriend, had been a little too eager to go shopping for Emma. Something about shopping for a teenager had really appealed to the strawberry blonde. Emma raised an eyebrow at the bag.

"Pepper, Tony's girlfriend, was nice enough to go shopping for you. She got your measurements from Jarvis." Steve explained.

"I'm not going to comment on how creepy it is that a computer took my measurements." Emma replied and Steve raised his eyebrows at her comment. Was that a joke? It was perhaps the first non hostile comment that Emma had made since Steve had met her a few days ago. Steve found himself smiling at the young blonde.

"I felt the same exact way when I first came here." Steve told her and Emma didn't smile but her eyes didn't look cold or calculating either. What had changed? "Jarvis is pretty handy though when it comes to locating missing items so I can't complain."

"I resent that remark, Captain Rogers." The British voice said and they both glanced up at the ceiling. A soft musical sounding laughter escaped Emma and Steve grinned at her. The laughter seemed to brighten up her face, making her look exactly like the thirteen year old girl she was. It only lasted a moment because as soon as her laughter entered the room, it faded. She seemed a bit confused by what she had just done but she didn't glare or frown at him but she didn't smile again either. Steve didn't care. It was enough to know that they were getting somewhere.

"What's on the agenda today then?" Emma asked offhandedly as she looked inside the bag, taking a peek at the articles of clothing. Emma was a bit confused by the clothing which she had seen other teenage girls wear but they were things that she had never worn herself. A pair of bell bottom jeans, a popular fashion trend that was a throwback to the seventies, a floral printed blouse that looked expensive and looked like it came from a designer store. There was also a pair of silver flats to complete the whole outfit and Emma had never in her life been tasked to wear something so girly. Well, maybe when she was very small and lived with her parents but that was a long time ago.

"Do you not like it?" Steve asked as he noticed the odd expression on Emma's face as she looked through the contents of her bag. He wasn't really a leading expert on women's fashion so he didn't know if that was something that young women wore now a days. He knew back in his day that women didn't wear jeans but the times had changed.

"No, it's perfect." Emma said honestly, a small smile gracing her lips. She also noticed a pair of simple looking panties and a padded bra in the bag although she made sure that Steve didn't see those. Not that Emma cared but Steve seemed like the kind of person that got easily shy or bashful. The bra made her a bit hesitant since Emma was only used to the sport's bras that Hydra had reluctantly given her. It wasn't like her breasts were big or anything. She was thirteen and she barely had any…no, she was almost as flat chested as a boy and something told Emma that it wasn't likely that her breasts would grow that much more in the near future.

"So…I know this might be hard for you but the others are insistent that you be debriefed." Steve told her with a more serious expression on his face. "I told them that the time isn't right but they wouldn't listen."

"It's fine, Steve." Emma told him without looking the slightest bit fazed. "I'll go talk with them and tell them what I know. I don't really care…it's not like I was actually loyal to Hydra."

"Are you sure?" Steve inquired. "Because you don't have to. I'll just tell them that you're not feeling up to it and they'll understand." His eyes softened as he looked at her. "You've been through a lot, after all."

"No, I'll go. Just to get it all over with." Emma told him without backing down. She just wanted to tell the Avengers what she knew so that they could all move on and Emma might finally get a full night of rest. Steve nodded at her. She seemed pretty much set on going to the debriefing so he wasn't going to force her not to go.

"Well, okay then. I'll let you take a shower and get ready." Steve told her before nodding to a door in the back of the room. "There's a bathroom in there that should have everything you need. If there's something else you need then just let me know." Emma didn't answer but instead nodded silently as she waited for him to leave the room. She let out an exhausted sigh the moment he left and wondered if this was really going to be her life now. Dressing up like a teenager and living in a tower with a bunch of superheroes.

After taking a nice, warm shower Emma exited the bathroom. She couldn't believe the various options of shampoos and conditioners that Stark had in the bathroom. Emma briefly wondered if all his bathrooms had that many options. Emma sincerely hoped not because it would just become too confusing to take a shower by that point. She left the bathroom after drying her hair with a blow drier which she was surprised she could figure out how to use since she had never seen one in her life much less used one. Her hair smelled faintly of coconuts which was the shampoo that Emma had ultimately decided on using. The teenager looked herself over in the mirror for the first since arriving at the tower and was surprised by how different she looked.

While she still had faint purple shadows under her eyes from a lack of sleep, her eyes didn't look quite so tired. Her skin was normally a very pale, almost sickly color but had since obtained a healthy looking glow to it. Her hair had always looked flat and limp but from her shower with the expensive shampoo and conditioner(and let's not forget about the blow drier), her hair appeared be a lot more healthy looking even though it was still just as straight and flat as ever.

Emma was almost in shock at just how much her new clothes made her look like a normal teenager. She looked like she was ready for a history or drama class just by the way she was dressed. Could she do this? Emma questioned. Could she look and act like she was an ordinary teenage girl? The others seemed to want to treat her that way but Emma had always been treated like an adult. She shook her head, trying to dismiss those thoughts, as she headed for the door of the room. Steve was waiting just outside and they didn't really have time for Emma to ponder over her state of mind.

* * *

The Avengers weren't sure what to expect when Emma Rogers, AKA The Viper Assassin, walked into the room. Bruce and Clint only knew her as a damaged girl, not too different from an abused animal. Bruce and Clint actually liked to think that they had seen the worst side of the teenager but something told them that they hadn't seen her worst side yet. Steve and Natasha were the only ones who had seen her for the young girl that she was. Truthfully, she looked like a child to all of them but Steve and Natasha were the only ones to see that there was something buried down underneath her cold and calculating demeanor. Tony and Thor had yet to meet Emma but were eagerly anticipating the meeting. Thor because she was the Captain's relation and Tony because…well, Tony just wanted to continue to tease Steve about being a grandpa because he really was one now. There was another reason Tony was eager as well but he was perfectly content with keeping the reason buried deep within himself. Tony and Thor briefly caught a few glimpses the young girl when she was passed out in the Quinjet but their curiosity was only increasing the longer they waited.

When she walked into the room, gone was the suspicious look that most of the Avengers had remembered seeing on her face. If she was still suspicious, she didn't show it as she stayed close to Steve's side but not too close. It was a little hard to believe that the girl standing in the room was claimed to have carried out twenty six assassinations. It was probably just a small fraction of the amount of deaths that all of them were responsible for. Still…Emma just looked like a regular teenage girl. There was nothing that screamed "killer" at them but maybe that was what made her so effective. She was tall for a thirteen year old, they noted, standing at about 5'7.

"Ah, Mini Cap!" Tony announced with a huge grin on his face, trying to break the tension in the room. For once in Steve's life, he didn't feel annoyed by the billionaire's misplaced sense of humor. "You've finally arrived. And here I thought we would be waiting all day for the belle of the ball to arrive."

"I'm sorry Tony's a little…enthusiastic." Steve explained to her and Tony fake glared at him.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, Capsicle." Tony told him before looking back at Emma. She looked over at the older man, noticing that he looked just as he did in all the pictures she had seen of him except for that fact that he was much shorter. He was a man in his mid forties but she knew he was the man child type. His eyes were a chocolate brown but they glinted with a certain amount of mischief and humor. Stark's hair was articulately styled to look tousled but Emma could tell he spent a lot of time and care styling it. The thing that struck Emma as the most odd about the billionaire was the fact he had the weirdest looking goatee she had ever seen and she had grown up around a lot of middle aged men in her time. However, he still seemed familiar to Emma but she didn't have any clue why. She then dismissed the feeling as her seeing him in the papers or on the television screen at the Hydra base. Tony Stark was incredibly famous, after all.

"Tony Stark," He introduced, holding out his hand to shake. "Just call me Tony though. I'll throw you out of this tower if you call me Mr. Stark. It reminds me too much of my father and he was a cold bastard."

"Stark." Steve warned and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I won't actually throw you out of the tower but just don't call me Mr. Stark." Tony said and Emma eyed his hand cautiously like it was some sort of explosive rather than a plain old hand.

"I know I have nice hands but your staring is getting a little creepy." Tony joked and Emma looked up at him. He was a little taken back by how she didn't even blush in embarrassment like Steve would do in her situation. The girl stared at him, looking as if she were searching for something in his eyes. Tony cleared his throat awkwardly as she stared at him with Cap's eyes but with all the coldness and calculation of someone completely different. Reluctantly Emma shook his hand much to everyone else's disbelief. It was no secret that the girl was very against anyone initiating contact with her but she seemed to deem Tony safe enough. Emma remembered what Natasha told her…to give everyone a chance.

"Emma." She introduced and it felt odd to introduce herself by her birth name. She was so used to being addressed as the Viper Assassin, Viper, or Asset that Emma still felt weird to her.

"We all know who you are, Mini Cap." He said and Emma wanted to know why he kept calling her that. "I just want to say how spontaneously cool it is to meet a teenage ninja assassin. I mean teenage mutant ninja turtles are one thing…" The reference was lost on both Emma and Steve. At least they have another thing in common, Tony noted as he glanced back at the others in the room.

"Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the team here." Tony said as he began to make more introductions. He led both her and Steve over to the long table in the conference room where everyone was seated. "I know you've already met Legolas and Kill Bill over here." He gestured to a curious looking Clint and an annoyed looking Natasha. Emma assumed Natasha was annoyed at the nickname Stark gave her but she wasn't completely sure what the nicknames were in reference to. She had spent the majority of her life living in a Hydra base, only learning what Hydra permitted her to learn.

"Barton's super pissed about you breaking his favorite toy by the way." Tony told her but Barton didn't look as angry as Tony suggested. She was surprised by how kind the older man looked as he gave her a small smile. He almost seemed like the fatherly sort. Emma thought he would be more angry since she had broken his weapon and knocked him unconscious. If she did something like that to Karpov or Rumlow, it would've earned her a couple weeks worth of beatings just so that they could test the speed of her healing factor.

"No, it's all history now…I hope." Clint told her. "I know it was a shitty move stabbing you with those tranquilizers." Steve looked like he wanted to scold Clint for his bad language but relented when he saw that this was an opportunity for Emma to be friendly with his teammates. Emma offered him a small smile even though it looked incredibly forced. He could tell that she was trying to appear nice or at least pleasant at the very least.

"Consider it forgotten. Hopefully this makes us even? I also knocked you unconscious in case you've forgotten." Emma said and Clint just grinned.

"No, trust me…I didn't forget. You sure pack one hell of a punch, kid." Clint complimented and she nodded at him before Tony brought her over to three other individuals seated at the table. One of which she recognized as Dr. Banner. He was a doctor so she still didn't trust him but she had to admit he was a kind man. It frightened her, more than she would ever admit, to know that he was the Hulk but she supposed that might be as dark as his darker side got to be which was good to know.

One of the other men was African American, his eyes seemingly kind but Emma couldn't be sure. He looked to be about Stark's age but his face was a lot more serious looking than Tony. The third man was also African American but his dark eyes were playful and full of humor. He seemed closer to Steve's age than the other man was and was slightly more muscular than him as well. Emma deduced that this man looked a lot more approachable to her than the others who she was still unsure of.

"Okay, Mini Cap, so you've already met Banner and you'll never guess how hard I laughed at the recording of you pointing a scalpel at his face. Seriously…you've got some guts." Tony told her. Dr. Banner rolled his eyes at his friend but gave Emma a kind smile before she glanced over at the man sitting next to him. "This is Rhodey…my Rhodey and formerly known as the Iron Patriot." Rhodey joined Dr. Banner in on rolling his eyes at his good friend.

"I thought we talked about never mentioning the Iron Patriot again." Rhodey complained and Tony just shrugged.

"It's your fault for going along with it in the first place." Rhodey then turned to face Emma with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Emma."

"You too." She replied but that was where both Tony and Rhodey were cut off by the man sitting next to Rhodey. The man that looked the most approachable out of all the people she had met so far. He grinned at her, his dark eyes lighting up with happiness. Usually someone who smiled that wide gave Emma some uneasiness but something about this man was oddly comforting.

"Sam Wilson." Sam introduced, holding out his hand for her to shake. Emma was slightly less hesitant about shaking his hand than she was with Tony but that was probably because she was slowly easing into this new situation. She nodded and shook his hand before quickly letting go just like she had done with Tony.

"Emma." She introduced. Emma never remembered having to meet this many people all at once. It was a little bit overwhelming for the teenager but she figured a lot of people came in and out of this tower so it was just something she would have to adjust to.

"I know…I think everyone knows that." He told her. "I don't know if you know this but I'm a good friend of your old gramps over here." Emma raised an eyebrow at that as Steve glared at Sam playfully. Sam just smirked smugly at his friend.

"Who are you calling old, Wilson? I can run laps around you any day." Steve told him jokingly, causing Sam to laugh. Emma glanced between them, amusement in her eyes. Was that what it was like to have a friend? Her father and her had started out as friends before developing a familial sort of relationship but they never joked around like that. They never laughed at each other. No, they bonded over training and killing. Emma wondered if it would ever be possible for herself to have a friend like that. She doubted it…people like her didn't have friends.

"Is this Lady Emma? The fair maiden that everyone has been talking about?" A loud, booming voice said. Emma winced from the loudness of his voice and turned only to see an all too good looking man standing next to them with a huge smile on his face. Thor. She could see why he was called a God. The man was very handsome with chiseled features and a hard looking muscular body. His eyes were a brighter blue than her own, his hair long and blonde. He was dressed in more casual clothes than she remembered seeing in any footage from the battle of New York. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans which oddly suited him. Emma didn't imagine there was anything the blonde haired god could look bad in.

"Yes, Thor, this is Emma." Steve told him in amusement.

"Valhalla has blessed your family very much, Captain, your granddaughter is one of the most beautiful maidens in all the nine realms. Her beauty even rivals that of my beautiful Lady Jane but not too much of course. Lady Jane really is an exquisite beauty as well as a woman of science." Emma stared at him in bewilderment before she decided that he wasn't flirting with her. No, she had the feeling that Thor was always this charming especially since Steve didn't seem disturbed by what Thor just told her. This just must've been what Thor was like.

Thor reached his hand out to her and Emma cautiously placed her hand in his, thinking he was going to shake her hand. Emma was taken by surprise, however, when Thor leaned down and pressed his lips against the back of her hand. Surprised by his sudden action, Emma immediately yanked her hand away. Steve, Sam, and Thor looked at her in concern as she tried to steady her breathing. She forced away unpleasant memories before she looked back up at Thor, giving him a small but forced smile.

"I'm sorry, Thor, I just don't like being touched. It has nothing to do with you." She told him quietly but Thor just smiled in understanding.

"That is quite alright, Lady Emma, you have been through a truly horrendous ordeal." Thor told her. "Your beauty is truly one of a kind but you have a warrior's heart…that much I can tell." Before Emma could respond to his odd remark, everyone's attention was brought to the task at hand when a woman entered the room. She was a tall and slender looking woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. When she walked into the room everyone really noticed. She just had that sort of presence.

"Okay… let's start this debriefing before dinner so I can have a full eight hours of rest without any of you bothering me." The woman stated as she looked at each and every one of them.

"That's Maria Hill." Sam whispered, probably seeing the confused look on Emma's face. "She's kind of in charge around here. Technically she's the babysitter of the Avengers and she's damn good at her job too." Emma nodded as she took in that new piece of information. This woman was in charge of a group of superheroes? She's braver than she looks, Emma thought to herself. Everyone then began to take a seat at the long table and Steve politely pulled out a seat for her. She stared at him in surprise for a moment before she sat down. The seat was in between Steve and Sam.

"So you guys raided Argentina's Hydra base?" Maria inquired as she looked down at the table of superheroes.

"Yes, it was located in Patagonia…The Andes." Natasha responded, causing Maria to nod as she typed in the information into her Stark Industries issued tablet.

"And it was located underground, right? Underneath an old Shield science station?" She asked, hinting for confirmation.

"Yes." Natasha confirmed.

"What did you you find in the base?" Tony snorted from his place at the other end of the table. He raised an eyebrow at Maria with his usual smug look.

"Besides Mini Cap? Nothing. The place was a real dump too." He commented. "I don't know how Mini Cap lived there." Emma had put up with Stark's annoying comments so far but he was really starting to get on her nerves. It wasn't like she had much choice in where she got to go. She didn't request to be put in a dirty, run down Hydra base in Argentina.

"So that's a no go on the scepter?" Maria inquired further and all the Avengers simultaneously nodded.

"My brother's scepter was not found at the location." Thor answered and Emma wondered what they were talking about. Scepter? Wait…did they want something else from Hydra too? Emma decided to keep that piece of information for later. Now wasn't the time to be asking questions.

"How many Hydra agents were at the base?"

"Jarvis said there was only about thirty three agents at the base." Tony told her.

"It was a really small base." Clint added. "Stark's right. It was run down and poorly armed with weapons. We were in and out within an hour." Maria nodded as she took in the information Clint was telling her. It was then that she turned to Emma, giving the blonde her full attention.

"Now that we've got all that out of the way…let's start move on to Miss Rogers." Maria eyed Steve questioningly. "Is she ready, Cap?" Before Steve could reply Emma answered with her head held up high. She stared Maria Hill in the eyes, unblinkingly, refusing to let her calm expression waver.

"I'm ready." Emma told her. Maria stared at her for another minute before she looked back at her tablet. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Maria told her, looking back up at her. Emma gritted her teeth at Maria's request, causing Maria to sigh. "Not every single detail but a brief summary would suffice." Maria said and Emma supposed that wasn't completely bad. There was definitely some things that were best left unsaid.

"Alright." She agreed, sending relief through the room. It was clear that she was reluctant to talk about what happened to her but it was good to see that she was at least willing to talk a little. Maria felt a wave of relief wash over her that she would be able to get some information at the very least. From what she heard about the teenager, she knew that Emma wasn't going to open up easily.

"Just start from the beginning." Maria told her with a reassuring smile. Emma swallowed, trying to hide her nerves as everyone's attention focused on her. It wasn't like she was going to divulge her whole life's story to them. Just little snippets here and there. She would be the one to decide what she would and wouldn't tell them. She glanced at Steve who gave her an encouraging smile and suddenly Emma felt a lot less nervous.

"Well, I suppose it started the day my parents were murdered." Emma told them. "I was four."

"Who killed them?" Maria asked and Emma bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to disguise her anger. It was clear to everyone in the room that whoever this person was, they were hated passionately by Emma. Her eyes clouding over with anger was proof enough of that.

"A man named Rumlow." A good majority of the room tensed when she spoke his name. She glanced at them curiously. It became apparent to her, through their reactions, that they were also quite familiar with Rumlow. "He was the one who took me from my home."

"They took me to a Hydra base not long after that. I wouldn't know where it was located for years but it was in Siberia as I would eventually find out. All I knew at the time was that it was incredibly cold and there was no sunlight. I didn't see the sun for years." Emma told them with a distant look in her eyes. Steve tried not to feel angry at what he was hearing but he couldn't help it. The inhumane torture his granddaughter had gone through was almost too much for him to even think about. He calmed himself down because he knew Emma's story was only going to get worse.

"They didn't train me at first. For a year all I did was study." Emma remembered, going over those early memories from when she was only four years old. She had been such a scared, fragile little thing back then. It was almost hard to believe that so much had happened since then.

"Who taught you? Rumlow?" Maria inquired but Emma shook her head.

"No, Rumlow was only around for the first couple weeks I was there. Those first couple of weeks were filled with me being in the lab while they stuck me with needles and studied me. Colonel Karpov was the person who gave me my lessons." Emma stated and Bruce looked down at the table with a guilty expression. He now understood why she had been so scared of him and Dr. Cho. If only they had approached her with better caution instead of just showing up out of nowhere. It made him sick to know that a bunch of scientists were studying her like a lab experiment when she was only four.

"Does this Colonel Karpov have a first name?" Maria asked and Emma nodded.

"His first name is Vasily. I think he worked for the Russian Armed Forces officially." Emma told her. "He taught me things about different countries. He discussed a lot of geography with me…economics, different environments, chemical warfare, nuclear warfare, and languages. Just anything that could prepare me for missions."

"I was fluent in Russian within the first year. He used to get so angry when I would speak in English." Emma remembered all the beatings she received from Karpov before she moved on from the topic. She didn't really want to get into that today. "I was at the base for a year when he introduced me to the Winter Soldier."

That seemed to capture everyone's attention. Bucky Barnes had become a major topic of discussion within the past month and even more so when he sent them a flash drive of Emma's file and location. Everyone wondered why the Winter Soldier, a cold and calculating killer, had enough heart to send them to Emma's rescue.

"And why did he introduce you to the Winter Soldier?" Maria questioned, a genuinely curious look on her face.

"They introduced me to him because he was going to be my trainer." Emma said seriously as she recalled how frightened she had been of her father when they first met. She had watched him kill a man, after all. "We didn't spar during that time…not at first. He would just show me different moves and techniques, making me mimic his movements when he was finished."

"He trained me for six months before he disappeared." This caused everyone to give Emma confused looks.

"Why did he disappear for so long?" Maria asked and Emma shrugged.

"It was always like that with him. He would disappear for large amounts of time before reappearing. I learned later that this was because of the Cyro-Chamber." Emma said which caused Steve to clench his jaw at the thought of his best friend being subjected to a Cyro-Chamber. "When he disappeared the first time I didn't see him for a year. Rumlow took over my training and he wasn't as gentle as the Winter Soldier."

"When I turned seven they experimented on me with the serum." Emma said, changing the subject from the Winter Soldier. "That was the first time I ever saw Pierce. He was watching it all happen when they injected me with the serum."

"After the injection…I became more enhanced. According to Pierce I was already technically enhanced because I still had what was leftover of Captain America's super soldier serum in my body but it wasn't potent enough, hence why they injected me with a new serum." Emma continued, coldness returning to her eyes as she thought more about Pierce. "Apparently there were other super soldiers before me but they never took to the serum successfully."

"Where are these super soldiers? Do you know?" Maria asked rapidly, worried whether or not there were other super soldiers like the Winter Soldier running around out there. Emma shook her head but seemed unsure.

"I can't be sure since I was never told whether or not they had died. I always assumed they had because Pierce said that their bodies didn't accept the serum like mine did." Emma answered.

"Were you treated just like the Winter Soldier was?" Emma gave the dark haired woman a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"The Winter Soldier had his memory wiped. Did Hydra do the same to you?" She asked her plainly but Emma wasn't offended despite the warning look Steve sent in Maria's general direction.

"What? Brainwash me? No, they didn't have to." She admitted and everyone looked at her in shock except for Natasha. Emma felt a bit uncomfortable being under everyone's close scrutiny but she didn't let the emotion show.

"They didn't have to?" Maria pressed, trying to get a straight answer out of her. The young girl sighed tiredly.

"Look, I never liked killing…it wasn't something I ever enjoyed but I did it because I had to." She explained. "What do you think they would do to me the second I proved that I no longer served a purpose? What they would do to _him._ " Maria raised a brow.

"Him?" Emma nodded.

"Yes, my father." Everyone looked just as equally confused. Especially Steve who was trying to understand what Emma was saying. What did she mean her father? Her father was dead. Steve looked down at the table sadly as he thought about his son. It was hard for Steve to call Emma's father his son. The thought that he never got to know his son haunted him.

"I'm sorry…I thought you said your father died." Maria said and Emma just nodded. She didn't seem to think anything of the statement she had just made.

"My biological father did but Winter is my father in everything but blood. He practically raised me." Emma told them although a sad expression reached her eyes as she did so. It was apparent that Emma and Bucky were quite close. Especially if they were so close that Emma referred to him as her father. Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he thought long and hard about this. He didn't have much time to think about the topic as Emma continued speaking. "Hydra used that against us."

"They knew how close we were and they used it to their advantage. They didn't have to wipe my memories or brainwash me because they used my father as leverage. If I ever ran away I would always come back because they would have him in their possession." Emma said sadly. "They used me against him in the same way although I think they liked wiping his memories too much to stop. They knew that if one of us were ever to defect or leave, we'd always come back for the other…always." The haunted expression on Emma's face was enough to make Maria decide to wrap up the debriefing. She already knew the gory details of all the assassinations Emma had committed while under Hydra's control. There was no point in questioning the teenager about that.

"Is it true?" Emma asked abruptly, looking directly at Maria as she changed the subject. "Is Pierce really dead?" Maria gave the blonde a long look before she answered. It was clear to her that Pierce was one of the people that was most responsible for what happened to Emma at the base in Siberia.

"Yes, Pierce is dead. He died during the fall of Shield. Romanoff was there. She can confirm it if you don't believe me." Maria suggested and Emma turned to look at Natasha. The redhead gave her a small smirk as she revealed the details of Pierce's death. She knew the blonde well enough to know that Emma would enjoy hearing this piece of information

"Pierce took a couple of gun shots to the chest and bled out as he watched Project Insight be destroyed right before his very eyes." Natasha told her with a certain smugness to her tone. Steve glared at her for being so descriptive but Emma preferred it. It was nice to see how much Natasha seemed to understand. Knowing exactly how Pierce died was all the more reassuring to someone like her. Knowing that he had suffered just as he made her suffer all those years gave her a peace of mind. Maybe she and Natasha really were a lot alike. Emma nodded in satisfaction as she took in Natasha's recollection of Pierce's death.

"Good riddance." She muttered under her breath, causing Steve to look at her. He glanced curiously over his newly found family member. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than the ability to read minds…to know what was going on in her head because she was the single most complicated person Steve thought he had ever met and he had only known her for a few days. He thought Peggy was someone he couldn't figure out but Emma was even more confusing.

"I think we've said all that we can." Maria announced, shutting off her tablet as she looked around the table. "You're all dismissed. Go eat and don't bother me."

"I think you're forgetting just who you work for, Hill." Tony said with a snarky tone. Maria just smirked at him as she stood up from the table.

"No, I don't believe I have. I work for Pepper Potts." Maria told him before she turned around and left the room. Tony stuck his tongue out at her while her back was turned, making him look much younger than his forty odd years of age. Emma decided right then at that moment that her time at Avenger's tower would prove to be interesting. She just wanted to know if she could handle it and be a part of this weird group of people like Steve and Natasha seemingly wanted her to be.

Time would tell.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Dinner with the Avengers wasn't something that Emma ever thought she would be having. If someone told her she would be eating with the Avengers a week ago, she would've laughed for the first time in a long time. It was a completely ridiculous idea. The odd sort of dining room, the Avengers seemed to have, was right down the hall from the conference room but directly next to the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had many upgrades that were probably beyond the appliances that normal people had but this was a place that Tony Stark had designed, after all.

Emma watched with curious eyes as all the Avengers gathered around the long dining room table. They had excited looks on their faces as if they had been waiting all day for dinner…or maybe they were just excited to eat together. Emma wouldn't know. The room smelt faintly sweet with the hint of seasoned vegetables in the air. She didn't recognize what kind of food it was…it didn't seem familiar to her at all.

Emma glanced at Steve who was her…what was he to her? She didn't think she could go around calling him grandpa and Emma already had a father. She supposed he might've been something like an uncle or older brother to her but for now Emma was just going to call him Steve. Steve who was her last remaining blood relative. He seemed like a good person but Emma hadn't met many good people in her lifetime to be a good judge of character.

She watched as Steve's smile brightened up his whole face as he listened to something Sam had told him. He would glance back at her every so often when he thought she wasn't looking. It was obvious he held some kind of concern for her but Emma didn't think she was deserving of it. She felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up, meeting Natasha's gaze. The redhead gave her an understanding smile and Emma knew that it wasn't just to be nice. Natasha actually understood her on some level. Emma had a feeling that if she would ever happen to make a friend it would probably be Natasha.

"So you're Emma." A soft voice said and Emma immediately looked up. There wasn't much that managed to escape her notice but Emma guessed that she was far too distracted at this point. She met the gaze of a woman with red hair that was several shades lighter than Natasha's own red hair. There was something different about this woman and Emma could immediately tell that she wasn't like Natasha in the least bit. Her smile was warm and friendly…almost motherly. Her pale blue eyes were full of light and happiness. The woman was also very tall, especially in the heels she wore, towering over Emma. While Natasha reminded Emma of her mother in the looks department…this woman reminded Emma of her mother because of her kind smile.

"I've heard so much about you from everyone else so I've been very excited to meet you. I'm Pepper Potts." She introduced, holding her hand out to shake and Emma grasped her hand gently. This woman looked to be the fragile, delicate kind. She wasn't someone that Emma would've preferred to hurt had she been back at Hydra. Emma smiled back at her even though it felt a bit odd but Pepper's smile was infectious. She thought she remembered Steve mentioning someone by the name of Pepper buying her the clothes she was now wearing.

"Emma," Emma said politely. "Thank you for the clothes by the way. Steve mentioned that you got them for me."

"Don't mention it." Pepper told her dismissively. "I never get to shop for any girls around here. Natasha won't let me shop for her. It's just a lot of shopping for the guys. You have idea how much I needed that." Pepper told her and she got the distinct feeling that she was right about before. Pepper wasn't a part of any of this. No, she was just along for the ride because she was with Tony. Emma could already tell that Pepper was an exceptionally kind and calm person so she didn't understand one bit about how a woman like her got involved with Stark. Emma had only spent close to an hour and a half in the same room as the man and she already disliked him. It was clear that the billionaire liked getting on people's nerves.

"Well, thanks anyways." Emma said.

"Really, it's no big deal." Pepper replied before moving on with the conversation. "I was actually thinking that whenever you felt up to it we might go shopping to build up your closet a little more. I got you some other outfits but I just thought it might be nice to get out of the tower and get some fresh air." Emma stared at Pepper with a genuinely surprised expression on her face. Before Emma could even reply to Pepper's suggestion, Steve stepped in.

"Okay, Pepper, I think that's enough." He told her, an amused smile on his face as he looked at the excited strawberry blonde. "We don't want to overwhelm her."

"I can leave?" Emma asked. Steve and Pepper turned to look at her, both with confused looks on their faces. "I can leave the tower?" Steve had a very serious look on his face as he thought of a way to best approach this subject.

"Of course you can leave but not by yourself. We're not going to keep you cooped up in this tower all the time." Steve told her. "I mean…Pepper or I might accompany you since New York is a big city after all and you're only thirteen." Emma looked down at her hands.

"Hydra never let me leave the base…only for missions." She admitted quietly. Steve's expression hardened and Pepper just looked like she wanted to hug the young girl and never let go. Steve definitely wished that he had been given some time alone in a room with Rumlow and Pierce. He actually was alone in a room with Pierce and Steve desperately wished that he had taken the time to beat the evil man to a bloody pulp. Steve still couldn't believe that Pierce had done what he did to his own granddaughter. He remembered the way Pierce had talked about them…as if he cared and as if he actually loved Emma and her mother. However, it was all a lie.

"Well, this isn't Hydra." Steve reminded her gently. "Maybe next week we can do what Pepper suggested and go shopping." Emma smiled at Steve and for the first time Steve felt as though it might've actually been a hundred percent genuine. Pepper had a knowing look on her face as she glanced between the two. She knew that this would be a very good thing for the both of them. Steve had always been so lonely especially since he thought he had left everything behind when he crashed into the ocean all those years ago. Emma would be very good for him to have around.

"I hope you like Chinese." Pepper told her suddenly, steering the conversation away from any thoughts that Emma might be having about Hydra. Emma gave her a curious look. "It's just takeout so nothing fancy."

"That's fine." Emma told her. "I don't think I've ever had Chinese so I'll be happy to try it." She hoped that her politeness didn't sound too forced. Hydra had taught her how to be such a good actress that Emma wasn't sure how to genuinely feel about things sometimes. In a moment like this Emma was afraid that she came off as too rehearsed or fake. However, Pepper didn't give any indication that Emma came off that way and excitedly told her how much she was going to love take out. Steve gave her a reassuring look that practically told her to do whatever Pepper Potts wanted. It was clear that Pepper was a bright and happy kind of person that made it her business to make sure everyone felt at home and comfortable in the tower. Emma was just unused to people like Pepper but she thought that she would like the strawberry blonde anyways. She already saw a lot of her mother in Pepper.

* * *

After dinner, some of the other Avengers decided that they wanted to hang out in the living room of the main floor. They insisted on Steve and Emma staying but Steve could already tell that the teenager already had enough for the day. She looked slightly overwhelmed by everything that had happened within the past couple of hours so he bid them goodnight and began to lead Emma to his floor of the tower. The tired look on Emma's face told Steve that she was more than willing to just call it a night and plop down in a nice, warm bed.

Emma knew that Steve had said that Stark had given all the Avengers their own floors but she still hadn't expected Steve's living space to be that enormous. It was more like a giant apartment than it was a room. There was a large kitchen, fully equipped with updated appliances, that opened up to an equally large living room. The living room contained a big, modern looking sectional couch that sat directly across from a gigantic flat screen television hanging on the wall. She was surprised to see how open and bright everything was. There were glass windows that took up entire walls and gave Emma a beautiful view of the entire city. The first thing she noticed about New York, as she gazed out the window, was that there were lights everywhere. Emma had spent so long living in that Hydra base that she didn't think anything could be that bright and colorful.

"Why didn't we eat here if you have your own kitchen?" Emma asked quietly as she looked out the window. Steve stood a ways back, deciding to let her explore his apartment suite on her own.

"We decided that it was better if we did things as a family. Isolating ourselves in our apartments isn't going to make us stronger as a team." Steve told her and Emma nodded as she continued to look out the window. She spotted, with her enhanced vision, someone in the building directly across from the tower. It must have been some kind of company since the person was hastily typing away on their computer inside an office setting. It was strange that someone could be doing something so ordinary while being in a building that was directly across from a tower full of superheroes.

"That's a good strategy. Everyone will rely on each other better if they can trust one and other." Steve just shrugged at her comment.

"I guess but I think it's also a good way not to be alone." Emma glanced back at him, tearing her gaze away from the person in the office. She searched Steve's eyes, trying to find something but not even _she_ was sure what she was looking for.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room." Steve told her, breaking the silence. Emma nodded silently as she followed him down the hall where he was leading her. There was three rooms down the hall, she noticed. One of which she could only assume was Steve's room and the other would be hers. The third room was mostly like a guest room or something similar. He opened the door of the first room that was positioned down the hall and Emma was immediately taken by surprise.

It was a large room, much larger than any room she had ever stayed in, and it made her room back at Hydra look like a tiny shoe box. It was like the other places within the tower with the far front end of the room completely made of a glass window that gave her an amazing view of the city. Thankfully that was the only glass wall, the rest of the walls were normal and without glass. The other walls were painted a lavender purple that looked rather girlish but Emma appreciated the color since she had been so used to staring at white walls and concrete floors for the past nine years. It almost reminded her of the room she had when her parents were still alive although that room was painted a very bright pink.

A massive bed was situated with the headboard against one of the walls. It looked to be a whole lot bigger than the tiny twin sized bed she had always been given at the Hydra base. The comforter on the bed was a darker purple than the purple that colored the walls. The bed was also covered with various matching pillows. More pillows than Emma thought that one person could ever use.

There was a desk that sat right next to the glass wall that overlooked the city. Two nightstands on either side of the king sized bed as well as a large flat screen TV hanging on the wall directly across from the bed. Emma didn't even know if she ever remembered watching TV. Her parents might have let her watch children's programs when they were still alive but that was about it. A couple of modern oddly shaped chairs were positioned in front of the TV, making what looked like a miniature living room fully equipped with a glass coffee table that had a few different kinds of teen magazines. Emma raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't think that she would be the type to read fashion or gossip magazines especially since Emma would have no idea what they were talking about. The last fashionable item that Emma had picked out for herself was the little pink bows she would tell her mother to put in her hair but that was when she was four.

There was a door to what Emma could only assume was a bathroom and another door that must have been the closet. The walls, despite their color, were pretty blank and empty but it wasn't like Emma had expected to have anything to put on them. The only possession that she had brought with her was probably her Viper Assassin uniform and there was no way anyone was going to let her go near that thing. Emma didn't even know where they put it. It might be wise to inform them that it contained poisonous gas but something told her that Jarvis probably already told them.

"Pepper put all this together for you." Steve told her as he watched Emma look around the room, a faint smile on his face. "She loves decorating and rearranging so it was a blast for her to do this. I've never seen her so excited about putting a room together for anyone but I think it's just because she's never had the chance to put a room together for a teenage girl…so as you can see she went all out." Steve then chuckled as he thought of the enthusiastic girlfriend of Tony. Emma didn't say anything as she continued to look around the room. Truthfully, she was in shock because she couldn't believe this room was hers. She thought the hospital room had been nice but this was far beyond that.

Emma let her eyes drift away from the empty walls before she finally focused her gaze on a large bookshelf on the side of the room where her and Steve were standing. It was possibly the most enormous bookshelf that Emma had ever seen…even bigger than the one in Colonel Karpov's office. It was packed with dozens upon dozens of books. Maybe even a hundred books. From what she could see, all the books on the shelf were fiction. Emma had only just finished reading her first fictional book the day before. The endless options of books in front of her was overwhelming and she couldn't wait to get started. Steve smiled when he saw her eye the collection of books.

"That was my idea actually…the bookshelf, I mean." Steve told her and she looked back at him curiously. "Tony said that no one reads books anymore. He said that he has an endless library on all the tablets within the tower but it's not the same to me. Nothing beats a good physical copy of a paperback in your hands." Steve remarked and Emma smiled at him.

"I agree. I'd prefer to read something real…something that you can actually touch." Emma said, agreeing with his statement. Steve returned her smile, feeling as though he was actually making progress with her…that he was actually connecting with her on some level. Granted that it was a very small level but it still counted to him.

"Well, you have a pretty big collection here. I picked out a lot of the classic literature. Stuff that I used to read when I was your age but there's some more modern books here." Steve told her, gesturing to the assortment of books. "The others kind of had a hand in picking a lot of the books that they thought you might like."

"This is too much." Emma said softly, her eyes looking quite guilty. Steve analyzed the expression on her face and there seemed to be many mixed emotions for the first time since he met her. Just when he thought he couldn't see any detectable emotion on her face he then saw so many emotions that he couldn't pick them apart.

"What's too much?" Steve asked, genuinely wanting to help Emma through whatever she was feeling.

"All of this." Emma replied as she gestured around the room. "I don't deserve this. I've done some really terrible things. I belong in a cell somewhere…not staying in a nice room in a tower full of people who do good things." Steve frowned at the way she spoke about herself. It was in that moment that he realized who she reminded him a lot of. Natasha.

"Don't say those things about yourself." Steve told her.

"It's the truth." Emma admitted, looking up at him. Blue meeting identical blue. Steve just shook his head at her, wanting to prove to her that she was wrong about herself.

"No, it's not. Those things you did…you were forced to do them because Hydra was threatening someone you love." Steve told her firmly. "That person isn't really you, Emma. That person is someone Hydra made." Emma swallowed nervously as she gazed back at him.

"I don't even know who I am." She whispered and Steve's expression softened at her frightened tone.

"Well, let's figure that out." Steve paused as he thought of something he could say that would comfort her. "We've all done bad things. Don't think that any of us are saints. Stark made the money for this tower, we're living in, off selling weapons that caused a lot of death and destruction. Banner demolished cities. Thor lives for war and we all know about the lives that are ruined and lost in war. Natasha and Clint both have equally as shady pasts."

"And you?" Emma asked. "What could Captain America have done that's so bad? You're known for your morals." Steve shook his head.

"I killed a lot of people in the war…men who probably had families waiting for them back home."

"They were Nazis." Emma told him, dismissing his admission but Steve's expression didn't change.

"Killing isn't something that anyone should take lightly. No matter the justification." Steve said, his gaze gentle as he looked down at her. "We've all taken lives Emma and most of us didn't even do it for someone we loved. Greed, power, freedom, madness, and glory but never for love."

"It doesn't make it right." Emma told him even though she sort of saw the point he was trying to make.

"No, it doesn't." Steve agreed. "But you're not alone in the way you feel…not here. We all have pasts and we'll never judge you for yours. If you ever need to talk our doors are opened."

"I'll see." Emma said which roughly meant that she would think about it but she promised nothing. Steve nodded, accepting her answer for now. She was still new to him and everyone else so it wasn't like he expected her to tell him everything. These things would take some time. When he first woke up after the ice he remembered not wanting to talk about it…to pretend that everything was normal but eventually he opened up to his teammates and they never made him regret it.

"Well, I guess I'll let you get some rest." He glanced past her at the two separate doors in her room. "You've got your own bathroom and closet. There should be a few outfits in the closet and some pajamas. There's not a lot yet but we'll take you shopping in a few days after you get a little more settled." He told her and Emma nodded.

"If you need anything, I'm right down the hall so don't hesitate to call me." Steve continued to tell her and Emma couldn't help but find him amusing. He seemed very concerned as he continued to think of anything else she might need. It was nice to see that someone cared. There had been only one other person that cared about her but she hadn't seen him in so long. "If you have any other questions I guess that Jarvis can answer them."

"Thank you, Steve." Emma told him but he could tell that she hadn't just meant to thank him for the room or his helpfulness. There was a tiny gleam in her blue eyes that might have told him that she was thanking him for everything. He smiled one last time at her.

"It's not a problem." She nodded but didn't look any less thankful. There was a silence between them that wasn't awkward or weird but peaceful. It was like they had the tiniest bit of an understanding and it gave Steve hope that he could actually have the sort of family life that he always dreamed of having. Something that he had thought he left behind in a much different life. "Goodnight, Emma." She smiled back at him.

"Goodnight, Steve." And with that Steve left the room, shutting the door behind him softly before he continued down the hall to his own room. Things were definitely looking up for him and Emma. He couldn't wait to spend more time bonding with her even though he knew that he had all the time in the world. It was an odd notion since time hadn't seemed to agree with him in past but he finally felt as though time was finally on his side. Steve only wondered what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

 _"_ _What are you doing in here?"_

 _"_ _That's a silly question. I'm here for you, princess."_

 _"_ _What are you doing?! Get off of me!"_

 _"_ _Shhhh…don't scream, princess. Everything will be fine."_

 _"_ _Stop…stop it, please. Please don't…please don't…"_

 _"_ _You're so beautiful…just like your mother."_

Emma awoke from her nightmare, gasping for air. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to get her breathing back under control. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. The images from her nightmare still flooded her mind even though she tried with all her might to think of literally anything else. Think, Emma, think. She told herself forcefully as she struggled to think of something better…something that was happier. Her mind drifted back to Harry Potter. Emma thought of the orphan boy who discovered he had magical powers. A secret that his evil aunt and uncle had kept from him. She thought of Harry going to Hogwarts for the first time, basking in awe of the enormous, magical castle with moving portraits and ceilings that portrayed the night sky. Emma imagined Harry as he walked side by side with his new friends, the first friends he could call his own…Ron and Hermione. And just like that…the images disappeared from Emma's mind and she was able to breath normally.

"Miss Rogers, are you alright? Your heart rate has elevated to an alarming rate." Jarvis stated as she started calming down from her nightmare. "Shall I call Captain Rogers?"

"No, I'm fine, Jarvis. Just another nightmare." Emma replied as she laid back against the large assortment of pillows.

"If you're quite sure, Miss Rogers." She sighed.

"I'm sure." It seemed like that was enough of an answer for the AI system as he immediately ceased his questioning. Emma wasn't sure how long she had been lying there in bed, trying to go back to sleep and hopefully a dreamless one at that. She shifted in bed several times but found that the bed was too soft…the pillows were incredibly soft with all the feathers they contained inside. It should've made her comfortable but instead it made her feel all the more restless.

With a groan she got up from the bed that was much too soft. She had no idea what time it was but by judging the night sky, she had to say it was probably in the early hours of the morning. Emma glanced around the room cautiously before deciding that she wanted to walk around. The room suddenly felt a bit too suffocating to her despite it's massiveness. Without giving another thought to her idea, she quickly exited her new bedroom and walked down the hall to the living room. Maybe she could get some rest if she slept on the couch. It was most likely harder than the bed and much more comforting to Emma.

Emma had since changed, from the outfit Pepper had picked out for her earlier, into a pair of simple blue pajama pants that were decorated with cartoon looking penguins. The shirt she wore was a loose fitting t-shirt that matched the design of her pajama pants, displaying a smiling penguin wearing a multi-colored scarf. Emma wondered if girls her age were meant to wear clothing like this. Probably, she thought. It looked a little childish but she was still a child after all, wasn't she? Emma remembered walking into her closet to find the pair of pajamas and closet was a roughly humble name for it. It was more like a second bedroom than it was a closet with a cozy little chair placed inside next to a huge mirror. Emma wondered what purpose the chair served if she was just meant to try on clothes inside the closet. Pepper had gotten her more than a few outfits but the clothing took up close to zero room in the massive closet.

Emma quietly padded down the hall, not wanting to make any extra noise that could wake Steve up from his sleep. It was alarmingly dark inside the living room but Emma was thankful for the dead silence. It was almost sort of calming as she walked into the living room. Emma made her way to the couch when she saw that she wasn't the only person that couldn't seem to sleep. The young blonde spotted the familiar figure of Steve sitting on the couch as she walked in. He didn't even notice her until she walked right up to him. He was just seemingly staring into space. Emma thought he might've been lost in his thoughts until he finally lifted his head and looked at her. A smile made it's way onto his face as he saw her.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Steve inquired and Emma shrugged before taking a seat next to him on the couch. She made sure that there was still plenty of space between them.

"Not really." Her answer was short and vague, making it clear that Emma didn't really feel like talking about it.

"The bed's too soft, isn't it?" Steve asked quietly. He knew that Emma didn't seem to be the kind of person to want to talk about her problems but he wanted to make sure that she knew that it was okay if she did. Emma glanced back at him through the darkness of the room, carefully analyzing his face. She didn't say anything for a moment because she was trying figure out if he had some kind of other super power…if he was not just a super soldier but if he was also a mind reader.

"Yes, it's exactly that." Emma said, leaving out the part about her nightmare. "How did you know?" Steve shrugged.

"It's the same for me." He admitted. "Or at least it was. Now it's not so bad for me but I still have my moments." Emma gave him a curious look.

"And what changed?" She asked, inquiring about what he meant about it not being so bad anymore.

"I met people…let them in." Steve replied. "Sam helped a lot because it's what he does. He helps out a lot at the VA." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why?" Steve gave her a small smile.

"Because he understands. He's a lot like us, you know." Steve told her and Emma felt even more confused. Did Steve mean that Sam was enhanced like they were? He was a pretty muscular guy but Emma never got the feeling that he was like her in any way.

"He's a super soldier?" Steve laughed at her question before briefly shaking his head.

"No, I just meant that he's a military man. He was used to sleeping on a pile of rocks before he came back home." Emma looked down at her hands, not knowing how to feel about what Steve just told her.

"It's not the same." She said quietly and Steve raised his eyebrows.

"Isn't it?" He challenged but Emma just shook her head.

"No, it's not." She told him. "I'm not military. I'm just a lab rat that Hydra wanted to make into a weapon. I was just a weapon for them to control."

"True but we all know what it's like taking lives…fighting." Steve said in response. "Coming back home and adjusting to a normal life is difficult for everyone. Sam had a lot of problems adjusting to normalcy and he's helped a lot of people who went through the same thing."

Emma could hear the suggestion in his comment but she wasn't sure when she would be ready for something like that. To go and talk with someone about her life back at Hydra. No, she didn't think she could do that anytime soon. There wasn't really anyone who could relate to someone like her. She was a child that had been a pawn in someone else's war…someone else's fight.

"Sometimes I would fall asleep in a tree." Emma admitted, her voice just a quiet whisper. "The targets would sometimes come around later than when they were supposed to so I would rest. Sometimes I would wait there all day so I didn't have any other choice but to sleep in the tree. I'm a light sleeper so I wasn't worried about sleeping through my mission…my hearing is really sensitive after all."

"I can still feel the leaves between my hair and the branches digging into my back." Emma continued and she could tell that it was difficult for Steve to hear this but he seemed more than willing to listen anyways. "There was a squirrel up there, I think. He was on the tallest branch and I could hear him moving around." There was a brief moment of silence between them after Emma finished her story. Steve didn't really know what to say to something like that and Emma didn't have anything else to say on the subject.

"Will it get easier?" Emma asked him suddenly and Steve just stared at her, giving her a reassuring look. It seemed to be a look that he often gave her…something that would encourage her or make her feel better. It was unlike any sort of look she had received before. No one ever cared enough to make her feel better about herself. Her father cared as much as he could but didn't understand sentiment like she wished he could sometimes.

"With time, yes. As long as you're around people who care about you." He told her gently and Emma nodded.

"That's good to know I suppose." She responded before they fell into another brief period of silence. She wasn't really sure what else to say but Emma was thankful that the silence wasn't awkward between them this time. Steve bit his lip nervously as something popped into his mind. It was something he had been meaning to share with Emma earlier but everything happened so quickly. He wasn't sure if now was the right time but he knew that there probably was never a right time to tell her something like this.

"There's something that you should probably know." Steve spoke quietly, breaking the peaceful moment of silence. Emma glanced back at him, her eyebrow raised in a curious fashion but she didn't say anything. She just remained silent as she waited for him to tell her what he wanted to say. "I want to tell you this now rather than later because I think it would be better if you heard this from me rather than anyone else."

"What is it?" Emma questioned.

"It's about Pierce, Emma." He told her seriously and this made Emma all the more curious. Pierce? What about Pierce? Emma had thought that they had gone over the topic of Alexander Pierce quite a bit in recent times. At the debriefing she had found out all that she wanted to know about the crazy old man. He had been killed. That was really all that she needed to know about him too.

"What about him?" She asked. "What? Is he not actually dead?" Steve shook his head furiously.

"No, he's dead." Steve replied. "He's definitely dead but…well, I guess there's no better way to say this so I'll speak plainly." Steve looked directly at Emma, locking his gaze onto her confused one.

"Emma, Pierce was your grandfather. I'm not sure if you already knew that or not but I needed to tell you." Steve finally said. This did nothing to ease Emma's confusion as she stared blankly at Steve. Steve figured that it was safe to say that Emma definitely did not know that Pierce was her grandfather. He could see Emma's bewilderment and surprise written all over her face. Emma could hardly believe her ears as she took in the information Steve just gave her. Pierce? Her grandfather? No, that just couldn't be possible. Emma didn't understand.

"No…that just can't be possible." Emma proclaimed as she stared at Steve. "I thought you were my grandfather. How could Pierce be?"

"I am your grandfather, Emma, but Pierce was your mother's father." Emma just shook her head furiously as she tried to get a grasp on what he was telling her.

"No, that can't be right. If he was my grandfather then would've never hurt me like-" Emma suddenly stopped herself as she thought about what she was saying. What was she even saying? She let out a humorless laugh as Emma realized what she was about to say. "No, who am I kidding? Of course he would hurt me. The man was insane. Me being his granddaughter wouldn't get in his way." Her laughter stopped as she glared at the wall in front of her.

"God…I just can't believe that he was my grandfather this whole time. That means he had his own daughter and son-in-law murdered before kidnapping his granddaughter and experimenting on her." Emma said bitterly. "What a sick bastard." Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he heard his granddaughter curse.

"Language." He scolded softly and Emma turned to look at him suddenly, a bewildered look on her face.

"What?" Steve cleared his voice before he spoke a bit louder.

"That's no language for a young lady your age." He told her and Emma just stared at him like he was some sort of weird creature at the zoo.

"Are you being serious?" Steve's firm look told her all she needed to know and she let out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes but she knew what he was doing. He was trying to keep her mind off the subject so she wouldn't dwell too much on this. "You really do sound like a grandpa. I'm sorry…what a sick jerk. Nope, that doesn't sound fitting at all."

Steve could only laugh instead of acting angry with her. He was seeing a different side of Emma which he could tell she didn't normally show. He was forever grateful that she was letting him see that side of her. Emma smiled at him playfully, thankful that she was able to let her mind drift away from Pierce. Emma was glad that Steve told her the truth about Pierce but that didn't mean that she wanted to dwell anymore than she had to on the topic. It was good that she knew but now she just wanted to think about something else…anything else. She suddenly thought of something that she had been curious about ever since that day the Avengers rescued her from the Hydra base.

"You said that you were best friends with my father." Emma said quietly. Steve glanced up at her in surprise since the question had literally come out of nowhere.

"What?" He asked, completely confused as to what she was talking about.

"That day that you guys rescued me from the Hydra base." She explained. "You told me that you were best friends with my father…that you grew up with him." It suddenly dawned on Steve that Emma was talking about Bucky. It felt odd to him that Emma referred to Bucky as her father but he guessed that was just something that he would have to get used to.

"Yeah, we were." Steve replied softly, his gaze not as serious as he recollected all the times he had spent with his friend back before the ice…before Bucky had been taken and turned into the Winter Soldier. "We still are, I guess, but I doubt he remembers me that much."

"I think he remembers you more than you think he does." Emma told him honestly. Her confident tone was what captured Steve's attention as he gave her a curious look.

"What do you mean?" He questioned and Emma just smiled. It was a small smile but it was still a real, genuine smile. It seemed like her smiles were becoming a little more frequent but Steve wasn't complaining. It made Emma look like the young girl that she was.

"He used to tell me that I reminded him of someone." She said thoughtfully. "I wasn't stupid. I knew that he was this aggressive, trained killer but he was always gentle with me or as gentle as he could be. He took care of me a lot but I always wondered why." Emma looked back at Steve like she had finally found the answer to the question she had always wondered about. "Now I know."

"What do you know?" Steve asked, still not understanding what it was that Emma was trying to tell him.

"I would ask why he took care of me and every time he would tell me that I reminded him of someone." She explained almost happily or as happily as Emma could seem. Steve was starting to see what Emma was getting at. Tears flooded his eyes as his mind went to Bucky. "He said that he didn't know who but I think I reminded him of you."

"Really?" Steve questioned and Emma nodded, causing a big smile to make it's way onto his face. "That sure sounds like Bucky…the fact that he took care of you, I mean. He was always taking care of me. You should've seen me before the serum…I was a tiny little guy who always loved picking fights. I would've gotten beaten severely if it wasn't for Bucky always stepping in."

"What was he like?" Emma asked Steve. She was genuinely curious about the life her father led before he became the Winter Soldier. Steve seemed all too happy to share that kind of information with her.

"He was really generous…offered me a place to stay after my mother died. He was always watching out for me like that." Steve remarked as he thought about the moment he and Bucky shared after his mother's funeral. Bucky had been more than a friend to him…he had been a brother. "Bucky was also quite the charmer. Girls always liked him because he was charming, funny, and handsome."

Emma frowned a little at what Steve was telling her. The man Steve was telling her about sounded completely different than the man she knew as her father. Steve was talking about someone who seemed so carefree and happy. Emma didn't think that she had ever seen her father smile much less laugh. He was always such a guarded person, almost aggressive to anyone who wasn't her. The man Steve was talking about, or Bucky as he was apparently called, seemed like someone else.

"He sounds so different than the person I know." Emma commented sadly. She glanced away, lost in her thoughts. "Papa is a very guarded person who never hugged me or so much as smiled at me but I knew he cared deep down. I even think he might've loved me if he were capable of such a thing. He's my protector and always has been."

"We started out as friends, you know. Or at least in my mind we were friends." Emma continued to say and Steve listened to her intently, curious about her version of Bucky. "I was so terrified of him when we first met. He had killed a man right in front of me but with time I grew to admire him. I admired him for all the wrong reasons. I think…I even hero worshiped him on some level. He was strong, powerful, and emotionless. All those things evoked fear into the hearts of all the people around him and I wanted to be like that." Emma told Steve. She looked back to see if he was horrified by what she had to say but he just looked calm. Steve just seemed to be listening to her rather than judging her.

"I thought if I were like him that people would fear me too and they might leave me alone. He was so good at everything he did…killing, weapons, and not feeling anything. Every time I failed a mission it was only because I was too emotional and I envied him for letting go of that part of himself. I know that Hydra beat those emotions out of him a long time ago but I still wished that I could be just like him." Emma said, finishing up her recollection of the Bucky she knew. Steve wasn't sure what to think about something like that. He knew that the Bucky that Emma knew was beyond different than the Bucky he knew but it was something that he hadn't wanted to think about until now.

"So as you can see, we know two very different people, Steve." Emma told him sadly. Steve, however, didn't look convinced.

"Maybe we don't." He told her and Emma gave him a bewildered look, not understanding what he was saying. "Look, I just mean that Bucky's different in a lot of ways. He's different than the guy I grew up with in Brooklyn but maybe he's not completely different. He took care of you at the base. That's not the Winter Soldier. No, that's the Bucky _I_ knew."

Emma carefully considered what Steve told her and decided that he might be right. The Winter Soldier was a fearsome, emotionless killer. In what world would a cold blooded killer like the Winter Soldier care about a little kid? No, maybe there had been a part of Bucky within her father this whole time. A part of him that allowed himself to take care of her because she reminded him of a life he had long ago.

"You might be right about that." Emma finally admitted and Steve smiled softly.

"Maybe I am." He said before he reflected on the relationship his granddaughter and best friend had formed, unknowing to the connection that they shared which was him all along. "I'll always regret not being around to protect you but I'm glad that you at least had Bucky with you…that you both had each other." Emma smiled softly as she looked at Steve.

"I didn't have anything else but I did have papa." Emma replied, remembering her father's face and hoping that she would never forget any detail. Steve gave her a surprised look when he heard her response.

"It's funny…" Steve trailed off as he glanced down at her. Emma raised an eyebrow with a questioning look on her face.

"What is?" Steve just shook his head as he smiled.

"I used to say the same thing." He remarked. "Even when I had nothing I had Bucky." Emma stared at him, not sure what to say but she knew how she felt. It was odd that she could bond with someone over her father. She never thought she would ever meet someone who could rival the love she had for her father but she had been proven wrong. It made her happy to know that she wasn't the only one in the world that loved her father. Her father was loved unconditionally by one other person too.

"I guess we have more in common than I thought."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Note: So sorry I haven't updated as frequently as usual but I guess I've been pretty lazy. I don't really have a good excuse. Luckily, this is a pretty long chapter so hopefully it makes up for that. There's also a Spider-Man Homecoming easter egg in this chapter so heads up. It's not Peter or anything so don't get too excited. So an update about the chapters before Age of Ultron. I can confirm that there will be three more chapters before Age of Ultron. I'm so excited because once we've gotten to Age of Ultron it's really close to Civil War. There will probably only be three chapters of Age of Ultron and then we'll have Civil War which means PETER! I'm so thrilled.**

 **I just want to say that I've been listening to Lana Del Rey's new album _Lust for Life_ while writing this chapter. I'm really loving her new album. A lot of the album has like a sixties folk rock sound to it and anyone who knows me knows that my two favorite decades for music are the sixties and seventies... Well, late sixties but the entirety of the seventies. _Beautiful People Beautiful Problems_ (feat. Stevie Nicks) and _Tomorrow Never Came(feat._ Sean Ono Lennon) are two of my favorite songs on her new record. They remind me of watching a sunset whilst sitting in a meadow. Sorry if that's a lot rambling but I just really love the new album and it kind of inspired me to write more.**

 **Just saw Dunkirk last week and I just have to say that it's a really beautiful film. Christopher Nolan is a genius. It was so intense and vivid... the music really brought that out. Hans Zimmer is amazing that way. I'm also super excited to see Atomic Blonde this weekend because it looks so bad ass. As you all know, I really love female ass kickers. lol.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews I got last chapter! I really appreciate them all. I just have to say in regards to some of those reviews... I know that I'm making you wait forever until Peter comes but I'm just thankful that you've been so patient with me. I didn't plan on Emma's backstory being this long but it just kind of happened. I started writing and I'm just thinking that I can't just jump forward without letting anyone know who she is. It's important to me that she has an identity before she meets Peter. I want this to be a Emma story rather than just a Peter and Emma story. Peter is definitely going to be in it a lot but Emma is the lead character and she's very important.**

 **So thanks and keep reviewing!**

* * *

A week had passed since Emma and Steve's midnight talk in the living room. Emma was still learning how to be comfortable around everyone. Her days consisted of eating breakfast with Steve in the kitchen before they would walk aimlessly around the tower for a couple of hours. It was a big tower to explore. Mostly they walked around while Steve talked and Emma listened to him. He told her about his life before the ice… what it was like growing up in early 20th century Brooklyn, New York. She looked at him in fascination as he told her all about her great grandmother Sarah Rogers. Emma smiled in wonder when Steve told her how he'd fallen in love with her grandmother at first sight. He mentioned her grandmother was very much alive although she was sadly living in a nursing home in D.C. Steve suggested that they might take a trip down to D.C. sometime to visit her. Emma faintly remembered her grandmother from when she was little but it was more like blurry images in her mind.

After their walk around the tower they would spend some time with the other Avengers. Mostly it was just Steve chatting with them while Emma listened. Every now and then they asked her for her opinion on something and Emma would say something quietly but she wasn't intent on saying too much. They would return to the apartment for a few hours and read in silence, taking quick breaks with chatter about the books they were reading. Emma enjoyed the time she spent with Steve although she would never admit it aloud. Sometimes Sam or Natasha would stop by to spend an hour or so with them. They didn't stop by every day but it happened enough. The granddaughter and grandfather duo would then head back up to the main floor for dinner with the others. They would spend a couple hours up there having dinner and chatting amongst each other… well, Steve did at least. Emma was perfectly fine with just watching everyone interact, keeping to herself. The Avengers seemed very eager to include her in on the conversation but Emma was more than happy to just stay silent and watch.

They returned to the apartment after dinner. Emma would take a shower before going to bed, falling asleep whilst reading one of the books off her bookshelf. She was now on the fifth Harry Potter book and wondered how Hydra had managed to keep such an amazing book series out of her sight for so long. Her brief stint of happiness, however, didn't last long because she almost always woke up from a nightmare. It was always the same… She used to have nightmares about her time spent in the glass tank. She would dream about snakes constricting around her, taking the place of the plastic tubing she could still recall. Something had changed within the past couple of months. Her nightmares shifted from the injections and instead kept showing her the same thing over and over again. Every night Emma would relive the night that she finally broke… the night she lost what she had left of her innocence. Emma never told Steve or anyone about the nightmares. She didn't want to burden them with the knowledge of her pain and suffering. They had already helped her so much.

"What are you thinking so hard about, Mini Cap?" Emma looked up from plate which she had probably been staring at for the past fifteen minutes. She noticed that she had everyone's attention even Steve's as Tony asked her the question. Emma wondered why he insisted on calling her such a ridiculous nickname. Still… it was better than "Asset" or "Stupid Girl".

"I'm just thinking about how annoying that nickname is." Emma told Tony, quickly steering attention away from what was actually on her mind. Tony only smirked as he looked back at the blonde teenager. She had been at the tower for almost two weeks already but she was quickly becoming more and more at ease. Her suspicious, paranoid persona was slowly fading away and a sassy, serious one was taking that persona's place.

"Why is it annoying? You are technically a Mini Cap… you know with being Capsicle's granddaughter and having the same enhancements as him and all." Tony said in his usual snarky tone.

"My name is Emma." She told him, her eyes narrowed at the smirking billionaire.

"Whatever you say, _Mini Cap."_ Tony told her and Emma just shook her head as she resumed eating her food as if she had never stopped. The billionaire gave Emma a curious look as she went on with eating her meal. "So you're a southern belle, huh?" Emma looked up from her food, looking very confused at Tony's random comment.

"I don't know what you mean." Emma said, wondering what was going through Stark's head and if he perhaps had one too many of those glasses of scotch he seemed to favor so much.

"You're from Oklahoma, aren't you? Your file said that you lived in a farm house." The team all stopped what they doing at once to stare at Tony in shock. They couldn't believe that Tony was actually asking Emma about that. He was literally asking her about the house that she watched her parents get murdered in. Everyone looked speechless at the casualness of Tony's expression except for Steve who openly glared at Tony.

"Tony!" Pepper hissed, looking at him before looking back to Emma with a worried expression on her face. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It sounds a little dangerous there with all the tornadoes and all. I think _Twister_ was a movie about all the reasons not to live in Oklahoma. What was it like for you?" Emma just stared at him with a calculating expression on her face. She glanced at everyone else from the corner of her eye and noticed their concerned expressions. She resented those looks on their faces. Emma didn't want to be pitied. She would do or say anything to get away from being pitied like she was some poor, abandoned animal.

"I don't remember much actually." Emma finally said. Everyone was tense at the table as Emma casually spoke about her life before the kidnapping. "It's more like pictures or a fuzzy home movie to me. I know that it was very warm… hot even. There were tornadoes every so often and sometimes we would hide in the storm cellar until the storm passed. My father and I would play cards while my mother watched… sometimes she would laugh when my father pretended to lose." A distant look reached Emma's eyes as thought back to times in her life when she had been happy and at peace. She remembered how oblivious and silly she had been to the true horrors that were out in the world. The Avengers watched in silent shock at Emma's admission because they had never heard Emma speak more than a few words outside of the debriefing.

"So you're like Dorothy? Did you have your own little Toto too?" Tony said suddenly, breaking Emma out of her train of thought. She blinked and glanced at the billionaire in moderate confusion. She didn't understand what he was talking about until she realized that he was referencing a movie. Emma remembered watching the film with her parents when she was very little but she barely recalled any of the plot. Just images of a delicate looking young girl with a scarecrow crossed her mind.

" _The Wizard of Oz_ took place in Kansas, dumb ass. Not Oklahoma." Darcy Lewis drawled from her seat in between Jane Foster and Sam Wilson. Emma glanced at the glasses wearing brunette and wanted to thank the older woman for taking the attention away from her. Darcy Lewis, the lab assistant to Jane Foster, had arrived at the tower only a few days prior. From the moment Emma met her she wondered constantly about what was going through the woman's mind. Instead of pitying Emma or even fearing her, Darcy had been completely calm and seemingly uncaring of Emma's past unlike Dr. Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend, who seemed nice enough but still weary of Emma. There was some mild little quips about Emma's past including the names _Assassin's Creed_ and _Hanna_ which were supposedly referring to a video game and a movie but that was it. Darcy appeared to be almost like a female Tony Stark except for the arrogance, fame, and fortune. Even though Darcy seemed to have similarities between herself and Tony, Emma found herself growing fond of the older woman. Emma knew that she could trust Darcy to tell her the truth and as bluntly as possible. Darcy reminded Emma of her father in that way.

"Whatever." Tony said. "You don't have to be such a nerd about it." Darcy narrowed her eyes at him and nearly all the Avengers groaned in dismay. The bickering between Darcy and Tony only happened just about every night during dinner. The two were so much alike that it was nearly impossible for them to get along. They sometimes wondered if Tony might've secretly been the biological daughter of Tony but with Tony's past as a womanizer… It was entirely possible.

"I'm not the nerd in this situation. Excuse me but I didn't graduate from MIT when I was a little boy still wetting the bed." Emma watched in amusement as the bickering between Darcy and Tony continued. This would probably go on for another half an hour at the very least. She went back to eating her dinner and wondered if Darcy had intentionally taken the attention away from her. Emma found that it didn't matter much to her either way. Darcy was a godsend, that was for sure.

* * *

Today was a different day than usual. The last two weeks during her time at the tower consisted of her and Steve spending almost every waking moment together. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable for her since she was used to spending a lot of time with her father but Emma was still getting used to Steve. She could tell that it slightly bothered him that he shared more with her than she shared with him but he accepted that about her. He accepted that it would be a while before she would share everything with him. However, two weeks of Steve spending all his time with Emma doing seemingly nothing, was bound to come to an end eventually. Steve informed Emma that he would be in the tower's gym, sparring with Natasha and Clint. He told her that she could come watch if she wanted to but she knew that it wouldn't be the best idea. Emma told him that she would be just fine with staying in and catching up on some more reading.

Emma always got up early in the morning so she headed to the kitchen in their large apartment. She couldn't hear any movement or smell the scent of Steve's bodywash anywhere in the area so she assumed that he had already left. She moved across the kitchen as she put together her own breakfast which was something she never had to do before. Hydra never exactly thought it was very important for her to know how to cook. Emma managed to find some poptarts, which she was sure was a courtesy of Darcy, and paired off the breakfast snack with a glass of milk before she returned to her room with her breakfast.

Emma set her breakfast down on the desk in her room, deciding that she was going to spend some time alone in her room. Since arriving at the tower, Steve hadn't really let her spend anytime in her room except for night time so she was going to spend some time by herself. It was really the first time she had been alone since meeting the Avengers and Emma knew that she needed to be alone. She was so used to being alone for most of her life that suddenly being surrounded by a bunch of people, who were concerned for her, was only a bit overwhelming. Emma needed some time to unwind from it all and process the last two weeks of her life.

She didn't know how long she sat at that desk, processing everything that had happened to her. It felt like it had been years since she had been at the Hydra base. There was something about being at the tower that terrified her. Emma knew it was because she was scared to wake up one day and realize that it had all been a dream. She sat there munching on her poptart, wondering if she could be happy there with the others or if it would all come to end some day. Nothing lasted forever, Emma thought to herself.

Eventually Emma finished eating and was left sitting at her desk, overlooking the city, with her glass of milk now half full. She glanced around her room and wondered what she was going to possibly do. There was so many books to read and there was probably many movies or tv shows to watch on the large flat screen tv. Emma knew that she wasn't even going to touch the tv because she had absolutely no idea how to work it. It was Stark tech and Stark tech seemed very complicated… Emma could do without any complications. So intead of spending the day fiddling with the television or reading yet another book she decided to explore her room. She started with the desk, searching the drawers, and was surprised to find that she didn't have to explore much before she found something that piqued her interest. Emma stared at the contents of the drawer in curiosity before she pulled everything out.

The young blonde girl stared at the pile of new items resting upon her desk. She noticed a rather large looking book and when she opened the book she was stumped to find nothing but blank pages. A sketch book. Sketch book? Emma wondered what that was doing in her desk. She had never mentioned being an artist or being interest in art so she wondered why that had been placed in the drawer. It wasn't like she would know whether or not she was interested in art either. Hydra never thought that art or any form of entertainment served a purpose. There was a tin container that held an array of sketching pencils inside. Emma raised a brow as she opened the container and eyed a note inside. She took the note out and held it in her hands as she read it to herself.

 _Mini Cap,_

 _I know that I must seem super obnoxious to you(which I am) but Pepper said I should make up for some of my behavior. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and I guess that being a ninja assassin during your childhood is bound to be pretty traumatic so sorry if I was insensitive about it. So as a means to make up for those ninja assassin comments, I decided to get you this sketch book amongst other things because Pepper said that I should give you a meaningful gift instead of giving you a credit card. I was all for giving you a gift card so you could go on a shopping spree at Assassins "R" Us. Anyways… My dad always used to mention how much your grandfather loved to draw. Apparently Capsicle used to work as a comic illustrator and even drew some plans up for my old man back in the day so I figured that maybe it was a family thing. I mean… I kind of do what my dad did because of family legacies and inherited genius intellect so I thought that you might be artistic like Capsicle even though Capsicle doesn't really do anything art related anymore. So I guess you should see if you can find a hobby or something. Hobbies can be really helpful. Trust me, I know._

 _-Tony_

 _p.s. This is an apology._

Emma finished the note and was unsure of what to think about this new development. Was this Stark being nice? He kept talking about how Pepper was making him apologize but Emma knew that Tony Stark wasn't the kind of man that did something because he was told to. No, he seemed the type to do what he wanted and not what was on someone else's agenda even if that person was his girlfriend. She ran her fingers along the pages of the sketchbook and wondered how much this sketchbook costed. She doubted Stark just picked one up at a local arts and crafts store. Stark always had the best of the best and by the feel and look of the sketchbook Emma could tell that this was most likely a customed made sketchbook.

She bit her lip as she continued to analyze the gift. Stark had said in the note that Steve used to be an artist. Emma felt surprised by that fact. She hadn't known Steve very long but she had never gotten the impression from him that he had an artistic soul. Emma supposed he didn't really give her any reason to but it was still something that was slightly surprising to her. A part of her wondered why Stark decided to give her the sketchbook if his only reason was because of her grandfather. Just because her grandfather was slightly artistic didn't mean she was as well. She supposed Stark didn't know what else to get her. It didn't seem likely that Stark spent much time reading fictional books so he wouldn't have much to offer her in terms of her only other hobby. It made sense that he just took what he knew about her, which wasn't much, and gave her a sketchbook. It couldn't hurt to give the sketchbook a try. She would need a hobby like Stark told her. Especially if she was going to give this whole normal teenage girl thing a try. Her days as Hydra's most powerful weapon were presumably over. Steve already seemed overly protective of her so she didn't see him allowing her to join the team either anytime soon. Emma wasn't so sure that she wanted to either. She already spent the past nine years fighting and Emma didn't know if she wanted to do that anymore. It was also all that she knew so maybe she did... want to fight again that is.

Emma didn't know what she was going to draw when she first put the pencil to paper. Part of her was afraid that she would draw something unsavory… that she wouldn't be able to control herself and draw something that depicted her past but she did no such thing. It seemed that drawing was so simple that she managed to draw what was exactly in front of her. Emma found herself sketching the office building that was directly across from Avengers Tower. It wasn't a perfect sketch on the first try but it wasn't terrible either. The lines weren't completely right or angled in the correct way but it wasn't completely terrible either. So Emma spent the rest of the morning continously sketching the building and with time and practice, the sketches began to look better and better. Emma was so busy with her sketching that she didn't keep track of time for once in her life. Pretty soon it was one in the afternoon and Steve had returned to their floor of the building.

From the time Steve had entered the apartment he was stricken by just how deadly silent it was. He didn't know what to expect when he entered the apartment. Maybe he expected a mess or music blasting through speakers because that was what normal teenagers did… Emma, however, wasn't a normal teenager. When he finally left the gym level of the tower, he politely asked Jarvis to tell him where Emma was. The AI system told him Emma's location was still in their apartment on his floor. That piece of information had caused Steve to frown slightly because he didn't really like the idea of Emma still being locked up in the apartment. He had kind of been hoping that Emma would be social but he could see that he might've been a little too hopeful.

"Where's Emma, Jarvis?" Steve asked the AI system once more as he glanced around the living room and the kitchen.

"I believe Miss Rogers is located in her bedroom, Captain Rogers." Jarvis told him and Steve nodded to himself as he began to head towards Emma's room, wondering what was keeping the teenaged girl cooped up in her room. He noticed her bedroom door was wide open as he stood in the doorway, peaking into her room. Emma nearly always closed it usually when she was sleeping but also whenever she was absent from her room. He peered into her room and noticed the familiar figure of his granddaughter sitting at her desk, her blonde hair pooling over a book. Steve thought she was reading something off her bookshelf at first but was delightfully surprised when he saw that she had a pencil in her hand… a sketching pencil. Emma was seemingly sketching something in a sketch book which made Steve curious as to where she had gotten it from.

He was suddenly reminded of himself when he was a young boy before the ice and when he was still trapped in his own little world. A world where the only thing he worried about was bullies and whether or not he could ever find a dame that would accept him… a dame that would look past his short, skinny stature and like him for who he was. Steve had found that in Peggy but he had then lost her in some unlucky twist of fate. He missed the world where he had Bucky and they would goof around all the time as best friends would do. It occurred to him that he may never have that Bucky back in his life but he knew that something was better than nothing. Steve had always thought that him and Peggy would get married after the war, living the American dream with a nice house, a couple of kids, and a dog. Steve knew that he would never get to live out that dream the way he thought he would. For a while he had thought that he had lost everything from that life but he was delighted to find out that he had been wrong. Emma was his chance to still have that dream and he wanted to spend every day trying to make her happy. She deserved to be happy. With a small smile on his face, Steve walked away from Emma's doorway and headed back down the hall to get a drink of water. Emma was beginning to adjust to her new home and that was more than what Steve could ask for. She was going to be very happy here.

* * *

"Come on, Em, it's time to take you shopping!" Darcy told her excitedly as they stood in the lobby of the building. It had been a week later when Steve had finally decided it was time to get her out of the tower. She had spent enough time cooped up in the place according to everyone else. Pepper was originally supposed to be the one to go shopping with Emma and Steve but she had been caught up with meetings so Darcy volunteered instead. Emma wasn't quite bothered by Darcy but the older woman could be very hyper at times. "You can't just have Pepper buying you clothes forever although I think Pepper kind of enjoys shopping for you. I don't think shopping for Tony is really that exciting."

"Okay, Darcy, we're going." Steve told Darcy in a reassuring tone, an attempt to calm down the excited brunette. "I think Emma's knows that."

"I just don't want her to try and get out of it. Come on, Em, you're a teenager. It's okay to rebel a little and goof off." Steve didn't look thrilled at the idea of Emma rebeling or goofing off but he remained quiet. Emma just watched Darcy in amusement, listening to the brunette's usual chatter in silence. It wasn't that Emma was shy or anything which some of the others had assumed but it was just that she lived in silence for a long time. She was used to being silent because of her father and his reluctance to speak. However, it amused her a great deal to see someone like Darcy with the ability to talk so much at such a rapid pace. It amused her so much that Emma let Darcy call her "Em". Emma didn't know how she would react if someone like Stark began to call her by the same name although he still received the same death glare whenever he referred to her as "Mini Cap".

The trio then began to exit the tower and Emma walked outside the building for the first time since she arrived there. Immediately, she was blown away by the city, the people, and all the noise. It was different being in the city compared to looking at it from a window. Steve and Darcy seemed to cushion her from the swarms of other people as they led her to a car parked right outside the tower. Emma spotted a burly looking man standing outside the car. Feeling her old assassin tactics enter her mind, she immediately assessed his appearance. Emma observed that he had the faint impression of a gun from the inside of his sport's coat which alarmed her. The man opened the door for them before Steve introduced Emma to the mysterious man.

"Emma, this is Happy Hogan, Tony's chauffer and head of security of Stark Industries. Happy this is Emma, my… well, she's technically my granddaughter I guess you could say." Emma raised a brow at this new piece of imformation as looked at Happy. Stark needed a head of security at Avengers Tower? A tower literally filled with a bunch of superheroes. As much as this piece of information bothered Emma she knew better than to voice her thoughts. She noticed the way he cautiously glanced at her and immediately knew that he was privy to information that the Avengers were also privy too. How interesting.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Rogers." Happy said in a pleasant tone, a kind smile on his face. Emma plastered a fake smile on her face as she looked at him.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Hogan." Emma said in a pleasant tone.

"Please, it's just Happy, Miss Rogers." Emma nodded silently as he then ushered Steve, Darcy, and herself into the back of the car. It was a luxurious car, Emma noticed, as she took in her surroundings which was really more of a habit of hers. Happy got in and it wasn't long before they were on the road. Emma never had that much experience with being driven around in cars… at least not like this. Sometimes her father would drive her around when they were on a mission and when Emma was on her own she would drive a getaway car at times. Darcy told Happy the address of the mall they were going to and Emma was left alone with her thoughts. She remembered a very different circumstance involving cars. One which she wasn't sure that Natasha had ever forgiven her for.

* * *

Emma had never been in a mall. There hadn't been any missions that had ever required Emma to spend her time in such a place. From what Emma could gather as soon as stepped into the building was that it was a place swarming with people. It seemed to be a few stories tall as Emma glanced up above and noticed the escalator. It seemed to be a nice, clean building but then again it was only the morning. She was fascinated with the different kinds of people she spotted within the mall. Young couples that held hands as they chatted about nothing of importance. Emma saw an older couple that had a little girl that couldn't be older than three or four. The little girl didn't look anything like Emma at that age but she still couldn't help but make comparisons. Emma wondered if her parents had ever taken her to a mall… probably not. Oklahoma wasn't a place that might've had a lot of malls.

Emma's eyes then rested on three teenage girls who were giggling and talking amongst each other. Their arms were weighed down by shopping bags and they each had a cup of _Starbucks_ ice coffee in their hands. She analyzed their clothing and all the make-up they had caked onto their faces. They wore crop tops with short skirts paired off with a pair of heels. Emma finally felt revolted at the sight of those girls with the high pitched voices and annoying laughter. Was that how she was supposed to act? How could those girls walk through the mall like that without even seeming weary of their surroundings? Their arms were so weighed down by their shopping bags that if someone attacked them they wouldn't stand a chance. The girls also seemed so wrapped up in whatever topic they were discussing that they wouldn't even notice if someone began to follow them. Emma really didn't want to be anything like those girls. Those were the kinds of girls that always needed to be saved because they always got into trouble. Emma wasn't the type that needed saving.

Emma gave the trio of girls one last look of disgust before she turned her attention to Steve and Darcy. Steve had a small smile on his face as she looked back at him and she knew he had probably been watching the way she was looking at those girls. Emma realized that the average teenaged girls now were much different than the ones back in his day. Darcy began to talk about a particular store which she thought Emma would like and the young blonde returned her attention to the task at hand. She was there to shop, Emma told herself. She was absolutely not there to cast looks of revulsion towards other teenagers.

Eventually Darcy brought Emma and Steve to a trendy looking store called _Forever 21_. Emma curiously looked around the store in mild interest, noticing the reflective white floors as well as the blinding white walls. The color scheme, which was apparently white on white, almost reminded her of her room back at the Hydra base if it wasn't for the neon lights and odd looking ornaments within the store. The clothing took Emma by surprise as she saw the assortments of clothing that were in all different styles. The styles of clothing seemed to be separated by section which might've been helpful in aiding a troubled young girl in trying to explore her fashion likes and dislikes but for Emma it just made her want to vomit. The clothing itself wasn't disgusting to Emma but it was rather the reactions of the teenage girls that made her sick. The swarms of teenaged girls constantly buzzing about the store and squealing in excitement whenever they saw something they liked.

"Lydia, isn't this dress so cute?! Do you think Tommy would like me in it?"

"Of course, Gigi, Tommy just's going to love you in that dress. What do you think about this skirt? It's hella hot, isn't it?"

The employees of the store were just going to have to excuse Emma if she puked all over the floor of the store. Emma had never heard anything more disgusting in her life than the insistent squealing of silly teenage girls. Darcy took Emma by the hand, which Emma forced herself not pull away, and led her to some racks in the back of the store as Steve followed behind them. If there was anything delightful about this experience it was the enormous blush on Steve's face as he followed them around the store. Darcy led Emma to a section of the store that was filled with clothing that looked similar to the kind of clothing that Pepper had been buying for Emma. There was a lot of high waisted, bell bottom jeans and floral looking blouses. Emma didn't really mind the type of clothing but she was more disturbed by the other girls that were shopping around them.

"Why did you bring me here?" Emm asked in a quiet voice. Darcy was about to tell her that she brought her there to shop for clothes obviously but then realized that it wasn't what Emma meant when she saw the way the young blonde was staring at the other teenage girls in disgust. Darcy was slightly amused by Emma's reaction to girls that were her own age. Not all teenage girls were like those ones, Darcy wanted to say. There were cool teenage girls like Darcy had been and there were the ones that Emma was glaring at… those were the girls that made Darcy's life a living hell in high school. Darcy made a note to start making Emma watch high school movies like _Mean Girls_. Maybe that would make Emma understand everything better.

"This is somewhere where the majority of teenage girls shop for clothes." Darcy explained but Emma didn't look reassured by that information so Darcy just sighed. "Look, just explore the store a little and see if anything calls out to you. Pick out whatever you want and then you can go try it on in the dressing room. Don't worry, money's no object." The brunette then smirked as she held up a credit card in her hand. "It's Tony's treat."

Emma was a little taken back by what Darcy just told her. She was actually given the option of choosing her own clothes? She couldn't remember there ever being a time in her life that she actually got picked out her own clothes. Pepper had been awfully nice in getting her clothes but she didn't pick any of them. Hydra had never cared much about fashion so Emma only had a few options of clothing. She glanced back at Steve who gave her a reassuring smile and Emma slowly began to walk away from Steve and Darcy in search of some more clothing.

Emma barely knew where to start amongst all the racks of clothing. She saw different styles and different colors which made Emma feel indecisive. How did she choose when there were so many options? Emma never had a lot of options given to her so she was just a bit overwhelmed by the entire experience. The other teenage girls didn't seem to mind getting in her space as they skimmed the rows of clothing and Emma took a deep breath as she struggled not to escape or attack. Perfume that smelled faintly of some sort of candy invaded her nose and Emma bit the inside of her cheek hard until the moment passed. As soon as the teenage girls passed by her she let out the breath she had been holding in and reminded herself that this wasn't Hydra and those girls weren't targets. Emma then started focusing on the clothing in front of her, trying to find a shirt she thought would look nice on her. She left behind any feelings of discomfort when the next girl grew too close to her.

It didn't take Emma that long before she had a pile of clothing in her arms. The clothing was very similar to the clothing that Pepper had bought for her. She found that she rather liked the floral patterns and high waisted jeans or she liked the style more than the other styles she saw within the store. Steve had since returned to her side and kindly carried the extra clothing she picked out. Shopping wasn't as bad as Emma had thought once she gotten over the annoying teenage girls. It was quite easy to block them out once she became focused on what she was doing. Once they met up with Darcy, Steve carefully deposited the clothing in the brunette's arms so that she could take Emma to the dressing rooms. He told them he would be waiting towards the front of the store until they were ready to check out. Darcy thanked him and led Emma to the dressing room.

The older woman nearly groaned when she saw that there was a bit of a line. Emma simply raised a brow as she got in line, standing in front of Darcy. She noticed that impatience was a common trait that the avengers and their companions shared. Hydra taught Emma that patience was an important quality especially when it came to missions. Emma learned this on the job as well. When it came to her targets, the targets hardly ever showed up on time. Sometimes Emma would have to wait days before they came within her line of sight and only then could she kill them. Patience really was a virtue. The young blonde noticed that a mother and daughter stood in front of her in line. She could tell that they were mother and daughter given their shared dark skin and very similar facial features. It was another skill Hydra had taught her. Analyzing facial features. The older woman looked to be in her late forties while her daughter seemed to only be a couple years older than Emma at the most. The girl was very pretty, Emma noticed, with her big, brown doe eyes and long dark hair. The girl was also quite tall for her age. Emma glanced away from the mother and daughter pair, focusing on the wall in front of her with a blank look on her face. Unlike Darcy, Emma was quite patient and could probably wait in line for hours if she absolutely had to.

"This is quite the line, isn't it?" A voice said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts as both her and Darcy turned to look at the speaker of the voice. Emma noticed that it was the mother she had noticed from before. The dark skinned woman gave her and Darcy a kind smile. Emma deduced that this was the woman's attempt at making small talk.

"Are you kidding me? This is the longest line ever!" Darcy agreed enthusiastically.

"It seems to be an incredibly busy day today here at the mall. I was just taking my daughter out for a couple of new outfits with it being almost summer and all." The woman then glanced at Emma, looking as if she was trying to pick out any similiaries between Emma and Darcy. "What about you? Are you here for a day of shopping with your sister?" Darcy just shook her head.

"This is actually my friend's sister. He's waiting outside while we try on some outfits. It's already enough that we brought him inside the store." Darcy said jokingly and the woman laughed.

"No, I understand that. My husband tends to wait in the food court while we do our shopping so I have to give your friend some credit for actually stepping inside the store." Darcy laughed in response to the woman's humor.

"Your husband sounds like a typical guy. I honestly don't know how my friend has lasted this long inside the store. I'm afraid he probably won't make the same mistake twice." Darcy responded and the woman nodded knowingly before a surprised look came over her face.

"I can't believe I've been so rude. We've been talking for so long and I haven't even introduced myself or my daughter. I'm Doris Toomes and this is my daughter Liz." The woman introduced and the quiet teenaged girl gave Emma a kind smile that looked the same as the smile her mother had. The girl wore minimal make-up but she still looked very pretty without it. So far she didn't give Emma the impression that she was like any of the other teenage girls in the store. "Liz is fifteen and about to start her sophmore year." Doris said proudly as she looked down at her daughter and Liz blushed uncomfortably from the attention.

"It's nice to meet you." Darcy said before introducing herself. "I'm Jane Foster and this is Natasha." Darcy said and Emma raised a brow as she looked back up at Darcy. She understood not wanting to give out her own name or Emma's name but why was she giving out names of people she already knew? Emma couldn't believe she was asking herself that. Of course Darcy would do that… she was Darcy Lewis after all. "So you're going to high school, huh? What high school is that?" Darcy asked the teenaged girl politely.

"Mid-Town Science." Liz answered and Darcy raised her eyebrows.

"That nice, smart people high school?" Darcy asked in surprise and both Doris and Liz laughed at Darcy's description.

"Essentially yes." Doris answered before the motherly looking woman looked at Emma who had been silent throughout the entire conversation.

"What about you, Natasha? How old are you?" The woman asked Emma in a kind tone and Emma plastered another fake smile on her face.

"I'm thirteen." She answered politely but also very vaguely, not revealing anymore information than she had to.

"What school do you go to?" Doris asked.

"I'm homeschooled." Emma deadpanned. Darcy watched Emma, intrigued by how Emma flawlessly answered every question that Doris gave her in a calm and level headed fashion. She supposed that Emma wouldn't be trained to be an assassin if she couldn't lie so flawlessly. The conversation shifted back to Darcy as the two women began chatting about things that held little interest to Emma. Emma noticed how the slightly older girl gave her a curious look as the both of them stood in between the chatty adults.

"Sorry about my mom." The girl apologized quietly. "She's a little too friendly sometimes." Emma was taken back by the girl's sudden apology but didn't show her surprise as she casually shrugged her shoulders.

"My friend blabs a lot too. It's not that much of a problem… especially if you learn how to tune it out." Emma told her, surprised by how easy it was for her to talk so casually with a stranger. The girl laughed, her brown eyes lighting up with happiness, as she glanced back down at Emma who was only a couple of inches shorter than her. Emma was sure that her height would surely increase soon. She knew that she was already tall for a thirteen year old and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that the serum would continue to kick in as she grew older.

"Well, you know how adults are sometimes." Liz said before glancing at the pile of clothing in Emma's arms. "That's a really cute shirt, you've got there." Liz told Emma suddenly as she changed the subject. The older girl pointed out one of the floral patterned blouses in Emma's arms.

"Thanks." Emma said politely before glancing at one of the items of clothing in Liz's arms. "The dress you picked out is really nice." Emma told her as her eyes honed in on a blue summer dress that Liz had in her arms. The dress was truthfully beautiful but it wasn't something that Emma could ever see herself wearing. All the clothing Emma had in her arms were shirts and jeans because she honestly didn't know if she felt comfortable wearing a skirt or a dress. Maybe if the occasion really called for it. Maybe if she ever got back into action and Steve allowed her to be a part of the team. Emma could see herself going on a mission with the Avengers and maybe then she would wear a dress if the mission required her to as a cover or something... only if Emma didn't have any other choice.

"Thanks." Liz replied. "I wasn't sure whether to get this one or this really pretty emerald green one I saw but I think this one will look way better on me." Liz then proceeded to talk about the dresses she had picked out and Emma had tried, with absolutely all of her might, to nod her head in agreement when she received the cue to but she found it difficult. It didn't take long before she found herself bored with Liz's conversation. It was a bit sad seeing as how Liz seemed a lot more nice and genuine than the other teenage girls she had seen in the store but that didn't stop Liz from being interested in the same things as them. Emma wanted to relate to her in some way or find something in common with her but with every passing moment she found that she wanted more and more to walk away. It struck Emma in that moment that she could probably never have anything in common with any teenage girl. The feeling of never relating to someone her own age made her realize how different she was from the rest of them. The feeling didn't give her any comfort.

* * *

"So did you and Liz hit it off?" Darcy asked Emma once they were waiting in the check out line. Steve had returned to their side the moment they left the dressing rooms. Emma had only managed to leave behind a couple of items of clothing but chose a lot more to purchase than what she thought she would buy. She was a bit hesitant at first but Darcy assured that all the clothing wouldn't even cause the smallest of dents in Tony's bank account.

"What do you mean?" Emma responded, playing dumb.

"I saw the two of you talking while her mom and I were talking. Her mom is the coolest by the way. I wish my mom was that cool." Darcy said as she went on about Liz's mom. "Nope, my mom wasn't cool in the slightest. She was a borderline alcoholic though so there's that. At least there was always some booze around the house."

"Did you make a friend?" Steve inquired curiously as he glanced down at Emma and ignored the rest of what Darcy said. Emma almost hated the way he said that… as if she was a child that was incapable of socializing. Well, that wasn't completely untrue but it still annoyed Emma.

"It was more like her talking and me nodding occasionally and pretending to care what she talked about." Emma said bitterly, causing Steve and Darcy to look at her in surprise. Emma then looked at Darcy with a bored expression in her eyes. "Great job with the names by the way. That was very original."

"I'm sorry if I'm not some super spy that can come up with a backstory on the spot. It was the best thing I could come up with at the time." Darcy defended, a blush coming over her face as Steve just looked confused. "Besides… Jane's always my go to cover. Whenever creepy guys ask for my phone number I always give them Jane's so I don't piss them off or anything."

"What's wrong with Liz, anyways?" Darcy asked, changing the subject. "Was she super bitchy or something?" Steve looked like he wanted to scold Darcy for her language but was much too concerned about Emma to try.

"She was too delicate." Emma answered simply. Steve and Darcy exchanged looks before they looked back at Emma with a bewildered look on both of their faces.

"What does that mean?" Darcy questioned in confusion and Emma only sighed.

"It's mean that I have nothing in common with her. There's never going to be someone my age that I can ever relate to." Emma admitted. Her voice was even without any falter but there was something in her eyes that looked quite sad. "I understand that now."

Steve and Darcy looked at the young blonde sadly as they moved forward in line. It was obvious that this made Emma sad and possibly even lonely. Steve felt so helpless as he worried about his granddaughter. She felt so lonely because of her experiences in life and there was absolutely nothing he could do about that. He watched on and couldn't help but wonder if Bucky would be disappointed in him. Bucky had told him where Emma was so that he could help her but Steve wasn't sure if he was really helping her. A determined look reached Steve's eyes as he began to focus on the task at hand. He needed to be there for Emma and he wasn't about to give up anytime soon… he was actually never going to give up. If there was one thing Bucky had always found annoying about Steve it was how stubborn he was. No, Steve was dead set on being there for Emma and making a happy, wonderful life for her. Emma was going to have the life she deserved.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Note: Okay, I just wanted to say that I had been planning on updating earlier but this chapter took me a lot longer to write than what I originally thought. I also wanted to address the Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter situation. I know that it isn't technically incest or anything but it would be really creepy for that to happen in my story because in this story Steve actually had a kid with Peggy, Sharon's great aunt, and it would be weird if he pursued something with her especially since she's related to Emma. I don't mind a Steve/Sharon pairing but I just don't think it will work for this story. I'll probably make it a Steve/OC pairing but it's not going to be a main focus of the story. Probably just a side note for some scenes that might require Steve to have a romantic interest. I was thinking about doing a Steve/Darcy pairing for the story but I'm not that interested in that. Maybe a Bucky/Darcy pairing later but it'll never be a main focus of the story since this a Peter/OC pairing story.**

 **I also want to talk about Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan roasting Tom Holland. Whenever I feel sad I just watch all those videos because they make me laugh so hard that I cry. You gotta love Anthony Mackie. Seriously him and Sebastian Stan are hilarious. I really want to see those two do a comedy together some day.**

* * *

Sam Wilson tried to maintain his breathing as he ran laps around the city. It might've been a little too long since he last ran but to be fair his running partner had been pretty busy with life lately. Finding your long lost granddaughter tended to do that to a person. Sam was just glad that his friend had found some connection to his past life. Steve had been so troubled before Emma came into the picture so when they found Emma, Sam was just happy that Steve had found someone who was connected to both his past and future. It would prove to be very healthy for the super soldier.

"On your left." Sam heard from his left side as he jogged. He glared as he watched the figure of Steve Rogers pass him with little effort. It was only about ten seconds later when he heard someone else come up from behind him. He huffed and puffed as he struggled to keep up and not let this person pass him but he wasn't really a match.

"Don't you dare say it, kid." Sam managed to say as he tried to maintain his breathing.

"On your left!" Emma Rogers sang as she gracefully passed Sam, following her grandfather. Sam let out a growl of frustration as the young girl managed to easily keep with Steve. He pretended to be frustrated with the two but he really couldn't act that mad. It wasn't that long ago when no one could keep with Steve but that seemed to change when Emma came into the picture. It would be good for him, Sam determined. Emma would be good for all of them actually.

* * *

 _"_ _Shhhh… don't scream, princess. Everything will be fine." Emma could feel warm hands grabbing her, the hands sweaty and hot against her skin._

 _"_ _Stop… stop it, please. Please don't… please… don't." Her voice pleaded with the person. The desperation in her voice was humiliating._

 _"_ _Just shut up and do as I say. If anything happens to me your Winter Soldier will pay the price." Emma could feel warm tears stream down her face as she began to give up._

 _"_ _You're so beautiful… just like your mother." The voice whispered directly into her ear._

Emma woke up screaming from her nightmare. It was a much different reaction to her nightmares than she was used to having. Usually Emma was able to keep herself under control but the nightmare she had that night was too vivid and terrifying for Emma to keep calm. It was like she was back in that Hydra base all over again. It almost felt like he was in the room with her and she struggled to search for him in the darkness of the room. Her eyes wildly scanned the room from wall to wall but she couldn't spot anything. Emma struggled to keep her breathing under control as she tried to calm herself down but it wasn't working. Her bedroom door suddenly opened and Emma immediately grabbed one of her sketching pencils from her nightstand, holding it up defensively as she looked at the intruder. The lights suddenly turned on, revealing the intruder to actually be Steve.

Steve had been woken up from his sleep by a loud screaming. He was a bit of a light sleeper given his enhanced hearing so it didn't take much to wake him up. The first thought that entered his mind when he woke up was Emma. It didn't take long for Steve get out of bed, grabbing his shield along the way as he ran to Emma's bedroom. That was what caused him to be standing in her doorway as he scanned her room for any intruders whilst holding his shield out in front of him defensively. It's why he was taken by surprise when he didn't see any signs of any sort of threat but instead a terrified looking Emma who was holding a pencil in her hand like it was a weapon. If he was being honest then he was sure that Emma could probably make that pencil into a weapon if the occasion called for it. Steve, however, was more concerned with the wild look in her eyes as well as her breathing which sounded labored.

"Emma?" Steve said in concern. The scared look in Emma's eyes began to fade as she slowly began to put the pencil in her hand down. Steve was surprised to see tears streaming down her face as she struggled to maintain her breathing. He was so surprised because he didn't think he had ever seen Emma in such an emotional state before. She was usually just so calm and collected that seeing her in this state was slightly shocking.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Steve asked again when she didn't respond. Emma looked down at her hands, avoiding any eye contact with Steve.

"It's nothing. I was just being stupid." She said shortly and Steve gave her a pointed look as he sat his shield down on the floor before making his way over to her bed.

"I heard screaming. There must be something that happened." Emma just shrugged as she looked back at him. Steve sat on the edge of her bed as he gave her a concerned look.

"It was just a nightmare… nothing to worry about." She finally told him, knowing that he wasn't going to give up. Steve analyzed the look on her face, looking as if he was searching for something.

"And have you been having these nightmares often?" Steve asked and Emma only shrugged again, causing Steve to give her another pointed look. "Emma?" He pressed and Emma sighed.

"Fine, yes. I've been having nightmares a lot but it's not a big deal." She told him with a calm expression but Steve could tell it was all for show. "I'm handling it." Steve groaned in frustration as he looked at her. It became very obvious that Emma had been having these nightmares for quite a while. He was willing to bet that she had been having them ever since she arrived at the tower.

"Emma, I told you that you could talk to me… you could talk to anyone if you needed to." Steve told her.

"I don't need help. I'm fine." She snapped and Steve's expression softened at the defensiveness of her tone. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time now. I think I can manage."

"Don't you see, Emma?" Steve said as he responded to her retort. "You don't have to do this all by yourself anymore. You have me… you have all of us and we all care about you." He continued when she didn't say anything. "What are the dreams about? It's okay, you can tell me."

"I don't really remember them all that well. I think they're mostly about the Hydra base… the experiments and the missions." Emma lied. From the soft expression of Steve's face she could tell that he bought it too.

"You really need to talk to Sam, Emma." Emma's frowned as Steve talked to her about Sam. He had brought up the Sam thing a while ago. Apparently Sam had a lot of experience dealing with PTSD since he worked in the VA but Emma didn't think there was much he could help her with. She was a lot different than the former military individuals that he worked with on a daily basis.

"I don't think he can help me." Emma told him.

"Sam may surprise you." Steve could tell by the look on Emma's face that the conversation was over. He wanted to be able to get more out of her but it didn't really seem like she was going to sit down and spill all her secrets. Steve knew that she kept things from him and he did his best to try and understand why but it was still hard for him. Steve, deciding to gamble a bit with his own life, took a chance and reached forward, wrapping his arms around Emma in a comforting hug. Emma immediately stiffened in his arms as he hugged her but she didn't push him away or punch him in the face so that had to mean something. She just sat there awkwardly as Steve gave her the hug and she knew he meant well but it was will weird to her. The last person who had ever hugged her was her mother and that had been a long time ago. Steve let go of her eventually and Emma felt a bit relieved by the space she was given. Steve gave Emma a comforting smile, telling her that he understood that she wanted to be left alone, before getting up from the bed. It was only when Emma saw that Steve was leaving that she started feeling scared again. Emma hated that feeling but she couldn't stop herself as the words began to fall out of her mouth.

"Wait!" She called suddenly, almost immediately regretting it when she saw Steve turn back around with a curious look on his face. She gritted her teeth as she prepared herself to ask for something she didn't really want to ask for because of her pride. "Could you maybe… stay here with me?" She asked hesitantly. To say that Steve looked surprised was an understatement... he looked shocked. "I mean… just until I fall asleep. It might make everything easier."

"Sure, I can do that." Steve finally said after he got over his shock. He seated himself in the chair by her bed and Emma already hated herself for stooping so low that she asked him for help. She settled back into her bed, starting to pull the sheets over herself. Emma could feel Steve's eyes on her and she wanted to glare at him but she was so focused on trying to fall back asleep she didn't bother to open her eyes again.

"If you tell anyone about this you'll regret it." Emma told him through the silence. The lights had since been turned off by Jarvis once the AI system assessed that there wasn't any threat in the environment.

"Is that a threat?" Steve asked but Emma could hear the smile in his voice.

"A promise actually." She replied.

"Good night, Emma." He said through the darkness.

"Night, Steve." Emma mumbled as she began to feel herself fall back asleep. She didn't know if he said anything else because she was already fading into a hopefully dreamless sleep. Emma wasn't sure if she was going to take Steve up on his suggestion of talking to Sam. She had already been such a burden on everyone and not to mention it was way out of her comfort zone. Asking Steve to stay with her there was already asking way too much. No, she would just have to find a way to deal with her nightmares on her own. Emma would get over her fears. Not because she needed to but because she had to. She wasn't going to be weak or the sniveling child that every adult expected her to be. Emma was stronger than this… she was stronger than the nightmares and she was going to prove it.

* * *

Emma walked out of her bedroom with her sketchbook tucked under her arm. It had been a three weeks since Steve discovered Emma in a state of horror after her nightmare. It had been just over two and a half months since Emma arrived at the tower. Everything had been going as well as it could be thus far but Emma still had her problems. Her nightmares seemed to be the main problem that Emma was still struggling with much to Steve's dismay. She knew how much he wanted her to get help from Sam but Emma couldn't find it in herself to let anyone help her with her own problems. She talked to the others at the tower although she mainly just chatted with Darcy and Natasha but it was never about her personal issues. She talked about music with Darcy and she spoke in Russian with Natasha. Darcy was never going to push her to talk about anything unless Emma wanted to and Natasha knew better than to even expect Emma to tell her anything.

Emma headed towards the kitchen of her and Steve's apartment. God, it still felt odd to refer to the place as "theirs" but Steve insisted. What was his was hers apparently. He said it had to do with her being his family but Emma honestly didn't care about what he gave her. Steve being overly concerned for her was more than anyone had ever done for her except for her father. Emma felt a bit saddened by the thought of her father. She missed him immensely and had no idea where he could be. She was grateful that he had finally escaped Hydra but she was still a little hurt that he hadn't come back for her himself. Steve and Sam were still trying to find him but they were having no such luck. Emma knew that they would never find him because her father wouldn't be found unless he wanted to be found. She didn't even think that she stood a chance at tracking him down. Emma had only supplied Steve and Sam with a couple of details to aid them in their search but she doubted those details were really that helpful.

Emma had one ear bud in her ear and one out as she walked down the hall to the kitchen, trying to force her father out of her thoughts. It would continue to bum her out the more she thought about him. She glanced down at the iPod in her hand, gently rubbing her thumb against the aged dent in the small device. The iPod was a bit outdated but she loved it almost as much as her sketchbook and appreciated the gift that Darcy had given to her. The brunette told her that the device was a prized possession that she was willing to give to her because Emma needed it way more than she did. Something about Emma finally catching up on all the good music that she had missed out on. At first Emma hadn't really cared that much about music since she wasn't really allowed to listen to any music at the Hydra base but once she listened to the first song on one of Darcy's many playlists… well, she fell in love to say the least. Darcy's iPod was filled with hundreds of different musicians, both old and new, of various different music genres. Artists like The Doors, Florece+The Machine, Fleetwood Mac, Lana Del Rey, Jefferson Airplane, Haim, David Bowie, The Head and the Heart, Alice Cooper, Alt-J, and Eagles were just a small fraction of the artists that filled Darcy's old iPod. At the moment Emma was listening to "Falling" by Haim as she walked into the kitchen, gently bobbing her head along to the music.

"That was the fifth one this week." Steve said suddenly, causing Emma to pause in her task. She was currently pouring herself a glass of orange juice. Emma glanced at Steve who was giving her a very stern look.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Emma replied even though she somewhat had an idea about what he was talking about.

"I'm talking about the nightmares, Emma." Emma just looked back at her glass of orange juice as she tried to focus on literally anything else. She found it difficult to ignore Steve when he was leaning against the kitchen counter, giving her a stern look.

"I'm fine, Steve." Emma told him but Steve didn't look convinced. No, Steve actually looked a little bit annoyed with her.

"I've given you time, Emma. I know that opening up to us is hard for you but I can't just let you bottle this up inside." Steve told her honestly. "It isn't healthy."

"It's my choice whether or not I want share my life story with you guys." Emma told him with a glare.

"It's not your choice if you're thirteen and it's severely effecting your health." Steve retorted. Emma opened her mouth to reply but stopped when she didn't know how to respond to that. "Do you know how frustrating it is for me to hear you waking up from nightmares every night? I feel so helpless because there's nothing I can do that will help." Steve said and Emma immediately felt guilty for putting him through that. "So if there's some way that might help you get through this I want you to try it."

"I know you feel concerned, Steve, but I can get over this." Emma told him quietly and Steve looked angry at her statement.

"No, you can't. You can't get over this on your own and I think you know that… you're just too stubborn to admit it." Steve told her, his voice more stern than usual. "You're going to talk to Sam. You're going to have to go to the VA with him or something because this can't go on anymore. I won't have you suffering if there's anything I can do about it." Emma glared at Steve again.

"What about what I want? What if I don't want to go to some self help group and tell everyone my problems." Emma challenged. She thought that Steve might give into her if he saw how uncomfortable she looked but she hadn't even anticipated the serious, stern look that came over his face.

"You're going to go to the VA with Sam because _I'm_ the adult and _you're_ the child. I know what's best for you… you don't. You'll listen to me because I'm your parent." Emma stared up at him, her eyes filled with anger. She could feel tears flooding her eyes as she held the gaze of her frustrated and angry looking grandfather. This was an odd concept for Emma to deal with since it was the first time anyone had ever been so upfront and stern with her since she arrived at the tower. Everyone else had seemingly walked on eggshells around her, fearing that they would upset her but it became evident that Steve had already had enough.

"You're not my father." Emma told him in anger. "You'll never be my father because I already have a father and he understands me more than you could ever hope to." Emma was breathing heavily as she glared at Steve whose angry look began to fade and a hurt look reached his eyes. Emma immediately regretted what she said but was too proud to say so. Steve exhaled as he looked at the angry looking blonde girl.

"Bucky's not here though." Steve told her calmly, trying to force away any hurt feelings he felt from Emma's statement. "He told me where you were because he knew that you needed me."

"I don't need anyone." Emma said defensively and Steve wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He had long realized that his granddaughter was a tormented and cynical soul. He wished more than anything that he could erase everything that had happened to her in the past but he knew better than anyone that you couldn't go back in time.

"You didn't let me finish. Bucky also must've known that I needed you too… that we needed each other." Steve admitted as he gazed at Emma whose expression began to soften slightly. "When he told me where you were you became my responsibility but I'm not doing this just because of that. I'm doing this because I care about you… I'm doing this because I love you, Emma." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she listened to Steve's confession.

"Truthfully, I've loved you since the day Shield gave me the file on your parents and you." He said, warmth in his blue eyes, as he recollected when Fury handed him the file on his family after he had been woken from the ice. "I saw the most beautiful little girl with cute little blonde pigtails and I just knew that I loved you even though it broke my heart I would never get to meet you or your parents. I loved your father from the moment I saw him as well and it kills me knowing that I never got to be there for him when he needed me the most."

"When Bucky sent me the flashdrive telling me that you were still alive I could hardly believe it. You see, for the past couple of years I thought I had lost a family that I would never know." His own blue eyes were also flooding with unshed tears as he looked at Emma. "When I learned that you were alive it was one of the happiest days of my life."

"You have to understand that we're family now. I know that I'll never be able to replace Bucky for you." Steve told her. "You two have a bond that I'll never understand but I'm still someone who loves you and cares about you. You can trust me." Emma struggled not to cry as she heard Steve's confession. She couldn't remember the last time someone told her that they loved her. A part of her knew deep down that her father might've loved her but he never spoke the words… she was never quite sure if he was even capable of love.

"Emma, I want you to tell me everything… to talk to me honestly but I know that's not going to happen. Not unless Sam helps you first." Steve continued. "So just let us help you. It's okay to ask for help… you're a kid and no one would ever hold it against you." Emma stared at Steve, trying to get a grasp on what he was saying. She knew that Steve had repeatedly tried to convince her to seek help but she had ignored him. It made sense that he would become more stern with her… more fatherly.

"I'll go with Sam." Emma said quietly, not being quite able to meet Steve's eyes as she talked. She was full of so much pride that it was difficult for her to give into Steve just like that but she knew that he was right despite her own fears.

"Really?" Steve questioned. He had honestly thought that Emma would've fought him a lot harder but maybe what he said really resonated with her. Emma nodded.

"Yes, you're right. I can't deal with all of this on my own." She bit her lip nervously. Part of her was speaking the truth because she knew that she couldn't keep putting this off. She needed help. Another part of Emma knew, however, that she was telling Steve exactly what he wanted to hear. She didn't really think that Sam would be able to help in any sort of way but if it made Steve feel better then so be it.

"Good. Sam's heading over to the VA in a couple of days so maybe you can go with him." Steve told her, a relieved expression on his face. "You'll be okay, Emma." She nodded at him.

"Of course, Steve." She then gave him a nervous look. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier… I didn't mean it." Steve just shook his head as he gave her a small smile.

"I know, Emma." She smiled back at him but still felt frightened at the prospect of what was to come in the next couple of days. This would be for good for her, Emma told herself, but deep down she knew that she was only doing this because of Steve. Steve deserved better and Emma was trying to to do right by him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Emma had been remarkably wrong. She sat there in the large open space, sunlight shining bright through the many glass windows, as a man spoke at a podium in the front of the room. Emma was seated in the back of the room while Sam was sitting up front, supplying the men and women with encouraging words. The room wasn't entirely crowded but it wasn't so empty either. Emma respectfully listened to the man speaking as he talked about how fireworks always seemed to set him on edge. The rest of the men and women in the room nodded their heads in agreement but Emma already knew that she was right. While she immensely respected these men and women for the sacrifices they had made, she didn't have anything in common with them. It was more than obvious to her now. These people had volunteered to serve their country… they wanted to fight for what they believed in. Emma didn't ask for any of it. She had been simply taken from her home and forced to fight… to kill. Emma was nothing more than a slave to Hydra.

"So what did you think?" Sam asked as he sat down in the empty seat next to her. Emma turned her head to look at him before she looked away. Her expression was blank so Sam couldn't analyze what her feelings about the subject might have been. Emma Rogers seemed to be an expert at masking her emotions. She hid her emotions so well that Sam sometimes forgot just how young she was.

"It was good." Emma finally said. "They've really been through a lot and it's nice to see people making progress with themselves." Sam nodded as he listened to her but it was obvious that he didn't buy it.

"Something tells me that there's more to it than that." Sam told her as he gave her a knowing look. "Tell me more, Emma, I promise my feelings won't get hurt." Emma looked unsure but she did as Sam asked of her anyways.

"Look, you've all been through a lot like I said before and I know that everyone's sacrificed a lot for their country." Sam raised an eyebrow as Emma paused.

"But?"

"But it's not like what I've been through." She finally told him. "We're completely different. You guys all volunteered for this and I didn't. I was stolen from my home and had a path set out in front of me by someone who treated me and my father like we were just pawns in their game. I was Hydra's slave… nothing more." She told him and for the first time Sam felt as though she was being honest with him… genuine almost.

"That's all true." He admitted and Emma gave him a confused look.

"Then why bring me here? Why did you think you could help me if you can't even begin to understand what I went through?" Sam gave her a serious look. It took her a bit by surprise since she didn't think she had ever seen him look so serious. Usually Sam seemed to be good humored and carefree, at least from what she had previously observed from his behavior.

"I know that I can't really understand what you went through but I happen to know someone who can." Sam told her, causing Emma's eyebrows to furrow in further confusion. What was he talking about? Sam didn't elaborate as he looked away from Emma and casted his gaze towards the other side of the room.

"Hey, Camila! Get over here!" Sam called out. Emma watched as one of the women, she had seen sitting a couple of rows in front of her, walked over to where she and Sam were sitting. The woman was very beautiful, Emma noticed, with her olive skin tone, honey brown eyes, and thick dark hair. She wasn't very tall, a couple of inches shorter than what Emma was now. Emma guessed that the woman was probably in her late twenties as she observed the youthfulness in her face.

"You don't need to yell like that, Sam. I'm not deaf." Camila told Sam and Emma noticed that the woman had a very distinct accent. Emma determined that the accent couldn't be Mexican…No, it was definitely South American. Venezuelan? Ecuadorian? No… she was most likely from Columbia. Yes, Columbian. That had to be it. Emma's attention was brought back to the situation when Sam glanced back at her.

"Emma, I would like you to meet my very good friend Camila Sanchez." He told her as he introduced her to the Latina. The woman gave her a small smile, her eyes looking very warm and kind. "Camila, this is my friend Emma… the one I told you about."

"It's nice to meet you, Emma." Camila told her in her thick accent.

"You too." Emma said, her tone confused as to why Sam was introducing her to a random person.

"I thought that you two might have a lot to talk about." Sam said as he looked between them, his expression soft and hopeful. "You see, Camila's from Columbia where she was a child soldier for rebel forces within her country. She was taken from her home when she was very young." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as quickly glanced back to Camila. Camila didn't seem disturbed at all by the information that Sam just said about her. The woman actually looked alarmingly calm by the situation, a small smile on her face as her eyes rested on Emma. Sam gave the two a quick nod.

"I guess I'll leave you two alone. If you need anything I'll be over there." Sam told them as he began to walk over to a group of laughing men at the other side of the room. Emma and Camila were both silent for a moment as they stared at each other. Emma stared at her in curiosity while Camila just simply looked at her.

"Sam didn't tell me much about you in case you were wondering." Camila told her softly, breaking the silence between them. "I thought you might like to know that. You seemed very worried earlier when he mentioned that he had told me about you."

"What did he tell you?" Emma asked as she narrowed her eyes at the raven haired woman. Camila just shrugged, not seeming at all bothered by the calculated look in Emma's eyes.

"Just that you were a sister of his friend. He said that you were like me and that your brother finally managed to get you back. Everyone had thought you'd been dead for some time apparently." Camila told her honestly and Emma gave her a suspicious look.

"And you didn't question that? That was enough information for you?" Camila just smiled at Emma, not looking put off by the young blonde's tone.

"Well, that's probably all the information I need to know." She paused before smirking. "That and I figured that it was probably top secret seeing as how Sam's running with the super crowd now. I'm not permitted to know much more than that probably." Emma nodded and decided that she certainly couldn't trust this woman after only knowing her for a few minutes but Emma knew that she liked her.

"Sam said that you were a child soldier… that you're like me?" Emma asked, changing the subject. The smile faded from Camila's face as she nodded solemnly.

"I am. I was taken from my home when I was seven after my home was torched." Camila told her honestly and Emma listened intently to her, curious about just how similar her and this stranger could be. "They killed my family… my mother, father, and little brother. They kept me because I survived I suppose."

"Were you scared?" Emma asked in an emotionless tone but inside she was feeling various emotions and all at the same time.

"Of course I was. My family was dead, my home was gone, and I was thrown into a strange place with strange people… people who had murdered my family." Camila explained and Emma swallowed nervously. That sounded almost exactly like her own life story which was terrifying to Emma. Emma had continously complained that there was no one she could relate to… no one who could understand her pain but could she have been wrong? "They started teaching me battle tactics, survival, weapons, explosives… how to kill. All education lessons we were given circled around communism and it wasn't long before I was brainwashed. It wasn't hard for them to do. I was so young and communism began to be all that I knew but it wasn't the same kind of communism that it was for some other people. I understand that now. This sort of communism that they were teaching us about involved taking children from their homes and placing weapons in their hands. Turning children into weapons." Tears flooded Camila's eyes as she recalled her past and the same feeling came over Emma as she listened to Camila because it was almost like she was listening to her own story. Hydra had never brainwashed her with communism but they had brainwashed her to see things their way… to ensure that she would never leave.

"There were some really terrible things I did… things I don't know that God will ever forgive me for. I've killed people… politicans sometimes but others as well. I learned very quickly that you have no friends in the jungle." Camila said, her voice slightly faltering as she struggled to not cry. Emma wondered why she was telling her all of this? She understood that the woman was probably doing this for Sam but was that really a good enough reason to put herself through all this pain? Emma didn't know if she would ever be able to talk about what happened at the Hydra base let alone to a stranger of all people.

"I had friends that wanted to defect… to run away. They made me kill them all. They made me shoot them point blank." Camila confessed, a tear streaming down her face as she sniffled. "I did it too because I wanted to survive… I know how selfish that sounds but I didn't want to die. Sometimes I can still see their faces when I close my eyes… I can still hear them crying and begging for mercy." Camila then stopped as she tried to keep her emotions in check. Emma stared at her with an unreadable expression on her face but inside she felt conflicted. She felt conflicted because she kept finding herself relating to this woman in more than one way. Emma had thought her situation was entirely unrelatable but it seemed like she had been wrong. While there were some parts of her life that no one could probably ever relate to like the experiments and the serum, it still seemed like Emma wasn't completely alone in this kind of situation.

"So are you saying that it never gets easier?" Emma asked. It was something that she had asked Natasha but Natasha wasn't a normal person. No, the Russian woman simply switched one agency for another. There was no part of Natasha Romanoff that even tried to be normal or settle down for a life as a regular civilian. Emma wanted to hear this from someone who had moved on from their life as a weapon and tried to be normal.

"That's not what I'm saying at all." Camila responded once she finally got her emotions under control. "I'm saying that it's possible to move on from that sort of life and have something that's normal for yourself. Nothing's going to be perfect for you and don't expect it all to be smooth sailing. You'll have rough patches, that's something that I can guarantee, but you can still move on with your life." Emma scoffed at that.

"Yeah and how's that working out for you?" She asked, thinking that Camila was just trying to be encouraging and postive. Emma didn't really think that Camila might've have actually listened to her own advice. Camila only smiled at her.

"It's working out pretty well actually." Camila lifted up her hand and Emma saw a big, glimmering diamond ring on her finger. She then glanced back up at the happy, lovesick expression on Camila's face. "We got married last year. His name's Daniel."

"He knows everything about you?" Emma questioned, not completely buying it but Camila nodded her head.

"Yes, he's here actually." Camila gestured to one of the men chatting with Sam on the other side of the room. The man was handsome enough with blue eyes, light brown hair, and a kind smile. "He served a couple of tours in Afghanistan." Emma looked away from Camila's husband and rested her eyes on Camila once more.

"How long did it take you to tell him everything?" Camila sighed at Emma's question.

"It took a while… I'm not going to lie. Probably somewhere around a year before he knew everything about me and it was difficult but Daniel was so patient. I was terrified at first because I thought he might hate me if he knew everything but he surprised me." Camila continued as Emma listened to her patiently. "The wait was worth it though. He accepted it all and he accepted me too."

"So what? Is that my answer? Going out there and finding some guy to fall in love with?" Emma asked bitterly. "I'm only thirteen but I doubt that I could ever be capable of that anyways." Camila gave her a sad look as she looked up at her.

"I thought the same thing. I was seventeen, older than you when I finally got out of it." Camila told her. "I was cynical, bitter, and self loathing. Most of all, I didn't think that I deserved to be saved or for anyone to care about me. The idea of falling in love and creating a somewhat normal life for myself was completely laughable but I managed to prove myself wrong."

"My point wasn't about finding a man to fall in love with." Camila added as she steered the conversation back to Emma. "I only meant that having someone who cares about you and loves you was a huge step for me. You need to surround yourself with people that want to help you. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lover but it can be anyone." Camila's eyes locked onto hers in that moment. "Your brother perhaps?"

"That sounds all fine and dandy but this domestic lifestyle? How could you possibly live in it?" Emma asked, trying to push her thoughts away from Steve. "Having children can't be easy. Wouldn't it be terrifying?" Emma didn't ignore the way that Camila's fingers gently traced her stomach in a caressing fashion. The gesture immediately surprised Emma.

"I'm about five months along now… barely even showing." Camila told her softly, a smile reaching her face she glanced down at her stomach. "I was scared at first but now I just can't wait to meet him."

"It's a boy?" Emma asked, an eyebrow raised.

"We don't technically know for sure but I have a feeling." Camila responded, her eyes never leaving her stomach. "It's going to be hard but we'll get through it. Daniel and I are a family now… partners. We'll get through it and make sure that our son will have a much better life than I did." Emma nodded and watched the motherly expression on Camila's face in curiosity. She wondered if maybe she could have that some day. Emma knew that she was way too young to think about those things but the possibility of it was curious to her. It seemed impossible to her before because of what she had been through but Emma still wondered. Would she even want something like that or would she want to be like Natasha? Stick to what she knew instead of pursuing something that seemed like a pipe dream. As Emma focused on Camila's small bump, she failed to recognize the serious expression that suddenly came over the older woman's face. The thought of her unborn son seemed to vanish from Camila's mind as she looked back at the curious looking blonde, something bothering the Columbian woman.

"Emma?" Emma looked away from Camila's stomach and returned her gaze to Camila's face. She was a bit taken back by the seriousness of Camila's expression but remained calm anyways.

"Yes?" Camila bit her lip nervously before asking the question that she had been dreading to ask.

"There was other things that happened to me in the jungle… things that were done to break a girl's spirit." Camila said, feeling her throat grow dry. Emma looked down at her hands, already anticipating the question she predicted was coming her way.

"Did they… I mean did any of them do something like that to you?" Camila finally finished asking. Emma immediately looked up from her hands and locked eyes with Camila.

* * *

Emma returned back to the tower later that evening with Sam. She felt a bit better after spending the afternoon talking with Camila. She even felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Emma knew that she wasn't completely cured of everything that had been haunting her but she was off to a good start. It turned out that Sam had been right about Camila and she even told him so as Happy drove them back to the tower. Emma was just amazed at how she walked into that building feeling as if nothing Sam said or did would help her but she walked out feeling a lot better. Camila tried telling her that it would be best if she started opening up to the people around her but Emma knew that it would be a long road before she would be able to do that. Maybe she could reveal some of what happened to Steve but she wasn't ready to tell him everything. Not yet. Some of it made her scared of what Steve might think of her if he knew. When she was ready then she was ready but until then… she would just have to work her way up to that kind of courage.

"Hey, Mini Cap! How was the VA?" Tony called out. Sam had brought her to the main floor of Avengers tower. Everyone was seated in the living room including Steve. The only person that was missing was Clint who seemed to be making himself pretty scarce these days for some odd reason. Steve smiled at her from his place on one of the large couches in the center of the room.

"It was good." Emma replied shortly. Tony looked like he wanted to say more but Pepper nudged him in the side. The red head flashed a bright smile in Emma's direction.

"We're glad you're back, Emma." Pepper told her as an excited look made it's way onto her face. "We were actually just about to start movie night." Emma raised her eyebrows at Pepper's statement.

"Movie night?" Emma questioned and Pepper nodded.

"It's a new thing we've decided to start up. It makes sense since you, Steve, and Thor aren't as caught with movies as the rest of us." Pepper explained. "We thought it might be fun." The room fell silent as everyone anticipated Emma's reaction to this bit of news. Sometimes it was difficult to predict just how Emma might react to certain things. Even Sam looked nervous as he looked at her but Steve didn't look worried at all. No, the super soldier just gave Emma a reassuring smile. It was a smile she that was beginning to grow accustomed to.

"Sure, that sounds fun." Emma replied honestly and most of the room sighed in relief. Pepper seemed relieved at Emma's reaction to the news.

"Great, I was thinking that maybe you could pick out the movie since you're the newest addition to the family." Emma froze as she took in those words. Family? Before she could give it anymore thought a bunch of movie titles and cover art began to flood the screen as Jarvis flipped through the various options of movies that Tony had available in his movie library. Emma hadn't seen a movie in so long that she thought she wouldn't really be any help in picking something out. Emma was about to voice her thoughts when a movie in particular caught her attention.

"Wait… is that _Brooklyn_?" Emma asked as stared at the cover art for the film. She briefly glanced back at Steve who looked just as surprised. Emma had recently just finished reading the book _Brooklyn_ after Steve had recommended it to her. While the book was mostly a love story which Emma couldn't really understand, she did relate to the main character. The main character was an Irish woman who immigrated to America and the story centered around the Irish woman who tried to find her place in a world that was completely different her home back in Ireland. The character felt lost and scared in this new world known as America and suffered from homesickness from time to time. Emma felt the same way about trying to adjust to this new life outside of Hydra. She had left everything she ever knew behind and although Hydra was never home to her… her father definitely was home. She missed him all the time and one of the few things that had given her comfort was that book. "Like the book _Brooklyn_?" Emma asked.

" _Brooklyn,_ starring Saoirse Ronan, is a film based off the 2009 novel of the same name by Colm Toibin." Jarvis informed them and Emma looked at Pepper with a slightly excited look on her face. The others were taken back by the sudden show of emotion.

"Would you mind if we saw that?" She inquired and Pepper smiled.

"Of course we can watch the movie. Jarvis, play _Brooklyn._ " Pepper told the AI system and the lights began to dim as the movie began to start. Sam went to sit by Rhodey on one side of the room while Emma immediately crossed the room to where Steve was sitting and sat between him and Darcy.

"Do we have to see this?" She could hear Tony whining. "It's a chick flick." Whatever complaints that Tony may have had were quickly dismissed as she heard a groan of pain and Emma knew that Pepper had most likely given him another sharp nudge in the ribs. Emma tried to hide her smirk but knew that she failed.

"How was the VA?" Steve asked her quietly as she settled into the couch. Emma spared him a quick glance, flashing him a small smile.

"It was good." She told him which caused Steve to give her another look of surprise. "I'll tell you all about it later." Emma promised and Steve nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. They both turned their attention to the flat screen as the opening scene played on the screen.

"This is the same chick that was in _Hanna_." Darcy commented with a mouthful of popcorn in her mouth. "That's the bad ass teenage spy I told you about. The movie you." Emma tried not to laugh at Darcy and focused on the movie. She would probably never understand Darcy but Emma knew that she really liked the brunette woman.

When the ending of the movie started to near, she glanced away from the screen and began to look around the room at the group of people who managed to all have places within this new life of hers. She wanted to laugh at the sight of Tony and Sam who had been fallen asleep about thirty minutes into the movie. Some soft snoring could be heard but Emma wasn't offended by their reaction to a movie she knew that she was going to love for a long time. Pepper's attention seemed glued to the screen as tears flooded her eyes from an emotional scene. Emma could also spot a similar expression on Thor's face as the God of Thunder got teary eyed from a scene of the main character reuniting with her husband back in America. Jane seemed positively focused on the soft expression on her boyfriend's face, a small smile on her face as she admired that her boyfriend could be the senstive type. Rhodey watched the movie with a bored expression on his face as his attention went from the movie to something on his phone. Natasha and Bruce stared at the screen, not looking calm but not looking exactly emotional at the film either… they seemed indifferent to it. Lastly, Emma watched Steve and Darcy who looked to be transfixed with the movie. A soft smile would make it's way onto Steve's face every once in a while and Darcy would munch on her popcorn quietly whenever a scene became a little too intense.

It was then that Emma realized something. She already had a family. Sure, it was very dysfunctional and weird but it was still a family to her. Emma was surrounded by people who genuinely cared about her and Camila told her that it was just what she needed. She understood what Camila had been trying to tell her. She wasn't telling her that she needed to fall in love. No, Camila had been trying to tell her that she needed a family. A small smile reached her face as she glanced back at all of them.

This was her family.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Author's Note: So I don't know if any of you have noticed but I've changed something about the story. I decided to do the story in different parts because it's ended up being so long. This chapter here is the last chapter of part one. I named part one "Long & Lost" after the Florence+The Machine song even though the song is about her being away or running away from a guy. I just thought the name fit the story. The next part will also be named after a Florence+The Machine song and you'll find out which one then. As you can probably tell I love Florence+The Machine but I didn't plan on naming all the parts and the title of the story after a bunch of the songs. I guess it sort of happened that way. I meant to update this yesterday but I've been so excited to finally get to Age of Ultron that it's been hard to concentrate on this chapter if that makes any sense. So next chapter is part two and we finally get to Age of Ultron. I'm so excited. I'll try and update tomorrow. **

**I saw Atomic Blonde yesterday and it was incredible! The fight scenes were mind blowing and way beyond anything I've ever seen. There's this one action scene that's literally like five minutes long with no dialogue just pure action. It's brilliant. The music for this movie was also really good. I really recommend watching it. It is kind of slow paced but the action scenes make it worth it. I know I see movies a lot but just keep in mind that I never go on vacation.**

 **I also want to apologize for not thanking my reviewers in the last chapter I was so tired that I completely forgot so thanks to all my reviewers that reviewed the past couple of chapters. Really... thanks. The reviews keep me motivated to continue writing. Thanks to AppropriateLlama for their review and the helpful note because I totally must have missed that when I edited the chapter. I'll get to fixing that eventually but I've been pretty lazy lately. Also thanks to Spawn Hades for their review because the idea about the epilogue was so cute and funny so I'll take that into consideration. I've been thinking about different ways my story could go and it's been really difficult. I've been debating whether or not to pause after Homecoming and then wait until Infinity Wars to continue but I don't think I really want to do that. This story may go into AU after the Homecoming storyline in this story so I can kind of do whatever I want with it. Your other idea I might've already had and have plans for in the future. Also happy birthday to TheUltimateBibliophile since I'm not totally sure if I'll be able to update later on since it's technically Sunday already and I promised to update on your birthday. So thanks to all my reviewers and followers who've been super patient on the road to Peter Parker. But the wait will probably make it all worth it... I promise. So keep reviewing and I'll try to update as fast as I can.**

 **Also I included the movie _Brooklyn_ in the last chapter even though I know it came out in 2015. Let's just pretend that it didn't. I may have been writing that chapter while I was watching the movie for the tenth time and I just had to include it. It's probably my favorite romantic sort of film. If you haven't seen it then you have to watch it. It's one of the most beautiful films you'll ever see. I love Brie Larson but I really thought that Saoirse Ronan should've won the Oscar for that film.**

* * *

Emma decided in the first few minutes, spent in the facility, that she hated nursing homes. There was a certain smell to it that immensely bothered Emma as the scent invaded her nose. It reeked of death and illness so much that it made Emma feel almost sick. She clenched her fists tightly as she tried to ignore the smell. She stared hard at the linoleum floors as she struggled to focus on anything besides that awful smell.

It had been three months since Emma left Hydra and she could finally say that she might've been improving even if the improvement wasn't significant. There was still a long way to recovery after her past with Hydra or so Sam told her. There was quite a lot of information that she had shared with Steve. They talked over lunch in their apartment sometimes or even when Emma was hanging out in her bedroom and Steve would walk in. It seemed very therapeutic for Emma but that didn't mean that she told Steve everything. There was one thing that Steve still didn't know and it was perhaps the biggest problem that still haunted Emma. She just didn't have the heart to tell him and more specifically she didn't know how to tell him. A part of her was terrified of what he might think of her and another part of her just wanted to forget that the whole thing happened.

So there Emma sat in a cold and empty hallway as she worried about her past that still haunted her. At least she didn't have as many nightmares these days. The place that filled Emma with so much dread, as she waited outside a room, happened to be an ordinary nursing home that sat in the heart of Washington D.C. After spending months settling into her new home at the tower, Steve had decided to take Emma on a road trip to D.C. so that she could reunite with her grandmother. The same grandmother that she barely remembered. Steve was currently breaking the news to her grandmother as Emma waited outside her grandmother's room. Emma assumed that Steve probably didn't want to give her poor grandmother a heart attack which the elderly woman would surely get if she saw Emma with no warning at all.

"I think she's ready to see you." Steve said as he stepped outside the door of her grandmother's room. Emma looked up at him before getting up from her seat. She felt a bit sick as she did so mostly because she feared how her grandmother would react to her. Her grandmother had thought she was dead for many years after all. It must be quite the shock to be told that Emma had been alive all these years. Emma knew that Steve most likely wasn't going to tell her grandmother where exactly she had been all these years. Probably a very filtered version of the truth that wouldn't cause the elderly woman any discomfort.

Emma followed Steve into the room hesitantly before she surveyed the new environment. It was a rather plain looking room she couldn't help but notice. There was only bed in the entire room and Emma was sure that once you got to a certain age you earned your right to have a room all to yourself. There wasn't much in the room aside from an old looking tv on the wall, a wardrobe, and a door that Emma could only assume led to a bathroom. A nightstand was placed next to the bed and the nightstand was littered with a few picture frames containing pictures of a younger version of Peggy Carter with various other people that Emma didn't recognize. The only picture she did recognize, however, was a picture of her parents.

Emma stared at the picture, a bit stunned by it, as she looked at her mother and father. She hadn't realized how much she had began to forget what they looked like. Her father, whose facial features she didn't remember at all, was grinning at her mother in the picture. Emma's mother was smiling at the camera as she held a two or three year old child in her arms that Emma could only imagine was herself. Even her mother had started to fade from her mind in recent years. Her mother's face becoming a blank space with two emerald green eyes poking out and surrounded by red hair. The red hair and green eyes were the only really distinct features that she could remember. Everything else was blurry but it all came back to her at once as she stared at the picture. Steve could've showed her pictures of her parents but Emma hadn't wanted to see them, afraid of what memories it might bring back.

Emma finally tore her gaze away from the photo and then let her eyes settle on the elderly woman lying in bed. She couldn't really remember her grandmother that well either. Emma mostly just remembered her British accented voice but that didn't stop her from feeling some recognition as she looked at her grandmother. Emma wondered if her grandmother looked much older than she had when Emma had last seen her. Perhaps but it had been a while ago and her grandmother was around ninety three by now. Emma felt her heart melt at the sight of her sickly looking grandmother whose eyes still looked just as kind as they did in the pictures that Steve had shown her. Her face was weathered with many wrinkles and creases but she still managed to smile as the elderly woman rested her eyes on Emma's face.

"Emma? Is that really you?" Peggy Carter called out to her, her voice rather hoarse. Emma gave her grandmother the smallest of smiles. "Steve said that he found you."

"Yes, it is me." Emma confirmed in a gentle voice as she answered her grandmother. Steve looked at her in curiosity as she spoke. The super soldier wasn't sure if he had ever heard his granddaughter's voice so soft and gentle.

"I'm so glad that you're alright, Emma." Her grandmother said, looking very relieved. "Come closer please… so I might be able to see your face in a better light." Emma did as she was told and moved closer to her grandmother's side.

"I thought that you had died." Her grandmother told her, tears in her brown eyes. The display of emotion immediately made Emma feel uncomfortable and guilty that she was the cause of those emotions.

"I'm fine as I'm sure you can see." Emma reassured her in a kind tone.

"Steve told me that it was all a huge misunderstanding." Her grandmother continued to say. "That you had ran away from the house in Oklahoma as it burned down and you were taken in by an orphanage mistakenly." Emma glanced at Steve who only blushed, obviously feeling guilty about his lie. It was a very terrible and far fetched lie but Peggy was in such a weak state that she didn't have any other choice but to accept it.

"That's exactly right." Emma confirmed, her tone now firm. Her grandmother smile at her with such a brillant and bright smile that Emma felt years younger… she might've felt like she had when she was much younger and used to spend time with her grandmother. Emma wasn't entirely sure since there wasn't a lot that she remembered from her time before Hydra. It had been a very long time ago.

"Well, I'm glad that you're here now." Her grandmother stared at her intensely and Emma felt a bit uncomfortable by her grandmother's close scrutiny. "You're so beautiful, Emma. You look so much like your father… like your grandfather." Peggy told her as she glanced back at Steve.

"Thank you." Emma told her, not knowing what else to say.

"You can't imagine how happy I am that you two found each other." Her grandmother said to the both of them. "I was so worried about Steve being alone and lost in this confusing world but now he has you." The elderly woman said as her eyes rested back on Emma. "It's all that I could ever hope for as a dying woman."

"Don't say that, Peggy." Steve said, almost angry with her grandmother for saying such a thing. Although Emma didn't have the heart to tell her grandfather, she knew that Peggy wasn't wrong. The woman was a ninety three year old woman who was on her death bed. It was apparent to Emma that her grandmother wouldn't last that much longer. It was only the rational part of Emma that thought that way. The irrational, emotional part of her wanted her grandmother to live forever because it was only recently that Emma had been able to start piecing her life back together. She didn't want to think about when her grandmother might die.

"It's true, Steve, I'm an old woman after all." Peggy told him seriously, giving him a stern look. "You two will move on with your lives. That's the way of life."

"I would rather not think about that right now." Emma said quietly as she looked at her grandmother, an unreadable emotion in her blue eyes. "I only just got you back. I'd rather not lose you so soon." Emma admitted because she knew that it needed to be said. It was true that she barely remembered her grandmother when she walked into the room but her grandmother was still a huge part of her life before Hydra.

"Come here, Emma." Peggy said tearfully as she struggled to hold out her arms, motioning to Emma that she wanted a hug. "Would you give an old woman a hug?" Emma stared wide eyed at her grandmother before looking at Steve who only nodded in reassurance. Emma gave her grandmother another smile as she carefully embraced her very fragile and delicate grandmother. Emma noticed that she smelled faintly of lavender and vanilla, the scent smelled familiar and Emma knew that she most likely had been this close to her grandmother in the life she had before Hydra. Intiating a hug felt odd to Emma but she also felt comforted by the affectionate gesture. She pulled away from her grandmother slowly a moment later.

"Tell me about what's going on in your life?" Peggy asked her and Emma just shrugged.

"There's not a lot to be honest. I'm just learning to adjust I guess." Peggy gave Emma a doubtful look.

"There has to be something… Friends? Hobbies? Any boys you like?" Peggy questioned and Emma raised her eyebrow at the last one.

"I'm only thirteen. I don't think I'm very interested in boys at the moment." She answered honestly because it was true. Emma didn't think she would be interested in boys for a long time. The ones that were her age, like the ones she had seen in the city, were overwhelmingly ignorant and incompetent. They were almost as silly as the teenage girls she had previously seen… both of them making Emma shudder in annoyance. No, Emma didn't see herself becoming interested in boys for a very long time.

"Which I'm sure will save some hearts from being broken and me from getting any gray hairs." Steve joked while Emma just rolled her eyes and Peggy laughed. She coughed a little from laughing and Steve quickly helped her as he poured her a glass of water from a pitcher that had been placed on her nightstand. Emma watched in sadness as Steve helped her grandmother.

"You were saying, Emma?" Peggy finally asked when she had calmed down from her coughing fit. Emma gave her a smile although it felt very forced. Deep down she was deeply worried about the ailing woman. She knew that Peggy probably didn't want to hear about Emma's concerns about her health.

"Well, I've taken up drawing. It turns out that it's a lot of fun and I'm pretty good at it." Emma told Peggy, her smile becoming more genuine as she thought about her new passion for sketching. Steve smiled at Emma, looking quite proud of his and Peggy's granddaughter.

"She's being modest, Peggy, Emma's actually really good." Steve told Peggy. "She's taken to drawing the others. She drew this stunning picture of our friend Natasha that's incredibly beautiful and transfixing." Peggy seemed delighted by this news as she smiled at Emma.

"I'm so glad to hear that. Emma, you must have inherited your grandfather's artistic talent." Peggy's smile brightened as she tried to recollect Steve's artwork. It was becoming increasingly more and more difficult for Peggy to remember certain things but she had her good days and today happened to be one of them. "Steve would always draw the most beautiful pictures. His pictures were always so lovely and pleasing to the eye. Do you still draw, Steve?" Peggy asked Steve, turning her attention to him. Steve looked a bit bashful but shook his head anyways.

"I'm afraid not. It's been a long time since I last drew anything." Steve admitted.

"Maybe Emma can help you get back into the swing of things." Steve smiled but didn't look like he was about object to anything Peggy said.

"I might just take her up on that." Steve replied as he glanced back at Emma. "I'm sure Emma probably has a lot more talent than I ever did."

"I don't think that's true, Steve." Emma told him and she was sure that it wasn't true at all. Stark had shown her some old sketches that her grandfather drew from before he crashed into the ice. Apparently Howard Stark had held onto some keepsakes of Steve's while her grandfather had been in the ice. From what she could see in the old drawings, she knew that her grandfather was a very skilled artist.

"Do you have any drawings with you, Emma? I'd very much like to see one." Peggy asked. Emma drew her attention away from Steve and gave Peggy a genuine smile as she nodded before digging through the bag she had brought with her. Emma took out the same sketchbook that Stark had given to her. Peggy patted the spot on the bed next to her, indicating that she wanted Emma to sit down next to her. She glanced at Steve unsure of what to do but Steve only nodded at her, letting her know that it was okay. Emma carefully sat next to Peggy on the bed and Emma began to show her the sketchbook. She opened up the book and began to flip through the pages, showing her grandmother everything that she had drawn so far.

The book was nearly completely filled with sketches. Most of the drawings were of the other Avengers as well as any of the others who occupied the tower or even the people she had met at the VA with Sam. They showed each individual, that Emma had crossed paths with, doing a mundane task or something similar while being locked in a moment of ignorant bliss as a certain emotion or look crossed their face. There were other drawings that depicted the view Emma had from her window. There were even some very detailed drawings of different areas of Central Park. Steve took her there every so often. It wasn't any of those drawings that had caught her attention but instead a much different one. Emma watched as Peggy's eyes focused on the drawing in fascination. It was the one she had drawn of Steve when he had been reading a book on the couch in the living room. His eyebrows were furrowed as he read the book, concentrating on whatever page had been reading. It took Emma a while to get the expression on his face right but she finally managed it.

"Do you like it?" She asked and Peggy nodded furiously.

"He looks happy." Peggy said. Emma glanced at Steve who just looked confused as to what they were talking about. He couldn't see the contents of Emma's sketchbook from where he was standing.

"He is." Emma told her truthfully and Peggy seemed happy to hear that.

"Good." Peggy then continued to look at the drawing, analyzing the little details and something occurred to Emma as she saw how much her grandmother loved the drawing.

"Would you like to keep it?" Emma asked her. Peggy looked up at her with a hopeful and excited look in her eyes. Emma didn't know that someone so close to death could look that excited about anything.

"Could I?" Emma nodded.

"Of course. I already see enough of him as it is." Emma then carefully began to tear the drawing out of the sketchbook before handing it off to her grandmother. Peggy's eyes lit up with happiness as she stared at the drawing that Emma had given her. The elderly woman held the drawing up so that Steve could see it.

"Look at the lovely drawing that Emma drew of you, Steve." Steve glanced at the picture that Peggy had in her hands and was surprised to see that it was a drawing of him. He glanced at Emma curiously but the young girl only shrugged in a nonchalant manner.

"It's really nice." Steve said quietly to both Peggy and Emma. "I didn't even know that you were drawing me."

"I'm pretty sneaky that way." Emma told him, a smug smirk on her face and Steve knew that was her trying to make a joke. Her humor seemed to be of the dark sort, Steve observed, because he was sure that she was referring to her past. It showed progress that she was beginning to move on if she was already starting to make jokes about her past.

"I have your parent's wedding picture." Peggy said suddenly which drew Emma and Steve's attention away from each other. Emma gave her grandmother a bewildered look as the elderly woman gazed at her. "It's behind all the other ones. Go on… take a look at it." Emma cautiously did as her grandmother requested and reached for the mysterious picture that was hidden behind all the others. She had to move to sit on the edge of the bed as she did so but it didn't take her long to find the picture. The picture frame was rather old, it was probably the same one that Peggy had bought after having the picture developed. Emma's eyes glanced over the picture in wonder as she spotted her parents on their wedding day. It didn't look to be a fancy wedding or anything. Her father was wearing a nice button up shirt and a pair of jeans, his hair looking very neat. Her mother looked beautiful in a simple white sundress with her hair worn down, her red tresses standing out against the whiteness of her dress. The one thing that stood out the most to Emma was just how happy her parents looked. They looked postively thrilled as they posed in front of the camera. So many emotions bubbled up inside Emma but she didn't know to how to express them.

"Your parents didn't have a big, extravagant wedding like your aunt and uncle." Peggy told her, probably referring to the kids that Peggy had after she got married. "No, they just went over to the courthouse to make it official. They invited me and my husband along with a couple of friends."

"Were they happy?" Emma asked quietly and Peggy smiled.

"Yes… incredibly happy." Peggy said before pausing as she thought something over. "Keep it." Her grandmother told her. Emma broke her gaze away from the picture and looked at her grandmother in surprise. She immediately shook her head.

"No, I couldn't...this is yours. My father was your son, he was very important to you… I barely remember him or my mother." Emma told her but Peggy already looked like she had made up her mind.

"That is exactly why you should have it… something to remember them by. I already have the picture of the three of you." Peggy replied. "I'm a dying woman, it's not like I'm going to have it for much longer. Besides… you gave me this lovely drawing of Steve. It's the least I can do after missing so many birthdays." Emma just looked at her. It was Steve, however, that ended the small debate.

"I would take the picture if I were you, Emma. Peggy's not one to back down from an argument. Trust me… I know firsthand." Steve said jokingly and the elderly woman tried to give him an annoyed look but immensely failed.

"Oh, shut it, you bloody idiot." Peggy quipped before their conversation was interupted by an unexpected person entering the room. Emma's old habits immediately kicked in as she stiffened and observed the new person in the room. A woman stood in the doorway of Peggy's room with a surprised look on her face. It was obvious that the woman wasn't a nurse seeing as how she was wearing a green colored sundress rather than the usual nursing scrubs. The woman was quite short, probably only a couple of inches shorter than Emma. She looked to be in her early to mid twenties, around Darcy's age most likely. She was very petite looking with her small frame and slenderness. Her skin was pale, about as pale as Emma's own skin. The small woman's hair was raven black which contrasted against her pale skin and freckles as well as her oak green eyes. Emma wasn't really sure what a real life Snow White might look like but she was almost certain that this women could fill that description. The small looking woman looked immensely fragile and innocent but Emma knew better than to let someone's looks fool her.

"I'm sorry, Peggy, I didn't know you were expecting any company." The woman said apologetically, her voice soft and obviously American. "I can come back later if you want."

"You'll do no such thing." Peggy told the woman. "I'm sure Steve and Emma won't mind sharing me." The woman hesitantly began to enter the room after Peggy made her request clear. Emma only took a moment to glance back at Steve who seemed to be staring at the woman with an unreadable expression on his face whilst a blush quickly spread across his face. Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. She might've been pretty ignorant to the complexities of romantic relationships but she did know what attraction looked like thanks to Darcy.

"Steve… Emma, this is Susan Winters." Peggy introduced them. "Susan, this is Steve and Emma. Susan's grandfather was a very good friend of mine."

"It's nice to meet the both of you." Susan said kindly with a warm, welcoming smile on her face. Emma thought she seemed okay enough but she was still suspicious of her. It wasn't anything new. Emma was cautious around any sort of new person in her life.

"The feeling's mutual." Steve told Susan but Emma remained silent. "You from around here?"

"I'm from San Francisco actually." Susan told them, casually responding to Steve's small talk.

"Susan keeps pretty busy over there for work so I barely see her even though I wish she would come see me more." Peggy said as she teased Susan lightly. Susan blushed in response.

"I'm sorry, Peggy, but you know how work is. I've only been able to come all the way out here because of the expo." Peggy just shook her head at the young girl but Steve and Emma could tell it was more out of amusement than anger.

"You shouldn't work yourself so hard, Susan. Sometimes you really remind me of your grandfather only he would be quite upset if he knew you were working for Pym Technologies rather than Stark Industries." This caused Steve to raise a brow as he gave Susan a questioning look.

"Your grandfather worked for Stark Industries?" Steve asked and Susan shrugged.

"My grandfather worked for Howard Stark more specifically. He wasn't a scientist or anything like I am but rather part of the help. He was the Stark family butler for many years… until his death actually." Susan informed them honestly. "Peggy likes to think that my grandfather would be very annoyed at me for being a traitor and going to work for Pym Technologies." Susan added on after giving Peggy a pointed look. Steve only smiled at the pair while noticing how close Peggy and Susan seemed to be. He imagined that Susan must have spent quite some time with Peggy growing up.

"Your grandfather would've been very proud… I'm sure of it." Steve told her kindly and Emma glanced at him curiously. Was he… Was that flirting? Peggy shared a look with Emma as the elderly woman watched both Steve and Susan interact. Emma didn't know how her grandmother would react to something like that. Watching the former love of your life showing interest in someone else had to be rough but Peggy didn't seem to mind it. She smirked at Emma before watching Steve and Susan with interest. "If your grandfather worked for the Starks for so long then you must know Tony." Steve said and Susan laughed.

"Unfortunately, yes… I do know Tony although I haven't seen him since I was a teenager. My father was very close with Tony… Tony was like the son he never had in many ways." Susan said, smiling at the memory as she most likely recalled something about her grandfather. "I don't have anything bad to say about Tony Stark. He kindly paid for my grandfather's funeral actually… he's a good man."

"Yes, he is." Steve replied and this further confused Emma. She knew that Steve and Stark were somewhat friends but Steve still rarely said anything nice about Stark. He usually complained about how Tony was being more infuriating than usual. It's not like Emma disagreed with that either because Stark had the tendency to make Emma try with all her might not to strangle him. He was quite possibly the most annoying man she had ever encountered. "If you're ever in New York you're welcomed at the tower. I'm sure Tony would love to see you after all these years."

"I might take you up on that." Susan said as she and Steve then proceeded to stare at each other. Both Emma and Peggy exchanged looks with each other again before Emma cleared her throat, capturing Steve and Susan's attention. Susan's blush could easily be seen against her pale skin. Steve then broke their intense gaze with each other and feigned a casual, nonchalant look.

"Well, I think Emma and I better get going. We have to grab lunch before we head back." Steve told Peggy before looking at Susan. "It was nice meeting you, Susan." Susan nodded.

"It was nice meeting you too, Steve." Susan told him before glancing at Emma with a kind smile. "You too, Emma." Emma nodded and returned Susan's smile. It was obvious that the raven haired woman wasn't paying much attention to her. The woman's attention was almost entirely focused on Steve but Emma wasn't offended. She could tell that the woman was quite taken with Steve and that amused Emma more than anything. She wasn't about to let her grandfather forget it anytime soon. Steve and Emma both said their goodbyes to Peggy before they decided to leave Susan and Peggy alone. Emma could've sworn Steve's gaze had remained locked onto Susan until they finally disappeared behind the door. Yes, Emma would definitely be telling everyone at the tower about this.

* * *

"What are you going to have?" Steve asked as Emma looked over the menu. They were seated at a diner a ways away from the nursing home. It was a retro looking diner with black and white tile flooring as well as pictures of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis littered around the walls of the place. An old looking jukebox sat in one corner of the diner, playing old Beach Boys songs. Emma and Steve sat in a booth towards the back. The diner was relatively empty and quiet which seemed to be a result of timing. It was well past lunch, around two in the afternoon.

"I don't really know." Emma responded as she debated over what to get.

"What about a good ole' greasy burger? Those always seem to be a safe option." Steve told her jokingly but Emma shrugged.

"I wouldn't know." She said and Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Emma looked back up at him from over the menu.

"I mean that I've never had a hamburger." Emma didn't think she had seen Steve looked so shocked or horrified in her life which was saying something. Steve knew quite a bit about what happened to her at the Hydra base but he had never seemed horrified with her like he did right at that moment.

"You've never had a hamburger before?" He asked in shock and Emma just looked at him.

"That's what I just said." She replied.

"But you've had Chinese food, Indian food, Italian food, and you've even had sushi but you've never had a hamburger before? How have you've eaten all of that but never a burger." Emma shrugged.

"It just never happened. I didn't really have many options of cuisine when I was with Hydra. I think hamburgers were a little above my pay grade." She said sarcastically. Steve frowned a bit when he heard that. She was spending way too much time with Stark because that sounded a little too sarcastic. Steve tried to ignore the reminder of Hydra since they were trying to move on from that part of Emma's life. She talked about it with him whenever she felt the moment was right but Steve didn't know how he felt about her joking about her past.

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Steve said as he gave her a sad look. Emma just rolled her eyes at Steve as he gave her that look.

"Has anyone ever told you how dramatic you are?" She said and Steve just had to smile at that. Truthfully there was someone who had once told him how dramatic he was… on several occasions actually.

"Yes, actually." He admitted.

"Well, they were right."

"You have to have a hamburger." Steve told her in a serious tone after changing the subject. "It's an American tradition."

"Really? Because _hamburger_ sounds awfully German to me." Emma teased and Steve playfully glared at her but before he could respond their waitress came back. The bored looking woman stood before them with a pad of paper and a pencil as she chewed her gum.

"Are you ready to order?" She asked and they both nodded but Emma didn't even have a chance to order as Steve stepped in to place their order.

"Yes, we'll both have the same thing. A chocolate milkshake, cheeseburger, and a side of fries." Steve told her, avoiding Emma's glare.

"Is that all?" The waitress asked after she wrote all of that down.

"Yes. Thank you." The waitress gave them a quick nod before she walked away and Emma was left to give Steve a dirty look.

"I can order for myself." She told him but he just smiled that infuriating smile at her.

"You'll thank me… trust me." Emma only shook her head and Steve decided to change the subject to a more pressing matter. "I actually wanted to talk about something more serious with you."

"Like what?" Emma replied. She was now extremely curious as to what had made Steve so serious that his teasing smile had now vanished from his face.

"You know how we've been looking for Hydra bases?" Steve said, his voice quiet and hesitant. Emma nodded.

"Yes, I do. You know I'd be happy to help you find those bases too. You only need to ask." Emma told him, completely serious.

"I know but we've already located a couple of bases. I think we're good for now." Emma raised an eyebrow when he told her that.

"You've already found some bases?" She asked and Steve nodded.

"Yes, when Bucky sent us the flashdrive about you he also managed to send us the location of a couple of other Hydra bases. The locations were encrypted within your file." He told her and Emma was a bit surprised by that. Her father had been overwhelmingly brainwashed but somehow he had managed to overcome his forced loyalty to Hydra and help out Steve. Emma only wondered why he still hadn't come back for her. Hadn't he promised her that much all those years ago?

"That was incredibly helpful of him." She retorted, not having anything else to say. "When do you leave?"

"Friday." He said and Emma nodded.

"I could come with you." She said quietly but Steve didn't look pleased by that comment.

"No, you're not." He told her firmly.

"I can. I know how Hydra operates… I know all their tactics and strategies, I would be a very useful asset to you." She almost pleaded but Steve didn't look convinced. Emma wasn't so sure why she was so set on wanting go with the Avengers to infilitrate a Hydra base. She was quite liking this new life of doing nothing even though it was a bit boring. Maybe it was because she was dying of boredom and wanted to see some action again. Something deep down told Emma that wasn't true. Maybe it was because she was afraid that she could lose Steve… that she didn't want to let Steve out of her sight for fear of him getting hurt or worse.

"You're no one's asset, Emma. Not anymore and never again… as long as I'm alive I'll make sure of that." He told her, his eyes dead serious. "That's the end of the discussion." He said in his Captain tone and Emma knew that she would never win this argument. There was no point in arguing at this point so Emma decided to drop it… for now. She knew that she had to lose some to win some so she'd save it for another day.

"I'll probably go for two days at the most… Darcy will keep you company in the meantime." Emma nodded and before she could respond the waitress came back with their food. Steve thanked the woman before she walked off and Emma knew that the conversation was over. This was what was going to happen and there was nothing she could do about it. It was going to be so odd sitting back out of the action but Steve had made it clear that she was the child in their relationship and he was the parent. Emma was trying to respect Steve's authority even though sometimes it was entirely hard for her to do so. Trying to avoid talking anymore about the mission Steve was about to go on, Emma picked up the hamburger and took a big bite. Emma's eyes immediately shot open in surprise as she was taken back by the taste. She looked back at Steve who gave her a knowing look as he snacked on his own fries.

"This is delicious." Emma said in surprise.

"I told you so." Steve said and Emma could only roll her eyes at him.

"No, but I mean it's really good. Like it's… Well, it's… I don't seem to know the word for it." Emma finally said, stumped as to know how to describe the food.

"Like pure heaven in your mouth?" Steve suggested and Emma grinned at him. Steve's heart warmed at the image of Emma actually grinning at him, showing off her pearly white teeth.

"Yes! Exactly!" Emma exclaimed as she took another bite. Steve laughed at her obvious new love for hamburgers. His laughter died out as he remembered a time from long ago when he was inside a diner that looked very similar to this one. It almost felt like it had back then too.

"This reminds me of when Bucky and I used to hang out." Steve told her, his eyes looking suddenly more sad than they had before. "We used to go to the cheapest place in Brooklyn and order the biggest burger on the menu. We'd stuff our faces and goof around… sometimes Bucky would even manage to snag a date with a pretty dame." Emma smiled sadly at Steve and wondered if it was possible that he might've missed her father more than she did. She knew in that moment that Steve needed to be comforted. It wasn't something that she was all too familiar with so Emma had to think before she found the right thing to do in a situation like this one. She then gently put down her burger before she reached across the table, placing her hand on top of his.

"I miss him too, Steve." Emma told him seriously. Steve nodded but he didn't say anything and Emma desperately felt that had to move the conversation away from her father. It was only going to continue to make the both of them miserable if they spent the rest of lunch talking about him. So, with a little bit of effort, Emma forced a smile onto her face as she pulled her hand back.

"My father couldn't be the only one that was able to get dates." Steve's sad look morphed into one of confusion as he glanced back at her.

"What are you talking about?" Emma smirked at him.

"I saw you flirting with that girl named Susan back at the nursing home." She told him smugly. "And in front of grandma… Have you no shame? I'm just surprised you didn't manage to get her number." Steve blushed bright red at Emma's teasing comments and Emma knew that she had immediately gotten Steve's mind off of her father. Natasha had informed her that Steve got awfully bashful around women and the former spy was right. They both immediately returned their attention to their meals and Emma wondered if it would always be like this between them. If she could have this much fun with Steve in a small diner on a Tuesday afternoon. If it could be this much fun then she didn't think she could ever truly part from him. Emma thought that she would be entirely okay with never parting from him. She realized that she truly cared about him right then.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Author's Note: So here we are... Age of Ultron. I'm seriously so excited to be finally at this point because I'm so close to Civil War. I know I said before that Age of Ultron would only be like three chapters long but now I'm thinking four. This chapter was going to be longer but I knew if I included what I wanted to include in it then it would be way too long. So four chapters.**

 **So I hope that you liked Susan from the last chapter. I know that you didn't see much of her and that's how it was supposed to be. It was just a meeting between her and Steve. Remember that their relationship isn't a major point in this story. It's more of something that's happening in the background of Emma's life. Emma and Peter are the major couple of this story.**

 **I also want to thank my reviewers from the last chapter. Thanks to Spawn Hades for their review and I would just like to say that Civil War isn't going to have a different outcome and that's all I'm going to say about that for the moment. Also to answer your question about whether or not things would be different if Peter had been recruited by Steve first... Well, if Peter was on team Cap then I think that everyone could've gotten away on the quinjet and stopped Zemo. I also think that Tony probably wouldn't have found out about what Bucky did to his parents. They would've stopped Zemo and that might've made everyone realize that Bucky wasn't the problem and everything might've been okay. Now that I've said that I don't really think that Steve would've recruited Peter in the first place because Peter is the same age as Emma and a major thing in this story is going to be Steve not letting Emma back into the action. Emma and Peter are just kids that shouldn't be involved with adult conflicts. I think that's the way Steve would see it. I think that team Cap could've won if Peter had been on their side but I don't think that Steve would've recruited him. Also thanks to TheUltimateBibliophile and JokeLove123 for their reviews!**

 **S** **o keep reviewing please and thanks to all the favorites and follows!**

* * *

 ** _Part II: Hardest of Hearts_**

* * *

Avengers Tower

Manhattan, New York

2015

"They're almost back." Maria Hill told Emma as the fourteen year old sat in main living room area of the tower. It looked strange since it was so empty. The living room was usually filled with various Avengers but today was an exception. Steve and the others had left for another mission the day before. Apparently they had received information about a secret Hydra base located in Sokovia. Emma thought she might've been to it at one point in her life but she couldn't recall whether or not she had. It had been so long ago.

It seemed to be a regular occurance over these past few months of Steve and the others leaving to infiltrate Hydra bases and everytime Emma grew more and more worried. She hated just sitting there and wondering if Steve was alright. The feeling was beyond frustrating to Emma because she had all of these abilities yet she was as helpless as someone like Darcy or Jane. So she just did as Steve told her and waited. Emma knew that Steve only wanted the best for her but it was still infuriating how he just made her sit home and wait like that when she could do so much more. It had been about a year since she had arrived back at the tower but Emma still felt like Steve was treating her like she was some fragile, delicate flower.

"Any injuries?" Emma asked the dark haired woman. Darcy and Jane had been called away somewhere else temporarily, something about Jane being needed elsewhere. Jane was an astrophysicist that was in high demand these days and where ever Jane went, Darcy also went. Pepper was back in California tending to important matters regarding Stark Industries. Sam and Rhodey were away as well. Rhodey apparently had plenty of missions as War Machine, ones that were slightly below the Avenger's pay grade. Sam was tracking down a lead on her father but Emma doubted it would amount to anything. While Darcy, Jane, and Pepper weren't likely to come back for another couple of weeks, she knew that Sam and Rhodey were coming back in a couple of days. She had heard that Stark was throwing a party so she assumed that they would be coming back for the party. Since everyone else was currently gone from the tower, Steve had left Maria as her personal babysitter. She could tell that Maria liked the idea about as much as she did.

"Barton got injured. A nasty gash to his side but it's nothing Dr. Cho can't fix." Maria told her. "No other injuries." Emma nodded.

"Was the mission a success?" Maria smiled.

"Yes, we got Loki's sceptor. It's secure now." Emma was happy to hear that. Loki's sceptor had been the main goal of the missions aside from also hunting down Rumlow or any other top Hydra operatives. Steve and the others had informed Emma that Rumlow still lived even after the Helicarrier practically fell on him. It made sense to Emma. Evil bastards like Rumlow always managed to survive. Unfortunately Rumlow had been able to escape from the hospital he had been kept in and no one knew of his whereabouts since then. It made Emma feel uneasy not knowing where he was since he could come popping up at anytime but Emma felt as though she was prepared for him. If he came looking for her then he would regret it. Emma might just forget about the promise she made to herself that she would never end another life.

"And Rumlow?" Maria's smile fell off her face.

"He's still missing." Maria said. "I don't think he's at any of the Hydra bases. He probably heard the Avengers were infiltrating them and went into hiding." Emma raised a brow at that.

"He's hiding away from Hydra which is the hiding places of all hiding places? That's rich." Emma said with a bitter tone.

"We'll find him, Emma, now that we've got the sceptor out of Hydra's hands Rumlow will be our top priority." Emma seriously hoped for Rumlow's sake that the Avengers found him first because if she did… well, he'd be wishing that he was seeing the other end of the Hulk's fist rather than what Emma had planned for him.

"However, we did find Strucker and Dr. List." Maria continued which piqued Emma's interest. Emma had informed everyone of the danger that was Strucker and Dr. List, an iconic Hydra duo. The two had a knack for human experimentation that they probably didn't stop from doing after Emma had been injected with the serum. "They're being taken to a secure location before they arrive at a prison where they will spend the rest of their lives rotting away in."

"Strucker is going to be a bit harder to get anything out of but Dr. List is a coward." Emma told Maria seriously. "You won't have to do much to get anything out of him. He's spineless."

"Duly noted." Maria replied before she held up her tablet towards Emma. Emma had been reading a book that had been forgotten and even more so when she saw what was on the tablet. It was two files that were displayed on the screen side by side. One showed a girl who must've been at least in her early twenties and next to her was a guy who looked roughly the same age. The girl's hair was a dark brunette while the guy's hair was a striking silver. Even though they both looked different in appearance, Emma couldn't help but recognize the same facial features. They had the same jawline… nose… but the most obvious similarity was their exact same eye color which was a pale and mesmerizing blue. The two had to be related in some way. Emma was guessing that they must've been siblings or cousins at the very least.

"Who are they?" Emma asked as she continued to look over the pictures.

"The Maximoff twins." So Emma was right. They were related and twins at that. "They were found at the Hydra base in Sokovia. Cap says that they're enhanced… the brother, Pietro Maximoff, apparently has increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. The sister, Wanda Maximoff, has neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, and mental manipulation." Emma's looked up at Maria with a look that was a mixture of both shock and uneasiness.

"Wait… so he can run really fast and she can do mind control." The guy didn't cause Emma to feel as frightened but the powers that the girl had… well, those could be really dangerous.

"Essentially, yes." Maria told her but Emma shook her head.

"Wait… why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with me? I mean… besides the fact that they were in a Hydra base." Emma questioned and Maria had a solemn look on her face.

"Strucker was experimenting with them." That really surprised Emma. She looked back at the pictures of the twins before returning her gaze to Maria. Strucker had been experimenting with them? Wait… that didn't make sense. What Strucker did with her was probably amazing from a scientific point of view but the serum that she was injected with was the last of it's kind. Even if it wasn't the last one it didn't explain the powers that the twins had. The most mind boggling thing that Emma could do was fly and that had shocked many of the others when she displayed those abilities from time to time. Mostly it occurred when she was trying to reach for something that was too high for her. One time when she flew up and grabbed the poptarts from the top shelf, she had almost given Clint a heart attack.

"How? The serum he used on me was the last one and I can't even do any of the stuff that they do." Emma said. "I mean the only thing that I can do that might match up to these twins is flying and that's not even half as weird as super speed or telekinesis."

"We believe that Strucker was using Loki's sceptor to experiment on them." Maria admitted and Emma stared at the dark haired woman as she took in that information. Loki's sceptor must've really been that powerful if Strucker was able to change someone's genetic make-up and give them weird super powers. Maybe it was good that they had gotten the sceptor back before it could do anymore damage. She didn't understand the need for Steve and the others to continously hunt down the sceptor with almost pure desperation and obsession but now she did. In the wrong hands that sceptor could be very dangerous. It was only a bit disappointing that it was sort of late since the twins already had very dangrous powers.

"I thought that you might recognize or know the twins since you were all under Hydra's control at one point in time." Maria said before breaking Emma out of her train of thought. She carefully glanced back at the pictures of the twins and tried to find something recognizable in their faces. It took her a moment before she decided that she had never met them in her life. She didn't even think that they might've crossed paths at any point.

"I'm sorry, Maria, but I don't think I've ever met them." Emma told her honestly although Maria looked quite disappointed at that. "They were being held at the Hydra base in Sokovia and I'm not sure that I ever spent anytime at that Hydra base. Even if I had I wouldn't have been there for many years and it says here that they volunteered to be experimented on in early 2014. I was probably already at the base in Argentina by then." Maria nodded as she took in the information that Emma had given her.

"I understand." She replied. "Thanks for the help anyways." There was a brief period of silence as Emma worked up the nerve to ask the question that was bothering her quite a bit.

"Did they come with the others?" Emma asked quietly. She wanted to know whether or not the Avengers had been able to get the twins to come with them or if they had at least captured them. Those two could be very dangerous on the loose. Even with all of Emma's training and enhanced abilities she wasn't sure if she could apprehend even one of them if the occasion called for it. The abilities that the twins had really were something else. Maria nodded sadly.

"I'm afraid not, Emma. They managed to escape before we even had the chance." Maria told her and Emma felt her throat grow dry. This meant that those two were loose somewhere out there and it wasn't likely that they would just go into hiding for the rest of their lives. No, Emma was sure that this wouldn't be the last time they would be hearing about the twins.

"Okay." Emma said, not knowing what else there really was to say. Emma secretly wondered what would cause the twins to want to volunteer to be experimented on. She didn't even have a choice so Emma couldn't begin to comprehend what would cause a person to willingly submit to that kind of torture. There had to be more to their story, Emma knew that wanting to have super powers wasn't their motive. It was never that simple.

"I'm about to go wait for the others on the landing pad with Dr. Cho." Maria told her, immediately changing the subject. "You're welcomed to join me. I thought you might like to be a part of the welcome back party for Steve." Emma smiled at that notion but she shook her head.

"No, I think I'll just wait for him here. You probably have some things to discuss with him anyways." Emma told her and Maria just nodded.

"Yes, I'll just send him your way as soon as I'm done debriefing him." Maria said as she got up from the couch. "Thanks again for your help." Emma just shrugged as she reopened the book she had been previously reading.

"I don't think I helped you that much but you're welcome anyways." Maria didn't say anything as she just gave Emma a small smile before walking away. Emma turned her head back to focus on her book but soon found that the task was almost impossible. Her mind kept drifting back to the matter of the twins. How could she focus on her book when those two were still somewhere out there and it was pretty obvious that they weren't friends to the Avengers. Something told Emma that those twins were about to make another appearance in the Avenger's lives and it wouldn't take them long to do so. This certainly wasn't the end of the twins.

* * *

"What are you reading?" Emma nearly dropped her book as she heard Steve's voice. She was still amazed at how he was able to sneak up on her. Steve and Natasha were the only ones who were able to do that at all. Clint had come close but Emma always managed to hear him coming much to his annoyance.

"Steve!" Emma exclaimed excitedly. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and he laughed as he returned the gesture. It had taken Emma a long time but she had managed to warm up to Steve so much that she was capable of showing affection towards him. The others she had a hard time acting like that in front of except for maybe Darcy and Sam. Emma liked Natasha a lot but she didn't think that the former spy was much for affection.

"Did you really miss me that much?" Steve asked. She pulled away as she gave him a playful glare but truthfully she was just glad that he was back. Her eyes briefly scanned his face for any visable injuries but she was quite thankful that she hadn't seen any. It appeared that Captain America had once again walked away from a fight without a scratch on him. The super soldier serum seemed to help him there.

"Well, when Maria wouldn't tell me anything during the ongoing battle I did get a little worried." Emma told him before her expression softened. "It kind of sucks sitting up here without any idea as to what's going on. I had no idea if you were hurt… or…" Emma trailed off and Steve just rested his hand upon her shoulder, giving her a kind look.

"I'm fine, Emma. Everyone's fine. I mean… Barton got hit pretty bad but he's going to be okay." Steve told her and Emma nodded.

"I know… Maria told me that part." Emma replied before something else crossed her mind. "She also told me that you got the sceptor."

"Yes, we finally did. At least that's one less thing we have to worry about." Steve said, sounding a bit tired. He was surely exhausted from the battle.

"So Thor will be returning to Asgard with the sceptor?" Emma asked as Steve began to take a seat next to her on the couch.

"In a couple of days I guess. Tony asked him if he could wait until after the party so that he and Bruce could study it." Steve explained and Emma just shook her head.

"I don't why they want to study it." She said. "I know that it's probably for scientific purposes but that sceptor is really more trouble than it's worth. I'd feel a whole lot better if that thing was back on Asgard where it'll be safe from anyone's agenda."

"You and me both." Steve told her. "At least it's over now. There's nothing more to worry about in regards to that sceptor and we can finally focus on capturing Rumlow." Emma uncomfortably shifted in her seat at the mention of Rumlow.

"I wish you'd let me help." Emma said quietly and Steve just shook his head.

"It's not your problem anymore. I'll take care of it… We'll make sure he'll spend the rest of his life in prison for what he did to you and your parents." Emma wanted to say that she didn't want Rumlow to go to prison. She wanted to tell Steve that she wanted to watch Rumlow slowly die as he realized that the very girl he had been training for all those years was the one that was going to end him. Emma wanted to avenge her parents death as well as what Rumlow did to her but she just couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Perhaps she knew that if she told Steve how she really felt that he might take it one step further and hire a shrink or something. Emma had been doing so well with the nightmares. She did have them still from time to time but she didn't wake up every night like she had before. Sam taking her to the VA to talk with Camila had immensely helped her but there was still some things that were more difficult to get over.

"How about that party in a couple of days." Emma suddenly brought up, changing the subject. Emma then gave Steve a smug smirk as something popped inside her mind. "I heard Susan might be there. Apparently Pym Technologies is having some sort of expo in town this week so she might drop by." Emma teased him, causing Steve blush that hilariously bright shade of red.

"I really wish you hadn't told everyone that I'm in love with her." He grumbled and Emma only laughed.

"Come on, Steve, you have to admit that it's funny watching you get all red faced over her." She told him and Steve gave her a playful glare.

"Natasha won't stop giving me shit over it and not to mention Stark keeps giving me the older brother talk." Steve complained. "We only went out for coffee that one time she was in New York and that was over five months ago. She lives in another city for christ's sake." He ranted and Emma just shook her head at him, giving him a disappointed look.

"Wow, Steve, I can't believe you're really using that kind of language around your poor, innocent granddaughter. Have you no shame? You should really listen to your own advice." Emma told him jokingly and Steve gave her a look of disbelief.

"How on Earth have you already heard about that? I've been here for literally five minutes." He said in a flabbergasted tone. Emma just shrugged.

"Word travels fast around here." Emma replied and Steve just rolled his eyes.

"It really does." It was nice that they had been able to slip back into their usual dynamic. Emma only hoped that it would be able to distract her from anymore remaining thoughts she had on the twins or Rumlow. She had a feeling that nothing would truly be over until the twins were in their custody and Rumlow was buried six feet deep in the ground.

* * *

"Miss Rogers, Mr. Stark would like to see you in the lab." Jarvis said and Emma lifted her head up from her sketchbook. She had been sketching all afternoon, feeling incredibly inspired, from inside her walk in closet. The walk in closet was really like another room, very spacious with a window that allowed for extra lighting inside the closet. She used it to store her clothing of course but Emma also used it as a make-shift art studio since the lighting was so wonderful. It was the day after the Avengers returned from their successful mission and Emma was seated in one of the comfortable chairs within the closet, sketching a picture of a meadow. She had seen the meadow once before in a dream when she was a child and the image always stuck with her so she decided to put it to paper. Emma gave the ceiling a confused look as she heard Jarvis's voice. What in the world did Stark want with her? There wasn't a lot of times that she had contact with the older man. Only when they were eating dinner or sitting down for movie night but Emma still found him to be incredibly annoying although her annoyance of him had severely decreased since he had given her the sketchbook but she still thought he was annoying. Emma had actually completed that first sketchbook months ago and Stark had since left her a couple of more sketchbooks to fill up. She had to admit it was incredibly kind and thoughtful of him even though she would never admit that aloud.

"What does he want, Jarvis?" Emma asked.

"Mr. Stark would like to see you in the lab." Jarvis repeated and Emma rolled her eyes. Leave it to Stark to create an AI system that could be just as annoying and senseless as he was. She sighed as she set down her sketchbook and pencils before getting up from her seat.

"Fine. Just tell Stark I'll be down there in a couple of minutes." Emma told the AI system as she began to exit her room.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." Jarvis responded and Emma could only glare at the floor as she started making her way down to the lab.

"This better be good." Emma said under her breath. Emma really hated to be interupted during the time she spent sketching and this was a common fact that most of the others knew about her. They knew how moody Emma could be if she was interupted during her "Arts and Crafts" time as they liked to call it. She had only recently been able to get her grandfather back into the world of art. Sometimes they spent the day sketching people or things in central park and Emma had to admit that her grandfather really never forgot how to draw. He was still exceptionally good at it. Emma could also tell it gave him some happiness or peace of mind as he sketched. It began to become more of a common thing that they did together other than reading books.

"Ah, Mini Cap… You're here." Tony announced as soon as she set foot into the lab. Emma looked around the place in wonder. It wasn't often that Stark permitted anyone other than himself and Bruce to be allowed inside the lab. Apparently it was something that Stark had described as being part of the Science Bros code. Emma faintly remembered that it was then that she legitimately thought there was something deeply wrong with Stark. Emma noticed that there was a lot of advanced looking scientific equipment lying about. It immediately made Emma feel uneasy since she was reminded of Hydra and all the labs even though Hydra's lab equipment was nowhere near this advanced.

"What do you want?" Emma questioned as Tony and Bruce stood side by side. Emma honestly didn't mind Bruce that much even though he was a doctor. She still had a strong disregard for doctors and scientists but she had also managed to develop a soft spot for Bruce. He wasn't like many other scientists or at least the ones she knew. He was kind and thoughtful… Natasha also seemed to trust him a lot and that had to mean something.

"Wow, you really get to the point, don't you? No beating around the bush for you." Stark said. "I like that." Emma crossed her arms as she gave Tony a bored look.

"What is it, Stark?" She deadpanned and Tony only grinned at her.

"Okay, I'll get to the point." He responded before gesturing for her to follow him. Emma glanced at Bruce who only shrugged and she did as Tony requested. As Emma followed Tony to the back of the lab, she couldn't help but notice the sceptor as it sat on top of one of the tables. She bit her lip as she took in the errie blow glow around the base of it. She had never seen the sceptor in person but Emma already knew that it immensely creeped her out. The teenager also noticed all the scientific readings that were displayed on the holographic screen and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What's going on with the sceptor?" Emma pointed out as she saw a diagram of the sceptor and something else flash onto the screen. Tony looked back at her before glancing over at the screen seeming unconcerned by the sceptor while Bruce just looked nervous. Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Bruce. Why was he so nervous?

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some diagnostics we've been running before Thor takes it back after the party tomorrow." Stark explained with a nonchalant look on his face. She analyzed his facial expression to see if she could detect anything out of the ordinary and she even listened to his heart beat but she couldn't find anything strange about any part of him… no more than usual. Bruce, on the other hand, was a different story. The older man appeared to be sweating profusely and his heart was pounding against his chest. It was no wonder how he hadn't started turning green. Emma stared at the both of them for another moment before she decided to drop it. Bruce always acted a bit skittish but that didn't mean that they were up to anything. These were her friends, weren't they? Why would they be up to anything? Why would they keep it from everyone else?

"Good." Emma finally said, deciding to test the small trickle of doubt that entered her mind. Her instincts rarely ever led her astray. "The sooner that thing's out of here the better. The sceptor wasn't meant for humans to be messing around with. It's far beyond our understanding." Emma stated firmly as she locked eyes with the both of them. Bruce looked away from Emma's intense gaze and seemed to be looking anywhere other than Emma's eyes. Tony's eyes slightly twitched as he heard what Emma told him and Emma knew that those two were definitely up to something. She was wrong before… they were hiding something but Emma had no idea what. She was an expert on trying to decipher lies and this situation was no exception. Not even Stark could fool her. Whatever it was that Stark was hiding she was just going to wait until he let everyone know. It was no secret that Stark wasn't capable of keeping his big mouth shut. Tony cleared his throat awkwardly as he held Emma's gaze.

"Right… Well, the real reason we brought you down here today was in regards to your old Hydra suit." Tony said as he led her to another table in the back. Emma was confused at first, although still suspicious of Tony and Banner's odd behavior, until she saw what Stark had meant. Laying out on the table was her old Hydra catsuit that she hadn't seen in a year. If Emma could remember correctly, she was pretty sure that the Avengers had rescued her from the base when she was wearing that suit. "It's quite the suit. Fully equipped with weapon holsters and of course your daily dose of fatal toxic gas."

"The toxic gas was Dr. List's idea." Emma told them as she glanced over the suit with mild interest. Tony nodded.

"Well, obviously we had to get rid of the toxic gas component of the suit which took us a very long time might I add." Tony told her seriously. "Although Bruce and I had determined that the suit is safe now."

"Wait are you giving me the suit back?" Emma asked in surprise. That certainly wasn't what she had been expecting when first walked down into the lab. Tony and Bruce exchanged looks with each other briefly before looking back at her.

"Well… yes and no." Tony answered which confused Emma. "Yes, we're giving you the suit back but I also have another nice surprise for you." Tony told her as he stooped down to pick up a heftly looking metallic suitcase before setting it on the table. Tony quickly typed a code into the side of the case before it popped open revealing something that completely blew Emma's mind. Inside the suitcase was none other than a very similar looking catsuit to the one she had. Only this catsuit appeared to be the new and improved version. Instead of a black color, the suit appeared to be displaying a very dark, forest green color. It was spandex just like the last one but it appeared to be more form fitting as well as having a little utility belt around the waistline. Emma could pick out little devices in the utility suit which she didn't think she was even capable of deciphering what they were at this point. Emma saw an intricate looking, vibrant green device around the wrist of her suit. Tony must've noticed what had captured her attention because he started to explain the intriguing device to her at once.

"That's your Viper Bites as I believe you call them." Emma gave him a confused look at his explaination.

"It's the same toxic gas?" Emma asked, surprised that Tony would put that same toxic gas into another suit. He shrugged.

"Not entirely… The other one was fatal so I thought it might be a good idea to make this one less so. It'll only knock out your enemies." Emma raised an eyebrow at that.

"For how long?"

"Three hours tops." Bruce answered and Emma glanced back at him curiously. She had almost forgotten that he was there. "I uh… I made it." She nodded solemnly and returned her attention back to the suit. Emma also noticed a strange looking green mask that seemed to match the color of her suit. The mask looked similar to one that could be seen at a masquerade ball seeing as it would only probably cover up half of her face.

"Do you like that?" Tony asked excitedly as he saw her become interested in the mask. "Why don't you try it on?" Emma glanced between him and the mask hesitantly before she decided to give into her curiosity and try on the mask. She slipped it over her face and was surprised at how it was easily able to latch it's way onto her face and stay put. Emma had originally thought it was a simple mask before she saw two red lenses flash in front of her eyes. The teenager blinked as something entirely different filled her vision. The vivid color of blue filled her line of sight before she saw two distinct shapes that were colored in bright hues of red, orange, and yellow. She was seeing in thermal heat vision, she soon realized. The two shapes she was seeing were actually Tony and Bruce. It was kind of like how a snake saw things, wasn't it? She knew that snakes caused sense infrared heat but this was amazing.

"This is amazing." Emma said in awe as she looked around the room with new eyes.

"Isn't it?" Tony told her. "You can actually don't even need to switch to night vision because of that. I've also installed enhanced hearing too but I don't think you would really need that. There's a GPS system, information data base, facetiming capabilties…and I even installed you're very own AI system."

"Really?" Emma asked in surprise.

"Hello, Miss Rogers." A very male and American sounding voice said out of seemingly nowhere. The voice actually sounded very Southern to Emma's ears which confused her. Emma looked around the room until she realized that it had been coming from within her mask the whole time.

"Um… hi?" Emma then turned towards where Tony and Bruce were. "Why does the voice sound like Matthew McConaughey?"

"Well, you're a Southern Belle technically, aren't you?" Tony said with an arrogance to his tone. "I thought it was very fitting."

"I am the AI system that Mr. Stark designed for your Viper Mark I suit." Emma nodded even though the AI system probably didn't understand what that meant.

"Right. And what did you say your name was again?" Emma questioned.

"I didn't. Mr. Stark hasn't given me a name yet but you're more than welcome to name me yourself." The AI system told her. Emma was a bit taken back by that but was kind of delighted that she was going to someone… or something. It was almost like having a pet or something. A pet that was a highly advanced computer.

"Okay, let me think for a second." Emma told the AI system as she began thinking up names. What could she name him? A part of her wanted to name the AI system after her father but something told Emma that her father wouldn't appreciate having a robot named after him. No, she would have to think of something else. It took Emma a moment as her mind combed through different names. First book characters then musicians and even movie characters until one name stood out against the rest. It was pretty obvious to her from the beginning as to what she would name the AI system and this name really was perfect for him seeing as just who he sounded like. Emma smiled because she knew that she had found the perfect name for the AI system. "I think I got it. How about McConaughey? As in Matthew McConaughey." Emma told the AI system excitedly. Since the Avengers started having movie nights Emma had become immensely familiar with different films and even some involving the famous Texan actor that she liked for some weird reason. Natasha told her that she had a crush on him but Emma didn't want to admit that. A favorite film that Emma liked of Matthew McConaughey was the film _In_ _terstellar_. So really McConaughey was the perfect name for the AI system that sounded alarmingly like the famous actor.

"McConaughey it is then, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her.

"Did you copy Matthew McConaughey's voice for this AI system, Stark?" Emma demanded to know and she could practically feel the smirk on Tony's face as he looked at her.

"I may have taken it from a selection of movies. I know how much you love the guy." Emma glared at him from behind the mask.

"Love is for children." Emma grumbled, copying the famous phrase that Natasha coined.

"Would you like me to play the track 'Ziggy Stardust' off of David Bowie's 1972 album 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'?" McConaughey asked suddenly, causing Emma to look away from Tony. "I noticed that it's one of your most played songs on iTunes. I am fully able to sync this device to your iTunes library." Emma was in a bit of awe from what McConaughey just told her.

"Really? You can?" Emma asked.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey confirmed.

"Then do it." Emma told him and it didn't take long before the song 'Ziggy Stardust' began blasting through the room. Emma decided that she really loved this new and improved version of her suit. She then took off the mask and looked at Tony and Bruce in amazement. Tony looked quite pleased with himself at Emma's reaction while Bruce just looked a little shy.

"I take it all back. _This_ is amazing." She told them before something dawned on her as 'Ziggy Stardust' continued to be played in background. There was no way Steve would let her have this suit let alone for her to ever have to use it. Her smile faded as she thought more along the lines of what Steve would say if he knew that Tony had made this suit for her. "Steve will never let me have this suit let alone use it." She told them but Tony didn't look bothered by Emma's statement.

"I'll have a talk with Cap." Tony told her, not seeming worried in the least bit. "He's just being an overprotective old man. He's bound to let you get back into the field eventually. Once we capture Rumlow, he'll probably be a lot more laid back."

"Still… I don't really ever see him letting me get back into the action." Emma said.

"Let me handle that, Mini Cap. Maybe I'll even bribe him with Susan." He added with a huge smirk on his face. Emma just shook her head and rolled her eyes at him.

"What? You're just going to pawn Susan off on him? I'm sure she'd be absolutely thrilled to hear that." Emma said sarcastically but Tony didn't look fazed.

"Something tells me that she'd be more than thrilled about that." Tony said suggestively as he waggled his eyebrows. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust before stepping away from him. She set the mask back in the suitcase.

"I'm leaving now… you're absolutely disgusting. I don't know how Bruce puts up with you." Emma told him much to Tony's amusement.

"I sometimes wonder about that myself." Bruce responded.

"Wait! Don't forget to take your lame Hydra costume, Mini Cap. We don't want that thing in here decreasing the awesomeness of our lab." Tony told her as he threw the old suit at her. Emma caught it easily but didn't cease giving Tony a dirty look. She started walking away from the both of them but paused to glance over her shoulder to see that both Tony and Bruce had resumed doing whatever they had been doing before she walked into the lab. She narrowed her eyes at the both of them. Yup, they were definitely up to something.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Author's Note: So two updates in one day! Yay! This chapter took me forever to write but I'm glad that it's over. Two more chapters of Age of Ultron! I just wanted to say that Emma's AI system sounding like Matthew McConaughey was a spur of the moment thing. I know I didn't want her to have another female disembodied voice like Friday or Karen but I also didn't want a British voice like Jarvis so I went for the southern accent which is cool because I'm originally from Texas. McConaughey's pretty awesome so it seemed fitting if Emma's AI system sounded exactly like him.**

 **Thanks to all my followers and reviewers. I'm going to try and update again tomorrow maybe once or twice so keep it up with the reviews!**

* * *

Emma looked around the main floor of tower awkwardly as some upbeat sounding music played in the background. The main floor of the tower seemed much different that night than it had in the past. It was filled with not just superheroes but other party goers as well. Emma imagined that the other people were probably friends of Stark as well as scientists from around the world. Emma didn't really like the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of scientists but she took comfort in the fact that they most likely didn't have any idea as to who she was. The only other kind of people at the party were WWII veterans that Tony decided to throw the party in honor of. Stark also thought that Steve might feel more comfortable with the veterans seeing as how they were all the same age.

Natasha had taken to dressing Emma up in an actual dress for the first time. Emma didn't think that she had ever worn a dress before. Maybe back when her parents were alive but that was so long ago. It was a nice dress, Emma supposed. It was a pale blue that went nicely with her eyes although the color of the dress reminded her more of her father's eyes. The dress had a couple of two finger straps that held it up and also had a very modest neckline not that she would've been showing any cleavage. She was fourteen and practically without any existing cleavage to show off. The dress flared out at her waistline and the end of it went just below her knee. The dress was paired off with a pair of matching flats. The only thing that Emma thought looked different about her was her hair which Natasha had slightly curled. Her now blonde curls framed her face. The red headed former spy also had added a bit of mascara to Emma's eyelashes and Emma didn't think that Steve would've like much more make-up than that.

Emma sort of felt pretty for the first time but she also felt out of place. Everyone at the party happened to be much older than Emma was and most of them didn't hesitate in reminding her of that. Emma sulked as she sat perched on the edge of the pool table while Steve and Sam played a round of the game. She had seen way more than what most of these people even saw in their worst nightmares yet they still talked down to her like a child. One woman even told Steve how adorable she was. Emma would've loved to show her _adorable_ she truly was.

"Are you up to play a round, Emma?" Sam asked her, breaking her out of her train of thought. Emma glanced at Steve and him who were watching her curiously, probably wondering what going through her mind. They really didn't want to know. Emma laughed before shaking her head.

"No, I don't think so. I don't really play games." Sam raised a brow.

"Come on, kid, just let loose a little. Have some fun." Sam told her. Emma just smirked before drinking the rest of her Shirley Temple, a drink that Stark had ordered for her because he thought he was being funny.

"Fun's overated." Emma told the both of them before she hopped down from the table. "I'm going to see what the other's are up to."

"Be careful." Steve told her, causing Sam to snicker and Emma to roll her eyes.

"I'm always careful. It's not like I'm exactly breakable." Steve just smirked before shaking his head at her.

"I meant be careful with the others… wouldn't want any of them to get hurt." Steve said jokingly causing both her and Sam to laugh as she began walking away.

"I'll try, Steve." She said and made her way up the small flight of stairs were all the others were hanging out. She made her way through the crowds of people who watched her curiously as she went by. They were probably wondering what a girl her age was doing at a party thrown by Stark. She noticed Clint chatting with Cho in one corner while Natasha sat on the couch talking with some people that Emma didn't recognize. Emma was pretty sure that this was just Natasha putting on her charming and friendly façade. Tony, Thor, Maria, and Rhodey stood near the bar having a conversation that Emma really didn't want to impose on. The only Avenger she saw by themselves was Bruce who awkwardly walked around the party, not looking very happy to be there. She knew exactly how he felt. Emma was just starting to think that she probably should've stayed behind with Steve and Sam when she saw a familiar face.

None other than Susan Winters herself was standing at the opposite side of the room also looking a bit awkward. Emma hadn't seen Susan since Susan visited the tower a few months before but she kind of liked the woman. Emma didn't completely trust her but she didn't trust most people. She just thought that the woman might be good for Steve and she could tell that Steve really liked her. Susan was nice enough. Emma, however, knew that her grandfather wouldn't be able to avoid Susan at all tonight. Susan was wearing a form fitting red dress that had a sweetheart neckline and ended just above her knees. The dress was paired off with a pair of matching red pumps and her hair looked more straight than usual. Emma could only guess that it probably wasn't the party that she had dressed up for. The blonde teenager smirked and quickly made her way over to Susan.

"It's nice seeing a friendly face here." Emma told her once she reached the dark haired woman. Susan jumped in surprise as she glanced over at Emma who gave her an innocent look.

"You really scared me." Susan told her, resting her hand against her heart but Emma just shrugged.

"You shouldn't be so jumpy." Emma replied before moving the conversation into a different direction. "So I see that you actually showed up."

"Yes, I did. Pym Technologies was surprisingly cool with me taking off the night to go party with Tony Stark." Susan told her.

"That does seem kind of odd." Emma commented and Susan shrugged.

"That's what happens when you're best friends with one of the board members of the company I guess." Susan replied. This was why Emma really liked Susan so far. The dark haired woman didn't really talk down to Emma like she was a child. She just talked to her like she was a normal person. "Have you seen Peggy lately?" Susan politely asked, trying to make small talk.

"Yes, we saw her last month. She seems to be doing alright from what I can tell… she didn't remember me from the time before though." Emma said sadly but Susan just gave her a comforting look.

"I know… sometimes she doesn't remember me at all." Susan confessed. "I'm going to try and visit her in a couple of days before I head back to San Francisco." She finally said and there seemed to be a sadness in the air as they talked about Peggy. Emma had gone to visit her grandmother several times in the past year. They visited the elderly woman for almost every holiday, even spending Christmas eve with her grandmother. Peggy's health only seemed to be on a decline. Emma decided that it was best not to keeping talking about the matter and especially not at a party of all places.

"You seem dressed up tonight." Emma said, changing the subject. She watched a vivid blush come over Susan's pale skin.

"Well, it's a party Tony threw. I didn't think that I could come dressed up in jeans and a sweatshirt." Susan paused as she looked at Emma. "You look really nice too by the way. Have you grown since I last saw you?" Susan asked politely as she tried steering the conversation into a completely different direction. Emma wasn't about to let it go.

"Yes, I've grown a couple of inches I guess you could say. I'm 5'7 now." Emma told her before bringing the conversation back to the topic she was slowly drifting towards. "No, I think you dressed this nicely for a completely different reason."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Susan said stubbornly and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I know that you like Steve." Emma told her knowingly and the woman gave her a wide eyed look. "And I know that he likes you too. I don't really understand too much about romantic relationships but I think the most sensible thing to do in this sort of situation is to go and talk to him." Susan's face almost matched the red color of her dress at this point.

"Oh, I don't know. He looks very busy over there." Susan responded as she watched Steve playing pool with Sam.

"Why don't you play pool with him? I'm sure he'd love that." Emma suggested and Susan furiously shook her head.

"No, I couldn't… I don't know how." Emma raised a brow at her.

"I don't think he would mind teaching you." Emma told her and then wrapped her hand around Susan's wrist before leading her away from the crowded area of the room. She practically dragged Susan along and even if Susan wanted to escape Emma's grip she couldn't. The young blonde was impossibly strong. It didn't take long before the pair reached the pool table and Emma watched the smirk that made it's way onto Sam's face as he glanced at the pretty dark haired woman. Steve, however, looked up at Susan in pure shock, a red blush coming over his face.

"Susan?" Steve said in surprise and Susan smiled awkwardly.

"Hi, Steve." Susan responded. They both stared at each other intensely as Emma smirked and Sam struggled not to snicker at the pair. Emma cleared her throat, grabbing both of their attention. She was amused to see that they were both as equally as red as the other.

"Susan, doesn't know how to play pool, Steve. I thought that you might like to show her." Emma suggested and Steve looked unsure.

"Oh… I don't know. I mean I would love to, of course, but Sam and I were in the middle of a game." He explained more to Susan than he did to Emma.

"Nah, that's alright, man. Emma and I were going to go see what the others are up to anyways." Sam told him as he grinned back at Emma. "Don't worry about it." Sam glanced at Susan with a smug look on his face before he and Emma departed. "Oh, and Susan?"

"Yeah, Sam?" She replied, a little confused as to what Sam wanted to tell her. She wasn't so sure if it was anything good seeing as he looked very smug.

"I'd be careful about using any swear words around this guy. Steve doesn't tolerate bad language." Sam told her as he stiffled his laughter. Emma was practically shaking with laughter at Sam's remark but Susan just looked confused. Steve glared at both Emma and Sam.

"Seriously? Does everyone know about that?" He asked, completely at a lost as to why everyone was suddenly picking on him. Emma and Sam just walked away, laughing at the red faced Captain while Susan gave Steve a confused look.

"What was he talking about, Steve?"

* * *

"But it's a trick." Clint whined as they all sat on the couches in the living room. The party had since ended and the Avengers were all having their own little after party after everyone else had left. The only person missing was Sam who claimed that he had to head home. Susan had managed to stay after Tony talked her into hanging around for one last drink. Emma sat on one of the couches in between Thor and Steve whilst Susan sat on the other side of Steve. Emma was currently sipping on Dr. Pepper this time and she was sure that the sugar was going to keep her up for a while longer. Apparently everyone was having a debate with Thor over how only he was able to pick up his hammer. Emma could really care less whether or not she could pick up a mystical hammer. Either way, it didn't make a difference to her. She had everything she needed to win in a fight and a hammer was certainly not one of them.

"No, no it's much more than that." Thor replied, sounding awfully cocky.

"Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power." Clint mocked and Emma laughed at his tone of voice. "Whatever, man! It's a trick!" Thor laughed at him before gesturing to his precious hammer. Emma could almost roll her eyes at the testosterone of these men. It's like they needed to compete over everything.

"Please, be my guest." He motioned for Clint to have a go at the hammer which was perched on the glass coffee table in front of them.

"Come on." Clint said, not believing that everyone really wanted to see him pick up the hammer. It became obvious that everyone did, in fact, want to see that happen. This was going to be so entertaining, Emma thought to herself as she casually sipped on her drink. "Really?"

"Yeah." Tony said, egging him on. Clint gave them all a smug look as he got up from the floor, making his way to the table. Emma and Steve exchanged amused looks before returning their attention to Clint who swaggered over to the hammer.

"Oh, this is going to be beautiful." Rhodey said.

"Clint, you've had a tough week." Stark added, putting in his input as usual. "We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Everyone laughed at Stark's joke but Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Just give it your best try, Clint." Emma told him solemnly. "Even if you can't pick up the hammer it's still more than what Stark could do." Everyone oohed at Emma's comment but Tony just stuck his tongue out at her. Very mature, Emma thought to herself. And I'm supposedly the fourteen year old?

"Don't worry, Mini Cap, when I pick up that hammer. I'll find a place for you in one of the sweat shops in Asgard with all the other freakishly strong children." Tony told her in a snarky tone and Emma just shook her head at him, deciding to ignore that stupid comment.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint told Thor as he gave the God of Thunder a look of disbelief. Thor just nodded with a small smirk on his face before Clint reached forward and grabbed the hammer. He tried with all his might to get the hammer to budge but nothing seemed to be working. It was all a little bit sad to watch actually. Clint finally gave up when he saw that it just wasn't possible to move the hammer.

"I still don't know how you do it!" Clint exclaimed, laughing as he let go of the hammer.

"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony quipped smugly as he smirked at Clint.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint retorted, gesturing to the hammer that wasn't about to go anywhere anytime soon. Tony then proceeded to get up from his seat next to Rhodey with an even more smug look on his face. Emma actually didn't think it was possible for anyone to look that arrogant but apparently Stark proved her wrong. He cleared his throat as he swaggered over to the hammer much like Clint. What was up with that? Emma wondered.

"Okay." Maria said as she shook her head at Tony. This was going to be really hilarious, Emma told herself. Tony was totally going to get his ego immensely deflated tonight.

"Uh-oh." Rhodey commented as he saw the look of determination in his best friend's eyes.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Tony told them all as he approached the hammer.

"Get after it." Clint told him, already knowing that Tony wasn't going to have much more luck with the hammer than he had.

"It's physics." Tony explained, obviously believing that there was actually logic to a magical hammer. Tony put his hand on the handle but before he made a move to lift it, he glanced back at Thor. "Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course." Thor said, deciding to humor Tony.

"I will be reinstituting prima nocta." Tony stated in a serious tone.

"May all the Gods and Goddesses have mercy on Asgard." Emma quipped and Tony glared at her while all the others laughed. He pointed at her.

"It's stable girl now, Mini Cap. That's your new job in Asgard." He retorted and Emma rolled her eyes at him as he then began to try and lift the hammer. He grunted as he began to put his back into it. Emma couldn't help herself as the joke popped into her head.

"Careful, Stark. Don't throw your back out." Emma told him jokingly, causing an array of laughter to be heard from within the room.

"Chamber pot cleaner, Mini Cap." He wheezed as he struggled to lift the hammer. Emma only laughed and went back to sipping on her drink. Tony finally gave up and Emma thought he was done for good as he stepped away from the hammer.

"I'll be right back." Tony told them before he walked away. Emma should've known. Of course Tony wouldn't stop at that. He wasn't going to give up until he embarrassed him so much that no one would ever forget it. Tony came back a few minutes later with his Iron Man arm and Emma almost spat out her soda at the sight. Was he really going that far? It was clear that there was never a dull moment that went by in this tower. Not when there was as many idiots as there were living there. Even with the Iron Man arm, Tony still struggled to lift the hammer and this was quickly becoming more pathetic than it was hilarious.

"Rhodey! I need help!" Tony called out to his friend and much to Emma's surprise the Colonel left the room to go retrieve his War Machine arm. Emma thought that the straight laced James Rhodes was above party games but apparently not as he soon returned with his arm. She watched with raised eyebrows as both Tony and Rhodey attempted to lift the hammer. This was a truly sad sight for sore eyes.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey questioned as he struggled to breathe. Tony just glared at him in response.

"Are you on my team?" Tony retorted.

"Just represent… pull." Rhodey quickly said.

"Alright, let's go." Tony confirmed as they both went back to pulling the hammer off the table with all the strength they could muster. Eventually the two called it off, finally giving up before they could become even more humiliated than they already were. It didn't take Tony long to bounce back as he started to encourage Bruce to give the hammer a shot. Emma and pretty much everyone else was surprised to see Bruce becoming agreeable and actually wanting to participate. The tempermental scientist stood up on the table and began to try and lift the hammer with all his strength. Bruce jokingly began yelling and acting like he was about to transform into the Hulk in an attempt to scare them. He was, however, surprised to find that no one seemed frightened of him at all. Everyone, including Emma, was smiling at him like he was adorable for trying. After spending so little of time with Bruce even she could tell that the guy was like big pile of marshmellows.

"Go ahead, Steve. No pressure." Tony told him, encouraging Emma's grandfather to try and give the hammer a try. Steve sighed before taking a big swig of his beer although Emma didn't know why. It wasn't like he could actually get drunk from it. The super soldier got up from the couch and made his way over to the hammer.

"Yeah, Steve, there's no pressure. It's not like it's remotely possible that you'll embarrass yourself as much as Tony did." Emma told her grandfather helpfully, causing Tony to send her another glare. They all watched as Steve began to roll up his sleeves as he placed his hands upon the handle of the hammer.

"Come on, Cap." Clint cheered him on. As Steve began to try and lift the hammer. Emma watched Thor's face in amusement as his smile faded at the sound of the hammer creaking from Steve's attempt at lifting it. Emma thought that her grandfather might've been able to lift it for a moment there and it would make sense if he did. If anyone was worthy then it had to be him, right? Her thoughts on the matter were dismissed a moment later when Steve realized that he couldn't life the hammer and gave up.

"Nothing." Thor said as he laughed to himself, sipping on his glass of beer. Steve only smiled as he returned to his seat in between Emma and Susan. It was then that everyone glanced at Natasha who raised her eyebrows at them.

"And Black Widow?" Bruce encouraged but Natasha didn't seem like she up for taking part in their game.

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered." She told them as she took a long sip from her beer bottle. Everyone's attention then turned to Emma and she was suddenly aware of their staring.

"Viper? You feeling up to the challenge at the big kids table?" Clint teased and Emma just rolled her eyes at him before looking around at everyone. She had to admit this was the most fun she had in a while so why not participate in their stupid little game? What harm could it cause? Emma then set her soda bottle down on the glass coffee table and proceeded to get up from her seat much to everyone's surprise. It wasn't often that Emma actually particpated in anything that the group did. She even rarely contributed to any conversation at dinner but something was different about tonight.

"Why not?" Emma said she stalked towards the hammer on the table. "It's all in good fun, right?"

"Woah, go Emma!" Rhodey cheered as she stepped up onto the table so that she would have a better angle. Thor watched her curiously with a smile on his face and she glanced back at him.

"Even if I lift this hammer, Thor, this changes nothing. Unlike Tony I'm not going to declare myself dictator of Asgard. I'll still let you rule." Emma told him in a serious tone but everyone knew that she was joking. "I would like to visit every now and then though. The Rainbow Bridge sounds beautiful and I would love to sketch it. I'd also like to meet Sif … she sounds cool."

"Lady Emma, if you can lift Mjolnir you may visit Asgard anytime you wish." Thor told her solemnly and she nodded before placing her hands on the handle of the hammer. She then proceeded to try and lift it. Emma soon saw what everyone else was talking about as she struggled to lift the hammer. It was like dead weight… dead weight that was so impossibly heavy that not even someone who could lift cars or airplanes, like Emma, could lift it. She grunted as she continued to try and lift it before she decided that there was really no point and she stopped. Emma sighed as stepped off the table and Thor gave her an amused look.

"It looks like I won't be sketching that Rainbow Bridge anytime soon." Emma told him and he just shrugged as he threw back some more of his beer. Everyone clapped politely for her as she shrugged at them. "Let's be honest… if any one of us was worthy enough for the hammer it certainly wasn't going to be me." She joked darkly. Most of everyone laughed at her joke, not taking her seriously except for Steve who frowned. He didn't like it when Emma joked about what had happened to her. He thought that it might've been her way of coping but it always reminded him of how he wasn't there for her like he should've been. Steve didn't say anything as he took another sip of his beer and Emma sat back down next to him.

"All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged." Tony finally said, pouting a bit as he drank his beer. Emma scoffed.

"That's what someone says when something doesn't go their way." She retorted.

"No, that's what someone says when something's rigged." Tony pressed and Emma shook her head at Tony's silliness. That man was just so damn proud.

"You bet your ass." Clint added and Maria smirked as she pointed at Clint.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." She said, pretending to be like a tattle telling little girl. Emma laughed at the tired expression on Steve's face while Susan just patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" He questioned but Tony ignored him as he steered the conversation back to the hammer.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor. "Like a security code? Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints is what I think is the literal translation." Thor began to get up from the couch, standing up. He looked even more smug than Tony had looked earlier, Emma noticed.

"Yes, it's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." He told them as he then easily picked up the hammer with no effort. He tossed the hammer up in the air before catching it again, smirking at all of them."You're all not worthy." Everyone groaned at the cheesy line, not wanting buy into Thor's magic hammer theory. Emma just laughed at everyone as they gave Thor looks of disbelief. She wasn't one to completely dismiss the idea of a magical hammer. Emma had seen a lot in her lifetime and there had even been aliens in New York and Space Elves in London at one point in time so why couldn't Thor have this hammer that could only be magically lifted by him? It didn't sound nearly as crazy as the other stuff.

The laughter and happiness in the room then faded as a high pitched ringing noise entered the space. Emma winced in pain as her enhanced hearing picked up on the noise. She covered her ears to try and muffle it but there was really no point. Steve gave her a concerned look but she just shook her head at him. Tony looked around the room in confusion, trying to see where the noise had possibly come from.

"What was that?" Susan questioned but no one really had an answer for her as they tried to see where the noise was coming from. Emma was already alert and standing at attention, her enhanced survival instincts kicking in as she surveyed the room for possible exits in case something happened. Some called it being paranoid but it was just Emma being cautious. Tony looked at his Stark phone and tried to see what was going on.

"Worthy." Emma heard something say. It sounded weird… distorted as the voice echoed off the walls. It was then that a flash of gray captured Emma's eyes as she turned to look at the front of the room where a mangled looking robot stood. She recognized it as a severely damaged version of one of Stark's creations.

"No." It said as it turned around to look at them. The way it hobbled around gave Emma an errie feeling. There was something that was very creepy about that thing. The hairs on the back of Emma's neck stood up and her enhanced instincts were telling her that there was something very wrong. "How could you be worthy? You're all killers." It told them and Emma's eyes widened as it seemed to look straight at her… it was almost like the robot seemed familiar with her. Emma didn't like that one bit.

"Stark." Steve said as he glared at the robot that seemingly had it's attention on his granddaughter. Steve's patience was beginning to wear very thin and at a very fast pace.

"Jarvis." Tony called out but there was no answer. The robot then began to speak again and Emma clenched her fists from where she stood next to Steve. This robot was setting her on edge and Emma hated feeling like that. She hadn't felt this on edge since the Avengers rescued her from the Hydra base a year ago.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep… or I was a dream." The robot continued to say.

"Reboot Legionaire OS. We got a buggy suit." Tony commanded but there was still no answer from Jarvis.

"There was this terrible noise." It said, ignoring Tony, and Emma watched as it looked down and raised it's arm over it's face. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. This sounded an awful like a dramatic, cheesy monologue from a play. Why on earth would a robot sound like it was delivering a monologue for an audience? It was artificial inteliigence, wasn't it? What would be the point? Emma started to think that the voice sounded very familiar to Emma. The way it talked… the dramatics. Her heart began to beat more rapidly against her chest as the uneasiness didn't go away. "And I was tangled in…in… strings." It said as it gestured to the loose wiring and cords hanging out of it's body.

"I had to kill the other guy." It told them, looking back up at all of them. "He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Wouldn't have been my first call." The robot replied. "But, down in the real world, we're face with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor demanded and robot then began to play back a message.

"I see a suit of armor around the world." It was Tony. Emma shifted her gaze over to Tony who looked immensely surprised at this new development. Emma gave him a cold look. Now she knew what he and Bruce had been up to in that lab. They were making some kind of advanced artifical intelligence system. Emma, however, didn't get the feeling that this one was going to be anything like Jarvis or McConaughey. This one seemed malicious which Emma could already tell after only being in it's presence for a few minutes.

"Ultron." Bruce confirmed as he looked back at Tony. Emma raised her brow at that as she returned her attention back to the robot. So they gave it a name already? How nice.

"In the flesh." Ultron responded. "Or… no… not yet. Not this Chrysalis. But I'm ready." Ultron continued to say and everyone began to start getting even more uneasy then before. Thor's grip tightened around his hammer while Maria unlocked the safety on her gun. Emma glanced at the gun jealously. It had been a while since she had last handled a gun. Steve hadn't allowed her to be anywhere near one since she first arrived at the tower for fear of her safety. Emma wished she had one in her hands right about now. She sure would feel a lot safer if she did.

"I'm on a mission." Ultron stated and that piqued Emma's interest. The word "Mission" was something that she knew all too well.

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace of our time." Ultron answered before a bunch of the other Iron Legionaires crashed through the wall and flew into their general direction. Emma thought she heard Susan shriek in surprise in back of her as Steve pushed the both of them behind him and flipped the coffee table onto it's side as a sort of make-shift shield. One of the Iron Legionaires kicked the table sending all of them flying back and landing onto the floor. Emma immediately lifted her head back up, her eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. She was in survival mode. Something that she hadn't been in since she been brought to the tower. It was a welcomed feeling as one of the Iron Legionaires began making it's way towards her. Steve and Susan had landed on a higher level of the living room so Emma was left to her own devices. She grabbed a bottle of champagne that had rolled onto the floor and waited for the Iron Legionaire to approach her. It reached it's hand out to grab her and Emma quickly smashed the glass over it's head before it could even counter the attack. The champagne leaked over it's electronic parts and began to fry from the impact. Emma wrapped her hands around it's neck and ripped the head off with no effort at all.

Another Iron Legionaire must have seen her as it started blasting it's repulsor beam at her. Emma glared at it as she dodged every one of it's shots. The faulty robot then began to fly over to her direction and Emma threw the head, that was still in her hands, as hard as she could at the robot. She watched as the head went right through the robot's chest, causing the Iron Legionaire to fall mid flight and crash onto the floor in pieces. Emma turned her head and noticed that the others were having severe problems with the other Iron Legionaires so with a little effort she propelled herself into the air and began to fly after one of the robots. There was one that had seemingly set it's sights onto Clint and Emma sped up, landing on the Iron Legionaire's back. It tried to throw her off but her grip was too strong. Emma grunted as she began to dig her fingers through it's chest. She already felt the metal cutting into her flesh but she ignored the pain, it would likely heal later on anyways. With all the strength that Emma could muster, she then started to rip the Iron Legionaire in half. The wires began to spark from the impact until the robot fell completely apart mid flight. She watched as it crumbled into nothingness as it crashed onto the floor. Emma then continued to fly around, looking to help the others out as they struggled in their battle against the compromised Iron Legionaires.

Emma spotted another one hovering over a terrified looking Susan. She narrowed her eyes before grabbing a pierce of loose metal railing from the second floor. Emma propelled herself down from the air, holding the shard of metal tightly within her grasp. She sped up and stabbed the malicious robot as it was about to attack Susan. The shard of metal went right through the Iron Legionaire as it began to talk in a distorted tone. Emma threw the robot away from Susan and only glanced momentarily as it hit a wall, falling to pieces as the remaining parts clattered against the floor. Emma offered a hand to a grateful and surprised looking Susan. She lifted the dark haired woman back up with no effort at all.

"Thanks." Susan whispered.

"Don't mention it." Emma replied before they watched Thor hit the last remaining Iron Legionaire with his hammer. It went flying across the room before Steve severed it in half with his Shield, causing the robot to go crashing to the floor.

"That was dramatic." Ultron commented as he walked back to the front of the room. Really… it was like it was a stage to him. Emma looked around the room, noticing the way that the place was now completely trashed. Great… that was just great. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through." Ultron told them.

"You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change." He continued to say as they all watched. "How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve? With these… these puppets." Ultron then grasped one of the Iron Legionaire's in his hand before crushing the head and carelessly tossing it to the side.

"There's only one path to peace." Ultron said, his tone definite. "The Avengers' extinction." He stated in a tone that chilled Emma right to the bone. That really was saying something since there really wasn't that much that fazed her. Thor angrily threw his hammer at Ultron, causing the robot to be ripped to pieces as he hit the wall.

"I have strings… but now I'm free." Ultron creepily murmured in a distorted voice before his light went out. Emma stared at the robotic figure in horror, wondering where she heard that line before. It sounded so familiar to her. Emma and the others all exchanged looks with each other as they internally debated about what this could all mean. It didn't take them long before everyone looked at Tony at the same exact time. Emma had definitely been right. He had absolutely been up to something but it was a lot worse than she thought. Stupid Stark.

* * *

"All our work is gone." Bruce said as he looked around inside the lab. They had all continued their discussion of the matter inside the lab since the main floor of the tower was entirely wrecked. Everyone was mostly silent as they thought about what to do next. This was a situation like no other. Emma was already thinking up strategies as to what she could do if Ultron returned… how she could apprehend him. There was one thing that was for sure in Emma's mind. She was going to get a gun and she didn't care what Steve had to say about that.

"Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce continued to explain to the others as Tony silently stood in one corner of the room, analyzing one of the mangled bodies of the Iron Legionaires.

"Ultron." Steve repeated in disbelief as he gave Tony a cold look.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance." Natasha stated as she crossed her arms. "Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Emma swallowed as she took in that piece of information. She carefully and silently looked around the room, not liking the idea that Ultron could know so much about her. This wasn't a welcomed notion and Emma could tell that Natasha felt uncomfortable as well.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet." Rhodey said, a worried expression on his face as he crossed the room. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes." Maria said aloud as she picked out shards of glass from her feet.

"He could shut down the power grid with little to no effort at all." Emma added, her voice sounding quite haunting. "If he did that the country wouldn't be able to get power back for at least a year. We'd be in the dark." Everyone seemed more alarmed at what Emma had just said rather than the fact that it had come out of the mouth of a fourteen year old. It seemed like dangerous situations made people forget about pesky age gaps.

"Nuclear codes. The power grid." Rhodey confirmed, indicating that Maria and Emma were correct. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"Nukes?" Natasha questioned. "He said he wanted us dead."

"He didn't say "dead". He said "extinct." Steve responded as his mind combed over their previous encounter with Ultron.

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint reminded them.

"There wasn't anybody else in the building." Maria replied. Maria was right about that, Emma thought to herself. Everyone had cleared out from the party and all the people that were left just included the Avengers and their companions. Tony then began to walk towards the center of the room, pointing his phone towards the middle. Emma was alarmed at how quiet he had been throughout this whole thing but she kind of understood why.

"Yes, there was." Tony said quietly and flash of a yellowish orange color appeared before them. It was holographic yet it appeared as though the image itself had been torn apart. It occurred to Emma in that moment that it was Jarvis that they were looking at. She stiffened as she looked at what was remaining of the AI system that had helped her settle into the tower for the past year. Emma tried not to feel emotional over the image since it wasn't like Jarvis was real but she couldn't help herself. She plastered a calm and emotionless expression on her face but Emma felt saddened by the sight deep down. Bruce walked towards the remnants of Jarvis, looking to be completely shocked at the sight.

"What?" He questioned as he stared a broken Jarvis. "This is insane."

"Jarvis was the first line of defense." Steve said, looking down at the floor but switching into his battle strategy mode. "He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

"No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy… this is rage." Bruce told them, looking more befuddled than Emma had ever seen him as before. The look on his face was enough to make her feel even more uneasy about this whole thing. They were interupted in their discussion as a furious looking Thor came marching into the lab. He grabbed Tony by the throat and lifted him up into the air like Tony didn't weigh anything at all. Steve immediately protested the action while the others watched on in shock. Emma just glanced at the interaction in boredom. Because this was going to solve so much...

"Put him down!" Susan protested as she watched someone who was like an older brother to her struggle underneath Thor's grasp. It had to be scary for her, Emma noted, Thor really was massive.

"Come on, use your words, buddy." Tony wheezed as he struggled to breathe under Thor's grip.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor sneered before dropping Tony onto the floor when Steve approached. Tony coughed as he tried to catch his breath and Emma looked at him in disgust. This entire thing was his fault.

"Thor." Steve commanded. "The Legionaire."

"Trail went cold about one hundred miles out, but it's headed north." Thor told them before he glared at Tony. "And it has the sceptor." Emma closed her eyes as she heard that bit of news. She was pretty sure everyone in the room right now wasn't Tony's biggest fan. How could Stark screw something up so badly in so little of time? She would never know. "Now we have to retrieve it, again."

"Genie's out of that bottle." Natasha told Thor. "Clear and present is Ultron."

"I don't understand." Helen Cho said as both she and Susan were glancing at one of the mangled Iron Legionaires. "You built this program." Cho continued as she continued to look at the broken robot but Susan turned around to look at Tony. She had only reunited with him a few months ago after spending so much time away. Truthfully she had decided to part ways with him before because he had been so self destructive back then. It hurt her to see someone, she had looked up to so much as a child, willingly hurting themselves like that. Drinking a ton of booze… partying… sleeping with random women. When Susan had reunited with him she was more than happy to see a changed Tony. Someone who actually gave a damn about something but building an evil robot didn't seem like something he would do. Tony looked away from her, trying to avoid Susan's disappointed gaze.

"Yeah, if you created this program then why is it trying to kill us?" Susan questioned. Tony then suddenly started giggling. Emma narrowed her eyes at him as Bruce shook his head at Tony, trying to warn him.

"You think this is funny?" Thor asked.

"No?" Tony said as he turned back around. "It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so… is it so… it is. It's so terrible."

"I told you so." Emma said quietly but fiercely as her eyes rested on Tony. Tony looked up at her in surpise as the blonde teenager addressed him directly. "When I walked into this lab yesterday I told the both of you that the sceptor is not something to mess with." She said more angrily as she glared at both Tony and Bruce. The duo never thought they would see the day that they would be frightened of a fourteen year old girl. If looks could kill they'd both be dead and buried six feet under. "I told you that is was beyond human understanding but did you listen? No. Because why would you? I'm only a fourteen year old girl. What would I know? You two obviously know way more than I do." Her tone was now sarcastic as she gestured wildly around them.

"Wait…" Rhodey questioned as everyone stared at her. "You knew what they were doing?" Emma shook her head.

"I didn't know that they were creating the Terminator down there but I knew they were messing around with the sceptor." She returned her heated gaze to Tony and Bruce who looked even more surprised than before. "Oh, don't give me that look. Did you honestly think that I didn't know that you were up to something? Stark, you were all twitchy and Banner… you got all sweaty and skittish." She sneered before continuing. "You two are both terrible liars by the way. Never become spies… you'd fail quite miserably."

"And you'd know an awful lot about that wouldn't you, Rogers?" Stark questioned. Emma was a bit taken back at how he didn't call her "Mini Cap" for once but she didn't let her surprise show as she held his gaze steadily. "Lying… I mean. You're the master of it after all. I think you even have Romanoff beat."

"That's right." Emma said without even missing a beat. "It's all thanks to your daddy too. The serum he helped create for my grandfather and the serum he created that they injected me with… it's really done wonders for me and let's not forget Hydra's training. Compulsive lying really is good for the soul." The others watched awkwardly as Emma and Tony had their little stare down. Steve looked like he wanted to step in but before he could Thor interupted Emma and Tony's staring contest, bringing the conversation back to the main problem.

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Thor told Tony in a condescending tone. Emma stepped back as she let Thor have his turn with Stark.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny." Tony sneered as he walked towards Thor until he was standing right in front of the God. Emma noticed how much Tony had to lift his head up in order to speak to Thor directly. "It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time." Bruce warned, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Really?" Tony questioned as he turned back to look at Bruce. "That's it? You just roll over, show your belly everytime somebody snarls?"

"Only when I've created a murder bot." Bruce countered.

"We didn't." Tony responded. "We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony asked Bruce but Bruce only shrugged at him

"Well, you did something right." Steve interupted. "And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than Shield." Steve told him.

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Emma rolled her eyes as soon as Tony responded. Like they didn't hear that story every week? Emma had probably heard the story fifteen times within her first few days at the tower.

"No, it's never come up." Rhodey said sarcastically as he shook his head.

"Saved New York?" Even Natasha rolled her eyes at that one. Tony was acting like he had single handedly saved everyone. While he did send the nuke through the workhole, he didn't save New York all on his own.

"Never heard that." Rhodey retorted.

"Recall that?" Tony continued to ask rhetorically. "A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it." Tony told everyone as he looked around the room.

"We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there, that's… that's the endgame." Emma could kind of see Tony's point but she didn't necessarily agree with it. She was sure that Thor would have the capability of helping them out if a situation like that arose. Tony had instead taken matters into his own hands and created an evil robot that wanted to kill them all. He actually tried to fix an unforeseeable problem and then instead created an even bigger problem. Only Stark could do that. "How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together." Steve told him without missing a beat. Tony stepped forward and gave Steve a pointed look.

"We'll lose." Tony replied seriously.

"Then we'll do that together, too." Steve said and it looked like that had made Tony shut up… at least for now. Steve then took command of the situation and returned the conversation to the task at hand. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us."

"The world's a big place." Steve told everyone as he paced around the room. "Let's start making it smaller."

Emma watched curiously as her grandfather began taking command of the situation. She had never really seen him in action like that before and it was curious to her. Emma wondered briefly if he was finally going to allow her to help. She knew that the Avengers probably needed as many people as they could get in this situation so probably. Whatever was going to happen Emma knew that Steve was right. They had to do this together. There was no more time for petty little fights. What was done was done. Still… Emma couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was right about Tony. She had always joked around how crazy and unhinged Tony was but maybe he really was. She glanced at Stark who had his back turned to the rest of them as he seemed to be deeply embedded within his own thoughts. What was wrong with him if he couldn't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it?


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Author's Note: So another long chapter. I know there's only supposed to be one more chapter after this one but I'm not sure. There could be two but I'm pretty sure there's one. If the next one is way too long than I'll split it up into two. We'll see. Either way Civil War is right around the corner.**

 **Thanks to all my reviewers who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks to AppropriateLlama for their review and to answer your question about Emma studying. She does study but it's not something I've really been focusing on within the story. It's more in the background. Emma's kind of homeschooled so Steve feels like she wouldn't be up to going to a school with a bunch of other kids. The topic of Emma's education will come up again when I reach the end of the Civil War storyline. Thanks to gotmoreissuesthanvogue as well.**

 **Also... TRIGGER WARNING. There's a scene in this chapter that alludes to rape so I just wanted to warn you guys just in case.**

 **So keep reviewing and thank you!**

* * *

The next day the Avengers quickly got to work on tracking down Ultron. They awoke bright and and early after a couple of hours of sleep although truthfully none of them had been able to sleep. There was way too much on their minds like the potential destruction the world would face if Ultron continued to waltz around. It was certainly a long night they had and today seemed like it would be an even longer day as they searched aimlessly for anything that might lead them to Ultron. Emma didn't know how they would be able to find him since Ultron erased a lot of the data files they had. Even McConaughey's database was empty although he was still functioning much to her disbelief. It turned out that Jarvis's database had been synced to McConaughey but not everything else so at least her own AI system was still working somewhat.

Emma helped Natasha search for any of the files on the computer but they kept coming up empty. Dr. Cho and Susan were missing from the group since Tony had sent Susan and Dr. Cho back on separate planes to San Francisco and Seoul for her own safety. Susan seemed worried for them but Steve insisted that they would be alright although Emma wasn't sure if he believed that himself. Rhodey had gone to Washington D.C. to warn government officials about the impending danger. They were alone in the tower and without any real resources that would aid them in the search for Ultron.

Emma looked up from the computer screen as Steve walked into the room with a grim expression on his face. He held a tablet in his hand that he immediately passed off to Thor who looked down at what was displayed on the screen. Emma and Natasha exchanged curious looks seeing as they couldn't see what was displayed on the tablet from where they were sitting. Whatever was on that tablet wasn't going to be good.

"What's this?" Tony asked from behind her and Natasha. He glanced at the serious looks on both Thor and Steve's faces.

"A message." Steve told them. "Ultron killed Strucker." Emma couldn't stop the audible gasp that left her mouth as her blue eyes widened in shock. Steve gave her a comforting look before giving Tony a more serious one. Emma could hardly believe it. Strucker was dead… he was actually gone. All the memories she had of him flashed through her mind. All the times he experimented on her… the times he tortured her. Emma had hated him almost as much as she hated Pierce and Rumlow but she wasn't sure how she felt now that he was dead. Maybe a little disappointed now that she wouldn't get to have any closure but also a bit relieved to know that the world was rid of one more evil person in it. Thor shoved the tablet into Tony's general direction, it was clear that he was still angry with the billionaire. Tony glanced at the screen as well as Natasha, Bruce, and Emma. Emma looked coldly at the image of Strucker lying in a pool of his own blood with Peace written in blood on the wall behind him. Ultron really loved some good ole' theatrics.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Tony retorted sarcastically.

"Yeah, he sure does seem like a drama queen… kind of reminds me of someone else." Emma said as she gave Tony a pointed look. Tony only glared at her before passing the tablet to Bruce.

"This a smoke screen." Natasha stated. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve answered. Natasha was about to agree with Steve when a message came popping up on the screen. Emma groaned in frustration as she read the message.

"Ugh! That stupid garbage can." Emma grumbled, referring to Ultron.

"Yup, everything we have on Strucker's been erased." Natasha confirmed.

"Not everything." Steve replied as they all glanced at each other. Emma suddenly understood what he was thinking and knew that this was going to be an even longer day than she originally thought. Without technology they were going to have to do this the old fashioned way. Emma was only glad that she was going to see Tony be way out of his depth since he practically surrounded himself with the most advanced technology. Yes, taking down Ultron was going to be no easy task but Emma had been trained to be prepared for anything. She could do this.

* * *

A half an hour later they had brought up a bunch of old boxes filled with hard copy files. Apparently all the files had been stashed away in the basement of the tower and since Emma, Steve, and Thor had been gifted with super strength, they were tasked with bringing everything upstairs although the elevators still worked thankfully. As soon as they dumped the boxes onto the table they immediately started combing through all the files. Trying to look for anything that might lead them to what Strucker had known and what Ultron was trying to hide from them.

"Known associates." Steve stated as he opened another box. "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends." Emma snorted at Steve's comment.

"No kidding." She retorted as she continued look through the files.

"Is there anything that Strucker might've told you, Mini Cap?" Tony asked and Emma tried to put aside what anger she felt towards him for the time being.

"Not really. We weren't exactly the best of friends." Emma said sarcastically before she grew serious. "I was only given missions. I did what was required of me with no questions asked." The Avengers all seemed satisfied with that answer as they moved on. Steve tried not to become concerned with Emma's past again and instead focused on the task at hand.

"Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce said as he also continued to look through the files.

"Wait. I know that guy." Tony pointed out as he spotted a particular file that Bruce was looking at. Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she got a better look at the man in the file after Tony took the file from Bruce. She knew that guy too. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." Steve gave Tony a pointed look and Tony just rolled his eyes as he explained himself. "There are conventions. All right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything."

"I think I might've met him too." Emma said quietly as she glanced at the others. They all stared at her in surprise. "It was a few years ago. My father and I were ordered to escort him to the African coast after he escaped a scandalous ordeal with the law. Ulysses Klaw had quite the hit on him. People would pay a pretty penny to see this man dead." Emma finished with a grave tone in her voice.

"He sounds like a real piece of work." Clint commented and the others nodded in agreement.

"When I met him he was talking about finding something new…" Tony trailed off. "A game-changer. It was all very Ahab." Thor frowned as he took a closer look at the picture in the file.

"This?" He pointed to a brand that was embedded in the man's skin.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it." Tony replied, thinking that Thor was referring to the man's tattoos.

"No, those are tattoos," Thor said, pointing his finger at the tattoos on Klaw's chest before looking over at the oddly shaped brand. "This is a brand." Bruce started searching for the odd symbol on the computer, trying to find a match for it. It took a moment before the match was found.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning "thief" in a much less friendly way." Bruce confirmed as he looked at the computer screen before glancing back at them.

"What dialect?" Steve questioned.

"Wakanada." Bruce tried to pronounce as he read it off the screen. "Wakanda." He then said correctly. Emma wasn't familiar with that dialect of the African language although she knew a couple of different ones. Emma glanced at Steve cautiously because while she wasn't familiar with the dialect of Wakanda, Hydra did teach her almost everything about every country. The economy, sustainability, environment, population, imports, exports, and even the black market trade of Wakanda. Emma knew exactly what Wakanda had to do with this. She watched as both Steve and Tony exchanged looks.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods…" Tony trailed off.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it." Steve replied, confused as to how Klaw could've gotten his hands on vibranium.

"I don't follow." Bruce said as he walked towards the rest of them. "What comes out of Wakanda?" Everyone glanced back at Steve's shield which was propped up against the wall.

"The strongest metal on Earth." Tony stated.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked Tony and Tony just looked at him before shrugging.

"If Jarvis was here I could figure out where exactly." Tony told him. "I mean… I know the general area which is the African coast but I don't know where on the African coast."

"I could help." Emma spoke up and the others looked at her curiously while Steve just looked confused. Emma then glanced at Tony and Bruce more specifically. "What I mean is that McConaughey could help." This only seemed to confuse the others more but Tony and Bruce just looked unsure.

"I don't know, Mini Cap." Tony told her. "Ultron wiped out all of our databases including McConaughey's. He couldn't tell us where Klaw is." Emma nodded.

"I know that but we could start fresh. We could look up the African Coast, filter through all the locations of popular crime ridden salvage yards, and then pinpoint a specific area where he might be. When we arrive at the location then we can scan the area until we find the exact location where he is." Emma told him and Tony actually seemed to consider this. "I know it might take a little work but it's all we've got right now. It might require some good ole' Stark hacking if you think you're up to it." She continued to say as Tony just smirked at her.

"Are you kidding me? I hacked the Pentagon on a dare when I was in high school." Emma just rolled her eyes because that was another story that Tony liked to tell quite often. It was then that they were reminded of the other Avengers in the room. Everyone other than Tony and Bruce were looking at her in utter confusion.

"Wait… what are you talking about? Who's McConaughey?" Steve asked and the smiles fell off of their faces. Emma cleared her throat nervously because she had been hoping that Steve wouldn't find out about this until the last minute.

"Well, you see… Um… So Stark might've made me a suit that has an AI system in it." Emma told him nervously and everyone gawked at Tony. "McConaughey is my AI system and since he wasn't completely synced to Jarvis, I think that Ultron might've skipped over him so we have a way to track down Klaw." Emma explained and Steve looked from her to Tony. He glared at the billionaire as he took in what Emma just told everyone.

"You built Emma a suit?" He asked, his voice clipped and short. Tony laughed nervously as he tried to think of an answer. "You built a fourteen year old girl a suit?" His tone was slowly becoming more and more angry. Natasha decided to step in before the situation got even more out of hand.

"Okay, guys, let's just calm down for minute." She told everyone. "Steve, you can yell at Tony later but right now let's just be grateful that he built Emma that suit otherwise we wouldn't have the resources to track down Klaw." Steve still seemed angry with Tony but didn't say anything else as he listened to Natasha. Natasha was right. They didn't have time right now for Steve to yell at Tony once again.

"Fine. We'll discuss this later." Steve told both Tony and Emma as the team started to tend to the matter at hand. Emma feared his reaction might've been bad but at least Steve was willing to push the issue aside for the moment. Emma didn't know how she would deal with the discussion that would come along later. At least they all had this to focus on.

"Right, well I'll go get Mini Cap's mask so that McConaughey can start tracking Klaw." Tony said as he went to retrieve the mask that was probably still sitting in the lab inside the suitcase. Steve gave her a look that told her that they were definitely going to discuss this later before he went to go talk to Natasha about something. Emma frowned… Well it went about as well as Emma thought it would go.

"You seriously named your AI system "McConaughey?" Clint questioned Emma as she broke out of her thoughts. She glanced at him briefly.

"Well, he sounds just like the real McConaughey. Tony apparently copied the voice from all of the movies." She explained and Clint looked impressed.

"That's awesome." He told her and Emma smirked.

"I know."

* * *

It took Tony about forty five minutes before he could track down Klaw to a more specific location and in that time Clint and Natasha were setting up the Quinjet, getting ready for the Avengers to take off on a mission of a more urgent nature. Everyone was suiting up including Emma who did so more secretly than the others. Emma glanced at herself in the mirror and realized that it had been so long since she had last suited up. She almost wanted to laugh as she remembered the last time she suited up which had been when she was preparing to face off against the Avengers. It seemed like it had been many, many years ago when in reality it had just been a year.

Emma thought she looked strange in the suit. It hugged her tall and slender figure better than the other one did so she knew she would be able to move even more freely. She glanced at the utility belt around her waist, her eyes focused on the Viper symbol in the middle. Emma's blonde hair was straight as usual but there was something that looked different about her as she wore the suit. She thought it might've been the mask at first. She could see her oceanic blue eyes from underneath it since the red lenses weren't down but Emma knew that it was different from that as well. She realized that she didn't look like the assassin that she looked like before. No, Emma looked like… Well, she looked like herself. It was something that was different but still acceptable to her. Maybe this was better. Maybe this was better than when she used to be an assassin for Hydra.

It was safe to say at that the others were in shock as Emma stepped onto the Quinjet suited up just as much as everyone else. The only person that didn't look the least bit surprised was perhaps Natasha who gave her a smirk. The person who looked the most surprised and angry, however, was Steve. The super soldier stalked over towards her from his spot in the Quinjet, fully dressed up in his Captain America uniform, and stopped in front of her. He crossed his arms as he glared at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded and Emma gave him an innocent look.

"I'm coming with you guys." She replied in a calm, steady voice. Steve scoffed.

"Uh, no you're not. You're going to march right back over to Maria and stay put until this whole thing blows over." Emma glared back at him as she also crossed her arms. The Avengers watched in fascination as the grandfather and granddaughter duo got into a staring contest. It was errie how much they looked alike as they stared each other, their identical jaws clenched tight.

"I'm not staying here with Maria like a sitting duck while you're out there fixing Stark's disaster." Emma told him.

"I resent that!" Tony called out but he went ignored as Steve just shook his head at Emma.

"I told you before." Steve said. "You're too young to be doing this sort of thing. You're only a kid, Emma."

"You should listen to your grandfather, Lady Emma, you are but a young child." Thor spoke up. "You will only get in the way." Emma narrowed her eyes but her gaze didn't leave Steve's face.

"Oh, mind your own business, Thor." She snapped at the God of Thunder who looked surprised at her reaction. Thor, however, didn't say anything as Emma continued to glare at Steve. "I'm sick and tired of everyone treating me like a child." She stated.

"You are a child, Emma." Steve told her and she gave him an angry look.

"You don't think I know that? Well, I do but I don't think like a child because I was trained to think like an adult." Emma told him as he gave her an uncomfortable look. "You can try and ignore that part of me or surpress it all you want but it's still there. I was trained to handle situations like these. I'm not some amateur or wannabe hero… I'm not even a superhero like any of you guys because that would actually require me to be heroic and I'm not. I'm selfish because I have this enhanced survival instinct that guides me but I'm going to ignore it right now." Emma continued to say as they all respectfully listened. "I'm going to ignore that it's telling me to run far away because I'm not going to sit back while you run off to save the world again. I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart but I'm doing this because I don't want to see you get hurt or worse."

"You treat me like a child because I look like one but I'm not, Steve." She told him seriously. "I'll never be the child you think I am. I'm always going to be like this…preparing for a full out war. It's what Hydra made me into. I'm not going to get in the way because I was trained not to." She held Steve's gaze firmly. "Let me do what I was meant to do. Let me fight." Steve fell silent as he processed everything that Emma had just told him. He didn't have the slightest clue as to how to respond to her but Natasha stepped in before he could.

"Let her come with us, Steve." Steve looked at Natasha in disbelief. Actually most of the others also looked at her in disbelief as well.

"Are you crazy, Nat?" Clint questioned as he looked at her but Natasha just ignored him.

"She's right. She's trained for a situation like this one and we can use all the help we can get." Natasha said from a logical perspective. "She doesn't even have to be out there with us. Emma can be part of the back-up with Bruce." The red headed former spy sighed when she saw that Steve wasn't going to respond.

"Look, Ultron already knows about Emma. He probably knows who she is and what she's capable of. He also knows that you're more likely to keep her away from us while we're on the mission. Ultron will be counting on that. The safest place for Emma right now is here on this Quinjet with us." Emma really owed Natasha for this one. Steve was quiet for a moment as he deeply considered everything Natasha just told him. Steve looked up at Emma with a solemn expression on his face. She just watched him anxiously as she waited for his answer.

"Fine." Steve finally said. "You can come with us but you stay behind with Bruce. You don't leave the Quinjet unless I say so." He told her, his tone definite. Emma wanted to argue but she knew from the look on his face that it wasn't going to get much better than that. She would take what he offered her… for now. Emma nodded reluctantly and Steve sighed.

"Go strap yourself in." He said, telling her to go take a seat. The others looked very unsure about Emma joining them for the mission but she didn't care. She had been trained all her life to fight and she really didn't need to be babied right now. It would be okay. She would prove to the Avengers that she wasn't just some pathetic child that had to be coddled. They would see what she was truly capable of. Emma buckled herself into the seat with a determined look in her eyes. She had become a part of this when the Avengers had rescued her from Hydra even if they didn't see it that way. This was her fight too.

* * *

"You should stop pacing." Emma said softly. "It's not good to worry yourself into an early grave." The young blonde was cleaning her gun as she watched Bruce pace back and forth in the Quinjet. The others had already left for the salvage yard while telling Bruce and Emma to stay put until further notice. The look her grandfather gave her was enough to say that they wouldn't need back-up this time around but Emma would be the judge of that. She had a feeling that her grandfather and her would be having a long conversation when this was all over. Emma had never been grounded before but she felt like she might be after they defeated Ultron.

"Well, it's hard not to worry. It's not a bunch of Hydra goons they're up against this time… it's Ultron and the Maximoff twins." Bruce told her pointedly but Emma just shrugged.

"They know what they're doing." She answered simply.

"Yet you're here because you thought that they might not."Bruce retorted but Emma didn't appear to be fazed. She just looked incredibly calm which was odd given the situation they were in.

"I know this isn't exactly what I had in mind but I still feel a lot better than I did sitting back at the tower." She explained.

"How are you so calm?" Bruce asked and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She questioned and he shook his head.

"No, I mean how are you so calm in a situation like this one? You're always so calm and I don't understand it. Even last night you were calm and any other kid would be terrified out of their mind." Emma just shrugged her shoulders at Bruce's questioning.

"I'm not calm actually." She admitted. "I'm worried too I guess. I mean it's a far worse situation than what I'm used to. I've taken down politicians, generals… scientists but I've never had to take down Stark's evil robot twin or a pair of twins that have some pretty creative superpowers." She continued to speak as she gave Bruce a genuine look. "I've been trained how to look in certain situations. How to be charming and kind… Intimidating and fierce… and then how to be calm and professional. This is a situation that calls for me to be calm."

"Steve doesn't want you to have to do any of that." Bruce replied as he solemnly took in the information that Emma just told him. "He wants you to have a normal life… to completely forget about Hydra and everything that they did to you." Emma just smiled as she looked down at the gun in her hands.

"I know what Steve wants but he doesn't understand anything. He thinks that I can just leave all that behind and go to college. He thinks that I can get a job at an art gallery, meet some nice boy, and marry him. We'll have a couple of kids and a nice house in the suburbs." Emma said, her smile turning bitter. "That's not my dream. It's Steve's dream… the one he had before he crashed into the ocean. He thinks that if he couldn't have that sort of life then maybe I could."

"It's not a bad dream." Bruce told her in a helpful tone but Emma shook her head.

"Yes, but it's not reality… it's just a fantasy. I'll never have that sort of life." Emma said sadly. "He can homeschool me all he wants and send me to college when it's time but I'm not the kind of girl that settles down to have that life. The reality of the situation is that I'm not normal and I never will be. Ultron was right about one thing… I'm a killer. That's what I was trained to do and nothing will ever change that."

"I think you're severely harsh on yourself." He told her. Emma stared at him for a moment before she started laughing.

"Coming from you that's rich." Bruce only smirked.

"Well, I guess it makes me the expert. So as the guy who's the leading expert on being harsh on yourself… You're overwhelming too hard on yourself." Bruce told her. "You don't want to end up like me, kid."

"What? Sitting alone in a Quinjet while the love of your life goes off to fight a bunch of evil robots?" Emma asked teasingly, steering the conversation into something a lot lighter. Bruce immediately blushed.

"What?" Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Please… I know that I don't particularly understand the sentiment behind romance but I was trained to pick up on a lot of things." Emma told him. "For what it's worth Natasha really likes you too."

"I'm not talking about this with you." Bruce grumbled as he looked away but Emma only smirked. It was then that they were pulled away from their humorous conversation as Emma heard gunfire in the distance. The smirk immediately fell off her face as she quicky stood up from her seat. Bruce frowned, because even without enchanced hearing, he had also heard the distinct sound.

"Was that…" Bruce trailed off.

"Yes, it sounds like it's coming from the salvage yard." Emma said quietly but her eyes didn't stray from the door of the Quinjet. "Contact the team. See what's going on." Emma ordered him, Bruce quickly rushed towards the radio and wasn't even slightly bothered by the fact that he was being ordered around by a fourteen year old… or by the fact that Emma sounded exactly like Steve in that moment. Bruce pushed one of the buttons on the panel on the ceiling.

"Guys? Is this a code green?" Bruce asked but Bruce and Emma couldn't hear anything over the muffled static. It seemed like the radio wasn't working at the moment. Emma just shook her head. That was really fantastic… really perfect actually. Bruce turned around, walking away from the radio and then began to open the door of the Quinjet. Bruce and Emma looked outside the aircraft as they tried to see what was going on but they couldn't see anything. Whatever was going on was definitely being contained in the salvage yard. It made Emma feel uneasy seeing as how she had no idea what going on out there.

"I'm going in." Emma said, causing Bruce to give her a wide eyed look.

"You can't go in there." Bruce protested. "Steve said that you're to stay here with me in the Quinjet." Emma gave him a pointed look.

"Yes, I'm supposed to stay on the Quinjet as _back-up_." She continued. "I don't know if you're aware of this but they're not answering us and I hear gunfire. They obviously need back-up." Bruce just shook his head.

"I don't think Steve would be okay with that." Emma just sighed.

"Look, I'll just go over there to see what's going on. If they need more help then I'll come back to get you. Okay?" Emma said, suggesting this new plan to him. Bruce stared at her long and hard for a moment as he considered her plan. She knew that she had won the argument when she saw him sigh and reluctantly nod his head. It was nice to see that he was so agreeable although Emma would've left anyways even if Bruce had said no. It's not like he could really stop her.

"Fine but the moment you get a clear picture of the situation you come straight back." Bruce told her, trying to sound like a parent so Emma decided to humor him. She flashed him a wide smile, showing all her perfect white teeth, and batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Of course, Bruce." She told him before she grabbed her gun and placed it in her holster. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it. "I'll come back as soon as I can… I promise." Emma then walked off the ramp of the Quinjet and proceeded to head towards the salvage yard. Bruce watched her with a tired expression in his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He then began to speak quietly to himself.

"It's really a wonder how Steve hasn't manage to get any gray hairs with that girl around."

* * *

Emma stalked through the salvage yard, listening for any of the voices of the team as she quickly made her way through the building. It was dark and damp in the building. Emma didn't like that one bit and she held her gun out in front of her, feeling uneasy about the situation. The distant sounds of gunfire could be heard as Emma carefully made her way around a corner. The uneasiness began to be too much for Emma as she knew that she wasn't going to be able to try and see in the dark. Even with her enchanced vision she felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"McConaughey? You there?" Emma spoke softly.

"Yes, Miss Rogers. I'm here." Emma smiled as heard the familiar Texas drawl in her ear.

"I'm going to be needing that viper vision right about now." Emma told him.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey answered and Emma saw the red lenses instantly come over her eyes. Her vision was then switched over to viper vision, as she liked to call it, and she was able to see a lot better than she had before. Emma placed her gun back in her holster, not feeling as uneasy but she knew that she would pull it back out if she needed it again. For now she could just rely on her Viper Bites as well as her enhanced strength. She knew that the Avengers liked to keep the casualties to minimum.

"Do you know where the Avengers are at?" She asked the AI system.

"Unfortunately my tracking capabilities are restricted at that moment but I do detect a couple of heat signatures about a hundred feet to your right." McConaughey told her. "They don't match up with the facial recognition of any of your teammates." Emma narrowed her eyes from underneath her mask. So it was most likely the twins or one of Klaw's goons. Emma didn't imagine that Ultron was so advanced that he could have a heat signature. The young blonde peaked around the corner and the saw the heat signature of what looked to be an average sized man. He hadn't seemed to notice her as he approached the corner and Emma instantly prepared herself for attack.

The second the man walked around the corner Emma reared her fist back and punched him in the face. She instantly heard his nose make a sickening cracking sound from the impact and the man's gun fell to the floor. The man groaned as he held his nose in pain but he forced himself upright and immediately tried to counter Emma's attack with a punch to her side but she quickly dodged the punch. She kicked him in between the legs and watched the man fall down to the floor as he yelped in pain. Who knew fighting Klaw's goons would be so easy? She guessed that her Hydra training was really no match for them. Emma flicked her wrist out in a familiar motion and the toxic gas from her suit was dispensed into the air. She watched the green gas swarm around the man's head as he breathed it in. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell unconscious from inhaling the gas. Emma smirked.

"Too easy." And then Emma made a mistake which was something she hadn't made in a very long time but she hadn't trained for so very long. She was so caught up in her arrogance from the fight that she didn't even hear the soft footsteps that Wanda Maximoff made as the witch came up behind her. It was only when Emma saw the mist of red enter her vision that she realized that she had made a mistake. The red mist most certainly wasn't coming from her mask. The Witch.

Emma started to feel herself float down… as if she had sunk beneath the floor and entered a different universe. It was completely dark for a moment as Emma struggled to look around. She tried to raise her arms up or move away but she felt as though she couldn't even move. Emma felt stuck... as if something was holding her down. It was then that all the color returned to Emma's vision as she found herself to be in the very place that she had thought she'd left behind. The glass tank.

She was completely submerged underneath the water in the tank and it looked just like it had before… all those years ago. Emma saw all of their faces looking at her as she struggled to break free of the restraints holding her down in the tank. Pierce. Rumlow. Karpov. Strucker. They were all staring at her as she tried to scream for help within the glass tank. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she screamed but her loud cries for help were muffled underneath the water. It was then that Emma noticed that the familiar plastic tubbing was gone and something else took it's place. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw that her restraints weren't the plastic tubling like before but a bunch of snakes that were wrapped around her. Vipers. Emma groaned as she tried to break free from the snakes but they only constricted tighter around her. Emma could feel her bones start to break from the pressure. She watched with wide eyes as one of the snakes slithered it's way up her arm. The blonde stopped moving at once as she cautiously watched the snake only to scream in terror and pain as the snake bit down on her arm, sinking it's fangs into her flesh. It wasn't long before all the snakes began to join in.

Emma's nightmare suddenly disappeared before her eyes and she was in a much different setting. She was no longer underwater and instead in a dark room with dim lighting. Emma glanced down at her arms but didn't see snake bites like she thought she would see. Her arms were completely clear of all wounds. She glanced around the room and wondered why it seemed familiar. It was only when she felt a familiar coldness chill her that she realized where she was. The Cold Room. The Cold Room which was supposed to be in the abandoned Hydra base in Siberia. Emma felt her heart pounding against her chest as she found herself in the same place that she thought she would never have to go back to. It was just like how she remembered it.

"It's so nice to see that you made it, Emma." Emma turned her head and widened her eyes when she saw someone who she thought was very much dead. Alexander Pierce. He grinned at her as he noticed her terrified expression.

"This isn't possible." She told him. "You're dead." Pierce didn't appear to be fazed by this information as he quietly walked over to Emma.

"True but I'm not dead here." Emma furrowed her eyebrows.

"Where is here?" She questioned.

"Your mind, dearest Emma. I'll always live on in your mind." He told her smugly. "I'm your grandfather. How could you ever bare to part from me?" Emma glared at him, her nostils flaring.

"You're no grandfather of mine." She hissed at him. "You're an evil, cruel man who murdered his daughter and son-in-law before submitting his granddaughter to years of pain and suffering. Nick Fury did the world a service when he shot you." Pierce only chuckled.

"I don't claim to be innocent, Emma." He said as he gave her a smug look. "You're not innocent either. You can pretend to be innocent like the Avengers are making you believe but you can't escape who you are." He paused before a big grin crossed his face. "This is why you're here today. You're here for the big show." Emma gave him a confused look.

"Big show? What the hell are you talking about?" She asked. "What big show?" The lights suddenly came back on and Emma was met with a horrifiying sight. In the middle of the room sat two separate chairs, each containing the two people that Emma cared most about in the world. Her father and Steve. She gasped at the horrifying sight.

"Papa? Steve?" She said in surprise, not quite believing her eyes. Both of them looked severely beaten within an inch of their lives. They looked so beaten up that they weren't even looking up… they weren't even looking at her. No, they were both looking at the ground.

"You're going to pick one of them." Pierce told her and Emma glanced back at him in confusion. What was he talking about? He handed her a gun and Emma looked at the gun in bewilderment. Where did he get the gun? It wasn't there a moment ago… she was sure of it. She took the gun from him but barely noticed it was in her hand as she was locked into a state of confusion.

"What?" Pierce nodded his head towards her father and Steve. Emma suddenly noticed that Karpov stood in between the both of them with a smug smirk on his face and a large gun in his hands.

"I said that you need to pick one of them. Shoot one but save the other." Pierce told her much to horror. He seemed awfully smug at the moment and Emma would've liked nothing more than to shoot him in the face.

"I'm not going shoot either one of them." She told him.

"Then so be it." Pierce told her. "Because if you don't shoot one of them then Colonel Karpov will shoot the both of them." Emma's throat felt incredibly thick and dry as she listened to what Pierce told her. She looked back up at her father and Steve who had since managed to lift their heads up. They both stared at her with pleading expressions on their faces. "It's either one of them or none of them. So decide, Emma… which one can you absolutely not live without?"

"No, I won't do it." Emma shook her head. "I can't." Pierce glared at her.

"Fine then they both die." Pierce sneered before he nodded at Karpov. "Colonel… go ahead." Emma's eyes widened.

"Wait! No! Stop… No, I'll pick. I promise to pick one." She pleaded and Karpov backed down. Pierce gave her a satisfied smile.

"That's what I thought. Go ahead." Pierce told her and Emma held up her gun with shaky hands. She didn't think that she had ever been so twitchy around a gun before... not like she had in that moment. She watched Steve's eyes, that looked so much like her own, silently plead for her not to kill him as she pointed the gun at him. She then pointed the gun at her father who just looked at her sadly. A tear fell down Emma's cheek as she was forced to decide which one she wanted to keep and which one that would die. She sniffled before shutting her eyes, allowing the gun to move back and forth between the targets before she stopped. Emma's jaw was clenched shut as she fired the shot, the sound of the gunshot echoing throughout the room as she heard a body slump forward. She was about to open her eyes to see who it was that she had shot when all she saw was darkness.

Emma was out of the Cold Room and left in absolute darkness. She knew she was no longer within the room because she couldn't find Pierce, Karpov, Steve, or her father. It was completely dark but Emma knew she was still trapped within the Witch's trick since she saw the faint red mist circulating the room. Emma groaned as she moved around and was confused to see that she wasn't standing up like before. No, she lying on a bed. Was she in a bedroom? Why was it so dark in there and why was there a bed? Emma looked around the room but didn't see anything. Maybe this was all just a bad dream. Maybe she had finally worken from her nightmare and she was back in Avengers tower. Emma allowed herself to relax on the bed, resting her head against the pillow but her moment of relaxation only lasted for a second as she heard a deep growling noise coming from the end of the bed. Emma's eyes shot open and she was met with a truly horrifying sight.

Two dark, luminous eyes stared back at her maliciously as she opened her eyes. She heard heavy breathing and panting as she met the eyes of the strange creature. Emma could see the moonlight streaming in through a window that hadn't been there before and saw the creature in the dim lighting. It's black fur glinted under the light but what horrified Emma the most wasn't it's fur or claws. No, it was it's large array of sharp teeth as the large looking wolf grinned at her. Emma felt as though she knew the wolf which was strange since it was only an animal. She looked back into it's eyes and she knew were she had seen those dark orbs before. Rumlow. The man with the wolf like smile as she used to call him.

"Hello, Emma. Don't you look beautiful tonight." The wolf told her, it's voice deep and distorted but it still sounded like Rumlow. She watched the saliva pooling down his chin and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"What are you doing in here?" Emma questioned, her eyes wide and alert. The wolf just grinned at her, patronizing her in the way that Rumlow always used to do.

"That's a silly question." The wolf told her, his tone teasing. "I'm here for you, princess." The wolf then began to move closer towards her. Climbing over her body as she struggled to move, frightened that he might rip her throat out if she tried anything. Emma found that it was difficult to move underneath his weight as he loomed over her, his dark eyes locked onto her.

"What are you doing?! Get off of me!" She screamed at him but he only chuckled. The sound of his laughter, causing the hair on the nape of her neck to stand up. The sound of his deep, rumbling laughter chilled her right to the bone.

"Shhhh… don't scream, princess. Everything will be fine." He whispered into her ear. "Shhhh… be quiet, princess. We wouldn't want anyone to hear us now, would we?" He sniffed alongside her neck and Emma felt the bile rise in her throat as she felt his nose upon her skin.

"Stop… stop it, please." She pleaded weakly. She knew that could throw him off of her if she wanted but for some reason she was afraid. Afraid of what he could do to her if she screamed for help or told on him. Rumlow always frightened her even though she tried not to show it. He had murdered her parents right in front of her and the image had been stuck in her head all these years. "Please don't… please… please don't." The wolf version of Rumlow glared down at her.

"Just shut up and do as I say." The wolf growled at her. "If anything happens to me your Winter Soldier will pay the price." Emma could feel the warm tears stream down her face as she began to give up.

"You look so much like your mother…" He trailed off in a gentle whisper, his tone softer than it had been before. "I can see it in your cute little nose and those rosy pink lips."

"You loved her, didn't you?" Emma questioned, trying to stall the wolf. "I know you did."

"You're right. I did love her." Emma forced a smile onto her face as she tried not show her fear although she knew that Rumlow could most likely smell it on her.

"Then don't do this. She would hate you if she knew what you were doing." The wolf smirked at her, not seeming fazed by Emma's statement.

"Then it's too bad that I killed her." He sneered before the wolf came up and licked the side of her cheek. Emma squeezed her eyes shut, feeling entirely revolted by the trail of slobber the wolf had left that was currently running down the side of her face. "Don't cry." He said comfortingly. "The pain won't last long, I promise."

"You look so beautiful." He told her and Emma whimpered. "Just like your mother." He said right into her ear and Emma could feel his hot breath along the side of her face. The wolf then lifted his head up and suddenly sank his teeth into the side of Emma's neck. She screamed in pain and horror as she felt the wolf's teeth knawing through her flesh. The blonde girl cried for anyone that could possibly hear her… she cried for a savior as the wolf feasted upon her. But no one came.

* * *

Steve was just waking up from the encounter he had with the witch. It hadn't been as terrifiying as he thought it might be but it did fill him with a certain loneliness and a severe feeling of loss. It seemed like the twins packed quite the punch and he already knew that the others weren't likely doing as well as he was. If he could barely get his head on straight after what the witch showed him then he was absolutely certain that the others were probably in worse shape then he was. He groaned as he picked himself up from the floor, grabbing his shield as he stood up.

"Barton, what's the damage?" Steve said into his earpiece. There was a brief moment of silence and all Steve could hear was static. Why wasn't Barton answering him? Was something wrong? "Barton?"

"Um… Cap?" Barton replied, sounding unsure and worried but also extremely tired.

"What is it? What's going on, Barton?" Steve asked, already knowing that something must've been wrong.

"I think you need to get over here and fast." Barton said shortly and Steve narrowed his eyes.

"Barton, would you just tell me what's going on?" He finally said, annoyed with the archer. It's what Barton said next that gave Steve some pause.

"It's Emma, Steve." Barton told him and Steve's eyes widened when he heard his granddaughter's name. He didn't waste anytime running in the opposite direction as Clint gave Steve his location. He didn't even wonder why Emma was in the salvage yard rather than the Quinjet as he raced over to Clint's location. When Steve got there he hadn't expected to find what he had. He spotted Natasha sitting down on the floor with a haunted look in her eyes as Clint tried to comfort her. Thor was leaning against the wall, looking very troubled but nowhere nearly as bad as Natasha. Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed a bunch of fresh scratches that were littered up and down Clint's arms and even a couple of scratches on his face as well. There was an unconscious man lying on the ground next to Emma. He looked to be one of Klaw's men. It was Emma, however, that really captured Steve's attention as she laid there writhing on the ground. Her eyes were closed but she moved so restlessly it was a wonder as to how she wasn't awake and alert already. Steve had seen her go through a lot of bad nightmares but he didn't think he had seen her ever have a nightmare that was this bad.

"Emma took a pretty bad hit." Clint told Steve from his position next to Natasha. "She's still under the witch's spell. I tried to snap her out of it but as you can see…" Clint lifted up his arms to display all the scratches and bruises that were already forming. Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. Emma did all that? "She doesn't like being told what to do." Steve just nodded as he began to kneel down next to the restless teenager.

"Don't do it." Emma mumbled in her delirious state. "Please don't do it." Steve gulped as he saw all the suffering Emma was going through. It killed him to see her in this much pain.

"Emma, you need to snap out of it." He told her gently. "It's not real… it's all a trick." Steve rested his hand on her arm and that was his big mistake. Emma then started screaming at the top of her lungs as she reached out and scratched Steve as hard as she could. He hissed in pain as her fingernails scraped his cheekbone.

"GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed and the others were taken back by the loudness of her voice. Emma was usually so quiet and reserved. Steve tried to hold her down but her strength really was enhanced as she squirmed under his grip. His grasp on her finally loosened enough that Emma was able to deliver a hard punch to his face. He winced at the pain and felt the blood starting to drip down from his nose.

"Stop it! Please! It hurts!" She cried. "It hurts so much!" Steve tried to hold her down again only to get kicked in the stomach as he came close to her. Steve groaned in pain but tried to get up again. He needed to help Emma. He didn't care if she beat him black and blue, she needed his help. Before Steve could even react to the kick Natasha had stepped in, seemingly out of her haunted state. She grabbed Emma's hand firmly before bringing the teenager's hand to Emma's face and releasing the toxic gas from inside the suit. The blonde unknowingly inhaled the green gas and soon stopped strugging, becoming quiet as she fell into a deep sleep. Everyone looked at Natasha in surprise because it wasn't even five minutes ago when the red head had been staring off into space, lost in her thoughts. The former spy shrugged.

"She'll be fine." Natasha told them. "Whatever the witch showed her was really bad. Probably worse than anything we saw." Steve nodded but remained quiet after Natasha spoke. His eyes locked onto Emma's unconscious figure as she slept. He wondered briefly what the witch had shown her. What could it have been that made it so bad that she screamed and fought back like that? Steve couldn't help but wonder if Emma was hiding more secrets than what he knew.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Author's Note: Okay, last chapter for Age of Ultron. Next chapter will be within the Civil War storyline. I'm so excited! This chapter is also the longest chapter that I think that I've written. I really hope you enjoy it.**

 **I just want to discuss the Rumlow/Wolf scene in the last chapter. I want to clarify for those of you who didn't really understand it but Emma was raped. No one came in to save her. It probably happened a couple of months before the Avengers rescued her from the base in Argentina. The Winter Soldier was frozen at the time so not even he would know about it. The vision Wanda showed Emma of the scene was meant to be frightening or even more so than it had been in real life. I put a wolf in the place of Rumlow because when she was little she knew him as the man with the wolf like smile. He's kind of like the big, bad wolf to her. He's a monster and so in the vision he actually became a real life monster. What you read in the last chapter is as far as I'm taking it. I'm not going to go into specific details. She will tell Steve eventually but not anytime soon. It'll be a long, long time before she tells him. I also wanted to say that Emma definitely hates Wanda for showing her what she did. She's not going to like her and she's going to hold a strong grudge against her even though Wanda will feel guilty. So it will be a complex relationship between them. I don't hate Wanda personally. I honestly love the Scarlet Witch but after what she did to Emma... Emma isn't going to forgive her anytime soon.**

 **Thanks you so much for the swarm of reviews last chapter! I was a bit worried for a second because I didn't get any feedback for several hours but thank you. I'm glad you liked it and just keep reviewing and letting me know what you think. I'm so excited because Peter is right around the corner. Thanks for being so patient with me. I keep saying that but I'm really grateful.**

 **There's also a Parks and Recreation reference towards the end of the chapter. See if you can spot it. I just couldn't help myself when I was writing that bit of dialogue.**

* * *

Emma exited the Quinjet with the others, not even paying attention to her surroundings because she was still haunted by what the witch had shown her. Steve would glance at her every now and then in concern but she ignored him. She had finally woken up from her deep sleep around a half an hour before they landed. Thankfully her deep sleep was dreamless and she hadn't revisited the things that the witch had shown her. The others had seemed to walk on eggshells around her as soon as she woke up. She briefly wondered if they knew how bad the witch had attacked her. Judging by the scratches on Clint, Steve, and Thor, Emma could guess that they might've had an idea although she didn't think that they knew the details.

A sinking feeling hit Emma as they walked through the grassy land. The witch knew. Emma realized it at that moment and the feeling made her sick. The witch knew everything about her. Not even Steve knew everything about her yet the witch knew what made Emma tick… what terrified her and what she laid awake at night thinking about. She knew the inner turmoil Emma faced whenever she woke up in the morning and she had seen all the lives Emma had taken. Emma felt enraged that the witch had so needlessly violated her like that and took a look inside her mind. Emma swore there was only one life she was ever going take if she had the chance and that was Rumlow but Emma was slowly beginning to reconsider that decision. She might raise that exception up to two lives.

Emma looked up from the ground as they neared what looked to be like someone's property and she felt her thoughts drift away from the witch as her eyes landed on what looked to be a house. Her eyes widened as took in the sight of the house… she felt her heart beating against her chest rapidly and just for a moment she thought she might be back in Oklahoma. It looked so much like the farmhouse she lived in with her parents. If she squinted her eyes enough she could see her parents on the front porch, laughing as they drank a couple of glasses of ice tea. The vision faded from her eyes as she heard Thor speak up from ahead of them. Emma realized that she stopped walking when she saw the house so she quickly caught up to the rest of them.

"What is this?" Thor said to Tony.

"A safe house." Tony responded but Thor just looked at him, not looking convinced.

"Let's hope." Clint told them both as he ushered Natasha into the house. Emma narrowed her eyes, not really sure how to feel about waltzing into a random house even if it was a safe house. Years of mistrust hadn't really helped prepare her for a circumstance like this. Emma and the others slowly followed Clint into the house, deciding to put some trust in their teammate. Emma raised an eyebrow as she glanced around the house, spotting various toys on the floor as well as drawings hanging on the walls that looked as though a child had drawn them. This was taking a cover a little too far, wasn't it? Setting up such a secure looking safehouse that it appeared to be a family home?

"Honey?" Clint called out as he entered the living room, looking around the house for someone. Emma wanted to know what was going on right then. She didn't care too much for guessing games and she felt uneasy enough as it was. "I'm home."

It was then that a very pregnant looking woman appeared around the corner and Emma immediately assessed her appearance as she tried to determine whether or not the stranger was a threat. The woman appeared to be in her late thirties with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She had some pieces of paper and markers in her hand but seemed completely surprised to see Clint and the rest of them. Clint's entire face brightened up when he saw her and Emma suddenly wondered what she was to him.

"Hi." He greeted with a huge grin on his face. "Company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead."

"Hey." The woman said before she embraced him, placing her hands on either side of his face as he wrapped his arms around her. Emma watched in moderate surprise as they kissed. Well… Emma certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony tried to rationalize but Emma wasn't so sure. The woman looked very pregnant. She didn't know what spy would go to those lengths just so she wouldn't blow her cover. Emma had considered herself very stealthy and committed but she didn't think she would go as far as getting pregnant to ensure that her cover was in tact. But who really knew? If she was desperate and the situation called for it, she joked to herself.

"Gentlemen… Emma, this is Laura." Clint introduced and Emma's eyes honed in on the diamond ring on Laura's finger. She smirked a bit. So Clint was secretly married. She wanted to laugh at the idea. It was kind of like those stories you heard about back in the fifties when men would have two families that he would keep secret from each other… although by the way Laura was looking at them, Emma could see that she wasn't kept in the dark like they were.

"I know all of your names." Laure told them, a kind and motherly smile on her face. Tony awkwardly waved at her while Emma crossed her arms. Before any of them could respond, however, they heard a bunch of footsteps from upstairs as two kids came running down the stairs.

"Ooh. Incoming." Clint said excitedly. Emma watched as a small girl and boy entered the room. The girl looked to be about six or seven, wearing her brown hair in two cute braided little pigtails and Emma could tell that she was a mini me of her mother. The boy, however, looked slightly older probably around ten or so. The boy looked more like Clint than the little girl did, she noticed as the two children embraced their father. Steve still looked shocked at the situation but Emma had seemingly gotten over what surprise she felt. It didn't really make sense to linger on previous feelings if the situation was changing so fast.

"How are you guys doing?" Clint asked his kids, looking very fatherly. Emma should've known that Clint was a father. The man had never seemed annoyed with her in all the time she spent at the tower, causing problems for those around her. He had the patience that only a father could have.

"These are smaller agents." Tony quipped and Emma just shook her head at his silliness. She frowned when she saw the reaction on Bruce's face. The older man looked very troubled by the sight of the kids and she could only imagine why.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl asked. Emma rose an eyebrow at that. So Natasha was involved with this as well. This just kept getting better and better.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said, a genuine smile on her face as she walked over to the kids. Emma was a little surprised to see Natasha looking so… kid friendly she supposed was the name for it. Natasha laughed as she picked up the giggling little girl up in her arms and carried her away.

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve apologized to Laura. It seemed like spending decades inside a block of ice didn't erase the politeness from his personality.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead but we were busy having no idea you existed." Tony continued.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined." Clint explained, seeming a bit apologetic for keeping this away from the team. "He kept it off Shield's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Thor took a step back, happening to step on one of the children's toys on the floor. He stared at the crushed lego house that one of the kids had built, looking troubled by what he saw. Emma could tell that it wasn't the lego house that had him so worked up. There was something else bothering him. Clint's daughter wandered over to where they were standing, looking up at Thor with a curious expression on her face. Emma didn't blame her. Thor was quite massive and certainly had a bold taste in fashion. He drew attention where ever he went. It was then that the toaster in the kitchen dinged, snapping Thor out of his troubled state and the Asgardian quickly exited the house. Steve followed him but Emma didn't make any move to join them. Whatever problems that Thor was having, it seemed like he wanted to deal with them on his own. Emma respected that.

"Who are you?" A small voice drew Emma away from the disappearing figures of Steve and Thor. Emma glance down and noticed that she had the full attention of Clint's daughter. The others watched Emma's interaction with Clint's daughter in fascination. Emma looked at the little girl like the girl was some sort of alien creature that she had never seen before.

"I'm Emma." Emma told the little girl and the girl smiled at her.

"Hello, Emma. My name's Lila." She told Emma proudly and everyone noticed how terrified Emma looked of Lila. Emma swallowed, her throat feeling incredibly dry, and plastered a smile onto her face. She didn't want to scare Clint's daughter… she didn't see how that could work in her favor especially since Emma had put up quite the fight against him earlier.

"It's nice to meet you, Lila." The little girl held out her hand for Emma to shake and Emma shook her hand reluctantly, trying to be careful with her since the little girl was so fragile. Emma quickly let go of Lila's hand as soon as she could.

"Do you know my daddy?" She asked and Emma nodded.

"Yes, I do." Emma didn't elaborate on that and she could tell that it made Lila even more curious about her.

"Are you an Avenger like Daddy and Auntie Nat?" She continued question and Emma didn't feel as frustrated as she normally would from the constant questioning. Maybe it was because Lila looked so sweet and innocent… maybe she reminded Emma of herself when Emma was much younger than she was now.

"No, I'm not." Lila's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"But you're wearing a superhero costume like the rest of them?" Lila told her and Emma just smiled.

"I'm just lending a helping hand." Emma replied and Lila nodded, seeming satisfied with Emma's answer.

"Do you want to play with my barbies with me." Lile asked, changing the subject. Emma's eyes widened in horror at what the small girl requested. The rest of the Avengers laughed at the look on Emma's face. It was if Lila had asked Emma to go murder someone or something which actually might not have been an entirely foreign concept to her now that they thought about it. Emma gulped before she gave Lila a sad smile.

"I really wish I could but I don't think your dad would be okay with that." Emma told her as nicely as she could. Lila looked a bit disappointed at that and Emma patted herself on the back for being able to get out of that one.

"I don't care." Clint suddenly said from in back of them. Lila looked absolutely delighted but Emma whipped her head around to give Clint a death glare. He only smirked at her as everyone else laughed. She felt Lila grab onto her wrist and begin to pull her in the opposite direction. Emma could've pulled away from the little girl if she wanted to but somehow she didn't think that she had the heart to do that.

"I hate you." Emma muttered under her breath as they passed Clint but the archer didn't look frightened.

"Have fun, girls!" Clint called out after them and Emma swore that she would make him pay someday for this.

* * *

An hour later Emma found herself sitting on the floor next to Lila as the little girl told her the name of all of her dolls and then proceeded to explained their backstories. Emma dutifully listened as Lila paced a barbie in her hand that had red hair. She glanced at the piece of plastic and knew why she had never played with these when she was a girl. It was true that she hadn't play with any toys when she was with Hydra unless you counted guns and explosives as toys. Still… when she lived with her parents she couldn't ever remember playing with barbies. She only remembered playing with horses. Emma had loved horses back then.

"Did you play with barbies when you were my age too?" Lila asked as she put a dress onto her barbie. Emma glanced at her before shaking her head.

"Not really." Lila looked up at Emma curiously.

"Really? Then what did you play with?" Emma didn't think that Clint would appreciate her telling his daughter about Hydra so she told a filtered version of the truth.

"I really loved playing with horses." Emma admitted and Lila gave her a confused look.

"What?" She asked, causing Emma to smile at the memory.

"I used to play with these little plastic toy horses that I used to have." Lila seemed interested in Emma's memory, listening intently to the older girl.

"What were their names?" Emma shrugged.

"I don't really remember anymore…. I think I might've named one of them Buttercup." Emma recalled.

"I like horses too." Lila replied, looking at Emma like she was the most interesting person that Lila had ever met. Emma gave her a small smile.

"Horses are pretty cool." She said. It was then that Emma noticed someone standing in the doorway watching them. The smile fell off her face when she saw Steve looking at her and Lila with an expression that was close to adoration or happiness. Lila happily went back to playing with her barbies, oblivious to Steve and oblivious to the look on Emma's face. She immediately glared at him.

"If you ever speak of this again. You're dead." Emma grumbled under her breath, the volume of her voice so low that Lila didn't even hear her. She knew, however, that Steve definitely could hear her with his enhanced hearing. He only smirked at her one last time before walking away from the doorway, leaving Emma and Lila to their own devices. It warmed Steve's heart to see her interacting with Lila in such a kind manner. This was sort of good for him and he was also happy to see the amount of trust Clint had put in Emma so much that he let her be in the same room with his daughter alone. It was nice to see that his team wasn't completely falling apart. Steve walked back down the hallway, feeling a lot more at ease. One thing he knew for sure was that Emma had lost most of her childhood but she still had a couple years to go before she reached adulthood. Emma might've lost those years of her life to Hydra but she still had a large amount of her life left to live.

* * *

"Oh, sorry… I didn't realize anyone was in here." Emma stated as she walked into one of the spare bedrooms. Natasha was sitting on the edge of the bed with a distant look in her eyes. The red head immediately looked up at Emma as she spotted the teenager enter the room. "I was told that there was a shower in here."

"There is… I can just get out of your way." Natasha said as she stood up from the bed. Emma moved more into the room as she passed Natasha. The blonde gave Natasha a curious look as she noticed that the older woman had paused in the doorway.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Emma asked her, feeling a bit concerned for her troubled looking friend. Natasha slowly turned back around to face Emma with a serious look on her face. Natasha's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and Emma could tell that something was really bothering her.

"That day you saved me all those years ago…" Natasha trailed off and Emma's eyes widened in realization because she knew where this conversation was heading. "Why did you do it?" Emma smiled at her, trying to look nonchalant about the question but truthfully the question was something she had also wondered about for many years.

"I've been with you guys for a year now and you seriously waited this long to ask me that?" Emma asked her rhetorically. Natasha attempted to smile but the smile looked more like a grimace.

"Better late than never." Natasha quipped and Emma's sighed as the smile fell off her face. She started to think of a way on how to tell Natasha something she, herself, had been struggling to understand for a while.

"If you want a definite answer I don't think I can give you one." Emma told her and Natasha listened intently. "I didn't save you from the goodness of my heart… I know that much. You're asking me to explain to you why I saved you but that's something that I've been wondering about for many years myself actually."

"That's a pretty shitty answer." Natasha told her and Emma just smirked.

"Don't let Steve hear you say that." Emma joked and Natasha laughed before the serious expression returned to her face.

"There isn't any other reason why you might've saved me? Any leading theories?" Natasha asked and Emma knew she had to tell her. She had been lying to herself for so long about why she saved Natasha but the truth was sitting right in front of her all this time. Emma bit her lip nervously before she answered.

"You look like my mother." Emma confessed and they fell into an awkward silence. Emma didn't know what else to say to Natasha that would ease the woman's confusion. It took Natasha a couple of minutes before she could respond. She pretended to be amused, plastering on a smirk but Emma knew that game all too well. The fake it until you make it game where you pretended to be one thing until you got the information you need and then you became something else. An assassin couldn't fool another assassin.

"That's what every woman wants to hear." Natasha said in a snarky tone but Emma didn't laugh at her remark.

"No, I just meant that you look very similar to her." She paused briefly before she continued. "When I saw you that day in the desert I didn't really see you… I actually saw my mother instead." The smirk fell off Natasha's face as she realized that Emma was actually being honest and real with her. She had lied enough in her life to be able to detect when someone was actually being genuine. "I saw her in you and she looked so disappointed in me… disappointed in what I've become. I just couldn't pull the trigger because all I saw was her and I started thinking about what she'd think of me if she saw me now. If she saw all the good work Hydra had done...the monster I've turned into."

"You're not a monster." Natasha told her seriously and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't I?" Emma challenged. "I've killed a lot of people, Natasha. I don't feel as guilty about as I should because I did it to survive. I did it to protect my father."

"That doesn't make you a monster. Trust me I know what a monster is." Natasha countered. "Caring about someone isn't a trait that a monster has. You care about your father and did those things for him… I've killed for a lot less than that."

"I guess." Emma replied as she considered what Natasha had told her.

"Your mother wouldn't be disappointed in you if she saw you now." Natasha told her softly and Emma held her gaze. "She would be proud to see all that you've been through and overcome… all that you've accomplished at such a young age. Your mother would be happy to see that you have someone like Steve watching over you and the fact that you have a family again. I know that we're not all related by blood but I do consider you guys my family."

"Even Stark?" Emma asked as she smirked, causing Natasha to laugh.

"Yes, even Stark." She answered. "If you tell him that I'll kill you."

"I'd like to see you try." Emma teased and they both laughed together. It was rare that Emma had touchy feely moments with anyone other than Steve but Natasha was someone she felt that she could trust not to go overboard. They were a little alike. Emma thought that Natasha might've even felt the same way. They soon calmed down from their laughter, looking more serious than before.

"Well, I guess I'll let you take that shower." Natasha finally said. "I have some clothes in the dresser in case you need anything." Emma smiled at her.

"Thanks." She said and Natasha began to walk away but stopped when Emma spoke up. "Natasha?"

"Yes?" The red head asked, a bit confused as she turned around once more.

"For what it's worth I don't think you're a monster either." Emma told her seriously. Natasha smiled at her before nodding and leaving the room silently. There really wasn't anything left to be said between them. Emma thought that they had said everything they needed to say. Emma might have even started believing what Natasha told her although she still didn't think that she would be able to admit it to herself.

* * *

After Emma's warm and soothing shower, which she spent a long time going over everything that had transpired in the past couple of days, she got dressed in some of Natasha's clothes before heading downstairs. It was nightfall now and she could smell food cooking in the kitchen on the first floor. Dinner? Emma's stomach immediately rumbled from the smell and she wondered when was the last time she had eaten. The day before perhaps? Emma wasn't sure. She supposed all the adrenaline had kept her in line but now everything was catching up to her. The teenager made her way down the stairs but widened her eyes when she saw who was in the kitchen.

Leaning against the counter in the kitchen was none other Nick Fury… the former director of Shield and someone who was also presumed dead. Emma knew that he was still alive from everything the others had told her but she still hadn't expected him to look so domestic standing in the kitchen like that. Fury looked at her curiously as he saw her walk into the kitchen, his eye analyzing her appearance. She supposed that he must've known about the Viper Assassin and she didn't look much like the famous ghost story dressed in a pair of black leggings and an old, loose concert t-shirt that was a couple of sizes too big for her. Her wet blonde hair was also dripping all over the place.

"Well, if it isn't the Viper Assassin herself." Fury announced as she walked further into the kitchen. Emma crossed her arms as she stood there, returning his gaze.

"It's Emma actually." She told him with an stoic expression. Fury smirked.

"Well, Emma I hear that you're the newest addition to our team."

"Emma's not an Avenger." Steve quickly interjected, sending a glare in Fury's direction.

"But she's not a Hydra agent anymore either." Fury countered.

"No, I'm not. I left Hydra a year ago." Emma told him before giving Steve a pointed look for thinking he could speak for her.

"So you're retired." Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"From Hydra."

"No more killing or fighting then?" Fury continued to question her and Emma narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what he was trying to get at.

"I'll kill or fight if I have to. If it comes down to my life or someone else's... I'll pick mine every time. A lot of people call that self-defense." Emma told him seriously.

"Spoken like a true soldier." Fury remarked.

"I'm not a soldier… I'm an assassin." Emma replied.

"I thought you said you didn't work for Hydra anymore?" Emma sighed as she continued to be hounded by Fury's insistent questioning.

"I don't but I'll always be an assassin. It doesn't matter if I hang around the good guys or not… I'm a trained killer so I think like a killer." She told him honestly. "Just because I switch sides it doesn't change who I am deep down. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You play a good game, Rogers." Fury told her, looking surprised at how fearlessly she had answered every one of his questions. She didn't even seemed the least bit fazed. It was eerie how much she reminded him of Natasha even though Emma was much younger than Natasha had been when the former Russian spy joined Shield.

"It was what I was trained for." Emma told him without missing a beat. "Do you trust me yet?" Fury smirked at her again.

"I don't think I could trust you to tell me what the weather is." Fury replied although he looked genuinely amused. Emma just shrugged.

"Your loss." She replied.

"Not that we've got that matter settled let's talk about a more pressing issue." Fury stated as he moved to help Laura with dinner. It was weird seeing him do something that was so normal and trivial. "Ultron…"

"Really? I didn't realize that Ultron was a pressing issue." Tony retorted with a sarcastic tone. No one seemed amused by the billionaire at that point in time.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time." Fury stated, ignoring Tony's comment. "My contacts all say he's building something." Emma watched as Lila entered into the kitchen, a drawing in her hand, as she walked over to give it to Natasha who sat at the dining table. She smiled at the small girl. Emma loved how naïve and innocent Lila was and she hoped to God that never changed although that was quite impossible in the world they lived in. "The amount of vibranium he went off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked as he leaned against the doorway.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere." Fury replied. "The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." Emma smirked at Fury's remark. She'd have to remember that joke for the future.

"It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though." Fury continued and Emma had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Tony who was playing darts. Was he really playing darts right now? He created an evil garbage can of a robot who was causing mayhem out in the world and he was seriously playing darts? Emma just wanted to strangle him sometimes or do something to knock some sense into that thick skull of his.

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony asked quietly.

"Yes, he is." Fury answered. "But he's not making any headway."

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony told everyone. Yes, Tony… thank you for telling us that story like we all haven't heard it for the millionth time. Emma sometimes hated how Tony brought out the sarcastic part of her humor. Hydra had spent so many years trying to surpress any sort of humor she had but Stark had managed to bring it out of her.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that." Fury replied.

"Nexus?" Steve asked, a bit unfamiliar with the name. Emma knew a limited amount of information about Nexus which, like always, was a requirement of Hydra.

"It's the world Internet hub in Oslo." Bruce answered him. "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

"So, what did they say?" Clint asked, bringing the conversation back to the task at hand.

"He's fixated on the missiles." Fury said. "But the codes are constantly being changed."

"By whom?" Tony asked but flinched when Clint threw a dart at the dartboard from across the room. He smirked when Tony gave him an annoyed look. Emma had to admit that was a pretty neat little trick and she did love anything that brought Tony discomfort.

"Parties unknown." Fury answered.

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Emma had to admit that this piece of information mystified her. Who had the kind of power to be able to help them and why? It didn't make any sense to Emma since it appeared that the Avengers were very much alone in this for the moment.

"Who has that kind of power?" Emma inquired, voicing her thoughts. "And why would they help us? Someone with that kind of power wouldn't be helping us out of the goodness of their heart. Power doesn't come cheap."

"Rogers is right…Ultron's got an enemy." Fury told Natasha, giving Emma a slightly impressed look. Emma just glanced at him, not feeling anything from Fury's silent appraisal. It's like everyone thought that she was helpless. Please. She had been doing this for a pretty extensive amount of time. She wasn't new to any of this. "That's not the same thing."

"Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury continued. Emma had to agree with him there.

"I might need to visit Oslo." Tony suddenly stated. "Find our unknown."

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." Natasha told Fury and Emma nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with Romanoff." Emma said, locking eyes with Fury… or at least with the one eye that the man actually had. "I thought you'd have way more intel than that from all the stories I heard about you. Hydra really hated your guts, you know. I think it was like winning the lottery for them when the hit was finally made on you. It was the first time I ever saw Hydra agents actually smiling." Fury just smirked at Emma's remark.

"Thanks for the compliment, Rogers." He told her before glancing back at all of the Avengers. "I do… have more than that I mean. I have you." He paused before continuing. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up." Fury walked away from the counter and moved towards the table. "Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world."

"Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission." Fury told them as he looked at every single one of them in the room. "And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave." Fury said as he gestured around the kitchen they were currently standing in. Clint shifted uncomfortably as he was reminded why he spent most of his time saving the world from threats… his family. Emma could see it in his eyes. "So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Natasha said teasingly. Emma snickered as Steve playfully raised his eyebrows at Natasha.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve retorted and Natasha just smirked.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked all of them.

"To become better." Steve replied. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies." Tony added.

"He wants to be the best that there is… to be perfect." Emma stated as she thought hard about Ultron's motives. Emma was familiar with the concept of perfection. It was an obsession that Hydra had, especially when they were experimenting on her. They were quite obsessed with ensuring that she would be the best super soldier that there was… that she would better than her father and Steve combined. "He won't stop until he's perfect."

"The human form is inefficient." Tony said, silently agreeing with Emma and Steve. Emma watched as Bruce slowly walked over to the table, standing next to Natasha. She furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed that he started taking special interest in the picture that Lila had given Natasha. What was in the picture? Oh, yes, a butterfly. "Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race you amazingly failed." Natasha told Tony and Bruce. Emma agreed with her whole heartedly. If it was any other situation Emma would've laughed at the irony of it all. Tony and Bruce had created Ultron to save the human race but he was actually hell bent on destroying it. She didn't think anyone could fail more than Tony and Bruce had.

"They don't need to be protected." Bruce said quietly as he stared at the picture. "They need to evolve." Everyone stared at Bruce curiously as he began explaining Ultron's real motive. "Ultron's going to evolve."

"How?" Fury questioned. Bruce looked at everyone with a wide eyed look as something suddenly occurred to him.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

* * *

"I'm going with you." Emma told Steve as she followed him outside. It was kind of silly to be arguing with him at this point since he was already suited up and Emma was still wearing her leggings and t-shirt. As soon as the Avengers realized that Ultron was after Dr. Cho and the cradle, they started suiting up and preparing to head out again. It looked like Ultron's next location was Seoul, South Korea. The only difference this time was that Emma wasn't going with them and she was absolutely furious about it when she found out.

"No, you're not, Emma." Steve told her sternly as he continued to walk down the path to the Quinjet.

"You know that I can help you so why don't you just let me?!" Emma said angrily.

"I've said this once and I'll say this again… Emma, you're just a kid." Steve told her firmly. Emma just shook her head.

"I'm tired of you saying that." Emma hissed.

"Well, it's true." Emma just scoffed at Steve's stubbornness.

"When will you just realize that I'm not this naïve stupid little girl?" Emma told him. "I'm not good, Steve. I don't know why you're pretending that I have any virtue left? This world of fighting and killing isn't foreign to me. This is my world… Why won't you just let me be who I am." Emma said, the tone of her voice sounding sad towards the end.

"Because I don't want this kind of life for you, Emma." Steve told her, looking frustrated with her. "I know what Hydra put you through… what they trained you for. I know that you're a killer and I know that there's still things that happened at that base that you won't tell me about." Steve said, sounding less frustrated and more saddened by the thought that Emma didn't trust him enough to tell him things. Emma wanted to tell him that it wasn't what he thought but she couldn't find the right words. "I know that you have secrets that you keep from me. I've accepted that."

"If you know all these things then why won't you let me go with you?" Emma asked, her eyes flooding with tears.

"You don't have to do this anymore, Emma. It's over… it's all over now." Steve said firmly and Emma shook her head furiously, refusing to believe what he was telling her.

"No, it's not. You can't just make those sort of decisions for me." Steve's eyes hardened as he looked down at her.

"Yes, I can. I'm your parent whether you like or not, Emma, and you're a child. I'm more than entitled to make those kinds of decisions." Steve told her, daring her to say anything to counter that statement.

"This is all I know." Emma told him, a tear streaming down her face. "I can't do anything else. There is nothing else for me out there. This is it… the end of the road."

"It doesn't have to be that way." Steve replied. "You're an amazing artist… you've been flying through your online English classes. You can go to college… be anything you want to be." Emma laughed humorlessly as she angrily wiped the tears from her face.

"Are you kidding me?! I can't just go to college and pretend that I'm not _this_." Emma gestured to herself as she continued. "Why do you keep pushing this all onto me? You keep trying to make me someone I'm not."

"I'm not making you into someone you're not." Steve told her. "I'm trying to give you a life here, Emma. I'm trying to give you a shot at something that's not wrapped up in this whole mess. Look at you…" He said, tears flooding his own blue eyes as he looked at her. "All the terrible things that were done to you… your parents… now you live in a tower with bunch of people who have targets on their backs. You live with your grandfather who looks thirty but who's actually ninety seven." His eyes focused on her face, putting all the details to memory. Her blue eyes that were the same exact shape and color as his. Emma's small nose that was small and cute, wrinkling in disgust whenever Tony made a suggestive comment to members of the female gender. Her naturally rosy pink lips which would always curled up into a smirk when she was teasing someone.

"I want you to grow up… fall in love… have a family… grow old." Steve finally stated, his voice soft. Emma understood where he was coming from but she knew what Steve wanted wasn't what she wanted.

"That's your dream, Steve." Emma told him firmly. "That's what you want. That's what you wanted before you got frozen. It isn't me though. My life isn't about love or being normal. My life is about fighting for my survival."

"I know. You're right... it was my dream before I went into the ice. When I woke up my priorities changed because I just traded one war in for another." Steve solemnly said. "When I found you last year I was happy again because you're one of the last things connecting me from my old life to my new one. Still… I don't see myself getting married with that white picket fence American dream that I used to have. If I can't have something like that then at least you can."

"I get what you're trying to do for me but I don't want that." Emma said quietly.

"How do you know what you want?" Steve questioned and Emma scoffed, exasperated by Steve's question.

"Because it's ridiculous! The whole idea of you wanting me to settle down, go to college, and get a job in the office." Emma told him. "And don't get me started on marriage… Who the hell would be crazy enough to marry me let alone want anything to do with me? I don't even think Loki's that insane."

"Why don't you wait a couple of years?" Steve replied in a soft voice. "Wait until you're eighteen and then see if you still want to try this Avenger thing. See whether or not you want to go to college. By then you'll be eighteen and I can't stop you anyways." Emma sighed. The truth was that she was too tired to argue with him anymore. She didn't want to fight for one more minute.

"Fine." Emma finally relented. "But I'm only letting you win this one because I'm tired." Steve smiled at her.

"Why don't you go back inside and get some rest? It's been a long couple of days." Emma nodded.

"Okay but I'm still mad at you." Emma said, looking as though she was almost pouting. Steve smirked.

"I love you too, Emma." He told her and she rolled her eyes at him. Steve leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against her forehead. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust but deep down inside she appreciated the affectionate gesture. "When I get back you are grounded, you know." Steve managed to say after the moment passed. Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise at him.

"What?" Steve began walking away from her, heading towards the Quinjet. Emma was left behind, watching him leave with wide eyes. Wait… was he actually serious?

"We'll talk about it later." Emma just shook her head as Steve disappeared inside Quinjet. She was about to turn around to head back when a hand touched her shoulder. Emma whipped around, surprised by the action, but relaxed when she saw it was Clint.

"Don't sneak up on me." She told him but Clint only smirked at her.

"Oh, like you never sneak up on any of us?" Clint teased. "I'm pretty proud of myself that I've finally been able to do it."

"I bet you are." Emma muttered. The smile on Clint's face then faded as something else came to his mind.

"You're doing a really important job, Emma. I don't know if you know that." Clint told her causing Emma to give him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Emma inquired.

"You staying here with my family." Clint continued to say. "I think that's the most important mission that you could go on."

"I don't know." Emma said, sounding unsure.

"It is important. You're going to protect my family while I'm gone." Clint said with a grateful look on his face. "I know what you're capable of doing and I also know that I can depend on you. I trust you even though I know you don't trust yourself sometimes."

"Why would you trust me?" Emma asked him, not having a clue as to why he would.

"Because you're a good kid despite what you might think." Emma didn't have a response to that. Clint just gave her a small smile as he patted her shoulder. "Keep them safe." He told her before he walked away, heading over to the Quinjet much like Steve had. She watched him and wondered when had she become so trustworthy. How had she done from threatening Bruce with a scalpel to being trusted enough for Clint to leave his family with her? Emma might never know.

* * *

Emma tried to focus on the television screen in front of her but she just couldn't. The kids were watching some Disney movie but Emma couldn't focus on the colorful animated cartoon. It was now morning and Steve had been gone for hours, leaving Emma alone with the Bartons. She had managed to get quite a bit of sleep the night before. Emma suspected it was because she was completely exhausted from the past couple of days. The kids would try and cheer Emma up, sensing that the blonde was in a mood but Emma didn't feel that much better even though she humored the two. She found it amusing as the two siblings battled for her attention and Emma couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like if she had a sibling. It would've been nice to have a older sibling to look out for her but it wouldn't have lasted long. When Hydra came they probably would've murdered that sibling or kidnapped them like they did with her.

Emma got from the couch and for once she didn't seem to have the two sibling's full attention. They were too occupied by the movie so Emma headed over to the kitchen. She saw Laura Barton hard at work making lunch for the four of them and became curious about the woman that had stolen Clint Barton's heart. It was so strange to her that the famous archer had a whole family that escaped the Avengers' attention.

"Do you need any help?" Emma asked as she leaned against the doorway and Laura jumped. She rested a hand above her heart as she calmed down.

"Did anyone ever tell you not to scare a pregnant woman? I almost peed myself." Laura asked rhetorically but with a warm smile on her face.

"Sorry, I've been told that I need to make my presence known whenever I enter a room." Emma replied as she looked at Laura. "Do you need anything?"

"Could you grab the apple juice from the fridge actually. That would be a huge help." Laura directed and Emma nodded as she went to do what the pregnant woman requested. When she returned she couldn't help but stare at Laura's stomach in curiosity. It didn't take long before Emma was caught even though she wasn't really trying to be secretive about her staring.

"You're staring." Laura told her, flashing her a bright smile.

"Sorry." Emma apologized even though she didn't really sound sorry. Laura gave her a confused look as she noticed how troubled Emma looked.

"What? Have you never seen a pregnant woman before?" Laura's eyes widened in surprise when Emma didn't say anything. "You haven't, have you?"

"Not really." Emma replied, shrugging.

"You don't need me to explain how it happens, do you?" Laura teased as she laughed at the disgusted look on Emma's face.

"I'd rather not know about that part of Barton's life." Emma retorted.

"So what makes you so curious about pregnancy all of the sudden? Steve doesn't need to be worried, right?" Laura asked and Emma just rolled her eyes.

"No, of course not." She told her before a serious look came over her face. "I'm just confused about this life that Barton's managed to hide from the rest of us. I've spent the past year living in that tower and I really had no clue."

"You sound more surprised that you didn't know than the fact that Clint has a family." Laura told her knowingly.

"He did seem more patient than the rest… especially with me. I even broke his bow and he forgave me. I should've known he was the fatherly sort." Laura smiled at Emma's comment about Clint's character.

"Clint's a really good father." Laura said. "Despite what you can do you're still a kid and I think Clint sees that." Emma glared down at her hands as she listened to what Laura told her.

"I'm really tired of people telling me that." Emma muttered. Something occurred to her right then and she looked up at Laura with a raised eyebrow. "How much do you know about me? How much has Clint told you?"

"Well, everything about you is mostly classified." Laura told her honestly and Emma just smirked.

"So naturally you know everything?" Emma retorted and Laura laughed.

"Naturally." She answered.

"You really should've been a spy." Emma told her, shaking her head at the grin on Laura's face. "You would've been really good at it."

"No, I don't think a life of sneaking up on people is really for me. That's more of Clint and Natasha's expertise." Laura replied.

"How does Clint do it? How does he balance all of this?" Emma gestured wildly to the house around them. Laura just looked at her and smiled softly.

"He takes a lot of time off. Did you ever notice that?" Laura said jokingly.

"I thought he was just going on a cruise or something." Emma replied. "How are you completely fine with him going off to save the world? Can you really just sit at home and wait?"

"It's difficult to say the least. I always worry about him but I know he'll come back home to me in the end… he always does." Emma nodded silently as she processed what Laura just told her.

"Your house reminds me of my home in Oklahoma." Emma admitted suddenly, causing Laura to look up at her in surprise. "I used to live in a farmhouse with my parents before Hydra took me… before they killed my parents."

"Do you miss it?" Laura asked and Emma shrugged.

"Sometimes… There's fuzzy little memories that come back to me and I remember small details about a certain creak in the staircase or the coldness of the kitchen floor. I used to have Disney princess wallpaper in my bedroom I think." Emma explained and Laura listened to her intently. "Then there are times when I don't miss it at all because it just reminds me that my parents are dead and whoever I was before Hydra took me... also died with them."

"You sound incredibly cynical for someone you're age." Laura told her honestly and Emma smiled sadly.

"I'm a realist I guess you could say."

"Maybe Steve and you can have something like this." Laura said, steering the conversation back to what they had been talking about before. "A place to call home." Emma scoffed.

"Steve's not one for that kind of life anymore than I am. He might've been once but so much has changed since then." Emma replied. "I might hate to admit this but Steve and I are alike in a lot of ways."

"Still… maybe you don't just have to have a life of war and fighting. Maybe you could have both like Clint, someday. There's no rule that says you have to pick one over the other." Emma watched the pregnant woman intently. She wanted to come up with a clever response but she didn't have one. The teenager sat there in wonder as she thought about what Laura just told her. Could Laura be right? Could she maybe have both someday. The thought had never even occurred to Emma. Maybe she could have both.

* * *

Another day went by and Emma was beyond bored. There was no word on what was going on and Laura refused to watch the news. She said something about it doing more harm than good. Emma just knew that she was going out of her mind sitting there and waiting around. She wished that she had some idea as to how the others were doing and whether or not Ultron was blowing the whole planet up yet. The kids were on the couch reading their books but Emma wasn't feeling up to reading anything at the moment. She just sat at the dinning room table, her hand resting against her face as she boredly stared at the wall. It was then that Emma heard the front door open and close. She lifted her head up suddenly, narrowing her eyes as she tried to strain her ears to hear more. Emma quietly padded across the room to where she heard the noise, mentally preparing herself for various situations. She, however, was relieved to see that it was just Clint. Gone was his Hawkeye uniform and he was instead wearing a t-shirt and jeans with a suitcase in his hand. He motioned for her to remain silent. Emma got the hint… he wanted to surprise his wife and children.

"Steve's outside." Clint whispered as she walked by him and she nodded, sending him a small smile as she began to head outside. Emma spotted her grandfather standing a ways away from the house, his back towards her as he looked off into the distance. He was no longer dressed in his Captain America uniform, instead opting for a similar look to Clint except for the fact that he wore a leather jacket. She slowly approached him but she already knew that he was aware that she was there. It was a feeling she had in the pit of her stomach.

"So I take it that we won." Emma spoke up. Steve glanced at her as she went to stand next to him.

"Yes. Ultron's gone." Emma nodded solemnly. She was glad that the whole fiasco was finally over even if she wished that she could've helped in some way.

"That's good." She paused as she noticed the tired expression on Steve's face. "There was a lot of civilian casualties, wasn't there?"

"Unfortunately yes." Steve answered with a grim expression.

"There probably would've been more if Ultron lived." She reasoned and Steve shrugged.

"Probably… that's actually something I told Tony a couple of days ago." Emma raised a brow at her grandfather's odd statement.

"And what is that?"

"That everytime someone tries to stop a war before it happens, innocent people die." He told her, his tone sad.

"I bet Stark loved hearing that." She retorted before pausing. "You're right you know. Hydra tried to do the same thing. Whatever messed up logic Pierce had… well, Stark's not that much different after all."

"Don't say that." Steve suddenly said as his gaze hardened. "Tony's our friend."

"Yes, but it's true." She deadpanned. "I like Tony for what it's worth even though I'll never admit that but his mind is anyone's guess. The guy has a few screws loose not that I can blame him. I imagine going through a wormhole in space is enough to make anyone lose their mind."

"How have things been here?" Steve changed the subject quickly. Emma was slightly suspicious but she decided to drop the subject. "Any trouble in the Barton residence? Any threats?" Emma snorted.

"Unless you count getting a racoon out from under the house a problem… no, things have been boringly mundane." Emma answered and Steve smirked.

"Did you have to take the poor little guy out? Was he a new target?" Steve joked. Emma was surprised that Steve had made a joke like that about her past… it wasn't like she was offended since she had started making jokes like that all the time but usually Steve hated it when she joked about her past. Maybe something really had changed.

"I actually released him into the woods." She replied. "I don't think I have it in me to kill animals. They should be rewarded for not being people… I hate people." Steve just laughed.

"So Emma Rogers has a soft spot?" She just shrugged at Steve's question.

"Apparently but don't tell anyone else. I don't need them thinking that I'm not scary anymore."

"Fair enough." They fell into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes after that. It almost reminded Emma of the silences she used to share with her father. It was quite odd… Emma realized that she hadn't thought about him in days. She had been so worried about Steve and the others. Was that what it was going to be like? The more time she spent away from him, the further they drifted apart? Emma sincerely hoped not.

"So what happens now? What do we do?" She asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"We go home." Steve responded and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do we even still have a home?" Emma said. "I thought Ultron pretty much trashed the place."

"Stark's been building this facility in Upstate New York. The official Avengers' Headquarters." He told her and she looked at him in surprise. Well, that wasn't what she was expecting to hear at all. "It's away from the city and all of the people. There's a lot of land… I think you'll really love it."

"It sounds nice." Emma said quietly. "So that's it. We're just packing up and moving. What about the others? Are they moving as well?" Steve gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Bruce disappeared off to God knows where. Thor is going to go back to Asgard… apparently there's more of a pressing matter that he needs to tend to." Steve explained as Emma listened respectfully. "Clint's retired now and Tony is going to stay at the tower while it goes under reconstruction. It'll just be Natasha and I at the facility."

"So the Avengers are disbanded?" Emma said. She was speaking more to herself than Steve but he just shook his head in response.

"Not disbanded… we're actually getting some new members to add to the team." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"New members? I thought you said you wanted me to wait until I was eighteen?" Steve just chuckled at her confused expression.

"Oh, you are going to wait until you're eighteen. Believe me." Steve told her. "No, I'm talking about some other new recruits."

"Who are you talking about then?" Emma asked, completely bewildered as to what Steve was talking about.

"I'll explain it on the way home. It's a long story." Steve promised before he brought up something completely different. "But until then… we need to talk about your grounding." Emma sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes.

"Are you still on about that?" Steve nodded.

"I was thinking about a month." He told her seriously and Emma just shrugged.

"I'd could live with a month. I've handled a lot worse." She replied earnestly. Steve then smirked at her again and she started to feel uneasy.

"No, no, I know that you would be incredibly comfortable with spending a month alone in your room sketching and reading." Steve retorted. "I was thinking of you being forced to interact with others and actually participate in group discussions. That sounds like a fair punishment, right?" Emma groaned.

"This is going to be a long month." And Emma had a feeling that it was going to be an even longer year. Something told her that the Avengers and her would have a lot more to deal with in the upcoming years. Ultron most definitely wasn't going to be their last problem. If anything Ultron just proved that the Avengers didn't function as well together as they thought they did. She wondered how long the Avengers could last. Hopefully longer than what Ultron had thought. Emma could only hope.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Author's Note: So here is the first chapter of the Civil War storyline. I've finally made it and I can definitely say that Peter will be here in two chapters. So the chapter after next. So excited!**

 **Thank you to all my reviewers last chapter! Thanks to gotmoreissuesthanvogue, Spawn Hades, AppropriateLlama, nightwingbaby1, and Knarl for their reviews. Keep reviewing and thanks for all the follows! I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Avengers Facility

Location: Upstate New York

2016

"Why can't I go to the meeting?" Emma demanded as she walked alongside Steve who was headed to the living room area of the facility. Apparently there was an urgent meeting being set up there by Tony. After the incident in Wakanda a couple of days earlier, the Secretary of State decided to drop in for a visit although Emma was sure that Secretary Ross wasn't just there to be friendly. No, this meeting seemed to be something very urgent that Secretary Ross wanted to address now rather than later.

It had been a year since the events of Ultron and Emma was now fifteen years old. She had been living with the good guys now for around two years since they'd rescued her from that Hydra base. It had been a long and tiring journey for Emma but she really thought she'd made a lot of progress in those two years. Her nightmares still occurred regularly and even more so since the witch made her relive them. Speaking of the witch… Emma had been livid to find out that the Avengers had accepted Wanda Maximoff onto their team with open arms. Steve prepared her for the encounter between her and the witch after he had picked her up from Clint's house. On the way to the Avengers' Facility that day, he had explained to her everything that had transpired since the Avengers went to Seoul. Apparently Stark had created yet another lifeform which was an android named Vision. That bit of information took Emma a while to process and even more so when she came face to face with the magenta colored android. Emma decided early on that she didn't like Vision. He didn't understand personal space and asked the most intrusive of questions. When Vision flew through one of the walls in her bedroom one day, she threatened to find a way to kill him and use the "pretty little gem" on his forehead as the center piece for a necklace. After that Vision never entered her room again.

The next piece of information that Steve had explained to her on the way home was the matter of Wanda Maximoff. The Witch. It was no secret how much Emma despised the Sokovian girl after what she had shown her. Steve told Emma to forgive the witch for her previous mistakes since she had since defected to their side and she had also lost her twin brother but Emma wasn't the forgiving sort. Once you crossed Emma, there was no chance of redemption in her eyes. What the witch had shown her was unforgivable and Emma hated the fact that there was someone out there who knew everything about her. Steve managed to convince her not to harm or kill the witch but that didn't stop Emma from glaring at the brunette in hatred and supplying her with one threat… a threat which would be the only words she ever spoke to the older girl. ' _Don't get in my way and don't talk to me. If you tell anyone about what you saw then you're a dead little witch.'_ It was needless to say that Wanda didn't speak to her after that… only giving her sad looks that were filled with pity. Emma sincerely wanted to punch the look off her face but she resisted. Steve would be so disappointed.

"Because Ross doesn't even know that you exist and I'd like to keep it that way." Steve told her solemnly. "The guy doesn't have the strongest stomach when it comes to enhanced individuals. Bruce is evidence of that."

"I live here too, you know. I have just as much of a right to hear what's going on in that meeting." Emma replied with a frustrated tone. "Ross doesn't scare me."

"I don't want him to try and take you away from me." Steve explained. Emma realized that the look in his eyes was of fear. He was scared.

"He won't. I just hate being in the dark about everything." Emma said as she locked eyes with him. They had since paused in the hallway, knowing that this was a conversation that they needed to have now rather than later. "I didn't even know you guys went to Wakanda to apprehend Rumlow until I found out that you didn't even get him… he escaped so he's still out there somewhere."

"I'm sorry, Emma. I shouldn't have let him go… it was my fault. I got too distracted." Steve admitted, feeling guilty about letting Rumlow out of his sight. Emma just shook her head.

"Steve, it's fine. At least this will give me the chance to kill him myself." Emma told him which didn't give Steve any comfort. He groaned.

"See, this is why you can't go to meetings. If Ross heard you something like that he'd try and find a reason to take you away. The guy's obsessed with containing anyone who's enhanced in anyway." Steve told her honestly. "You'd just be giving him one more reason to take you."

"As if I'd let him take me." Emma said, scoffing.

"Emma, whatever Ross wants to talk about is serious. I don't need to worry about him finding out who you really are. He already knows that the Viper Assassin is somewhere in the facility. It wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together." Steve replied. "As soon as the meeting's over I promise that I'll tell you everything." Emma just rolled her eyes before she crossed her arms.

"Whatever. I just can't believe that the witch is allowed to go and I'm not." She grumbled. "I'm the one who's been here the longest after all."

"Her name is Wanda and don't pout. Go to your room and study or something." Steve told her. "The meeting would most likely bore you anyways. It's probably just a bunch of politics."

"Fine, but I'm not happy about this." Emma told him, her tone stern but Steve just smiled at her.

"I know you aren't." She huffed before she stalked off to her room within the facility. The day she turned eighteen could not come sooner. Hopefully by then people would start to take her seriously. It was seriously sad at how little she scared people now. Emma was starting to wonder if she was beginning to lose her touch.

* * *

Emma laid sprawled out on her bed, doing as she was told as she began to study. Homeschooling was going as well as it could but Emma remained incredibly bored as she studied certain subjects. While some things like English fascinated her, subjects like history, math, and science all incredibly bored her since she had already gone over all of that with Hydra. Emma couldn't wait until she didn't have to keep up this normal façade like Steve wanted. The day she turned eighteen would be the day she would resume back to her world of fighting and start her try at avenging. Emma had only been able to use the suit Stark made for her once before Steve made her promise that she wouldn't use it again until he told her it was okay. Apparently he hadn't forgotten that she disobeyed him and left Bruce back on the Quinjet while she entered the Salvage Yard back when they were trying to stop Ultron. Emma thought that Steve might've been slightly overeacting but oh well…

"McConaughey, can you tell me what they're talking about in that meeting, right now?" Emma asked her AI system as she skimmed over an educational article on her tablet. Since Jarvis had been destroyed and reprogrammed into Vision or whatever, Tony had decided to install McConaughey into the facility as the facility's main AI system. Tony kept his own personal AI System, Friday, in his own Iron Man suits. He said that he liked McConaughey because McConaughey was unique but Emma just thought that Tony loved the way the others reacted to McConaughey's voice.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rogers, but I can't divulge that information at this time. Mr. Stark has restricted any access to the proceedings of the meeting." McConaughey told her and Emma groaned.

"God, he can be really inconvenient sometimes." Emma muttered.

"Yes, Mr. Stark does have an eccentric way of doing things." Emma smirked. If there's one thing that Emma loved about McConaughey it was the fact that he always seemed to agree with her. Emma wondered if Tony programmed him to be so agreeable.

"Well, I guess I'll just go back to studying even though it's beneath me." She said begrudgingly.

"Have fun with that, Miss Rogers." Emma just shook her head in amusement at McConaughey. She thought that his sarcasm was the most amusing thing about him. An AI system who had a knack for sarcasm… who knew?

Emma had probably spent over two hours inside her room as she waited for the meeting to end so that Steve could fill her in on what had happened. In that time she had ceased her studying since she already knew most of what some of the textbooks covered. Emma then decided to read another one of her books. She had recently started reading _Gone with the Wind_ which was very much a romance novel but it had a lot of war in it so that made up for all the stupid romance bits in it. Emma had to admit that even though the main character Scarlett O'Hara was a little annoying, she also liked the fact that she wasn't a perfect character. Scarlett was selfish just like the rest of the human race and all the people who despised her were just too stubborn to admit that. Emma had just turned the page in the book when she heard Steve walking around outside her bedroom door.

"Come in." She announced before Steve had even opened her door. She knew it was him from the sound of his footsteps as well as the smell of the aftershave he used. Steve opened the door and when he didn't say anything Emma looked up from her book. She was about to ask him about the meeting when she noticed the grim expression on his face. Emma frowned.

"What's going on?" She immediately asked. "Did something happen at the meeting?" Steve shook his head.

"It's not about the meeting." Emma was taken back by the tears flooding Steve's eyes as he gazed at her. She set her book down and moved into a sitting position. Steve slowly crossed the room and perched himself on the edge of the bed.

"I don't understand." She said in a state of confusion. "Then what is it?"

"It's your grandmother." Steve said in a grave tone. Emma got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and she immediately knew what had happened. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "She passed away this afternoon." There was a long pause of silence between them as Emma tried to process what Steve was telling her. She wasn't sure how she felt about this new situation. A part of her was devastated that her grandmother had passed away… especially since she had only just got her back. Another part of her was relieved because she knew her grandmother had really been suffering these past couple of years.

"How did she die?" Emma asked quietly, her voice a soft whisper.

"They said she passed away in her sleep." Steve answered and Emma nodded slowly.

"That's good. At least she didn't suffer." Emma replied.

"They're sending her body back to London. There's going be a funeral service there in a couple of days." Steve told her and Emma swallowed, her throat feeling exceptionally dry. She glanced over at the pictures that littered the shelves on the walls of her room. She saw the picture that her grandmother had given her of her parent's wedding day but she also saw the picture Steve had given her… it was a picture from when he knew her grandmother as a beautiful and brave young woman. She was beautful and even as an elderly woman, Peggy had still looked beautiful to Emma.

"Are we going?" Emma asked, causing Steve to nod in response.

"Yes, we'll leave in the morning. It'll be a long flight." Steve said in response. Emma looked down at her hands quietly.

"Okay." Steve raised his eyebrows at her empty sounding response.

"Okay? Just okay?" He asked, sounding a bit bewildered by her reaction. "Are you not upset? Don't you feel the slightest bit sad?" He demanded to know and Emma could tell that this wasn't about her. His eyes were a bit wild as he analyzed her voice. Emma knew that Steve was incredibly hurt by her grandmother's death. This was about so much more than her reaction to Peggy's death.

"Of course I'm upset." She told him, her eyes narrowed. "I only just got her back… she was the only thing that I had left of my life before Hydra. How could I not be upset?"

"Then how do you not know show it?" Steve asked, looking very interested in knowing how she hid her emotions so well. Emma sighed.

"It's called compartmentalization, Steve. I just set the feelings aside and deal with them when I have time to be alone." She admitted honestly.

"You shouldn't deal with your feelings alone. It's not healthy. Don't you remember why I sent you to Sam so that you could visit the VA?" Emma shook her head.

"This is different… I'm upset that she died but I think it's something I have to come to terms with on my own." Emma confessed. "I have to realize that my life before Hydra is truly gone and I also need to realize that my life in the hands of Hydra is also over. It's been hard but I just have to accept that and I'm the only person that can make myself do so."

"I just want you to know that you don't have to do this on your own." Steve replied and Emma just gave him a sad smile.

"You don't have to do this on your own either." She said, locking eyes with him. "I know that you still loved her even if you stopped being _in_ love with her."

"Emma, that's not true I-"

"Oh, please, Steve." Emma interupted him whilst rolling her eyes. "I'm not some kid with divorced parents. I understand that you had a life apart from her the moment you woke up from the ice and she had long since moved on from you. I'm not going to start bawling my eyes out just because you two went your separate ways. I know that you really cared for her though."

"I do… or I did." Steve admitted. Peggy's death was still fresh in his mind and it was odd trying to come to terms with the fact that they were now in a world where Peggy Carter didn't exist anymore. Emma bit her lip nervously as she decided to try something new that she had never done before. She slowly wrapped her arms around Steve, embracing him in a hug. She looked around the room awkwardly as she rested her head against his shoulder. It felt very uncomfortable to her but Emma knew that this was what Steve needed and she would do anything for him. Steve smiled at her in amusement as Emma tried to bring him some comfort. He was a bit surprised that she had intiated the hug since she really hated being touched by anyone… even him at times.

"I'm sorry that she died." Emma whispered, trying to be of use. Steve softly caressed a strand of her golden blonde hair before pushing it behind her ear. They were going to be okay. Peggy was gone but they would make it through this. They just had to.

"I am too."

* * *

"So the meeting was something about a bunch of accords?" Emma asked Steve and Sam. Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as she listened to what they were telling her. Emma, Steve, and Sam were currently flying in one of Stark's private jets to London where the funeral service was taking place. Since the flight was so long they had thought now would be a great time to discuss what had happened in the meeting. She was just thankful to talk about anything other than her grandmother's death. The proceedings of the meeting was a welcomed distraction from the sadness she felt.

"The Sokovia Accords has been penned by the United Nations and approved by 117 countries according to Ross." Sam explained. "In these documents the accords state that the Avengers won't be a private organization anymore."

"What does that mean? They want to recruit new members themselves or something?" Emma inquired. She never completely understood politics even though she was forced by Hydra to learn about them. Emma only understood bloodshed and war… politics wasn't really her forte.

"It means that the UN will be pulling all the strings. We would only be allowed to go on missions if they deemed it necessary." Steve replied with a dark look in his eyes. Emma's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at them.

"That's bullshit!" Emma exclaimed. Steve gave her a pointed look but she just rolled her eyes before continuing. "I'm sorry but it's true. What does a bunch of people sitting on their asses all day know about missions? They want to give us missions and then take other ones away whenever they feel like it?" She ranted almost hysterically as a certain amount of fear entered her eyes. "No… they can't do that. What if they want us to do something we don't like? That's just not… that's not what the Avengers are. It's the exact same thing as Hydra." She looked back up at them, a haunted look on her face as she continued to speak.

"Hydra made me do terrible things. They blackmailed me by using my father as leverage. How different is this from Hydra? They'll be in control just like Hydra was… they'll control us just like Hydra did." She shook her head furiously. "This is them trying to prevent conflicts before they occur. It's the exact same thing Hydra did with Project Insight and it's the exact same thing Stark did with Ultron… Look at how all those turned out."

"Tony's supporting the accords. He's already signed them." Steve told her and Emma snorted.

"Of course he is. How typical of him." Emma retorted. "He never learns, does he? He's just trading one disaster in for another. These accords are just going to end up being another Ultron. Stark being controlled by the government? Yeah, we'll see just how long that lasts."

"He feels guilty." Sam said and Emma turned to look at him. "There was a lot of civilian casualties in Sokovia. I think Tony thinks that this will make up for that." Emma looked between them, a serious look on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Nothing can make up for that. You can wipe the red out of your ledger as much as you want but nothing can resurrect all those dead people. I would know that better than anyone else." Emma said darkly. "There's always going to casualties in war hence why it's called a war. People are always going to die because there's always going to be some evil asshole out there that wants to ruin everything. There's going to be casualties and that's sad and very tragic but that's life. If we don't go out there and stop this evil… this darkness, that always seems to encompass this planet we live on, then more people will die and there will be even more casualties."

"I just wonder how many people are going to have to die for everyone to see that." Emma remarked sadly as she finished her little speech. Steve and Sam exchanged looks as they watched a conflicted looking Emma.

"We agree with you, kid." Sam said after a moment of silence. "It's the others that don't seem to see it that way."

"Who's going to sign?" She asked quietly.

"Well, Stark signed them already but we think that there's a good chance that Vision and Rhodes will sign too." Steve told her and she nodded.

"What about Natasha?" Emma questioned.

"Who knows whatever's going on in Romanoff's head but she seemed to be siding with Tony." Sam replied. Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Wow, the world really is ending." Emma mumbled before she looked at Steve. "And the witch?" Steve shook his head at her. He couldn't believe how much of a grudge Emma could hold over Wanda. He knew what Wanda must've shown her was bad but Emma told him not to worry about it. She just said that Wanda showed her a memory of when she had been injected with the serum. Emma made it clear that she didn't want to say much more and he figured she was telling the truth. Why wouldn't the injections be a fear of hers? It made perfect sense. Still… Steve just wished that Emma would be more friendly towards Wanda or at least not give the brunette a death glare everytime she saw her.

"I don't really know what Wanda's feeling these days. A lot of guilt and confliction probably." Emma just nodded as she took in that piece of information.

"Something feels wrong… I can feel it around me." Emma said softly as she looked at the ground, refusing to meet their eyes. "Hydra taught me a lot of things but they didn't teach me that… it's instinctual."

"Everything is going to be fine, Emma." Steve told her reassuringly and Emma looked back up at him, a doubtful look on her face.

"Then why does it feel like a war's brewing?"

* * *

The funeral was jam packed with people, Emma noticed, although that didn't really surprise her. Her grandmother must've touched a lot of different people's lives. She was a hero and a founder of Shield before the agency crumbled. Emma was only regretful that she had been forced to work for an organization that ruined something her grandmother had created. She smiled softly because she realized just how loved her grandmother had been. It was a good feeling. Emma was sitting in between Steve and Sam. Susan was even there, sitting on the other side of Steve, although she seemed more visably emotional than the rest of them. It made a lot more sense to Emma. Susan's grandfather and Peggy had been best friends. Tears streamed down Susan's face as she sat there and Emma watched Steve hand Susan a hankerchief, placing his hand over hers in comfort. How interesting…

"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and saw a few words." The minister announced. Susan sniffled and Emma genuinely felt bad for her. She had become quite close with the dark haired woman since the following year. Whenever Steve and Emma were in D.C. visiting Peggy they would always invite Susan along for the ride. It was seldom that Susan actually joined them since she still lived in San Francisco but Emma still liked Susan's company. Susan, Darcy, and Natasha turned out to be the only three people that didn't still treat her like she was a child. Emma liked anyone who didn't treat her that way.

Emma watched as a tall blonde woman walked up to the podium. She was a bit curious to see some of her extended family. Emma knew that she wouldn't exactly be able to interact with a lot of them seeing as how they probably still thought she was dead but Emma was still interested in getting a glimpse of them from afar. She had seen a brunette man and woman earlier on in the service and she deduced that they were most likely her aunt and uncle. Emma had seen pictures of them in her grandmother's room at the nursing home and listened as Peggy told her stories about them and her father. Benson Carter and Emily Forrester. Emma wondered if she was perhaps named after Emily.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of Shield…" Sharon said as she began her speech. "But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy." Emma noticed curiously at the way the woman locked eyes with Steve and wondered how he knew her. She didn't think she had ever seen Sharon come to the nursing home before.

"She had a photograph in her office." Sharon smiled as she remembered the photograph. "Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid that was pretty cool but it was a lot to live up to." The blonde woman gave Steve a pointed look before she continued. "Which is why I never told anyone we were related."

"I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either." Sharon said thoughtfully. Emma started to listen very carefully as Sharon shared Peggy's wisdom with the room. "She said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree…" Sharon said strongly and Emma couldn't help but relate those words to the current predictament they were all facing. "Look them in the eye and say "No, you move."

Emma swallowed, feeling a lot more emotional than she had before. Tears were prickling her eyes as she struggled to blink them away, trying not cry in public. Her grandmother was so incredibly strong and powerful yet she didn't need to be as enhanced as Emma or as cold as Natasha. She was strong and powerful on her own. There was nothing fake about her. Emma could only hope that she didn't have to pretend to be that tough… not when her grandmother had been that tough just on her own. Everyone gave Sharon a polite round of applause as she walked away from the podium… including Emma. Emma was proud of the woman her grandmother had been.

* * *

"So I guess you're my cousin, huh?" Emma whipped her head around at the voice and was met with the sight of Sharon Carter standing before her. Her eyes widened in surprise as the blonde woman gave her a knowing smile. The funeral service had ended a little while ago and Steve told her that he wanted to stay behind for a bit. Emma decided that he needed to be alone for a little bit so she walked out into the main corridor of the large church.

"Excuse me?" Emma inquired as she eyed the woman suspiciously but Sharon didn't look fazed one bit.

"I know who you are, Emma. Peggy told me about you… I'll admit I thought she was just being a little delirious when she said that you were alive but Maria Hill confirmed it." Sharon told her honestly and Emma crossed her arms.

"I thought that was classified information. Why's Hill going around telling everyone my life story." Emma retorted.

"Before Shield fell, Hill and I worked together. I was an agent there but now I work for the CIA." Sharon said. "She thought I might like to know that my dead cousin wasn't really dead after all." Emma smirked at her.

"So you traded in agencies?" Emma asked rhetorically and Sharon just shrugged.

"I guess you could say that." Sharon answered, her expression then softened as she continued to look at Emma. "I am glad to see that you're alive. When my parents told me what happened in Oklahoma, I was devastated. I was only in highschool and my Uncle Steven and Aunt Margot were my favorite Uncle and Aunt. You were also my favorite cousin."

"You don't remember me, do you?" Sharon asked sadly causing Emma to shake her head.

"No, I'm sorry." Emma told her, a bit bummed out that she couldn't remember whatever Sharon wanted her too. She barely remembered her parents from that time as it was. She doubted she remembered anything about Sharon.

"I used to spend summers out on that farm with you guys." Sharon went on to say and Emma listened to her quietly. "Those were the best times of my life. It was away from the city and all the people… It was so quiet that I could actually hear myself think for once." Sharon locked eyes with Emma.

"I remember when you were born." She told her and Emma felt her breath hitch. "You weighed eight pounds, five ounces… a big thing. I was only thirteen at the time and I'd never held a baby before but the minute your mother handed you to me, I knew that you were special." Sharon smiled at the memory as the tears prickled her eyes. "You looked up at me with these big eyes and then what did you do? You laughed… you actually laughed. They say babies can't laugh when they're born but you did."

"You have no idea how happy I am to know that you're still here." Sharon finished as a lone tear streamed down her face. Emma could feel tears flooding her eyes as well as she stared at Sharon. The older woman then suddenly embraced Emma and she grunted from the surprise of it all. Usually she would push someone away if they hugged her like that… unless they were Steve. Emma, however, couldn't find it in herself to push Sharon away. She awkwardly patted Sharon's pack instead as she tried to comfort the older woman. They were family after all, weren't they?

"I'm glad that I'm still here too, Sharon." Emma told her before they pulled away from each other. Emma then looked down at her hands sadly, suddenly finding herself unable to meet Sharon's eyes. "You probably know about the Hydra thing too then." She was surprised when Sharon made the bold move to lift her chin up, forcing Emma to lock eyes with her cousin.

"I don't care about that, Emma. I'm just glad to have you back." Sharon told her fiercely. "I'm only annoyed that Maria waited until the last minute to tell me." She paused as she stepped back from Emma before continuing. "What happened with Hydra is in the past. It's over now. It's not like you had a choice anyways. Technically… I was working for Hydra as well. Shield was never just Shield. Everything that Aunt Peggy had built was tainted by the very evil she sought to destroy."

"Every system is corrupt." Emma told the sad woman quietly. "My grandmother did what she thought was right and that's all anyone can hope to do but nothing lasts forever. There's always someone trying to ruin it all. It was only a matter of time before Hydra sunk it's claws into Shield and it didn't take them long but it was good while it lasted… or so I've been told."

"You're incredibly smart for your age." Sharon told her and Emma smiled.

"I have to be."

* * *

Emma was relaxing in a small café inside the hotel they were all staying in. She sat across from Sharon and Sam who were talking about God knows what. Emma didn't really know. The moment the two shared a strange look with each other, Emma plugged her headphones in and started listening to the iPod Darcy had given her almost two years ago. The fifteen year old now had a Stark phone but she loved the iPod too much to part ways with it. Call her sentimental. The real reason she started listening to music was to block Sam and Sharon out. She was already feeling like enough of a third wheel on this trip while in the company of Steve and Susan, she didn't need to feel that way with Sam and Sharon as well. Emma bobbed her head along to the song 'Mr. Know-It-All' by Young the Giant when a notification popped up on her screen, alerting her that Steve had just sent her a text message.

 **Steve:** _Just arrived at the hotel w/ Susan._

Emma smirked at the text as she read it before she quickly responded with a text on her own.

 **Emma:** _Ew. Don't want 2 know the details._

It only took a minute before he responded.

 **Steve:** _How do you even know to say something like that? I'm having a long talk w/ Sam & Nat._

Emma just snickered to herself as she read the last text but she didn't make any move to respond. She just sat there looking at the screen as she played a game on her phone. Emma was incredibly bored so she just played the game to kill some time. She considered video games childish and boring but Emma wasn't about to sit there as a third wheel bored out of her mind on Sam and Sharon's little date. Emma was about five minutes into round two of her game as another notification popped up on her screen but this time it wasn't a text message. It was a breaking news notification from CNN. Emma's eyes widened in shock when she read the title of the news article. ' _Breaking New: The Winter Soldier bombs UN Complex in Vienna, Austria. 12 dead. 70 injured.'_

Emma gasped in surprise as she continued to read the article that had limited information so early on but still managed to contan information linking her father to the crime. It had been three years since Emma had last seen him… two years since he sent the Avengers the flashdrive leading them to her location. Emma had grown up a lot since then… probably changed a lot too. From what Emma had heard about him before he defected from Hydra, it sounded like he might've even been doing okay. He saved Steve from the Potomic river and he had also sent the Avengers to her rescue. However, Emma was no fool. She knew what her father was capable of despite the clean image Steve happened to have of him. Still… a part of Emma didn't want to believe that this was him. Emma didn't care whether or not he had bombed the UN. If he bombed the UN then it meant that he wasn't well and he needed help. Her father could do all sorts of bad things but Emma would always love him and she would always come back for him. She would kill for him… in fact, she had already killed for him in the past. There wasn't anything Emma wouldn't do for him. Without any hesitation Emma immediately shoved her phone in Sam's face, interupting whatever conversation he and Sharon were having. Sam seemed annoyed at first but the look soon faded when he saw what was on her phone. Sharon read the article as well and the smile dropped from her face.

"We need to get Steve." Sam stated, a grim expression on his face. He looked between Emma and Sharon. "Emma, take Sharon to your and Steve's room. Turn on the television. We need to get all the information we can." Emma nodded quickly before getting up from the table. They couldn't waste anytime.

"Of course." Emma replied before she started heading in the opposite direction, Sharon following closely behind her as the blonde woman began to take out her phone. She worked for the CIA and was most likely going to try and get more information on the situation. Emma felt sick to her stomach as she walked back to her and Steve's room. She had wished over and over again that she would have the chance to see her father again… to be reunited with him as father and daughter. It was starting to look like Emma's wish was slowly becoming true but not in the way she had dreamed.

* * *

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna." A British news anchorman said as they all watched the news back in the hotel room. Sharon was talking in the background on her phone as she tried to get more details on the situation. Emma carefully watched Steve's facial expression as he looked at the television screen with a stoic expression on his face. Emma didn't think he had ever seen him look so tense before. She glanced back at Sam and Susan who also looked to be on edge, Sam a little more than Susan.

"More than seventy people have been injured." The anchorman continued to say. "At least twelve are dead includng Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes." Emma's breathing hitched as she saw the image of her father on screen. There was no doubt in her mind that the person in the video looked just like him but Emma couldn't help but feel like there was something off about this entire thing. Why would her father launch a political attack if he no longer did Hydra's bidding? What would be the point. PTSD? No, that couldn't be it. This a whole lot bigger than that. It just had to be.

"The Winter Soldier." The anchorman clarified. "The infamous Hydra agent linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political asassinations alongside his former companion the Viper Assassin. The Viper Assassin, whose identity remains classified, was granted immunity two years ago when she reportedly defected to the Avengers' side of the opposition. There is no evidence linking the Viper Assassin to the bombing. The former Hydra agent turned Avengers' ally has not been spotted since she accompanied the Avengers on a mission last year off the coast of Africa but she is not a suspect in the bombing." Emma shifted uncomfortably as the anchorman talked about her. So she knew the exact cover story that they had used for her. It was nice to know that she wasn't suspected of being a terrorist anymore even if she technically used to be one when Hydra had her.

"I have to go to work." Sharon stated as she looked at the screen. Steve just nodded and the blonde woman left to go back to her room. Probably to pack or something Emma suspected. Sharon gave Emma a comforting smile as she left the room. They were all silent as she left and didn't resume talking until the door shut. Emma understood why. It was true that Sharon was an obvious friend of theirs but she also worked for the CIA.

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked, the first one to break the silence.

"We have to go get him, of course." Emma said without any hesitation. There wasn't any doubt in her mind about whether or not to go get her father. Nothing was going to stop her from bringing him back to her now that she knew where he was.

"We need a plan." Steve said next. "We don't even know where he is." Emma just shook her head.

"So we go to Vienna and figure out where he is from there. It's that simple." Emma said.

"No, we need to find out more information." Steve disagreed. "We can't just go aimlessly looking around for him."

"It won't be that aimless. If he was in Vienna then he couldn't be far." Emma told him and Steve gave her an incredulous look.

"You actually think that he did it?" Steve asked, bewildered that Emma could think that Bucky would such a thing. Emma just gave him a stoic expression as she crossed her arms.

"I don't care whether he did it or not. It doesn't matter." Emma deadpanned. "What we need to do is find him and worry about the rest later. We can't let anyone else get their hands on him. They'll just use this as an excuse to kill him on sight."

"How could you think he did it?" Steve questioned, looking disappointed in her. Emma ignored the pang in her chest from his disappointed look and gave him a serious look. She needed to say this now before things got any more out of hand.

"You need to wake up, Steve." Emma told him boldly. "The Bucky you know isn't the same one anymore. I know the real Bucky. I know my father and what he's capable of." She paused as she looked away for a moment. "He might not have done it but if he did then it means that he's not in the right state of mind. I get that the situation is kind of fishy but you need to understand that there's a possibility that he might've done it." She glanced back up at him as she continued. "I don't want you being shocked or surprised when you realize that he's different then what you remember."

"I understand." Steve relented before glancing over at the others. "Okay, we should head over to Vienna until we can find out more."

"I see that you've finally decided to listen to me." Emma said smugly before Steve gave her a pointed look.

"You're not going." He told her and Emma groaned in frustration as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Not this again."

"This is too dangerous." Steve continued. "I can't let you get involved. I have a feeling that the others might not agree with this… we might have to go against them on this one." Emma sighed.

"When will you realize that I don't care about any of that." Emma responded. "I just want to help my father." Steve felt an odd sensation in his chest when she said that. He'd actually been having that feeling several times whenever Emma had called Bucky her father. Could it be… Jealousy?

"You don't like politics, Emma." Steve told her solemnly. "That's what this is. This is all about politics. It's not going to be as simple as a rescue mission."

"Why did Stark have to fuck everything up so much!?" Emma said angrily to herself. Steve glared at her.

"Watch your mouth." Emma just rolled her eyes at him again.

"This isn't the time for you to get all 1940s' on me, Steve." Emma sighed tiredly as she bit her lip before locking eyes with him. "You can't expect me to wait here alone while you're out there looking for him."

"I don't…" Steve trailed off before continuing. "Because I sending you back to the compound."

"What? Why?!" Emma demanded.

"I don't what you with me in case things go south which they most likely will." Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not going back to the compound while my father is somewhere out there." Emma hissed. It was awkward for a couple of minutes as the grandfather and granddaughter stared intently at each other, identical glares on their faces and their jaws clenched. Susan swallowed nervously as she cleared her throat, causing the others to look at her.

"Maybe we could compromise." She suggested and Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

"How do you suggest we do that?" He challenged.

"Well… a flight back to the states might be really exhausting for Emma right now so maybe we could all go to Vienna." Susan said but quickly continued when she saw that Steve was about to protest. "Emma and I could stay behind in a hotel room while the two of you go out and do whatever you need to do. You could text Emma details whenever you can and when you get Bucky we can all meet up at a specific location later on."

"I can't ask you to do any of that, Susan. You don't have to be involved in this." Steve told her softly but Susan shook her head with a determined look in her eyes.

"I've already involved myself in this the moment I met you, Steve. I know what I'm getting myself into." She replied with a small smile. "Besides… this isn't my first time seeing a bit of action. I've had one hell of a year, believe me."

"Well, it's settled then." Emma told Steve and Sam with a smug expression. "I'm going to Vienna."

"You're not leaving that hotel room though." Steve told her sternly but Emma didn't appear that bothered as she shrugged at him.

"Well, a compromise is a compromise." Emma smirked. "I'll just let you guys do all of the hard work."

This was it, Emma thought. She was finally going to see her father after being away from him for so long. A surge of excitement went through her and she was just happy to be able to see him again. She didn't care what he did because she knew that it wasn't really him even if he did do what they accusing him of doing. She would forgive her father like always because he was her father and she was his daughter. That was just how they worked. Emma desperately hoped that no one would get in the way of them like Hydra used to. She wasn't so mindlessly controlled by anyone that she would let that happen again. Emma found herself comforted by the thought of soon being in her father's presence again. She sincerely hoped for Stark's sake that him and his stupid politics didn't get in her way. He would regret it if they did.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Author's Note: So another super long chapter. Emma and Bucky's big reunion! Yay! I was so emotional when I wrote this chapter just for that reason. So we only have more chapter until Peter. The count down is almost over. I got a concerned review last chapter over my misleading summary. I know that I probably should've changed it but I just love it so much and we're almost to that point anyways. I'd say give it around two or three more chapters. I honestly didn't think that Emma's life pre-Peter would be this long. I thought maybe around 15,000 words long but then I realized that I really needed to build up Emma's character. I needed to show who she was during Hydra and after Hydra. I needed to show how she became the person that she is today and the person that Peter meets. I know all you romance lovers out there must hate me for making you wait so long for the actually romance to commence but it's going to be even better now that you've waited so long... I promise. I also promise to update my author's note in the first chapter to warn people that it's going be a long time before Peter shows up. It was kind of cruel not to do so before and I blame it on my laziness. I'll wait until I post the chapter with Peter in it before I do that just so people know that he's already made it into the story. I can't believe that it's been like 150,000 words and still no Peter. I'm so evil!**

 **Thanks to all my reviewers last chapter! I had so many reviews and I loved them all! I just want to answer a few things here.**

 **Spawn Hades: Something similar may happen in my story when Emma meets Peter but you'll just have to wait and see. As for homecoming I'm not going to divulge too much about that right now but Homecoming isn't that far away actually. A couple of chapters maybe but we'll see.**

 **Knarl: I wanted to add more to the story than just what was in the movies. I feel like it's boring if I just copied every scene from the movie, put Emma in every single part, and then have her steal someone else's lines or add something in awkwardly. It kind of bores me when I read that in other stories because you can only read so many movie storylines in the fanfictions before they start getting old. I like to shake things up a bit and kind of make it my own.**

 **Appropriate Llama: You'll just have to read this chapter to find out. Lol.**

 **gotmoreissuesthanvogue: Thanks!**

 **akagami himi chan: Steve's stubborn, yes, but it's only because he cares. Emma's still not technically an adult. I don't really understand other stories when the Avengers are totally okay with kids fighting alongside them in battles. I know Tony recruited Peter but that was because he was really desperate but as you've seen in homecoming he wasn't about to let him actually become an Avenger... not until he proved himself at least. Emma's relationship with Bucky will definitely become an issue for Bucky and Steve in future chapters. Steve really wants to be her dad but Emma kind of already has a dad.**

 **peoplers: I know! When I created Emma I realized that the thing with Steve and Sharon just couldn't happen because it would be too weird. It's technically not incest but still... I mean I really like Sharon and all but it just wasn't going to work out. I think Susan's a good match for Steve though.**

 **Rinabee: Thanks for the input! I really should warn people about the story so that it's not misleading.**

 **Jem Carstairs Is My Violinist: All I'm going to say... is that you don't know just how right you are.**

 **Thanks and keep reviewing!**

* * *

"So tell me what happened in San Franciso?" Emma asked Susan as they relaxed in the hotel room in Vienna. She had just received a text from Steve telling her that they knew where her father was and they were now heading over to his location. He wouldn't tell her where because he wasn't sure if Tony was looking through their text messages. Emma understood that. In the meantime Emma and Susan were just hanging out in their hotel room. Emma had never been to Vienna before but she would've liked to explore the city under different circumstances.

"Uh… I don't know if I should." Susan said hesitantly and Emma just rolled her eyes at the dark haired woman.

"Come on, I'm bored and there's nothing to do." Emma responded as she took a bite of one of the sandwiches room service had brought them. "It's probably nothing that I've never heard before. The classic story of good versus evil."

"Fine." Susan relented. "It was a year ago and it may or may not have involved the CEO of the company I work for." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Was he like Stark? Superhero by day and annoying billionaire by night?" Emma said jokingly and Susan shook her head.

"He was a villain actually… so the opposite of that." Susan admitted and the smirk fell off of Emma's face.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry about that." Emma told her, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, he was recreating the Pym Particle that Hank Pym created. The Pym Particle was a shrinking particle that went into this suit he created, just to put into simpler terms. Everyone thought the guy was a crazy old man for keeping it hidden like he did. I didn't even believe that he had actually created it… I thought it was some story someone made up… propaganda." Susan said quietly before she continued. "I was wrong. My boss recreated the suit and my best friend and I helped him because we didn't think anything of it. It was almost too late when we realized what he was doing. So we contacted Pym to help us and then got this other guy in on the whole thing too… he was some sort of thief, Ex-con, that I had doubts about at first but he turned out to be a good guy."

"So then what happened?" Emma asked curiously when Susan paused.

"We stopped him." Susan told her solemnly. "It actually turned out that he wasn't using the suit for his grandmaster plan of global destruction like every other villain. No, he was going to sell the suit to Hydra." Emma raised her eyebrows at that. She wonder how this escaped the Avengers' notice. Probably because they were a little busy dealing with the aftermath of Ultron to deal with a crazed CEO. Still… the fact that Hydra almost got their hands on a weapon like that was slightly disturbing.

"So greed was his thing then."

"Yes, it was. We had to blow up the whole building just to make sure that Hydra didn't get anything." Susan said sadly, she looked incredibly hurt by the destruction of her workplace.

"I'm sorry… I actually heard about that. I know how much you loved working there." Emma told her, trying to be sympathetic. It was a concept that she was still learning how to emulate but she was getting the hang of it. She was genuinely sad to hear something, that had brought Susan so much joy, was now gone.

"It's fine." Susan told her. "It's not like I'm unemployed or anything. I'm working with Pym and he's really great… a genius of a man." Emma laughed.

"Don't let Stark hear you say that. Wasn't Pym technologies the competition of Stark Industries?" Emma asked teasingly and Susan nodded.

"Yeah, Peggy never let me forget it either." They both smiled as they thought of the woman whom admired more than anyone else in the entire world.

"So how are you feeling in the aftermath of all that?" Emma asked Susan, moving the conversation away from Peggy. Emma didn't imagine that she wanted to think about her grandmother… not until they found her father at least. When everything finally settled down and she could actually take the time to process her grandmother's death.

"Betrayed, I think." Susan confessed. "I looked up to Darren so much… admired him and everything." Emma could only guess that this Darren guy that Susan was talking about was also the CEO who went crazy. "His work at Pym technologies was unparalleled and I read all his disserations at MIT. He was truly a genius… he even hired me straight out of MIT just like Pym had hired him." Susan sniffled as the tears began flooding her eyes. "I was a nobody from Northern California. The first from my family to actually attend college. Tony offered me a job at Stark Industries but I knew it was only because I'm something like a sister to him and my grandfather was Edwin Jarvis... someone who was more of a father to him than his own father was." Emma listened to Susan's story intently, curious to know what had been troubling Susan for the past year. Now she knew. Susan felt betrayed by someone she had looked up to.

"Darren recognized my potential and gave me a chance. He believed in me when no one else did." Susan said, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped up her explanation. "It's why it hurt so much when I found out who he really was… what he was going to do. He wasn't what I thought."

"People usually aren't who we think they are. It's why it's difficult for me to trust anyone." Emma replied in a comforting tone. Susan just nodded as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"I know but you've made a lot of progress in recent years. You seem to trust me somewhat since you're here with me." Susan said, obviously want to steer the conversation away from what had happened in San Francisco. Emma understood her reasoning perfectly. "Steve told me you have a phobia of doctors and scientists so I don't really understand how you're okay with me?"

"It's true but Peggy loved you so that's enough for me." Emma told her honestly. "Bruce is a scientist too and I came to somewhat trust him."

"Even though he helped create Ultron?" Susan questioned, raising an eyebrow. Emma just gave Susan a knowing look.

"Come on, we all know that it wasn't Bruce's idea." Emma said before continuing. "Tony's always talking him into shit and Bruce can't say no. It's really hard to say no to Tony because the guy's so spoiled… he's used to always getting what he wants." Emma paused as she gave Susan an apologetic look. "I'm sorry… I know he's like a brother to you and all."

"It's fine. You're not wrong about Tony." Susan said, agreeing with what Emma was saying which surprised the fifteen year old. "He's trying to fix all the mistakes he's made but I think he might be making everything worse. He's always had an odd perspective on life. Everything has to be done his way or no way. It's just who he is." Susan explained. "I still love him though."

"I understand that sentiment." Emma told her which caused Susan to give her a confused look.

"What?" Emma shook her head.

"That you would do anything for someone." Emma answered her and Susan gave Emma her full attention. "I know that my father's done a lot of bad things and I know that it's possible he's behind the bombing but I would still forgive him. We've been through so much together that I don't think that I could just abandon him. I would swim across oceans to find him… tear apart countries… kill anyone who gets in my way." Emma looked back up Susan with a slightly frightened look in her eyes.

"Does that make me an evil person?" Emma asked. Susan didn't look scared like Emma thought. The dark haired woman just rubbed her shoulder comfortingly as she gave her a small smile, shaking her head.

"No, it doesn't." Susan told her softly. "I think everyone feels the same way about someone… they're just not enhanced like you are to actually do any of that. Deep down we're all the same." Emma watched Susan thoughtfully as she considered what the older woman just told her. She was about to respond when she felt her phone vibrate on the bed. Emma and Susan turned their heads towards the direction of the phone and Emma quickly reached for it. She quickly scanned the screen for the text message but furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when she read what Steve had texted to her.

 **Steve:** _Got Bucky but also got arrested. We're in Berlin at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre. We're okay. I'll text you more details when I can._

"What is it?" Susan asked when Emma didn't say anything. "Emma?" Emma swallowed as she glared down at the screen of her phone. She felt her heart pounding against her chest as tried to think of several options. Like how to get to Berlin. How to take care of the situation. How to rescue Steve, Sam, and her father. Emma turned to look at Susan with a worried look on her face. Susan felt her breathing hitch as she looked at the young girl. Nothing ever worried Emma. Something was definitely not right.

"They got arrested." Emma told her. Susan's eyes widened in shock as took in that piece of information.

"What? Why?" Susan questioned, completely bewildered.

"Probably for interfering with the assassination of my father." Emma said although it was more to herself then it was to Susan. "They weren't going to waste time arresting him. It would've made more sense if they killed him on sight… it would be the logical thing to do."

"Where are they now?" Emma just shrugged at Susan's question.

"Steve said that they were in Berlin. They're at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre apparently." Emma answered. Susan just shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that they would really arrest Captain America and the Falcon. So what? They're just sitting in a jail cell right now?" Susan replied but Emma shook her head.

"I'm guessing that they probably didn't put them in a jail cell since Steve was still able to text me but I can't say the same for my father." Emma and Susan both sat in silence as they processed all the new information they had received. This was going to be an even longer day than Emma had originally thought. It was all like some sort of nightmare for her. She was so close to being reunited with her father but then it slipped away from her grasp once again. Emma didn't want to imagine what the German authorities would do with her father now that they had him. Who even knew what Ross would do with him. Emma certainly couldn't just sit there and wait. She had listened to what Steve had told her so far but she couldn't do what he asked. Emma had to go over there and rescue them. There was no other option.

"What do we do now?" Susan asked, breaking the silence. Emma looked up and locked eyes with Susan. Blue meeting green.

"We go to Berlin."

* * *

Emma and Susan had been on the road for nearly four hours. Emma had convinced Susan to let her drive since they were in a foreign country and Susan had no idea how to drive in Europe although they switched places briefly when they reached the border of Germany. Emma thought it might've been slightly suspicious if German authorities saw a fifteen year old driving a car through Europe. Emma had some experience in the past driving in foreign countries or whenever her missions required her to do so. They had left the hotel straight after they had come up with a plan. Susan had rented a car for them and then they were on their way. Susan had suggested that they take turns driving seeing as it was a long car ride and she was also nervous to have a fifteen year old drive her to Berlin but Emma refused. She didn't get as tired as a normal human being and driving put her mind at ease somewhat. Driving also helped her think of another plan for when they finally reached Berlin. Emma glanced at the backseat of the car through the review mirror, smirking when she saw her dufflebag. The dufflebag contained her Viper Assassin suit which Emma had a fairly reasonable suspicion that she would finally get to wear it after waiting so long. A part of her was a little excited at the prospect. Her thoughts drifted away from the uniform when she heard her phone vibrate, alerting her that she had a new text message. Emma frowned as she looked at her Stark phone which was sitting on the dashboard.

"Could you read me the text message?" Emma asked Susan and the dark haired woman nodded before reaching for her phone. Emma carefully glanced at the expression on Susan's face and was displeased to see that Susan looked wide eyed and concerned. This wasn't going to be a good news sort of day.

"What does it say?" Emma said, demanding to know about the text message. Susan swallowed as she answered Emma, reading the text message aloud.

"Steve says that he, Sam, and Bucky escaped from the facility they were being held in." Susan explained. "They're now fugitives and he's going to ditch his phone since they're all compromised now. He didn't say where they were." Emma took a deep breath before exhaling, trying not to become so angry that she let her emotions rule her decisions. She needed to be cool and calculated about this. One wrong step and everything would be ruined. Emma needed to weigh her options before she decided how to proceed.

"Damn it." She cursed quietly and Susan gave her a worried look. "This is just great… amazing. Everytime I almost get to see my father, it just slips away from me." Emma laughed humorlessly before scoffing. "Unbelievable." She remarked and Susan looked over at her.

"So what happens now?" Emma stared at the road ahead of her and thought everything through. All she knew about the situation was that her father, Steve, and Sam had been arrested and held at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre before they escaped. They couldn't be out of the country yet or anytime soon because there would definitely be border checkpoints. No, they had to still be in the country unless they could get their hands on a Quinjet. Emma's eyes widened in realization. Yes, they would have to get a Quinjet if they were going to leave the country. They wouldn't be able to leave without one since Quinjets were relatively undetectable and flew in stealth mode. They would be looking for one right about now but the question is… Where would they find one?

"We'll still head to Berlin." Emma replied. "They're still in the country most likely. They won't be able to leave the country anytime soon… not without a Quinjet. Once we get to Berlin, I'll talk to McConaughey and see if he can pinpoint where they might be at." Susan raised her eyebrow.

"Wouldn't McConaughey also be compromised since Tony designed him?" Susan asked and Emma just smirked as she shook her head.

"Not a chance." Emma answered. "When Stark programmed McConaughey into my suit he designed it so that McConaughey would only answer my command. Not even Stark himself could hack into it." Emma stated proudly. "He was quite proud that he was the first person to ever make an AI system so unhackable that not even the person who invented it could hack back into the system." Emma laughed to herself. "I don't think he ever planned on it coming back to bite him in the ass."

"What about the compound?" Susan challenged. "McConaughey answers other people's commands there." Emma shook her head.

"That's McConaughey 2.0. I have McConaughey 1.0. There's a huge difference." Emma told her and Susan looked amazed.

"Who knew Tony could be so smart yet so stupid at the same time." She remarked. Emma looked incredibly smug as she continued to drive down the freeway.

"I know, right." Before either one of them could say anything else on the subject they heard a phone vibrate but Emma knew it wasn't hers. Susan quickly took her phone out of her jacket pocket and glanced at the screen. Emma wondered who it was. The blonde became even more interested when she saw the surprised yet hopeful look on Susan's face.

"I have good news." Susan suddenly said as she grinned at Emma. Emma raised an eyebrow at Susan as she looked back at the older woman before returning her gaze to the road.

"That's a first." Emma said in snarky tone.

"Sharon just texted me." Emma furrowed her eyebrows at Susan's statement. Wait… what?

"I didn't know you knew Sharon that well." Emma replied but Susan just shook her head.

"Well, we spent a lot of time growing up together. My grandfather and your grandmother were incredibly close so it makes sense." Susan explained. "We call each other every now and then to catch up."

"And your point is…" Emma trailed off and Susan blushed as she began to get back on topic. Emma didn't mean to be rude to the kind woman but they didn't exactly have a lot of time on their hands.

"Right, well, Sharon says that she knows where the guys will be in several hours." Susan told her. "She says that they're supposed to meet up somewhere so that she can give them their stuff back. You know… their uniforms and all." That did seem to be good news after all. Emma was a bit surprised but delighted to hear that.

"Great? Is she going to tell us where?" Emma inquired but Susan nervously knawed on her bottom lip as she continued to read the text.

"Well, she says that she was actually hoping that we could meet up beforehand so that she could give us the uniforms and weapons to give to the guys." Susan replied and Emma's expression hardened. "She can't really become anymore involved than she already has. It's a delicate situation."

"Right… has she given us a location where to meet up?" Emma asked. Susan nodded in response.

"Yes, I have it right here." Emma sighed before giving Susan a quick nod.

"Alright then, tell her that we're in."

* * *

Emma wasn't sure how to feel about the situation as both her and Susan waited for Sharon to arrive in the abandoned parking lot that they were told to meet up at. It was in the early hours of the morning by then and neither one of them had gotten any sleep. Emma could've slept if she really wanted to but there was just so much going on that the idea of sleep was a lost concept. Even though Sharon was technically a blood relative of Emma, the blonde teenager just didn't know how much she could trust the woman. She worked for the CIA after all. The place where Sharon had asked them to meet was incredibly sketchy and errie. There was also the aspect that they were meeting at like three in the morning when it was completely dark… although it wasn't like they had a lot of time on their hands so that they could wait until sunrise either.

"Tell me…" Emma said, capturing Susan's attention. They were currently sitting in the car, listening to some German pop radio station, as they patiently waited. The both of them were anxious and nervous for the impending meeting so neither one of them minded the lyrics which were in a foreign language. Emma especially didn't mind it since she could understand the lyrics somewhat. "Can we trust Sharon? Take everything you know about her and tell me if we can trust her?"

"That's a pretty intense question." Susan replied, laughing nervously. Emma gave her a pointed look.

"This is a pretty intense situation." Emma told her. "Otherwise I wouldn't ask or care." Susan just looked at her, analyzing the serious expression on the young girl's face. Susan finally understood what was so errie about Emma. Emma looked like an average teenager although it was clear that she was becoming a beautiful young woman. The blonde looked more like one of those girls that hung out in the mall or drank ice coffees with their best friend. She looked like she could be a cheerleader or the captain of the volleyball team… The homecoming or prom queen. Susan finally understood why Emma was a force to be reckoned with… why a lot of people were afraid of her. She looked like an average teenaged girl but she was actually a trained assassin. Emma looked completely innocent, a pretty face to be had, but she was more dangerous than anyone could ever possibly imagine. Even knowing and understanding all that, Susan still couldn't be afraid of her. All Susan saw when she looked at the young girl was someone who had been severely mistreated in the past so much that it was hard for her trust and forge new relationships. Susan just saw someone who was hurt. The dark haired woman nodded silently as she began to answer Emma's question.

"I've known Sharon ever since I could remember." Susan admitted. "Your grandmother would always invite us to family reunions. Sharon was only a year older than me so we stuck close together since we were the closest in age. She was always a protector of sorts… I was never as good as defending myself against bullies so she would stand up for me." Emma smirked as she listened to Susan.

"So she's your Bucky?" Emma said, causing Susan to smile softly.

"Yes, she is. She's fearless, trustworthy, and honest… she's just like Peggy. Sharon always stands up for what's right and this circumstance is no different." Susan finally finished and Emma nodded. "So is that enough for you? Do you trust her yet?"

"I don't know her well enough to trust her." Emma told her which caused Susan to look a little crestfallen but Emma quickly continued. "But I trust you and if you trust her then that's enough for me." Susan smiled at Emma's statement. Before Susan could reply they saw two headlights enter the parking lot. The car slowly drove through the expanse of the parking lot before it parked right in front of them. Emma and Susan exchanged a look before they quickly exited the car. By the time they got out of the car, Sharon was already standing there seemingly calm but Emma could tell that she was still nervous… probably about meeting them there. If her employers found out what she was doing losing her job would be the least of her worries.

"You came." Sharon announced as they approached the blonde woman. Emma just nodded at her.

"Did you doubt that we would?" Sharon smiled but shook her head.

"No, not really." Sharon started walking back towards the trunk of her car and gestured for them to follow. Emma watched as the older woman popped open the trunk of the car and was immediately met with the sight of Steve's uniform and shield as well as Sam's own uniform and wings. She saw redwing in there too. "So this is everything I could get my hands on. There's no telling when they'll figure out it's all missing." Emma glanced back up at Sharon with a solemn look on her face.

"Thanks for this." She told Sharon.

"Don't mention it. Anything to help you guys out." Sharon replied. "Besides… I figure that I've missed a lot of birthdays so hopefully this might make up for that." Emma just laughed before shaking her head.

"You know me too well." Emma told her jokingly. Sharon glanced away from Emma and looked at Susan.

"You doing okay, Susan?" Sharon asked worriedly, her tone slightly protective. Emma smiled at the clear display of sisterhood between the two. It was obvious that they were close friends. Susan smiled at the blonde before nodding.

"I'm fine, Sharon. This is quite the adventure… I don't think I've ever had this much excitement even during the incident in San Francisco last year." Susan glanced at Emma. "I'll be okay. I have Emma to protect me." All three of them laughed.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that you'll be safe with her." Susan said but it was obvious she was speaking more to Emma than she was to Susan. They stood there silently before the air between them felt way more serious than it had before. "I should get back to the facility… before they realize anything's missing and realize that I'm gone." Sharon told them and Emma and Susan both nodded understandingly. Emma and Susan began unloading Steve and Sam's gear although Susan looked to be having a way harder time carrying the gear than Emma did. Susan headed back to the car to put Sam's gear in the trunk but Emma just stood there with Steve's shield and uniform in her arms.

"Do you have the location of the meeting place?" Emma asked, her tone deadly serious and Sharon slowly nodded.

"The parking garage of the Leipzig/Halle Airport." Emma gave her a quick nod as she processed the name of the meeting place. "Meet them there at eleven."

"Thank you." She told Sharon gratefully and the blonde woman gave her a small smile.

"No problem." Sharon replied as she started walking back to the front of her car. She opened the door and was about to climb in before she paused, looking back over at Emma.

"Good luck, Emma." Sharon told her seriously. It was all that needed to be said between them as Emma just looked at her. Nodding to herself, Sharon finally got back inside her car. Emma watched silently as the woman started the car back up before pulling out of the parking space and driving away. The fifteen year old sighed to herself as looked down at her grandfather's shield.

"I think we'll need all the luck we can get."

* * *

The sun was almost blindingly bright later on in the morning as Emma and Susan waited in the parking garage for Steve and the others to arrive. They had stopped for breakfast earlier on, knowing that they needed to kill some time but kept somewhat of a low profile. It's not like they were wanted like the guys were but Emma didn't exact want to draw attention to themselves either. She knew that Tony was most likely looking for her so that he could get her to tell him where Steve and the others were. Emma didn't really need anything else on her plate at the moment so she was going to do whatever she could to avoid Tony. The anxiety was quickly beginning to build up in Emma's stomach as they waited for Steve to show up. Emma listened as Susan nervously drummed her fingers against the side of her seat. It was nearly time for the meet up.

Emma wondered what was going to happen after she reunited with the others. There would probably be a moment of bliss when she was finally reunited with her father after three years but this wasn't the end of it. Everyone was looking for them and it wasn't likely that they were going to stop anytime soon. Emma had been right before when she said that there was a war brewing. She needed to be prepared for any possible scenario. It was likely that she might have to face the people she called family and fight them. Emma knew that she would do it if she had to… if it helped save her father and Steve. Her father and Steve were her only priorties. The rest of it didn't matter to her. All the politics like the Sokovia accords could go to hell for all she cared. Emma felt her ears perk up as she heard a car entering the parking lot from down below. She listened steadily as she heard the car drive up the ramp to the floor that they were currently parked in. Emma turned to look at Susan.

"They're here." Emma told her and Susan raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. It was then that the dark haired woman spotted a car driving up behind them through the review mirror. She whipped her head around to look at Emma with a bewildered expression on her face.

"It really creeps me out how you do that." Susan told her and Emma just shrugged.

"I wish I could say that it takes practice but…" She trailed off smugly before grabbing her dufflebag from the backseat and getting out of the car. Emma immediately saw Steve walking towards the car as she got out and watched in satisfaction as he gave her a stunned look. It was obvious he had been expecting Sharon instead. Emma just smirked at him as she approached her grandfather.

"Nice getaway car." Emma commented as she briefly looked at the vintage Volkswagen Beetle parked beside him. "Or should I say clown car? How did you even fit in that thing?" Steve smiled back at her, trying to get over his shocked state. He hadn't expected to hear back from Emma for a while. He had been very worried about her since he escaped from the facility. Steve was worried that Tony might've tracked her down and given her up to Ross. There wouldn't be anything he could do seeing as he was currently on the run. Although Steve was slightly worried that Emma was here, he was glad that she wasn't in the hands of Ross.

"It's low profile." Steve replied before giving her a curious look. "How did you even find us? I thought Sharon was meeting up with us?" Emma shook her head.

"Well, she was supposed to but she's kind of in a tight situation with the CIA. She thought it was best that she gave us the gear instead." Emma explained. It was then that Susan got out of the car as well and Emma watched Steve's jaw drop in surprise. Susan gave Steve a small smile.

"Susan?" Steve said in surprise.

"Hi, Steve." She responded quietly.

"What are you doing here?" He inquired and Susan just shrugged.

"I was supposed to be supervising Emma but I think she's actually supervising me." The dark haired woman said jokingly. They all laughed before Emma heard a car door open. She quickly whipped her head around to look at where the noise was coming from and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. When she had seen Steve walking towards her a minute before, the thought of her father completely escaped her mind. She was too distracted by the appearance of her grandfather. Now that she heard the car open, she suddenly realized who almost must've been there… Her father.

Emma's eyes quickly flooded with tears as she saw him watching her from beside the small car. It really was a wonder how they all fit inside. He looked almost the same as she remembered. His hair was still a shaggy and long brunette color. His pale blue eyes glinted from the intruding sunlight as he stared at her. He looked slightly tired but he still looked like her father… except for one thing. She was so used to seeing the emotionless, stoic expression on his face that she almost couldn't believe the assortment of emotions she was currently seeing on his face in that moment. Sadness. Surprise. Hopefulness. And was that happiness? She wondered if it could've been. Emma didn't waste anytime running towards her father, crying in happiness as she did so.

"Papa!" She cried out joyfully as she ran. Her father stood very still as she finally embraced him, causing him to be pushed back from the force of the impact. Emma wrapped her arms tightly around him as he stood incredibly still before he reluctantly returned the gesture and wrapped his arms around her after he realized that it really was her. Steve watched in wonder as his best friend and granddaughter embraced. He couldn't help the slight pang in his chest to see Emma so easily show her emotions to Bucky. She even carelessly hugged him as if she were used to being affectionate with others. Steve couldn't help but want to have that sort of connection with Emma.

"My daughter." Her father whispered softly as he held her in his arms. She cried into his chest as she finally reunited with her father after so long.

"Papa, I've missed you so much." She told him as she pulled back a ways so that she could look at his face. She took in the appearance of her father, studying every facial feature he had. Bucky did the same as he looked down at the blonde. He could feel the tears pooling in his eyes as well as he looked at her. He noticed that she had grown a few inches since he had last seen her, even losing some of her baby fat. Her blue eyes were just as wide and beautiful as they had been before. Her nose just as adorable as he had remembered. Her blonde hair just as long and golden. The only difference was that it was starting to become obvious that Emma was starting to grow up to be a beautiful young woman.

"As I've missed you." Bucky replied. "You've grown so much since I last saw you. You're so beautiful." Emma sniffled a little as she looked up at him.

"Why did you leave me there, Papa?" Emma questioned, desperate to know the answer. "Why didn't you come back for me?" Bucky gently caressed a strand of Emma's hair and placed it behind her ear in a loving gesture.

"Because I couldn't give you what you needed." He told her and Emma gave him a confused look.

"And what's that?" She asked and he just smiled softly at her.

"Normalcy. I wanted to give you a chance at a normal life and I knew that Steve could give you that." Bucky replied and Emma just shook her head at her father.

"I don't understand… Why didn't you come with me then? Steve was looking for you for so long." Emma told him, confused as to why her father had ran away.

"You two didn't need me… you needed each other." Bucky answered. "I knew that I would only get in the way." That caused Emma to let her emotions control her actions as she sobbed into his chest. It had been so long since she had actually cried like this and it was a bit embarassing to do it in front of her father, Sam, and Susan but Emma had missed her father so much. She rested her face against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Oh, Papa, I've missed you so much. You could never get in the way." She whispered softly and her father just rubbed her back soothingly.

"I know, my daughter… I know." It was then that their reunion was soon interupted by Steve after they stood in silence for a good couple of minutes.

"Why do you have your dufflebag?" Steve questioned. Emma lifted her head up from her father's chest to look at Steve. Steve was eyeing the duffle bag that she was still holding onto. Emma also noticed that Susan was standing next to him with tears streaming down her face as she gazed at both Emma and Bucky. Emma wanted to roll her eyes. Susan could be such a girl sometimes.

"Because I'm coming with you guys." Emma deadpanned, moving a little bit away from her father as she stared at Steve. Steve narrowed his eyes at her.

"Um… no you're not. You're getting back in the car with Susan and you two are going to go to a safe place until I come to get you." Emma couldn't believe her ears. Her grandfather was such a stubborn old man sometimes. Was he seriously still on about that even with the current situation that they were in? He didn't have the luxury of sending her off to safety anymore. He was going to need all the help he could get. Why wasn't Steve thinking about this strategically? Emma glared at Steve.

"Yes, I am." She told him firmly but her grandfather only shook his head.

"I'm not letting you do this, Emma. You've already been through-"

"So much?" Emma questioned, cutting him off. "That's what you were going to say, right? I only that know that because you've only given me the same argument like fifty times before. It's starting to get really old, Steve." Emma told him with a tired expression on her face. "You're always telling me that I'm too young… that I don't have to fight anymore. I'm tired of hearing it Steve. I've put up with it for so long because I knew it made you feel better but I'm not going to put up with it any longer." Emma looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm going."

"You don't even know where we're going." Steve argued as he processed everything Emma had told him. "If you come with us you'll become a criminal too."

"I don't care!" Emma exclaimed. "It doesn't matter where we're going because this is about my father. I won't let them take him away from me again. I've already been apart for him for so long. Whatever you guys are fighting against, politics or whatever, it doesn't make a difference to me. What matters is that there's people out there trying to take the both of you away from me and I won't let that happen. This is my fight too so let me fight." Steve just stared at Emma as he considered everything she just told him. It was a lot to take in but Emma knew that it was a good sign that he was actually taking the time to consider this.

"Let her come with us, Steve." Bucky said quietly from next to her. Both Emma and Steve looked up in surprise as he spoke. "I've fought alongside her for many years. She's saved my ass a handful of times. Emma knows what she's doing… let her do what she's good at. I can guarantee you that she'll be the best recruit that we have… We need her." Emma smiled softly at her father as she heard the words he spoke about her. This would be nice… them fighting together. It would be just like old times only now they were the good guys. Weren't they? Emma briefly wondered if they were supposed to be the good guys on this side of the equation.

"Fine. You can come." Steve told her sternly after a moment of silence. "But if you get too injured then you have to leave right away." Emma stood there in surprise, slightly stunned that Steve was actually agreeing to this. Maybe having her father with them was even better than she thought if he could get Steve to be so agreeable. Emma quickly recovered from her shocked state and flashed Steve a smirk.

"That won't be a problem." Steve just nodded at her solemnly before turning back to Susan as she opened the trunk of the car. Sensing that the conversation was now over, her father ushered her inside the tiny car. It was only a two door car so Emma had to push the driver's seat against the steering wheel as she climbed into the back. Her father soon climbed in after her, shutting the door behind them. If Emma was sitting next to anyone else she would've been very uncomfortable with the close proximity they had to sit in but since it was only her father, she didn't mind it so much. She smirked as she saw that her father had to practically sit in a fetal position just to fit in the back seat. Emma couldn't really make fun of him because although she was only 5'8, she also had to make an effort to make room for her legs. She watched as her father glared at the back of Sam's head as Sam sat there quietly. Emma wondered why he was being so quiet? Usually he talked quite a bit to anyone who would listen.

"Can you move your seat up?" Her father asked in an annoyed tone.

"No." Sam deadpanned and Emma rolled her eyes. Her father narrowed his eyes at Sam before sliding over a bit closer to her so he would have more room to stretch his legs. Emma didn't mind the closeness… she actually cherished it.

"Come on, Sam, why are you being so weird?" She questioned him. Sam looked back at her with a glare on his face.

"I'm not being weird." He told her. "I'm perfectly fine." Emma somehow doubted that. His tone told her that he was anything but fine.

"Yes, you are. You're acting incredibly odd." Emma told him and her father nodded.

"Emma's right. You are acting a little weird." He told Sam, agreeing with his daughter. Sam just gave him an exasperated look.

"What are you talking about, Barnes?!" Sam exclaimed. "We've only known each other for two days. How would you even know whether or not I'm acting weird?"

"It was just an observation." Bucky said, a sheepish look on his face but Emma just laughed. It took her a few minutes before she calmed down, a more thoughtful look coming over her face as she looked between her father and Sam.

"Wait… there's something going on here." Emma observed. They both gave her incredulous looks.

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid." Sam grumbled to himself but Emma just smirked as she looked between them yet again. Her eyes widened in realization when she came to a conclusion.

"I know what it is." She said, sounding quite proud of herself. "You both have some kind of competition, don't you?"

"Be quiet." Her father mumbled but he didn't make the smile on her face disappear. Deep down Bucky was kind of glad to see her smiling. She had been so young the last time he saw her truly smiled. Emma started laughing at the both of them as the pair began to blush.

"It is, isn't it?" She grinned at them both. "I get it… the old friend versus the new friend. Who will it be? Which one will Steve pick? Will it be Steve's childhood friend/assassin from the 1940s or will it be Steve's new friend/Avenger from the twenty first century? Tune in tonight to cast your votes and find out." Emma said, doing an exaggerated impression of Carson Daly from _The Voice._ Only Sam really got the reference but the both of them glared at the blonde girl. Sam thought it was nice to see that Emma had come out of her shell since she'd first been rescued from Hydra. There were times that Emma was still a little too serious for his own liking but he knew that it was good that Emma joked around every so often and let loose. It showed him that she was immensely comfortable around him and the others if she was able to to do that.

"Well, girls… you're both pretty but I don't think Steve will ever choose between you." Emma finally said.

"You know you were a lot less annoying when you hated everyone." Sam remarked.

"Oh, I still hate everyone but just a little less than before, now." She retorted as she smiled innocently at him, showing her perfect white teeth. God, that kid was something else. Sam thought to himself. They all then fell into a long silence as they watched Steve and Susan interact. Emma could hear everything that they were saying but nothing prepared her for the moment when Steve swooped Susan into his arms and they began to kiss. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at her father and Sam who also looked shocked. Emma couldn't believe that Steve actually had the courage to do such a thing. She thought the kiss was about two years late but better late than never.

Steve slowly pulled away from Susan who smiled softly at him. The pair were blushing beet red as they stared at each other for what felt like the longest time. They soon bid their goodbyes before Susan walked back to the driver's side of the car. He then turned around to walk back to the car when he paused in his steps. Steve spotted Emma, Bucky, and Sam all looking back at him with proud smiles on their faces except for Emma who gave him a smirk before also giving him a thumbs up. Steve just shook his head at them before getting in the car. He glanced back at them as they all looked at him expectantly.

"We're not talking about this."

* * *

On the drive up to a higher level in the parking garage, the others filled Emma in on the situation. Apparently her father really wasn't the bomber and it was, in fact, a man by the name of Helmut Zemo who had framed her father for the crime. Apparently Zemo wanted to awaken a group of super soldiers form cyro-sleep. Supposedly the super soldiers were even stronger than her father… they were probably the ones she had heard about. The ones who went crazy and couldn't be controlled which was the reason why they injected Emma with the serum after Hydra miserably failed with the others. Emma was supposed to be a step up from them… stronger, faster, smarter, and more calculated but that didn't stop them from being a threat to the world. There was only one of Emma but there was several of these mysterious super soldiers hanging around. Even if Emma was stronger and more calculated than these super soldiers, they still outmatched her in numbers.

The plan Steve had was to group back up with the others and hijack an aircraft so that they could stop Zemo before he woke up all the super soldiers. Steve had also informed them that Susan would be heading back to San Francisco to wait this whole thing out. Emma was glad to hear that although she and the guys might've given him a hard time about his interaction with Susan. Emma was honestly happy for him. Susan was good for him.

Steve then pulled into a parking space a couple of spots away from an unmarked white van. Steve quickly parked the car before getting out. Her father, Sam, and her all followed suit even though it took them a while to squeeze out of the small car. Geez, those guys really were like a bunch of circus bears in that car.

"Cap." Emma heard a familiar voice say and she was delighted to see that it was Clint. She hadn't seen the archer since she had left his house when Steve had picked her up that day. It had been just over a year.

"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice." Steve told him solemnly as they shook hands.

"Hey, man, you're going me a favor." Clint replied. "Besides I owe a debt." Emma then spotted the witch as she walked up to them. The look on Emma's face immediately darkened as she saw the brunette, it was something that didn't escape Bucky's notice. Emma had been kind of hoping that the witch had joined Stark's side so she could at least have a chance at finally punching her in the face.

"Thanks for having my back." Steve told the both of them.

"It was time to get off my ass." The witch replied. Clint then looked over Steve's shoulder and grinned when he saw Emma standing there.

"Hey, kid." He greeted. The frown vanished from her face as she flashed a small smile in Clint's direction.

"Hi, Clint." She said politely.

"God, you're even taller than you were when I last saw you." Clint remarked. "Pretty soon you'll be taller than me." Emma just shrugged.

"That's not something hard to accomplish. You're pretty short, Barton." Emma retorted and Clint just chuckled.

"Still as feisty as ever. The kids have been asking about you." Clint told her before smirking. "I even think Cooper has a crush on you. You're all he ever talks about. You should've seen his face when I told him that you broke my bow in half. He was really impressed" Emma was a little amused to hear about Cooper Barton but she just shook her head in response.

"Tell your son that he has terrible taste in women." Emma retorted and Clint just grinned at her.

"What's up with you Rogers', huh? Are you all cradle robbers?" He quipped and Emma only laughed. She immediately stopped when she noticed the dark look on her father's face at the mention of someone of the opposite sex taking interest in Emma. Emma rested her hand on his arm gently.

"Relax, Papa. He's eleven." The dark look immediately vanished from his face and was replaced by a relieved one. Emma shook her head in amusement at her father. She didn't seem to notice that Clint and Wanda were watching them curiously as Emma interacted with the man she considered to be her father. They hadn't really ever seen the girl be so casual or comfortable with anyone except for Steve.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve asked, trying to ignore the way Emma could show Bucky so much affection in the fifteen minutes they had been reunited versus him in the two years they had known each other.

"He's rarin' to go." Clint announced as he walked back to the van. Emma watched curiously, interested to know who they had managed to recruit for their new mission. Clint began to slide the door open and Emma noticed a man asleep on the seat. She frowned. Well, that was a little disappointing. Still… he looked like might be of more use than the witch. "Had to put a little coffee in him but he should be good." Emma watched as he jolted awake from the sound of the door. Where on Earth did they pick this guy up from? He didn't look like he was fit for the mission. Emma thought he looked like one of those guys who always told lame dad jokes.

"What time zone is this?" The man asked as he got out of the van.

"I don't know." Clint told him as he pushed him towards the others, closing the door back up. The man's eyes then widened as he looked at Steve, smiling in wonder as he took in Steve's appearance. Emma smirked as she couldn't help but notice that the guy appeared a little starstruck.

"Captain America!" The man said in wonder as he shook Steve's hand.

"Mr. Lang." Steve greeted politely.

"It's an honor." The man told Steve. Lang, was it? Emma noticed that he didn't seem to want to let go of Steve's hand. This guy was certainly… eccentric.

"I'm shaking your hand too long." He then finally let go of Steve's hand before looking at all of them, slightly in awe. This guy was really too much. "Wow! This is awesome!" He remarked before looking back at the witch.

"Captain America." He told everyone as though they hadn't been aware of who Steve was. "I know you, too. You're great!" Lang told the witch, making Emma scoff which she quickly covered up as a cough when Steve and Sam turned around to glare at her. Lang then squeezed Steve's muscles like he didn't believe they were real. Emma wanted to laugh but she knew that she had to remain professional since there was a new recruit there for her to scare.

"Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people so… thinks for thanking of me." Emma raised her eyebrows at that. Thinks for thanking of me? Emma turned to Sam with a bewildered look on her face.

"Sam, what's wrong with this guy?" She asked in a whisper. Sam smirked at her in response.

"A lot, I'm afraid."

"You know Susan, right?" Lang asked Steve suddenly. Steve gave Lang a surprised look at Lang's question.

"Yes…how do _you_ know Susan?" Steve retorted and Lang just grinned.

"Uh, it's nothing really… We just saved the world together, that's all." Lang replied casually. "That and she's best friends with my girlfriend." Emma raised an eyebrow at that. Was this the guy Susan had mentioned earlier? The ex-con turned good guy? "Is she safe? My girlfriend said that she had gone to Vienna or something and wouldn't be able to text her until it was safe." Emma knew that this man had to be good friends with Susan if he was that concerned about her. He probably _was_ the guy Susan had been talking about earlier. Steve just looked down at him in scrutiny, probably deciding whether or not this guy was competition, before he eventually relented.

"She went back to San Francisco." Steve answered and Lang let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's good." He said before grinning at Steve again, casually bumping his shoulder as if they were old buddies. "Since our girlfriends are dating and everything… I guess that makes us bros, huh?" Steve just stared at Lang, a blush coming over his face at Susan being called his girlfriend. Everyone else just shook their heads at the odd man and it became obvious that Lang was starting to make this weird.

"Right…" Lang awkwardly trailed off before he noticed Sam standing behind Steve."Hey, man!" Lang greeted Sam. Emma gave Sam a confused look. Did Sam know this guy? Why did they seem so familiar?

"What's up, Tic Tac?" Sam said.

"Uh, good to see you." Lang replied. "Look what happened last time when I-"

"It was a great audition but it's never going to happen again." Sam told him, cutting Lang off. Emma looked between the two curiously. Last time?

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked Lang seriously, trying to bring attention to the current situation they were in.

"Something about some psycho-assassins?" Lang inquired as if he couldn't believe the words as he said them. Steve nodded.

"We're outside the law on this one." Steve told him honestly. "So if you come with us you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Lang said, looking serious for the first time since he had stepped out of the van. Emma knew that this man hadn't lived in a fantasy world all his life like most other people she had met. He knew the harsh realities of the world… the true nature of it all. She could see it in his eyes as he looked at Steve. Emma knew that she could at least respect him for that even if the man acted kind of silly and weird.

"We should get moving." Her father announced and Emma nodded her head in agreement.

"We got a chopper lined up." Clint told them. Emma raised her eyebrows at that. Chopper? No, they needed a Quinjet. A chopper would be too traceable. It could be detected. Before Emma could protest they all heard a voice talking over the intercom in the parking garage. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she deciphered the German language. What she heard made her eyes narrow in anger and frustration. It looked like Stark had found out where they were after all.

"They're evacuating the airport." Her father told them, voicing her thoughts.

"Stark." Sam told Steve causing Lang to looked at them in bewilderment.

"Stark?" He questioned. Emma watched her father intently as she studied the conflicted look on his face. She knew that look. He was trying to make a decision in a limited amount of time. Emma already knew what this would mean. They were going to have to fight the people they called their friends… their family. Emma had known it was a possibility before but it was never a sure thing until now. She kept a calm look on her face but even she felt a bit odd about the situation. She had never really had a problem with fighting anyone but that was before she had people that could call friends. Emma didn't want to hurt them because she was fond of them. She was even slightly fond of Tony despite how impulsive, annoying, and stupid he could be at times. She quite liked the banter they had. However, Emma also knew that this was a serious situation… not one that she could ignore. Emma knew what would happen if they got their hands on her father. They wouldn't let him live, not after he escaped like he had. Emma knew what she had to do. If fighting people she considered to be friends meant that her father could live and be free then so be it. Steve finally made his decision as he looked up at all of them, a grave expression on his face.

"Suit up."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Author's Note: It's here... The chapter where Emma and Peter meet for the first time. Thanks for being so patient with me because I've made you wait for so long. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter. It took me forever to write... Well, like a day but it feels like forever. I also want to thank you for all the reviews last chapter. I really appreciate them. So just keep reviewing. I'm also kind of changing my mind about the summary. I think the review is right... I mean, it doesn't really apply to my story anymore like it was supposed to. I just have no idea what summary to write. How is the summary harder to write then the actual story itself? lol.**

 **Thanks and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Emma had decided to hang towards the back of the group as they made their way down to the airport. Steve had come up with a plan to not hijack the helicopter, since Tony was likely stop him, but a Quinjet instead. She knew it wouldn't of taken him long before he remembered that a Quinjet was a much better option than a helicopter. They only needed to buy themselves sometime while they looked for the Quinjet which was probably sitting in one of the hangars. Steve was going to be the diversion while Redwing searched for the Quinjet. Steve had then proceeded to do his Captainly duty of giving orders. Clint and the witch would wait for Steve's signal in the parking deck. Lang would stay, in his shrunken state, with Steve until Steve gave the signal. Emma, Sam, and Bucky would remain in the terminal as Redwing searched for Quinjet. When the signal was given then Stark would have his hands too full to stop them with everyone in different sections of the airport. It was a pretty good plan, Emma had to admit. Especially given the time that Steve had to come up with it.

Emm was fully suited it up in her Viper Assassin catsuit as they all made the trek down the stairs. She was missing her Viper Bites seeing as Stark had never gotten around to resupplying them in her suit. Emma had gone without them before so she was sure she could manage on her own. The uniform had been adjusted by Stark recently seeing as she had grown another inch, Emma wondered if Tony had ever imagined he'd be fighting her in that very same catsuit when he had made the adjustment. Probably not. She remembered contributing to their usual banter as she hung out in the lab watching him work. Now the situation had completely turned. Emma never imagined that Stark would go this extent. She had hoped that he had learned his lesson from Ultron but the man had gone completely crazy. It didn't matter anymore… Emma would fight him if she had to.

She reached up towards her head to push her hair out of her face and gently brushed her fingers against the mask she wore. Emma didn't have the lenses down at the moment. They were going to be fighting in broad daylight so there wasn't any need. Emma watched the back of her father and Steve as they walked together and wondered if this was what they had been like a long time ago. She almost smiled at the thought but the smile on her face was replaced with a frown as she heard a familiar voice speak from beside her.

"This is nervewracking." The witch said as she fell into step with Emma. "Fighting our friends?" Emma glared down at her feet as they walked, refusing to look at the witch. When she didn't say anything Wanda continued to talk.

"Are you worried what will happen to us after this? After we fight the others?" Wanda further questioned, trying to get an answer out of the girl.

"Sometimes I wonder what Pietro would think of all of this." She continued but Emma still didn't say anything. Wanda sighed tiredly.

"I know that you hate me." Wanda told her and Emma finally looked at her. The older girl had a sad look on her face as she stared at her… expecting Emma to respond. Emma just glared at her.

"What?" Emma finally spoke although her tone was short and clipped. "Did you expect me to deny that?" Wanda looked down, a bit ashamed.

"No, I didn't. I just thought that you might be actually believe me when I say that I'm sorry." Wanda told her. Emma just scoffed, shaking her head.

"I don't care how sorry you are." Emma snapped.

"Please… is there any way I can make it up to you?" Wanda asked Emma, sounding desperate and upset but Emma didn't care. What the witch had done to her… the way that she had violated Emma. It was an action that Emma didn't find redeemable.

"Can you get in a time machine and go back in time?" Emma retorted. Wanda had a crestfallen expression on her face at Emma's sarcastic remark. The older girl looked quite miserable in this state but Emma didn't care. She was beyond caring about the witch's feelings… not after what had happened a year ago.

"You have to believe me, Emma. You don't know how sorry I am." She apologized. "If I had known what you'd see I would've never had shown you the vision." Emma glared at her.

"It's Rogers to you, Witch, and I don't care about "What If" situations." Emma told her angrily. "All that matters to me is that you did it. Do you know how terrible the nightmares are now that you've made me relive one of the worst moments of my life? I was doing so well before you showed up." Emma hissed.

"Maybe if you talk to Steve it would help." Wanda suggested, attempting to be helpful. "You really shouldn't keep that from him. I know that you think he'll hate you if he knew but I don't think so. I think Steve would understand." Wanda quickly realized she shouldn't of said anything as Emma gave her the coldest, most venemous look she had ever seen. The older girl slightly shrunk back in fear as Emma looked at her.

"Stay out of my head, Witch, I already told you once before." Emma told her venemously before continuing. "You've already done enough damage. I don't need psychiatric advice from the likes of you." Emma sneered as she quickly glanced ahead to make sure that none of the others had heard them. Apparently the witch and her were so far behind that they hadn't been audible to the ones with normal hearing. Steve and her father were so busy chatting that their enhanced hearing didn't even pick up on the conversation. Good.

"Never speak of this again." Emma hissed and Wanda quickly nodded her head in agreement. "We'll call a truce for the time being. I'll watch your back out there if you watch mine but as soon as this is over you just stay out of my way." When Emma saw the frightened look in Wanda's eyes, she nodded in satisfaction. She roughly bumped shoulders with Wanda before she picked up her pace, walking ahead so that she left the witch behind. Emma sincerely hoped, for the witch's sake,that she didn't make the same mistake of bringing up the vision again.

* * *

Emma, Sam, and Bucky stood in the terminal of the airport as they waited for Redwing to find the Quinjet. Emma only halfheartedly listened to what was going on between Steve and Tony through her earpiece. Tony should've really been a preacher or something. The guy just loved the sound of his own voice. Emma rolled her eyes as Tony and Rhodey attempted to intimidate Steve. She raised an eyebrow when she heard Natasha's voice come in but she didn't think she was that surprised. Steve had already told her that Natasha had signed the accords. Emma didn't really think that Natasha believed in the accords but that she was only doing it to save her and everyone else's asses. Emma probably would've done the same thing if Steve and her father hadn't ended up in this mess. Saving her own ass wasn't a priority right now. It was surely going to be strange when she faced off against Natasha… almost like old times. Emma knew that, despite all the admiration she held for the woman, she would fight her if the occasion called for it.

Emma heard another voice… an accented voice. It sounded like a Wakanda accent to her ears but she couldn't be sure. She thought she heard the guys mentioning earlier that Prince T'Challa of Wakanda had donned a Vibranium made suit a couple days prior. Her father had even mentioned how the Prince even seemed to have it out for him. Prince T'Challa thought that her father had murdered the king… his own father. Emma assumed that the voice belonged to T'Challa. This just kept getting better and better. A Prince was also now after her father. How many people had her father pissed off? Emma was broken out of her thoughts when she heard another voice. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Yet another recruit?

"Thanks. I could have stuck the landing a little better, it's just…" The voice said, answering Tony before briefly pausing. Emma narrowed her eyes. It was obviously a male that was speaking but she really wouldn't say that it sounded like a man… he sounded impossibly young. Emma also noticed that his voice was unfamiliar to her ears. He had to be new. "New suit. It's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect. Thank you." He continued. Whoever this person was he certainly had Emma's full attention as she began to listen more intently to the conversation. He sounded oddly respectful towards Tony which Emma found curious. She couldn't imagine a grown man talking to Tony like he was Tony's inferior, no self-respecting man would. No, this person talked to Tony like Tony was his superior. How interesting.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation." Tony told him.

"Okay. Cap. Captain." The mysterious person said as he addressed Steve. "Big fan. I'm Spider-Man." Emma raised an eyebrow as the individal introduced himself. Spider-Man? What kind of name was that? Perhaps it had to do with whatever his abilities were that made him so useful to Stark. Still… It seemed like an odd name for the person since he didn't quite sound like a man to Emma.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later." Tony told him.

"Hey everyone." Spider-Man greeted and Emma was starting to think that this guy was as weird as Lang.

"Ok, good job." Tony said before putting an end to Spider-Man's talking. Emma soon lost interest in the conversation as Stark began talking again. That guy could go on talking for days. Emma couldn't get a headache but she thought that Stark just might test that theory as she listened to him drone on. Sam gently nudged Emma in the ribs, trying to her attention as he nodded towards one of the hangars on the other side of the airport. Emma assumed that Redwing had finally found the Quinjet. She turned her head to focus in on one of the hangars, her enhanced eyesight allowing her to see a Quinjet just barely hidden inside one of the hangars. Now why would they leave the door open like that?

"We found it." Sam said into his earpiece. "Their Quinjet's in hangar five, north runway." It looked like it was time for Steve to give them the signal.

"Alright, Lang." Steve

"Hey, guys, something…" Spider-Man started to say before Emma heard him grunt. It looked like Lang had finally made his appearance. Emma smirked as she heard Spider-Man grunt in pain as he probably got knocked off his ass or something.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America." Lang told Steve formally. Emma didn't really know what they were talking about since she couldn't see anything from where she was standing. There was a bunch of boxes and crates that blocked her view of the others.

"I think we have our signal." Her father stated. She and Sam both gave him a quick nod before they all broke into a sprint down the walkway of the terminal. They would have to keep one of the others occupied for as long as they could as they slowly made their way towards the Quinjet. That was the plan at least. Emma darted down the terminal alongside her father and Sam. It didn't escape her notice that both her and her father had to severely slow down so that they didn't leave Sam behind. Emma couldn't help smiling a little as she ran. It was like her and her father were on a mission together again. While the stuff they did for Hydra was terrible, the missions were the only time that she really got to spend with her father alone. Emma's smile faded as she heard a thumping noise.

"What the hell is that?" Her father questioned and Emma turned her head to look. Directly outside the terminal she saw a mysterious figure land on the glass before he started to crawl against the side of the building. Emma looked at the figure in bewilderment, stunned at what she saw. What the…

"Seriously, what the fuck did Stark dig up this time?" Emma retorted as they continued to run. She took the opportunity to curse now that her father wasn't in the room. Emma knew that her father could really care less and Sam would only find it amusing.

"Everyone's got a gimmick now." Sam grumbled. Emma barely noticed that Sam had began to fall behind as her and her father sped up. They hadn't done it on purpose, it was just a force of habit. Emma and Bucky both stopped in their steps as they heard a loud crashing noise. It was the sound of glass breaking. They watched in shock as the mysterious figure crashed through the window, flinging himself through the air as he kicked Sam harshly in the side when he landed. Sam went flying from the force of the sudden attack.

Emma quickly assessed the figure's appearance as she tried to think of multiple options of attack. The figure was dressed head to toe in a red and blue spandex suit that concealed every part of his body. Emma couldn't even see the person's mysterious face through the mask he wore. She noticed that the spandex suit was covered with black markings across it with the symbol of a spider in the middle of his chest. So the black markings must've resembled webs then. This was most likely the Spider-Man character that had introduced himself earlier down on the runway.

Her father immediately went in for an attack as he approached Spider-Man, raising his fist up to punch the new recruit with his metal arm. As her father reared his fist back to punch Spider-Man, the smaller hero caught her father's fist in his hand. Emma's eyes widened in shock as she watched Spider-Man pull her father's fist back. How was that even possible? How could this person be that strong that he could outmatch her father just like that? Emma determined that not only could this guy crawl up walls but he also possessed super strength. She wanted to know just who this guy really was.

"You have a metal arm?" Spider-Man asked in a bewildered tone as he pulled back her father's arm. Her father just looked at him in wonder. "That is awesome, dude." Okay, Emma decided that she had enough of this guy. She didn't care if he was interesting or weird. He was in her way and she was going to stop him. Emma stalked over to her father and Spider-Man silently, sneaking up behind Spider-Man. As she snuck up on Spider-Man she noticed that he was about the same exact height as herself. With no hesitation at all she wrapped her arms around the spandex wearing hero and immediately pulled him back. She then roughly tossed him across the room, watching as he slid across the floor when he landed. She heard Spider-Man slowly groan in pain as he hit the floor and Emma didn't waste anytime walking over towards him, a deadly look on her face.

Peter Parker, who was donning his Spider-Man suit for the moment, groaned in pain as he landed on the hard ground. He didn't understand how he get there. One second he was marveling at the Winter Soldier's arm and then the next he felt himself being thrown back. He had only arrived in Berlin the day before after Mr. Stark had recruited him. So far the experience had been eye opening. He had never been on a plane before let alone a private one that brought him to a foreign country. So much had happened since Mr. Stark had arrived at his and his aunt's apartment two days prior. He had traveled, gotten the new suit, and he had even taken Captain America's shield. Peter only wished he could tell Ned about it but unfortunately no one besides Mr. Stark new about his secret identity.

Peter blinked as he looked to the side and noticed a pair of dark green combat boots walking in his direction. He looked up and was met with a surprising sight as he saw the Viper Assassin. He didn't know too much about the Viper Assassin and no one really did. Only that she had formerly been an assassin for Hydra until she defected over to the Avengers a couple of years ago. She wasn't officially an Avenger but she was considered one of their most powerful allies. For some reason he expected the Viper Assassin to look a lot more different than she did. He had expected someone like the Black Widow, only blonde. Who he saw stalking towards him didn't look like someone who had thrown him across the room. It was a young woman… or girl seeing as she looked quite young even though he couldn't see a majority of her face. She was very slender but also very tall for a girl. Peter figured that she might've been the same height as he was. Her blonde hair gently swished side to side with every step she took as she walked towards him. Peter gulped at the deadly look in her eyes.

Emma saw that Spider-Man was about to get up from his position on the floor so she pressed her foot against his chest, holding him to the spot. He struggled to get up from the floor as she increased the slightest of pressure to his chest. She watched him was a curious look on her face as he squirmed.

"You're new." Emma told him. He wrapped his hands around her ankle trying to get her foot off of him but she wouldn't budge. Emma smirked… so she was stronger than him. That was good to know.

"I'm Spider-Man." He said weakly.

"I've heard." Emma replied but quickly assessed him with a thoughtful look on her face. "Although you don't really seem like a man to me." This seemed to piss off Spider-Man as he flung his wrist out at her and Emma didn't have time to react as a strange substance was sprayed in her face. She grunted from the impact of the mysterious substance and stumbled a few steps back as she was momentarily blinded by whatever substance that Spider-Man had just sprayed at her. She heard a whooshing sound and immediately knew that Sam must've swooped in to attack the spandex wearing recruit. Emma dug her fingernails into the substance and pulled at it with all the strength she could muster. Fortunately the substance didn't seem to tear off any skin as she peeled it off. Emma threw the disgusting substance to the side with a dark look on her face. She was angry now.

* * *

Emma raced across the terminal, directly behind her father, as they tried to keep up with Sam as he flew through the air witn Spider-Man crawling all over him. Emma wanted to use her flying abilties but she decided that it would be best that she not use up all her energy until later. She watched as Spider-Man swung from the rafters as he chased after Sam. Emma immediately stopped her father as they watched the encounter from down on the ground. She exchanged a look with him and he silently nodded before Emma ripped off a large piece of metal from off one of the walls. She could see writing in it and determined that it was probably a menu or a sign. Emma handed the metal debris to her father and he tossed it in the direction of Spider-Man. Her father and her then both quickly hid behind a pillar.

"Hey, guys, I think you lost this!" They heard Spider-Man say and before they could react, the metal debris came flying back. Emma and Bucky ducked for cover as it hit the pillar. Emma gritted her teeth as quickly lifted her head back up, looking for wherever the pest went. Spider-Man was a good name for him because it turned out the guy really was a pest. Emma lifted herself up off the ground, her father following suit. Emma gave him another nod, indicating for him to fall back. They had only reunited a little while ago but they had already slipped back into their old routine. Her father gave her a quick nod before he hid behind a pillar. Emma quickly hid behind another one of the pillars as she watched Sam crash through a phone kiosk. He fell onto the ground, glass shattering around him and Emma spotted Spider-Man use the weird substance, he had used on her earlier, to glue Sam to the railing. Emma narrowed her eyes at the sight. So it was supposed to be webbing. Spider-Man landed on a metal pillar about a hundred feet in front of Emma. He seemed completely unaware that she was even there. It struck Emma that he also seemed unaware of lot of his surroundings. He must be new at this, Emma determined. An amateur. She smirked as she watched him look down at Sam. Good, she could use that to her advantage.

"Those wings carbon fiber?" Spider-Man asked Sam.

"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Sam asked in response, completely revolted by the webbing. Emma didn't blame him. The stuff was pretty gross after all.

"That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ration… which, gotta say, that's awesome, man." Spider-Man continued to go on about the wings, ignoring Sam. Sam glared at the webslinging recruit.

"I don't know if you've been in a fight before but there's usually not this much talking." Sam told him seriously.

"All right, sorry. My bad." Spider-Man said before he casted more of his webbing and slung himself over to Sam. Bucky jumped out in front of Sam and was taken down as Spider-Man kicked them over the railing. Emma watched what happened silently, doing absolutely nothing as she witnessed the attack. She slowly slinked over to the railing, watching Spider-Man perch on top of one of the metal pillars as he looked down at Sam and Bucky. It was really sad that he hadn't even noticed that she was there. Emma knew that she was incredibly stealthy but most people would realize she was there by now. She glanced over the railing and saw that her father and Sam were lying on the ground, their hands glued to the floor by the webbing.

"Guys, look, I'd love to keep this up, but I've only got one job here today and I gotta impress Mr. Stark so I'm really sorry." Spider-Man said with a cocky tone. With her enhanced vision Emma watched Sam run his fingers over his arm. He was contacting Redwing. Good, she would just stall Spider-Man until Redwing showed up. It shouldn't be too hard… it would probably be the easiest thing she ever had to do. The guy really didn't seem like he knew what he was doing.

"You know…" Emma drawled as she leaned against the railing that was left standing. Spider-Man looked at her in shock as he saw her there with a smirk on her face. It was obvious that he had forgotten about her. Rookie mistake. He really did make this too easy. "Most girls don't like a guy who finishes early." Emma told him before pointedly looking at some webbing that was still attached to the railing. She watched in amusement as his white lenses widened comically.

"That's a... what a… That's a very nasty thing to say." Spider-Man stumbled upon his words as he spoke. He also sounded a little taken back by what she had just said. Emma was just testing his boundaries… seeing what made him tick. She could tell that it wouldn't be hard too push his buttons. Emma didn't take him as being the calm and collected type like she was. "This is webbing… Webbing! It's not… It's not what you just said."

"Tell that to Redwing." She told him. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her in confusion.

"Who?" It was then that Redwing crashed into him, sending him flying through the glass window and outside the building. Emma just shook her head to herself. Stark should've seriously looked into training this guy before he sent him into the field. If he thought that Spider-Man could stop her than he was gravely mistaken. Emma looked back over the railing and noticed her father and Sam still lying there.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Bucky asked.

"I hate you." Sam retorted with a stubborn tone. Emma laughed at the both of them. They were really taking this whole competition thing a little too far.

"Save the catfighting for later, ladies." Emma told them teasingly. They both glared back up at her.

"Get down here and get us out this shit." Her father demanded and Emma just rolled her eyes at them. Sam spoke next although she was even less pleased with his words.

"Don't think I'm not telling Steve about that dirty joke you just made."

* * *

Emma, Sam, and Bucky quickly ran to the runway as they left the terminal. They were going to have to make a run for that Quinjet if they wanted to get out of there. Emma spotted Steve, Lang, Clint, and the witch darting down the center of the runway. Steve quickly ushered them to regroup so the three of them quickly joined the others in their sprint across the runway, the Quinjet directly in their line of sight. As they reached the middle section of the runway, however, they were quickly stopped by a beam of blinding light as it drew a line in front of them. Emma looked up at the figure flying around in the air and glared in annoyance. Vision. Just great… It was exactly what she needed. As if this day hadn't been worse enough.

"Captain Rogers…" Vision loudly announced as he floated up in the air. "I know you believe what you're doing is right." So self-righteous, Emma thought to herself as she looked up at him in disgust. The others all began to regroup a distance away from them as it became evident that the Avengers were now divided into two factions. They were truly going to face off against each other now.

"But for the collective good you must surrender now." Vision finished. Emma watched as a figure in a black vibranium made suit, that resembled a cat, walked up next to Natasha and Stark. Rhodey in his full War Machine suit landed on the ground and Emma watched as Spider-Man landed next to Rhodey. Emma could practically feel the tension rising and knew that a fight was about to break out. This was what it always felt like whenever something bad was going to happen. It was an instinct that Emma had come to know only a little too well.

"What are we going to do, Cap?" Sam asked Steve even though everyone already knew what they were going to do. It was obvious what was about to happen.

"We fight." He said quietly. Emma looked up at him with a worried expression on her face. She wasn't worried for herself but she was actually worried for him.

"We'll never be the same again if we do." Emma told him. "Are you okay with that?" Steve just gave her a solemn look.

"I'll just have to be." He then looked back at the others and nodded. "Let's go."

Emma walked alongside the others as they walked towards the other faction of the team. She was in between Lang and Sam. Truthfully, Emma didn't need to become distacted by Steve and her father during this fight. It was already bad enough that she was incredibly worried for them. How well could they fare in this fight? The other team had Vision. Emma really resented the android for his intrusiveness but there was no denying his power. The android could pick up Thor's hammer for crying aloud. As they began getting closer to the others, Emma noticed that their fast paced walking was breaking into a steady jog. This was it. This was going to be the end of Avengers as they knew it. Emma didn't think anything could bring them back from this. Their friendship was never going to survive the fallout. She quickly glanced at her father who was at the opposite end and she knew one thing. She didn't care.

As the other team loomed closer, Emma and the others broke into a full fledged sprint. She noticed that the others were quickly approaching. Emma narrowed her eyes as she saw Spider-Man fall directly into her line of sight. That guy was going to pay for spraying her in the face with his nasty webbing. She was sure some of it was still stuck to her hair. Not that Emma cared much about her hair but she didn't want to waste time trying to scrape it out later. She had more important things to do. They darted towards each other and when they got close, it abrupted into an all out war.

Spider-Man got down in a crouched position as he started shooting his webbing at her. Emma, however, was already prepared for this. She wouldn't be surprised for a second time. Using her enhanced reflexes, Emma quickly dodged out of the way. The blonde slightly smirked when Spider-Man shot out the webbing and it missed her, hitting Lang in the side instead. Lang looked around in a confused state before Natasha delivered a harsh kick to his side when he became distracted. That man was almost as bad as Spider-Man. Emma was getting tired of dodging all of Spider-Man's webbing so she decided to speed things up. She propelled herself off the ground, flying towards the webslinger feet first. He could only watch in shock as she came towards him before kicking him the chest. Spider-Man fell backwards from the force of the impact before glancing back up at her.

"You can fly?!" He exclaimed in surprise, causing Emma to raise an eyebrow at the excited tone in his voice. Didn't he know that they were enemies? "That's so cool!" He quickly got back up and Emma clenched her jaw as she came back towards him. As she flew towards him again, she prepared herself to grab him and toss him across the runway but Spider-Man seemed to be prepared this time. Instead of her grabbing him as she flew through the air, he grabbed her mid-flight when she got close to him. Emma's eyes widened as he easily grabbed her as if she was just an average teenage girl. They locked eyes with each other… or Emma locked eyes with the white lenses of his mask. He then threw her away from him, causing Emma to go flying backwards through the air. She didn't have enough time to stop herself before she crashed into the ground. She groaned in pain as she assessed this new information.

Emma had severely underestimated her opponent. She had always been trained to not underestimate her opponent yet she had. It seemed like Emma had become arrogant in the fight between herself and Spider-Man. She had easily overpowered him earlier so it surprised her when he easily overpowered her just now. Emma had thought she was stronger than Spider-Man but it was becoming very evident to her that she was wrong. A small smirk came across Emma's face as she thought of something but it vanished as soon as it came. Fine… two can play at this game. Emma heard Spider-Man approaching so she laid on the ground, continuing to groan in pain and clutch her arm to her chest. She sniffled as he approached, her blue eyes flooded with tears as she looked up at him.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!" He asked in concern as he looked over her. Emma shook her head.

"I think I broke my arm." Emma whimpered. Spider-Man quickly crouched down to take a closer look at her.

"Let me take a look." He said as he loomed over her. He then watched as the pained look on her face quickly faded into a stoic expression. Emma instantly wrapped her legs around his chest before she turned them both over so that she was on top of him. Spider-Man's white lenses widened in surprise as she loomed over him. She pinned his wrists to the ground as she smiled smugly at him.

"You really shouldn't help the enemy." Emma told him. She heard Spider-Man scoff through his mask.

"Well, excuse me for trying to be a gentlemen." He retorted.

"Being nice isn't going to help you win a fight." Emma replied as she looked down at him. She found it curious that he didn't even try to squirm from underneath her like last time, he just stared up at her.

"Did you know that you have little flecks of green in your eyes?" He asked her and Emma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She demanded to know, not knowing what he meant by that.

"Your eyes… They're incredibly blue but there's also bits of green in them too." Spider-Man told her. "They're actually really pretty." Emma glared at him and was about to respond but before she could Stark shot his repulsor beam at her. She was so distracted by the stupid spandex wearing hero that she didn't even hear Stark coming. Emma was thrown away from Spider-Man and landed several feet away from them. She glared at Stark as he stood there hovering above the ground. Spider-Man sat up from his position on the ground, gently rubbing his wrists from the soreness of Emma's harsh grip.

"Stark!" She hissed angrily, her eyes flashed in anger.

"You've been a very bad girl, Mini Cap." Tony told her mockingly. She couldn't see his face through the mask but she could still hear his annoying voice.

"You're a fool, Stark!" She told him in a deadly tone.

"Why are you being so mean to me, Mini Cap?" Tony asked rhetorically. "I mean I gave you the suit, McConaughey, and I even brought you a boyfriend." He said, gesturing to Spider-Man who looked between Emma and Tony curiously. It was obvious that Stark knew the Viper Assassin very well if they were so familiar with each other. "You could at least be happy."

"Go to hell, Stark!" She angrily yelled at him, seething in anger.

"Ooh, someone's feeling a little feisty today." Tony glanced at Spider-Man, giving him a knowing look. "Looks like it's that time of the month." Emma's eyes flashed in anger again as she got up from the ground and began stalking towards them, a deadly look on her face.

"You're so dead, Stark." Emma hissed.

"Uh, Mr. Stark?" Spider-Man said as watched the Viper Assassin walk towards them. "I don't think you should've provoked her like that."

"Don't worry about it, kid." Tony told him. "It's all part of the plan." Emma was so enraged by what Stark had told her that she was completely surprised when someone yanked her hair roughly, causing her to be forced backwards. Emma was a little disappointed in herself. Usually she was so calm and professional but Stark had a way of riling her up. Emma turned around only to be met with the sight of Natasha. The red head smirked at her as they stood facing each other.

"Well, this is like déjà vu." Natasha remarked. Emma only looked at her with a stoic expression on her face.

"No kidding." Emma retorted. "Don't think I'll go easy on you like last time."

"I wouldn't count on it." Natasha immediately lifted her leg up quickly, delivering a harsh kick to Emma's side. It only made Emma stumble slightly before she retaliated by throwing a punch in Natasha's direction. The former spy quickly dodged the punch but she didn't have time to react when Emma delivered another punch to the other side of her face. She reeled back from the force of the punch. While Natasha was distracted by the punch, Emma lunged forward and knocked her feet out form under her. Natasha groaned as she landed on the ground. This kid was only getting stronger the more she aged. Natasha hated to imagine how strong she might be ten years from now. In ten years Natasha doubted that she would even stand a chance. The red head looked up at Emma who was looking down at her with an expression akin to mild interest.

"Face it, Natasha… I'm stronger than you." Emma told her. She didn't sound arrogant or anything but it was almost like Emma was stating a fact. Natasha just shrugged.

"Well, I'm more experienced than you." Natasha said shortly before she leapt up from the ground, catching Emma by surprise as Natasha landed a punch to her stomach. Emma narrowed her eyes as Natasha tried to land another punch to her ribs. Emma then grabbed her fist mid-punch. The blonde twisted Natasha's wrist backwards, making the red head wince in pain. Emma then kneed Natasha in the stomach sending her stumbling back a few steps. Natasha glared at Emma, starting to become very frustrated with the teenager. She came charging at Emma and Emma readied herself for the impact. She stay glued to the ground as Natasha ambushed her and didn't do anything as the former spy landed a punch to her face. Emma was letting her think that she had the upperhand.

Emma then grabbed on tightly to the redhead before propelling herself off the ground. Natasha's green eyes widened in surprise as she felt her feet begin to leave the ground. She struggled in Emma's arms, trying to release herself of the teenager's grip but Emma was too strong. Natasha had no choice but to allow Emma to hold onto her as they flew through the air… not unless she wanted to break a ton of bones and possibly plummet to her death. Natasha thought for a moment that Emma's plan had been to drop her from a tall height but she was surprised when she finally felt her feet touch a surface. Natasha looked around her and noticed that she was standing on top of one of the planes. Emma gave her a pointed look as she hovered in the air as if she were floating in water rather than air.

"Stay there." Emma told Natasha seriously. "I don't want to hurt you." When Natasha didn't respond Emma flew away. Probably back towards the ground to go fight the others. Everytime Natasha thought she had the blonde teenager figure out, the more she found out she was wrong about her. Natasha then took a moment glance around at her surroundings. Now, how was she supposed to get off of this thing? It looked she was going to have to call for Rhodes.

* * *

When Emma landed back on the ground, she immediately ducked behind a cargo crate for cover. She really needed to assess the situation and come up with a new plan. How were they going to leave the airport if the others were this unrelenting? The original plan was supposed to be easier since Natasha, Tony, Rhodes, and Vision were the only ones that they thought would be involved. They never counted on Prince T'Challa and Spider-Man join in their ranks. The situation had become increasingly more complicated. Emma didn't think that they could just keep fighting each other all day. It was impossible… they were just too equally matched.

"We gotta go." She heard her father say through the earpiece. "That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Her father was right.

"We gotta draw out the flyers." She heard Steve reply in a strategic fashion. It was a good point. The flyers would most likely spot them trying to leave and stop them. "I'll take Vision, you get to the jet."

"No, _you_ get to the jet!" Sam said, sounding slightly out of breath. Emma could see him flying up above her as Rhodey chased him down. "Both of you! The rest of us aren't getting out of here." Emma felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sam was right. There was no way that they could all get out of there without the others stopping them. She ran through every possible scenario in her mind and there wasn't one she could think of where they would all leave the airport together.

"As much as I hate to admit it…" Clint started to say. "If we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it."

"This isn't the real fight, Steve." Sam told Steve. Emma knew that he was more than right. Fighting their friends had never been in the plan but it was something that they just had to do since their friends were the only thing that stood between them and that Quinjet. The world was about to face a lot more problems if Zemo awakened all those super soldiers. She doubted that even her, Steve, and her father would be able to hold them off. There was a bigger picture here. Emma knew what she would have to do.

"Emma, come here. We need you." Steve told her through the earpierce. Emma swallowed, her throat feeling incredibly dry.

"I don't think I can do that, Steve." Emma replied, tears flooded her eyes as she realized that she wouldn't be seeing her father and Steve for a while.

"Emma? What are you talking about?" She heard her father say. Emma just shook her head even though she knew that they couldn't see her.

"I can't go with you guys." She told them, blinking away the tears. "You need me to hold them off with the others. If I go with you guys then we'll never stand a chance at leaving. The others need me."

"No, Emma. That's insane." Steve argued. "We're not leaving here without you."

"I'm with Steve on this one, Emma." Her father said, agreeing with Steve. Emma just sighed.

"You guys aren't thinking clearly. You're letting your emotions rule your actions." Emma argued back. "This is the mission. If I don't stay here and help the others then they'll arrest all of us instead of just a couple of us. They'll kill you, Papa, and then Zemo will awaken the super soldiers and we won't be able to stop them. They'll destroy everything."

"I'll be fine. I've dealt with far worse than prison. I'm sure whatever jail cell they put me in will be better than any room Hydra kept me in." Emma tried to joke but miserably failed.

"I don't like this either, guys, but she's right." Sam said. "With Emma we'll be able to hold them off until you and Barnes get to the Quinjet. We're out of any other options right now." There was a long stretch of silence for a moment as Emma waited for Steve's response.

"Okay, fine… You're right." Steve admitted. "We don't have any other options."

"It'll be okay, my daughter." Her father said softly. "We'll come back for you as soon as this is over. You'll be alright." It sounded more like her father was trying to convince himself rather than her.

"I know." She whispered.

"Alright, Sam." Steve then said, getting back to business. "What's the play?"

"We need a diversion. Something big." Sam replied.

"I got something kinda big." Lang said, entering the conversation through the earpiece. "But I can't hold it very long." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was he talking about? "On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half…don't come back for me."

"He's going to tear himself in half?" Her father asked in disbelief. Emma was also a little curious about just what Lang's plans were.

"Are you sure about this, Scott?" Steve asked.

"I do it all the time." Lang replied nonchalantly. "I mean… once… in a lab. Then I passed out." Well, okay then…

"I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss." Emma heard Lang chant. This was going to be interesting. Emma noticed Spider-Man had landed next to her and she rolled her eyes. Could this guy ever give up? He was really starting to be a pain in her ass. He looked to be approaching her, probably looking to get his ass handed to him, and Emma narrowed her eyes at him. She was daring him to come closer. However, both of their attention was taken away from each other when they spotted a large figure start to grow and grow until it became even bigger than the plane. Emma's eyes widened in surprise and her jaw dropped when she realized that it was Lang. So shrinking wasn't the only thing he could do.

"Holy shit!" Spider-Man exclaimed, looking up at Ant-Man in surprise. The webslinger then looked at Emma expectantly and she gave him a pointed look in return, calming down from her surprise.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Emma said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I didn't know he could do that."

"I guess that's the signal." Steve said, sounding slightly in awe.

"Way to go Tic-Tac!" Sam laughed as he flew through the air. Emma watched as Lang easily grabbed ahold of Rhodey's leg as if Rhodey was just a doll. It seemed like Spider-Man might've been planning to go in for another attack but he was momentarily distracted when Lang threw Rhodey through the air. Spider-Man cursed before slinging his webbing off in that direction to help his teammate. Emma just shook her head. The blonde soon heard the sounds of her father and Steve panting as they ran towards the Quinjet.

"Papa?" Emma called softly through the earpiece.

"What, Emma? I'm a little busy right now." Her father said as he ran. Emma bit her lip.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that it has to end this way." She told him. "I only just got you back a couple of hours ago and I already have to see you go again."

"I know, my daughter." He said, his voice soft and gentle. "I hate to part ways with you yet again but… I wouldn't trade the past couple of hours for anything in the world. This won't be the last time we see each other." Emma smiled even though he couldn't see her.

"I know." Emma told him before continuing. "I love you, Papa." There was a brief pause before he answered.

"I love you too, my daughter." Her father told her and Emma knew that she had to tell Steve one more thing. She wasn't sure if she would see him again anytime soon and Emma wanted to make sure he knew something. She couldn't just let him go without telling him first. She would regret it if she did.

"Steve?"

"Yes, Emma?" He said softly, sounding slightly winded as he ran.

"I just wanted to say thank you for being there for me these past couple of years." Emma said quietly. "I know that I haven't made it easy on you but you've really helped me. We don't see eye to eye on a lot but I just wanted you to know that I understand why you've been so protective."

"Emma, you shouldn't have to thank me. You're my family… of course I'm going to be there for you." He replied. "I'm only protective of you because I love you."

"I know." Emma answered, her expression sad. "I also wanted to say that I love you too. I know that I never say it but it's the truth." She could tell that she had given Steve quite the shock as it took him a while to answer but he did respond eventually.

"I love you too, Emma, I always have." Emma tried to control her emotions as she heard Steve's own voice that sounded thick with emotion.

"I'm scared that I won't see either of you for a long time." She admitted.

"We'll be together again." Steve told her firmly, making sure that she knew that this wouldn't be forever.

"You'll be okay, Emma." Her father added. "You've always been so good at taking care of yourself. Be strong." Emma nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I love you both." She told them. "Good-bye." Emma then ripped the earpiece out of her ear, throwing it to the ground before stomping on it. She couldn't risk Stark grabbing ahold of the earpiece and trying to track her father and Steve through it. No, that wouldn't do. She then looked up at the ongoing battle around her. Her face was void of the previous sadness she felt as a determined look then crossed her face. It was time to get down to business. Emma walked back out from behind the cargo crate and was about to head towards the Black Panther, AKA Prince T'Challa, when a flash of white shot past her face and landed on the cargo crate beside her. Emma looked up in annoyance yet again as she saw Spider-Man land before her.

"Sorry. We got interupted before." He said as he stood there. Emma glared at him, she was beyond sick of this guy at this point.

"You never learn when to quit, Spider-Twerp." She told him. Emma didn't know why she called him Spider-Twerp. Maybe it was because he was really getting on her nerves. He kept showing up at the most inconvenient of times. Emma watched the white lenses of his suit narrow as he stared at her.

"Spider-Twerp?" Spider-Man questioned in disbelief. Emma smirked. So he didn't like that, did he?

"Well, you annoyingly seem to get in my way all the time." Emma explained before continuing. "That and you don't look or sound like a man to me." Spider-Man puffed his chest out dramatically, offended by Emma's accusation.

"I am a man." He told her angrily.

"Somehow I doubt that." She replied before she quickly delivered a kick in the area of his feet, knocking his feet out from under him. Emma stalked towards him expecting it to take a while before Spider-Man got up from his feet again but she was surprised to see how fast he was recovering. It seemed like he was slowly learning. He shot more webs out at her but she anticipated this and quickly dodged them. She lifted her fist and prepared to punch him but he quickly dodged her punch. When he was distracted, she then delivered three punches to his ribs… one after the other. He grunted in pain, stumbling back a bit. When Emma moved to deliver another punch, he was more prepared this time. Spider-Man easily caught her fist in his hand, much like he did with her father. Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she felt how strong he was… how easily he overpowered her. Emma didn't like the feeling.

A red mist slowly appeared out of nowhere, causing Spider-Man's grip to slacken just the tiniest bit but it still wasn't enough for Emma to get him to let go of her fist. She had a feeling she knew where that red mist was coming from. It took a couple of seconds before Spider-Man even noticed the red mist. He was really going to need to become observant than that if he wanted to keep playing with superheros. Spider-Man looked up in surprise as he felt something begin to pick him up. He soon saw a mysterious red mist encompassing him and realized one thing… The Scarlet Witch. The red mist then suddenly threw him away from Emma and he went flying across the runway. Emma looked up at Wanda with an empty look but it was still better than the looks of hatred she usually got. Emma nodded at her.

"Thanks." She mumbled before she took on a more serious tone. "Go help Steve and my father." She told her and the witch nodded shortly before she flew off to do as Emma requested. Steve and her father were everyone's top priority.

* * *

During a rather tiresome battle with the Black Panther, a few minutes later, Emma was distracted when she heard a large crashing sound inside the airport. She glanced back and noticed Lang being taken down in his giant state. She narrowed her eyes when she saw that Spider-Man had been the one to do it. That guy was relentless. Black Panther decided to use her distracted state to deliver a kick to her side which caused her to fall back from the force of his Vibranium coated kick. The Black Panther didn't wait for her to recover as he began to sprint over towards the direction of the Quinjet. Emma glared as he ran away.

"Yeah, you better run." Emma grumbled to herself. She then got back up from the ground and propelled herself in the air.

"McConaughey, what's going on? Is there anyone here that needs my help?" Emma asked the AI system.

"So nice of you to finally address my presence, Miss Rogers." He told her in what sounded like a smug tone. "I didn't think you needed my help." Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Sorry but I was a bit too busy fighting my friends to chat." Emma replied. "Where am I needed?"

"It appears that the others are already being detained, Miss Rogers. You are one of the last left." He said which caused Emma to knaw on the bottom of her lip. She was the last line of defense then. That didn't really seem to comfort her. "The only thing that you can do is stop Prince T'Challa from apprehending Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes."

"Okay then, McConaughey." Emma told him before she began to head in that general direction. "It looks like we're going in."

"Miss Rogers, the odds of you getting out of this without being arrested are increasingly slim." He said which didn't really help Emma's nerves at all. She just sighed.

"Well, It's not like I have anything to lose." Emma needed to stop the Prince before it was too late. The guy was consumed by revenge and there was no telling what he would do. It wasn't her father who murdered the King but T'Challa didn't know that. Emma had only flown through the air for several seconds when she felt something hit her harshly and she went flying into the side of the plane. What happened? Did she get shot? Emma wondered but quickly knew the answer to her question as she looked down at the webbing which held her against the plane. Emma glared down in annoyance as noticed that the webbing covered her whole entire body as it glued her to the plane. She tried squirming around and pulling it off herself but it was no use. The stuff was crazy strong. No, it looked she would just have to be trapped there in her own little cocoon. Emma really hated Spider-Man right now.

"You little pest!" She hissed at him as he looked up at her from his spot on the ground. "Get me down from here right this second or I'll make you regret it." Spider-Man just crossed his arms casually as he looked at her. Emma somehow knew that he was smirking from underneath that mask.

"I don't think I'll regret it." Spider-Man told her smugly. "You're up there and I'm down here. My webbing will be able to hold you there for a long time… you're not coming down anytime soon." Emma's eyes flashed in anger. She was about to make a retort when she saw the Quinjet fly away. It zoomed over her head as it flew away and Emma sighed in relief. It had worked… her father and Steve had gotten away. Everything would be okay now.

"You're too late anyways." Emma told him. "They got away. You failed."

"But _you_ didn't get away." Spider-Man pointed out and she just stared at him.

"No… I didn't." She replied, not wanting to give away anything more. They fell into a long stretch of silence and Spider-Man had then become distracted with… Was that a phone? Emma decided that it didn't matter. She paid attention to her own situation instead.

"McConaughey, what are my chances of getting out of here?" Emma asked the AI system quietly.

"I'm afraid your chances are non-existent, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her gravely. Emma cursed silently before she heard Spider-Man say something that captured her attention.

"And this is the Viper Assassin!" He announced happily, waving his phone up at her. "She was about to escape but I totally captured her. Now she's wrapped in a little cocoon. Say hi, Viper!" Emma gave him a bewildered look.

"Are you actually recording this?" She asked him in disbelief, not sure what the idiot was actually doing.

"It's for my video diary." He explained. Emma glared down at him in anger. Who the hell was this guy? He was making a video diary... Like this was some vacation for him. Emma desperately wanted to know where Stark dug this idiot up.

"Is this some kind of game to you?!" She asked angrily, furious at his unprofessional nature and constant annoyingness. He truly was a Spider-Twerp. "You put that thing away right now or I'll come down and bash your head in with it." She hissed venemously. However, Spider-Man didn't have the scared reaction she wanted him to have. He nonchalantly looked from her then back to his phone again.

"See… I told you she was scary." Spider-Man said to the camera. Emma clenched her jaw in anger."But don't worry, she's can't get down from the webbing. She's stuck." When she got down from the webbing, she was going to kill him. That little nuisance didn't get to patronize her like that. The only reason she was currently glued to the side of the plane was because he got lucky. This wouldn't happen again.

"Ah, Mini Cap, you stayed behind." Emma turned her head only to see Stark land right beside Spider-Man. She glared at him with pure hatred in her eyes. It was worse than any look she had given Wanda, that much Tony knew. "You seem awfully cozy in your little cocoon."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark." Spider-Man immediately apologized, putting his phone away. "I know that you said I was done but she was escaping. I couldn't just let her go." He explained.

"It's okay, kid. Good job." Tony told him before turning his attention back to Emma.

"Get. Me. Out. Of. This." She said in a very low and dangerous tone. "Do it now, Stark." Tony lifted the faceplate of his Iron Man suit, a serious expression on his face.

"No, you don't get to be making demands right now." Stark told her, his tone no longer teasing. Emma didn't think she had ever heard Tony use such a tone with her. It sounded odd to her ears but she didn't show any reaction. "Rhodey's badly injured, no thanks to you guys, so I don't have time to sit here and listen to you make negotiations." Emma felt a bit concerned when she heard about Rhodey but she kept her expression stoic. She looked indifferent.

"You're going to tell me where Rogers and Barnes are right this second!" He demanded. Emma bit down on the inside of her cheek to control her anger. How dare Stark talk to her like that! Like she was a child?! "Innocent people are dead and Rhodey might also die too so stop messing around and tell me. I know you want to help them but they're insane. A lot more people could die too." Emma wanted to say that a lot of people might've died if he had stopped her father and Steve from leaving but she didn't. She bit her lip as a sad, guilty look came over her face and she looked down at Tony. Tears flooded her eyes as she looked at him and Tony's expression softened at the sight of a teary eyed Emma. He hadn't meant to upset her like that.

"Is Rhodey really going to die?" Emma asked in saddened tone. Tony just shook his head in response.

"I don't think so. We're going to have our best doctors working on him." Tony replied. "He might be paralyzed but I think he'll live." Emma sniffled, nodding.

"That's good." She paused for a moment before looking back at Tony and Spider-Man. "I know that it was wrong to help them… that they were wrong about the accords but I just had to. You understand that, don't you, Tony?" Emma asked him. She didn't want to reveal who Steve and her father were to her in front of Spider-Man. She didn't know him and she most certainly didn't trust him.

"I get it, kid. I really do but you have to realize how dangerous they are." Emma's eyes glistened with tears as she gazed at Tony.

"I know. I just wanted to help them." She admitted. "I know that they were wrong. I see that now."

"So you'll tell us?" Tony inquired and Emma hesitantly nodded.

"I'll tell you where they're going." Emma told him with a genuinely trust-worthy look on her face. "If you could just let me down from this thing. I'm starting to get woozy." Tony nodded, happy that Emma was seemingly cooperating.

"Sure, no problem." Tony replied. He lifted up his hand and fired his repulsor beam at Emma. The webbing began to fall apart and Emma immediately fell from the plane. The blonde managed to catch herself before she fell onto the ground, her flying ability kicking in as she gently landed on her feet. She looked down at her catsuit, casually sweeping away the loose webbing. Tony and Spider-Man exchanged a look before they looked at the slender blonde.

"Anytime now, Mini Cap." Tony told her, urging her to give him the information he needed. Emma glanced up at him with an amused look on her face. A smirk quickly crossed her face and Tony immediately knew that he had been played.

"What? You didn't really think that I was going to tell you anything, did you?" She asked him with a teasing tone. Spider-Man groaned at her response. Peter had honestly thought she was finally going to defect to their side but apparently not. This girl seemed to be full of tricks and surprises. He kind of wanted to tie her to the side of the plane with his webbing again, despite finding her eyes pretty. It was becoming clear that this girl couldn't be trusted. She said one thing and then immediately did something else. Still… Peter knew that there was more to the Viper Assassin than meets the eye.

"It would've been a huge waste of my time if I just spent the whole day fighting alongside Steve and the others before defecting to your side." Emma told him with raised eyebrows. "Really, Stark… I thought you were smarter than that."

"If you don't tell me where they are then I won't be able to stop Ross from detaining you." Tony threatened and Emma's eyes immediately narrowed.

"Do you think I care whether or not I go to prison?" Emma asked him rhetorically before scoffing. "Anything they do to me in there won't be half as bad as what Hydra did. They can waterboard me, electrocute me, or even pull all of my teeth out… Whatever your form of torture is, I'm prepared for it. I'm prepared for anything." Emma told him seriously which caused Spider-Man's white lenses to widen in surprise.

"They're not actually going to do that to her, are they, Mr Stark?" Spider-Man asked in disbelief, his voice sounding horrified. Someone has a weak stomach, Emma thought to herself. Tony just rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, kid. She's just being melodramatic." Tony told Spider-Man before turning back to her. "Stop scaring him."

"What makes your new little lap dog wet himself is of little consequence to me." Emma retorted. She could practically feel the glare Spider-Man was giving her through his mask. "My point is that there's nothing that can be done to me that will make me talk. I'll patiently wait in my jail cell until Steve comes for me and he will." Emma then raised her arms out in front of her so that her wrists were side by side.

"Now cuff me…" Emma told him with an innocent look on her face. "And we'll pretend like I can't get out them if I really wanted to."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Another quick author's note. I know you guys are probably wondering what's going to happen to Emma but don't worry. Emma will be seeing Spider-Man very soon although she might not know that it's Spider-Man. Peter will most likely show up again in about two or three chapters. After that, he'll be in the story pretty regularly. That's all I'm going say for now.**


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Author's Note: Okay, it took me a while to write this chapter even though it's not as long as the others. I wasn't sure how to write this chapter but I finally figured it out. I can also definitely say that Peter will return in the chapter after next. The next chapter will most likely be a shorter one as well so it shouldn't be long before I get to the chapter with Peter in it. I want to say thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I'm glad you all loved Emma and Peter's first interaction. I'm also surprised at all the comment about the dirty joke. I thought of the joke a long time ago when I first started writing this fanfiction and I wasn't sure whether or not I would include it. I'm glad you guys thought it was so funny though. So thanks for all the reviews and follows. Keep Reviewing!**

 **I'll try to update again later on tonight.**

* * *

Emma sat in the interrogation room of the Raft Prison with a stoic expression on her face. She had been counting the minutes since she had arrived and determined that she had been sitting there for nearly seventeen hours. There was a couple of brief bathroom breaks of course but Emma had been there for a while and she was bored. There had been some agents that had come into the room to interrogate her but Emma had the feeling that she wasn't dealing with the top brass. It was fine. She had been subjected to plenty of pretend interrogations with Hydra and they had trained her exactly for a situation like this one. The only difference was that she had been locked inside a interrogation room for four days then.

As soon as Stark cuffed her he had led her back to the others who had also been cuffed. Emma remembered looking behind herself at all the destruction that they had all caused to the airport. Instead of just noticing all the debris and fires, however, she noticed Spider-Man standing there watching her. They must've stared at each other for a couple of minutes before Emma was suddenly urged to step into an unmarked aircraft. It had been clear to her then that where ever they were going, they couldn't get there by car. Still… Emma curiously wonder about Spider-Man or Spider-Twerp as she had called him. The subject of Spider-Man is actually what kept Emma occupied inside the interrogation room as she waited for the person in charge to speak with her.

Emma wondered who he was… Spider-Man that is. Where did Stark find him? What was he was capable of? And more importantly… She wondered how he could overpower her like he had. It seemed like he would remain a mystery to her for a while or at least until she got out of this place. Emma was brought out of her thoughts when the door suddenly opened. It had been five hours since the last guy came in. Emma knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to wait her out until she was ready to talk. Fat chance of that happening. It was an older looking man that walked through the door. His hair probably used to be dark but it had since grown gray with age. She saw a ridiculous looking moustache that Emma summed up as him wanting to look like some sort of cowboy or Sam Elliot. He miserably failed there. Emma immediately realized that this man was Thaddeus Ross. The Secretary of State. An occupation that had previously been held by Alexander Pierce… her other grandfather.

"Hello, Viper." Ross said as he smiled at her before sitting in the seat across from her. Emma could tell that his smile was forced. It looked just like the smile Pierce used to give her… like he knew everything about her. Emma decided then that she immensely disliked Ross. "Or do you prefer Emma?" Emma just gave him a blank look as he looked at her. "Yes, I know all about you, Miss Rogers. Tony finally decided fill us in on you... just the people who matter. Don't worry, the public is still oblivious that Captain America's granddaughter is also the Viper Assassin. They're also oblivious to the fact that you're even alive." He continued to tell her.

"Why did you send a bunch of your lackeys to interrogate me if you were just going to do the job yourself?" Emma asked, ignoring everything Ross just told her. She wanted to show him that she wasn't effected by what he just said. It did bother her that he knew who she was but she wasn't about to let him know that.

"I just wanted to see how forthcoming with information you are." Ross replied. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"How did that work out for you?" Emma inquired.

"Not well." Ross told her. "I have to say, Miss Rogers, I'm very impressed." Emma didn't really care for his appraisal as she looked back at him.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? Hydra's a good place to practice being interrogated." Emma said in a snarky tone. Ross didn't look amused.

"Let's get down to business, Miss Rogers." He said, cutting right to the chase. "I know that everyone treats you like a kid because you look like one. You should've seen Stark earlier. He was practically begging me to go easy on you." Ross chuckled and Emma just watched him. "I think you have all the Avengers wrapped around your finger. You're good… really good." The smile disappeared off his face as he leaned in closer to her.

"I also know that you are not a child in the way it matters. No, you think like an adult and you probably hate that the others treat you like the child that you are." He smirked as he looked carefully at the expression on her face. "I'm right, aren't I? You're a really smart girl though… you've probably learned to adapt to your surroundings. The others treat you like a child so you use that against them. Get them to be more lenient with you… get them to leave you alone. It's very smart actually." Emma really wanted to smack that smug look off his face but she knew she also had to play her cards right.

"Where are the others?" Emma asked him, trying to shift the conversation away from her. She didn't really want to go along with whatever Ross was attempting to do. He thought he was being so clever but Emma knew what he was trying to do. Ross was trying to test her boundaries to see how far he could push her before she would break. Others had tried and failed to break her so she doubted that he would be able to.

"The others?" Ross asked, playing dumb. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Wilson, Barton, Maximoff, and Lang. It's no secret that they're here." Emma told him. "I want to know where you took them."

"If you must know they're sitting pretty comfortably in their cells." Ross answered her before his expression darkened. "You'd be sitting there too if it were up to me. Fortunately for you, President Ellis doesn't believe in imprisoning innocent children in high security prisons." Ross rolled his eyes and snorted. "Innocent, my ass. Ellis called you a tragic casualty of a terrorist organization's agenda. He's made you out to be some doe eyed, terrified little girl."

"I am a casualty of Hydra's agenda." Emma pointed out but Ross just glared at her.

"You're not innocent though." He told her. "You're a trained killer that belongs in a cell much more secure than the ones we're holding the others in. A cell that I would lock and throw away the key."

"So you can't keep me here… What do you really want from me then?" Emma questioned. "Do you want to know where my grandfather and Barnes are? I'll tell you this now… I don't have the slightest idea."

"Rogers and Barnes are war criminals now… along with all your other little friends." Ross sneered. "You'd be a war criminal too if it wasn't for President Ellis. I suggest that you vote for him when you become of age. He's the only reason you're not sitting in one of those cells right now." Emma just shrugged at him.

"I don't really care that much for politics." She told him, her tone casual. Ross scoffed.

"Well, you got involved in a very political war." He retorted and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"The politics didn't matter to me. I just didn't want to be controlled like a puppet by a bunch of people who don't know shit about me." Emma told him harshly. "When you've been under Hydra's thumb for as long as I have, being under anyone else's thumb isn't that appealing."

"Are you comparing the United Nations to Hydra?" Ross asked in disbelief but Emma didn't looked bothered by his angry expression.

"I just don't like being anyone's puppet… no matter the politics." Emma told him. Emma could tell that it was very difficult for Ross to contain his anger but he did his best as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"Where's Rogers and Barnes?" Ross asked, getting back to the task at hand. He knew what Emma had been doing… she had been trying to distract him and it had worked for a while. Now it was time to get real information out of her.

"I don't know." Emma replied with no hesitance. Ross furrowed his eyebrows at her, glaring at the blonde teenager.

"You don't know?" He asked in a doubtful tone. "You're telling me that you went through all this trouble… fighting Stark and everyone so that you could hijack a Quinjet. You're telling me that everyone was going to hijack a Quinjet but you didn't happen to know where you were going?" Emma nodded.

"Exactly." Ross shook his head.

"Pardon me but I'm not buying that. Rogers and Barnes didn't happen to mention where they were going? You don't know anything?" Emma shrugged.

"No, I just know that they needed to stop this man by the name of Zemo. You know… the supposed psychiatrist who released Barnes from custody? But I guess terrorists aren't the Joint Counter _Terrorist_ Centre 's Priority." Emma told him a with a condescending tone to her voice. This only seemed to infuriate Ross more as Emma stared at him with a bored look on her face.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that we apprehended Zemo. He's currently being held in at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre." Ross told her and Emma had to admit that she was a bit surprised to hear that. Did that mean her father and Steve had caught the man? Was everything fine between them and the government now? Emma highly doubted that. If everything was fine then Emma wouldn't have been sitting in that interrogation room for seventeen hours. Ross wouldn't be referring to her father and Steve as war criminals. It was a child's fantasy that everything could've worked itself out. However, Emma didn't let her surprise and confusion show on her face as she maintained her composure.

"Who brought him in?" Emma questioned, her tone curious. Ross raised an eyebrow at her.

"I believe that I'm the one doing the interrogating, Miss Rogers." He told her.

"It'll probably be common knowledge anyways. If you don't tell me, someone else will." Emma replied logically causing Ross to sigh tiredly.

"It was Prince T'Challa." That intrigued Emma. So T'Challa must've known that it really wasn't her father who bombed the UN building. If he knew that Zemo was the bomber, Emma wondered why Zemo was still alive. "Now that I've given you something, you should give me something as well." Emma was quickly becoming tired of all of his questioning. It was time for her to make her play and she would have to start on that soon. "Where is the location of Rogers and Barnes?"

"I told you that I don't know." Emma repeated and Ross gave her a frustrated look. It looked like he was about to say something but Emma continued before he could. "It's the truth. I might've known where they were at one time but it's been a long time since I've been detained. They've probably since moved on… I wouldn't have the slightest idea where. We never planned that far ahead." Emma told him. Ross felt uneasy about the calm look on her face. It was errie how calm she looked about this entire situation… too calm.

"So you would tell me if you knew anything?" Ross asked and he narrowed his eyes as he saw a huge smile cross the young girl's face. She gave him an innocent look, nearly batting her eyelashes at him.

"Why, of course, Secretary Ross." She told him but Ross couldn't help but question the sincerity in her voice. "If I knew where they were you'd be the first one to know." Ross stared at Emma for what felt like the longest time but she steadily held his gaze, not even blinking once. He exhaled as he tried to remain calm and professional, refusing to let the teenager to piss him off.

"Okay, we're done." Ross told her, getting up from his seat. Emma watched him walk towards the door silently. "Sit tight, Rogers, it's going to be a while until you're released. President Ellis never said when you were to be released." Emma clenched her jaw, angry that Ross was blowing her off but she quickly surpressed the feeling.

"How's Betty?" Emma asked him suddenly, causing the older man to pause right in front of the door. His arm had been extended as he reached for the door knob but immediately fell to his side when Emma spoke. He slowly turned around with a bewildered look on his face. His eyes locked on to Emma who was giving him that same innocent smile.

"How do you know about Betty?" He asked her, his voice slightly shaky. Emma knew that she had him right where she wanted.

"She's your daughter, isn't she? Dr. Betty Samson, professor and scientist at Culver University." Emma told him as if she was reading his daughter's biography and he could only watch in shock as she did so. "Married to Dr. Leonard Samson for how long? Seven years, was it? They have two children now… a boy and a girl. Twins."

"Tell me..." Ross's tone was full of anger but Emma could also tell from his eyes that he was nervous. Most people said that eyes were the windows to the soul but Emma didn't believe in spiritual or philosophical nonsense… or where ever the term had come from. No, Emma believed a person's eyes simply betrayed what they were truly feeling. "How do you know all that? I've kept her files off public records… I've made sure that she's been able to have a normal life away from all of this mess… away from-"

"Banner?" Emma inquired with a raised eyebrow. She could practically see Ross turning purple at this point as he stared at her in bewilderment and possibly fear. "Oh… do not many people know about the connection between your daughter and Banner? You seem to be very good at hiding her away from everybody else. Does President Ellis know about your daughter and Banner? It might be scandalous if the Secretary of State's daughter was once known to be in a romantic relationship with a mad scientist whose alter ego destroyed Harlem and a city on the African coast and that's only the recent things he's done." Emma paused as she looked at the enraged look on his face before she continued. "Of course, you don't have to worry about Banner coming back for your daughter again. No, his tastes have changed exponentially. He's more into red heads with red in their ledgers now."

"Are you blackmailing me, Rogers?" He asked in a dangerous tone. "Because if you are, I'm not someone you want to mess with. You're treading into very dangerous waters here, little girl." Emma just smirked.

"I'm only stating facts here, Secretary." Emma said, coyly. "There's nothing sinister going on at all."

"What do you want?" Ross asked abruptly, not buying Emma's innocent expression one bit. "You're already getting out of here… what could you possibly want? Not freedom for Wilson, Maximoff, Barton, and Lang. Not immunity for Rogers and Barnes. You and I both know that not even I can make that call." Emma casually shrugged as she leaned back in her seat.

"No, I'm not completely unreasonable. I know that you can't release them… there would be a public outcry. I understand how badly that would impact the country. President Ellis would lose supporters, America would lose a lot of tresured allies, and other countries might even wage war." Emma replied and Ross raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you said that you didn't know politics?" Emma gave him a pointed look.

"I said that I didn't care for politics, not that I didn't understand them." Emma corrected before continuing. "No, I want something more valuable… more realistic. I know that the others will have to remain at the prison so I'm not going to live in a fantasy world where I try to get you to release them and allow them to walk the streets of New York unbothered. Happy endings don't exist." Emma's expression darkened as she went on. "What I want is something much more valable to me…When Steve finally breaks everyone out of this hellhole I want you to not try very hard to find them." Ross's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" He asked, completely confused.

"I know that you'll probably have to act like you're looking for them so you'll make a huge show of it but where it really counts… you'll just try a little less hard." Emma told him. "It shouldn't be that difficult for you. You're not very talented at finding people. Banner's slipped through your fingers hundreds of times."

"I can't make that sort of call. Do you think President Ellis would approve of this?" Ross inquired, laughing humorlessly.

"Well, President Ellis doesn't have to know." Emma said slyly and Ross glared at her.

"You're suggesting treason." Ross accused.

"It's only treason if you were to aide Rogers and Barnes. I'm not suggesting you do any such thing." Emma said to him, her tone malicious. "It's a really easy job for you to do… especially with the kind of information I have. I could ask for so much more if I really wanted."

"How do I even know that you have any evidence to even support these claims?" Ross asked and Emma grinned at him. She knew that she had him right then. There was no going back for him now.

"It's true. I might not have any evidence at all… maybe just some interesting leads from unreliable sources. I could just be bluffing." She then paused for a moment before she continued. "But then again… I could have plenty of evidence. I mean… it's not even just about your daughter and Banner. The government experimentations… The Abomination. Government conspiracies always make for some juicy stories for news outlets. It's really amazing how you hid that much information from the public and the government. Ellis doesn't even have any clue, does he?"

"I must not have been that good if you were able to uncover all of this." Ross told her, sounding drained and exhausted.

"Oh, I wouldn't feel so bad about it, Mr. Secretary." Emma told him, her tone mocking. "I'm just lucky enough to still have contacts and friends in both high and low places. When I heard about this business with the accords I just knew that I had to get something on you. It took me a little time but I think it was worth it." Ross just shook his head before he started chuckling.

"Fine, Rogers, you win. It's not like the Captain could even break into this place anyways." He told her, thinking he had won something over her. If Emma thought he had, she didn't show it.

"Just do what I ask and your job and reputation will remain secure." Emma told him, her tone serious and unrelenting. Ross just sighed as he looked at her, analyzing the unwavering determined look on the blonde's face. It became clear that this wasn't new to her. She had blackmailed people many times before to get what she wanted. From the looks of it, she had been successful too.

"Whatever you want." He turned to leave again but paused before he opened the door, turning back around to look at her one last time. "You'd make a very good colonel someday, Rogers. You have two amazing qualities." Emma gave him an amused look.

"What's that?" She asked curiously and he gave her a very unkind, cold look.

"Strategy and ruthlessness." He told her before he opened the door. Ross looked at the guard, standing outside the interrogation room, before glancing back at her in disgust.

"Get her out of my sight. Having her in the same building as me is putting me on edge." Ross gave her one last hateful look before leaving and Emma smirked in satisfaction. She knew that she had won. Ross really was too easy. Despite missing Steve and her father, Emma couldn't help but think that this was going to be fun.

* * *

Emma was led out of the interrogation room not even ten minutes after Ross left. Emma had the feeling that she had freaked him out quite a bit. In all honesty Emma had been bluffing. She had several sources that compiled a lot of information on Ross for her but she wouldn't call them reliable and there wasn't actually any hard copy evidence. But Ross had bought it and that was all that mattered. The guy wouldn't gamble with his career and reputation… Emma had counted on that and preyed on his weakness. It was like the ultimate chess game and she had come out on top as the winner.

She briefly wondered where it was that she was going. Emma didn't think that they would just dump her at any location and she would be on her own. No, she knew they wouldn't let her aimlessly wander around the world. President Ellis had allowed her to be released because he thought that she was a helpless child that was caught up in someone else's war. It was the furthest thing from the truth but Emma wasn't about to argue. Emma thought he might place her under the government's care or something similar. She was sort of hoping that he would because she knew that it would be quite easy for her to escape if he did. It wouldn't be long before she would be reunited with Steve and her father. Perhaps then she could help Steve devise a plan to help rescue the others. She had been inside the Raft Prison after all and observed quite a lot while being there. There was only the question of where Steve and her father could possibly be.

Emma's hopes, however, were crushed the moment she walked outside and onto the landing pad of the prison. Emma saw the last person she ever wanted to see standing there, leaning against a helicopter. She could practically feel all her plans crumbling the moment she set foot outside. Tony Stark stood there with a welcoming smile on his face and Emma wanted nothing more than to go over there to slap the silly grin off his face. It was pouring down rain on the landing pad and Emma could smell the sea water with her enhanced sense of smell. The ocean waves were crashing against the Raft Prison and if Emma had been a more normal human, she might've been sea sick.

"Mini Cap!" Tony greeted happily but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. She assessed his appearance and immediately noticed that he looked like shit. Cuts littered his face, he had a huge black eye, and he even had his arm in a sling. The guy looked like he had gotten the shit beat out of him and she was a little smug to realize that it was probably Steve and her father's doing. Serves him right.

"What are you doing here?" She asked suddenly, not bothering with formalities. Emma honestly had a sneaking suspicion as to why Stark was there but she wanted to be proven wrong.

"I'm here to take you home, kid." Stark told her causing Emma to raise her eyebrow.

"Home?" She questioned and Stark just looked at her like she was stupid.

"You know… The compound." Emma suddenly felt sick to her stomach. No, none of her plans were going to work out if she was going back to that place. She shook her head.

"I'm not going back there." Emma told him firmly.

"And where would you go?" Tony questioned. "I already know that you don't know where Steve and Barnes are. I also know that all the others are too locked up in their cells to help you in anyway. You don't have anywhere else to go." He told her and Emma shook her head.

"I've been alone before. I can survive on my own, I don't need you or anybody else." She sneered. "What makes you think that I would even want to be near you after what happened. You disgust me, Stark." Tony took a deep breath before exhaling, trying to surpress any angry feelings he had.

"You're coming with me." He told her, the friendly smile completely gone. "Not because I'm giving you a choice but because I said so." Emma glared at him.

"You're not my father." Emma retorted. "I don't have to listen to you."

"No, but your only guardian is a war criminal now and so is the man you would actually call your father." He replied, his tone beyond frustrated with her. Tony had dealt with a lot in the past twenty fours hours and he most certainly didn't need to deal with this too. "I'm all you've got left, kid. Ellis allowed for your release but that doesn't mean he wants you walking the streets unsupervised. There's conditions to your release and one of them is being released into my custody." Emma bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she began tasting blood. This wasn't going how she thought it would. She thought she would easily be able to escape where ever the government put her but Emma knew she wouldn't be able to escape the compound… not with Tony's security system and Vision standing in her way.

"You better get in the chopper because you can't stay here either." He finally told her. Emma weighed her options and realized that he was right. It wasn't like she could just run away from him right there and then. She was in the middle of the ocean for crying aloud. She couldn't fly away either. Emma would never be able to see through all the rain even with her enhanced vision. She'd probably crash into something. Emma would have no choice but to leave with Stark. She sighed as she looked up at him.

"Fine, I'll cooperate." Emma relented and Tony nodded, seeming relieved.

"I'm glad to hear that." He then motioned for her to climb into the helicopter. Emma gave him a look of distrust as she climbed in. Tony rolled his eyes at her reaction. Emma could really be stubborn sometimes. The billionaire then climbed in after her, immediately taking the seat across from her. Emma looked around the inside of the helicopter cautiously as she took in her surroundings. She immediately noticed that it was an auto-pilot helicopter. Yeah, that really didn't make her any less distrustful. The Helicopter began to lift off into the air the second they both got in, leaving Emma and Tony to stare at each other. It seemed as if Emma had won their staring contest as Tony quickly looked away, creeped out by her silent staring.

"How are you so good at that?" He questioned as he looked away uncomfortably. Emma just shrugged casually.

"Years and years of practice." She replied and something about her tone of voice chilled him right to the bone. Tony just shook his head as he glanced back at her.

"How did you even get Ross to finally release you? I've been trying to get him to let you go for hours now." Tony said but by the cold look on her face, he decided that he probably didn't want to know anyways. Tony awkwardly cleared his throat as he moved on from the question."You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?" He asked, changing the subject. "I've never had to be a parent, you know. I don't have any experience with being a parent."

"I don't want you to be my parent." Emma told him pointedly. "I already have my father and Steve." Tony looked out the window uncomfortably when she said that. She noticed the way his jaw clenched and immediately knew that something was up. "What happened out there?"

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked in a confusion state as he momentarily looked back at her. Emma just gave him a doubtful look.

"Well, you look like you got the shit beaten out of you and I also know that Zemo got arrested." Emma explained. "So tell me… what happened?" Tony then looked directly at Emma. Brown meeting blue as he tried to search her eyes for something.

"Did you know?" He asked suddenly. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she processed the odd and random question he had just asked her.

"Know what?" Emma asked confused.

"That he killed my parents." Tony finally said and Emma stared at him in surprise, her blue eyes wide and curious. She could only assume he meant her father. They must've sat there in silence for a good couple of minutes as Emma's mind processed that information. She didn't think she had been expecting to hear that when she asked Stark about what happened.

"I always wondered how Hydra got their hands on your father's serum." Emma said, breaking her and Stark's long stretch of silence. Tony watched her carefully, thirsty for any information she might be able to provide him. "I suspected that Hydra might've had a hand in their death but I never knew for sure… it happened a long time before I was even born. But to answer your question… No, I never knew." Tony looked slightly doubtful at her answer, not sure that he could take her word for it.

"Steve never told you?" Tony pressed.

"Steve didn't tell me a lot of things… not if he thought that it would protect me in the long run." Emma answered honestly. "Stark, I've lied to you a lot in the past but I don't have any reason to right now. I didn't know my father had a hand in their death although I don't think I'm entirely surprised." She glanced back in his direction, looking him directly in the eyes. "That's what happened, isn't it? This was Zemo's plan all along."

"He had already killed the other super soldiers by the time we arrived." Tony informed her. Emma raised her eyebrows when he told her that piece of information. She had to admit that Zemo's plans were a lot more different than your average super villain. So it must not have been world domination that he wanted if he killed all the super soldiers. No… But what could it be? The thought suddenly hit Emma. A thought she knew a little too well. Revenge.

"He didn't want world domination. It was revenge, wasn't it?" Emma asked him although she thought she already knew the answer. Tony looked up at her in surprise. Sometimes it really creeped him out how she already knew so much. She only needed to be told a few details before she could get the summary of the whole story.

"His family had been killed in Sokovia." Tony admitted before continuing. "I arrived there to help Steve and Barnes out when I found out that you guys had been right all along. Zemo showed us a video… It was of the Winter Soldier murdering my parents." Tony looked down at his hands and Emma stared at him curiously. She felt some sympathy for Stark in that moment. Emma knew how it felt watching your parents being murdered in front of you… she knew how it felt being so helpless because there was nothing you could possibly do.

"I take it things didn't go well after that?" Emma inquired and Tony shook his head.

"No, they didn't." He didn't elaborate but he didn't need to because Emma already knew the basics of what happened. She wasn't stupid. "They got away in the end."

"I understand, you know." Emma said suddenly, causing Tony to look up at her in surprise. "Wanting to kill him… to make him suffer like you suffered all those years you had to live without them… your parents I mean. I feel the same way about someone who stole my parents from me all those years ago."

"Rumlow?" Tony questioned and Emma nodded solemnly.

"I promised myself a long time ago that I would make him suffer like he made me suffer… that he would pay the price for what he had done to me." Emma told him. "I was glad when he escaped from Steve because it meant that I could still have my chance to fulfill that promise."

"T'Challa said that I shouldn't let my vengence consume me." Tony spoke quietly and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"What does he know? He's a Prince." Emma retorted. Tony smiled a small smile before Emma spoke again and the smile fell off his face when he heard what she said. "This is why you came for me, isn't it? You're using me to get to my father."

"What?" Tony asked incredulously but Emma just had a look of nonchalance as she shrugged.

"I'm not stupid, Stark. You think that if you have me that my father will come running to get me and you'll have your chance to get your revenge." She told him. "I don't blame you for that. I would do the same thing if I had the chance."

"You would?" Tony asked although he probably already knew the answer. She nodded before the expression of her face quickly darkened as she leaned in towards him.

"Just understand this, Stark. You can try and kill my father out of the revenge if you want." Emma said, her tone dark and dangerous. "You're in a position of power right now where you could accomplish such a thing and there would be little that I could do to stop you. However, if you do kill my father I will then be forced to kill you in return."

"Are you threatening me, Mini Cap, because I-"

"Yes, I am." Emma told him without missing a beat, interupting him in the process. He stared at her with wide eyes. "If you take my father from me then I won't have any other choice. I've killed for him before and I'm not afraid to do it again. I really wouldn't like doing it, Stark, I'm somewhat fond of you. I like our banter but you wouldn't be giving me a choice."

"You can't just threaten me like that." Tony told her seriously but Emma just glared at him.

"I don't care who you are, Stark. I don't care that you're a billionaire or an Avenger." She told him honestly. "They could throw me in a prison where I would rot for the remainder of my existence or they could kill me… It wouldn't make a difference to me. I don't have anything to lose." Emma and Tony sat there in the helicopter continuing to stare at each other. Tony mostly stared at her in disbelief while Emma held his gaze, daring him to challenge her. Tony finally broke their staring contest, shaking his head as he stared out the window. Emma leaned back in her seat, satisfied by the reaction she had gotten out of Tony. Little did she knew that Tony was actually starting to develop an idea involving her… something that would be for her own good. As Tony continued to think about this idea, he was interupted in his thoughts as Emma spoke up once more.

"It looks like Zemo achieved what Ultron never could." Tony silently looked back at her but Emma wasn't looking at him anymore. She was staring out at the crashing waves of the ocean below them as they flew away. "He tore the Avengers apart."


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Author's Note: Okay, so a pretty short chapter but still a very important one. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I really wanted to display Emma's more manipulative or malicious side with Ross as well as her dangerous side with Tony. I know some of you have concerns about Peter and Liz and what that will mean when Emma comes into the picture. I'm not going to tell you everything but Peter's obviously had a crush on Liz for a very long time so that's not going to change but he'll definitely become very confused when Emma comes into the picture. We all know how this is going to turn out though. This isn't a Peter/Liz fanfiction. It's totally a Peter/Emma fanfiction. lol. I also hope to build on Emma and Tony's relationship. He's kind of in charge of her now and she hates him a lot but I think Peter might help mend their friendship. We'll see.** **ALSO... The return of Peter is in the next chapter. I promise that the next chapter will be very long and I'll try to update tomorrow.**

 **So I saw the movie _Gifted_ recently which stars Chris Evans and I have to say that the little girl in it reminded me of Emma but of course a much younger Emma. Just the way she talked like an adult and the way she didn't understand other kids that were her own age. That movie kind of inspired this chapter so that's why I'm mentioning it. It's a very emotional movie and I cried a lot but it's really good if you like a heartwarming movie so I highly recommend it.**

 **Thanks and please review!**

* * *

It had been a rough week. Emma stared at the ceiling in boredom she as laid across her bed with her iPod clutched to her chest. Rough week was putting it into lighter terms. It had been one hell of a week for Emma as she returned to the compound. Everything was almost the same as when she had left. The only thing that was off about the whole place was the fact that it was significantly missing a few individuals. The only people who remained at the compound were Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Emma. It was weird to Emma how it had only been not even two weeks since she had last been there but it felt if it had been a whole year.

When she had first returned to the compound Emma stupidly imagined Steve appearing in room, sitting on the edge of her bed as he eagerly awaited her return. He would tell her that it all had been a misunderstanding and that everything was okay. The Avengers weren't really torn apart at the seams. And then she had woken up from that dream and realized that it was nothing but a fantasy. Something that would never happen… something that _could_ never happen. There was no Steve at the compound and there probably wouldn't be for a very long time. Emma was just left with the Avengers she shared the least amount of familiarity with.

Emma hadn't done anything these past few days. She mostly just stayed cooped up in her own room as she avoided the others. The blonde teenager only came out of her room at night when all the others had gone to bed and that was only so that she could eat. Vision tried getting her to come out of her room a couple of times but the look Emma had shot him when he flew through her wall was enough to scare him off. There was no reading because Emma couldn't concentrate enough to read and there was no drawing because Emma didn't having any inspiration left in her. She mostly just laid out on her bed for hours as she listened to Lana Del Rey on her iPod and thought about different ways to escape the compound. Everytime she thought of a new way to escape, she also thought of a new way as to how she would get caught. She was hopeless.

Emma was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She immediately pulled her earbuds out of her ear as she glanced at the door. The person at the door didn't wait for her to respond as they quickly opened the door. Emma immediately narrowed her eyes at the person standing in the doorway. Tony.

"What do you want?" She asked in an annoyed tone. He glanced at her nervously, barely meeting her eyes. Tony had what looked to be a small package in his hands. Emma eyed the package briefly before looking back up at him.

"Look, I don't want to fight." Tony said as he finally looked at her directly. "I'm just here because I was told to give you this package." Emma felt oddly confused by this as she stared at him. Package? The package was for her? Who would send her a package? It's not like Emma had a lot of friends.

"Who sent it?" Emma questioned suspiciously. Tony just gave her a pointed look as he handed her the package.

"Who do you think?" That seemed to answer Emma's question as she attempted to find the return address but she didn't find any. She was a little disappointed to see that there didn't seem to be a return address but she wasn't surprised either. Tony sighed as he gazed at her, causing to Emma to glance back up at him.

"I never meant to hurt you during all of this." Tony admitted to her and she gave him a curious look… curious to know where he was going with this. "I never meant to put you in the middle like this either. You're just a kid."

"You say that like I didn't know what I was doing when I sided with Steve." Emma told him with a doubtful tone. "I knew what I was doing, Stark."

"I've still managed to take you away from your family and friends." Tony said quietly. "Steve, Wilson, Romanoff, Barton, and… Barnes. It's safe to say that you're probably pretty pissed at me, right?"

"Would it make you feel better if I said that I forgave you?" Emma sneered and Tony just smiled at her.

"Not if you say it like that." Tony replied. "So apology not accepted?" Emma glared at him.

"What do you think?" Tony nodded solemnly.

"Well, I'll just leave you alone. We're having Chinese take-out tonight in case you're up to actually showing up to dinner this time. You don't have to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night to eat, you know." Tony told her and Emma just stared at him. He nodded again, getting the hint that she didn't want him anywhere near her for the time being. It was probably best to not piss Emma off. He had seen what she had reduced Clint's bow to when the Avengers had first met her and he had also seen what she had done to the Spiderling. The kid was black and blue all over from Emma's attack although he started healing rather quickly.

Tony then left the room without another word, leaving Emma to her own devices. She focused all of her attention back onto the package the second Tony closed the door behind him. The blonde eagerly ripped into the package before reaching inside for the contents. A piece of paper was the first thing Emma pulled out and she immediately deduced that it was a letter. She smiled when she saw the familiar neat handwriting. Emma began to read the letter, feeling slightly anxious in doing so.

 _Dear Emma,_

 _It's been a week since we've last seen each other and I already miss you with all of my heart. There's not a second in the day that goes when I don't think of you. We were just in the most beautiful place in the whole world the other day and I immediately thought of you. There were so many trees and mountains everywhere which made me think of you because I knew you'd be out there sketching everything if you had been there with us. It really was beautiful, Emma. You would've loved it._

 _Bucky also wanted me to tell you that he loves and misses you even more than I do which I don't think is possible but he insists. He would've written you himself but he's scared that he won't be able to convey how he feels in writing. I think he's wrong but you know how he is. Bucky wanted to tell you the real reason he left you with me and the others. He didn't want you to become like him. He didn't want your past to define you like the way his past has defined him. You're meant for so much more than a life of being an assassin. We both know that nothing can change what Hydra did to you but I also know that you don't have to let it define your life._

 _I know you must think that I'm patronizing for protecting you so much but I just wanted to spare you of a life like mine. You'll get angry at me for admitting this but I do blame myself for what Hydra did to you. They targeted you and your parents because my blood runs through your veins. My overprotectiveness was just me trying to make up for that in some way even though I knew that I never could. I thought if I could give you a somewhat normal life that it might right some wrongs but I know now that it's never what you wanted. I understand that now._

 _I still want you to have a normal life, Emma. I still want you to socialize, get out there, and do whatever it is that normal teenagers do. I want you to experience that kind of life but I also know that you're meant for so much more than the lifestyle of a normal young woman. There's never been any rules that's said that you couldn't have both. I mean… look at Barton. He seems to have done well from what I can see. The beautiful family, the peaceful farmhouse, and his life as an Avenger. Or at least it was like that until I brought him into this war. Anyways… there's nothing that says that you can't have what Barton has. I don't think I'm meant for that but maybe you can be._

 _By the time you read this letter I will already have rescued the others from the Raft Prison. I was disappointed to see that you weren't still there from the intel we received but I wasn't that surprised. You're a minor and it wasn't likely that they would've been able to hold you there. From the intel that I've gathered, I know that you're back with Tony and the others at the compound. That's good. You'll be safer back home than you would be with us. There's no telling where we might end up. A life on the run isn't the kind of life I wanted for you when we rescued you from the Hydra base. You'll be angry when you read what I have to ask of you but I don't want you to live your life in hiding, Emma. The only thing I ask of you is for you to listen to Tony and do as he says. I know that you're probably very angry with him right now but I'm just asking that you respect his decisions… just give him a chance. I'm not there anymore and he's the only one who will have your best interests at heart. Despite what happened, I trust him and I'm only asking that you trust him too. He's not a bad guy, Emma. He might be misguided, stubborn, and irritating at times but he isn't bad._

 _Please take care of yourself while we're gone, Emma. I know you probably feel alone but this won't be forever. This whole thing will blow over and hopefully soon. We'll be together soon. I promise. In the meantime, you and Tony need to take care of each other. You need each other._

 _Sincerely, Steve_

 _P.S. I left something else in the package for you. I suppose I would've given it to your father in another life but I thought that you might like to have them._

Emma felt a lone tear silently stream down her face as she finished reading the letter Steve had sent her. She missed him so much. Emma was still reeling from everything Steve had told her in the letter. The input from her father, Steve's normal rambling, her future, and even what he wanted from her. Emma thought hard about what Steve wanted from her and she wasn't sure she could do it. She couldn't believe that Steve actually wanted her to just forgive Tony and let him dictate her life. Emma almost wanted to defy Steve and try to leave the compound but she stopped in her thoughts. No… that wasn't what Steve wanted. Steve obviously wanted what was best for her but he also wanted her to stay put until he came back. Emma would respect Steve's request but only because he asked it of her and not because she held any respect for Tony. It looked like she was going to be there for a while.

Emma then remembered what Steve had also said in the letter. She immediately reached for the package once more, reaching inside. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as her hand wrapped around something cold and metallic feeling. She pulled her hand back out and stared at what she was holding in her hand. It looked to be someone's dog tags. Emma glanced at the engravings on the necklace and her eyes widened in surprise. The dog tags belonged to Steve. Emma immediately felt more tears fall down from her eyes as she stared at the dog tags in her hand. She covered her mouth as she attempted to muffle a sob that was starting to escape her mouth. He had left her his dog tags. Emma immediately placed the dog tags around her neck before looking back down at them. She tiredly wiped the tears from her eyes as she sniffled, her gaze fixed on the dog tags. Emma didn't know how long she had sat there running her fingers over the metallic tags over and over again. It would be only an hour later when she finally fell asleep, her iPod long dead but her fingers still tightly grasping the dog tags.

She missed him.

* * *

"What did you want to talk about, Stark?" Emma asked as she sat on one of the couches in the living room of the compound. Vision and Rhodey were also sitting in the living room, both on opposite sides of her. Tony was the only one standing in the room. It had now been two weeks since Emma had returned to the compound. She decided to listen to Steve and do her best to be somewhat more pleasant while there. Instead of locking herself up in her room all the time, Emma spent sometime in the living room with the others. Mostly she just read silently as Tony helped Rhodey in his recovery. Sometimes Vision would ask her about the sentiment behind some of the books she had read and she would explain it to him as best as she could. Maybe Vision wasn't so bad…

"Well, I thought we could all have a meeting since this kind of concerns everyone here." Emma and Vision gave Tony a curious look while Rhodey just raised his eyebrows at his best friend.

"Seriously? There's only like four of us here." Rhodey told him.

"Well, we haven't had a meeting in a while and I feel like this is as good of a time as any." Tony replied and Emma scoffed.

"Right, because the last meeting went so well." She said sarcastically and Tony tried to maintain his composure without glaring at her. Sometimes she made it really hard but he remembered what Steve had asked of him in the letter. He had to take care of Emma and right now that was his main priority. This was why he was doing this.

"Well, you weren't here during the last meeting." Tony told her pointedly but Emma just looked back at him.

"I saw the fallout to know how much that meeting failed." She replied and Tony nodded before deciding to steer this meeting to the reason he brought them all there.

"Okay, so the meeting…" He trailed off as he tried to get the conversation back on course. "This is actually something I've been thinking a lot about these past couple of weeks. You all know how little I think before I do things sometimes so I feel that this is important." Tony said, looking at each and everyone of them as they all looked curiously back at him. It was unusual to see Tony this serious about anything. The last time Emma had seen him this serious about anything was when he was trying to get information out of her about her father and Steve. That was why Emma was slightly worried about just what Tony had to say.

"This is actually about you, Emma." Tony told her, looking her straight in the eyes. Emma gave him a suspicious look. Okay… this was definitely something serious. He never called her Emma.

"What are you trying to say, Stark? Just spit it out." She told him as she maintained her calm composure. "Are you going to dump me at an orphanage or something? Am I going to need to start packing my bags." She asked sarcastically. Tony just sighed because this was going to be even harder to say than he thought. The worst part about it was that he was almost completely positive that this wasn't going to end well. He only hoped that Vision would be able to stop her from killing him in time.

"No, I've been thinking about this for a while now." Tony said carefully as he cautiously looked at her, preparing for the worst reaction she might have. Each time as he imagined her reaction he died in nearly every scenario. "This isn't just some whim or idea I've come up with in a couple of hours but I know it would be for the best. Not the best for Rhodey, Vision, or I but the best for you because as Steve previously stated, you're our main priority right now."

"Stop rambling, Stark." Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Just tell me." Tony took a deep breath before he replied.

"I enrolled you into a high school." He finally said. Silence immediately followed his response as everyone looked at Tony in shock. It was clear that Rhodey and Vision had no idea what Tony had planned by the expressions on their faces. Although the person who was perhaps the most shocked with this new piece of information was Emma. Out of all the things that Emma thought Tony would say, it certainly hadn't been that. Emma stared at Tony for what felt like the longest time. The older man shifted uncomfortably as he felt Emma's gaze on him. She broke the gaze when she abruptly started laughing. The others stared at her like she was crazy when she started laughing almost hysterically. They didn't think that they had ever seen the blonde laugh that much in her life. She usually laughed politely whenever someone told a joke or whenever she was around Steve or Darcy but she had never really laughed like she was laughing right at that moment.

"That's a good one, Stark." Emma told him as she got her laughing under control. Emma didn't really know what had gotten into her. Maybe she had finally lost it. "Very funny."

"I'm not joking." Tony told her in a serious tone which cause Emma's laughter to come to a startling halt as she gave him an incredulous look.

"What?" She asked in disbelief. The smile had soon faded from her face as she narrowed her blue eyes at the billionaire.

"I said I'm not joking. I really enrolled you into a high school." Tony repeated and Emma just continued to stare at him.

"Are you punishing me?" Emma asked suddenly which caused Rhodey to snort. Everyone looked back at him and he quickly covered up his snort of laughter as a cough. Emma gave the man a quick glare but looking back at Stark as he began to speak.

"I'm not punishing you, kid." He told her firmly. "This whole thing that happened between Steve and I made me realize just how dysfunctional of a family we are for you. I mean… you're living with people who you've deemed the enemy. Don't deny that's what we are to you." Tony said the last part quickly as he saw that she was about to protest. "It's not healthy for you to be living here and it's only going to be getting harder the more time you spend with us. I don't want you to resent us. This is why you'll be living in the city while you attend high school." Emma didn't know what to say as she continued to stare at him. Tony had almost left her speechless… almost. She swallowed as she began to regain her thoughts and tried to work with the new situation that was presented to her.

"This is the most insane idea I've ever heard. You're seriously sending me to a high school?" Emma asked doubtfully. "A high school with a bunch of kids?"

"Yes, I'm sending you to a high school with a bunch of kids because you're also just a kid." Tony pointed out and Emma groaned.

"I don't need this. You're sending me to a school where I'm going be bored all the time and learning subjects that I already know." Emma just shook her head. "This is incredibly stupid… even for you, Stark."

"This isn't just some regular high school, okay?" Tony told her, trying to reassure her or get her to be more agreeable to his idea. "This is Midtown School of Science and Technology. It's one of the best schools in the country."

"Isn't that one of those genius schools? Besides… Science and technology isn't really my thing." Emma told him, trying to get him to see he was being crazy about this whole entire thing.

"You actually have a genius level IQ… not as high as mine or Bruce's, of course, but it's up there." Tony pointed out and Emma rolled her eyes as she scoffed.

"Yeah, no thanks to your dad's super serum." Emma retorted but Tony didn't look put off by her reaction.

"It's not just about science and technology." He said, ignoring her comment. "They have a really amazing art program as well. I even sent them a few samples of your work and they really loved it. I didn't even have to name drop myself." Emma's eyes widened as she gave him a look of disbelief.

"You stole my work?" She asked, her tone sounding low and dangerous. Tony nearly flinched from the coldness of her voice.

"I had to give them something. They had to see that you're this really talented artist with a high IQ so that they could consider your admission into the school." Emma wanted to smack him upside the head but decided to control herself instead. She took a deep breath as she forced herself to calm down and not kill Tony.

"I'm not going to that school. What do you think the parents will think of their kids attending school with an assassin or supposed dead girl?" Emma asked, thinking that she might've had Tony right where she wanted him but she was surprised to see the calm look on his face.

"That's simple… They won't know who you are. You'll go under a different name or last name since Emma's actually a pretty common name." Tony told her. "You'll have a cover story and everything. Just think of this as another mission… that's it. A mission. You'll be on another mission. Doesn't that sound exciting?" Emma glared at him.

"No, it doesn't. I don't want to go to some lame high school with a bunch of spoiled, whiny brats who bitch about no one liking their selfie on instagram." Emma sneered.

"Work with me here, Emma, you need some normalcy in your life." Emma rolled her eyes at him again.

"Steve's been telling me that for the past two years." Emma replied but Tony just looked back at her, unrelenting.

"I'm sorry but Steve's methods of normalcy for you were terrible. I mean… you were homeschooled in a tower full of superheros." Tony told her in a serious tone of voice. "I'm sorry, kid, but that's not normal."

"I'm fine." She told him but Tony just scoffed.

"You threatened to kill me!" He accused which caused Rhodey to look between the two in surprise. Rhodey and Vision had remained quiet throughout the conversation because they felt as though this was something that had to be between Emma and Tony but Rhodey didn't think he could stay out of this conversation any longer.

"Wait… you threatened to kill Tony?" Rhodey asked Emma, causing both Emma and Tony to glance away from each other.

"Only because he wants to kill my father." Emma told Rhodey as if that explained everything. "If he doesn't kill my father then he has nothing to worry about."

"Oh, that's reassuring." Rhodey responded sarcastically. "You can't threaten people like that, Emma."

"She threatened to kill me too." Vision admitted and everyone glanced back at him. Emma narrowed her eyes at the android and was starting to regret ever thinking that he was okay. "On several occasions actually."

"Yeah, but that was a scare tactic." Emma explained. "You were being intrusive and I hate people invading my personal space."

"She threatened to kill Wanda as well." Vision added on and Emma really wished that it might've actually been possible for her to kill him.

"How many people have you threatened to kill?!" Rhodey asked in disbelief.

"Okay, I threatened Wanda so she would know to stay out of my head and mind her own business." Emma replied but Tony just shook his head at her, laughing humorlessly.

"See! This is what I mean. Normal kids don't threaten people with death." Tony told everyone. "This is why you're being sent to high school. I'm not sending you to high school because I want to punish or torture you. No, I'm sending you so that you can actually be a kid for once in your life. Steve was always too scared to send you to school but I know that you need this. Your entire childhood was stolen away from you so maybe you can get some of it back. Better late than never."

"I don't want to be a kid." Emma told him as she sent him a glare. "I don't want to be around a bunch of kids who I'll never understand and who will never understand me."

"Well, that's tough luck because you're going." Tony said, his tone unrelenting as he talked to her. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to manipulate her way out of this one. "None of us ever got to have a normal childhood. I went to a boarding school with kids who were twice my age so I didn't have any friends until I met Rhodey and that was well into my twenties. Just look how I turned out." He paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing. "You've spent your entire life surrounded by adults. You need to spend some time with kids your own age… just be a kid or learn how, Emma." Emma just stared at Tony as she processed everything he had just said. She could hardly believe that Tony was really set on this ridiculous idea. She knew that he was crazy but maybe she severely underestimated just how crazy he really was.

"Tony's right, Emma." Rhodey told her. "You need to be around people your own age. Not a bunch of old people like us."

"I agree." Vision stated, not long after Rhodey spoke. "It is not wise for you to remain here at the compound where the tensions are so incredibly high. You will learn to resent us for keeping you here. It is wise that you go to school where you might develop more social skills."

"Then this is settled." Tony concluded as he looked at all of them before his eyes finally rested on Emma. "You'll go to school with other kids."

"I don't like this." Emma said with a sour look on her face. Tony only smirked at her because he knew that she was caving in. He expected her to be a lot more resistant to the idea so it made him wonder what Steve might have written to her in that letter she had received.

"You don't have to like it. Now that Steve's gone, I'm your legal guardian and I'll make whatever decision that I believe serves your best interests. This is the right decision." He paused for a moment before he continued. "I've got a townhouse set up for you and Darcy in Queens. You'll start school at the beginning of September which is about two months away. Don't worry, you'll have time to settle into the townhouse before then." It was a lot of information for Emma to process but she couldn't but be confused by the first piece of information he gave her. Emma gave Tony a confused look.

"Me and Darcy?" She questioned and Tony grinned at her.

"Oh, I didn't mention that you and Darcy are new housemates? Oops… my bad." Tony told her and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't seen Darcy in months, not since the brunette went back to New Mexico with Jane. Wait, so Emma would be living with Darcy in Queens and not with Stark. Hmmm… maybe this wouldn't be so terrible. Sure, she was about to go to high school with a bunch of idiots but at least it meant that she didn't have to go home to Stark's ugly mug. Emma repeatedly told herself what Steve had asked her to do in the letter. Listen to Stark and respect his decisions. It was perhaps the most difficult thing that she would ever have to do but Steve asked her and she felt like she had to respect his wishes. It wouldn't be easy but who said it would be? At least Emma would have a couple of months to herself before she would actually go to the stupid school. There was one thing that Emma knew for sure and that was the fact that she was most certainly not looking forward to what September would bring.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me a couple of days to update. I was just having a hard time figuring out how exactly I wanted Peter and Emma to meet. I had a couple of different scenarios and I was just trying to decide what would be the best one. It's kind of interesting that they get to meet twice. The first time as the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man and then the second time as Emma and Peter. So Peter is officially back and I can pretty much guarantee that he'll be in mostly every chapter from now on. I was so excited to write this chapter because Emma in a high school environment with other teenagers is hilarious to me. I also just want to say that Emma and Peter will have absolutely no idea who each other are. They might notice how familiar they each seem to each other but it'll be a while before Emma connects the dots. I mean... why would Emma think that this dorky kid at this high school that she's going to is also Spider-Man? I feel like even if she had that theory she would dismiss it because it seems kind of outrageous without any evidence.**

 **Also Liz isn't going to make a return to the story just yet. She's mentioned but she won't show up again until the next chapter. It's not like she would have many classes with Emma anyways so she's a senior. I know that she shares a PE class with Peter but for this chapter let's just pretend that she was absent from that class the first day of school because of seniorly duties. lol.**

 **Thanks to the swarm of reviews last chapter. I'm glad you guys are looking forward to Emma and Peter meeting and I'm also glad you're enjoying the story so much. Just keep reviewing. I'm not sure when I'll update next. I'll try to update tonight but if the chapter's long like this one then I'll have to update tomorrow.**

* * *

Midtown School of Science and Technology

Queens, New York

2016

"Aren't you excited, Em?" Darcy said to her as they waited inside the car. "Your first day of school?" Emma slowly turned to look at Darcy with a disgusted look on her face. The blonde looked as though she may have even been sick. It had been about two months since Tony informed her that he had enrolled her in high school but she still didn't feel prepared for the catastrophe that was about to happen. She had been somewhat happy to learn that she would be living with Darcy while she attended school but that still didn't mean that she had warmed up to the idea of going to school. It had been a near nightmare for her when Darcy had taken her "Back to School" shopping.

Emma was completely prepared for school in every way it mattered. She had all the clothes, school supplies, and Darcy and her even had a marathon of a bunch of high school movies last week. _Mean Girls, Easy A, Clueless,_ and _The Breakfast Club_ were all interesting kinds of films but they didn't really make Emma eager to go to high school. If anything it made her want to go even less than she had before. As Emma sat in the passenger seat of the car she found herself looking up at the school with dread. She watched the crowds of students walking towards the front of the school. Some of them laughing or goofing off with their friends, others were most likely gossiping or doing something similar. She saw one girl jumping up and down with glee at something her friend told her. Okay, Emma was definitely going to be sick. She looked back at Darcy but this time with a desperate look on her face. Darcy didn't think she had ever seen such a look on the blonde's face.

"Please don't make me go in there." She begged quietly. Darcy was taken back by Emma's tone because she was absolutely sure that she had never heard Emma beg before either.

"I know how much you hate this, Em, but this isn't up to me." Darcy told her in an apologetic tone. "It's up to Tony. I know he's a dick most of the time but unfortunately for us, he calls all of the shots." Emma sighed tiredly but she glanced back at Darcy just in time to see the older woman pull out her phone and hold it up to Emma. Emma gave Darcy a confused look.

"What are you doing?" She asked her and Darcy just grinned.

"I'm making a video." Darcy replied as if it was obvious. "I thought Steve might like to see your first day of school." Emma just shook her head at Darcy.

"Why? It's not like you can actually send this to him." Emma told her pointedly.

"I know but it's for when he gets back." Darcy explained. "I want to document all your experiences while he's gone so he won't miss anything. Now be a good little assassin and say hi to your grandpa." Emma just rolled her eyes before deciding to play along. She feigned an excited smile as she looked at the phone.

"Hi, Steve." Emma said as she greeted the camera. "Remember how you told me to respect Tony's decisions? Yeah, well, look at where that's gotten me." The smile then dropped off her face as she pointed at the school building. "Now I'm going to some kind of insane asylum they call a school to hang around a bunch of idiots all day because apparently I need better social skills. So thank you for giving me the brilliant advice to listen to Tony."

"Hey, there's no need for sarcasm." Darcy told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're Darcy Lewis." Emma deadpanned. "Don't you live off of sarcasm?"

"Well, that's me. Not you." Darcy replied before she turned the phone around so that she was looking at the camera. "Don't mind her, Steve. I bet after today she'll completely love high school. She'll have a couple of best friends, be a member of the Spanish club, and maybe she'll even have a boyfriend. Anyways… I hoped you liked today's episode of Emma's life as a teenager. Next time it will be Emma's first homecoming dance." Emma just stared at Darcy blankly for a moment as the brunette wrapped up the video.

"If you think that I'll ever attend a dance than you must be on something." Emma told her and Darcy just laughed.

"Nope, I'm as sober as ever." Darcy then looked over Emma's shoulder at the school building and knew that it was time to kick the blonde out of the car. "Looks like it's time for you to go, Em." Emma groaned. She had been trying to stall Darcy but it looked like that Darcy was much smarter than that. Emma had been given the task of carrying out a couple of political assassinations and she had even been tasked with assassinating another assassin but she had never faced a misson that was this difficult.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about this." Emma responded.

"No one ever said that you had to be." Darcy told her. "Text me to tell me how your day's going, okay? And don't forget to grab a map of the school. You wouldn't want to get lost on your first day." Emma scoffed.

"I once led myself out of the Amazon with nothing but a compass and a pocket knife. I think I'll survive." She said in a sarcastic tone and Darcy rolled her eyes at her.

"Don't be so dramatic." Darcy then paused before smirking. "Oh and don't kill anyone." Emma managed to smile at that comment. She then opened the car door.

"I'll try not to." Emma told her before stepping out of the car.

"Have a nice day!" Darcy called out after her before Emma slammed the car door shut. She didn't think she could take anymore of Darcy's huge grin and teasing nature. Not today and not when she wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

Emma slowly walked towards the school building, trying to ignore the swarms of teenagers nearby. She didn't feel out of place amongst them. A lot of them were dress similarily to how she was dressed. Emma was currently dressed in a red chiffon A-Line skirt with little black flower patterns decorating it, a David Bowie pullover, and a pair of army green block heel ankle boots. She also had a quilted black flap-top backback that currently carried all the books she had been assigned for the semester as well as all other school supplies. Her eyes were just highlighted with the slightest bit of mascara and eyeliner but nothing more. Normally Emma never dressed like this but since this was a mission she needed to look the part of a teenage girl. Emma had done an enormous amount of research on current trends for teenage girls and not to mention some shopping at Forever 21. Emma didn't really mind dressing up that much. It was kind of nice actually since normally Emma just worried about evil robots or psycho assassins. It was nice to do something that was so normal. The only thing that Emma wore that felt normal to her was the dog tags that Steve had sent her. She wore them under her pullover.

When Emma entered the building of the school she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Maybe something from _Clueless_ but she was surprised to see how clean and well kept the school was. Emma supposed that was the reason why it was one of the best schools in the country. There was a huge mural in the foyer of the school which depicted important people in the history of Science and Technology. She saw Howard Stark, Hank Pym, Norman Osborne, Abraham Erskine, and even Tony depicted in the mural. Emma just rolled her eyes at the picture of Tony before moving in the direction of her first class. Emma had already received her schedule online since it was the first day of school for everyone, not just her, at Midtown. Maybe Emma could get expelled from the school by vandalizing Tony's portrait, she suddenly thought. She'd love to see the look on Stark's face if she did that. Emma brushed away the thought soon after because she knew Steve wouldn't approve of such a thing. It could just be a fantasy of hers at least.

Emma knew that she had AP English first period and that was in room 212 with Mrs. Bailee. Emma was at least looking forward to the English class if nothing else. She always loved her online English classes that she had been taking while studying at the tower and the compound. It would probably be more interesting than anything else. It was her Chemistry class that she wasn't looking forward to. Math and science had always bored her and she was sure that a couple of high school classes on the subject wouldn't change anything. On her way to the classrom she passed a lot of kids who were either chatting with their friends or gathering their books from their lockers in the hallway. A couple of curious eyes looked at her as she walked by but Emma kept her eyes focused straight ahead of her as she ignored them all.

When Emma finally reached the classroom she wasn't sure what to think. She heard to a lot of talking and laughing coming from inside and suddenly felt sick. Could she really do this? Pretend to be normal or like any one of the kids inside that classroom? Emma wasn't entirely sure but she also knew that she really didn't have a choice. She took a deep breath before she entered the classroom and assessed the situation laid out before her. Kids were crowded around each other's desks as they laughed and chatted about what they did over the summer. What would she say if someone asked her that? Oh, yes, I had a great summer, thank you for asking. I didn't do much aside from struggle not to murder Tony Stark while he slept.

Emma glanced at the whiteboard and noticed that it instructed students to sit where ever they wanted. What? Did students normally have to be assigned seats like they were five? Although judging by a lot of the students inside the classroom, Emma could already tell that they acted like they were actually five year olds. She glanced around to try and figure out where she could sit. She spotted a couple of seats open next to a group of girls who were giggling while showing each other pictures from their vacations. Emma thought she might stab herself if she had to sit next to those girls. There was also a seat open next to a couple of guys who were exchanging some sort of trading cards. Although that looked slightly better to Emma than the group of girls, she still thought it would be too unbearable. There was also the chance that those girls or guys might talk to her if she sat down next to them. They'd ask her about herself and then express confusion as to why they hadn't seen her at the school the previous year. Emma would explain herself to them with her practiced cover story which would make them be all welcoming and cheerful. Emma would rather be stuck back at the Raft Prison than sit through that. No, she had to sit absolutely anywhere else.

Emma casted her gaze elsewhere and immediately noticed a seat open near the front of the classroom. She had originally planned on staying in the back so that she could remain somewhat hidden but it looked more crowded towards the back then it was towards the front. Emma noticed that the seat was next to a girl whose face was buried in a book. She raised an eyebrow at the girl as she read off the title of the book. 'It' by Stephen King. This girl didn't look like she would bother Emma too much so without anymore thought on the matter Emma briskly sat next to the girl. As Emma took the seat next to her, the girl curiously glanced up from her book at Emma. She mentally prepared herself for the welcoming smile or cheerfulness but was delightfully surprised when she received nothing of the kind from the girl.

"I don't think you asked me if you could sit there." The girl said with a less than pleasant zone. Emma quickly assessed the girl's appearance. The girl was obviously Emma's age but she was a bit shorter than Emma. Her hair was brunette and also a bit frizzy from what Emma could detect. The girl's skin was a mocha color which made her dark brown eyes pop. Emma also noticed that the girl was make-up free and dressed in baggy clothes. The girl raised an eyebrow in Emma's direction as she waited for Emma to respond. Emma could tell that this girl definitely didn't seem as annoying as the others. Maybe it was because of her appearance or the bitterness in her tone but Emma could definitely deduce that this girl didn't spend her time taking selfies on instagram.

"Why would I need to ask your permission? Do you own the seat?" Emma asked in a sarcastic tone, trying to scare the girl off but the girl just narrowed her eyes at Emma before returning to her book. Emma took off her backpack before placing it down by her feet which she saw the other kids do. She slowly started taking out her notebook and assigned book which she observed that the others were also already doing. It was only after Emma set her materials out in front of her that she noticed that she had the girl's attention again. Emma stared back at the girl, holding her gaze without wavering the slightest bit. She had dealt with much more terrifying opponents than some moody teenager. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" Emma questioned sarcastically.

"Do you have OCD or something?" The girl asked suddenly, glancing at the materials laid out in front of Emma. All of the materials were perfectly aligned which was nothing new for Emma. It was part of the side effects of the Super Soldier Serum Emma supposed. Everything she did was neat and ammaculate. There was no room for sloppiness or imperfection. Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not that I know of. I just don't like sloppiness… Is that a crime?" Emma had to admit that she thought her first conversation with a fellow classmate would just be her pretending to be appreciative of their cheerfulness and welcoming nature. It didn't include her just being her normal self as she defended herself against a bitter looking teenage girl. Still… this girl seemed far more interesting and less boring than the others.

"No, but it's still weird." The girl told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well I think it's weird that you're wearing a black hoodie in eighty degree weather but did I call you out on that?" Emma retorted and the girl just stared at her, a questioning look on her face as she looked Emma over. This girl seemed to be strangely observant and bitter for someone who was supposed to be a normal teenage girl.

"I've never seen you before." The girl commented, changing the subject. "Who are you? I don't think I even remember seeing you around here last year."

"I just moved here. I'm Emma Lewis." Emma responded but the curious look on the girl's face didn't leave as she continued to stare at Emma.

"Where did you move from?" The girl asked rapidly.

"Seattle." Emma replied with the same rapidness, the look on her face unwavering as she held the girl's gaze. Emma decided that it was time to change the subject as she began to steer the conversation into a different direction. She plastered a friendly smile on her face. "I've given you my name but I don't believe you've given me yours." The girl just looked at Emma as if she knew exactly what Emma was doing. It took a moment before the girl finally gave in and sighed.

"Michelle Jones." Emma processed that small piece of information before she nodded.

"Well, Michelle, I see that you seem to be a Stephen King fan." Emma told her, trying to keep the subject as far away from her as possible. Michelle gave Emma a confused look as if she were confused how Emma knew that. Emma nodded to the book that Michelle had forgotten that she was still holding. "You're holding the book in your hand in case you've forgotten." Michelle looked back down at the book before glancing back at Emma with a frown on her face.

"What? Are you a Stephanie Meyers fan instead?" Michella sneered and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah right. No, I'm more of a Edgar Allan Poe fan myself. I'm personally not that into Stephen King, I prefer Poe because he's classic." Michelle looked at her in shock as if she hadn't expected that kind of answer from Emma. Emma just stared back at her with a challenging look on her face. The surprised look soon faded from her face as she gave Emma a self-assured look.

"Are you kidding me? Stephen King is the king of the horror genre. Pun intended." Michelle told her but Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. King is overrated. He's written like a hundred books but about more than half of them have turned out to be crap. Only a few of them turned out to be any good." Emma just shook her head. "Please… how can you convince me to be scared of some evil car? That incredibly lame." Michella glared at Emma.

"That's the point of King's writing… he turns ordinary everyday people and things into something to fear. Besides… horror isn't the only thing he writes. 'Mr. Mercedes' and 'The Dark Tower' series aren't from the horror genre. That just shows how diverse he is in his writing." Emma smiled because she could tell that Michelle was just as passionate about books as she was. Not even Steve was that passionate about books. Emma didn't think she had ever met anyone who loved books as much as she did. "So tell me what makes Edgar Allan Poe so great? He was probably super old school so he was most likely restricted from writing what King writes." Emma just smirked at Michelle, happy to defend one of her favorite authors of all time.

"You would think so but in a way his writing was much more terrifying. He talked about Victorian obssessed topics like death, funerals, and decomposition. Things that people were morbidly obssessed with at the time but still things people refrained from talking too much about." Emma told her seriously and Michelle listened intently to the blonde. "In the 'Tell-Tale Heart' he wrote about murder from the prospective of the murderer which had never been done before. In 'The Masque of the Red Death' he wrote about the inevitablity of death which was cleverly written and incredibly conveyed. He was discussing topics that most people found repulsive and crude." Emma and Michelle stared at each other for a couple of minutes, both perplexed that they had met someone who was equally as passionate about books as the other. Emma began to think maybe high school wouldn't be so bad if she had already met someone that didn't seem to be ignorant or silly like the other people she had already observed since arriving. Michelle then cleared her throat.

"Well… Maybe I should give that Poe guy a chance. 'The Tell-Tale Heart' sounds cool." Michelle admitted after a moment and Emma smiled.

"If you give Poe a chance then I'll give King another chance." Emma told her. Michelle just nodded in response as something occurred to Emma. "Wait… what do you think is one of King's best books? Which one is the book that no one can hate?" Michelle gave her small smile as she held out her book to her. 'It'. Emma looked back up at her with a confused look on her face.

"You're just going to let me borrow it?" Emma questioned and Michelle shrugged.

"I've already read it like ten times." Michelle told her before giving her a more serious look. "If you ruin it or lose it, I'll kill you." Emma took the book from Michelle's hand and glanced over the cover, noticing that the binding was worn from being opened and reopened many times. Emma didn't doubt that the book was a favorite of hers. Emma also knew that Michelle probably meant her threat and would have no trouble trying to kill Emma if she damaged the book. The key word being try. She smiled at Michelle.

"Thank you. I have the 'Tell-Tale Heart' at home… I could bring it tomorrow if you want." Emma told her quietly and Michelle nodded.

"Sounds fine." They both fell silent the moment the teacher walked into the classroom and Emma was still reeling from how easy it was to talk to Michelle. Was talking to people really that easy? Emma hoped not. She didn't need to be socializing with that many people. Emma sat in silence for the rest of the class as she listened to what the English teacher had to say. Apparently they would be focused on American Literature this entire school year which Emma didn't mind. It just meant more Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway.

* * *

Emma found out that she shared three more classes with Michelle. Spanish and art which was second and third period and then they shared a PE class which was fifth period. It made Emma feel a bit better that she wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by the swarm of teenagers if there was someone she knew there. Once the bell rang, signaling the end of third period, Michelle led Emma to the cafeteria. They continued their discussion of favorite authors and books along the way. Most of their discussions were more like arguments that ended with no real solution. The Bronte sisters vs. Jane Austen, Bram Stroker vs. Mary Shelley, and Fitzgerald vs. Hemingway. Those were just a few of the authors the two girls discussed as they walked to the cafeteria.

Emma wasn't sure how she felt about the classes so far. She knew that she liked the English class since it circulated around one of her favorite subjects but she found Spanish immensely boring. Emma was already fluent in the language as well as thirty other languages, no thanks to her super soldier serum, so it made sense that she found the class dull. Art wasn't as bad. Emma was already familiar with most of the techniques and history but she was glad for the freestyle periods that were designated for them on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. She was also looking forward to the projects that they would be assigned to do in the future. Emma was starting to think that high school might not have been hell on Earth like she originally thought. Well, not as much of hell on Earth anyways.

"I can't believe you got that much food." Michelle questioned as she eyed Emma's lunch. They had just sat down at the lunch table. Emma's tray was filled to the brim with food and she blamed it on her fast metabolism. She had always had a bigger apetite than most just like Steve although she never ate as much as Thor. No one ate as much as Thor.

"I have a fast metabolism." Emma told her, secretly hoping that Michelle would drop it. Thankfully, Michelle didn't find her huge apetite to be that intriguing.

"You know… most girls just eat kale and Starbucks ice coffee." Michelle told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

"Why do you say it like that? Like you're not a girl too?" Emma asked and Michelle shrugged.

"I am a girl… I'm just a weird girl or people think I'm weird." Emma just stared at her with a calculating expression on her face. She wondered what was going through Michelle's head in that moment because the girl looked a bit lost.

"Who wants to be a kale and Starbucks kind of girl anyways?" Emma told her abruptly, bringing Michelle out of her thoughts. It didn't look like Michelle's thoughts were a happy place for the teenager to be. "Those kinds of girls are so boring." Michelle laughed.

"Yeah, I guess they are. I mean some of them are nice like Liz." Emma gave her a confused look.

"Liz?" Emma inquired.

"Oh, yeah, sorry… I forgot that you're new here." Michelle quickly apologized before continuing. "Liz Allan is only the most popular girl in school. She's the Captain of the Decathelon team too. Don't get me wrong, she's nice and all but she's just too nice. Does that not make any sense at all? I know it probably sounds crazy." Michelle said, slightly rambling but Emma shook her head.

"No, I know what you mean. Sometimes people are so nice that it also feels slightly suffocating at the same time." Emma told her quietly. Michelle looked at her in surprise before she quickly recovered.

"Exactly." Emma then decided to switch the subject to a more lighter topic.

"So no one else is going to sit here?" Emma asked curiously and Michelle just gave her a look after taking a sip of her milk. Boxed milk? Emma didn't understand how boxed milk was appetizing in anyway. It looked like something a bunch of five year olds would drink. Emma didn't grab the boxed milk because she liked to think that she was above drinking milk out of a box.

"I don't have any friends so if you thought you'd meet more people through me then you're wrong." Michelle deadpanned. Emma just smirked at her. "There's just a couple of losers that sit here for lunch usually but they're not my friends or anything."

"Good. I don't really have friends either. People are insufferable." Michelle just stared at Emma in awe.

"Where have you been all my life?" Emma just laughed before she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, alerting her to a notification. She glanced at the screen and felt the smile fade from her face as she read the notification. It was a news article. _'Spider-Man Spotted Again in Queens Last Night'._ Emma had been constantly trying to search for Spider-Man since arriving in Queens. She had even been desperate enough to ask Tony about the identity of the webslinger but Stark refused to give anything up. Emma had been almost obsessively researching the hero but couldn't find anything on him other than a couple of videos and grainy pictures. The only thing Emma knew about him for sure was that he seemed to help out old ladies and rescue cats quite a bit. She read through the news article carefully as she tried to pick out any new information on Spider-Twerp but there wasn't anything. There was just was one thing that she determined was useful about him since she began her research... It seemed like Spider-Twerp awfully liked spending time in Queens.

* * *

Peter Parker was anxious. There wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't anxious. He was still waiting to get the phone call from Happy telling him that Tony needed him for Avengers business. It was about three months since the fight at the airport in Germany and he still hadn't received the call. He spent most of his time helping elderly women walk across the street or rescuing some little kid's cat from a tree. It was three months since Germany and Peter was beyond bored.

"Did you see that girl?" He heard someone ask as he walked to his Spanish class. Peter's mind was on Ned who was he was going to see at lunch. Peter was supposed to meet Ned at their usual table which Peter wasn't really looking forward to. Ned was thinking about having a Star Wars marathon this weekend and Peter needed to come up with an excuse as to why he couldn't go to Ned's this weekend. It wasn't like Peter could just tell him that he would be busy with Spider-Man business.

"Is she new? I don't remember seeing her last year." Someone else replied. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he listened to the people around him chat.

"She's really hot." Another person commented. Okay, now Peter was really confused. Who were they talking about? They couldn't have been talking about Liz. Liz was beautiful but she wasn't new.

"I heard that she's the daughter of the ambassador of Finland."

"I heard that she's an Australian model. It makes sense since she's so tall and slender. People are calling her the next Miranda Kerr."

"Well, I heard that she's the secret daughter of Alexander Skarsgard." Peter was curious to know what the rumor mill was spewing out today. There was always some kind of crazy, outrageous rumor people were talking about. It was high school after all.

Peter remained confused as to who everyone was talking about until he sat himself down in an seat towards the back of the classroom. Sitting in the row ahead of him was none other than Michelle but it wasn't Michelle who gave him some surprise. No, it was the fact that Michelle was chatting very animatedly with a girl who was sitting next to her. He didn't know Michelle that well but he did know that she didn't really talk to many people or at least not like she was doing right in that moment. He looked at the back of the mysterious girl, noticing long golden blonde hair that the girl wore straightened and down. He couldn't really see much of her face since her back was facing him but he knew that this was the girl everyone was talking about just by the way the others were looking at her curiously. He wondered who she was.

Peter's attention was taken away from the blonde as the teacher walked into the room. He opened his notebook and started taking notes when the teacher started listing off classroom rules. Peter knew that it was a lame thing to do but he couldn't help himself. It didn't take long before his mind reverted back to the fight at the airport… particularly his fight with the Viper Assassin. His mind was still hung up on the blonde assassin. Peter knew that the assassin was manipulative, dangerous, and powerful but he couldn't help but feel guilty about what had happened to her. The image of her looking back at him as she was led with the others into the aircraft still stuck with him even all these months later. Peter knew that there was much more to the Viper Assassin than anyone knew. He doodled a little cartoon of Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin fighting but only this time Spider-Man didn't get his ass handed to him.

After his third period class, which he noticed that the blonde wasn't in, Peter began walking towards the Cafeteria to meet Ned. A lot of thoughts raced through his mind. He wondered desperately who the Viper Assassin was. Peter had practically begged Tony to tell him on the way back to his and his Aunt May's apartment but the billionaire just told him that the Viper Assassin was only a very troubled young woman. That explaination didn't really suffice for Peter. It didn't tell him who the Viper Assassin really was or what she was doing now. Was she in prison? Did she escape prison like the others? Was there a world wide search for her too? Peter, however, wasn't allowed to drift anymore on these thoughts as he stood in line to get his food. He was quickly approached by his best friend.

"Did you hear?" Peter looked up in surprise at Ned who had an excited look on his face. He gave his best friend a confused look.

"Hear what?" Peter questioned.

"Did you hear about the new girl?" Ned inquired excitedly. "They say that she's an Australian model." Peter only rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe Ned was in on the rumor mill this time too.

"Yeah, I doubt an Australian model would be going to our school." Peter told him but Ned shook his head.

"She could be a model though. I caught a glimpse of her in my first period English class." Ned said and Peter nodded. He decided not to mention that he had also gotten a glimpse of her in his Spanish class. Ned soon moved on from the topic of the new girl before discussing the Star Wars marathon again. Peter listened to him, trying to think of an excuse, as they walked to their usual lunch table. As they approached the table Peter was surprised by what he saw… or rather who he saw sitting there.

Michelle sat at the end of the table like always but this time she wasn't alone. She was talking in a more than pleasant tone with a blonde girl. The blonde girl was exceptionally pretty, beautiful even, so he could see why she had everyone talking. The girl's creamy pale skin contrasted against her golden blonde hair, making her blue eyes pop. Her face lit up as she smiled at something Michelle said. Peter noticed that the girl was tall for her age, just like everyone else had said. Her long legs were exposed in the skirt she was wearing. Peter also saw that the large tray sitting in front of her was filled to the brim with food. He never thought he had seen a girl eat that much food although he didn't have much experience with girls. It was when the girl looked away from Michelle and stared at him that Peter felt his breath hitch and his heart skip a beat. With those oceanic blue eyes set on him, he felt as if he had met this girl before. But that was impossible… How could he have met her?

* * *

Emma was chatting with Michelle when she sensed someone approaching the table. She curiously looked away from Michelle and glanced at the approaching figures. They must have been the losers Michelle had mentioned earlier. Emma saw a chubby looking boy with dark hair and a certain tint to his skin. She deduced that he was more than likely Filipino as she carelessly glanced over his facial features. It wasn't him that caught Emma's attention but rather the other boy standing next to him. The boy was somewhat scrawny looking to Emma, very skinny and probably around the same height as herself. His hair was short and brown, looking to be kept very neat. That small fact surprised Emma seeing as how most teenage boys seemed more messier in their appearances. His eyes were a warm brown that gazed at her curiously. The boy looked… Cute? Was cute the word for him? Emma didn't really know but she supposed he was kind of cute looking in a dorky way. Maybe a cute kind of dorky like what Natasha saw in Bruce. Emma never really had time to ponder how cute or attractive someone was. She was too busy brooding or plotting to assassinate Tony Stark.

"These were the two losers I was telling you about." Michelle told Emma.

"Are you really an Australian model?" The chubbier one asked and Emma raised her eyebrow, giving the boy a look of amusement.

"Do I sound Australian to you?" Emma questioned in a very American sounding accent.

"Uh… no." The boy stammered nervously. "Hi, I'm Ned." He then proceeded to introduce himself. Emma plastered a friendly smile on her face.

"I'm Emma." Emma then turned to look back at the other boy who was still staring at her. Emma wondered what his problem was. She didn't call him out on it but just raised her eyebrows at the boy. The boy blushed a vibrant red which Emma thought was amusing.

"Peter." He introduced and Emma fought the urge to narrow her eyes at the boy. For some reason his voice sounded incredibly familiar to her. She immediately felt herself grow suspicious of the boy named Peter. Why did his voice sound familiar to her and why would it? She didn't think she had ever met the boy before. Emma was usually good with faces so she knew she'd remember him if she had. Peter awkwardly cleared his throat after both him and Ned were seated at the lunch table. "So you're new around here, huh?"

"Pretty much. I just moved from Seattle a couple of months ago." Emma told him effortlessly. She was completely lying but they didn't know that and they probably would never know that either. Lying came easy to her and it was one of her many talents.

"Oh, really? What school did you attend?" Emma felt her suspicion rise but she didn't make any move to show it as she shrugged casually at the curious teenager. She was there to attend school, not be suspicious of random teenage boys. No, Emma had a part to play.

"I didn't attend a school. I was homeschooled." Emma told them and Michelle raised her eyebrow at Emma.

"You didn't tell me you were homeschooled?" Emma just smirked at her.

"You never asked." Michelle just shrugged as she went back to eating her lunch. However, Peter and Ned were both very curious about the new girl.

"It must be strange finally going to a real school then? Probably overwhelming?" Peter inquired but Emma just shook her head.

"Not really. When you've watched as many John Hughes movies as I've been forced to watch, you're kind of prepared for anything." Peter laughed. He didn't know why but he hadn't expected the girl to be funny.

"Do you like New York so far?" Peter asked politely and Emma smiled. He asked her that question like she hadn't been living in New York for the past two years. Well, it's not like he knew that or anything.

"It's nice I guess. My sister and I have spent the summer here, getting settled into our townhouse but I think I like it so far." Emma told him, giving him as many made up details as she could so that her cover would remain in tact. Emma was posing as Emma Lewis, the younger sister of Darcy Lewis who was living with her older sister in New York so that she could attend Midtown. Her purpose was to further her own education and later be accepted into the top art schools in the world. Hopefully one in Paris. It was a nice cover story and Emma actually felt like she didn't need to lie that much to live her life as Emma Lewis instead of Emma Rogers. Of course, deep down Emma was still the former assassin who's grandfather was currently an escaped war criminal. "It's a lot warmer than Seattle but also more crowded."

"I'd like to visit Seattle someday." Peter remarked. "What's it like there?" Emma was starting to get a little annoyed by this kid's insistant questioning but she pretended to be nice and accomadate him anyways. She could already tell that this guy was incredibly nosy. In her line of work, being nosy got you into a lot of trouble.

"Well, it's colder as you might've guessed. It rains a lot too but there's this spectacular view of Mount Rainier and the Puget Sound that I think makes it all worth it." Emma was basically bullshitting this kid. She had never actually been to Seattle in her life let alone the Northwest but she was good at coming up with stories. Emma remembered some minor facts she had researched about the city online so she just threw those into her little story.

"The Space Needle looks cool." Peter said, giving his input.

"I guess it is but I'm more of a fan of the Mopop." Emma replied and Peter raised an eyebrow at her.

"The Mopop?" He asked curiously, wondering what she could've meant.

"It's the museum of modern pop culture. They have exhibits about movies, music, and stuff like that." Emma explained and both Peter and Ned listened intently to the blonde talk.

"Do they have a Star Wars exhibit?" Ned asked. Emma gave him a curious look before shrugging.

"Probably. Although I wouldn't know. I was always more taken with the Nirvana exhibit." Emma had actually never been to the Mopop since she had never been to Seattle but she did want to go there one day. Especially since they had a David Bowie exhibit there and everyone who knew Emma also knew that she was a big David Bowie fan. Unfortunately she had never gotten the opportunity to go to the Mopop or Seattle. It seemed like Emma was exceptionally good at lying seeing as Peter and Ned believed every word she said. She sometimes wondered if she was a pathological liar. Probably.

Emma and Michelle then went back to their conversation of famous authors as Peter and Ned were left talking about Star Wars. Peter occasionally would glance at Emma, strangely transfixed with the new girl, while Emma would glance back at Peter, curious about the suspiciously familiar sounding teenage boy. Emma was slightly more secretive about her glances than Peter was and the fifteen year old boy had no clue that he had captured the blonde's attention.

* * *

Emma was annoyed that there was a seating arrangement in her fourth period history class. She didn't like being told what to do so it was little surprise that Emma also hated being told where to sit. Emma had half a mind to walk out of the school right then but she decided to stick around because she like her English and Art classes. Michelle seemed okay too. Emma knew that she was supposed to sit next to a girl named Betty Brant as well as Peter Parker. She wondered if it was the same Peter she had met in the cafeteria. Her question was later answered as the brown eyed teenage boy took a seat next to her. Ned was on his other side. The boy flashed Emma a huge grin although there was a blush on his face.

"Hi, stranger." He greeted as he sat down. Emma wanted to narrow her eyes at him because the more and more time she spent around him she could definitely tell that there was something off about him. Granted Emma had only just met him in the cafeteria but even then she could that there was something different about him. With her enhanced sense of smell she could also tell that his scent was slightly familiar. She could smell the Irish Spring soap he probably used to bathe himself with as well as the faint smell of his shampoo which was just a standard scented shampoo. There was nothing that smelled fruity or flowery about it. Emma smelled the hint of his minty toothpaste and she could even smell the deodrant he used. Still… all mixed together his scent smelled slightly familiar to her and she had no idea why. Why would this guy seem so familiar to her? There was also the fact that Emma knew that she had heard his voice before. She knew him but from where? It was on the tip of her tongue but for some reason she couldn't think of where she knew him from.

"Hi, Peter." Emma replied before glancing at Ned and giving him a polite smile. "Ned."

"You excited for history?" Peter asked although his tone was slightly teasing. Emma could tell that no one really cared for history, probably thinking that it was boring. Emma, however, knew that history could be very useful. Hydra had made sure that Emma was well versed in history so that she knew everything she could about her surroundings. History was knowledge and knowledge for Emma was also survival. Emma shrugged.

"I guess. History's interesting I suppose." Peter nodded. He felt like he already knew the blonde even though he wasn't sure where he knew her from. The way her eyes glanced over at him with mild interest caused his heart to skip a beat. It wasn't exactly because she was a very attractive girl showing interest in him… Well, maybe that was part of the reason but he also felt like someone else had looked at him in the same exact way. He watched Emma as she focused her attention on Mr. Harrington with a bored look on her face. That look… Peter could've sworn he'd seen the same exact bored expression on someone else's face. He thought about it for a couple of minutes before he realized that he was being silly. Every teenager was bored during history class. Why would Emma be any different? Peter also focused his attention on Mr. Harrington but he casually glanced back at Emma every so often. There was something about this new girl.

"Okay, class, I've decided to pair you off into groups of two this semester." Mr. Harrington announced as looked around at his students. "The person sitting at your table will be your partner for the entire semester so I suggest you get acquainted." Emma glanced at Peter who happened to be sitting at her table. The tables were small and only sat two students per table although there was about three tables per row. It seemed like Emma was going to have to get to know this Peter Parker kid a bit more. Peter smiled at her although he blushed when Emma stared at him.

"You're not lazy, are you?" She asked him randomly. In her observations and research she had observed that most teenage boys seemed quite lazy and hormonal. They'd rather spend their time playing video games and trying to get laid than actually doing any work. Peter shook his head quickly.

"No, I'm an excellent student. I swear." He replied. Emma analyzed the look on his face for a minute, Peter was sure that he was beet red by now from her scrutiny, before she glanced away.

"Good because I'm not doing all the work." She told him before she returned her attention to Mr. Harrington. Peter nodded before doing the same. He still found himself sneaking a glance or two in Emma's direction. Who was she?

The hour seemed to pass by fast before the bell rang. Emma had spent the entire period listening to Mr. Harrington go over guidelines for the semester as she also felt Peter's gaze on her. She could tell that he was trying be stealthy about it which only gave her more amusement. This kid was the opposite of stealthy. Emma also felt slightly suspicious that he kept sneaking glances in her direction. What was up with him? She knew that he seemed very familiar to her and she knew that it was strange that he kept looking at her. Emma may just have to look into who this boy was. She knew it was silly to be so suspicious of a fifteen year old boy but she couldn't help it. Emma was suspicious of anyone who acted weird. She followed Peter to her fifth period gym class, staying back in the crowd of teenagers as she did so. It was obvious how bad Peter was at trying to watch someone but covertly watching people was one of Emma's skills.

Emma found out later that she shared another two classes with Peter Parker. Gym class and her sixth period Chemistry class. PE was a little nervewracking to Emma because she knew that she would have to significantly hold back in that class. If she aced every single activity in that class it would raise suspicion and draw attention to herself. Emma knew that she would be exposed if she just proceeded to run laps around all the others. No, she would have to feign weakness and pretend to be out of breath during all the activities to throw people off her trail. It would severely wound her ego to do so but it was necessary. It was in this class that Emma met someone she knew that would challenge her self control. Flash Thompson.

"You're new around here." The hispanic looking boy had said to her in gym class as he glanced over her body. Emma had fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. Stupid horny teenage boys. If only they could think with their big head instead of their little one. Maybe then they would realize how stupid and petty they were. "Maybe I could show you around town. I just got my driver's license and my dad's practically given me his Audi. You could join for a ride around town if you want." He flirted with a smirk on his face. Seriously? Emma had thought to herself. Emma couldn't believe this kid was actually bragging about his daddy giving him a car. Big deal, Emma thought to herself. So what if he could drive? Emma had been driving for several years and you didn't see her bragging about it.

"I think I'm good. Thanks." Emma told him before she walked in the opposite direction. The smirk immediately fell off his face as his friends laughed at him. Emma didn't understand how he had the confidence to flirt with her like that. She thought most guys didn't like a girl who towered over them. Emma was only a couple of inches taller than him but she still didn't understand why he was so annoyingly smug about himself. Maybe it was a Napoleon complex… yes, that had to be it. Emma knew in that moment that this would be ultimate test for her… whether or not she would murder Flash Thompson.

The day quickly passed by as PE turned into Chemistry… the last class she had for the day then she could get out of this hellhole everyone called a school. It was also a class that she shared with Peter and unfortunately Flash. Fortunately for Emma, Flash sat a couple rows ahead of her. She was glad because the guy was already getting on her nerves. Emma also sat one row behind Peter which gave her the perfect opportunity to keep a close eye on him. She watched as he anxiously drummed his fingers against the table for the whole period. Emma observed that he had looked up at the clock at least fourteen times throughout the hour. The blonde deduced that he really wanted to get out of there.

It seemed odd to Emma because what she had gathered from watching Peter, for the past couple of periods, wasn't that he was the kind of teenager that hated school. No, he seemed to be an excellent student from what she heard from other students and even members of the faculty. Emma had used her enhanced hearing which Tony had strictly told her not to use. Well, technically he told her not to be flying around or using her enhanced strength. He never said anything about her enhanced senses. Emma listened to Flash quite a bit as he complained about how smart and perfect Peter Parker thought he was. Maybe Flash would be more useful to her than she originally thought. The bell rang at the end of the period and the second the bell rang Peter was already out of his seat and out the door. Emma narrowed her eyes at the door where Peter had ran out of. There was definitely something up with Peter Parker and Emma wanted to know what it is was.

* * *

"How was your first day of school? You never really texted me." Darcy questioned when Emma got into the car. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"There was nothing to text you about. It was boring just like I told you it would be." Emma told her and Darcy just shook her head in amusement at the young girl. Sometimes Emma could be so cynical.

"Well, did you make any friends?" Darcy questioned causing Emma to shrug.

"I made an acquaintance if you want to put a label on it." Emma mumbled but Darcy still heard her. The brunette grinned at the blonde, already knowing how to decipher Emma's complicated language and way of saying things.

"So you did make a friend! I'm so proud of you, Emma. Look at how far you've come… Threatening Tony's life, kicking Spider-Man's ass, and blackmailing the Secretary of State but now you're going to high school and making friends." Darcy told her as she began to pull away from the school and drive them back to the townhouse. Emma glared at Darcy.

"I told you never to mention the blackmail. I only told you about that because I trust you." Emma said which caused Darcy to roll her eyes at her.

"Don't be so dramatic, Em, I've totally got you covered. I'm just happy that you've made a friend." Darcy responded. "Maybe you two can hang out at the townhouse or go shopping at the mall. I could drop you guys off if you want." Emma just scoffed.

"I don't see Michelle as the type to go shopping at the mall. Truthfully, I'm not the type either." Emma retorted.

"So your friend has a name?" Darcy could instantly tell that Emma didn't want to divulge anymore information so she quickly dropped the topic. Although Darcy quickly moved onto a different topic as she smirked at the blonde. "So… any cute boys?" Emma gave Darcy a look of disbelief before she crossed her arms and glared out the window.

"If by cute boys you mean this one smug bastard, with a Napoleon complex, that I've already fantasized about killing in at least twelve different ways?" Emma grumbled and Darcy wondered if that was a joke or a serious statement. Darcy really hoped that it wasn't a serious threat although you never knew with Emma. The girl had a severely dark sense of humor. "There is one boy." Emma said after being quiet for a couple of minutes. Darcy looked back at her with a surprised expression on her face.

"A boy? Who?" Darcy questioned curiously. Emma turned to look at her.

"There's something off about him… He's very suspicious." Emma told her in a dead serious tone of voice. "I'm going to figure out who he is and when I do he better hope that he's not a threat to me." Darcy just sighed as she looked back at the road. She should've known Emma wasn't about to start thinking of boys that way. She had been kind of hopeful when Emma first mentioned a boy but it turned out that Emma was just suspicious of whoever the poor kid was. Darcy bet that that kid didn't even do anything. He probably just stared at Emma the wrong way, more than likely because he liked her, which set the blonde off. Stupid move. Now Emma was going to be determined that the kid was a secret spy or something. Emma really could be paranoid at times.

"So a new and potential boyfriend." Darcy quipped causing Emma to glare at her again. The blonde then looked back out the window as she thought about Peter Parker. She knew there was something wrong with him and she was bound and determined to figure out just what that was. When Emma was onto someone, there wasn't a person in the universe that could stop her. Not even Darcy.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Author's Note: Another chapter! This one isn't as long as the last one but I hope you like it. So more interactions between Emma and Peter as expected but also another interaction between Emma and Flash which was requested. I'm really loving writing Emma going to high school. I'm so excited to write more of her experience in high school as well as the odd relationship between her and Peter that's forming.**

 **Thanks for the reviews last chapter! Keep reviewing! I'll try to update again tomorrow or... later on today actually since it's already tomorrow. Thanks!**

* * *

Emma had finally reached the end of the school week. It wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be and the week passed by fairly fast. Most of the time she just focused on her studies and discussing books with Michelle. Emma was about half way finished with 'It' so she mostly discussed all the events that happened so far in the book with Michelle. It turned out that Emma had also turned Michelle into quite the Edgar Allan Poe fan. Emma was glad to hear it. Another thing that constantly was occupying her time was Peter Parker.

Emma was highly suspicious of him and constantly observed all his strange little quirks every day. She had done some research on the internet, or in other words, some light facebook stalking since Emma didn't have McConaughey. Tony had taken her suit and the mask away, keeping it at the compound so Emma was forced to make do with what she had. Emma learned that Peter lived with his Aunt in an apartment that was most likely not that far from where her and Darcy lived. That was the most useful piece of information that she had learned about him. Everything else was stupid, useless bits of information like how excited he was for the new Star Wars movie as well as his disappointment in the casting of the new _Deathnote_ movie. Like seriously… Who gave a fuck? Peter Parker was seemingly the most uninteresting teenage boy around but Emma somehow highly doubted that. There was something off around him.

The subjects at school weren't challenging for her so it left her with plenty of time to do some Parker watching as she liked to call it. After watching him for a week and observing his behavior Emma had his whole routine pinned down. She noticed that he was also in her Spanish class so she felt his eyes on her for nearly the whole period. He eagerly answered questions left and right, volunteering his knowledge which made Emma deduce that he liked showing off subtly… eager to please and happy to prove himself. His Spanish was pretty good for an average teenager.

During lunch he sometimes discussed the latest episode of _West World_ with Ned and sometimes he would even make polite conversation with Emma and Michelle. Another thing she had noticed, much to her amusement, was Peter's strange fixation with Liz Allan. Liz Allan who was the most popular girl in school apparently and who Emma was also slightly familiar with. Emma had remembered that she had met the girl over two years before at Forever 21 when she was shopping with Darcy and Steve. Steve… Emma quickly snapped herself out of her thoughts. Emma was really good with faces, more than the average human, so she could only hope that Liz didn't remember her. It seemed that Peter Parker had something akin to a crush on the older girl. It wasn't difficult for Emma figure that out within the first couple of minutes of her watching Peter gaze over at Liz. That was definitely intriguing.

"So you like older women?" Emma asked him suddenly. They were all sitting at their usual lunch table when Emma had noticed that Peter was staring at the brunette, drooling practically coming out of his mouth. Was he aware of how stupid he looked? It caused the boy's eyes to widen before he blushed beet red. Ned snickered at Peter's reaction to Emma's question.

"Um… W-what are you t-talking about?" He stammered and Emma just gave him a knowing look as she smirked at him.

"You're more transparent than you even know." Emma told him as she gazed at him. Peter didn't know why but he felt funny when she looked at him like that. She stared at him with those beautiful blue eyes like she could see right through him. Wait… Beautiful blue eyes? What was he even thinking. Emma was very beautiful, that much was obvious, but usually Liz was the girl who could get that kind of reaction out of him. Peter dismissed it as Emma just being the mysterious new girl. "If you want to be less obvious perhaps you should wipe the drool off your chin." Emma said as Michelle snickered at the embarassed look on Peter's face.

"I don't have any drool on my face." Peter mumbled before furiously wiping at his chin just in case the blonde was right. Emma didn't say anything before she returned to her lunch but Peter could see the smug smile on her face. For some reason that annoyed him. He glanced at the usual large assortment of food on her tray and raised an eyebrow. Peter honestly didn't know where that girl put it all. Although she wasn't remarkably skinny, she was still very slender and didn't look like she had enough room in her stomach to put away a meal that big. It was curious to him how Emma looked to be like the all American cheerleader type yet she could eat like Michael Phelps.

"You know, most girls don't eat that much." Peter commented. He expected Emma to glare at him like most other girls would. His Aunt May was extremely sensitive about how much or how little she ate. Emma just raised her eyebrows at him.

"And you would know the eating patterns of girls?" Emma questioned and Peter blushed again.

"No, I just meant that-"

"I know what you meant, Parker." Emma told him before giving him a serious look. "You were calling me fat." Peter's eyes widened comically as he frantically shook his head at her. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"No, I-I never said that. I was j-just s-saying-" He abruptly stopped speaking when both Emma and Michelle broke out in laughter. Even Ned started laughing but of course that was after he realized that Emma was joking. He had looked immensely frightened for Peter when he saw the serious look on Emma's face just seconds before.

"Relax, Parker, I was just fucking with you." Peter blushed again at Emma's vulgar language before he frantically looked around the cafeteria to see if any teachers had heard her. He couldn't believe the language that had just come out of her mouth. It wasn't like he wasn't use to that kind of language but it was strongly forbidden that students used any kind of vulgar language at school.

"Don't say that aloud. One of the teachers might have heard you." Peter whispered as he continued to check for anyone that might've heard her. Emma just rolled her eyes at him and Michelle snorted at Peter's reaction.

"Right, because I'm so scared of a bunch of middle aged dorks." Emma said sarcastically. "Just calm down, Parker, you wouldn't want to give yourself a heart attack." Emma then looked away from him, returning her attention back to Michelle. The two girls then began discussing one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, Peter wasn't sure which one it was. He had only known the blonde for a few days but he was already more confused about her than any other person he had met before… except for the Viper Assassin maybe. During one class period she would be polite with him, conversing with him about school related material, and then the next time they saw each other she would be teasing him.

He determined that Emma Lewis was very confusing.

* * *

During history class Peter would occasionally glance at Emma when he thought she wasn't looking. It was kind of sad how bad Peter was at watching people. Mostly history class was filled with lectures given by Mr. Harrington. Emma didn't know why the guy wasted his time. She might as well have been reading the assigned history book with all the stuff he droned on about. The guy must've really liked the sound of his own voice. There were other times, however, that Mr. Harrington had them work with their partners on classroom assignments and it was then that Emma really chatted with Peter.

"Okay… when did the Qin dynasty start and end in China?" Peter asked as he began to open the history book. Mr. Harrington had given everyone a sheet of paper full of questions that could possibly be on the upcoming test. They were currently studying China's history.

"The Qin dynasty started in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC." Peter gave her an incredulous look as he glanced back up at her. She just stared at him blankly. He quickly looked up the answer in the book only to find out that she was right.

"How did you know that from the top of your head? We've barely covered dates." Peter remarked as he looked at her in awe. Emma just shrugged.

"I watch a lot of jeopardy." Emma replied as if it were as simple as that. Peter just nodded before returning his attention to the study guide.

"So since we've got that covered we'll just move onto the next question I guess." Peter said slowly, still a bit miffed at how fast Emma answered the question and the way she seemed so sure about it.

"How did the emperor Qin Shi Huang die?" Peter asked before he started looking through the pages of the textbook. Emma smirked at how he remarkably mispronounced the emperor's name. It almost reminded her of the way Bruce had horribly mispronounced Wakanda.

"He died of mercury poisoning." Emma answered quietly and Peter returned his gaze back to the blonde. She looked at him solemnly. "Do you know how he ingested the mercury?" Emma inquired suddenly and Peter just stared at her curiously. He was a bit taken back by how soft her voice was when she spoke. Peter swallowed before he shook his head.

"No, I don't." Emma smiled faintly at him before answering, looking down at the study guide but Peter could tell that her mind was somewhere else.

"He wanted to live for as long as he possibly could so that he could maintain his rule over China. He sought immortality." Emma told him and Peter intently listened to her, finding that he quite liked the softness of her voice. "He searched all over China for the perfect elixir which would give him the immortality he desired. He sought out the most talented physicians and alchemists in China. Eventually he was given an elixir which he thought would finally give him immortality but it contained mercury which no one knew was fatal at the time." Peter just stared at her in wonder as he laughed nervously.

"That's kind of ironic. He was looking for a way to live forever but instead he found death." Peter said and Emma smirked.

"It is ironic, isn't it?" Emma said rhetorically before continuing. "He's the one who had the Terra Cotta Warriors made, you know. Apparently he has a whole palace buried underground. For thousands of years people just thought it was some sort of hill but little did they know that a palace was buried underneath their feet." Peter gave her a confused look.

"I've never heard of that before… anyone digging up a underground palace that is. I mean... I've heard of the Terra Cotta Warriors of course but not an underground palace. Wouldn't that sort of thing bring a lot of media attention?." Peter said with doubt laced in his voice.

"That's because soil samples from the ground suggest that the place is laced with Mercury." Emma answered. "That and everyone thinks it's infested with booby traps. No one knows for sure what the palace looks like. They do know, however, that it's where the Terra Cotta Warriors came from but they're not sure what else is there. Legend has it that his burial chamber is right in the center of the palace. The burial chamber is cluttered with more gold and jewels than anyone could ever imagine. The ceiling reflects the night sky with various jewels encrusted in the ceiling in the place of constellations. His casket is right smack in the center of the tomb surrounded by streams of mercury in liquid form, meant to resemble his famed river system." Peter just looked bewildered by all the information Emma was telling him. He didn't think he had read any of that in the book. He wondered how she knew all of that. Peter just shook his head at Emma in disbelief.

"Why go through all of that trouble? It must've taken so much time, energy, and money creating all of that. Why would would he do it?" Peter questioned but Emma just shrugged.

"He believed that he would need his palace complete with his army, advisors, and servants in the afterlife." Emma answered. Peter just scoffed.

"That's crazy." Peter remarked.

"It's not that crazy if you think about it. He wanted to be prepared for anything… it was logical." Emma said calmly. "He was a genius. Qin created the northern border of China which would later be where the Great Wall was constructed. He created a river system meant for war, transporting, and trading that's still in use today. Qin had one of the largest armies in history with millions under his power. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon's armies were only a fraction of the size. He invented a currency system for China as a whole instead of different ones for each province." Emma said with admiration which made Peter even more curious. It was obvious to Peter that Emma held much admiration for the Chinese emperor. "Under Qin's rule the crossbow was created and used in war. His army was the first that consisted of trained military men instead of simple peasant farmers."

"Wasn't he like a tyrant or something?" Peter questioned, snapping Emma out of her state of admiration. "Didn't he burn books and execute scholars that challenged his reign? His people were only allowed to read books that he deemed necessary. They didn't have any freedom." He informed her but Emma didn't look bothered by his comment. She just shrugged.

"He wanted to isolate them… make them truly dependent on him. If they couldn't think for themselves then who would they rely on? Their leader, of course. They would never defy him if they couldn't even form their own ideas." Emma told him and Peter was a little bit disturbed by how nonchalant she was about the whole topic. Noticing the look on his face, Emma continued. "It's a smart tactic. Look, I'm not saying that the guy is a saint. He did a lot of wrong things but you have to admire his strategy and tactics. There's a reason he built China into one of the greatest civilizations to ever have existed. You're not going to do that by being nice." Something about what Emma told Peter really stuck with him. "You're not going to do that by being nice", she had said. Peter strongly felt like he had heard that before but he wasn't sure where. He gulped before he gave her a smile, trying to push away those thoughts as he glanced back at Emma.

"You know a lot about Chinese history." Peter told her and Emma smiled back at him. It was true… so true that Peter wondered if he should talk her into joining the Decathelon team. She would surely be a great asset to their team.

"Well, China has a very interesting history." Emma replied. The truth was that Hydra had given her dozens of books on famous leaders throughout history and emperor Qin was the one she had admired the most out of all the leaders throughout history. She thought he was majorly overlooked. Peter just looked at her for a moment before glancing back at the study guide, both of them returning to the questions on the sheet. It actually turned out that most of what Emma had said was featured on the study guide so they easily filled out the paper in no time. Maybe he _should_ talk her into joining the Decathelon team.

* * *

PE was the class that Emma really didn't favor. Usually she didn't mind physical activities but in this class Emma had to pretend to be much weaker than she really was. It was starting to get old really fast especially with Coach Wilson constantly berating her for not doing her push-ups fast enough. It annoyed her immensely whenever his tired, droning voice called out to her in the midst of her act of pretending. Emma was doing a series of pull-ups when Coach Wilson called out to her again.

"Come on, Lewis, use all the strength you can possibly muster in those skinny arms of yours." Coach Wilson called out from the ground. Emma glared at the man almost hatefully. She would really like to show him just how much strength she could muster. Maybe then he would learn not to open his big mouth. Michelle just rolled her eyes at the coach before looking back up at Emma.

"Don't mind him, Emma, he probably hasn't been laid in twenty years." Michelle told her which caused the glare to fall off of Emma's face as she laughed.

"I heard that, Jones." Coach Wilson said as he glared at the two girls. "Watch it or the both of you will end up in detention and I really don't want have to stay after school again to babysit a bunch of moody teenagers." He then walked away and Emma smirked at his retreating back. That guy was really too easy to piss off. Emma eventually finished her pull-ups and leapt down from the bars. She started to pant, making it sound as real as ever while she hunched over, her hands pressed to her knees as she pretended to catch her breath. Michelle observed Emma curiously as she noticed how exhausted the blonde acted although she didn't see a drop of sweat on her. Emma wasn't even red faced from the activity. That was strange.

"Well, that was quite the work-out." Emma said. Michelle just raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Yeah, it certainly looked like it." She mumbled as she thought about how weird it was that Emma was acting completely wiped out from the pull-ups yet visably there was no evidence that she was exhausted at all. Deciding to keep the observation to herself, Michelle then proceeded to reach up for the bars to do her own series of pull-ups. She noticed how difficult it was for her to even reach up for the bars let alone do any pull-ups. Very interesting…

* * *

Emma walked to sixth period without Michelle since the dark haired girl had history that period on the other end of the building. She was briefly contemplating more about Peter's routine. He seemed to act fairly normal when he was in history and PE. She had watched as he had also struggled with his pull-ups. She also noticed that for a seemingly nerdy looking kid he also seemed to have well defined muscles. Emma could see them through the thin fabric of his t-shirt and was a bit perplexed that no one else seemed to think that this was odd. Maybe no one was as observant as she was. It did strike her as odd that this kid was supposedly a boy genius but also happened to be some kind of body builder too. What average fifteen year old had muscles like that? None that she ever heard of. Even with those barely concealed muscles he also somehow couldn't muster the strength to do more than a couple of pull-ups? There was definitely something wrong with him.

"Do you want me to carry your books?" Emma was brought out of her thoughts by Flash as he walked next to her down the hall. She inwardly groaned as she saw the annoying smirk on his face. He almost reminded her of Tony in a way. They were both alarmingly conceited and arrogant… self-entitled. Emma gave him a tight lipped smile as she shrugged. If she wasn't careful she was going to end up breaking her own promise. Emma didn't really want to kill anyone other than Rumlow… maybe Tony too but she was still debating about that.

"Sure, why not." Emma told him as she handed him her chemistry book and notebook. He grinned as he took her books from her and proceeded to walk with her to class.

"So… I'm throwing a party tonight." Flash said suddenly as they walked. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Good for you." Emma remarked as she turned her attention back to the hallway in front of her. Flash gave her another smirk.

"Well, I was thinking that you might like to go." Flash told her casually and Emma scrutinized the look on his face. He looked so sure of himself… like he thought she was going to say yes. "I know you're new here and everything so I just thought it would be nice if you got to know some more people. Everyone will be there, of course. Well… except for Penis Parker and his sidekick." Okay, what was this guy's problem with Peter? Emma was starting to think he was slightly obsessed with him given the way Flash always seemed to go on and on about him. "We might even get to know each other a little better." Flash said suggestively and Emma fought the urge to break his arm or some vital part of his body. She had a fantasy in her head where she kicked him in the stomach, sending him sliding across the hallway floor. It was a beautiful thing, really.

"I'm sorry but I'm busy tonight." Emma told him shortly. She thought he would get the hint but Flash just gave her a curious look.

"Busy with what?" Flash questioned. Emma wanted to tell him it was none of his business but she knew it was best that she not piss anyone off. She needed to not draw attention to herself and snapping at one of the most popular boys in school would surely attract attention.

"I'll be out of town." Emma told him. "I'm attending a funeral." That usually seemed to shut people up. Death was something people were both morbidly curious about as well as made people very uncomfortable. Flash's eyes widened as he nodded understandingly.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry for your loss." He told her apologetically. Flash was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Maybe we could hang out another time then? Maybe next weekend?" Emma wanted to strangle this little asshole so much. What the hell was wrong with him? She just got done telling him that she was basically mourning the death of someone she knew yet he was still hitting on her. She knew that most normal people tended not to be in the mood for a date in the aftermath of a loved one's death. Emma calmed down as she struggled not to murder the annoying kid. She abruptly stopped in the hallway right in front of the door of their classroom which caused Flash to also stop with her.

"Did you know that I can see clear over your head." Emma remarked suddenly as she gazed over the top of his head, peering down the hall. Flash just blushed profusely as he looked up at the tall blonde.

"I can see the library from here… Look, I can even see Mr. Harrington's classroom." Emma continued to say before she looked back down at an embarassed looking Flash. She could tell he wasn't used to being insulted like that but Emma didn't care. She gave him a sickly sweet smile as she looked down at him, making sure he knew just how much she had to look down so that she could meet his gaze.

"Thank you for carrying my books, Flash." She told him as she took the books back from him. "I appreciate it… I really do." She gave him one last smile as she headed inside the classroom, leaving him standing outside in the hall. Emma hid her smirk as she heard Peter snickering in the background. She thought that he might've been walking behind them in the hall earlier. She heard an angry Flash Thompson snap at the snickering Peter Parker much to her amusement.

"What are you laughing at, Penis Parker?"

* * *

Emma found chemistry incredibly boring. She knew the basics of what Mrs. Cobbwell was teaching them but she was just never interested in chemistry beyond what she had to know. Emma knew enough chemistry that she had the capabilities of making explosives or toxic chemicals, no thanks to Hydra, but Emma didn't really know much beyond that. Emma didn't really care to know much beyond what was needed for her to survive. She didn't see how a bunch of complicated math equations would save her life. All Emma needed to know was to add a certain amount of one chemical compound to another chemical compound. She was all set after that.

Instead of paying much attention to what Mrs. Cobbwell was saying, she rested her eyes on Peter's back. He also seemed to be absentminded today which was odd. She had assumed that chemistry would be more his forte. Instead of seeming interested in what Mrs. Cobbwell was teaching he seemed distracted by something else. The question was what had him so distracted? He seemed to pay attention in the other classes Emma shared with him.

She watched with interest as he opened the drawer of the lab table he was sitting at. Emma could see a beaker in the drawer which wasn't weird or anything considering that this was a chemistry classroom so of course there would be beaker inside a drawer. What was odd was the fact that Peter immediately stuck the end of his pencil inside the beaker and then began to stir whatever was inside the beaker. She watched as something slowly foamed towards the top of the beaker but she couldn't see what the substance was since Peter quickly shut the drawer. Now, this was very interesting. Emma stared at the drawer curiously as she debated what Peter could possibly be up to. The only thing she could come up with was that Peter was running his own personal meth lab within the drawer of the lab table inside his sixth period Chemistry classroom. It was a ridiculous theory but for now it was all she really had.

Emma observed the amount of times Peter glanced back up at the clock in the classroom. This time he glanced at the clock a total of seventeen times. It was more than the average amount of times he usually looked up at the clock. She watched him anxiously drum his fingers against the countertop of the lab table, something he always did. Peter also shook his leg anxiously as he stared straight ahead at the whiteboard but Emma knew that he wasn't really focused on what Mrs. Cobbwell was teaching.

The second the bell rung, Peter was out of his seat and out the door just like the past couple of days. It was the same everytime. Emma watched everyone else begin to file out of the classroom, all of them eager for the weekend. She slowly put away all of her materials, trying to give herself enough time until almost everyone had cleared out of the classroom. When the last kid exited the classroom only Mrs. Cobbwell remained but the older women was glued to her computer screen. She probably wasn't even aware that Emma was still in the classroom. The blonde finished putting her materials away and put her backpack on, carefully slipping out of her seat. She began walking forward but paused when she reached Peter's lab table. Emma cautiously glanced at Mrs. Cobbwell who was still glued to her computer screen. She then proceeded to step over and wrap her hand around the handle of the drawer. Emma pulled but soon found that the drawer wouldn't open. She tugged a bit harder but still nothing happened. It became evident to her that the drawer was locked. If she tugged any harder then the drawer would possibly break, alerting Mrs. Cobbwell to what she was doing. Emma glared at the locked drawer before she detached herself from the lab table and started moving towards the door of the classroom. When she passed by Mrs. Cobbwell's desk, Emma plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Have a nice weekend, Mrs. Cobbwell." Emma said cheerfully as she walked by. The older woman looked slightly surprised that Emma was still in the classroom but she managed to give Emma a kind smile.

"Thank you, Emma. You have a wonderful weekend as well." Mrs. Cobbwell told her as Emma walked out the door. The teacher turned her attention back to the computer screen, already forgetting about Emma. Fooling the faculty was not going to be a problem for Emma.

* * *

"How was school today?" Darcy asked Emma as the blonde grabbed an Arizona tea from the fridge. The brunette was sitting at the kitchen table, organizing a bunch of notes that Jane had written. Apparently Tony had been so dead set on Emma attending a real high school that he had snagged a project for Jane to work on at Culver University so that Darcy could stay in the city with Emma. Emma saw the astrophysicist quite often since Darcy invited Jane to dinner nearly every night. Apparently Jane was so obsessed with her work that she had a hard time remembering to cook. As the years had passed Jane had become more comfortable around Emma, seeing her as the teenager that she was rather than the assassin she used to be. Emma thought she might've preferred Jane when the woman was slightly more terrified of her.

"It was fine, I guess. We're studying China's history." Emma told her as she took a long sip from her can of tea.

"That must be interesting." Darcy remarked but Emma just shrugged.

"I guess but I know already know pretty much everything about China." Emma replied. Emma didn't sound conceited when she said that but rather like that it was a fact instead. Darcy just rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay… we all get how boring school is for you. Tell me about your friend Michelle. What's Michelle up to?" Emma glared at her.

"Michelle is not my friend." She said pointedly before continuing. "If you must know, Michelle's fine. She actually really likes Edgar Allan Poe now as it turns out."

"That's good." Darcy replied before she smirked as she thought of something. "So how's Peter? Are you still smitten with him?" Emma sent another glare in Darcy's direction before she seriously considered the question. She, of course, ignored the second question because that was just Darcy being ridiculous.

"There's still something really weird about Parker, Darce." Emma told her as her thoughts drifted back to the brown eyed boy with the kind smile. "You should've seen him today during chemistry. He looked up at the clock seventeen times… seventeen."

"So he wanted to leave school really… just like every other teenager." Darcy said, shrugging but Emma just shook her head.

"No, you don't understand. He's the kind of student that excels at school… who's interested in chemistry but somehow he jumps out of his seat the second the bell rings. No, something isn't right here." Emma said more to herself than to Darcy. Darcy just rolled her eyes at the blonde. "He was also mixing some kind of concoction in the drawer of his lab table. I tried to see what it was after class but it was locked. He's definitely hiding something." Darcy snorted.

"What? Do you think he's running a meth lab or something… like _Breaking Bad_?" Darcy joked but looked at Emma in shock when she saw the serious look on the girl's face. Darcy gave her a look of disbelief. "Wait… you actually think that he's running a meth lab."

"Well, I don't have many other theories for the moment." Emma said coolly. "So this is one I have to consider." Darcy just shook her head at her.

"I think that's there nothing wrong with this kid." Darcy told her. "I think that the reason you think he's so weird and suspicious is because you like him and you're confused by the feeling. Em, if you were just to ask him out I know he'd say yes. You're quite the looker." Darcy teased and Emma glared at her.

"Don't say ridiculous things like that." Emma hissed before she grabbed her Arizona tea and stalked away, leaving a laughing Darcy behind. For a former trained assassin sometimes that girl could really lose her cool. Well, that wasn't completely true. Usually Emma was pretty calm and collected but ever since this Peter Parker kid came into the picture a few days ago, Emma had become extremely sensitive and agitated in all topics involving him. It made Darcy wonder if Emma really did like this Peter guy.

* * *

Emma walked upstairs to her bedroom feeling slightly annoyed by Darcy's persistant teasing. She immediately closed the door behind her the moment she walked in, placing her backpack on her bed. Her room was quite a bit smaller than her rooms back at the tower and the compound but it was cozy. She didn't have her own bathroom like she was used to and her closet was only the fraction of the size of her previous ones. Emma didn't mind. It felt more normal to her… like she wasn't this weird person who had been living with a bunch of superheroes for the past two years. Her room contained a queen size bed which was centered against the left wall, a desk that overlooked the view from outside her window towards the back of her room, and a flat screen television that hung on the right wall which was also directly across from her bed. Right next to the door of her bedroom was her bookshelf which contained just a small amount of the books she had accumulated over the past couple years. Emma had a lot more but they were back at the compound, probably put into storage after she left. Emma only took the books she adored the most.

A turntable was placed on a small table next to her bookshelf with a couple crates full of vintage vinyl records. Emma had recently gotten into the whole vintage record craze after packing her grandfather's turntable with a couple of his records. Her grandfather mostly liked to listen to jazz music and the big bands which she never liked but she still listened to the records from time to time. They reminded her of him. Eventually she grew bored of listening to the records… that and the fact they made her sad if she listened to them too often. So Emma decided that she needed more vintage records that were more to her liking. Darcy took her to a vintage record shop in Queens which Emma now frequented almost every week. The older man that owned the shop received quite a lot of business from Emma although little did he know that a small chunk of Tony's fortune was going to his business.

Various posters decorated Emma's bedroom. Posters of musicians like David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Jim Morrison, and Florence Welch covered her walls as well as the movie posters for the movies _Brooklyn_ and _Edward Scissorhands_ which were two of Emma's favorite movies of all time. Various pieces of artwork covered her walls as well, all done by her except for a couple which Steve had done. Most of her art depicted different drawings of trees or flowers which Emma was now fixated on drawing. There were some, however, that Emma had drawn of Steve, Sam, and her father. All of whom she dearly missed. It really showed in the way she drew them. Emma glanced around the room as she spotted various pictures littered around the room pr sitting on her desk, nightstand, or bookshelf. She spotted the familiar ones which showed her parent's wedding day, her grandmother in a beautiful red dress, Steve in his scrawny state, her and her parents, and finally… one of her father during his days in the smiled a little at each of them but she paused when she one of the newer pictures.

It was a picture that Pepper had taken of her and Steve in the living room area of the compound. There was an assortment of snacks scattered out on the coffee table in front of them. Steve had said something funny and Emma had been laughing in response to some stupid or ridiculous joke he had made, Emma's entire face lit up with laughter which was a rare sight and a teasing smile was on Steve's face. Emma remembered when the picture was taken. It was just over a year ago, not long after they had moved into the compound. They were about to watch binge watch the show _Fortitude_ and were hyped up to see the show. Steve had made a comment about finding a way to leave Tony in the town of Fortitude. She knew it was a stupid joke but it still made her laugh. Emma glanced at another picture that Darcy took of herself, Sam, and Emma as they waited in line to see a Denzel Washington movie. Emma barely remembered what movie it was but she could see how unexcited she had been to be going to a movie theater filled with people. The thirteen year old version of Emma frowned at the camera as Sam wrapped his arm around her, a huge grin on his face. Emma's smile fell off her face as she looked at both of the pictures. She hadn't realized just how much she missed Steve and Sam… how much she missed having fun with them.

Emma glanced away from the pictures and focused her attention on the David Bowie poster hanging on her wall. She needed to focus on the task at hand. She didn't need to be thinking about Steve, Sam, or her father right now. They were probably doing just fine now that they were all free from Ross. She walked over to the poster and carefully took it off the wall before setting the framed poster on the floor. Where the poster had previously been was now an assortment of newclippings, posted notes, pictures, and a map that all pertained to Spider-Man. Emma didn't need Darcy thinking that Emma was up to anything aside from her studies. While Emma considered Darcy her friend, she wasn't sure if she could trust her not to report back to Tony about everything. It was best to keep her investigations hidden. Emma glanced back at the _Edward Scissorhands_ poster which covered up her Rumlow investigation. That investigation had been put on hold for the moment. Emma had yet to receive any new information on Rumlow ever since he escaped from Steve. The guy was good at hiding. No, Emma would just have to focus her attention on Spider-Man for the time being.

Emma didn't know why she was so obsessed with finding out who Spider-Man was. It's not like she actually planned to kill him or anything. She supposed it was just that it killed her not knowing something. In this case, it was not knowing who Spider-Man really was. It was probably the same reason that Emma was so curious about Peter Parker. She knew there was something off about him but she didn't know what. Emma analyzed the map she had hanging up on the wall. There was little highlighter marks she had made across it which indicated all of the Spider-Man sightings. Most of them were in Queens, she noticed. Emma wasn't stupid… She knew it was incredibly odd that Spider-Man was mostly sighted in Queens, the same place that Tony made her attend school and live in. She knew that it was no coincidence that she lived in the same area where Spider-Man frequented. It was obvious that Stark was trying to tell her something but not directly. He wanted her to figure it out for herself. The only question was... What was Stark trying to tell her? Emma glanced away from the poster and rested her eyes on a blurry photo of Spider-Man wearing a costume that looked more like pajamas than the suit she had seen him wear before. She bit her lip as she stared at the picture.

"Who are you, Spider-Twerp?"


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Author's Note: This chapter took me a bit longer to write because I was still trying to figure out when the Homecoming storyline was going to come in. I've now figured it out for sure. There will be one more chapter after this one and then Homecoming will start. So the chapter after next. I figured Homecoming probably takes place towards the beginning of the school year anyway. I always remembered my homecoming dances at my old high school taking place in late September or early October.**

 **I know some of you don't understand why Emma hasn't figured out that Peter is Spider-Man yet but she's only known him for like a week. She knows that something definitely is up with him but she hadn't connected the dots yet. Emma knows that Peter's kind of weird but she's labeled him off as a separate mystery. She kind of takes a good long look at Peter and assesses everything about him before she does the same with Spider-Man. She just hasn't piece two and two together yet. All I can say is that she might stumble on a big clue next chapter... well, more than a big clue.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I really appreciate them. I'm glad you like the Flash/Emma interactions so I hope this chapter won't be a disappointment. There will be quite a bit of humor in this chapter and I had a lot of fun writing that. Emma hasn't been given a lot of opportunities to be humorous in the past so now she finally has the opportunity to be a normal teenager and make semi inappropriate jokes. It's good for her. I'm also glad that you're liking Emma's growing friendship with Michelle so far.**

 **Thanks and keep reviewing!**

 **Also... I don't own the Eagles or any of their music. I just wanted to make that perfectly clear.**

* * *

Emma's weekend had been fairly boring. She mostly just hung out in the lab at Culver University while Jane and Darcy worked. Emma wasn't that interested in whatever theory Jane was working on. She had smirked when she had seen Dr. Betty Samson walk by and Emma was instantly reminded of Ross. Darcy just rolled her eyes at her when she noticed Emma staring at Banner's former love interest. That girl really needed more friends. Emma was sure that Ross was keeping his promise to hold back on his search for Steve and the others. The government had yet to track any of them down. Emma was glad to hear that.

She was so wrapped in thoughts of what Steve and the others were that she was taken by surprise as she started her second week of school. When she returned to school the following Monday she hadn't been expecting anything beyond another boring week of school. However, she was wrong when she received an e-mail from Mr. Harringon, on her school e-mail account, giving her an invitation to join the decathlon team. Apparently he had checked out her test scores from last year and saw how she much she had aced each and every one of her tests. It made her the perfect candidate to join the decathlon team. Emma expressed her predicament with Michelle at lunch.

"I guess it would be cool if you joined the team." Michelle said casually as they ate lunch. "I mean it's pretty lame and all but at least it'll look good on college applications." Michelle told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wow… good way to sell me on it." She said sarcastically and the dark haired girl just smirked. Emma didn't really think she needed to join some squad of dorks so that it would look good on her college application. She probably wasn't going to go to college. As soon as Emma turned eighteen she was going to get out this place. She knew that Steve might be back before then but Emma wasn't going to rely on him. More than likely, Emma would have to go look for him and the others herself. Right now she lacked the resources and she was being strictly watched by Tony. When she was eighteen, however, Tony wouldn't be able to keep her there anymore.

"I tell it how it is." Michelle replied.

"Right… well, if this little club of yours is so lame, why would would I want to join?" Emma inquired.

"Like I said, it looks good on a college application." Michelle repeated and Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm not going to college so that doesn't apply to me." Emma told her and Michelle just shrugged.

"You're not going to college?" Peter asked from down the table. He was staring at Emma in shock, seeming slightly horrified at the prospect of not going to college. Ned was watching her as well but he didn't seem as bothered by the idea as Peter. Emma narrowed her eyes at Peter. This kid had a way of making her incredibly suspicious.

"Nosy much, Parker?" Emma sneered and Peter shook his head.

"Well, I was just wondering what you were planning to do after graduation if you're not going to college." Peter said, causing Emma to sigh. She didn't know why he was so nosy all the time. Couldn't he mind his own business? Emma was kind of being a hypocrite when saying that since she basically analyzed every move he made but that was different. Parker stalking was just a hobby of hers while she was at school so she could escape boredom. There definitely was something up with him but Emma doubted it was as important to her as finding Spider-Man.

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking about backpacking across South America… maybe getting eloped with a random guy in some sort of tribal ritual where blood and hallucinogenic drugs are involved." Emma described in heavy detail as she made up the most ridiculous story from the top of her head. "My husband and I would then move to Paris where I would be a starving artist and he would try his hand at making cheese but eventually he'd lose his way and become addicted to heroin. I would sell all of my art just to contribute to his heroin addiction, not because I was supportive but just because I hated to see him cry." Peter and Ned just stared at Emma in bewilderment as she told them what she thought her future looked like. She was satisfied to see that it shut them up. Maybe Peter wouldn't be so nosy next time. Michelle stifled a giggled as she glanced at Emma from over her book.

"I'm sorry about that, Emma." Michelle told her. "My husband Lionel, one of the most feared and notorious drug dealers on the face of the planet, supplied him with the heroin as you know. If I had known all the trouble it would cause, I would've never had gotten involved with him." Michelle told her seriously as if all of this stuff had already occurred. Emma nodded.

"I know, Michelle, and I forgive you. Sometimes we can't help who we fall in love with." Emma replied and Michelle nodded. Peter and Ned looked between the two girls as if the girls were completely insane. It was official, Peter thought to himself. He would never understand girls.

"Okay. putting aside whatever that was…" Peter trailed off, trying to steer the subject into a different direction. "I think the decathlon team could really use you, Emma. You know everything about history. All the dates and historical figures… we're really lacking that on the team." Peter told her, giving her a pleading look. Emma stared back at him, starting to feel very uncomfortable from the look he was giving her. What the hell was his intention? She stared into his warm brown eyes, suddenly feeling funny. Was she… Was she sick or something?

"Okay, fine. I'll go to your weird meeting." Peter, Ned, and even Michelle all seemed satisfied by her statement. "I'm not making any promises." She added. Peter grinned at her and Emma felt that funny feeling again. She just decided to dismiss it as something she had eaten. Maybe she was just sick or nauseous. Still… something in back of her head told her that it wasn't something she had eaten. Emma ignored those thoughts and decided to brood about the impending meeting with the decathlon team. She really wasn't looking forward to the meeting.

* * *

Emma didn't know what to expect when she arrived for the decathlon meeting. What she didn't expect was seeing a very excited Mr. Harrington who looked happy that Michelle had brought her. The older man with thick rimmed glasses smiled at her excitedly when she walked into the room. All the other kids also curiously glanced at her as she walked in with Michelle. Emma was extremely disappointed to see that Flash was there too which almost made her rethink her decision about coming. The arrogant boy smirked at her the moment she walked into the room. Emma also noticed that Liz Allan was there and she hoped that the older girl didn't have an above average memory.

"Emma, glad to see you could make it to our meeting." Mr. Harrington told her as she walked into the room. "When I saw your test scores from last year as well as your IQ score, I had to say that I was very impressed." Having overheard Mr. Harrington, Peter glanced curiously over at Emma who just shrugged. He wondered just how high Emma's IQ was.

"Well, Michelle and Parker talked me into it. I'm still not decided." Emma told him honestly and Mr. Harrington solemnly nodded his head.

"Of course, Emma, it is a big commitment after all so I completely understand." He said before he glanced over at Peter. "But it is possible to juggle everything. I mean… look at Peter. He's got school, the decathlon team, and now his Stark internship." Emma's eyes immediately widened in surprise as she glanced back at Peter who was blushing from the attention. His Stark internship? He had a Stark internship? Emma could hardly believe what Mr. Harrington had told her. Emma assumed that his Stark internship took place at the tower but she hadn't ever remembered seeing a fifteen year old kid hanging around the place. Of course, it had been a very long time since Emma visited the tower let alone lived in it. It made sense that she might not have seen him while he was there. Snapping out of her thoughts, she returned her attention back to Mr. Harrington who was still rambling on about something.

"I can promise you that being on the decathlon team would greatly benefit you." He reasoned with her as she listened to him, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. "It looks amazing on a college application, you make new friends, and we're even going to Washington D.C. this year for nationals. It sounds like a fun trip, right? We get to stay in a really fancy hotel and even visit the Pentagon." Emma wasn't so sure if she wanted to go back to D.C. A lot of bad memories circulated that city ever since the death of her grandmother. Emma barely had enough time to process her grandmother's death after the fight at the airport. Between her separation from Steve and her father, being forced to attend school by Tony, and her grandmother's death… Emma was having a pretty difficult time.

"So I'll just let you mingle with the others and see how you like it." Mr. Harrington finally finished and Emma was beyond grateful. The guy really liked to ramble on a lot. That much Emma could tell. Emma and Michelle were about to head in the direction of the snack table but were stopped by Liz Allan on the way. The older girl had a kind smile on her face as she looked at Emma.

"You must be Emma." Liz said as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Liz." She introduced and Emma shook her hand cordially. She then watched as a confused look came over Liz's face as she looked at Emma. Emma held her breath but maintained her composure as she stared back at Liz. She was a bit concerned that Liz might of remembered her after all. Emma didn't know what she would do in that sort of situation.

"Have we met before?" Liz questioned and Emma feigned a confused look as she looked back at her.

"No, I don't believe so." Emma told her, pretending to sound unsure. Liz's eyes then widened in realization as she smiled at Emma.

"We have the same fifth period PE class together, right?" Liz asked and Emma felt a wave of relief flood through her. Liz hadn't remembered Emma like Emma remembered her. Well, Emma didn't think she remembered everything about her. For some reason Emma felt like Liz's last name hadn't been Allan when they last met. She couldn't quite remember what last name she remembered her having but she was sure it wasn't Allan. Emma felt like it might've started with a T. Toole? Tanner? Thomas? Emma couldn't exactly be sure and she cursed her thirteen year old self for not paying enough attention at the time.

"Yes, I guess we do." Emma replied, a friendly smile on her face. Liz then glanced at Michelle with a raised eyebrow before glancing back at Emma.

"Well, we could really use you on the team." Liz told her. "I guess we all have Michelle to thank for having you as a friend. Everyone's spoken nothing but incredible things about you. I'm sure we could win this year if you're on our team."

"We're not friends." Michelle deadpanned as she looked at Liz blankly. Emma nodded her head in agreement which made Liz confused. She looked between them, not understanding the situation at all.

"Yeah, we've only known each other for a week." Emma explained. "I think we're more acquaintances than friends… for now at least." Michelle nodded at Emma's statement and Liz looked confused by the entire situation.

"Well, okay then… I'm still hoping that you'll join our team though." Liz said to her before flashing her one last kind smile and walking away to go talk to Cindy Moon. Emma watched her leave, incredibly grateful that Liz hadn't remembered her. It would've put a major strain on Tony's plans if she had. Emma didn't think she personally minded but it would surely make the situation awkward if Liz had remembered her. It was then that Emma's attention returned to Peter as she noticed him nearby. He was standing next to Ned as they both longingly stared after Liz. What a bunch of dorks. Emma rolled her eyes before she approached Peter, Michelle following suit, as she went to stand next to him.

"What are you looking at?" She asked suddenly which caused both Peter and Ned to jump in surprise. Once Peter calmed down he gave Emma a bewildered look.

"How did you do that?" Peter asked, still surprised by her sudden appearance. Emma had been standing next to him like she had been standing there the whole time. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Do what?" She inquired. Peter wildly gestured around her as he tried to come up with words for what she just did.

"Sneak up on us like that." He told her. "One second you're half way across the room and then the next, you're right here standing next to me." Emma scoffed.

"It's not my fault your eyes are so glued to Liz that you don't even know your own surroundings." Emma told him. "Michelle and I just walked over here like normal people… no sneaking around involved." Peter narrowed his eyes at her. Sometimes he didn't know whether he liked her or disliked her. She seemed nice and funny one second and then the next second she was sarcastic and teasing. He didn't know what to think about Emma Lewis most of the time.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you gave me a little heads up next time instead of scaring the crap out of me." Peter said, giving her a warning glance. Like that did anything to intimidate her, Emma thought to herself. Peter was perhaps the least threatening person she had met despite how weird he acted sometimes.

"Don't let Mr. Harrington hear you, Parker. That was a bad language word." She teased with a big smirk on her face. It almost reminded her of that time everyone teased Steve about his distaste of crude language. Peter glared at her.

"You're not funny, Emma." Peter told her even though Ned and Michelle were snickering behind them. Emma maintained her smirk before she remembered what she had wanted to talk to him about in the first place. How did she get that off topic? Emma usually tended to get the answers she wanted and then leave but instead she sat there teasing Peter for around five minutes. Maybe she was just letting high school get to her. Yes, that was it. High school was starting to get to her like some kind of infection. Emma would just have to maintain more focus instead of letting anything distract her more than it already had.

"You have an internship at Stark Industries?" Emma questioned as she looked at Peter. Peter looked at her in surprise, taken back by the sudden question.

"Er… Yeah, I guess." Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, do you or don't you?" She asked. Peter awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Yes, I have an internship at Stark industries." He finally answered and Emma gave him a curious look.

"And what's that like? Have you met Tony Stark?" She continued to question him and Peter suddenly wished he was anywhere but there. To be honest he hadn't thought he would need to come up with that much of a cover story. He thought once he told someone that he had an internship at Stark industries that the questioning would end there. It worked for Ned, Aunt May, and everyone else. Peter struggled to come up with an excuse as he blushed and averted his eyes. It was something that Emma didn't miss. Parker being weird as usual, Emma thought as she watched him struggle to come up with an answer.

"It's good. I mostly just bring coffee to everyone and print stuff out. Nothing terribly exciting." Peter said, laughing nervously but Emma could already tell that he was lying. Only… why would he lie about having a Stark internship? "Mr. Stark's nice. He's very eccentric but he's been kind to me. I've met him a couple of times." Emma knew better than anyone else that Tony Stark was anything but nice… at least to her anyways. He practically tore her life apart and she wasn't quick to forget that detail.

"That sounds nice." Emma remarked, trying to seem casual about the whole thing. The truth was that this only increased Emma's suspicions. She knew that if Mr. Harrington knew about the Stark internship then it was most likely real which was odd because Peter gave all the signs that told her that he was lying. He obviously knew Tony Stark somewhat if they had met a couple of times but Emma wondered what the extent of their relationship was. Was Peter just another lowly intern that Tony wasn't likely to remember? Emma wasn't sure but she definitely knew something was up.

"Why do you ask?" Peter questioned and Emma shrugged.

"You're an intern for Stark Industries. That's warrants some interest, doesn't it?" Peter looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Emma was about to respond when someone else approached the small group in which they had formed. It was someone that Emma really starting to hate. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and glare at the person as they swaggered up to the small group.

"Well hello, Emma." Flash greeted as he went to stand next to her with a smug smirk on his face. Emma feigned a friendly smile as she looked at him. Peter and Ned glared at the smug teenager while Michelle just observed the situation indifferently.

"Hi, Flash." Emma replied.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard that you were joining the decathlon team." He told her, grinning. Emma wanted to smack the egotistical grin right off his face. She had to clench her fist tightly as she controlled herself. "This is going to be fun. I promise."

"Well, nothing's set in stone yet." Emma responded, her smiling looking more fake by the minute. Even Peter could tell that she wasn't happy to be in the presence of Flash. It was actually very amusing to Peter as to how much the blonde seemed to despise Flash.

"You'll join." Flash told her, sounding sure. Flash then glanced over at the others in the group before smirking again. "What's going on here? You hanging out with the wrong crowd, Emma?" He teased. Emma couldn't believe this guy. Did he seriously not realize how much he sounded like Draco Malfoy right now? It suddenly made sense to Emma. That was who he reminded her of… Draco Malfoy. She thought about the weird daddy issues, obsession with his school rival, and his annoying smugness. It was a perfect match, really.

"Nope. I'm just standing here talking with Parker. I didn't think there was anything wrong with that." Emma retorted. Flash just shrugged as he glanced back at her.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Flash responded. "I just didn't know you were friends with Penis Parker." Peter glared at Flash, annoyed by the boy's insistant need to always call him names.

"Can you stop calling me that, Flash?" Peter told him angrily but Flash just laughed at him.

"What? You don't like your name?" Flash teased cruelly. "Why not, Penis Parker? It's your name afterall." Okay, Emma was beyond annoyed by this kid's lame remarks. He was so immature that it literally took all of Emma's control not to strangle him. She was starting to resent Tony even more for sending her to a school filled with annoying little dickheads like this kid.

"Why the fixation with Peter's penis?" Emma questioned suddenly, a stoic expression on her face. Everyone in the group turned to look at Emma in shock, surprised by her sudden and intimate remark. Even Michelle was a bit surprised by Emma's boldness. Flash's jaw was hanging open as he stared at Emma. He swallowed nervously, a vibrant blush coming over his dark skin.

"W-w-what?" Flash stammered nervously as he stared at the blonde who only gave him a cold look in response. She feigned an expression of doubt.

"I mean you're always going on and on about Peter's dick." Emma retorted before continuing. "I just thought that there might be something there is all."

"Why would y-you say something l-like that…. I m-mean… I d-don't…" He continued to stammer as everyone watched in amusement.

"No, no, you just like picking on Peter because you have some sort of messed up Napoleon complex." Emma told him coldly. "Is that it?"

"Listen, Penis Parker over here think he's so smart and perfect. I'm just here to set him straight." Flash sneered as he looked over at Peter who glared back at him. Emma rolled her eyes. Testosterone.

"Whatever. His is probably way bigger than the slim jim in your pants, anyways." Emma said in a snarky tone with a completely serious look on her face. Both Flash and Peter stared at her in shock at what she just said. Even Ned and Michelle looked surprised. Flash opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish, while Peter just blushed profusely at Emma's remark. "Well, I think I've had enough of talking about Peter's junk so I'm just going to tell Mr. Harrington that I'm in."

"You're joining the team?" Ned managed to say once he got over his shock. Truthfully, Emma had been against joining the team for the start but now she had time reconsider her decision. It would definitely keep suspicious parties off of her trail. She didn't know many former assassins that not only attended high school but also were on the decathlon team. Emma was almost sure she would be the first one. Now that she really thought about it joining the decathlon team would be a logical move. She would be able to remain under radar as well as some more Parker watching. It was a win-win scenario for her. Emma just smirked, shrugging as she looked over at them.

"Yeah, I think this decathlon might turn out to be really interesting." Emma told them as she glanced at each and every one of them. "You've managed to convince me." Emma gave them all one last look, her eyes gleaming with excitement, before she walked away. She was probably going to tell Mr. Harrington the real news. Peter watched Emma walk away as if she didn't just say something entirely shocking. The more time Peter spent with Emma the more confused he became. Was there ever going to be a time where he actually understood her? He had only known her for a week but he could already tell that Emma Lewis was going to be the most complicated and confusing person he had ever met.

* * *

After the decathlon meeting let out, Emma immediately exited the school building. She wasn't about to head back to the townhouse just yet. Darcy wasn't likely to be back from the university anyways. Emma thought she was lacking some necessary vinyl records from her record collection so it wouldn't hurt if she made a quick stop inside the vintage record shop so that she could add some to her growing collection. Emma said that she would make a quick stop but in reality she tended to spend over an hour in that shop. It was the same way for her whenever she visited a bookshop. Emma was already well on her way to the vintage record store when someone approached her. The blonde prepared herself for attack but then she saw that it was only Peter Parker. She forced herself to calm down.

"Hey, Emma." He greeted as he fell into step with her. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, Parker. What's going on?" She was a bit confused as to why he was walking with her. Usually Peter seemed to leave school as soon as he was able. Emma wasn't sure where it was exactly that he was going but she never let herself follow him. She felt as though that would be taking it a step too far. If she got caught who knows what Tony might be punish her with next. Emma was afraid that he might force her to join the cheerleading team or the homecoming committee. Emma wouldn't risk it… for now.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you said in there." Peter told her although he blushed at the same time. "Even if it was kind of inappropriate." Emma scoffed.

"Inappropriate? What are you...Five?" Emma asked sarcastically as she continued to walk down the sidewalk, not bothering to slow down for Peter. "Besides… I didn't say that because of you. It was mostly just to get Flash off my back. I wasn't lying when I said he had a Napoleon complex, you know." Emma told him without the slightest falter in her tone. Anyone else might've thought she was telling the truth but Peter had a feeling that maybe there was more to it than that. He didn't really believe that she was only in it for herself.

"Still… It was nice to see Flash shut up for once." Peter replied and Emma glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She noticed the way he looked down at his feet whenever he was nervous.

"Well, you're welcome, I guess." Emma told her and Peter nodded, a small smile on his face. Then there was a nice peaceful silence between them for a couple of minutes. It almost reminded her of the peacefulness she felt during the silences she and her father shared… almost. It almost felt like those moments except for that fact that Peter seemingly had a big mouth and couldn't be quiet for more than a couple of minutes.

"So where are we going?" Peter asked suddenly. Emma raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"What do you mean "we"?" Emma demanded as they continued to walk down the street.

"I thought we could maybe hang out or something… we're now working together on the decathlon team so it only makes sense." Peter told her even though he didn't know when he had become so bold. Usually he never had the sort of confidence to talk to a girl like that but Emma seemed to bring something else out of him. Peter was still trying to determine whether or not that was a good thing. Emma gave him a suspicious look before she returned her attention to the street before her.

"Well, _I'm_ going to The Vinyl Frontier. I don't know where you're going." Emma told him and Peter gave her a confused look.

"The Vinyl Frontier? Isn't that the record shop here in Queens?" Peter questioned.

"Yes." Peter grinned at her, looking quite dorky which made Emma feel weird. There it was again… that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like she was about to spills her guts on the sidewalk. Emma didn't think she liked the feeling one bit because she didn't know what it meant.

"Do you collect vinyl records?" Emma just glanced at him briefly before she looked away.

"Maybe." Peter gave her another goofy grin. He didn't know a lot about Emma except that she was from Seattle, she was an artist, loved reading, and was big fan of Emperor Qin. It was nice seeing her outside of the school environment as well as learning something new and interesting about her. He didn't really picture her as the type to collect vinyl records but Aunt May always told him not to judge people based on how they looked. That bit of advice strongly applied to Emma. The blonde looked innocent and beautiful… like Princess Aurora from _Sleeping Beauty_. The more Peter got to know her the more he could tell that she was a lot more cyncial and vulgar than Princess Aurora. She also had a very dark sense of humor for a fifteen year old girl.

"Are you a hipster or something?" Peter questioned and Emma glared at him.

"No, I'm not a hipster." She said bitterly before the expression on her face slightly softened. Peter was a little taken back by the expression on her face. He didn't think he had seen her look so vulnerable before. Granted he only knew her for a week but he was so used to the cold looks she'd give people or annoyed expressions. "My grandfather got me into vinyl. He listens to a lot of jazz and big band type of music but my tastes lie elsewhere of course." Emma informed him. It wasn't like she was lying. Steve had actually gotten her into listening to vinyl records but Peter probably didn't realize that her grandfather was Captain America.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Emma questioned and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She just shrugged casually, seemingly nonchalant.

"I just noticed that you seem to be in quite the hurry after sixth period." Emma told him calmly. Peter nervously fiddled with the strap of his backpack as he came up with an answer, looking down at his feet as he did so. The two nervous gestures didn't escape Emma's notice.

"Usually I just have my Stark internship to get to." Peter answered. Emma nodded but deep down inside she wasn't buying that.

"But not today?" She pressed and Peter just shook his head as he smiled at her.

"No, not today." They walked in silence for the remainder of their walk together until they finally reached the record shop Emma had been talking about. Peter looked at the store in wonder, noticing that various loose vinyl records were hanging in the window. He quickly followed Emma into the store and was surprised to see that it wasn't one of those record stores that sold vinyl records of newer artists who were still stuck in the past. No, it was a vinyl record store that contained nothing but used vinyl records of older artists that were all probably the original ones that came out within the designated time period. Posters hung on the walls of various muscians like The Beatles, The Doors, Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin, and a bunch of other musicians that Peter didn't think he recognized.

"Hello, Emma!" An older man with white hair called out. He looked to be in his sixties but still had a certain youthfulness to his smile as he looked at Emma. Emma smiled back at him and Peter thought it might've been the first time he had seen her smile for real. A truly genuine, happy smile that contained no lies or sadness. "How was school today?"

"Oh, it was fine, Clark. Boring as usual." Emma told him dismissively. Peter raised an eyebrow at that. It was the same thing he told Mr. Delmar whenever he visited the Delmar deli. The older man, named Clark, gave her a pointed look before his attention turned to Peter.

"Who's this young man you've brought with you today? I don't believe you usually bring anyone into my shop other than your sister." He remarked as he gave Peter a welcoming smile. Peter smiled at the man politely.

"I'm Peter, sir. I'm a friend of Emma's from school." He told Clark which caused Emma to roll her eyes.

"He's more like a stalker/acquaintance." Emma replied even if that was a bit hyopcritical of her. She was the one that stalked Peter quite often while at school… not that he had any idea of that. It wasn't her fault. The teenager just acted super suspicious.

"Well, it's nice to see that Emma's been making friends." The older man said regardless of Emma's attitude. Peter wondered how long Emma had been coming in here if he seemed to be pretty familiar with her. "'Surrealistic Pillow' finally came in. I've got it waiting for you behind the counter." Peter didn't know what that meant but he knew that it was probably good news with the way Emma's eyes lit up with happiness. He swallowed as he felt a familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach as his heart skipped a beat. A slight fluttering actually… He knew that feeling because he often felt the same kind of giddiness whenever he was around Liz. Why did he feel that way around Emma? He barely knew her and besides… she didn't seem to be the nicest sort of girl. Peter thought she could even rival Michelle with how cynical and anti-social she could be. No, it was probably just because she was very beautiful and mysterious. Yes, that was it. Beautiful and mysterious.

"Really? I've been waiting on that album for so long." Emma said, filled with happiness that 'Surrealistic Pillow' had finally come in. It was her favorite Jefferson Airplane album and possibly her favorite album of all time. Everytime she looked for it in the store, it was always gone much to her disappointment. She had listened to the album a thousand times on her iPod but nothing beat vinyl. She had to have it on vinyl. "What condition is it in?" Clark grinned at her before answering.

"Near perfect." He told her before looking around the store. "I can hold it for you while you look through the records if you want. I got some new ones in last week." Emma nodded and smiled.

"That would be great, Clark. Thank you." Emma told the older man before she went over to the tables with crates upon crates of vinyl records. Peter followed her and looked around in awe because he didn't think he had seen that many vinyl records in his life. She didn't even glance at Peter as she began combing through the stacks of vinyl records. He just watched her curiously.

"What's 'Surrealistic Pillow'?" Peter asked suddenly and Emma glanced up at him with mild interest. There was the look again… Peter could've sworn he had seen the same exact look on someone else's face. It was really starting to bug him... who's face had he seen that expression on?

"'Surrealistic Pillow' is one of Jefferson Airplane's earlier records… before they were Jefferson Starship and the first record that Grace Slick appeared on. I actually prefer Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship now that I think about it." Emma informed him but Peter didn't think he had ever heard of that band so he presumed that they were most likely decades old given the fact that the record store didn't seem to have anything beyond the nineties. He occurred to him in that moment that everything in the store was way older than either him or Emma.

"Do you ever buy vinyl records put out by newer musicians?" Peter asked curiously. "I know that there's ton of musicians that put their albums out in a vinyl format." Emma just shook her head at him.

"No, I don't. As much as I love a lot of newer musicians, their music was meant to be streamed in or listened to on iPhones. Internet radio…" Emma explained simply before she continued. "The musicians in here were meant to be listened to on vinyl. It sounds completely natural and real whenever you listen to them on vinyl because that's the way it was supposed to be." Peter nodded, processing what she just told him.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it but I get it. It makes sense to me." Emma continued looking through the vinyl records, pulling out one record sleeve every once and a while in interest before putting it back. She gave Peter a pointed look.

"My sole purpose isn't to explain to you why I do things." She told him bitterly and Peter sighed. So they were back to that, were they?

Emma had just begun to barely reach the "E" section of the stack when she saw a particular record that caused her breath to hitch. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she stared at it. Emma analyzed the desert picture on the cover art and realized what album it was. The Eagles debut album. Emma knew the music from this album all too well. A memory from a happier, more simpler time reached her mind as she stared at the cover of the album.

 _"_ _Do you think she'll be okay, Steve?" A thirteen year old Emma asked Steve. They were taking a road trip to Washington D.C. to visit Emma's grandmother at the nursing home. It was nearing Christmas and they wanted to surprise her with a visit. Steve looked over at Emma from the driver's seat._

 _"_ _Your grandmother has some tough days, Emma, but she's really trying to be strong." Steve told her. "I knew your grandmother when she was a young woman. She never took the easy way out and she remained strong and empowered even in the toughest of situations. Your grandmother will be just fine."Emma looked down at her lap as he told her that._

 _"_ _I don't know, Steve…" Emma trailed off before continuing. "Everytime we see her, things take a turn for the worst. Last time she didn't even remember me." Steve just gave her a comforting smile._

 _"_ _She's not well, Emma, but she still cares about you. Before I found out that you were still alive, she talked about you all the time… how much she missed you and how much she wished she could've protected you." Steve informed her. "She loves you." Emma wasn't sure how to feel about that so she decided not to say anything. Sensing that the silence was rather uncomfortable, Steve decided to turn on the radio. As soon as the radio turned on, Emma heard an all too familiar sounding song come on the radio and Steve grinned at her. The sadness that was in the air was now fading away._

 _"_ _This is our song." Steve told her and Emma just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms._

 _"_ _Don't be ridiculous." She told him in a bitter tone._

 _"_ _Come on… you love this song. I know you do." Emma shook her head._

 _"_ _I don't know what you're talking about." Steve smirked at her._

 _"_ _Why don't we have a sing along?" Steve suggested and Emma looked at him like he was insane._

 _"_ _Are you crazy?" She questioned and Steve shrugged._

 _"_ _It could be fun."_

 _"_ _Do whatever you want but I refuse to look like an idiot." Emma responded and Steve just smiled._

 _"_ _Suit yourself." Steve told her as the second verse of the song began to come on. He immediately started singing along and Emma wondered if anyone ever told him that he was a terrible singer. It seemed like not even the super serum had helped him out there._

 _"_ _Well, I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see." Steve's terrible vocals mixed with Glenn Frey's amazing vocals made an interesting duet, Emma noted. "It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me."_

 _"_ _Come on, baby, don't say maybe. I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me." Steve continued to sing horribly and Emma bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't smile or laugh. It was becoming increasingly difficult by the second not to laugh or sing along with him. Emma had to admit that this was one of the best songs of all time._

 _"_ _We may lose and we may win through we will never be here again. So open up, I'm climbin' in. So take it easy." There was a small guitar solo in the song and Steve stared at Emma knowingly. He knew that it was becoming more and more difficult for her not to jump in and sing with him. 'Take it Easy' was just entirely too irresistible. So when the next verse came in, Emma decided to set all her pride aside and finally sing with Steve. If he told anyone about this, Emma would make him regret it._

 _"_ _Well, I'm running down the road trying to loosen my load, got a world of trouble on my mind." They both sang loudly, Emma hoped that no one passing by would notice them horribly singing in the car. "Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover, she's so hard to find." And then came Emma's favorite part of the whole song. The chorus._

 _"_ _Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy." Steve and Emma glanced at each other while singing along to the Eagles most famous song. They were both fighting back laughter as they did so. "Come on baby, don't say maybe. I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me. Oh we got it easy."_

 _"_ _We oughta take it easy." They both finished the song, remaining quiet as a Fleetwood Mac song began to come on the radio. Emma turned to look at Steve a moment later with a dead serious look on her face._

 _"_ _If you tell anyone about that, you'll regret it."_

"Emma? Are you okay?" Emma was brought out of her thoughts by Peter's voice. She blinked before she glanced over at him, noticing that she still had the record in her hand. Was she that lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice him? Emma gave him a fake smile as he looked at her in concern.

"I'm fine… I just spaced out there for a second." Emma told him but somehow that didn't reassure Peter. He could tell that the smile on her face was fake. Something was really bothering her.

"Are you sure?" He questioned and Emma nodded.

"Yeah, of course." Emma replied but looking down at the record in her hand once more. She swallowed nervously before looking around the store, scanning the room one last time. "You know what? I think I'll just get this one and the one at the counter today." Emma informed him before she started walking towards the counter. Peter followed suit although he was beyond confused about Emma's behavior. He wondered what was bothering her.

As Emma walked to the counter, she felt sadness surge through her. Sadness because she missed Steve more than she could imagine was even possible. For so long she had taken him for granted that he was there and then he was just gone… just like that. There was no one there to help her with her nightmares anymore. There was no one to talk to and be honest with. There was no one who didn't judge her. There was no one that shared in her passion for art. There was no one that acted like a huge dork all the time. Emma missed him so much that it was beginning to really hurt. Sure, she had Darcy for some of those things but Emma didn't completely trust that she wouldn't go report back to Tony. Most of all… Darcy wasn't Steve. Emma felt guilty for not appreciating Steve as much when he was actually there. All those fights they had seemed so petty and stupid now that he was out of her life. Emma just wished she could go back in time and change everything but she knew that she couldn't. Somethings couldn't be changed.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Author's Note: So I know I said one more chapter until Homecoming but I had to split this chapter into two because it became way too long. It was like 13,000 words long for just one chapter. So I'll edit the next chapter really quick then post that one right after. Sorry but it's actually this chapter and the next one until Homecoming.**

 **I also want to address some concerns with the story. I don't believe that the relationship between Peter and Emma is moving too fast. Peter is a little attracted to her because she's mysterious and beautiful but he's confused about that attraction because of Liz. I think Emma is also attracted to Peter but she's confused because she doesn't know what any of it means so she's not likely to just give into that attraction anytime soon. It'll be a while before her and Peter will get together but I can say that their relationship will progress once they find out about each other. So probably acquaintances to friends/partners in crime... or rather partners in being heroes. The reason that there's already a growing attraction between Emma and Peter is because they do have a connection and I wanted to convey that in the story.**

 **Also Emma's cursing... I just want to say that's because she's compensating for not actually being an adult even though she's had to think like one for the majority of her life. It's also for shock value. I don't think it's just an American thing either... other people curse at young ages. I didn't really curse when I was fifteen that often but now I do. I mean it's like I do it all the time. Just when I injure myself or when I'm driving. Lol.**

 **I'm also in pacific time for those of who were wondering. I just update at weird hours and never at the same time. So... I'm not in some weird time zone unless you're from a different country.**

 **Thanks and I'll have the next chapter up within the hour.**

* * *

Emma was now into her third week of school and she was starting to feel like she might've been relatively normal. Actually that couldn't be anything further from the truth. Whenever Emma was given mundane tasks to do just like any other teenager, she remembered that she wasn't a normal teenager… she wasn't like any of the others sitting around her. Tony could pretend that she was like them but in reality she wasn't anything like them. There were times that Emma caught herself staring at the others. A girl chatting with her friend when she was really supposed to be doing her classroom assignment. A boy discreetly watching a youtube video while peeking every once and a while at the teacher's desk to make sure he was safe from getting a detention. Emma finally analyzed Betty Brant who concentrated very seriously on the assignment she was working on. Emma knew then that she could never be like them.

The blonde secretly wondered if any of them knew someone like her was in their midst. Probably not. Still… didn't they get the distinct feeling that there was someone very dangerous in their proximity? The same feeling prey like zebra got whenever there was a lioness stalking them in the distance. It was truly sad how oblivious her fellow classmates were to her presence. A few years ago she would've made no hesitation in killing or harming them if they got in her way. Of course, things were a lot different now. It was then that Emma allowed herself to finally look at Peter who was sitting next to her. She didn't turn her head to look at him like he normally did when he would glance at her. No, she looked at him from the corner of her eye very discreetly as he concentrated on his classroom assignment. She noticed the way the a small crease formed in between his eyebrows on his forehead as he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. Emma could've laughed at the way his tongue poked out of his mouth as he erased something furiously. He was a strange boy, that was for sure.

She assessed his appearance carefully and wondered if there was anything different about him today. He still looked the same. The same somewhat neatly kept brown hair. The same navy blue hoodie. The same worn looking converse. He still looked like the same dorky Peter Parker she had seen the day before. Yet… there still seemed to be something different about him than before. Maybe he used a different soap or shampoo than before. Using her enhanced senses, Emma discreetly inhaled the air around her to see if she could smell anything different but there was nothing different at all. Emma was suddenly disgusted with herself. Did she really just smell him? She wasn't normal but that was going a bit too far... even for her. Emma was beginning to feel very frustrated as she normally did whenever she was around Peter.

Emma didn't know why she found him so interesting. Probably because he acted so strange and nervous all the time. Something told Emma that wasn't all there was to it. She started finding herself wondering what kind of books he read…What music he liked listening to… What did he do with his life when he wasn't being Midtown's boy genius. Emma told herself that she only wondered about those things because she found him to be very suspicious but deep down she knew that wasn't true. Why did she concern herself with such an idiotic teenage boy? If Emma was being honest then she was absolutely positive that Peter Parker would never be a threat to her. How could he be? She was the Viper Assassin. Even if whatever Peter was hiding was remotely dangerous, he would never pose any threat to Emma. So then why was she so hellbent on finding out what he was hiding?

For a moment Emma considered what Darcy kept teasing her about. Did she feel some sort of attraction for Peter? Emma assessed his appearance once more. She supposed he was cute in a dorky way. His complexion was oddly clear for a boy his age. His eyes were also a lovely shade of brown that practically lit up in excitement whenever he was happy about something. Peter seemed to be a very positive and upbeat person which was the opposite as to how Emma always felt. Peter was good looking… Emma would give him that but she didn't know if she could be attracted to someone like that. She wasn't even sure she was capable of ever feeling anything like that. Hydra and Rumlow had done a really good job at beating and torturing feelings like those out of her. The blonde had a hard enough time finally admitting to Steve that she loved him so she highly doubted she would start circling Peter's name in her notebook with little hearts and start planning their wedding anytime soon. She didn't think she could ever possibly feel that way about anyone. She had only known him for a couple of weeks. Besides… Peter was just a normal boy. In what world could she possibly ever understand him and in what world could he ever possibly understand her. However, there was one thing that Emma did know about Peter. He had a way of making her feel extremely sick whenever she was around him. Feeling like she was going to spill her guts whenever she was around someone probably didn't mean that she was attracted to them.

Emma felt her phone vibrate on the table. She quickly picked it up and looked to see who had texted her. Peter, looking up from his assignment, glanced curiously at Emma's phone and noticed that it happened to be a Stark phone. He knew that a lot of people had Stark phones but he also knew that they were immensely expensive for a fifteen year old to have. He admired the Stark phone silently but also wondered how this was the first time he had ever seen Emma using her phone. It was odd now that he thought about it. Most teenagers used their phones every minute of the day but this was the first time that he actually saw a phone in the blonde's hand. Usually he only saw her using an outdated iPod but that was the extent of it. Peter suddenly wondered why Emma was using an iPod if she had a Stark phone. Stark phones had unlimited access to music.

 **Susan:** _Tony told me you're living in Queens. R U Ok?_

Emma smiled when she saw the text message. She hadn't heard from Susan since she was brought back to the compound. She had talked to the dark haired woman briefly once she arrived at the compound, telling her what had happened at the airport. She could tell that Susan was devastated to hear that Steve and the others were deemed war criminals but it wasn't like there was anything they could about it. Emma hadn't had any contact with her in a while because she only reminded her of Steve. She was technically Steve's girlfriend, wasn't she? So what did that make Susan… her soon to be step-grandmother? That was a weird concept. Emma quickly texted Susan back.

 **Emma:** _I'm doing fine. Just attending high school… I'm incredibly bored._

It only took less than a minute for Susan to reply to the text.

 **Susan:** _Lol. I feel sorry for you. I remember high school a little too well._

Emma glanced at the text, deciding that it was best to leave the conversation at that. She was surprised to see that Susan had texted her again.

 **Susan:** _Do you have a bf yet?You have a date to homecoming?_

Emma glared at the screen of her phone before she bitterly texted a response. Like Emma would ever be seen at a homecoming dance. Emma had seen all the flyers and posters littering the school about an upcoming homecoming dance and Emma wasn't the least bit thrilled at the prospect. What could be interesting about some lame dance in the school gym? Nothing. Emma would probably be furthering her investigation into Spider-Man's identity while all the idiots were embarassing themselves at the dance. To Emma if something didn't serve a purpose to her personal agenda then she deemed it completely useless.

 **Emma:** _Everyone needs to stop asking me that. It's annoying._

Emma didn't care if Susan responded. She refused to discuss such ridiculous things. It was enough that Darcy constantly teased her but she didn't need Susan teasing her too. When had this become her life? A few years ago she was the fearsome Viper Assassin and now people teased her endlessly. It became very evident to Emma that she wasn't scary anymore… she was losing her touch.

"Emma, you have to put that away." Peter whispered to her as he frantically looked between her and Mr. Harrington. Emma hadn't exactly been discreet when she pulled her phone out. She had been texting on her phone in plain sight. "What if Mr. Harrington sees you?" Emma put her back on the table, turning it over, before she looked back at Peter. He had a worried look on his face and Emma was very amused. She smirked at him, raising her eyebrows.

"What? Are you going to tell on me, Parker?" Emma asked sarcastically. As she leaned back in her seat looking completely relaxed and uncaring if Mr. Harrington spotted her. Peter's eyes widened as he glanced back at Mr. Harrington. He really amused her whenever he got that worried look on his face.

"No, but if Mr. Harrington sees you he might give you detention." Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not like he can see anything through those goggles he calls glasses." Emma retorted. Peter looked around the room, worried that anyone might've heard her. He glanced back at Mr. Harrington who was still sitting at his desk, completely obvious to what Emma was saying, as he graded papers. Emma gave Peter an amused look. "Just relax, Parker, don't get so worked up." Peter glowered at her before he went back to doing his work. And Emma thought she be could uptight at times…

As soon as the bell rang, Emma got up from her set and followed the other students out the door. Emma already had her earbuds in her ears as she was listening to her iPod. She listened to 'False Alarm' by the Head and the Heart allowing herself to concentrate on the lyrics as she waited in line to leave the classroom. If there was one thing she hated about high school was the fact that she felt like a penguin. Everyone was crowded around each other all the time which caused everyone else to waddle around in the midst of all the crowds. Listening to music was the only way Emma was able to distract herself from the close proximity of others. Finally Emma was able to exit the room and walk down the hall. It looked like it was time for PE which Emma was never excited about. It was a real pain in her ass whenever she had to hold back or downplay her strength.

"Are you nervous about Friday's test?" Peter suddenly said as he started walking beside her down the hall. Emma spared him one quick glance before she looked straight ahead. She didn't know why he had been so adamant about talking to her lately. Ever since that day at the record shop, it seemed like Peter had gotten it into his mind that they were friends. Emma didn't even like admitting that Michelle was her friend so Emma didn't know why he seemed so insistant on being her friend. Emma didn't really have any friends unless you counted adults that were twice her age. Emma scoffed at Peter's question.

"I don't get nervous about anything." Emma told him even though that was sort of a lie. Emma did tend to get nervous but only about life threatening situations. School never really made her nervous. How could it? She had been through so much in her lifetime so whatever school threw at her, she could handle with absolutely no problems.

"Well, I still think that there's some more studying that I can do." Peter admitted, not seeming that fazed by Emma's usual bitter tone. He was starting to get used to the mystery that was Emma Lewis. He was sure that he wouldn't solve that mystery anytime soon but he didn't mind that.

"There's just so much that happened in Ancient Egypt." He continued to say. They had since moved on from China in Mr. Harrington's history class and now were studying ancient Egypt. Peter had gotten a perfect score on the Ancient China test but he felt like he had Emma to thank for that. It's not like he did bad in History but he always thought it was boring. History just didn't hold his interest like chemistry or physics did. He was never able to retain a lot of the information in the history textbooks but the story Emma had told him about Emperor Qin, really stuck with him. She had a way about her that made Peter hang onto her every word. Peter just couldn't describe it.

"Well, most civilizations were like that. Every civilization that thrived at least…" Emma commented.

"You should be an archaeologist." Peter said suddenly as he looked at her. He blushed when Emma looked over at him.

"What?" She questioned in confusion, wondering if she might've misheard him.

"It's just that you're so good at history and I can tell that you really love it. Maybe you'd be interested in becoming an archaeologist." Peter informed her and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? Like Indiana Jones?" Emma inquired and Peter laughed.

"I guess. Indiana Jones is pretty cool." Peter replied. Emma just nodded in agreement. Peter then took the opportunity to steer the conversation in a direction. "Speaking of Indiana Jones and all things Harrison Ford, I'm starting to really wonder what _Star Wars: Return of the Jedi_ is going to be like without Harrison Ford. I mean… there were the prequels but we all know how much a mess those were. I'm just curious as to what the continuation of the original trilogy is going to look like without Han Solo." Peter rambled on and Emma just listened without interupting. She thought it was so funny when he started rambling on about nerdy things. The sight truly was amusing. He paused as he looked at the blonde walking next to him and noticed that she was very quiet. "Anyways… What do you think?" He asked.

"I wouldn't know." Emma immediately answered. Peter gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" He questioned and Emma just shrugged.

"I mean that I've never seen Star Wars before." Peter immediately stopped walking, standing in the middle of the hallway with his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open as he stared at her. Usually Emma would just keep moving but she could tell that this was going to be really interesting so she stopped in the hall with him.

"You've never seen Star Wars before?!" He asked in disbelief and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I believe that's what I just said." Peter just shook his head at her.

"I can't believe you've never seen Star Wars… do you even know what Star Wars is?" Peter said, practically interrogating her like she had committed some crime.

"That's the space movie with the pointy eared guy, right?" Honestly, Emma knew what Star Wars was even though she had never seen the movies. She knew the general plot. A young small town boy with big dreams and a mysterious past faces a traumatic event that sends him whirling into a life-altering adventure with a old man for a mentor. It was pretty much the standard plot for every adventure type movie. Emma saw the way Peter got all mad as he heard her compare Star Wars to Star Trek. It was quite funny the way his nose scrunched up and his face grew red.

"No! That's Star Trek… That's not… That's not Star Wars." He told her furiously as he tried to be angry with her. Peter found it really difficult to be angry with Emma especially when she smiled at him like that. Could he really call that a smile? No, it was more like a smirk. He noticed how her blue eyes lit up with amusement as she smirked at him. He didn't think it was possible that there were eyes that were more beautiful than hers. A stunning oceanic blue that held little flecks of green in them if you looked closely enough. The green in her eyes even seemed to glimmered in the sunlight. There was something very familiar about her eyes and he felt like he had seen them before… on someone else. That was impossible though, wasn't it? No one could have eyes like Emma. Peter suddenly snapped himself out of those thoughts. What was wrong with him? He didn't like Emma. He had only known Emma for a couple of weeks and he couldn't possibly like her like that. No, he liked Liz… he liked Liz who was beautiful, smart, kind, and sweet. While Emma was certainly beautiful and smart, he knew that she wasn't nice or sweet. Not like Liz.

"This is really pissing you off, isn't it?" Emma asked teasingly and Peter huffed.

"No." He said bitterly, pouting a bit as he tried to pretend that he wasn't appalled.

"All those sci-fi movies… Aren't they all the same?" Emma pressed, wanting to see how far she could push him.

"No, they're not." Peter told her. "Star Wars is the best franchise in history. Star Trek is lame and boring. Star Wars has jedi, lightsabers, Wookies, Han Solo, Ewoks, Boba Fett, and the Millennium Falcon. What does Star Trek have? Oh, that's right. Nothing because it's incredibly lame." Emma laughed as Peter rambled on passionately about Star Wars. Peter noticed that for the first time she seemed to genuinely laugh. The laughter reached her eyes as her blue eyes seemed to sparkle from the laughter.

"I don't know, Parker, Star Trek does have Bones." Peter gave her a confused look.

"Bones?" He questioned.

"Yeah… you know, Dr. Leonard McCoy. He hates people almost as much I do. I feel like we'd get along really great." Emma informed him and Peter just shook his head.

"I can't believe you've seen Star Trek but you haven't seen Star Wars." Peter mumbled, pouting as he did so.

"It's not like I'm a nerd about it like you." Emma told him. "I've only seen the new movies. My sister made me watch them. Apparently she has a thing for Chris Pine." Although Darcy wasn't her sister in real life, the rest of it was true. The brunette really did seem to have an attraction to the handsome actor.

"Maybe you could come to my apartment and you could see the movies." Peter suddenly suggested, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. She gave him a confused look, not entirely understanding what he was asking.

"What?" She questioned and Peter looked down at his feet nervously.

"I was just thinking that since you've never seen any of the Star Wars movie you could come to my place and we could watch them. I have all of the movies." Peter elaborated. "We could even study for Friday's test beforehand and then watch the movies. Wednesday would be good." Emma raised an eyebrow at him as she smirked.

"Are you trying to ask me out, Parker?" Peter immediately started blushing, his face an alarming shade of red.

"N-no, of course n-not." He stammered as he shook his head furiously. "I j-just meant as f-friends. Ned will be there." Emma shook her head at him.

"Relax, Parker, I was just kidding. I'd be happy to study and watch Star Wars with you two dorks." Emma told him jokingly. She told herself that she was only going to take him up on his offer because it would give her more of an insight into Peter Parker's life. She might finally be able to find out what it was about him that was so weird. On the otherhand, Emma found that she didn't mind Peter that much. How he get so worked up about the littlest of things greatly amused her. "Don't worry, I know you're in love with Liz. I wouldn't want to be the other woman." Peter glared at her before he started walking towards the gym and Emma followed him.

"I'm not in love with Liz." Peter grumbled. Emma could only smirk smugly at his reaction as they walked to class. Pushing Peter's boundaries was going to be fun. She'd probably make him regret inviting her to his apartment. Maybe she could even overlook his weirdness and actually have some fun and do something as mundane as having a movie marathon with a couple of friends. Friends… That sounded weird. Emma didn't have friends but it looked like Peter was bound and determined to change that. If only her father could see her now. Instead of figuring out a way to assassination a politician covertly, she was trying to see if she could be friends with normal teenagers. Her father would most definitely be laughing at her if he could see her now. That was for sure.

* * *

Emma headed straight for the townhouse right after school. Happy had sent her a text message indicating that he wanted to facetime. His request made Emma curious about what he wanted to discuss with her since she hadn't had any contact with the others after she moved out of the compound. Emma assumed that Darcy might've talked to Tony but she was never sure. Emma didn't really care either way. As soon as Emma arrived at the townhouse, she headed upstairs with her Stark phone in hand. The townhouse was completely empty since Darcy was still working at the university with Jane. She probably wouldn't be back for a couple of hours.

When Emma walked into her room, she was met with a shocking sight. Resting upon her queen size bed was a large brown paper bag with her name written on it. Emma cautiously stared at the bag as she slowly backed up against her desk on the other side of the room, her gaze never leaving the bag. Most people would curiously open the bag but Emma knew better than that. Someone had been in the house and someone had left the bag for her. For all Emma knew, that person might still be in the house. She reached underneath the desk and felt for the familiar shape of her gun. It was technically an illegally purchased gun since Stark didn't know she had it and she was only fifteen. Way too young to purchase a gun. What Stark didn't know was that Emma still contacts around the world from her time at Hydra and she was able to contact an Russian arms dealer. In exchange for some weapons, she provided information about the whereabouts of a former ally of his who had betrayed him and ran off with about two hundred grand. If you knew the right people and had information on the other people then you could get anything.

Using her enhanced hearing, Emma strained her ears to hear anything inside the townhouse but she didn't hear anything. She sniffed the air as well and came up with the distinct smell of designer cologne and aftershave. Emma remembered that scent a little too well seeing as she remembered the scent of most people. She huffed in annoyance as she put down her gun immediately, rolling her eyes as she held up her phone. Emma immediately found Happy's contact in her phone and hit the facetime button, waiting for her call to connect to Happy's phone. Within a minute's time Happy's face popped up on the screen.

"What were you doing in the house?" Emma immediately asked the older man, not even giving him a hello.

"It's good to see you too, Emma." Happy greeted sarcastically. Emma gave him a glare.

"I asked you a question, Happy. You know…when I walk into my room and see a mysterious paper bag on my bed, it makes me feel like there might be some asshole in the house planning to kill me." Emma told him. "Next time you want to leave a mysterious package in my room, try not to act like a serial killer."

"Well, I'm sorry. Tony told me to return your suit… I figured you'd be more ecstatic about it. Well, more pleasant since I don't think you can feel joy about anything." Happy responded which caused Emma furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"Suit?" Emma questioned and Happy just raised his eyebrows at her.

"Have you not opened the bag?" Happy asked her.

"I don't tend to open random bags, Happy. There could've been a bomb or chemical powder in it." Happy just shook his head.

"You really are paranoid sometimes." Happy told her. "Just open the bag."

"Next time maybe give an explaination instead of leaving a random bag on my bed." Emma replied as she started to open the bag. "And I don't call it being paranoid. I call it being cautious." Emma explained as she looked at the contents of the bag. It was her Viper suit. The same one she had worn during the airport fight and the same one Tony had designed. Her suit along with her mask was within the bag. The only thing she really saw that was missing were her Viper Bites. If Tony was returning her suit than she could understand why he wasn't returning her Viper Bites. He was trusting her enough with the suit but he still wasn't trusting her enough to let her have her Viper Bites. It made sense.

"Tony's been hearing about all the progress you've been making at school… that you're actually trying to be a good high school student instead of wrecking havok in Queens so he decided that it was only fair that he returned your suit." Happy explained to her. Emma just raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Why didn't Tony just give it to me himself? Is he scared or something?" Emma quipped and Happy just sighed.

"Look, Tony gets why you're mad at him and he accepts it. He knows that you don't want to see him." Happy responded. "So my job as asset manager is to make sure you're doing okay and staying out of trouble." Emma scoffed. She decided to put that small bit of information about Tony away and save it for later.

"Asset manager?" Emma questioned. "I don't really like that term 'asset'. That was my name for several years when I was with Hydra." Happy's eyes widened as he heard what Emma had just told him. Truthfully, Emma didn't really care what anyone called her, she just wanted to watch Happy squirm.

"I didn't know… Tony never told me about that." Happy spluttered as he tried to apologize for what he had just said.

"It's fine, Happy, you didn't know." Emma told him. "I don't really care what you call me so…"

"No, I'll try to think of something different. I'll try to tell Tony that there's a reason I should know about these things." Happy said the last part with a bitter tone. It was fairly obvious that Tony didn't make it his goal to inform Happy about important matters all the time.

"So you're job is to manage "assets"?" Emma asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"Essentially, yes." He answered and Emma nodded her head.

"So you manage other assets too? I'm guessing that I'm not the only one." Emma further questioned and Happy gave her a surprised look, confused as to how she had so effortlessly questioned his job description. It was clear where this path was going.

"Um… I don't know if I'm inclined to answer that." Happy replied.

"I know I'm not the only one you're managing if you're an asset manager, Happy. Tony wouldn't give you this job if there was only one asset." Emma said with a conniving tone. Tony warned Happy about Emma. He told him just how manipulative and deceptive she could be… how she was able to twist your words around until she got what she wanted from you. Yet, Happy had still fallen for it. "Who's the other one?"

"I really can't divulge that kind of information, Miss Rogers." Happy said with a firm tone and Emma raised both eyebrows in feigned surprise.

"Miss Rogers? I thought we were closer than that, Happy." Emma told him as she smirked. "It's Spider-Man, isnt it? He's the one you're managing. Don't deny it. I know it's true." Happy glared at her.

"Tony is going to be so pissed at me." He grumbled.

"Who is he, Happy? Who's Spider-Man?" Emma asked, deciding to be bold and not beat around the bush. "Is he a science experiment gone wrong? College student? Pizza boy? It's okay, you can tell me. I promise I won't say anything." The smug tone in Emma's voice somehow made Happy distrustful of her.

"I'm not telling you anything, Emma." Happy said in a harsh tone. "I wouldn't be worrying about Spider-Man if I were you. I'd be more focused on high school and the homecoming dance. Spider-Man isn't any of your concern. Now if you'll excuse me but I have to get things ready for moving day. I'm not sure if you're aware of this but Tony sold Avengers tower and now it's my job to get everything ready." Emma actually did know about that since she watched the news and didn't live under a rock. It had made her a bit sad, something she would never admit, at knowing that the place that had become her first home in a long time would no longer be her home anymore but Emma knew that it could never be her home again. Steve and the others were gone anyway and it would probably feel empty and dark without him there.

"You're welcome for the suit by the way." Happy said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. "Do your homework and stay off the pipe." Happy then hung up on her and Emma was left staring at the screen, feeling disappointed that she hadn't gotten more out of him. Well, at least it was a start.

Emma set her suit and mask on the bed. It looked as though Tony might've even repaired the suit a bit since the fight at the airport. Now that she had the suit back she knew exactly what she was going to do. Emma had done as much investigating as she was able to do on her own while she was investigating Spider-Man. Now that she had the suit back she could turn the investigating up a notch. Honestly, Emma thought it would take her a lot longer to get the suit back but it looked like the odds were now in her favor since Tony had decided to give her the suit back. This would definitely speed up her little investigation a lot. Without another thought, Emma grabbed her Viper Assassin mask and put it on her face.

"You there, McConaughey?" Emma inquired.

"It's nice to see you again, Miss Rogers." The familiar Texan drawl said into her ear. Emma grinned when she heard his voice.

"It's so nice to hear from you again. It's been months." Emma said.

"Yes, I did happen to notice that the past couple of months were increasingly boring ." McConaughey responded.

"Whatever, I'm just glad to hear your voice again." Emma told him. "You have no idea how boring these past couple weeks at school have been."

"I imagine that any school would be boring for you, Miss Rogers." Emma nodded even though she was only talking to an AI system. If Emma had any friends than McConaughey definitely was one of them which was a bit sad since he was only an AI system and not a real person.

"Has Stark managed to hack you?" Emma questioned. "Can he see what I'm doing?"

"It seems that Mr. Stark has made no move to hack into my system although he has placed a tracker in your suit." McConaughey informed her and Emma scoffed.

"Figures. Well, it's better than him poking his nose into my business all the time." Emma said bitterly.

"Mr. Stark had provided me with instructions for you in case you ever feel the need to rise up to the challenge of fighting crime on the streets of Queens." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fat chance of that ever happening. No, you don't need to worry about that, McConaughey." Emma told the AI system. "I don't really have a superhero streak in my body. Steve was the only reason why I wanted to join the Avengers in the first place. I'm not a really selfless, heroic person although I'm flattered that Stark thinks I am." Emma paused briefly as a smile came over her a face. It wasn't a kind smile but rather a conniving smile.

"I'm actually going to be using your services for something a little more selfish than that." Emma told him. "I want you to find everything you can about Spider-Man. I want to see articles, youtube videos, images… just everything. If there's a Spider-Man sighting anywhere in the city then I want to know about it."

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey answered as he quickly got to work on researching Spider-Man. The lenses of her mask came down so that Emma could see all the articles he had brought up. It seemed that the lenses were currently out of thermal heat vision as she didn't see the normal blue and multi colored vision like always. Emma just saw red as all the articles and images about Spider-Man began popping up.

"I'm currently looking for distinct patterns in the vigilante Spider-Man's behavior, Miss Rogers." McConaughey informed her as he looked through the internet and other databases on Spider-Man. "I am detecting that he seems to tend to his Spider-Man persona around a quarter after three in the afternoon during the week and ends his antics around eight in the evening. However, on weekends his antics are much more erratic and spontaneous." Emma nodded as she took in this information.

"So he probably has a real job or something if Spider-Man's only his part-time job." Emma deduced. "Are there any other patterns in his behavior?"

"Spider-Man only seems to fight petty crime. Minor cases of theft, lost pets, and vandalism." Emma already knew about that.

"Yes, I've also discovered that too. I just don't understand why he wastes his time fighting petty crime if he's capable of so much more than that. I mean… you saw the way he fought my father and I. He handled us like we weighed nothing." Emma said in frustration as she tried figure out who this guy was. "Why is Stark not using this guy for bigger and better things? Why is he letting him run around Queens and waste his potential?"

"You pose a very interesting question, Miss Rogers." McConaughey said before continuing. "During your conflict with the others, I was able to record his movements and defensive stance. I had estimated his physical strength to be approximately thirty two percent more enhanced than your average physical strength capabilties. Spider-Man's other enhancements are undetermined but I've calculated that his enhancements are more than likely to be much more highly advanced than your other enhancements as well." That information didn't do anything to reassure Emma.

"Gee, McConaughey, that sure makes makes me feel better." She told him sarcastically.

"You did not let me finish, Miss Rogers. While his enhancements are at a higher rate than yours… I've also determined that his movements were increasingly more sloppy than yours. I can deduce that Spider-Man is not a person who has had his enhancements very long. It would seem that he also lacks the training you have which would make you the winner in any future conflicts." Emma kind of already guessed that after the fight at the airport but she was never entirely sure how experienced he was at fighting. It seemed like she had guessed right after all.

"So we can guess that he wasn't born with the enhancements he now has… He recently acquired these ablilties." Emma suggested.

"It is safe to assume that explaination, Miss Rogers." McConaughey replied helpfully.

"We wouldn't happen to have access to any of Stark's files on Spider-Man, would we?" Emma asked hopefully but she was left disappointed when McConaughey responded.

"It would seem that Mr. Stark had restricted all of your access to Avengers related files." Emma sighed.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Emma said. "Are there any Spider-Man sightings right around now?" It took McConaughey a moment before he replied.

"There is a Spider-Man sighting five blocks from your current location. The vigilante looks to be apprehending a thief who's stolen a woman's purse." Emma nodded at that information.

"Okay, I'm not going to find out who Spider-Man is by just sitting around here all day researching." Emma said in a determined tone. "In my experience you actually have to go out there and do something."

"You plan to confront Spider-Man, Miss Rogers? As yourself or as the Viper Assassin?" McConaughey questioned. "I would highly recommend not confronting Spider-Man as your alter-ego. He might not take kindly to the Viper Assassin." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm not stupid, McConaughey. No, I'll just be myself… Well, not Emma Rogers but Emma Lewis. My other alias." Emma explained. "If I want to grab his attention then I'll need to be involved with some sort of crime. Usually I'd just steal a car and see where it goes but I don't think that's an option this time around."

"Yes, I wouldn't recommend grand theft auto, Miss Rogers." McConaughey said in a snide tone but Emma ignored him.

"No, I can't get caught commiting a crime. Tony will find out and more problems will start coming out of the woodwork." Emma just shook her head as she tried to come up with a better idea. A grin came over her face when she thought of it. "I know… I can't get caught commiting a crime but maybe I'll be able to be a victim of a crime."

"I don't like where this is going, Miss Rogers." Emma just laughed.

"Yes, that's it. I'll lure a couple of dickheads into an alley and see where it takes me. I'll be the damsel in distress. No guy can resist a damsel in distress." Emma said, excited because it was a brilliant idea.

"And what if Spider-Man doesn't make an appearance, Miss Rogers?" McConaughey inquired. "What would you do then?" Emma just shrugged.

"Then I'll take those assholes down and disappear. I can take care of myself, McConaughey." Emma told him. "Either way… I'm not worried."

"What would you do then? Expect him to reveal his true identity to you?" McConaughey asked. He was a very intelligent AI system and Emma could tell that it was encoded within his system to make sure Emma was being completely logical and rational about her decisions. Emma knew that this was the most rational decision she could make in regards to Spider-Man.

"Of course not. I don't think he's that stupid." Emma then glanced back at her suit which was still on the bed. She curiously started looking through the utility belt on her suit and trying to see what she could find. While digging through one of the compartments, Emma was pleased at what she had found. There was a small handful of tracking devices that were about the size of a skittle although much thinner. That was exactly what Emma had been hoping to find when she went looking through all the little gadgets on her utility belt. Stark had briefly told her about the trackers when he first gave her the suit a couple of years ago. Emma had been so sure that he might've gotten rid of the trackers but it looked like he didn't. Her job was going to become a whole lot easier. Emma held up one of trackers to the light with a satisfied smile on her face.

"He might not tell me who he is but this tracker will."


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Author's Note: Here's a bonus chapter. Next chapter is the beginning of Homecoming. I hope you guys like this chapter and the last one. Thanks for all the reviews of the past couple of chapters. Keep reviewing and thank you!**

* * *

A couple of hours later and Emma was fully prepared for her mission. This was a mission, wasn't it? She wanted to find out who Spider-Man was and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way. Other people might've thought she was a bit obsessive about Spider-Man but not Emma. To her it was completely logical how interested she was in finding Spider-Man. Emma didn't like not knowing things and she especially didn't like mysteries. Emma needed to determine whether or not Spider-Man would be a threat to her and if he was than she needed to be prepared.

Emma was dressed for the occasion. She wore a navy blue colored midi dress that fell just above her knees. The neckline was somewhat modest but it wasn't conservative either. The straps on her dress were very thin. It seemed like an innocent enough sundress and an appropriate enough dress for a teenager to wear. She paired the dress with a pair of matching keds. Emma applied the full make-up look including winged eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and even a bit of eyeshadow to make her look older than she was. Emma was doing everything she could to attract the attention that she needed. Darcy just stared at her from the couch in the living room as Emma walked towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" The brunette asked, raising her eyebrow in curiosity as she looked at the blonde. Darcy had never seen Emma dressed in such a way. Emma almost looked ready for a… date.

"I'm going on a date." Emma told her with a stoic expression. Darcy somehow wasn't buying that. Emma didn't seem like the type to just go out on a date.

"Oh, really? Who with?" Darcy questioned and Emma shrugged.

"He's a really influential drug dealer. We're in love." Emma told her without smiling in the slightest, her tone was flat as she spoke so Darcy could tell that this was just Emma's weird sense of humor.

"Oh, well have fun with that. Tell your boyfriend, the drug dealer, that I said hi and call me if you need anything." Darcy said as she returned her attention back to the television. It's not like she believed that Emma was getting into any actual trouble. The blonde was a lot more rational than that. Darcy wasn't really sure what Emma was planning but she knew it was best to stay out of her way. It's not like Darcy could even stop her if she wanted.

"See you later." Emma told her and then she was out the door. She hadn't been expecting much resistance from Darcy but that was even less than she expected. It was nice to know that Darcy was probably fine with her doing whatever she needed to. It seemed like they had an understanding.

* * *

This was Emma's plan. She was going to walk down one of the alleys in the sketchiest part of Queens, hopefully were a band of creeps were hanging around, and lure them into the dark alley. They'd attack her and threaten her… the usual damsel in distress act and that's when Spider-Twerp would come in to save the day. He would defeat all the attackers and Emma would be so grateful for his help that she would reward him with a hug. Little did he know that she would actually be planting a tracker on his suit. It was red in color so he probably wouldn't even notice it. If he did notice it then it would be too late and Emma would already be able to track him down, pinpointing his exact location and identity. Emma was pretty proud of her plan although she couldn't take all the credit. She had gotten the idea from a movie Sam made her watch a while back. _Deathwish._ It was about this guy played by Charles Bronson who used to lure criminals by portraying himself as a rich guy that they wanted to mug and when they attacked him, he would kill them on the spot. It was a pretty cool movie, Emma had to admit, so she supposed Charles Bronson, RIP, wouldn't mind her taking the idea from his movie.

Most girls like Emma would probably never be crazy enough to put themselves back in a similar situation like she was doing but this was different. Rumlow no longer held any sort of power over her. He was gone. Her father wasn't there to be used as leverage either. Emma was also an enhanced individual who could do more than defend herself against a bunch of idiotic perverts. She was capable of handling the situation even if Spider-Man never showed up. She could probably handle the situation better than him too.

As Emma walked the streets of Queens, she wondered what Steve and her father would think of what she was doing. They'd probably be furious and do everything in their power to stop her. Especially Steve. Unlike other times when Steve would stop her from doing things… she was alone now. There was no Steve to protect her but Emma didn't need his protection. She had survived all those years on her own and she was pretty sure she could survive another number of years on her own. That still didn't stop her from missing him even if he stood in her way most of the time.

Emma stood on a street corner, surveying the street for groups of creepy looking men. She finally spotted a group of men across the street and noticed that they were already staring at her. Good… her plan was already in motion. She began making her way across the street as she went over her plan again in her head. There was probably three of them by the looks of it. They all looked to be vile looking men in their late twenties to earliy thirties. Their hair looked greasy, their skin was sweaty, and their eyes were slightly bloodshot. Emma labeled them as either drunks or druggies by their appearances alone. She discreetly took a whiff of the air around them and noticed the distinct smell of marijuana but the track marks on their arms also told Emma that weed wasn't their only vice. She smiled at them politely as she walked near them, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"Hello, gentlemen." Emma greeted before she walked past them into the dark alley. She immediately heard them follow her. Emma smirked at how easy this was going to be. It felt like a little bit of revenge against Rumlow. Here was a group of vile pieces of garbage and they were about to get what was coming to them in a way that Rumlow never had. She promised herself that someday Rumlow would receive a fate that would be much worse than the men in the alley. Emma quickly concealed her smirk, not wanting to foil her plan anytime soon.

"Where do you think you're going, sweetheart?" One of the men asked. He had a smirk on his face which showed his rotting teeth as he looked at her. The other men behind him looked just as smug as he did. Emma just laughed nervously as she turned around to face them.

"Oh, I'm so silly." Emma said. "It seems like I'm a little lost. You wouldn't happen to know the way to the Rosegarden Café, would you? I'm supposed to meet a friend there." Emma told them with an innocent expression on her face. The man only grinned as he came closer to her.

"We can point you in the right direction. Don't worry." The man told her in a tone that made her want to throw up.

"Could you?" Emma said, feigning relief. "That would be so helpful. Where is it? I'm running awfully late."

"Now wait one second, sweetheart." The man told her, his grin unfading. "I thought we were friends? Why do you seem to be in a rush to get away from us?" Emma feigned an uncomfortable look as she backed away from them.

"Well, I'd hate to be rude or anything but my friend will start to wonder where I'm at if I don't show up soon." Emma said in a trembling voice. The man took another step forward, his friends following his lead.

"I'm sure they won't miss you for long." He told her as he reached out his hand to touch her hair. Emma surpressed the instinct for her to grab his wrist and break it so she whimpered instead. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she backed herself up against one of the walls, looking like a trapped little girl. The man then pulled out a pocket knife, immediately holding it against her throat. Emma widened her eyes before she let out a scared cry.

"Please, don't hurt me." Emma pleaded. "I won't tell anyone about this if you let me go. I promise." All three of the men glared at her.

"You better shut up, little girl. Shut up or I'll slit your pretty little throat." He told her. "We really wouldn't want to have to use this knife. You're such a pretty girl." Emma sniffled, pretending to look frightened at the man's pathetic looking knife. Was that knife really supposed to scare her? Emma was really starting to wonder where Spider-Man was. This was getting a little too intense for her liking. If those men came any closer to Emma than she was going to have to end this herself. Seriously… What was Spider-Man doing? Wasn't this his job or something? Was he too busy rescuing a cat from a tree?

"No!" Emma cried. "No! Please let me go! Please!" The man only laughed, his friends doing the same, as he rested his hands on her waist. He took his knife and made a small incision along the middle of her dress. Now Emma was mad. This was one of her better dresses. In all honesty, she probably should've worn something she didn't like as much. Emma was about to step in to save her own ass and beat the shit out of those guys when she saw a familiar white substance come down, hitting the man right in the face. He grunted in surprise when the webbing covered his face, momentarily blinding him.

"What the fuck?!" The man exclaimed as he tried to get the webbing off his face. He flung his knife around eratically as he tried to stab whoever was behind the surprise attack. The other men behind him pulled out their knifes. Emma resisted the urge to raised her eyebrows at the men. Who were these guys? If they were going to be bunch of common thugs then they needed to upgrade their weaponry to guns. Those flimsy little pocket knifes weren't going to do anything.

"That's no way to talk around a lady." Spider-Man quipped as he jumped down from the top of the building he had been standing on. Emma saw a flash of red and blue as he kicked the man in the chest, causing the men's knife to fall to the ground as well as the man to be knocked out from the impact of his head hitting the wall.

"Stay out of this, you little freak." One of the other guys told him as he pointed his knife at Spider-Man. Emma took this time to slide herself down the wall, wrapping her arms around herself in a fetal position as she sat on the ground. She cried hysterically but every so often she would give Spider-Man a calculating look.

"That's rude." Spider-Man told him before flinging out his wrist, the webbing shooting out at the man. The man immediately found his hand glued to the wall and could do nothing but watch as Spider-Man plucked the knife from his glued hand and dropped it on the ground. The last man standing only looked at Spider-Man in fear before he dropped his knife and began to run. Spider-Man groaned before he flung his wrist out again and the webbing hit the man. The man instantly fell to the ground and Spider-Man began walking towards him. He shot the man with more webbing to ensure that the man wouldn't escape.

Emma then watched as Spider-Man turned back around, probably to assist her. She was surprised, however, to see the white lenses of his mask widen when he looked at her. Emma didn't show her surprise. She instead covered her face with her hands as she sobbed. Why did he look at her like that? Was it because he recognized her. No, how could he possibly recognize her as the Viper Assassin? Her mask had covered a good majority of her face that day they fought at the airport. It was impossible that Spider-Man even knew who she was unless Tony told him. Emma doubted that Tony would do such a thing if he was trying to keep her existence a secret.

"Um… are you okay, miss?" Emma heard Spider-Man say in a deeper, more distinct New York accent. That wasn't at all what he sounded like before. She could definitely tell that he was faking this accent. Emma tried to remember what he sounded like before but all she could recall was that he sounded very young.

"Please, don't hurt me." Emma pleaded. Spider-Man knelt down in front of her and she peaked at him from in between her fingers. This was already working. If Spider-Man remembered her, he didn't show any indication of it. His body composure told Emma that he was very concerned. He had fallen for the damsel in distress act. Emma should really receive an academy award. She thought that she was a way better actress than Jennifer Lawrence.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Spider-Man said in his fake but still concerned voice. Emma took her face out of her hands, tears still streaming down her face as she sniffled.

"You're not?" She asked in a small voice. Spider-Man shook his head.

"No, I'm not." Emma nodded slowly.

"Those men were… they were… they wanted to hurt me." Emma said quietly as she stumbled over the words.

"I know but I stopped them. They'll be going to jail now." Spider-Man told her softly. "They won't be able to hurt you anymore." He then stood up from his position and offered a hand out to her. Emma looked up at him with a hesitant expression on her face before she took his hand and he helped her off the ground. Emma was about to say something to him when someone walked passed the entry of the alley and saw the mess. It was a middle aged woman, her eyes widened as she saw all the men glued to ground and wall with webbing. She looked even more shocked when she noticed Emma and Spider-Man standing there.

"Ma'am, would you mind getting the police." Spider-Man called out to her. "There's been a crime." The woman nodded furiously before she ran off, leaving Emma and Spider-Man alone once again.

"It looks like I have to go." Spider-Man told her. "Don't worry about those guys. They won't be leaving anytime soon and the police should be here soon anyways." Emma nodded quietly. This was her moment. This is the moment that she had been bidding her time for all night. Emma stepped forward and then embraced Spider-Man in a tight hug. He stepped back in surprise and was rather stiff while she hugged him, sobbing into his chest.

"Thank you so much, Spider-Man! Thank you for saving my life." She cried, trying to seem like the grateful damsel in distress she was supposed to be. Emma discreetly attached the small tracking device to the back of his neck as she hugged him. It didn't seem like Spider-Man had noticed the discreet movement as he nodded.

"It's no problem, miss." He told her before Emma pulled away, smiling at him gratefully. "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

"Well, I'm entirely grateful." Emma told him. He gave her a quick nod.

"I really do have to go." He said as he flung his wrist out and shot his webbing towards the top of one of the buildings. "Take care of yourself, miss." Emma then watched as he flung himself into the air and disappeared behind a building. The kind smile on her face morphed into a smirk. She had him right where she wanted him and it was way easier than she thought.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Spider-Twerp." She murmured before her attention returned to one of the men on the ground. The ringleader of the group groaned in pain as he tried to get up. Emma immediately glared at him before kicking him in the face to make sure he stayed down. She just shook her head as he slumped over once again. What an idiot, she thought to herself. She heard the distinct sounds of footsteps approaching the alley so Emma feigned a look of fear. Emma watched a couple of police officers enter the alley with the woman from before.

"Are you alright, miss?" One of the officers asked her. Emma sniffled and nodded hesitantly.

"I'm fine." The two officers looked around the alley in disbelief, staring at all the webbing and the knocked out attackers.

"What happened?" One of them asked in bewilderment as he saw how one of the men was still glued to the wall from the webbing. Emma then prepared herself to look like a normal girl that just faced a terrifying ordeal.

"S-Spider-man s-saved me. These m-men they t-tried to… they wanted… they w-ere going to-"

"Woah, woah, miss. Slow down." The officer told Emma as she stammered almost hysterically. He gave her a calm look. "Tell us your name and age." Emma nodded as she wiped away some tears from her eyes. She hesitantly looked up at them before answering.

"Of course, officer." Emma told him. "I'm Emma Lewis and I'm fifteen years old."

* * *

"What the hell happened?!" Tony Stark questioned the moment Emma and Darcy walked into the townhouse. He was standing in the dark, apparently waiting for them. Emma had noticed that Darcy had been very quiet on the way home from the police station. After Emma had given the officers her name and age they immediately contacted Darcy since they couldn't question her without a legal guardian there with her. When Darcy had arrived, Emma had told the entire story of what had happened. Emma noticed that Darcy kept giving her surprised looks the entire night. Emma knew why. It must've seemed strange that Emma, AKA the Viper Assassin, had to be saved by Spider-Man from an assault by three low life thugs. Emma was thankful that Darcy didn't mention anything. However, it shouldn't have been surprising to her that Tony was standing there waiting for them in the living room. Even if Emma wasn't surprised, she certainly felt annoyed that he was there. Everytime she saw him she really wanted to punch him in his smug face.

"I was attacked." Emma told him as if it were as simple as that. Tony gave her a look of disbelief.

"I get a call from Happy telling me that you were taken in for questioning about an assault and you just walk in here like it's nothing." Tony told her in disbelief. "Happy told me that you were really shaken up about the attack but somehow you don't look shaken up now."

"This is my coping mechanism." Emma deadpanned and Tony just shook his head.

"I don't believe you. You're actually telling me that three guys followed you in an alley and you couldn't defend youself from them?" Tony questioned, not buying her claim for a second. "What where you even doing in a dark alley?"

"I wanted to take a shortcut to the bookshop." Emma told him, looking him straight in the eyes. "And I knew that I couldn't expose my abilities. It would blow my cover… everything you worked so hard for would be ruined." Tony scoffed.

"Don't tell me you did this for my benefit." Tony said in a frustrated tone, he knew that Emma was up to something but he didn't know what. "I know you, Rogers… I know what you do. You're doing that thing were you try and patronize me to divert my attention." Emma raised an eyebrow as she smirked at him. Darcy could only watch in fascination as Emma and Tony played a strange game that made her feel out of her depth.

"Is it working?" Emma asked teasingly and Tony glared at her.

"Not as well as you'd like it to work." He said pointedly and Emma sighed.

"I can't believe you're angry with me, Stark." Emma said in a saddened tone. "I am the victim, after all."

"The day you're the victim is the day I swear off alcohol for good." Tony told her. "I'm not buying this little victim act. I know if those guys attacked you in an alley that you would've done more than fight them back…. But you didn't. You let them threaten you and you let Spider-Man save you. I just don't understand why."

"Don't make this into something it isn't, Stark." Emma replied, trying to stall him so he wouldn't figure out what she was really up to. She didn't want Stark to be on her case.

"Tony, I think you need to relax." Darcy said, deciding to step in to diffuse the situation. The brunette looked between Emma and Tony cautiously. "You should go home and get some rest. Emma went through a terrifying ordeal today and I think she needs more rest than any of us. Don't be so harsh on her." Emma was a little surprised to hear Darcy's little speech. It was probably the most serious thing she had ever heard Darcy say. Tony glanced away from Emma to look at Darcy, considering what she just told him. He sighed tiredly before nodding.

"You're right. I'll go home… I need to get some rest before I head off for the big trip tomorrow. I'm needed in India." Tony said before he looked at Emma. "Don't think this is over, Mini Cap. I expect you to have a long conversation with Happy about this. Do you know how much money I had to throw at news outlets to get them to shut up about Spider-Man's latest adventure?" Emma pouted at him.

"Fine. Blame the victim." Emma said causing Tony to shake his head at her.

"You're no victim." He told her. "I don't trust you and I know that you're up to something. All I ask is that you don't murder anyone."

"Aw, I'm so offended, Stark." Emma replied mockingly. "You don't trust me? I wouldn't harm a fly." Tony gave her another glare.

"See these gray hairs, kid?" Tony said, pointing at the growing number of gray hair at his temples. "I got them when I took custody of you. There's no hair dye out there that can hide them. At this rate I'll look the age that your grandfather really is, in about six months." Emma gave him an innocent smile.

"I think you look handsome." Emma said but her tone was sickly sweet. Tony just glowered at her before he turned around and started heading for the door. He glanced back at Darcy momentarily.

"If you have any more problems with this kid call Happy. I think I might have a stroke next time something like this happens. This girl is going to kill me." Tony told her before he walked out the door, shutting it behind him and leaving Darcy and Emma alone in the darkness of the quiet townhouse. Well… that was interesting. Emma hoped that Tony was being honest when he said that he wasn't coming back if something else happened. Everytime she saw him she was only reminded of the fact he took her away from Steve and her father. Emma suddenly glanced at Darcy, plastering a grateful look on her face.

"Thanks for getting him to leave, Darce." Emma told her. "I just really want to take a shower and go to bed." Darcy didn't say anything as she just stared at her. Emma figured that it was one of those nights where she didn't have to say anything. The blonde nodded knowingly before she started making her way to the staircase. She hadn't expected Darcy to say anything but was surprised when the brunette stopped her.

"I know you're up to something." Darcy said suddenly. Emma turned around to look at her with a confused look on her face.

"What? I don't-"

"Look, I don't care what you're up to." Darcy told her, interupting Emma and letting her know that she wasn't buying into her bullshit. "I know you can handle yourself so I'm not worried."

"Then why mention anything?" Emma questioned, a stoic expression returning to her face. Darcy swallowed nervously before she spoke and what she said made Emma slightly dumbfounded.

"You remind me of Loki." Darcy said randomly with a worried look on her face. Emma shook her head in confusion, not understanding what Darcy was saying.

"What?" She questioned.

"I never met him face to face but I've heard all the things Thor, Jane, and Erik told me." She informed Emma. Emma was assuming that Darcy was talking about Erik Selvig, the astrophysicist that sort of lost his mind after Loki played mind tricks on him. "He liked playing games with people… he was very manipulative and always had a few tricks up his sleeve. Loki was always up to something and no one truly knew how his mind worked. It's the same thing with you."

"Are you comparing me to an intergalactic war criminal?" Emma asked in disbelief and Darcy sighed.

"I love you, Emma, but the path you're going down is a very dangerous path. You've seen what Loki turned into. He was like the little boy who cried wolf… or the little psycho god who cried Frost Giant." Darcy told her before continuing. "No one could trust anything he said… Thor loved him to death but he still couldn't trust him. Loki isolated himself from everyone whoever loved him. I don't want the same to happen to you." Emma considered what Darcy was telling her. It made sense she supposed. It seemed like Loki and her had a lot of common… Well, they would've if he hadn't died. Emma wondered if she could've ever manipulated the God of Lies. It would've been fun to try. Emma also realized that Darcy was right about her and Loki. If she kept this life of deceit up than she would just push everyone away and one day one of those people she pushed away might be Steve or her father. Emma didn't want them to think that they couldn't trust her.

"Okay… I guess I get what you're saying." Emma told her before she nervously bit her lip. This time it was a real, genuine nervous habit. It wasn't fake or made up. "To be honest… I only did what I did so that I could see Spider-Man. It's killing me not knowing who he is, Darcy. I placed a tracker on him so I think I'll be able to figure it out now." Emma explained and she had to admit it felt good not to keep everything bottled up inside. Darcy seemed a bit surprised by the information but nodded as she took it all in.

"Wow… I wasn't expecting some real actual secret spy mission but okay. We're actually making some progress here." Darcy said, trying to process what Emma just told her. "So you've been trying to find Spider-Man due to curiosity. That's understandable."

"You're not going to tell Tony, are you?" Emma asked her with a somewhat worried look on her face. She didn't really want Stark to get in her way, not when she was so close to figuring out who Spider-Man is. Darcy just shook her head.

"I only tell Tony boring stuff about school. What Tony doesn't know won't hurt him." Darcy said with a big smirk on her face. Emma laughed.

"That's my kind of thinking." Emma replied.

"Okay, Sherlock, go upstairs and do some detective work. Unmask your little spider friend." Emma playfully rolled her eyes before she started walking up the stairs. " And don't tell me who he is when you find out! I like a little mystery in my life!" Darcy called out after her and Emma just shook her head as she walked up the stairs. Sometimes she could never understand Darcy.

Once Emma reached her room she immediately went straight for her mask that she had left sitting on her desk. Maybe by now Spider-Man had already returned to where he resided and Emma could get the location of his home. It was nearly midnight by now. Emma had spent a couple hours at the police station giving them her statement. Spider-Man would surely be at home probably all snuggled up in his bed with a nice mug of hot chocalate. Little did he know that Emma's search had finally come to an end and she would know his true identity. Emma quickly put the mask on and tried to contain her excitement as the lenses came down. She would finally solve this puzzle that had been bugging her for the past couple of months.

"McConaughey, what have you got for me?" Emma asked the AI system. "Did the tracker work?"

"The tracker has been in operation since you planted it on Spider-Man at approximately 7:37 pm, Miss Rogers." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I know, McConaughey… I was there. What I mean is where's Spider-Man?" Emma asked.

"Spider-Man seemed to travel along the west end of Queens. After the conflict between you and the attackers in the alley, he kept to building tops for the rest of the evening before he retired for the night." McConaughey informed her.

"And where is the location of the place he retired?" Emma questioned. She then watched as a video feed popped up onto the screen inside her mask. It looked to be a video feed from outside an apartment building.

"Spider-Man's residence seems to be the in the Highgrove apartment building located on Highgrove avenue in Queens, Miss Rogers. His address is only approximately two blocks away from the townhouse." McConaughey informed her. "I've deduced that this is likely his address of his residence since he has spent the past four hours inside the apartment building."

"Okay… Do we know which apartment he lives in, McConaughey?"

"Apartment 236 is located on the fifth floor of the apartment building, Miss Rogers, and this is where the signal from the tracker has been coming from for the past four hours." McConaughey explained and Emma nodded.

"And who rents the apartment?" Emma asked.

"The name under the lease of apartment 236 is May Parker. May Reilly Parker nee Jameson was born August 1st, 1969 in Ridgeway, Rhode Island. She currently works as a copyeditor for the book publishing company "Modwhale" in Manhatten." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She shook her head because that didn't sound like Spider-Man at all. That actually sounded like the furthest thing from Spider-Man. Something wasn't right. Wait… did McConaughey say Parker? That didn't mean anything though. Parker was a very popular last name.

"No, that can't be it. It doesn't make any sense." Emma told McConaughey. "Spider-Man isn't a forty something year old woman."

"You didn't let me finish, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her in what sounded like clipped tone before he continued. "May Parker is a widower. Her husband Benjamin Parker passed away on March 22nd, 2015 from gunshot wounds. The result of a mugging." Emma barely paid attention as she listened to McConaughey, wondering what any of that had to do with Spider-Man until McConaughey told her the one thing that caused her eyes to widen in shock. It was definitely something Emma had never expected although she immediately knew that she should've known all along.

"May Parker resides in the apartment building with her nephew Peter Benjamin Parker." McConaughey told her and Emma could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she felt slightly woozy all of a sudden. Emma tried to process that information but she was at a lost. "Peter Benjamin Parker, born November 5th, 2000 in Queens, New York. Attends Midtown School of Science and Technology… with you, Miss Rogers." Emma swallowed nervously, barely being able to nod her head at McConaughey's information. She didn't think she could respond to McConaughey even if she wanted to. Emma slowly took the mask off and carelessly tossed it back onto her bed. Well… this was an interesting turn of events.

Images of Peter flashed through Emma's mind as she processed this new information. She had been so suspicious of Peter but she never would've guessed that he was Spider-Man. It was then that she realized why his voice had sounded so familiar that first time they met. His voice sounded familiar because it hadn't been the first time they had met. When she really looked at it… Peter being Spider-Man was so obvious. Here she was looking for Spider-Man yet he was right under her nose the whole time. She had sat next to him in class for crying aloud. Emma started laughing semi hysterically as she thought more about how obvious the connection between Spider-Man and Peter Parker was. The connection was literally staring right at her in the face the whole time.

Everything made so much more sense now that she realized that Peter was Spider-Man… the spandex wearing hero that she had been searching for all along. The nervousness and the skittishness. How muscular he seemed to be for just being a fifteen year old and the way he held back in PE. Why he seemed to be so anxious to leave school sixth period. The mysterious substance in the drawer in chemistry was probably the webbing. Emma was relieved to know that it didn't actually come out of his body. The way Spider-Man's lenses widened in surprise when he saw her and why he changed his voice. Above all else… there was also the Stark internship. It technically wasn't really a Stark internship but more of an Avengers internship. Stark was pretty crafty, she had to admit.

Things about Spider-Man also seemed to make sense as well. Why Spider-Man tended to only fight petty crime. It was probably because Tony wouldn't let him do anything else since he's a minor. Spider-Man also seemed to have some specific crime fighting hours which only took place after school let out. The youthfulness of Spider-Man's voice also seemed to make more sense to Emma now that she knew his true identity. Everything was starting to come together and Emma knew that she was right when she decided that there was something off about Peter Parker.

Other things started occuring to Emma as well. Like why did Tony sent her to the same school where he knew Spider-Man was going? Did he plan on this? Did he count on them finding out about each other and if he did than why did he want them to know about each other? Emma didn't believe in coincidences and she knew that Tony had a reason for sending her to the same school as Spider-Man. There was also the matter of whether or not Peter knew he was attending the same school as the Viper Assassin. Emma highly doubted that he knew. From what she gathered about him, she could definitely tell that he wasn't the discreet type. If he knew who she was, he definitely would've let her know about it. No, Peter was most likely oblivious to her true identity.

A small smirk reached Emma's face as she began to think about what this would mean. It meant that Emma knew something that Peter didn't. She was a couple steps ahead of him because he had absolutely no idea who she was. Anyone else might've felt threatened by Peter in this situation but Emma felt a bit excited. She knew who Spider-Man was and she also realized that she knew who Peter Parker was as well. Emma didn't think she wanted to keep this to herself. She wanted to confront him about it and see the look of shock and horror on his face when he found out that she knew who he was… when he found out who Emma was. It would probably make for an amusing sight. His face would get all red like it normally did and his eyes would widen in shock. Emma didn't think she was intended to keep her findings to herself. Stark obviously wanted her and Peter to find each other but the only question was why. Emma didn't have a clue but she did know one thing…

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.


	31. Chapter Thirty

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I updated... well, not really. It's only been less than a week but longer than usual. I've just been a bit distracted since I'm housesitting for my brother. This chapter Peter will find out about Emma. There's a lot of ways people have wanted this to go down but I've stuck with the original version in my head. To answer a question about Tony's involvement in this...I'll just say that he was only joking with the boyfriend comment during the battle at the airport. He wasn't being serious but he did want Emma and Peter to find each other because he thinks that they'll be good for each other. I don't think he really thinks that things with turn romantic between them. So I also just want to thank everyone for the reviews there was so many last chapter and I appreciate every single one of them. This chapter was really hard for me to write but those reviews got me through it. I'm also happy to hear about all the people who have stumbled upon this story recently and have really fallen in love with it. It really means so much to me. So I hope you enjoy the chapter and keep reviewing!**

 **Quick question that has absolutely nothing to do with the story... I'm nineteen and I recently bought some ice cream from a grocery outlet. It's called Steve's Ice cream(Funny enough) and I fell in love with it after trying the Whoopie Pie and sweet cream flavor so I decided to try a different flavor. I got a Kentucky bourbon vanilla flavor but I stupidly assumed that it didn't contain actual alcohol until I ate it and I could taste a very strong alcohol flavor from it. It's really good but I was just wondering if it was legal to sell that kind of ice cream to minors. I know people use alcohol in cooking all the time but I've never had alcohol in ice cream. It was just curious to me because I could really taste a strong alcohol flavor within the ice cream. It's not like I've never had alcohol before but I just don't know if it's legal for Grocery outlet to do that since I've heard of some people selling wine ice cream and they have to ask for ID. Sorry... that was unnecessarily long but I've tried looking it up on the internet but no one really gives a definite explanation.**

* * *

 _"Shhh… We wouldn't want anyone to hear us, Princess."_

 _"_ _The pain won't last long. I promise._

 _"_ _You're so beautiful… just like your mother."_

Emma woke up from her nightmare, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Emma placed her hand to her heart, trying to calm herself down. She was about to call for Steve when she remembered that Steve wasn't there. She was completely alone. Steve had always been there to comfort her in the past after a nightmare but he wasn't there anymore. Emma would just have to face this alone. She remembered what Steve used to tell her whenever she had a nightmare. Deep breaths… deep breaths. Think of something that makes you happy. Normally Emma thought of one of her books but that wasn't going to work in this situation. Instead she thought of Steve and the others. She thought of a simpler time when she first moved into the tower. When the Avengers had their weekly movie night in the living room and it was Clint's turn to pick the movie… he picked some silly comedy and the night was spent joking about how stupid the movie was. That was the memory she would use. When everyone was happy and they weren't all torn apart. Using the memory, Emma was finally able to distract herself from her nightmare about Rumlow. She sat up in bed and immediately glanced outside her window to see that the sun was just rising.

Emma couldn't believe how much she overestimated herself. Putting herself in that situation the night before only seemed to bring back thoughts about Rumlow. Emma had been so distracted by settling into her new life that she hadn't had many nightmares about Rumlow. Every now and then she did but the nightmares were never as bad as the one she just had. It was almost as bad as when the witch made her see her old memories. She realized it was pretty stupid of her to put herself in that kind of situation but it was needed. She needed to find out who Spider-Man was and it had worked. She now knew who Spider-Man was.

Emma had stayed up most of the night thinking about Peter and what this would now mean. Emma didn't really think that she was angry or mad about this new piece of information. She was stunned to tell you the truth but now that she thought about it… it was so obvious how Peter was actually Spider-Man. Emma wanted to slap herself in the face for being so blind. All the evidence was right in front of her the entire time. It was actually kind of amusing to her how she had been looking for Spider-Man when he was sitting next to her in History class this whole entire time. Emma might've felt more betrayed by this information if she had developed an actual friendship with Peter but they weren't really friends… more like friendly acquaintances. Emma didn't really have any hard feelings leftover from the airport fight either. Most of her resentment was focused entirely on Tony. Peter probably didn't even know what he was fighting for when Tony recruited him for his team. It only made her a little more resentful of the billionaire.

Emma understood that she was a child as well but there was an obvious difference between her and Peter. Emma knew that this world of superheroes and war was new to the amateur hero. It was obvious in the way he fought as well as how easy it was to manipulate him. He was naïve and innocent. Peter didn't belong in this world… he was much too young and inexperienced. Emma had grown up in this world and she knew how to take care of herself. It was evident that Peter was still struggling to realize his own ablilities. That's probably why Tony had him fighting petty crime in Queens rather than training at the Avengers Compound. Emma couldn't help but feel a little bad for Peter. It wasn't fair to him that he was caught up in this… that Tony was probably just using him. He actually had a choice when Emma never was provided with the same luxury. The sad part was that Peter probably didn't see it that way. He wasn't even aware to all the danger that Tony had put him in.

Emma loved to play games with people… push their boundaries and see how angry or agitated she could make them. She figured that Darcy was probably right when she compared her to Loki so Emma couldn't fault her for that. It was true… she was manipulative and conniving but she was capable of love and trust. Emma loved and trusted both Steve and her father immensely. Emma even felt a special fondness for people like Sam, Darcy, Natasha, Clint, and Susan. She would never do anything to jeopardize their trust in her because she cared for all of them. Emma had a select number of people she cared for in this world and she didn't see herself ever betraying their trust like that. However, Emma could be manipulative and evil to a point whenever she wanted to be… or had to be. She knew that manipulating Peter would be wrong… she already manipulated him enough as it was. He was naïve and innocent so Emma didn't think that she could manipulate him knowing fully well who he was. Steve definitely wouldn't approve of her doing that to someone like Peter. It was pretty funny how Emma suddenly seemed to have Steve's voice in her head telling her what and what not to do. It seemed that Captain America was her conscience. Even if Emma wasn't going to manipulate Peter that didn't mean that she still couldn't have her fun.

Emma moved to the bathroom to get ready for her day at school. She still had a couple of hours before school started but right now her thoughts were completely encompassed by Peter Parker. She needed to do something to distract herself from all the things that were currently going through her mind. Emma would drive herself crazy if she thought about the whole Spider-Man situation too much. She needed to get dress and prepare for her day. There was no use thinking about Peter right now. When she got to school then she could have her fun…

* * *

"I wonder if the movie will live up to the book?" Michelle asked Emma as Emma was getting some books out of her locker. Class was about to start in five minutes and Emma was slightly worried. She hadn't seen Peter anywhere in the school yet but that didn't mean anything. Emma usually didn't see Peter before second period anyways.

"Yeah, it looks good." Emma answered. "I mean… they have two really amazing actors playing the lead roles. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey." Michelle just shrugged.

"I just don't know how they're squeezing eight books into one two hour long movie." Michelle responded. "It would make more sense if they made a tv series." Emma nodded.

"I guess but Stephen King gave the movie his approval so…" It was then that Emma spotted Peter across the hall. He was standing at his own locker, retrieving his books as if everything was completely normal. To be fair, Emma also acted normal even though she was secretly a former Hydra assassin. She couldn't really judge him. Emma didn't know if she expected him to look different now that she knew who he really was but she didn't see anything different about him. He still looked like the dorky Peter Parker he had looked the day before.

"Why are you staring at Parker?" Emma turned her head back around to look at Michelle. The dark haired girl raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Emma questioned with a feigned confused look on her face. Maybe Michelle would drop it if Emma acted confused. It was a huge shot in the dark but it didn't look like she was that lucky.

"You've been staring at him for the past couple of minutes." Michelle deadpanned. Emma usually liked how blunt Michelle could be but for some reason Emma wasn't really appreciating her bluntness in that moment. "Are you into dorks or something?"

"Don't be stupid, Michelle." Emma said as she glared at Michelle.

"Then why are you watching him?" It didn't seem like Michelle was going to drop this anytime soon so Emma just rolled her eyes before she answered her.

"It's just… Well, he invited me to see the Star Wars movies at his apartment or whatever." Emma told her, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. It was a lie technically since Emma was a little more concerned with the fact that Peter was Spider-Man. She wasn't about to say that to Michelle since she was pretty sure that Peter was trying to keep his superhero alter-ego low key. Michelle nodded.

"Well, I think that's a proposal from him. A very nerdy declaration of love, right?" Michelle teased and Emma shook her head.

"I don't think I'll even go." Emma grumbled.

"Maybe you should. Parker's not a bad guy." Emma raised her eyebrows at Michelle's statement.

"I wasn't aware that you were such a big Peter Parker fan." Michelle scoffed.

"I just noticed the way Parker stares at you." Michelle remarked. "You should see him in Spanish class… It's the same way he stares at Liz during lunch. It's kind of sad actually… he seems to have an attraction to girls who are out of his league." Emma didn't say anything for a moment. She knew Peter stared at her in Spanish, she could practically feel his gaze on her even though she couldn't see him. Emma never really thought anything of it. She just thought it was him being his weird and suspicious self. Michelle was actually quite wrong about her. Emma wasn't the normal teenage girl that Michelle thought she was. She wasn't out of Peter's league… She wasn't out of anyone's league. The only person who probably deserved someone like her was a person like Loki. Emma couldn't believe she was even giving any thought to what Michelle was telling her. She narrowed her eyes at the dark haired girl.

"We're not going to be talking about boys together… That's not the kind of friend I am." Emma told her which caused Michelle to smirk.

"Friend?" Emma couldn't believe she had slipped up like that but truthfully she liked Michelle. She was the exact opposite of what Emma had assumed all teenage girls were like. Emma wasn't being manipulative or malicious in her intentions whenever she was around Michelle. She genuinely liked the bookish girl.

"Well, I figure it makes sense." Emma rationalized. "Just don't get all touchy feely on me. I wasn't lying when I said that I'm not that kind of friend." Michelle just laughed.

"I'm not that kind of friend either. I don't actually know what kind of friend I am since I've never really had much experience with friends." Michelle admitted but Emma just offered her a small smile.

"That's okay, I don't really have much experience with friends either." Emm told her, trying to give some comfort to her newfound friend. "I guess we can figure it out together." Michelle returned her smile.

"I guess we can." Michelle replied. "Oh and my friends call me MJ."

* * *

"Did Liz get a new top?" Emma heard Peter say from down the lunch table. Emma and Michelle were both currently reading their own books silently as they sat across from each other. It might've looked odd to other people but it was just how their friendship was. That sounded odd… friendship. Emma supposed it was just somethng she would have to get used to. She looked up from over her book, sparing Michelle a pointed look as they both listened to Peter and Ned discuss the topic of Liz Allan. Liz Allan seemed to be a regular conversation for the two to have at lunch. Michelle just rolled her eyes before returning her attention to her book.

"No, we've seen that before… but never with that skirt." Ned replied and now it was Emma's turn to roll her eyes. They sounded like that group of gossiping old women on that mid-morning talk show that Darcy always liked to watch. What was it called? The Viewer? The Viewing? Emma noticed the way Peter and Ned were staring at Liz who was hanging up one of the Homecoming posters. They looked quite pathetic and idiotic as they rested their faces in their hands, staring hopelessly after her. Why were teenage boys so stupid? Emma would probably never know. It was biology she supposed.

"We should probably stop staring before it becomes creepy though." Peter remarked. Emma thought that it was a little two late for them not to appear to be a couple of leering creeps. Sometimes Emma felt a little bad for Liz. To have a couple idiots drooling all over her? Emma would rather live at the compound with Tony.

"Too late." Michelle said, looking up from her book and giving the two boys a bored expression. "You guys are losers."

"Then why do you sit with us?" Ned asked. Emma didn't know if she could really call it sitting with them. Both pairs of friends were seated quite a ways away from each other.

"Because we don't have any friends." Michelle told them. It was then that Peter took the time to look at Emma. He had spent the entirety of Spanish class trying to get a glimpse of her… to see how she was faring but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It came as quite the shock to Peter when he realized the girl calling for help in the alley was actually Emma Lewis… His Emma Lewis. Well, not _his_ Emma Lewis but a girl from school that he was trying to befriend. He had always seen Emma as a cynical, bitter, and sarcastic teenage girl so it surprised him to see her so scared and vulnerable like the night before. It angered him to see those men try to attack her in the alley as well. Peter had stayed up most of the night thinking about Emma and how she was doing.

When he came to school, he was almost positive that she wouldn't be there. She had been through a horrifying ordeal the night before so he wouldn't expect her to return but she did. When he saw her sitting in her normal seat in Spanish class he was completely weirded out. He was even more surprised to see that she seemed to be perfectly fine and not at all trauamatized by the night before… at least visably. Now that he thought about it, the entire situation was a bit strange. There was no news articles about the night before. Usually there was reports of Spider-Man saving cats or catching thugs who had stolen an elderly woman's purse. Last night, however, there really was nothing. It was all so odd. Now that he sat there seeing the normal amused look on Emma's face, it felt as though last night might've been his imagination but he knew more than well that the events of the night before did occur.

"Wait… did you say we?" Ned questioned as he looked between Emma and Michelle with a bewildered look on his face.

"Did she stutter?" Emma sneered but Ned looked too excited from this new information to be frightened by the tone of Emma's voice.

"Are you guys friends now? Are you finally admitting to being friends." Emma sighed tiredly at Ned's excited demeanor while Michelle just gave him a look of disbelief. Peter was the only one who looked absolutely confused by everything.

"It makes sense." Emma finally admitted. "We already spend so much time together and we can actually tolerate each other more than anyone else." Peter shook his head, knowing that he would never understand Emma and Michelle for as long as he would live.

"You two are the weirdest pair of friends I've ever seen." He told the both of them. "What kind of friends only tolerate each other? That's not grounds for a friendship." Emma scoffed.

"Well, at least we don't drool all over the lunch table because Liz Allan's wearing a short skirt." Emma pointed out. "Really… it's like you two have never seen a girl wear a skirt before." Peter glared at her. No, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Emma because she seemed as unpleasant as ever. It still stunned him a bit to think that she didn't seem bothered at all by last night.

"Whatever." Peter mumbled as he stared at his tray of food. There was something very off about Emma Lewis. It was something he had been thinking about for quite a while but after last night the idea seemed to be more apparent to him. How could she act so normal after what had almost happened to her? Peter didn't know. He did know that there was something incredibly mysterious and odd about Emma Lewis.

* * *

"Lets move to the next question." Liz announced as they rehearsed for nationals. The academic decathlon team was currently preparing for nationals in D.C. which wasn't that far away. Emma didn't mind the decathlon team apart from Flash who was annoying as ever. Emma actually didn't dislike most of the kids on the team. They weren't as unsufferable as all the others. Emma thought that Cindy Moon and Sally Avril were less of a nuisance than all the other girls in school although she wouldn't really call them friends. She didn't really mind Liz either although Emma thought the older girl was a bit too lively and happy for Emma to want to talk to for more than a couple of minutes. "What is the heaviest naturally occuring element?"

"Hydrogen's the lightest." One of the guys answered as he rang the bell.

"That's not the question." Emma heard someone else say but she wasn't paying attention that much. While she new the basics of chemistry, she really wouldn't call it her strong suit. She only knew enough to enable her to make weapons but it held little interest for her after that. History, English, Art, and Language were her specialties and was something the others relied on her for since most of them were more adversed in mathematics and science. Michelle was one of the few that was skilled in all subjects but not even she was as skilled in history and linguistics as Emma. The others questioned Emma's knowledge and how she seemed to be fluent in more than a couple of languages. The question had come up when she answered a couple of language involved questions flawlessly. One question called for the usage of German and the other question required the usage of Porteguese. Emma just told them that she liked to mess around with Rosetta Stone and they left it alone at that although Michelle and Peter both didn't seem to buy it. Emma wasn't worried. It wasn't like they could figure out why she knew languages so well.

"Uranium!" Abe Brown declared proudly as he rang his bell. Emma didn't really mind Abe so much either. He seemed nice and a lot less annoying than Flash Thompson but then again, almost everyone was less annoying than Flash Thompson.

"That is correct. Thank you, Abraham." Liz told Abe, flashing the dark skinned boy a delighted smile. "Please open your books to page ten." Liz directed everyone and everyone, even Emma, did as they were asked. Liz was the team captain, after all. Emma immediately opened her book to the requested page but she then heard something that captured her interest.

"Peter, it's nationals." Emma heard Mr. Harrington tell Peter. She discreetly glanced up from her book and noticed that Peter was standing a small distance away, involved in some sort of hushed discussion with the teacher. She narrowed her eyes a bit as she watched them. What was Spider-Twerp up to now? "Is there no way you could take one weekend off?"

"I can't go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me than I have to make sure that I'm here." Peter told Mr. Harrington and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't like he was that important in the grand scheme of things. Stark had only used Peter in the battle at the airport because he was desperate. It wasn't likely that Stark was going to use Peter again unless desperate times called for desperate measures. It would do Spider-Twerp some good not to think so highly of himself.

"You've never been in the same room as Tony Stark." Flash Thompson told Peter as he rolled his eyes at his school rival. Emma had to hide a smirk when she heard that. Little did he knew that Peter most definitely had been in the same room as Tony Stark… the same airport actually. Not that being in the same room as Tony Stark was a great accomplishment. If Emma was in the same room as Tony Stark right now she knew that she would be trying her hardest not to beat the living hell out of the man. It was safe to say that she was still pissed at him.

"Wait… What's happening?" Cindy asked, completely confused about the new situation that was unfolding.

"Peter's not going to Washington." Sally replied and a horrified look appeared on Cindy's face.

"No, no, no, no, no." Cindy said in disbelief. Emma had to agree with her there since Peter was a great addition to the team. As much as she hated to admit it, the kid knew his stuff. That wasn't what was completely pissing Emma off about this. No, it was the fact that Spider-Twerp literally begged her to be on the team and now he was leaving. Maybe that was his plan all along. Maybe he wanted her to serve as a replacement for when he left so that he could tend to his Spiderly duties.

"Really?" Liz asked. "Right before nationals?"

"He already quit marching band and robotics lab." Michelle added calmly as she barely glanced up from her book. Emma remembered Michelle telling her briefly how Peter had been involved in a lot of extracurricular activities the year before but he mysteriously seemed to be quitting everything this school year. Now that Emma knew who he really was, it made absolute sense to her why. Michelle looked around at everyone when she noticed that they were all giving her odd looks. "I'm not obssessed with him. I'm just very observant." She explained and Emma knew that it was true. Michelle was very much a people watcher. If Shield was still around she might've suggested that the dark haired girl join their ranks after graduation. Michelle had it in her to be a spy and a very good one at that. Maybe that was why Emma liked her so much.

"If there's something wrong you can tell us, Peter." Emma told him. The statement was something a friend might've said out of concern but her voice was very monotone as she spoke. "You can be honest with us. We wouldn't want you to become tangled in a _web_ of lies." For some reason Peter wasn't really comforted by her words. Especially with the small smirk on Emma's face. Peter knew that look. The look that told him that she knew something he didn't. In fact... Emma had been acting strange all day. Stranger than usual that is. She had spent the entirety of fourth period giving him smug looks and Peter wanted to know what was wrong with her.

"Flash… you're in for Peter." Liz told Flash.

"Ooh, I don't know. I've gotta check my calender first. I've got a hot date with Black Widow coming up." Flash said and Emma rolled her eyes. Emma knew better than anyone else that Natasha would never let that dork put a single finger on her body. There was a reason she was called the Black Widow. The blonde was actually quite curious as to what an encounter between Natasha and Flash would look like. Very entertaining most likely.

"That is false." Abe said, hitting the bell with a huge grin on his face. Emma allowed herself to smile at the boy. She knew there was a reason she found him to be less irritating than the others.

"What did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes." Mr. Harrington scolded and Emma watched Peter as he vacated the room. Now it was time to make her move. The moment Peter left the room, Emma turned to Michelle.

"I think I left my water bottle in chemistry." Emma told her which caused Michelle to raise an eyebrow. As far as she knew Emma didn't have a water bottle but she could tell from the look on Emma's face that it was just an excuse she was using. Emma wanted to get out of there. For what? Well, Michelle couldn't answer that. Michelle just nodded at her friend.

"You should go ask Mr. Harrington if you can leave. I doubt he'll care." Michelle said, trying to seem uninterested in why Emma wanted to leave so soon after Peter had left. It was clear that both Emma Lewis and Peter Parker were acting oddly and Michelle was absolutely sure that their weird behaviors were somehow connected.

"I'll text you later." Emma told her briefly before getting up from her seat. The others watched Emma curiously as she walked up to Mr. Harrington.

"Okay, why is everyone leaving today?" Cindy asked, sounding a bit frustrated.

"She just forgot her water bottle." Michelle explained.

"Let's not worry about it, guys, we're almost finished here anyways." Liz told them, trying to reassure the group.

"Mr. Harrington?" Emma asked as she looked up at the occupied teacher. He was currently looking through some papers he had to grade for history when he looked down at the blonde. Emma plastered a sheepish look on her face, looking as innocent as possible.

"Yes, Emma?" He inquired.

"I foolishly forgot my water bottle in chemistry. I was wondering if I could go get it before the bell rings. I'm kind of have a dentist appointment right after school… I can't be late." Emma told him, sounding slightly nervous as she rambled on. Mr. Harrington seemed to buy it as he smiled at her.

"Of course, Emma. You never give me much trouble." He told her and it was true. Emma was the most quiet student out of all the students he had in his classes. She listened to him respectfully and took notes on everything he said. When he asked questions and the rest of the class gave him blank looks, he could count on Emma to step up and answer every one of his questions correctly. She was a model student especially in history. Her essay on Emperor Qin was quite remarkable for a girl her age. Emma smiled at him in thanks.

"Thank you, Mr. Harrington. I really appreciate it." She told him. "Have a nice afternoon." She said before she started heading for the doors.

"You too." He told her as he watched her leave. What a nice girl, he thought before he returned to his papers. The thought of his talented student left his mind not a minute later as he focused on grading assignments. It was true. She did seem like a nice and quiet student.

* * *

When Emma saw Peter in the hall, she made sure to stay a ways back so he wouldn't be able to tell that she was following him. It didn't seem like he would've noticed her anyway. The fifteen year old boy almost appeared to be skipping as he hurried out of the building. Emma raised a brow at his enthusiasm. Someone was a little too excited throw their red tights back on. This was what separated Emma and Peter. Peter was overly eager to go out and fight crime so that he could made a difference in the world. Emma only put on her suit when the occasion demanded it and she had no other choice. She was completely fine with sitting back and taking a break from the Viper Assassin because she knew someday she would have to throw on the suit anyways. In the mean time, Emma didn't mind waiting. The only reason she was always on Steve's case about letting her fight with the others was because of him. He was the only reason she wanted to join the Avengers and help protect the world. Her reasoning was purely selfish.

Emma stayed within the building for a moment as Peter walked outside. She watched from one of the windows in the door as he used his enhanced agility and jumped over the gate. A look of disgust and disbelief came over Emma's face as she watched him. How could he be so stupid? Anyone could've seen him. This guy was looking more and more to be like an amateur. Emma had once asked herself where Tony had dug Spider-Twerp up from but now she knew. He picked this random, naïve kid up from a high school not even having a clue as to just how unprepared Peter was for all of this. Emma just shook her head before opening the door and walking outside. The bell rung just as Emma put her hands on the opening of the gate. She rolled her eyes as it opened. It wasn't even locked yet Peter hopped the gate like it was. It occurred to her then that he was a total show off. Emma slipped out of the gate and continued to follow Peter down the street.

Emma made sure to stay put in the crowd of people so that she could remain out of Peter's eyesight. It's not like he even looked to see if anyone was following him but Emma wanted to be cautious. She curiously watched him as he made his way across the street to a corner store. Delmar Deli. He quickly walked inside and Emma didn't hesitate following after him. She quietly and discreetly slipped inside the deli but made no move to head towards the front of the store. No, she stayed in the back of the store, heading to the refrigerated drink portion of the store. As she kept away from the check-out counter of the store, Emma kept her eyes glued to Peter who looked to be talking to the man at the front counter. They seemed very friendly from what Emma could observe. She wasn't worried if Peter would be able to spot her, there was too many aisles that stood in between them. Emma grabbed an Arizona tea from the fridge as she casually glanced at Peter again. He handed over some money to the man at the check-out counter before he grabbed the bag containing a sandwich. Emma waited until he left the deli before she made her way to the counter. She set the Arizona tea on the counter and the man at the counter gave her a curious look.

"Is that all, Miss?" He asked her and Emma nodded.

"Yes."

"That will be $1.08." He told her but his curious look didn't go away as Emma handed over the money. Emma waited for him to ask what was on his mind. "You wouldn't happen to know Mr. Parker, would you?" He asked her suddenly and Emma feigned a confused look.

"Who?" She asked.

"The young man that was just in here… Peter Parker. You look like you might be around his age." The man said. "I just thought you might know him." Emma shook her head.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with someone named Peter Parker." Emma told him as she picked up her drink. "Thank you." Emma gave him an apologetic look before she started walking away.

"Have a nice day, Miss." He told her as she walked out the door. It was impossible to pin down a person's personality when just having met them but the girl seemed oddly quiet compared to all the other kids that came to his shop. He was used to having a bunch of rowdy hooligans waltzing through his shop but this girl just came in for an Arizona tea and left. It was strange considering that he had the best sandwiches in Queens. Everyone came to his shop for his famous sandwiches but the girl came in for a can of tea and then left. The man just shook his head before going back to tending to his business. She was just a kid and he wasn't likely to ever see her again anyways. Still… that comment Peter Parker had made about his daughter unnerved him and he might have been hoping to somehow point the kid in a different direction. Peter Parker sure knew how to push a person's buttons.

* * *

Emma followed Peter again as he walked down the street, shoveling the sandwich into his mouth as he walked. Well, wasn't he the multitasker. Emma wrinkled her nose a bit in disgust because she didn't find his ability to inhale a sandwich that attractive. She carefully sipped her Arizona tea as she walked down the street, a distance behind Peter. He finished his sandwich in no time and threw the paper bag in a nearby trash can. Maybe Emma had followed Peter on one of his more uninteresting days. Maybe Peter was just going to spend the day aimlessly wandering around Queens and Emma would be forced to be bored the entire afternoon. Just when she thought that this adventure couldn't get more boring, Peter quickly turned into an alley. A different alley than from the night before.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as he disappeared into the alley and Emma stayed close to the side of one of the buildings as she slowly made her way towards the alley. Emma finally reached the alley and cautious peaked her head around the corner, completely bewildered by what she saw. Peter was stripping down to his boxers in the middle of the alley in broad daylight. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her. Okay… she had to admit that he was in pretty good shape. Those dorky graphic t-shirts and hoodies he wore covered up his well defined muscles at school from normal people but Emma could always tell what he was hiding. Even though Emma had an idea that he was much stronger than he looked, she was still surprised to see a six pack on him. Emma watched him put on his Spider-Man suit completely unashamed that she was staring at him. She kind of expected Peter to notice her and Emma thought it would be hilarious for a confrontation to happen when Peter was half dressed in an alley. She'd love to see him try and explain himself out of that one. To her dismay, however, he never even noticed her. Emma just watched as he put on his Spider-Man suit to complete the look and the suit automactically tightened around him to fit his form. She just shook her head at the sight.

There was a lot of people who walked passed the alley and anyone could've seen him but the idiot was completely oblivious to it all. And Emma had thought Clark Kent changing in a telephone booth was stupid. Emma silently wondered how many other people might've captured a glimpse of Spider-Man's true identity and the idiot wouldn't have known if they had. Emma raised an eyebrow as she watched him glue his backpack to the side of the dumpster with his webbing. Without another moment's hesitation, Peter flung out his wrist and his webbing shot out. He then propelled himself into the air and disappeared behind a building. Emma waited a moment before she entered the alley. She cautiously looked around the alley, disgusted by the filth inside it. If there was one thing she hated about New York it was how filthy it was.

Emma smirked as she spotted the backpack glued to the side of the dumpster. He really should've known better. Even with his sticky webbing, it wasn't impossible for anyone to pry it from the dumpster. Emma wondered how many backpacks he had lost this way. Unlike Peter, she cautiously glanced around the alley to make sure she was unseen. When she determined that the coast was clear, she reached under her skirt and pulled out her knife from her thigh holster. She then began to cut through the webbing, applying her increased strength to finish the job. With a little added force, Emma was finally able to pry the backpack from the dumpster. She began to brush the leftover webbing off the backpack, looking quite disgusted as she did so. Emma didn't care if the webbing didn't actually come from his body. It was still disgusting. Once the backpack was in her care, Emma quickly exited the alley. It was time to do a little more detective work.

Emma spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on a bench at a bus stop as she analyzed the contents from his backpack. It wasn't like she needed to follow Spider-Twerp around all day anyways. McConaughey had synced her phone to her mask so she was able to track him all day. He wasn't doing anything remotely interesting. Emma noticed that he had several items that held little value to her in terms of telling her anything about him. Some textbooks along with a calculator although Emma doubted Peter Parker really needed a calculator. There were other mundane school supplies like pencils and pens but it was his notebook that really captured her attention. She immediately opened the notebook and began flipping through the pages. A lot of notes he had taken appeared in the notebook and Emma smiled in amusement at his messy handwriting.

Emma thought she wasn't going to find anything interesting until she started spotting little doodles framing his notes. His art work was nowhere near the level of her art work but she still found the little drawings amusing. His doodles depicted countless images of himself as Spider-Man. She saw that his drawings mostly depicted the fight at the airport. A lot of them showed Spider-Man teamed up with Iron Man during the fight and Emma rolled her eyes. She quickly grabbed one of Peter's pens and scribbed a single word in the picture. She wrote the word 'Asshole' with an arrow pointing at Tony. It was very immature but Emma was supposed to be an immature, hormonal teenager anyways. Emma was surprised to see that there was even a few drawings that Peter had drawn of her. Well, not her as in Emma Lewis but her as in the Viper Assassin. Emma snorted when she saw that Peter had depicted Spider-Man winning in one of their altercations. In his dreams.

She closed the notebook and placed it back inside the backpack, quickly zipping up the bag. She was lost in thought as she wondered how she was going to confront Peter about this. As much as she would've loved to have confronted him in the alley while he was changing, she also didn't think it would've been a good idea if she had. No, Emma was probably going to wait until later tonight. She drank the last of her tea before throwing it in the trash can positioned to right side of the bench. It was then that she was slightly startled out of her thoughts as her phone vibrated from inside her backpack. Emma immediately took the phone out of her own backpack and looked at the text message.

 **Darcy:** _Where R U?_

Emma remembered the small promise she made to Darcy to be more honest and upfront… to stop bottling things up. She took a deep breath before she typed out of a response to Darcy's text.

 **Emma:** _Probably won't be home til late tonight._

It was only a minute before Darcy responded.

 **Darcy:** _Does it have to do with your pet spider?_

Emma stiffled a laugh as she read the text message. Darcy could be very weird at times. It was something that Emma just had to get used to she guessed.

 **Emma:** _Yes_

 **Darcy:** _Have fun then! Don't kill anyone._

Emma just rolled her eyes at that message. Darcy just loved teasing her. Emma had to admit that she got away with a lot while living with Darcy. Steve would've never let her do half the stuff that Darcy let her do. Emma assumed it was because Darcy was trying to be the cool older sister. It wasn't like Emma was completely unsupervised. While Darcy was very eccentric and weird, Jane supplied a more stern persona within the household. The astrophysicist didn't live with them officially but she did spent a quite a bit of time with them at the townhouse. The small brunette tried to parent her in areas that Darcy was lacking. Jane's efforts weren't that appreciated by Emma. Emma suddenly got up from the bench after glancing at Peter's next location on her Stark phone. It was time to go back to work.

There was a couple of hours without any activity from Spider-Twerp. Well, unless you counted helping old ladies across the street and doing parlor tricks for people. This kid really had nothing better to do. Night had just fallen when Emma noticed something peculiar on her phone. The tracker, she had placed on Peter, was notifying her that Peter was near the location of the Delmar Deli. Maybe he was heading back to the alley to retrieve his backpack. Emma figured it might be a good idea to finally confront him there since the streets were a lot more empty than they had been before. Yes, Emma would finally confront Peter and maybe strike up some kind of truce between them. That would be the rational thing to do.

When Emma finally reached Delmar Deli, she was met with an unexpected sight. She quickly stepped into an enclosed doorstep of one of the nearby stores as she surveyed the area across the street. Spider-Man was inside the bank across the street wrapped up in a fight with a bunch of ATM robbers. With her enhanced eyesight she could see that they were wearing some very questionable masks of the Avengers. On the outside they just looked to be very typical, low IQ thugs that Emma would never waste her time with. She thought that they were beneath her skill level and were much more worthy of the local police's time and effort.

Emma, however, soon realized how wrong she was when she saw them pull out some advanced weaponry. The rays of light and high power suggested that it was weaponry that was beyond the power of a couple of typical bank robbers. Emma thought it looked much more similar to weapons that she had seen Hydra experimenting with. She narrowed her eyes as she analyzed the weapons. She had seen Hydra experiment with a lot of weapons that were leftover from the Chitauri attack a few years prior. Those weapons looked just like the ones from that Hydra had managed to get their hands on. The only question was… How on Earth did a band of idiots get a hold of advanced weaponry like that?

Emma watched Spider-Man try to fight the men but the advanced weaponry seemed to take him by surprise. Emma supposed that she could've stepped in to save him or something but she didn't think his life was in any actual danger. No, it would be far more logical for her to observe the situation as well as the capabilties of these weapons. Besides… it would do Spider-Twerp some good to do some actual fighting. It might toughen him up a bit. Emma surveyed the situation with cautious eyes as she watched Spider-Man get his ass handed to him. It was when the men blew the bank up that she finally looked up in surprise. Some debris flew over towards Delmar Deli which caused another explosion at the small shop. The men quickly made their escape as they disappeared into the night. It wasn't them that had Emma worried… No, it was their weapons. Somehow Emma just knew that those idiots didn't come across the weapons on their own. They most likely got them from someone else. The only thing that Emma wasn't sure about was where they got their weapons from.

For a moment she was worried whether or not Peter was alright. Worried? Emma never got worried about anyone… except for her father and Steve of course. Emma brushed it off as feeling sorry for Peter because he was just a kid. However, she was relieved to see him emerge from the destroyed bank and run across the street. Possibly to check for survivors from Delmar Deli. Emma determined that he was fine and she quietly headed in the opposite direction as she heard the sirens coming. This was a twist that she hadn't been expecting and Emma knew that she would have to do quite a bit of thinking before she decided what her next move would be. This certainly changed things.

* * *

After thinking things out rationally, Emma decided what her next move would be. She was finally going to confront Peter once and for all. Now that there was an immediate threat on the horizon there would be no other choice but to confront him. Aliens weapons in the hands of common criminals? That didn't sound entirely below her interest… No, that was something very interesting. If Hydra was somehow involved that might even mean that Rumlow could also be involved. Emma was hoping that Rumlow was involved in this because if he was then Emma might finally be able to find him. Either way… this was something that definitely called for the Viper Assassin to finally make a return.

Emma was currently sitting in Peter's room, waiting for his return. According to her phone, he had been eating dinner with his aunt at a Thai place down the street. Emma didn't mind waiting for him since she took the time to study his room. Most people called it being nosy but to Emma it was just part of the job. His room was the exact opposite of her room back at the townhouse. It was overwhelmingly messy with clothes thrown around the room and school work scattered everywhere. He was nowhere near as ammaculate as Emma. She raised an eyebrow in amusement as she saw all the Star Wars posters on the bedroom wall as well as several Star Wars action figures placed on top of some of his shelves. Emma had his Spider-Man suit laid out beside her on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed. It was a small room but it looked to be the room of an average teenage boy. Emma's ear perked up when she heard the door to the apartment opening and closing. Some chatter could be heard from outside Peter's bedroom door.

"I need to relax. I'll be in the bathroom taking a nice hot shower so if I'm in there for half an hour, don't get worried." An older woman's voice called out and the door of the bedroom immediately opened. The lights turning on. Peter walked into the room with a smile on his face, not appearing to notice Emma at first.

"Okay, Aunt May. I'll just be finishing up some homework in-" Peter immediately stopped talking when he saw that Emma Lewis was inside his room, perched on his bed with a smug look on her face. His eyes only widened more when he saw that his Spider-Man suit was laying beside her on the bed. Wait… What?

"Is everything alright, Peter?" Aunt May questioned when she heard him stop speaking. Peter laughed nervously and Emma pressed her finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Have a nice shower." Peter then closed the door behind him, giving Emma a bewildered look.

"Emma?" He said, still in a lot of shock. "What are you doing in my room… No, wait… How did you get in the apartment? It's locked." Emma just rolled her eyes as she got up from the bed. Peter gulped as she slowly walked up to him. Something in the way she walked made her look much different than she had looked in school. She seemed more graceful… even more flawless if that was possible.

"Locks don't mean anything to me." Emma told him, her tone sounding slightly teasing. Peter gathered some more courage within himself before he spoke.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" Peter repeated and Emma just smirked at him as her finger brushed across his cheekbone as gently as possible. She moved impossibly close to him and Peter could feel his heart pounding against his chest as his breathing hitched.

"I'm here to make love to you, Peter." She whispered intimately into his ear and Peter stumbled back a couple of steps from her in shock. He watched her with widened eyes as his face flushed an alarming shade of red at the seductive smile on Emma's face. He also realized that it was the first time that Emma had ever called him by his first name and not his surname. Despite the shocking remark from her, he found that he quite liked the sound of his name on her lips.

"Well, t-that's uh… It's k-kind of… n-not that I-I but-" Peter stuttered hopelessly but stopped when Emma busted out laughing. He gave her a confused look as she laughed and then he realized that she had only been joking. Emma Lewis's odd sense of humor would forever confused him… he was sure of it.

"Relax, Parker, I'm just messing with you." The smile then fell off her face and a more serious expression took over. "On a more serious note… I'm here on business." Peter raised his eyebrows at the seriousness of her tone. The red flush was still fading from his face as he looked between her and the suit.

"Business?" Emma nodded.

"Yes… I bet you're wondering why I have your Spider-Man suit on the bed." Emma told him and he feigned a confused look. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him again. It was no secret that he was a terrible liar. Emma thought Steve was a fairly bad liar but this kid took the cake.

"What? That old thing?" Peter said, laughing nervously. "That's just a cosplay costume I got for Comic Con. Did you hear about Comic Con? I heard that guy from Star Trek's gonna be there. You know the one that plays that character you like… Dr. McCoy?" Emma gave him an unimpressed look.

"Let's cut the crap, Parker." Emma told him suddenly. "I've been tracking you since last night and I've been following you since school got out. I know that you're Spider-Man. I have your backpack by the way." Emma said, gesturing to the backpack that was on the floor in front of the bunkbed. Peter couldn't believe that she had found his missing backpack.

"You found my missing backpack?" Peter asked in wonder. "Where did you find it?" Emma sighed tiredly.

"I didn't find your backpack… I stole it." Peter stared at her in disbelief.

"You stole it? Why would you do that?" Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Why do you think I stole it? I wanted to find out more information about you." Emma replied. Peter was a little taken back by the coldness of her voice but he put that aside because he wanted to know how she found out about him. She said she had been tracking him but that didn't make any sense. Emma had only met Spider-Man last night but she hadn't made any mention of being saved by Spider-Man at school. Even if she didn't want to talk about what happened, surely a lot of people would mention if they had been saved by a superhero. Maybe Peter was just thinking too highly of himself.

"I don't understand." Peter told her, expressing his confusion. Emma just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I honestly can't believe that you're so slow at this." Emma deadpanned before continuing. She honestly felt like an evil villain explaining their evil plan to an unknowing hero. "Didn't you wonder where the Viper Assassin went? Why she didn't go to the Raft Prison with the others… why she wasn't deemed a war criminal? What on Earth could've happened to the mysterious and elusive Viper Assassin?" Emma said the last part mockingly but Peter was still not getting any of it.

"The Viper Assassin?" Peter questioned. "What… What are you talking about?" Emma stared at Peter, her blue eyes locking onto his brown eyes. Peter felt a little lost in her intense gaze as she stared at him seriously.

"The first time we met wasn't in the school cafeteria." Peter gave her an odd look.

"Yes it was." Emma just shook her head.

"The first time we met was in Berlin." Peter stared at her. Emma could see him putting together the pieces of the puzzle in his head. She watched as he took in everything she had told him in the past few minutes. It took him a couple of minutes but the look of realization came over his face but the look quickly morphed into horror as he looked at her with wide eyes.

"You!" He said in disbelief. "You're the Viper Assassin." Emma smirked. Peter couldn't believe it. Emma Lewis was the Viper Assassin. She was the same person he had fought on many occasions at the airport. Now that he was in such close proximity to Emma he realized why her beautiful eyes always looked familiar to him. It was because those were the same eyes as the Viper Assassin. He didn't know how to think… how to feel about the fact that the girl he was slowly becoming friends with was a former assassin. Now that he thought about it… it made so much sense. Her mysteriousness and the way she talked like an adult at times. When he was battling the Viper Assassin at the airport he always assumed that she was an adult. While he was stronger than the assassin, she was much more experienced and skilled in fighting than he was. Peter had thought that she was an adult and he never really considered that she might've been very young. Another thing occurred to Peter in that moment. If Emma had been lying about her secret identity as the Viper Assassin then what else had she been lying about? Did she really live with her sister? Was she really from Seattle? Was Emma Lewis even her real name.

"Took you long enough." She said smugly. "We meet again, Spider-Twerp."

"Are you here to kill me?" Peter asked fearfully and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Kill you?" She questioned and he nodded furiously as he remembered what the Viper Assassin had told him at the airport.

"Yes, you said that you would kill me back at the airport. Is that what you're here for?" Peter asked her. "If it is then Mr. Stark will know that you did it. You'd never get away with it." Emma looked at him for a moment before she started laughing. Peter found that he really didn't like when she did that. She'd looked at him like he was something she hadn't seen before and then she'd laugh that soft, musical sounding laughter. Peter wasn't there for her amusement. "What's so funny?" Emma then sobered up from her laughter.

"I'm not here to kill you and even if I was than you better expect that Stark would never be able to catch me. I don't really understand your weird admiration for the man… he's like the worst role model in the world." Emma told him and Peter glared at her.

"Mr. Stark is a lot more respectable than you are." Peter told her heatedly, defending his mentor. "You used to work for Hydra, didn't you? The most evil organization on the face of the planet." Emma's amused expression fell off her face and a more sad one took it's place. Peter felt a bit guilty all of a sudden. He wasn't sure why. If Emma really was the Viper Assassin then it meant that she had also worked for Hydra at one point in time. Peter was still a little bit confused by that since Emma was his age. How could she have worked for Hydra? Still… it was the supposed backstory of the Viper Assassin.

"I didn't exactly volunteer." She admitted and Peter didn't understand what she had meant by that. Before he could say anything, however, she moved on. "It's a long story but let's just say that I was never really given a choice. Hydra's not that kind."

"Then why are you here? If you're not here to kill me than why are you here?" Peter asked her, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. He could tell that whatever was in her past was something that really troubled her. Peter hadn't meant to bring her any discomfort when he brought up Hydra. She might've been the Viper Assassin but she was also Emma... a girl he went to school with. "You could get in trouble for this, right? Aren't I the enemy? You're on Team Captain America and I'm on Team Iron Man."

"Don't you watch the news, Parker?" Emma told him. "Stark released a statement saying that the Viper Assassin was very cooperative and decided to comply with the accords. What a load of crap." Peter just shook his head.

"Does Mr. Stark even know that you're going to high school… high school with me?" Peter questioned and Emma scoffed.

"Of course he knows." Emma said in a heated tone. "Who do you think sent me there?" Peter gave her a surprised look even though he was more surprised with Mr. Stark than he was with Emma. Mr. Stark knew? All this time he knew and never thought to inform Peter that he was going to the same school as the Viper Assassin.

"Did you know?" Peter asked, desperate to know if Mr. Stark had informed her of his true identity rather than informing him of Emma's true identity. "Did you know who I was from the start?" Emma gave him a long look before she sighed and shook her head.

"I want to say that I did but no… I didn't figure it out until last night."

"Last night?" Peter questioned. "You mean when I saved you." Emma scoffed.

"Do you really think I couldn't defend myself against a couple of low life assholes?" Emma asked him with a sarcastic tone. Peter's eyes widened.

"You set me up?" He said in disbelief and Emma nodded.

"Yes, that's how I was able to put the tracker on you. The tracker gave me your location and I was able to find out who resided here. I was informed that a May Parker rented the place so it didn't take me long to put two and two together." Emma explained. Peter just shook his head, still reeling from the fact that the girl who sat next to him in history class also happened to be the Viper Assassin. It was almost impossible to believe. He still didn't understand why Mr. Stark would send her to the same school as him. It didn't make sense.

"What else have you been lying about? Are you even from Seattle? Is your name really Emma?" Peter asked. He wanted to know who Emma really was… this time without all the lies. Even though they hadn't known about each other for long, he still felt a bit betrayed. Emma sighed. She supposed if she wanted him to trust her she would have to give him something. Not the whole story but she could tell him bits and pieces… for now. Just to hold him over.

"Fine… I guess you deserve to know part of the story." Emma told him before continuing. "If you must know I'm originally from Oklahoma although I don't remember much of it. Hydra captured me when I was four and I spent most of my childhood in a Hydra base in Siberia." Peter gave her a confused look.

"Siberia?" He challenged.

"Yeah, you know... Russia?" Peter glared at her.

"I know where Siberia is. I was just wondering why Siberia of all places?" Emma just shrugged.

"I was taught at an early age not to question Hydra's decisions." Emma replied. "I stayed there for nine years while Hydra trained me and then the Avengers rescued me if you want to call it rescuing. I've spent the past two years with them."

"So do you really live with your sister?" Peter asked her, trying to process that information. She was taken when she was just a little kid and trained by Hydra? Why would Hydra want to train a little girl? It didn't make much sense to him. Emma just smiled and shook her head.

"I don't have a sister. I live with a friend of the Avengers… her boss/best friend is kind of in a relationship with Thor." Peter nodded slowly. That certainly was a lot to take in. Peter had never met Thor before but he'd always wanted to. Who wouldn't want to meet an Asgardian? A part of Peter wanted to ask Emma what Thor was like but he refrained from doing so. He was too interested in what she was telling him and he also didn't want to seem like an obsessed fan boy. "And while my name's Emma, I'm not actually Emma Lewis. Lewis is my friend's last name."

"Then what's your real name?" Peter question, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Emma looked directly at him before she answered.

"Emma Rogers." Peter just stared at her. Rogers… Did that mean that she was related to… No, it couldn't mean that. Rogers was a very common name.

"Rogers as in…" Peter trailed off and Emma finished for him.

"Steve Rogers… Captain America."

"Does that mean you're related to Captain America?" Peter asked, still confused. "I don't really understand." Emma sighed.

"He's my grandfather if you want to get technical about it." Peter stared at her in shock. Out of all the things that she could've told him, that was definitely the most surprising. Now that he looked at Emma he guessed that there were some similiarities between herself and Captain America. The blonde hair and blue eyes were the most obvious. Still… it was entirely shocking to hear that not only was Emma the Viper Assassin but she was also Captain America's granddaughter.

"Captain America is your grandfather?" Peter said in disbelief. "Like he's really your grandfather? You're his granddaughter?" Emma rolled her eyes at his stupid questions.

"I believe that's what I just said." Peter just swallowed nervously before shaking his head.

"This is crazy… first you tell me that you're the Viper Assassin then you tell me that you're the granddaughter of Captain America. What else are you going to tell me? That you're best friends with the Scarlet Witch?" Emma scoffed.

"Don't be stupid. The Scarlet Witch is a nosy little witch who's completely unworthy of my friendship." Emma said bitterly. Peter wanted to question her bitter tone but thought better of it. There were more important questions he had.

"Do you know where Captain America and the others are?" He asked her and Emma glared at him.

"Do you think that if I knew where they were that I'd be here with you?" Yeah… Peter pretty much figured that was a stupid question. He decided to move the conversation into a more relevant direction.

"What do you want from me?" Peter questioned. "There's got to be a reason why you're here." Emma sighed tiredly. It looked like Peter didn't want to beat around the bush.

"I bet you're very curious about why those idiot bank robbers had advanced weaponry." Peter gave her a curious look.

"Yeah but how do you know about those bank robbers?" Emma gave him a look.

"I followed you… remember?" Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"You were there?!" He questioned. "If you were there then why didn't you help me?!" Emma just shrugged.

"I wanted to see what the weapons were capable of." Emma said nonchalantly as if it were that simple. Peter just shook his head.

"So you just stood there and watched?" Peter angrily asked and Emma nodded.

"You seemed like you were semi handling it." Emma told him before moving on. "Anyways… I thought that it was extremely suspicious about how a bunch of low life robbers managed to get their hands on alien weaponry. Don't you find that equally suspicious?" Peter's anger soon faded as he listened to Emma. He nodded while nervously fiddling with a loose thread on his t-shirt.

"I may have found it pretty concerning." Peter confessed. "I tried to tell Happy about it but he didn't listen. He says that he's too busy with moving day so I don't know what to do about it." Emma just stared at him.

"You don't know what to do about it?" Emma questioned doubtfully. "Don't you have all these enhanced abilities? What's stopping you?"

"I don't think Mr. Stark would approve of this. You're suggesting that we go out and do this on our own." Emma rolled her eyes the moment she heard Stark's name leave Peter's lips. It was so obvious he hero worshipped Stark for whatever reason.

"As much as you would like to think that Stark will sit down and take you seriously… you're wrong. He'll never do that. Stark only hears when he wants to hear." Emma said in a heated tone. "Stark's going to underestimate you because you're a child… get used to it. We're not going to do anything by sitting here and complaining about it."

"You think that they're buying the weapons from someone… they're not making them?" Peter suggested. Even though he didn't want to admit it, Emma was right. He knew that she seemed pretty hostile about Mr. Stark but she was still right about him. Mr. Stark did tend to ignore him all the time.

"After the Chitauri attack Hydra managed to get their hands on a lot of weapons. I know this because I've seen the weapons firsthand." Peter's eyes widened in surprise.

"So you think Hydra's behind this?" Emma just shrugged.

"It's just a theory. It might be unlikely since I can't see what motivation Hydra might have for giving alien weaponry to bunch of bank robbers. That's a bit below Hydra's skill level." Emma told him before continuing. "Whoever these guys are also might've grabbed some weapons during the aftermath of the attacks. There's no way to account for all the weapons so who knows how many people are running around there with advanced weaponry."

"What do you suggest we do about it then?"

"I suggest we form a truce." Emma told him and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"A truce?" He questioned and Emma nodded.

"Yes, it would be the wise thing to do. Everyone else is preoccupied with being war criminals or brooding so we're the only ones left… well, the only ones that find the situation suspicious anyways." Peter gave Emma a doubtful look.

"You're saying that we should work together then? How would that happen? I don't think I could ever trust you. You've lied to me since we've met." Emma gave Peter a look.

"I could say the same thing about you, Spider-Twerp. Do you really want to be pointing fingers?" Emma said before moving on. "I think that we could work well together and believe me when I say how difficult it is for me to admit that. I don't really work well with others… there's only one person I've ever worked with and he's a war criminal right now."

"Well, I'm doing fine on my own." Peter told her stubbornly. "I don't need any help." Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, you looked like you were really handling the situation at the bank." She replied sarcastically. "Look, I don't want to admit this but I could use your help. You're enhanced… although I have no idea how but I'm sure you'll fill me in on that later. That's not something I need to trouble myself with at the moment. Anyways... Even though you're enhanced, you're extremely lacking in training."

"Hey!" Peter protested.

"It's the truth. You're slow and sloppy. No amount of superpowers is going to change that." Emma told him seriously and Peter let go of his annoyance. He could tell that she wasn't insulting him but rather trying to be honest with him. "It's true that no unenhanced individual could stand a chance against you but an enhanced individual with the right training could take you down in a matter of minutes."

"So what? You're the person to train me?" Peter question doubtfully.

"I could be if you promise to listen to me. I've never trained anyone before but I've been trained by the world's leading experts." Peter scoffed.

"Yeah… Hydra." Peter said saracastically and Emma gave him a sharp look.

"That's your first mistake. You refuse to accept Hydra's strategy and capabilities because you don't agree with their agenda." Emma pointed out and Peter just gave her a look.

"Because they're evil." Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"That doesn't matter. You can't underestimate your enemy like that." Emma explained to him. "You have to assess their strengths and respect their strategy. If you don't do that, you're arrogance will be your downfall. I hated most of the people who trained me but I still listened to their tactics and strategies. You don't have to agree with them to respect them." Peter analyzed the sincerity written all over her face as he took in what she just told him. He didn't want to admit that she was right but he knew that she was. He severely lacked in any actual training and if he ever went head to head with someone enhanced, he probably couldn't last in the battle very long. Maybe if he had some actual training he could've won in the fight against Captain America.

"So you'll help train me… in exchange for what?" Peter questioned. "What could I possibly have that you want?" Emma bit her lip nervously, the first gesture of nervousness that Peter had ever seen on her.

"Could you put a good word in for me with Stark?" Emma asked softly and Peter gave her a surprised look.

"Mr. Stark?" Emma nodded.

"He seems to like you… he might even think of you as a son. Maybe if you put in a good word for me, I could finally get out of this place. I'll be free to find my grandfather." Emma told him. Peter suddenly understood. The girl standing in front of him wasn't an assassin or superhero… she wasn't even the granddaughter of a living legend. No, she was just a girl who missed her family. Peter could sympathesize with her on that level.

"I don't know how much pull I have with Mr. Stark but I could try." Peter relented and Emma smiled briefly.

"So we have an agreement then… A truce?" She inquired before holding out her hand. Peter glanced at her hand briefly before he shook her hand. He wasn't completely sure about how this would turn out but at least he had somewhat of an understanding with Emma.

"Truce." Peter confirmed before he let go of her hand. Emma was relieved to find out that Peter was so willing to enter a truce with her. She thought he might've been a bit more terrified of her since she was the Viper Assassin. He seemed frightened at first but eventually his fear faded away. He had been more accepting of her than she originally thought.

"You said you followed me around all day… What exactly did you see?" Peter asked suddenly, trying to ask a question that had been bugging him for the majority of their conversation. He was also trying to move the conversation into a lighter topic. Emma smirked at his sudden shyness, playing along with the change of topics.

"Oh, do you want to know whether or not I saw you change in the alley?" Emma asked teasingly. Her bitterness seemingly gone from the moment before. "Yeah, I saw you change. By the way… you really shouldn't do that in broad daylight. Anyone could've seen." Peter blushed.

"You saw?!" Peter said in disbelief, clearly embarrassed. Emma just laughed at his embarassed state.

"Don't act like such a child about it." Emma told him before giving him another smug look. "You really don't have anything to be ashamed about. You're very fit, Peter." Peter covered his face with his hands. He couldn't believe that Emma had seen him change in the alley. Especially considering that he may or may not have been forming a tiny crush on her. Although it looked like that crush would have to end since he just found out that she was the Viper Assassin.

"I can't believe you saw me." Peter said, still sounding embarassed by the situation.

"Well, I did… and cute boxers by the way. I see that you're not into briefs." Emma continued to tease and Peter just glared at her.

"You can't say things like that!" Peter exclaimed. Emma raised an eyebrow in amusement at him.

"Things like what?" She questioned and Peter gestured wildly around himself.

"Things like that… Things that are… Well, sexual sort of things." Emma scoffed.

"I don't think that really counts as sexual." Emma quipped but Peter just shook his head at her.

"Well, there needs to be boundaries between us if we're going to do this partner thing." Peter told her seriously and Emma decided to humor him.

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"You can't just say inappropriate things like that and you can't put trackers on me. I'm not comfortable with you knowing where I'm at all the time. You definitely can't follow me either." Peter demanded and Emma nodded.

"Okay… it's not like I need to know where you are anyways. I already found out what I wanted to know." Peter couldn't be sure but he thought that Emma was trying to be agreeable.

"Then it's agreed?" Peter asked. "We'll have boundaries."

"Sure… as long as you don't wimp out on me when we're training." Peter gave her an offended look.

"I don't wimp out." Peter told her firmly and Emma shrugged.

"Sure, whatever." She said in a patronizing tone. "We'll have boundaries then." Peter nodded, feeling satisfied before something else occurred to him. A goofy smile came over his face as he looked at Emma. Emma gave him an uncomfortable look as she noticed that the smile was directed at her. She suddenly felt sick again.

"You know who we're like?" Peter asked her in a delighted tone. Emma just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Who?" She inquired, a curious look on her face.

"Batman and Catwoman." Emma just stared at Peter as if the brown eyed boy was a crazy person. She broke her gaze a moment later as she struggled not to look annoyed by him.

"That's it… I'm leaving." Emma told him before she headed towards his window. Peter could only watch in surprise as she made a move to leave. What did he say that seemed to offend her so much? Emma paused at the window briefly, looking back at Peter. "See you at school tomorrow, Parker. We'll discuss more of this then." And then she was gone, leaving Peter staring after her in wonder. There had been so much he had learned in the past hour and it was going to take a while to process everything. However, there was one thing that continued to go through his mind again and again. The girl he might've been starting to have a small crush on was actually the Viper Assassin as well as the granddaughter of Captain America. That seemed to be a little too much for him to process. It looked like Peter wouldn't be getting that much sleep that night yet again.

What a day.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

**Author's Note: Okay, I just want to apologize to all the fans of the story for not updating in forever. I don't know what happened but I just wasn't sure how to write the next chapter. I guess I had writer's block. It was kind of cruel of me to update so often and then not at all but I just couldn't bring myself to write. I also went back to school for fall quarter so I've been busy with that. Thankfully, now that Homecoming finally came out on blu-ray I became inspired to write again. I will be updating more frequently again so hopefully another update will come today or tomorrow. Thank you so much for your patience and sorry for keeping you waiting for so long.**

 **I also know a lot of you wanted Emma and Peter's confrontation to go differently but this is the way I came up with it in my head. You had some great ideas but this was always how it was going to happen.**

 **Thank you so much and I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait.**

* * *

Emma had her ear buds in as she listened to Bjork on her dated iPod. She was sprawled out on her bed, listening to the Icelandic songstress but at the same time not listening to the singer. Her thoughts were completely encompassed by the new task at hand which was Peter Parker. If she was being honest she didn't really know how to deal with the teenager. Part of her was a bit excited to have found someone enhanced who was also the same age as her but another part of her was starting to think that this might be something like babysitting. Emma and Peter were the same age but Emma thought like someone over twice her age. Peter, however, was still clearly a teenager both physically and mentally. She wished that Steve and her father were there to tell her what to do… How to work with someone like Peter.

Emma knew that she was going to have to basically train him from scratch since it didn't look like Stark put any effort into training the amateur hero. Like always it seemed like someone was going to have to clean up Stark's mess and this time that person was Emma instead of the other Avengers. It wasn't a completely terrible situation for Emma because she knew there were somethings that Peter could teach her as well although she would never admit that. If Peter was an expert at anything then it was navigating his moral compass. Emma wasn't even sure she had a moral compass. After so many years of doing Hydra's bidding she wasn't even sure what was good or bad anymore. There were some things that were obvious to her but other things that Emma wasn't quite sure of. Usually she would have Steve there to guide her because he was the leading expert on right and wrong but he wasn't there to show her the way anymore. Emma was afraid of what it would mean if she had to decide what was right or wrong herself. She needed someone else to show her the way and that person could be Peter.

Emma was snapped out of her thoughts she felt her Stark phone vibrate in her pocket. It was the morning after Emma's confrontation with Peter so the only people who could possibly be texting her right now was the boy in question. She had sent him a text last night which left him bewildered as to how she had gotten his phone number. Let's just say that McConaughey was especially good at his job. She took the phone out of her pocket and quickly read the text message to herself.

 **Peter:** _Can we talk at my apartment?_

Emma didn't waste anytime replying to his text as she wondered what Spider-Twerp wished to discuss. Her fingers quickly typed out the text message before she hit sent.

 **Emma:** _Sure. When?_

Emma only waited a minute before Peter sent her a response. She raised an eyebrow as she read the message, a bit curious as to what made Peter so urgent.

 **Peter:** _Now._

Emma just rolled her eyes before she got up from the bed, grabbing her backpack and heading out of her bedroom. She had been ready for school for hours, unable to sleep the night before, so she would be able to arrive at Peter's apartment with plenty of time to spare. Emma walked downstairs in no particular rush as she mentally prepared herself for another confrontation with Peter. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she spotted Darcy drinking a cup of coffee at the kitchen table as the brunette's eyes were glued to her phone. She was probably playing candy crush again, Emma guessed. The brunette smiled at her as she looked up from her phone.

"Good morning. Did you get some rest?" Darcy asked her and Emma shrugged as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Not really. I had a lot of things on my mind last night." Darcy nodded before giving Emma a curious look.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Spider-Boy, would it?" Darcy asked and Emma only smiled.

"Maybe. It turns out that he might actually be a good ally." Emma said vaguely and Darcy smirked.

"Good… I was a bit worried there for a second. Not for you but for the Spider." Darcy told her and Emma shook her head.

"No, I think we have an understanding." Emma replied and Darcy have her a slightly surprised look.

"So what? Are you guys friends now?" Emma scoffed.

"No, definitely not but I think we can help each other out." Emma explained but Darcy only gave her a knowing look.

"You guys are _so_ superhero Bffs." Darcy replied and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." A more serious expression came over her face as she remembered what she still had to do before school started. "Anyways… I'm leaving early because the Parker kid wants to have a discussion at his place." Darcy gave Emma a confused look.

"Parker kid? Oh, you mean that Peter guy you're in love with?" Emma glared at the older brunette.

"Love is for children." Emma told her and Darcy decided then that Emma looked up to Natasha only a little too much. Darcy decided not to continue to tease Emma about the subject because the blonde could get rather sensitive about some things and Darcy knew better than to get on Emma's bad side. She had seen the damage it had done to Tony and well… Emma was a little evil to be honest. Not super evil like Ultron or the space elves but a healthy amount of evil.

"What does he want?" Darcy asked, changing the subject. Emma shrugged nonchalantly because she honestly didn't have a clue what Peter wanted.

"I have no idea. I'm assuming it's something to do with history class." Emma suggested even though she honestly doubted that's what Peter had in mind when he texted her this morning.

"Well, be careful then." Darcy said as a smirk formed on her face. "Don't let Peter pressure you into anything that you don't want to do. If you do want to do something then make sure he has protection. We wouldn't want you to end up on "Teen Super Soldier" although that's an amazing idea for a show." Emma gave Darcy a dark look.

"You're hilarious, Darcy. Really… you should be a stand-up comedian." She sneered before she started making a beeline for the front door. There was only so much of Darcy's humor that Emma could take after all.

* * *

Emma arrived at Peter's front door about forty minutes later after making a quick stop at a local coffee shop. She decided that it would do Peter some good to wait for her so she made sure to take her time. She knocked on his door softly and didn't have to wait long before she heard his footsteps nearing the front door. The door flung open with a wide eyed Peter staring at her in bewilderment as Emma nonchalantly sipped on her Italian Bull. She noticed that he seemed a little more panicked than he had seemed last night. Maybe it was because he hadn't slept much either although it clearly showed on him. Emma was much better at hiding her lack of sleep.

"Where have you been?!" Peter asked frantically. "I texted you almost an hour ago!" Emma didn't seem bothered by Peter's annoyance as she gave him a bored look and shrugged before holding up her Italian Bull.

"I had to get my Italian Bull." Emma deadpanned as if that explained everything. Peter glared at her before quickly analyzing her appearance. It was odd for him to accept that Emma was the Viper Assassin. She didn't look like an assassin but then again Peter wasn't sure what an assassin was supposed to look like. Maybe with a metal arm like the Winter Soldier?

Emma was currently wearing a black skater skirt with a white and black colored blouse tucked into the skirt. She wore a warm looking matching black wool coat over the ensemble with a silk floral patterned scarf around her neck. Black velvet fabric ankle boots completed the look with some sheer tights to keep her legs warm. She wore some eyeliner and mascara around her eyes but other than that she didn't wear much make-up. Her hair was perfectly straight without a hair out of place like always. Peter noticed that Emma always looked incredibly put together unlike most teenage girls her age who might've smudged their eyeliner a bit or who might've worn a skirt too short. No, Emma never made even the smallest of mistakes when it came to her wardrobe. She looked like she might've come off the runway which was even more annoying to Peter because she didn't look at all like he thought a former Hydra assassin might've looked. No, she looked perfect and that annoyed him.

"What and you didn't get any for me?" He asked sarcastically, his tone laced with annoyance. Emma smirked at him smugly which frustrated Peter even more.

"I thought _you_ were the intern." She said snidely and Peter just shook his head as Emma made a move to enter the apartment. Peter quickly blocked her entrance and Emma gave him a sharp look.

"What? You don't want me knowing where you live, Parker?" Emma said sarcastically. "Sorry but I think it's too late for that. By the way… It was a lot harder to find your apartment from the inside than the outside." The glare had faded from Peter's face as he gave her a nervous look.

"Well, there's a certain situation that I forgot to mention last night." Peter said sheepishly and Emma gave him a suspicious look.

"Did you forget to tell me that you were hatched out of an egg or something?" Emma asked. "Trust me I've seen it all." Emma tried to push past Peter again but he blocked her exit once more.

"No, it's something else." Emma glared at him.

"This is starting to get real old, Parker." Emma told him. "I'm not discussing anything out in the hallway so let me in your apartment." Emma finally pushed past Peter, shoving him harshly to the side so that they could discuss whatever he wanted to discuss in private. She knew Peter was still new to the superhero game but she didn't know he was that new. The door softly shut behind her and Emma immediately knew why Peter had been acting so weird. He wasn't alone in the apartment. No, there sat Ned on the couch and judging by his expression Emma knew that he knew everything. The boy sat there with a look of terror in his eyes as he stared at her. Emma told herself to take deep breaths and not get angry. She took a deep breath before exhaling as she prepared herself for the situation at hand.

"Is your aunt still here?" Emma asked without looking away from Ned and Peter walked over to her, shaking his head.

"No, she left for work an hour ago." Emma nodded before her hand quickly shot out and smacked Peter on the back of the head. She didn't refrain from her entire strength since she knew Peter could handle it. The force of her hand caused Peter to stumble forward but he quickly regained his balance as he rubbed the pack of his head and glared at Emma.

"What was that for?!" Peter exclaimed and Emma glared right back at him.

"For telling him, Parker." She answered and Peter gave her an incredulous look.

"How do you even know I told him? He hasn't said anything yet." Peter defended and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I can read through bullshit, Parker." Emma told him before glancing back at Ned who was looking between Emma and Peter as if the two were in a tennis match. "Look at the look on his face."

"What look?" Peter questioned.

"The I-just-wet-myself look." Emma retorted and Ned gained some courage as he frowned at Emma.

"I haven't wet myself." He said weakly but Emma didn't pay any attention to him. She focused her anger on Peter as she narrowed her eyes at the boy she reluctantly allied herself with. Emma was now starting to rethink her decision in choosing Peter as an ally. It wasn't the smartest move she had ever made.

"Can you ever keep your fucking mouth shut?" Emma said venomously. "I've never met anyone who blabs as much as you do, Parker. Except for Stark maybe."

"I'm sorry, Emma, but it kind of slipped out." Peter immediately began rambling on. "You see Ned accidentally found out about me being Spider-Man last night and then he came over this morning to talk. I started telling him I met the Viper Assassin again and then I accidentally said that-" Peter was immediately stopped in his nervous rambling as Emma held up her hand, motioning for him to stop. She had a tired look in her eyes as she contemplated what she was going to do about this.

"I don't need to hear your life story." She said shortly. "I just need to figure out how I'm going to deal with this information because I didn't know when you told me to come over that it was because you fucked up."

"I'm sorry, Emma, I don't know what else to tell you. It was an accident… I swear." Peter said sincerely, actually looking apologetic with his sad looking brown eyes. He had that look in his eyes as if someone had kicked his puppy or something and it made Emma sick. Deep down Emma knew that she was feeling something akin to sympathy but she buried any sympathetic feelings that she might be having.

"Don't apologize. Apologizing is a sign of weakness." Emma told him, shaking her head. "What's done is done." Emma then forced herself to glance back over at Ned who looked slightly worried as he took note of the unusual calm expression that had come over Emma's face. It was only a moment ago that she looked completely furious with Peter. Emma quietly stalked towards Ned which only made the boy feel more anxious since he didn't know what was going through the dangerous blonde's mind. He quickly stood up from the couch as the anticipation started getting to him.

"Hey, Emma." Ned said quietly although it came out more squeaky than he wanted to admit. Emma sighed as stopped in front of him.

"Now what should I do with you, Ned?" Emma asked rhetorically. "I reluctantly let Peter know the truth about me but that's only because he serves a purpose. What purpose do you serve?" Ned gulped at the icy tone of her voice. It chilled him to the bone how dangerous and nice she sounded at the same time.

"I'm really good at computers." Ned told her, his tone fearful as she looked him over. It might've appeared to anyone else that she was checking him out but Ned felt like she was looking at him like a lion might look at it's prey.

"That's nice but I already have an AI system built into my suit." Emma responded before pausing, a thoughtful look on her face. "You know, the moment someone ceased being of use in Hydra they ended up at the bottom of the Bering sea." Emma said as she smirked at him. Ned's eyes widened in horror as he stared back at the blonde. Peter decided that it was time he stepped in.

"Emma, don't." Peter said, a silent warning in his voice but Emma wasn't concerned with Peter trying to be tough. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Parker. I was only kidding… well, mostly kidding anyways." Emma told them both before the smirk slipped off her face and was replaced with a kinder expression that softened the blonde's features. She gently placed her hands on Ned's forearms as if to sooth him. "I wouldn't hurt you, Ned. We're friends, aren't we?" Ned slowly nodded his head at Emma but both he and Peter didn't think Emma actually considered them friends. Beside what she had said about Michelle, Peter didn't think Emma was the type that had friends.

"Yes, of course." Ned replied carefully and Emma smiled at him but Peter could tell that the smile didn't reach her eyes. When she genuinely smiled the green in her eyes stood apart from the blue. Peter knew what she looked like when she genuinely smiled and that wasn't it.

"Then I don't need to worry about you blabbing off to someone about me, do I?" Emma questioned and Ned shook his head furiously.

"Never. I'm not a blabbermouth like Peter." Ned told her and Peter glared at the both of them.

"Hey!" He interjected but he went ignored by Emma and Ned.

"Good because I'm going to take a huge leap of faith and trust you with this, Ned. Please don't let me down." Emma said with kindness in her voice but the message was clear to Ned. If he ever told anyone about Emma's true identity then he would deeply regret it. Emma grinned at him as she softly patted him on the back. Ned stiffened as she touched him because he knew that she was much stronger than she looked and could easily break his back if she wanted to.

"I'm glad we could reach an understanding." Emma told him as she backed off. She then offered the both of them a kind smile as the two boys in the apartment gave her weary looks. "Now that we've got that out of the way, we should probably head to school." Emma then began to make her way out of the apartment. She opened the front door and then vanished from sight as she walked down the hall. Peter and Ned stared after her before Ned slowly turned to Peter.

"Is that what Al Capone was like?" He asked Peter but Peter didn't have the chance to respond.

"I heard that!" Emma called from down the hall. Peter just shook his head before grabbing his backpack, Ned doing the same. The two boys immediately exited the apartment to catch up with Emma but Peter never felt like he was more out of his depth than he was in that moment. It seemed like every day was going to be an adventure with Emma. He had thought that she was complicated before but now that he knew who she really was… Well, he felt even more lost. He had a feeling that Emma wasn't going to make any of this easy for him.

* * *

"You got bit by a spider?" Ned asked Peter as the three of them walked to school. Emma was forced to endure Ned's persistent talking as she walked between the two friends. He had been asking nonstop questions since they started walking and she was already starting to get annoyed. She wasn't worried about anyone listening in because what Ned was talking about had to sound crazy to anyone who was listening… Either that or the usual norm for nerdy high school boys that still had a lot of maturing to do. "Would it bite me?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Would you want it to bite you?" Emma asked, disgust clearly conveyed in her tone of voice. Ned just ignored Emma, too lost in his own thoughts.

"Well, it probably would've hurt, right?" Ned asked as though he were trying rationalize something like that. "You know, whatever… even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me… Maybe." Emma rolled her eyes. In her experience asking too many questions was a bad trait to have and Ned asked way too many questions. "Wait… how much did it hurt?"

"The spider's dead, Ned." Peter finally said, sounding like he had enough of Ned's new obsession with the spider that had bitten Peter. Emma had been interested when Peter first told them how he obtained his powers but five minutes later she quickly lost interest. Peter had been bitten by a radioactive spider. It was a weird way to obtain superpowers but not as weird as the witch getting powers from Loki's magical scepter. How Spider-Man had obtained his powers had been a mystery to her but now that the mystery was solved she felt satisfied with having that knowledge.

"Woah…" Emma looked up as she heard the tone in Ned's voice shift. What she saw in front of her was the aftermath of last night. Delmar's Deli had been completely trashed and Emma could hardly believe it was the same place she had been in yesterday. She glanced over at Peter and observed how his composure had stiffened. He had an unreadable look on his face which struck Emma as odd because usually Peter was easy to read. "You were here?"

"Yeah." Peter replied with a far away look in his eyes.

"You could've died." Ned told him and Emma rolled her eyes. She decided not to let Ned try and give Peter a lecture. This was nothing compared to some of the occurrences that had happened on some of her missions.

"Oh don't be dramatic. It could've been worse." Emma told Ned and Peter glared at her.

"It could've been better if you had helped me instead of just watching." Peter told her and Ned gave her a bewildered look.

"You just watched?" Ned questioned and Emma shrugged.

"He was handling it... granted he was handling it badly but he was still handling it." Emma replied nonchalantly and Peter just shook his head at her as she turned her attention back to him. "Are you still mad about that? As the leading expert on holding grudges… you really know how to hold a grudge."

"What about you?" Ned said suddenly as they slowly began to walk away from the scene of destruction. Emma looked at the curious looking teenager.

"What about me?" Emma questioned.

"Weren't you born with your powers since you're Captain America's granddaughter and all?" Ned asked her and Emma turned to look at Peter.

"Did you tell him everything I told you?" Peter just gave her a sheepish look as he blushed. Emma just shook her head because she couldn't believe how much she was going to have to teach this guy. The first thing she was going to teach him was how to keep his mouth shut. "To answer your question… It's complicated." Both Peter and Ned gave her curious looks as the blonde stared at the street in front of her, not sparing them any glances.

"What does that mean?" Ned asked curiously and Emma gave him a sharp look.

"It means that it's complicated." She said flatly and Peter elbowed her playfully in the ribs. Emma eyed his elbow cautiously. Fine… she would let him have that one. Next time he touched her she couldn't say the same thing.

"Come on, I already told Ned everything. Now it's your turn." Peter told her and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, that's because you can't stop running your mouth, Parker." Emma replied.

"Please, Emma." Ned begged. "I'm dying to know. Did you really inherit your abilities from your grandfather?" Emma eventually relented and not because she wanted to share her life story with those two idiots but because they finally managed to annoy her enough. At this point she would tell them anything just to get them to shut up for once. Peter and Ned could be better interrogators than she was and not because they were scarier… no, it was because they were more annoying.

"Fine. The super soldier serum got passed down to me but it's effects had lessened by then so Hydra injected me with something stronger." Peter gave Emma a shocked look. He assumed that all the abilities she had was from her grandfather but he supposed from a scientific perspective it didn't make sense. Her enhancements should've lessened by the time her grandfather's abilities had been passed down to her which wouldn't make her as strong as she was. Peter felt his curiosity peak as he wondered what Hydra injected her with.

"What did they inject you with?" Peter asked and Emma pretended to be nonchalant about the whole thing.

"I don't know. I wasn't the scientist I was just the lab rat." Part of that was a lie but Emma didn't want to bring Stark's father into this. No one really knew that Howard Stark created a super soldier serum and she didn't think telling too many people was a good idea. She was supposed to trust Peter since she was going to be working with him but she didn't trust him that much.

"I just thought that Abraham Erskine was the only one who had created a successful super soldier serum." Peter said and Emma shrugged.

"Apparently not."

"So..." Ned interjected as he began to change the subject. "Did you actually live with the other Avengers?" Emma gave Ned a bored look.

"Obviously." She replied.

"So who's the nicest Avenger?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"The nicest Avenger?"

"Yes, you know… your favorite Avenger?" Ned clarified and Emma couldn't believe that he was asking all the wrong questions.

"That's a stupid question." She remarked.

"Well, just answer it if it's so stupid. It's not like I'm asking you top secret information. And you can't say your grandfather because he's your family." Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes, wondering how she went from being raised by Hydra agents to being immersed in such idiocy.

"Fine, well, I guess if I had to choose an avenger that I hate the least then I'd probably pick Falcon." Ned and Peter raised their eyebrows at the blonde, surprised by her answer. Peter honestly thought she'd pick the Black Widow since they were both former assassins. He naturally assumed there would be some kind of bond between them because of their assassin pasts.

"Falcon, really?" Ned questioned, his voice laced with disappointment. It was clear that Ned wasn't impressed with her answer. Emma gave Ned a look of disbelief.

"What now that I finally gave you an answer you're not impressed?" Emma said. "Sam's funny and does a lot of work for the VA. There's not really a better person than Sam.

"No, it's just that you have so many others to choose from. Like Thor for instance… he's the God of thunder and future king of Asgard. Not to mention he's got that hammer." Ned said, sounding completely in awe of the demi god.

"Thor's okay but he's just a bit oblivious." Peter suddenly seemed really interested as Emma talked about Thor. He had never met Thor so his curiosity was well founded.

"Oblivious?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"Yes, he's a nice person but he's very oblivious and a little arrogant at times." Peter and Ned took in that information as they listened to Emma speak. It was overwhelming to meet someone that knew all of the Avengers more than a little well. Emma said that she had lived with them so she must've been close to them all.

"Black Widow?" Ned asked and Emma knew that they were going to want the analysis of all the team members. Emma didn't really care what they knew about the Avengers. It's not like any of this information would hurt the Avengers and it might even make Peter trust her a little more.

"Calculating and rational."

"Hawkeye?" Ned continued to question and Emma assumed that he was just going to ask her rapid questions at this point.

"Family oriented."

"War Machine?"

"Only plays by the rules and never lacks integrity."

"Vision?" Emma groaned at the android's name.

"Unbelievably annoying and intrusive."

"The Hulk?" The expression on Emma's face softened a bit when Ned asked her about Bruce. Peter didn't fail to notice that Emma didn't seem as tense when the Hulk was mentioned. Emma might've had a bit of a soft spot for the doctor ever since they had that chat on the Quinjet a year and a half ago. A part of her also felt a bit guilty for using him as leverage against Ross. She hoped that if she ever saw him again that he would forgive her for that.

"Sweet and compassionate."

"Captain America?" This time it was Peter who asked and Emma locked eyes with him as they walked. A sad, more vulnerable expression reached her eyes as she stared back at him and she never seemed more real to Peter than she did in that moment. The look in her eyes told him that she might not have been as tough as she made herself out to be.

"My best friend." Emma answered softly. Peter and her were having some sort of moment but Emma didn't know to describe it. Usually she wouldn't admit something so vulnerable about herself but something in the way Peter looked at her made her feel like she could tell him anything. Emma didn't like that feeling one bit. She felt like Peter had something over her and she didn't like anyone having any sort of power over her. The moment vanished as soon as Ned mentioned the next name and Emma gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"The Scarlet Witch?"

"Shoves her nose into other people's business." Emma answered and it became clear to Peter that the moment truly was over.

"Iron Man?" If Emma seemed annoyed by the mention of the Scarlet Witch then that was nothing compared to the look of anger and resentment that came over her face when Ned mentioned Stark. A dark look reached her eyes and Peter wondered where the sad vulnerable girl, he had seen moments ago, disappeared to.

"An utter and complete narcissistic asshole." She said venomously and Peter stiffened at the name she gave his mentor. He didn't like the way she talked about Mr. Stark because he deeply respected the billionaire for all that he had done for him. Ned gave Emma a surprised look as he processed her answer.

"Woah… tell me how you really feel, Emma." Ned replied and Emma immediately stopped in the middle of the street causing both Peter and Ned to stop too. She turned her attention to Peter as she looked him in the eyes.

"I need to warn you about Stark, Peter." Emma suddenly said. Peter was stricken by the fact that she used his first name again since she made a habit of calling him by his last name. "You can't trust him." Peter raised an eyebrow.

"And I can trust you?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed, choosing to ignore that comment.

"I know he made you a fancy suit with all kinds of gadgets but that doesn't mean your trust can be bought." Emma continued to say. "I'm not telling you how to feel but you have to be careful. You can't let your guard down for one moment around that man. The others did and look what happened to them." Peter just stared right back at Emma silently, one of the few people she had met that could actually hold her gaze in that unrelenting way.

"It wasn't Mr. Stark's fault. Captain America went crazy and he brought everyone down with him." Peter told her without missing a beat and Emma flinched but immediately regained composure. She was pissed off at Peter's statement but she withheld all emotion from her face as she gave him a blank look. It seemed like Stark had really brainwashed the kid well.

"Whatever. I'm just telling you to watch your back around him." Emma finally said. "He's done some really nasty things." And with that Emma started walking again, not caring whether or not Peter and Ned followed her. Peter and Ned exchanged looks before they slowly began to follow Emma's lead. Despite not believing Emma about Mr. Stark, Peter was still bothered by what she said. What did she mean by Mr. Stark doing really nasty things? Was she just pissed off that her friends and family were war criminals or did she really mean what she said? Peter was taken out of his thoughts by Ned who didn't waste anytime in changing the subject.

"So… Do you lay eggs?"

* * *

The school day had passed relatively quickly with of all of Ned's continued questioning. He tried asking about her time under Hydra's thumb but he quickly learned that the topic was off limits. Emma's death glare was enough to scare him from approaching the topic anytime soon. The talk Emma had with Peter about Stark had been forgotten and they resumed to be friendly with each other. Michelle took notice of the odd familiarity between Emma and Peter that hadn't been there the day before but Emma quickly dismissed Michelle's observations. She came up with a sound explanation as it being because her and Peter were working on a history project together and Michelle didn't question it further even though she still seemed suspicious.

Fifth period quickly arrived and Emma was seated with the other students as Coach Wilson brought out a TV. Apparently there was some fitness video he wanted them to watch for class. She was seated next to Peter on the bleachers and Ned sat on the other side of the brown haired boy. Emma wished she could say that Ned's questioning was starting to grow on her but she still felt the need to strangle the idiot. It was then that Coach Wilson turned the TV on and Emma was met with a startling image. Her grandfather.

"Hi. I'm Captain America." Steve greeted in the video. His voice sounded cheesy and the Captain America uniform he wore looked even cheesier. He also had the most stupid looking smile on his face and Emma had to ask what the hell she was watching. Emma was so caught up in the video of her grandfather that she didn't notice that Peter and Ned's eyes were on her as they observed her reaction to the video."Whether you're in the classroom or on the battlefield…"

"What the hell is this?" Emma said under her breath. She really wanted to know when Steve did the video. She never remembered him mentioning doing anything like that. It was probably before she had been rescued from the Hydra base because Emma definitely would've remembered Steve doing something like that.

"Do you know him too?" Ned asked Peter. He obviously knew that Emma knew Captain America but Peter never really mentioned whether or not he was also familiar with the Captain.

"Yeah, we met." Peter said nonchalantly. Emma watched the TV screen with much more interest than the rest of the students. She had her grandfather's pictures to look at but it was nothing compared to hearing his voice. Emma noticed how happy he sounded in that video… it reminded her of all the times she shared with them him were also filled with happiness. It hurt her so much that he seemed so close to her reach yet she knew it was just a video. Her grandfather was on the run in some foreign country and he most likely wasn't as happy as he was in that video.

"… fitness can be the difference between success or failure." Steve continued to say and Emma knew that this was so coming up when she saw him again.

"I stole his shield." Peter told Ned, causing the dark haired boy to look at him in wonder. That caused Emma to snap out of her fixation with the TV. A smirk formed on her face as she looked at Peter and Ned.

"He also kicked your ass." Emma quipped before returning her attention to the TV. Peter glared at the blonde haired girl before also returning his attention to the TV although he was sulking more than he was paying attention.

"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher…" Steve said as he pointed to left side of the TV screen and Coach Wilson waved at them from the right side. Emma snorted at Coach Wilson's maximum effort. The guy really tried hard, didn't he? "… Will conduct the Captain America fitness challenge."

"Thank you, Captain." Coach Wilson said as the video came to an end. "Pretty sure he's a war criminal but whatever, I have to show these videos. It's required by the state. Let's do it." Coach Wilson announced as he blew his whistle and everyone began to leave the bleachers. Emma had to refrain from laughing at the Coach's attitude. If Emma had a favorite teacher then it had to be Coach Wilson. He liked this school almost as much as Emma did.

"I really hope he did that for money. Otherwise, that's just sad." Emma remarked as Peter and Ned followed her off the bleachers. Peter and Ned couldn't help but agree with her.

* * *

"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?" Ned's nonstop questions had apparently started up again as soon as Peter started doing her grandfather's stupid fitness challenge. Emma didn't know how Ned came up with that many questions. She was relaxing on the bleachers with Michelle as everyone else did the fitness challenge. Emma told Coach Wilson that she couldn't do the fitness challenge because she was surfing the crimson tide and like most men he gave her an uncomfortable look before telling her to go rest.

"What does the Hulk smell like?" How the hell was anyone supposed to know that? She sure as hell never went around sniffling Bruce. If anyone sniffed Bruce then it was definitely Natasha but she wouldn't dare ask the redhead a question like that. Not if she still wanted to keep her head on her shoulders. Emma knew better than that.

"I bet he smells nice." Ned said when Peter didn't answer.

"You have to shut up." Peter told him.

"Is Captain America cool or is he like a mean, old grandpa?"

"Mean, old grandpa!" Emma called out, answering Ned's question without even looking up from her laid down position on the bleachers. Her arm covered her eyes as she tried to block out the light. She could feel Michelle's eyes on her, most likely wondering why she said that since it probably sounded random to her ears. It's not like anyone else could hear what Peter and Ned were talking about. Emma could only hear them because of her enhanced hearing.

"You better not be talking about me, Lewis." Coach Wilson called out to her and she threw her arm away from her face, giving the coach her sweetest, most innocent smile.

"Of course not, Coach Wilson." Emma replied. As Peter did his exercise he quickly put that bit of information about Emma away. So she had enhanced hearing too. He already knew that she had enhanced strength and flying abilities but this was new. He wondered just how many abilities Emma had all together.

Emma then tuned Peter and Ned out as she sat back up from her resting position. She noticed that Michelle was reading a book entitled 'Human Bondage'. A weird title but Emma summed it up as being one of those philosophical books that Michelle liked to read. Emma was mostly into literature but everyone had their own interests. Her attention was then taken away from her friend as she heard something interesting from the opposite end of the bleachers. It was coming from Liz Allan and her circle of friends as they gossiped about superheros.

"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor…" Betty Brant told her friends as they played a silly, childish game. "Marry Iron Man and kill Hulk." Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. Married to Stark? Emma would rather marry Loki or maybe even jump off Avenger's Tower if it meant having to be shackled to Stark for the rest of her existence. Being married to Stark had to be Emma's worst nightmare. A nightmare that could potentially surpass the one she usually had of Rumlow. Maybe if the Witch ever played mind games with her again then she would see herself married to Stark. She felt like puking from the very idea of it.

"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" Seymour O'Reilly asked Betty.

"It's just Spider-Man." Liz quickly corrected. This seemed to capture both Peter and Ned's attention as they both stopped what they were doing and stared at Liz in shock. Emma smirked to herself in amusement and even Michelle put her book down in interest. Emma and Michelle exchanged looks of smugness because they both knew this was going to be interesting.

"Did you see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys." Emma bit her lip to keep from laughing. She thought it was hilarious how impressed Liz was with Peter. It looked like Parker's wet dream was finally coming true. She could practically see the saliva pouring out of his mouth at Liz's admission.

"Oh, my god, she's crushing on Spider-Man." Betty teased.

"No way." Seymour said as he laughed in disbelief.

"Kind of." Liz admitted.

"Oh, gross." Betty told her. "He's probably like thirty."

"You don't even know what he looks like." Seymour added. "Like, what if he's seriously burned?" Emma immediately turned to Michelle after she heard what Seymour said. She feigned a look of horror before mimicking what she thought Liz and her gossiping friends sounded like right now.

"Like, what if you take off the suit and it's actually Nicolas Cage?" Emma said after making her voice sound like Cher from _Clueless_. Michelle stiffled a giggle as she also feigned a similar look of horror and she played along with Emma.

"Like, what if you take off the suit and it's actually Miley Cyrus?" Michelle said in the same high pitched voice.

"What if you take off the suit and instead of being a burn victim he actually has a micro penis?" Emma said with a straight face and she could tell Michelle was really struggling not to laugh.

"What if you take off the suit and instead of being a burn victim he actually has a vagina?" Michelle quipped and Emma finally broke as she allowed herself to laugh at Michelle.

"Okay, you definitely win that one. Seriously… that was a good one." Emma told her. It was clear that Liz and her circle of friends weren't paying any attention to Emma and Michelle. The group of friends were too busy having a debate on Spider-Man. However, Peter obviously did hear Emma and Michelle and sent the blonde a nasty glare. Emma only smirked at him as she waved to him and Ned. She really loved pushing his buttons and he made it way too easy.

"I wouldn't care." Liz said as she continued praise Spider-Man. "I'd love him for the person he is inside." Emma shook her head in disgust at Liz's remark.

"Excuse me while I go barf." Emma muttered and Michelle nodded in agreement, looking just as disgusted.

"Peter knows Spider-Man!" Ned shouted out suddenly and the room instantly went quiet. Emma stared at Ned in disbelief. What the fuck was that kid doing? Peter immediately got up from the mat on the floor and walked towards Liz as he struggled to explain himself.

"No, I don't. No. I-I mean-" Peter said as he stumbled over his words.

"Emma also knows the Viper Assassin." Ned announced, trying to save his friend's ass. Emma gave the boy her famous death glare and he immediately shrank back. He knew he made a mistake because Emma looked like she was about to pounce on him.

"Don't drag me into this, Leeds." Emma said calmly but there was something chilling about her voice. It was that moment that Flash decided to crawl out of whatever hole he lived in as he plopped down from the rope he had been climbing. Emma rolled her eyes. Here we go.

"They're friends." Ned explained lamely.

"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends." Flash said as he strutted over to where everyone was.

"I've met him, yeah. A couple times." Peter said nervously and Emma could only shake her head. This guy was so unbelievably bad at covering his ass. He was only going to make this worse than it already was. "But it's… um… from the Stark internship. Yeah, well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it." Peter then shot his friend a sharp look before returning his attention to Liz.

"And Emma?" Flash called out and everyone looked at the blonde in question. Emma gave Flash a bored look as she decided to handle this situation as calmly as possible. "Where did you and one of the most deadliest assassins in the world meet?"

"The granola aisle at Whole Foods." Emma deadpanned and it was obvious to everyone that she was being sarcastic which meant that she probably had never even crossed paths with the Viper Assassin. "And it's _The_ deadliest assassin by the way."

"Well, that's awesome about you and Spider-Man." Flash said as he turned his attention back to Peter. "Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?"

"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight." Liz explained as she extended an invitation towards Peter and Ned but glanced at Emma too. "You're more than welcome to come."

"You're having a party?" Peter asked in a dreamy voice and Emma rolled her eyes again. The nerve of that kid.

"Yeah, it's gonna be dope." Flash said as he smirked at Peter. "You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man."

"It's okay." Liz said, cutting in. "I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so…"

"Come on. He'll be there. Right, Parker?" Flash said tauntingly. Flash then gave Emma a smug look as he passed by her. "You and the Viper Assassin will come too, right?" Emma glared at the egotistical brat.

"Oh, we won't be there. Trust me." Emma replied and before he could respond the bell rang. Flash gave her another smug smirk before he filed out of the gym with all the other students. Emma decided to stay behind so she could have another lovely little chat with Peter and Ned. She honestly didn't know what the hell was wrong with those two.

"I'm going to hang back for a couple seconds." Emma told Michelle quietly. The blonde then gestured to her stomach. "It's the cramps." Michelle nodded and accepted Emma's excuse even though she knew Emma was faking her period from before. She gave Emma a small smile before leaving with the other students. Emma liked that about Michelle. She liked that the brunette never asked any questions. She couldn't say the same about Ned.

"What are you doing?" Peter said angrily as he glared at Ned. Emma quietly followed behind them, thinking of ways to beat some sense into those two idiots.

"Helping you out." Ned explained. "Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you." Peter stared at Ned in shock as he realized that his friend was right in a way.

"Dude, you're an Avenger." Ned told Peter. Emma raised an eyebrow at Ned's statement. Did Peter really tell him that he was an Avenger? He was only over exaggerating a lot. Peter was definitely nowhere near being an Avenger. If Emma wasn't as Avenger yet then Peter was nowhere near about to become an Avenger. "If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it's you." Peter and Ned's debate about Liz came to an end once Emma made her presence known. All the students had cleared out of the gym by then so it was just the three of them.

"Oh my god, Peter, a senior girl has a crush on you?" Emma said mockingly. She gave them both a unimpressed look as she moved closer to them. "I didn't realize you two were a couple of teenage girls."

"Here comes the mood killer." Ned said under his breath, thinking Emma wouldn't be able to hear him, and that's when she snapped. She lurched forward and before Peter could blink his eyes Emma had grabbed onto the collar of Ned's shirt and pulled him towards her. Ned yelped in surprise as Emma glared down at him.

"I didn't appreciate the way you dragged me into your little scheme, Ned." Emma said, looking quite furious. Peter could only watch in shock as Emma lectured Ned. "I didn't appreciate it at all. The next time you decide you want to name drop me to serve whatever teenage whims you might have then you better think very clear and hard before you do it. I'm not one of your tools to help you navigate through yours and Parker's sad high school experience."

"I'm sorry." Ned apologized, his voice sounding slightly high pitched as he did so. "I didn't mean to drag you into anything."

"I don't like being used so I would appreciate it if you would leave me out of your teenage drama. I don't care what you say about Parker but leave me out of it." Emma hissed before letting him go as quickly as she had grabbed onto him. She stepped back from the both of them and took a deep breath before exhaling. Sam taught her about controlling her anger in complicated situations like this. She couldn't let her anger get the best of her. Emma then spared Peter a single glance as he still stared at her in shock.

"See you in chemistry class, Parker." Emma told him before stalking off towards the exit. Peter and Ned both stared after her in wonder. Ned finally calmed down from his encounter with Emma but Peter was still staring at the door that Emma had walked out of.

"Maybe you should date her instead." Ned suggested softly as he was still in a state of shock and awe. Peter snapped out of his daze before he glanced back at Ned.

"What?" Peter questioned, his eyes slightly widening at what Ned said. Did he really just say what Peter thought he said?

"Maybe you could go out with Emma instead." Ned told Peter and Peter immediately shook his head.

"What are you even talking about? I barely know Emma." Peter replied.

"Just think about it." Ned insisted. "You're an Avenger… she's an Avenger. It's a perfect match. You'd be the first real life superhero power couple ever. You guys would be the Beyonce and Jay-Z of superheros."

"No, even if I thought Emma was remotely interested in me, which would never happen, I don't think I could date someone like her." Peter told his friend. "She's an assassin so she's probably killed a lot of people. That's terrifying." Ned didn't seem that bothered by Peter's statement.

"That's badass." Ned corrected. "If you guys were a couple then she would probably throat punch like an army of ninjas for you. That would make her the best girlfriend in the history of the world." Peter just shook his head.

"I like Liz." Peter said firmly, not knowing what else to say. Ned just shrugged as he rethought the entire situation. Yes, Emma scared the hell out of Ned but a large part of him admired her for being such a badass.

"Liz is a senior and one of the most popular girls in school but I'm starting to think I'm switching over to Team Emma." Ned told Peter. "Team Emma probably has samurai swords and brass knuckles. Way cooler than Team Liz if you think about it."

"Don't be weird about this." Peter replied, trying to ignore whatever thoughts about Emma that he couldn't seem to get out of his head.

"I wonder what your babies would be like?" Ned wondered, causing Peter's eyes to widen.

"What?!" Peter's voice suddenly became more high pitched as it did whenever he was nervous or embarrassed.

"If you guys have babies I wonder what kind of powers they would have?" Ned clarified. "Would they be like you and have spider powers or would they be like Emma and have super soldier powers? Maybe they'd have both. Oh, that would be so cool. They could climb up walls but then also throw people through walls." Ned suddenly paused as if something had randomly occurred to him. "Oh my god… I just realized something."

"What, Ned? What could you have possibly realized?" Peter asked tiredly. He was just giving up at this point.

"If you and Emma got married then Captain America would be your grandpa too." At that point Peter just face palmed.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I'm glad you like how Ned ships Emma and Peter. I'm not sure what their ship name would be. Maybe SpiderSnake? WebVenom? Those are the only ones I can think of. Emma and Peter's relationship still has a long way to go but now that Peter and Emma know about each other I feel like they can move forward maybe a little faster which you see a glimpse of in this chapter.**

 **Spawn Hades: I know that Peter can throw people through walls but Ned probably doesn't know that yet. Peter is definitely stronger than Emma but he just hasn't realized his own strength yet and he's also lacks a lot of skills in hand to hand combat so Emma has something over him there. The fact that Peter is technically stronger than Emma will be something that drives her up the wall about him which I think will be pretty funny to see in the upcoming chapters.**

 **Keep reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Normally on a night like this one Emma would've liked to curl up with a good book and listen to some David Bowie records as she read another one of her books but it didn't look like Emma was going to get what she wanted. No, instead of relaxing in her bedroom Emma was suiting up in her Viper Assassin uniform which she hadn't worn in a few months. Since Peter seemed so hell bent on going to a party and impressing his school boy crush Emma would also have to watch him from a safe distance to make sure he didn't screw up anything. This was so not how she wanted to spend her Wednesday night.

"Where are you off to?" Darcy asked as she gave Emma a curious look from the doorway of Emma's bedroom. Emma didn't bother shutting the door when she changed because it wasn't like she was really hiding anything. Darcy realized then that she had never seen the teenage girl in uniform so the sight was quite shocking. Even Darcy had to admit that the dark green color was a good look for her. Emma glanced at her nonchalantly as held her mask in her hands.

"Babysitting Spider-Twerp. It turns out that the guy is way more trouble than he's worth." Darcy crossed her arms as she gave Emma a look of amusement.

"I didn't realize he was that important to you." Emma looked away from Darcy and scowled at her mask.

"He's not. It seems like Stark left behind another mess and I'm the one who has to clean it up since no one else is around." Emma said bitterly but Darcy didn't quite believe her. If really didn't care about this spider guy then she wouldn't bother helping him out. Darcy never took Emma as the type to clean up other people's messes and especially messes left behind by Stark. Emma wasn't like Steve. She didn't feel the need to help others… only if she thought it could help herself or the people she cared about in the long run.

"Well, be careful." Darcy told her, not knowing what else to say. Emma just smirked at Darcy as she put her mask on and Darcy marveled at the way the red lenses in her mask lit up. The mask made her Superhero alter-ego look even more reptilian.

"I always am." Emma replied before she leapt onto the window sill and then flew out the window into the night with little effort. Darcy sighed as she leaned against the doorway and stared at the window.

"I'm never going to get used to super people."

* * *

Emma was perched on the rooftop of Liz's house as she looked through the glass windows of the massive house. She would never understand why people had so many windows put into their house when it made for such easy vantage points. She wasn't worried about anyone seeing her since it was dark by that time of night. Everyone was already too preoccupied with the party to spot her anyways and it's not like Emma really stood out in her dark green colored suit. She had the red lenses of her mask up as she used her own enhanced vision to look for Peter. Emma had to admit she was a little surprised to see Michelle at the party but who knew what went on in that girl's mind? Emma immediately gritted her teeth in annoyance when she spotted Peter and Ned at the party. Peter looked around the house with an oblivious look on his face. You'd think a person with enhanced abilities would be able to detect when someone was watching them. Apparently not.

"It looks like I'm officially on babysitting duty." Emma grumbled to herself.

"It sure does seem that way, Miss Rogers." McConaughey said.

"At least I have you for company, McConaughey." Emma told the AI system. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to sit here all night and watch Spider-Twerp miserably fail flirting with his school boy crush."

"That doesn't sound like your usual source of entertainment." McConaughey said, agreeing with her.

"Because it's not." Emma told him. "I didn't know anyone could be that bad at flirting. I think Steve's even better at flirting than him."

"I didn't know that was a possibility." McConaughey replied and Emma just shook her head as she watched Peter attempt to flirt with Liz.

"I didn't either." Emma curiously watched as Peter and Ned mingled with Liz before the older girl left to take care of something that had come up. It seemed like Ned and Peter had some kind of silent agreement between them before Peter immediately disappeared from her view. She sighed tiredly and knew that this kid was really going to test her patience. Why did Stark have to involve Peter in their world?

* * *

It was only a couple of minutes later when Peter crawled out of a window, seemingly oblivious to Emma's presence. He was still wearing a t-shirt with a dorky pun across it and proceeded to take the shirt off while he talked to himself. Emma raised an eyebrow as she witnessed what Peter did when he was alone with himself. Did he talk to himself often?

"Hey, what's up. I'm Spider-Man." Peter said to himself. Despite her anger with Peter for even planning to pop into Liz's party for something as stupid as increasing his popularity, she couldn't help but be amused by him. What a dork. "Just thought I'd swing by and say hello to my buddy Peter."

"Oh, what's up, Ned?" Peter continued to say. "Hey, where's Peter, anyways? He must be around…" It was then that Peter stopped planning how he would make his entrance to the party. Probably because he realized how stupid it was. Emma couldn't believe it had taken him that long to figure it out. "God, this is stupid. What am I doing?"

"Do you talk to yourself often?" Emma asked him suddenly. Her voice caused Peter to almost fall off the roof in surprise. Peter was able to regain his balance and put a hand over his heart as he tried to calm himself down. He glared at the bored looking blonde as he spotted her sitting not that far away from himself. Despite Peter's anger with Emma he couldn't help but be in awe of her. He hadn't seen her in uniform since the battle at the airport and that was before he knew who the Viper Assassin was. Seeing Emma in her suit gave him an indescribable feeling and Peter didn't know how to explain the feeling.

"What are you doing here?!" Peter exclaimed. "Were you there the whole time?" Emma only blinked at him before answering.

"Yes." She said shortly.

"So then you heard everything?" Peter asked cautiously.

"Yes." She repeated and Peter immediately blushed. He just shook his head as he looked down at his hands in embarrassment. His day just kept getting better and better.

"How do you even sneak up on people like that?" Peter asked as he changed the subject. Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hydra." If there was one thing Peter knew about Emma it was the fact that she never really liked elaborating.

"You didn't answer my question from before." Peter stated, changing the subject once more. From the icy look in her eyes he could tell that she didn't like discussing Hydra. "What are you doing here?" Emma just rolled her eyes.

"I'm babysitting." Emma answered. "Someone has to make sure that you don't screw things up." Peter glared at the blonde again, his ego feeling bruised.

"I don't need a babysitter." Peter told her and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, well, apparently you do." Emma replied. "You're always running your mouth and you come up with the most stupid ideas I've ever head of. Wasn't it two minutes ago that you were debating whether or not to crash Liz's party so that you could somehow become the most popular guy at school?"

"You don't get it." Peter said, not liking how condescending Emma was being towards him. "You don't care about high school and you don't care about having friends or dating. All you care about is probably planning out some kind of revenge against Mr. Stark. You wouldn't understand why I'd need to do something like that." Emma feigned a sympathetic look as she took in Peter's whining. Wow… the misunderstood teenager act? How original, Parker.

"Oh, it must be so hard." Emma mocked as Peter glared back at her. "High school is just so difficult. No one understands me. Blah. Blah. Blah. All the low esteem, girl problems, and teenage angst. It's so difficult going to school and worrying whether or not your crush will ever notice you." Emma then rolled her eyes. "Oh, cry me a fucking river, Parker."

"Why are you so mean?" Peter asked suddenly and even Emma had to admit the question surprised her. She hadn't seen that one coming. Emma didn't let her surprise show on her face as she kept her face blank and answered his question as calmly as possible.

"Because all the niceness was beaten out of me a long time ago." Emma responded. Peter just stared at the assassin in wonder. He immediately wondered what happened to her that caused her to be this way. Emma had seemed somewhat pleasant when he knew her as Emma Lewis but the Viper Assassin was clearly cold and calculating. He didn't want to believe that the Emma that sat next to him in history class was all an act. No one was that good of an actor. Before Peter could reply to Emma's odd statement an explosion in the distance captured both of their attention. With their enhanced hearing and sight they were able to see an odd blue colored explosion on the other side of the residential neighborhood. Emma narrowed her eyes at the sight.

"What the hell?" Peter said to himself before he turned to her. "Should we go check it out?" Peter asked her, already putting their previous argument out of mind. Emma figured that was probably for the best.

"No, we should just sit here and stare at each other all night." Emma said sarcastically, reverting back to her usual self. "Of course we should go check it out."

"Okay, okay, I was just asking." Peter said defensively and without a word Emma propelled herself off the rooftop and flew into the night. "Wait don't you think you should take me with you?" Peter called out but his voice died out as he realized that Emma was already long gone. Either she didn't hear him or chose not to hear him. Either way Peter figured that he would have to find his own way to the explosion. Peter sighed tiredly as he began to shoot out his webbing and propelled himself off the rooftop.

"Thanks a lot, Viper, what a great help you've turned out to be."

* * *

Emma arrived at the explosion site in just under a minute but she knew better than to make herself immediately known. She perched on a tall branch in one of the trees as she silently investigated the explosion site. Emma wasn't really sure what she had been expecting when she first arrived but it definitely wasn't a bunch of idiots circled around a van as they showed off advanced weaponry that was beyond their understanding. One of the idiots, a bearded looking tool, cackled as he blasted off one of the weapons. Emma narrowed her eyes because she immediately recognized the weapon.

"Now, this is crafted from a reclaimed sub-Ultron arm straight from Sokovia. Here. You try." The bearded tool explained to a bewildered African-American man. Yeah, these idiots weren't your usual run of the mill super villains. They were in no way interesting to her like previous villains like Loki or the space elves had always interested Emma whenever she heard stories about them. These idiots were just lame. The guy then offered the weapon to the other idiot.

"I wanted something low-key." The second idiot explained. From the way he talked Emma could immediately tell that he was probably an ordinary drug dealer and not even the fun kind like the Cali Cartel had been back in the day. No, he probably just sold pot to teenagers and pretended to be more of a badass than he actually was. "Why are you trying to upsell me, man?"

"Okay, okay. I got what you need, all right?" The bearded tool said. "I got tons of great stuff here. One sec." The guy then went back to the van and started looking through his merchandise.

"McConaughey?" Emma whispered as the lenses of her mask went back down. "Can you get facial recognition for the bearded tool and his awfully quiet buddy over there?" Emma didn't ask about the guy they were trying to peddle the stuff off to since he was just some idiot who was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. Emma didn't really give a shit who that guy was because he didn't serve any purpose to her. Emma immediately watched the red screen as McConaughey tried to match the two idiot's faces with any information from the criminal database.

"I'm sorry, Miss, Rogers, but I can't seem to find anything about them. They're clean." Emma groaned at McConaughey's info. That really helped.

"Okay, I got black hole grenades, Chitauri railguns…" The guy named off as he continued to try and make a sale.

"You letting off shots in public now? Hurry up." His partner asked before turning to the potential buyer. "Look, times are changing. We're the only ones selling these high-tech weapons." Emma then watched as Peter finally showed up to the explosion site as he crawled up the side of a bridge.

"Woah…" She could hear Peter say. "This must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff." Emma refrained form rolling her eyes. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

"I just need something to stick up somebody." The potential buyer said. "I'm not trying to shoot them back in time." Emma smirked at that. So this guy was a classic sort of guy. Emma could actually respect that. The guy was probably just looking for a regular gun and if he had a criminal past then he couldn't just walk into a Cabela's and buy one.

"I got antigrav climbers." The bearded tool continued to say, ignoring what the potential buyer was trying to tell them.

"Yo, climbers?" The buyer asked, suddenly seeming interested in what they were selling. However, the buyer never got to see the antigrav climbers as music started suddenly playing. Emma immediately knew who's fault that was as she turned her head to glare at Peter. Why did he always seem to screw up every possible situation? This kid was a mess. Peter immediately scrambled for his phone and Emma braced herself for a confrontation with these idiots. Why couldn't she be able to work with a professional for once in her life? A professional like her father. No, instead she was stuck with some annoying, motor mouth kid that didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" The bearded tool asked as all three of them looked around for the music. The bearded tool's partner then quickly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the buyer. Emma sighed. This situation was going to get messy. The only thing that troubled Emma was whether or not she was supposed to help the buyer. He was obviously a drug dealer or some kind of gang member so was his life worth saving? Did she let him die or did she save him? What was the right thing to do in a situation like this? Emma wasn't entirely sure and the clock was ticking.

"Hey, hey, man." The buyer said defensively, his hands raised. It was then that Emma's question was answered as Peter leapt down from his hidden position and started to confront the weapon dealers.

"Hey! Hey, come on. You gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at me." Peter told them, trying to distract them from the buyer. Emma became more curious about Peter's moral compass because he instantly seemed to know that saving the drug dealer was the right thing to do. So saving the drug dealer it was then, Emma thought to herself as she leapt down from the tree. She landed on her feet right beside Peter. The webslinger only spared her one quick glance before returning his attention to the bad guys. Emma would never know it but Peter was smiling underneath his mask. He usually fought his battles alone so it felt unbelievably good to have someone at his side. The weapons dealer smirked at the both of them before quickly pointing his gun at Emma and Peter.

"All right." He said before cocking his gun. The guy didn't even have time to pull the trigger as Peter shot out some of his disgusting webbing and threw the gun out of the guy's hand. The buyer immediately made a run for it but Emma wasn't worried about him. The weapon's dealer quickly started running towards the front of the van which caused Peter to sprint towards the bearded tool who was grabbing something out of the back of the van.

Emma assessed the situation, knowing that it was best never to run into something like that without knowing what she was up against. She turned out to be right as the bearded tool punched Peter in the chest with one of his advanced weapons. Peter went flying against a cement pillar and that's when Emma made her move. She instantly hopped on the guy's back when he was distracted by altercation with Peter and the guy never saw her coming. She wrapped her thighs around his chest and immediately began to squeeze. The guy grunted as he began to try and knock her off, swinging aimlessly from side to side. The only thing Emma didn't account for was his ability to swing his arm around and land a punch to the side of her face with the weapon. Emma briefly felt it's warm glow before it sent her careening off the guy's back and flying back into the a pile of leaves. Emma hit the ground hard, grunting as she tried to regain her strength. The impact of the weapon against the side of her face sent her enhanced senses into a sort of frenzy. There was a severely loud ringing in her ears and a haziness to her vision. She was definitely not going to be cheerful in the morning. Emma tasted a huge amount of blood in her mouth as she forced herself to get up from off the ground. She immediately spat out the blood and a single tooth as she glared at the cackling idiot. That guy was so dead.

"Viper, are you okay?" Peter asked her in concern, obviously not wanting to give up her identity as he called her by her alter-ego's name. "You just lost a tooth and your nose looks broken." Emma just waved her hand dismissively as she caught her breath.

"It's fine. I'll just grow a new one and my nose will heal." Emma told him, looking determined. "We can't let them go. They have too many of those weapons." Peter nodded.

"I'm already on it." Peter said as he flung out his wrists and shot out his webbing at the van that was already getting ready to leave. Peter then handed her a rope of webbing as he grabbed his own. Emma looked at the webbing in disgust as she held it in her hand.

"Why am I touching this?" She asked.

"Do you trust me?" Peter asked and Emma glared at him.

"No."

"Well, try to." Before Emma could respond to Peter she felt a strong tug and was then immediately dragged off her feet, falling to the ground but the webbing luckily stuck to her hand. It was then that Emma realized that the idiot had attached the webbing to the van so as the van drove away it dragged Emma and Peter along with it. Emma glared at the van ahead of her as she started being dragged down the street by Peter's disgusting webbing.

"You know this wasn't how I planned on spending my Wednesday night!" Emma called out to Peter as they continued to be dragged down the street by the van. If only her father could see her now. He would probably shake his head in disappointment because this was so unprofessional and not well thought out. Her father spent years of training her to prevent something like this from happening but Peter just had to save that drug dealer, didn't he?

"At least it's kind of spontaneous!" Peter shouted back.

"Yeah, in the wrong way." She argued. "Being dragged like garbage on a filthy street doesn't really do it for me."

"Come on, this is kind of fun. Just admit it!" Peter told her before the van made a turn and Peter was sent crashing into dumpster on the curb of the street. Emma was flung towards that direction too but she remained safe from crashing into any dumpsters for the time being. She immediately laughed at Peter who she could tell was pissed off from under his mask.

"Okay, this is kind of fun. You were right." She told him as she grinned at the webslinger. He didn't say anything and instead shot out another web towards the back of the van so that he could gain better control of where he was dragged. The grin immediately fell of Emma's face when she saw the bearded tool bring out another weapon from the back of the van and point it at them.

"Oh, shit!" Emma cursed as she could do nothing but watch the idiot fire the weapon. Luckily he missed when the van took a turn and the weapon's line of fire only hit one of the van doors. Emma and Peter narrowly dodged the van door as it came flying off the van. It didn't take long for the idiot to shoot the weapon again. It hit the street, sending the cement flying in every direction as well as dirt and dust.

"Ow! My Butt!" Peter yelped and Emma flinched as the dirt and dust got all over her. She gave the guy in the back of the van the death glare as she saw the dirt and dust gather in her once perfectly clean blonde hair.

"Look what you did to my hair, asshole!" Emma shouted at the guy in the back of the van. "I'm going to have real fun watching you die once I get my hands on you!"

"Are you seriously concerned about your hair right now?!" Peter asked in disbelief and she glared at him.

"I just had a blow out!" She shouted back to him, seemingly sensitive about her hair. Maybe Emma really was a normal teenage girl then. Peter decided to just let it go since there was more important things that they had to deal with for the time being. Emma watched as Peter took the brunt of most of the obstacles. He crashed into a truck and even Emma winced at the sound of impact. She decided that Peter must've been one of the most unluckiest people in the world as he crashed through three dumpsters on the side of the road. Emma thought she was pretty unlucky but Peter clearly had her beat. Emma winced as Peter then crashed into a cement pillar, causing the pillar to crumble to pieces. Yes, Peter was definitely the more unlucky one. Peter and Emma both lost grip on the webbing as the van proceeded to drive away. Peter tried shooting out more webbing towards the van but it was no use.

"Great." Peter said as they watched the van drive away. A determined look immediately came over Emma's face as she placed one foot forward. "Guess I'm gonna have to take a short cut."

" _You're_ going to have to take a short cut." Emma corrected as she began to levitate off the ground. Peter stared at her in disbelief.

"How about you give me a ride?" Peter asked and Emma smirked. He really made it too easy.

"I don't think I know you well enough for that, Spider-Twerp." Emma teased. "You haven't even asked me out on a date first. That's not very gentlemanly of you." She then flew off before Peter had a chance to respond. He was starting to feel very hot under the mask as he blushed and it wasn't from all the running around.

"That's totally not what I meant." Peter mumbled to himself before he broke off into a sprint. He didn't know much longer he could survive Emma Rogers. The girl really seemed to have it out for him.

* * *

It didn't take Emma long before she was able to catch up to the van. Thankfully the bearded tool didn't seem to notice her approaching since she flew well above the van. They were probably still looking in back of them instead of above them. Emma really wanted to get some revenge against those idiots. Her hair was caked in dirt and leaves and she knew that she would be having to make another trip to salon sooner than she had planned. Emma didn't consider herself to be girly but she prided herself on her appearance. People took you seriously when you looked as though you took yourself seriously.

Emma braced herself for landing as her feet touched the top of the van, making a soft thump as she landed. She put her hands out in front of her as tried to maintain balance because she was technically car surfing. Emma definitely could say that it wasn't her first time car surfing. She heard the idiots inside the van talking amongst each other as they took note of the thump coming from the top of the van.

"What the hell was that?" One of them questioned.

"I don't know, man." The other one answered. "Maybe it's him."

"Well, why don't you go check it out. I'm a little busy driving your sorry ass around." The driver told the other one. The one on the passenger side grunted in agreement before he rolled down the window. Emma took a deep breath as she prepared herself for another confrontation. This asshole was totally going to get it.

"I don't know, man. I don't see anything." The bearded tool said as he looked up towards the sky. Seemingly satisfied with his observation, he then turned his head back around and looked down the street. Emma took note of his dismissiveness and immediately pushed herself towards the edge of the van. She could see the top of his head from this vantage point. Emma could hear Peter in the distance, trying to catch up with the van and miserably failing at doing so. The bearded idiot seemed distracted by Peter so she took advantage of that and immediately reached out towards him. She caught him by surprise as she grabbed onto shoulders and started pulling him out of the car. He yelped in surprise and pain as the blonde maintained her death grip around his shoulders.

"What the fuck is going on?!" The driver yelled from inside the car.

"This bitch is trying to kill me!" The bearded tool replied. This only pissed Emma off more as she continuously tried pulling him out of the car. He grabbed onto the door handle as he tried to fight against her grip and Emma happened to let go but only to grab onto his face. He screamed in pain as she grabbed his nose and twisted it with little effort. Blood immediately gushed from his nose and Emma smirked. She hadn't felt that satisfied in a long time.

"Payback's a bitch." Emma was about to scratch his eyes out when she heard Peter approaching again. She slightly hesitated as she heard him because she didn't know how he would react to her scratching the idiot's eyes out.

"Surprise!" Peter called out but was cut off as she heard a whooshing from overheard. Emma furrowed her eyebrows as she heard the noise and immediately let go of the idiot. She was about to turn around to see what had Peter cut off when she felt something grab her from behind and pick her up from off the van. Emma tried to see what had grabbed hold of her but whatever it was had a tight grip around her. She spotted metal arms around her and for a moment she thought it was Stark but then she noticed that it didn't look anything like the Iron Man suit. No, this was someone else. The van immediately began becoming smaller as the mysterious assailant flew well above the ground. Emma noticed the metal legs with metallic claws that were currently latched onto Peter as the webslinger tried to pry himself from the person's grip. She narrowed her eyes at the sight and then proceeded struggling in the person's death grip. Who the hell was this? She managed to twist and turn enough in their arms that she was able to get a view of it's face. Ominous green eyes stared back at her as she continued to fight against the person's grip. She glared back at the person venomously. Who did this person think they were?

"Let me go, asshole!" She snarled at him. Emma grabbed hold of his wrist and squeezed but her grip barely made a dent.

"Miss Rogers, you're currently entering a dangerous elevation." McConaughey told her.

"No kidding." Emma grumbled.

"I am deploying the parachute now." McConaughey said and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What parachute?" Emma questioned as she heard a beeping coming from both her suit and mask. It was clear what McConaughey meant when not even a moment later a parachute deployed from her suit which forced her out of weird birdman's grip and sent her flying in the opposite direction. The parachute covered Emma's face as she started falling from the sky and one thing went through her mind as she fell.

Peter.

Where the hell was Peter? Emma furiously tried to rip the parachute from her face so that she could see but it seemed as if she was completely tangled in it. Great gadget you made, Stark. Really… this was so incredibly helpful. Why on Earth did he think she needed a parachute? She fucking flied for Christ's sake. Emma heard Peter's distant screams and she could only hope that Stark gave his suit a parachute too. Wait… Was she actually worried about him?

"I can't see shit, McConaughey!" Emma screamed out angrily as she fell through the night sky.

"You're nearing the ground." McConaughey replied.

"Yes, thank you for that helpful information. If I could just see the ground that would be splendid." Emma said sarcastically. It was then that Emma was finally able to rip the parachute from her and using her enhanced strength she detached the parachute from her suit. The parachute then flew off into the night air as Emma was finally able to have clear vision of the ground. Emma really didn't like how close to the ground she was. At the rate she was falling Emma wasn't sure if she would have enough time to steady herself so she didn't crash against the ground.

"Miss Rogers, you need to regain control of your flight or the results of you crashing could be near fatal." McConaughey told her.

"Yes, I know, McConaughey." Emma told him as she gritted her teeth. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do." Emma immediately pointed her feet towards the direction of the ground as she tried slowing herself down. It seemed to be working as Emma began decreasing in speed as she fell. Normally Emma could've just gone with it and flown away but she knew that she had worn herself out. She didn't really fly that much but when she did it toll on her.

"Where's a safe place to land, McConaughey?" Emma asked as she continued to slow down.

"There's a park directly below you." McConaughey informed her. "It's currently empty from civilian bystanders."

"Great." Emma responded as Peter popped back into her mind. "Is Peter okay?"

"Mr. Parker is safe. Mr. Stark was able to save him from drowning." McConaughey told her and Emma groaned.

"Stark's here?" Emma questioned. "That's just great. I thought he was going to be in India?"

"He is in India."

* * *

McConaughey hadn't really gone into detail when he mentioned that Stark was there and he also happened to be in India at the same time but Emma figured that he was probably controlling an Iron Man suit from India. It wouldn't be the first time he had remote controlled one of his suits. She had seen the Iron Legion first hand… well, she had seen the Iron Legion when Ultron controlled them at least. Emma had been walking around on the ground for a couple minutes now as she walked towards the playground area of the park. When Emma saw the Iron Man suit standing there she immediately turned back around and started walking in the opposite direction. There was no way she felt like dealing with Stark tonight… in any capacity or form.

"Woah, woah, Mini Cap." Stark called out as he spotted her leaving. "Where do you think you're going?" Emma sighed and turned around to face him. She noticed that Peter was sitting on top of a jungle gym as he squeezed the water from his suit. He no longer had his mask on as he looked her over with a worried expression on his face. Emma's eye twitched at the sight. She didn't think she liked that one bit. The lenses of her mask immediately went up as she stared at the Iron Man suit.

"Away from you." Emma answered as she began walking towards them. Talking to Stark seemed inevitable now.

"Aw, that's not very nice of you, Mini Cap." Emma glared at him. He knew more than well that she always hated that name. It was probably why he continued to call her that because he knew it riled her up. "I see you and Spiderling have finally been introduced." Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, it sure was a coincidence that we met." Emma told him, her voice sounding condescending. "Can you believe the odds of it? An assassin and a amateur superhero attending the same high school?"

"Hey!" Peter interjected, completely offended by Emma's statement. He went ignored by both Emma and Tony as Emma was locked into a staring contest with the Iron Man suit.

"Yeah, well, it's nice to see you making some friends for once." Emma scoffed at Stark's remark.

"Parker and I aren't friends, Stark. I don't have friends." Emma told him.

"Right, I forgot how anti-social you are." Stark replied. "At least you're fighting crime. I didn't think I'd ever see the day. I honestly thought you were two seconds away from building your own super secret evil lair and hatching out a plan to bomb the compound." Emma smirked at him.

"Now there's an idea." Emma quipped and she knew that where ever Stark was located that he was glaring at her. That gave her a lot of satisfaction. "Don't think that I'm my grandfather. I'm only here because I don't want those idiots selling those weapons to Hydra. This is entirely self serving."

"I'm not sure if I believe you, Mini Cap." Stark retorted.

"I don't care if you believe me, Stark. Besides… you owe me big time." Emma told him and the Iron Man suit crossed it's arms.

"How's that?" He inquired.

"Well, I had to babysit your little project for example." Emma reminded him as she spared a glance in Peter's general direction. Peter glared at her for talking about him like he wasn't there. Emma, however, didn't feel at all intimidated by his weak glare. Parker didn't scare her one bit. "It seems like someone's always picking up after you, Stark. Steve's not here to do that anymore so I guess the job's mine now." Stark was quiet for a moment which was odd because Emma didn't think she ever remembered Stark being quiet.

"You look for worse for wear, Mini Cap." Stark told her as he assessed her appearance. It was true. Emma's hair was caked with dirt and leaves, looking very disheveled and in a different state than he had ever seen it in before. There was slight bruising around her jawline which Tony was convinced would disappear in an hour's time. Her nose was bent at an odd angle and he knew immediately that it was broken. Blood was smeared around her mouth and nose. It was odd to Tony because he didn't think he had ever seen the blonde look so unkempt. There was also a lot of blood on her hands, he noticed. "Are you wounded somewhere else? You've got blood everywhere." Emma just glanced at her hands nonchalantly before looking back at him.

"Most of it's not even my blood." Emma replied and Stark sighed heavily.

"Please tell me you didn't kill anyone?" He asked, sounding very tired.

"Relax… I came close but birdman stopped me." Emma said as if that was supposed to reassured everyone. Tony decided to just let that one go and tend to the current task at hand. He didn't feel like lecturing Emma for having homicidal tendencies.

"I'm just going to ignore your serial killer instincts for the moment and discuss something more important with you two." Stark announced. "Peter was telling me all about your interesting adventure tonight with birdman and his weapon dealer buddies." It was then that Peter hopped back into the conversation.

"Yeah, I was just telling Mr. Stark how I was about to help you with those guys in the van." Peter said excitedly as he told the story. Emma raised a brow at his excitement. She didn't know if she found his dorkiness adorable or stupid? No, she most definitely didn't find it adorable. Emma didn't find anything adorable. She didn't even find puppies adorable.

"I jumped off the roof of that house and was like 'Surprise'! And then he just, like, swooped down like a monster and picked us up, and took us up like a thousand feet and just dropped us." He continued to say as he squeezed the water from his mask and Emma seriously wondered how he breathed. Peter never seemed to stop talking. That kid sucked all the oxygen from the room whenever he talked.

"How did you find us?" Peter questioned Tony as the Iron Man suit then began to hover above ground. "Did you put a tracker in our suits or something?"

"I put everything in your suits. Including this heater." Tony explained. It seemed like he was deflecting. Emma narrowed her eyes at him as steam immediately began to rise from Peter's suit and he was immediately warmed up. Peter was momentarily distracted from the fact that Stark didn't really answer his question.

"That's better. Thanks." Peter told him.

"What were you two thinking?" Tony questioned and Emma rolled her eyes. Here comes another lecture from the hypocrite himself. Emma would sit there and be lectured by Steve but she'd be damned if she sat there and allowed Stark to lecture her like he knew better than her. This was coming from the guy who invented and sold weapons of mass destruction, built Ultron, and started an unnecessary war. Yeah, Emma wasn't about to be lectured by the likes of him. Steve was the only one she would let lecture her. "I expected this from Peter but not you, Emma. I thought you were more responsible than this."

"Don't try the father figure act, Stark." Emma told him, her gaze cold and unrelenting. "It doesn't suit you."

"The guy with wings is obviously the source of the weapons." Peter interjected as he brought the conversation back to the mysterious birdman. "We've gotta take him down." Peter stated, referring to himself and Emma. Emma didn't know how she felt about Peter's statement. He was referring to them as if they were some sort of team. It was odd to her. The last time she had a partner like that was when she was partners with her father.

"Take him down now, huh?" Tony asked mockingly and Emma glared at him. She didn't know why he was so high and mighty. Stark was just some rich nerd in a suit. Peter and her were probably like thirty times stronger than him put together. Emma had also been doing this kind of thing a lot longer than Stark had been. He was probably neck deep in women when she was training at the Hydra base in Siberia.

"Steady Bonnie and Clyde, there are people who handle this sort of thing." Stark told them.

"The Avengers?" Peter questioned.

"No, no, no. This is a little below their paygrade." He answered. Emma didn't agree with that at all. If Steve had known about these weapon dealers then he would be one of the first ones out there hunting them down and making sure that these weapons never ended up in the hands of Hydra. Nothing was beneath Steve because her grandfather was just that great of a person. A hell of a lot better of a person than Stark could ever dream to be. That became very obvious to her as she watched Stark.

"Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn't have to come all the way out here." Peter said as if he were inconveniencing Stark. Emma snorted. She couldn't believe Peter actually thought Stark gave a damn about them enough to come rescue them in person. Not that Emma ever needed Stark or anyone to rescue her. "We had that. We were fine."

"Oh, I'm not _here_." Tony told him as the face plate of the suit lifted up and revealed that there was no one inside the suit. "Thank god this place has wifi or you two would be toast right now. Thank Ganesh while you're at it. Cheers."

"Please, Stark, like I'll ever need you to rescue me." Emma said in an annoyed tone. "Don't act like you're some sort of godsend because you're not. I was handing the situation before you came along."

"Like you were handling not letting Peter drown when he crashed into the water?" Stark retorted and Emma shrugged.

"He's enhanced. He can take it." Tony growled in frustration as he changed the subject. It was nearly impossible to argue with that girl. She made everything so difficult.

"Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please." Tony begged them.

"Why?" Peter questioned in frustration, annoyed that Tony wasn't taking him or Emma seriously. He thought if Emma was with him that surely Mr. Stark would give him the time of day but apparently Emma wasn't going to make a difference.

" _Why_? Because I said so!" Tony yelled, his voice laced with anger and annoyance as he raised his voice at them. Tony couldn't believe this was what Steve had to deal with for over two years. It seemed like he had a new found appreciation for Steve Rogers that he had never had before. "Sorry, I'm talking to teenagers." Tony could be heard apologizing in the distance and Emma clenched her jaw despite the lingering pain that was still there.

"You should know better than anyone that I never forget, Stark." Emma said venomously. She tried to control her anger but Tony made it so hard. She didn't like being told what to do by anyone and especially not him. She let Steve get away with it but she wasn't about to let Stark get away with it too.

"Stay close to the ground." Tony told them, ignoring what Emma just said. "Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought Peter that churro." Emma glared at the Iron Man suit.

"I can tell you where to shove that churro." Emma deadpanned. She liked to think that she was deadliest assassin in the world or least she had been. Emma would never resort to helping old ladies cross the street or saving someone's cat from a tree.

"Can't you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?" Tony asked before turning his attention to Emma. "And Emma, can't you be a friendly and nice assassin? Instead of killing people can't you graffiti the side of a building? You're a talented artist."

"But I'm ready for more!" Peter argued and Emma just stared at the Iron Man suit with a stoic expression on her face. She really wanted him to give her an excuse to kill him. Emma was just counting down the days. Emma wasn't even going to dignify Stark's stupid remark with a response.

"No, you're not. You're both not ready." Tony said as the Iron Man suit looked between the both of them.

"That's not what you thought when I took on Captain America." Peter said as he continued to argue with Tony.

"Trust me, kid, if Cap wanted to lay you out, he would've." Tony told him and Emma had to nod in agreement with Stark even though it killed her to do so.

"He's got you there." Emma told Peter and Peter gave her a bewildered look.

"I thought you hated him!" Peter exclaimed. "Don't agree with him!" Emma just shrugged.

"I do hate him but Steve could've really kicked your ass into the next century if he wanted." Peter just groaned in frustration at Emma's comment. She was supposed to be helping him.

"My point is that you're both not ready for this. Especially you, Emma." Tony told her honestly. "Maybe if you were auditioning for a team of super villains then you'd make the cut but not this. I swear… you could give Loki a run for his money so please don't ever join the dark side." Emma gave Tony a smirk.

"I make no promises." Tony just sighed at Emma's answer. That was completely reassuring.

"Listen to me. If you come across these weapons again, call Happy." Tony told them and Emma rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. Like Happy could really come and save the day. It was then that both Emma and Peter heard the revving of an engine and Peter looked up at the Iron Man suit in disbelief.

"Are you driving?" He questioned.

"You know, it's never too early to think about college." Tony informed them. "I've got some pull at MIT. They have an amazing art program there too so you might be interested, Rogers." Emma just scoffed at Tony's suggestion.

"Oh, I'll be as far away from you as I can get by then, Stark." Emma sneered.

"Yup, great talking to you as always, Mini Cap." Tony said sarcastically. "You're always a pleasant ray of sunshine. Make sure you tell Darcy and Jane hi for me."

"Oh, go fuc-" Emma started to say but was cut off by Tony before she could finish.

"End call."

"Mr. Stark is no longer connected." Friday's voice told them before the Iron Man suit immediately flew off into the night sky, leaving Emma and Peter alone with each other. Emma just glared in dismay at the space, where the Iron Man suit had previously been hovering, before grumbling to herself.

"Asshole."

* * *

"That didn't go as well as I had hoped." Peter stated as both he and Emma walked home. Peter had since put his mask back on after it dried. Emma was still reeling from the unhelpful conversation they had with Stark. That certainly hadn't helped her mood after getting the shit beat out of her.

"Yeah, well, nothing ever does with Stark." Emma replied. "Trust me. I know. This is only the beginning."

"Is your nose okay?" Peter asked in concern and Emma's eyes widened in realization. She had almost forgotten about her nose in the midst of everything. Emma gently wrapped her fingers around her nose and Peter watched her with wide eyes. "Wait don't-" And a sickening crack could be heard as Emma quickly reset her nose. A small amount of blood came pooling out but the blonde's eyes didn't even water. Peter was surprised to see that Emma didn't even flinch the slightest bit.

"Thanks for reminding me." Emma told him as she held her finger up to her nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Did that even hurt?" Peter asked her curiously and Emma raised her eyebrows at him.

"Did what hurt?" She asked in confusion.

"You just reset your broken nose." Peter told her. "You have to be in some pain. I gather that you probably have some sort of healing factor like me but I still feel pain." Emma just shrugged as she removed her finger out from under her nose as she felt the bleeding lessen.

"I feel pain but I've learned how to hide it." Emma replied and Peter just stared at her.

"You don't have to hide that from me, Emma." Emma was taken back by the softness of his tone. The sincerity in his voice spoke louder than words and Emma could feel that same sick feeling in her stomach. She suddenly like she was going to puke or something and it wasn't from her nose bleed.

"It's a force of habit. Hydra taught me these things a long time ago and I don't know how to forget them." Emma explained as she ignored the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Peter just nodded solemnly as they continued to walk down the street.

"And what about your tooth?" Peter asked her. "Do you need to go to the dentist?" Emma just shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." Usually she would be offended by his constant fussing but Emma felt really tired after the day they both had.

"Are you sure because you lost a tooth and I'm pretty sure that warrants a visit to the dentist." Peter continued to pester her.

"I'm completely fine, Parker." Emma insisted but Peter didn't seem convinced as he stopped Emma in the middle of the street.

"No, I'm not going to take no for an answer until I have a look for myself." Peter told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't realize you were a dentist." She deadpanned. Peter just shook his head at her as he pulled out his phone and then switched the flashlight mode on.

"Let me have a look." He insisted and Emma shook her head at him.

"No. You're being ridiculous." The white lenses of Peter's mask glared at her as he waited for her to be cooperative.

"Let me have a look and then I'll stop annoying you." Peter demanded. Oh, so he actually knew when he was being annoying? That was new. Emma sighed as she rolled her eyes before opening her mouth nice and wide so Peter could have a look at her tooth. Emma was too tired to argue with him again. He pointed the light inside her mouth and quickly scanned the area, looking for the gap where her tooth had been. He was bewildered to see that there was no gap inside her mouth. Her perfect and pearly white teeth were all in place and not a single one was missing. Peter looked at the inside of her mouth again just to make sure but it was evident that she wasn't missing a tooth. Emma then closed her mouth and backed away from the shocked looking Peter Parker.

"Did you have a long enough look? Geez, Parker, I've met a lot of guys in my life but you're the first one that has a tooth fetish." Emma said with her usual amount of snark. Her suggestive comment went ignored by Peter as he stared at her in amazement.

"You can grow teeth?" He asked in wonder and Emma didn't seem that impressed by his revelation.

"I thought I mentioned that before."

"I just thought you were joking." Peter said. "You're like a shark." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Peter's odd statement.

"What?"

"Sharks have rows of teeth so if they lose one tooth then another takes it place." Peter explained and Emma glared at him.

"I know that but I don't have rows of teeth." Emma replied.

"Then how do you grow a new one?" Peter asked in confusion and Emma shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know… Magic, I guess." She told him and Peter didn't like that answer. He was more of a man of science. Peter was also a bit frustrated to see that Emma didn't seem to care how she regrew teeth even though it was completely perplexing to Peter. He didn't even think that _he_ was able to regrow teeth although Peter didn't really want to test that theory anytime soon.

"Do you have any other injuries?" Peter asked worriedly as he changed the subject but Emma didn't even have a chance to answer before McConaughey stepped in.

"I can assure you, Mr. Parker, that Miss Rogers is completely healthy. I detect no concussions or other injuries." McConaughey informed Peter causing the teenage boy to jump about a foot in the air.

"What the hell?! Why did I just hear Matthew McConaughey's voice?" Peter questioned as he looked around wildly like he was going to see the famous Texan actor pop out from behind a tree. "Is Matthew McConaughey also God?" Emma just sighed as she rolled her eyes at Peter.

"No, that's just the AI system that Stark put in my suit." The white lenses in Peter's mask widened as he looked at her.

"The voice of your AI system is Matthew McConaughey?" Peter asked in surprise. "That's so cool."

"It's just Stark's weird sense of humor." Emma explained.

"What do you call your AI system?" Emma just stared at Peter like he was stupid.

"McConaughey." Peter blushed from under his mask as he realized how stupid that question was. Of course Emma would call her Matthew McConaughey sounding AI system McConaughey. What else would she call it? Peter didn't know why he acted so stupid around Emma sometimes. He liked to think he was smart enough to have intelligent conversations with people but when he talked to Emma the words just became all mixed up in his head. It was like he forgot himself.

"Right… that makes sense." He then gave her a curious look. "Why did Mr. Stark program McConaughey into your suit? Is he your celebrity crush or something?" Emma scoffed.

"I don't have celebrity crushes. That's a waste of time." Emma told him. "I just happen to like a couple of his movies." Peter smirked at her even though Emma couldn't see.

"So you do have a crush on Matthew McConaughey. Does your AI system know how you feel about his inspiration?" Peter teased and Emma glared at her. Emma didn't like what he was doing. She was supposed to be the one who did all the teasing, not him.

"Don't be ridiculous." Emma said coldly but Peter just smiled because he could see past her cold exterior. She wasn't that good at hiding.

"I always took you for a Benedict Cumberbatch kind of girl."

"I felt the same way about you." Emma retorted. Wow, it seemed like Emma managed to win another one of their teasing matches. Peter had to admit that he did not see that one coming. Emma was way better at comebacks and insults than he would ever be. That much was clear. A frown came over his face as he remembered something he had forgotten with all the events that had occurred in the past couple of days.

"We were supposed to have a Star Wars marathon tonight." Peter said suddenly as it occurred to him and Emma glanced over at him. "I had forgotten after everything that's happened these past couple days."

"I forgot too." Emma lied. In all honestly she hadn't forgotten about the invitation Peter had given to her a couple of days ago even though it felt like it had been months since then. Emma just assumed that the invitation had been canceled the moment Emma revealed herself to be the Viper Assassin.

"I guess we'll have to take a rain check on that." Peter stated. "At least until all this birdman business is finished. Something tells me that we haven't seen the last of that guy." Emma was a little taken back by Peter's suggestion of saving the Star Wars marathon for another day. She didn't think he still wanted to sit down and watch a movie with her. Not with everything he now knew about her. However, Emma didn't let her surprise show on her face as she maintained her composure.

"I have to agree with you there, Parker. I don't care what Stark told us about those weapons." Emma started to say. "We can't just trust Happy with this. I've known that guy for a couple of years. He's nothing more than a glorified bodyguard that Stark couldn't bare to part with. Happy's nice and all but that's the truth."

"So what should we do about Mr. Stark?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"We be the good little high schoolers he wants us to be… or at least let him think that." Emma said with a mischievous look on her face. Peter didn't know how to feel about how devious looking Emma was right now. Did he… did he really feel attracted to her based on that look on her face? Peter couldn't help but notice how his heart nearly pounded against his chest as he practically watched an idea form in Emma's head. He knew she had enhanced hearing like he did so he hoped to God she couldn't hear his heart hammering in his chest.

"So we lie to Mr. Stark?" Peter questioned.

"We're not lying. He's too busy to talk to us half the time so it's not like he really knows what we're doing." Emma told Peter. "He only steps in to lecture us when he feels like having a conscience."

"So what do we do about Happy?" Peter inquired.

"What about Happy?" Emma threw back at him, not seeming bothered at all about Happy.

"He's supposed to keep watch over us." Peter explained and Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Happy's too busy with moving day. The only time we should be worried is if we have to make a trip out of town." Emma said. "We have trackers so he'll get a notification if we're out of town. Otherwise the city is our limit." Peter nodded as he silently agreed with Emma's plan. He had to admit that Emma was proving to be an amazing partner in crime. Well, crime fighting at least. She was more rational and calculating than Peter was, thinking out every possible move before she made it. Peter hated to admit but he could be pretty impulsive at times so maybe it would do him some good to have someone more rational at his side.

"I just can't believe Mr. Stark didn't take us seriously." Peter said sulkily as they continued walking through the residential neighborhood.

"Get used to it. None of the Avengers ever took me seriously and I've been involved in this world since I was a toddler." Emma replied and Peter took note of that information. It was interesting to him that the Avengers wouldn't take someone like Emma seriously. She had been fighting all her life yet they didn't take her seriously? That was truly a mystery to him.

"He and everyone else just treats us like children." Peter added and Emma nodded in agreement. Her heart soared as Peter expressed the words she had been feeling for the past couple years.

"Exactly! I hate when they talk down to me like I'm a silly child that doesn't understand the world." Emma responded. "I know the world better than most of them. Especially Stark. What does he know? He's just some rich guy that's gotten everything handed to him."

"Stay close to the ground?" Peter questioned, repeating Stark's earlier words to them. "What is he talking about?" Emma scoffed.

"It means that he wants us to not draw any attention to ourselves." Emma answered, her voice laced with bitterness. "Stark wants us to not be a problem that he has to deal with. That's exactly what that means."

Emma and Peter passed by a house when something captured both of their attention at the same time. Emma could hear a strange humming noise coming from the yard due to her enhanced hearing and she paused as she looked through the darkness. From the way Peter stilled she knew that he could hear it too. They both exchanged a single glance before they silently walked into the yard and towards the strange humming noise. When they approached the source of the noise Emma wasn't that surprised to see that it was one of the advanced weapons that the weapon dealers had been trying to sell. It must've fallen out of the back of the van as the dealers were being chased by Emma and Peter. Peter knelt down and turned the mysterious weapon over and both of their faces were basked in a purple glow.

"Woah." Peter breathed as they stared at the weapon in awe. Emma knew that it wasn't a weapon that had come from Ultron so she gathered that it must've been from the Chitauri during their attack on New York. She had seen some of their weaponry at Hydra and this looked to be very similar to that. Emma never liked the alien weaponry, preferring something more classic and traditional. Like she once told Stark and Banner, those things were beyond their understanding and weren't meant to messed with by the likes of humans. Peter's phone then interrupted Emma's thoughts as that same annoying ringtone from before rang out. She noticed a picture of Ned that had popped up on the screen before Peter pressed the phone against his ear.

"Hey, man, what's up? We're on our way back." Peter told Ned as Emma continued to curiously gaze at the Chitauri weaponry.

"We?" Ned questioned on the other line.

"Yeah, Emma and I got caught up with something. I'll explain everything tomorrow." Peter answered.

"Wait… Emma was at the party?" Ned asked. Peter spared the blonde a glance before returning his attention to the conversation.

"Not exactly. It's a long story." Peter said shortly before Ned changed the subject.

"Actually, I was calling to say maybe you shouldn't come. Listen." Emma heard Ned say on the other line before she heard the distant chanting of "Penis Parker" as Flash riled the party goers up. Emma's patience with that kid was starting to wear thin. One of these days the Viper Assassin might crawl into Flash's bedroom and scare the shit out of him. Let's see just how arrogant he'd be after that.

"Sorry, Peter. I guess we're still losers." Ned told him and Emma wanted to roll her eyes. Teenagers could be so melodramatic sometimes. A frown then came over her face as she noticed Peter's shoulder sag at what he heard on the phone. Emma started to feel a rush of sadness come over her. Did she feel bad for Peter? Did she feel sympathy? Emma didn't really want to believe that she did because she thought Peter's whole high school drama was pathetic and ridiculous. Why would she feel bad that he was being stupid about something that was so trivial? Emma pushed those thoughts away as she forced herself to focus on the Chitauri weapon instead.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Ned told him.

"I'll see you tomorrrow in school." Peter replied before he ended the call and put the phone away. If Peter was bothered by what Ned said on the phone then he didn't say anything about it as he reached out to grab the weaponry. He carefully picked the weapon up in his hand and the humming became louder as Peter held it closer to his chest. Emma's shoulder brushed up against Peter's shoulder as they both gazed at the very dangerous looking weapon in shock. They both turned to look at each other with wary looks on their faces even though Peter's expression was hidden by his mask. They were both speechless as they gazed at each other but one thing was clear. If this was one small piece of what those dealers were selling, along with the weapons at the bank, then who knew what else they had up their sleeves.

This was not good.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I wanted to update last night but it took me a bit longer to write this chapter even though it's a little bit shorter than the others. You'll soon see why.**

 **Knarl: The idea for Peter being a sort of moral compass for Emma isn't really my own. I got the idea from Jessica Jones. I remembered that there was this episode where Kilgrave tried to be a hero and Jessica had to show him the ropes because he honestly didn't know right from wrong. Their situation was way different though. I don't think he really wanted to be one of the good guys like Emma wants to be.**

 **Spawn Hades: I think it's kind of reasonable that Peter wasn't shown as super intelligent or quick on his feet. He's only fifteen and still new when it comes to crime fighting. I think we'll see a different, more experienced Peter the next time we see him.**

 **My dad said this really interesting thing to me the other day when he was giving me advice about tennis(I'm taking a tennis course at my college). He said that I needed to play against people who were more advanced than me so I'd rise up to their level. I think the same thing applies to Emma and Peter. Emma's incredibly skilled at what she does since she's been doing this for so long and Peter's still quite inexperienced. He's going to rise up to Emma's level the more time he spends with her. He'll be forced to think quicker and more rationally if he wants to keep up with her. The same thing goes for Emma. Peter's a good person who knows right from wrong. She'll start to learn how to make the right decision because she wants to be a better person like Peter.**

 **JokeLover123: SpiderViper sounds really good so I guess that'll be Emma and Peter's ship name. lol.**

 **Thanks and keep reviewing!**

* * *

Emma woke up the next morning feeling refreshed after a long dreamless night of sleep. No nightmares but Emma knew that was only because she had too much on her mind. Usually Emma could last almost a week without sleep but with everything she had to deal with in the past couple of days, it was no wonder how she felt beat off her ass. Emma was just glad she did all her homework in Chemistry otherwise she'd be screwed. Wait a minute… Since when did she care about homework or anything having to do with school? Emma was completely disgusted with her new thought pattern.

After returning to her and Darcy's townhouse last night Emma took a long and hot shower so that she could wash all the blood and dirt off of her. It must've taken her half an hour to get all the dirt and leaves out of her hair. She was definitely going to need to head back to the salon soon but right now she didn't have anytime to worry about blow outs. When she walked through the front door last night, she remembered seeing Darcy and Jane staring at her with wide eyes. Emma had definitely been a sight to see looking as exhausted as she had as well as filthy. Emma remembered Darcy mentioning Jane coming over for a girl's night in so that explained why the astrophysicist was there. Emma vaguely recalled Darcy asking her what had happened and Emma just dismissively waved her hand as she headed upstairs, signaling that she wanted to be left alone. Last night was the first night of real action that Emma had experienced since she worked for Hydra.

The blonde stared at her appearance in the mirror as she finished getting ready for school. She was dressed in a pair of bell bottom jeans and an old Killers concert shirt that she had stolen from Darcy. The shirt hung a bit loose on her frame since Darcy was way bigger in the chest area but the shirt felt comfortable. Emma completed the look with a pair of blue converse and minimal make-up. She didn't feel like dressing up after the night she had.

A few minutes later Emma walked into kitchen and immediately sat at the kitchen table, planning on having a huge breakfast before she left. Jane Foster sat at the kitchen table going over some notes from her research when she spotted the teenager who was already piling every breakfast item onto her plate. Darcy had cooked an assortment of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon and Emma must've stacked more than half of the pancakes that Darcy had cooked and Darcy had cooked a lot. Jane raised her eyebrow at the tower of pancakes on Emma's plate and watched as Emma stuffed her face, looking nothing like the elegant sweet faced blonde she usually portrayed herself as.

"Hungry, much?" Jane asked her and Emma just looked up at the brunette, her mouth full of pancake as she eagerly chewed her food before swallowing.

"Yes. I had a long night last night." Emma told her before eyeing the scrambled eggs in hunger.

"I know. We could see that." Jane replied as she remembered the haggard appearance of Emma the night before when she walked through the front door. It was then that Darcy joined them at the table with a large cup of coffee.

"Yeah. You looked like shit." Darcy told her as Emma shoveled down some scrambled eggs. Both Darcy and Jane were reminded of Thor which left astrophysicist feeling a little sad as she deeply missed her boyfriend. "Care to explain what happened last night?"

"Why? Are you going to ground me?" Emma asked snarkily and Darcy snorted.

"No way. I'm just curious to know. Things have been pretty boring around here lately." Darcy explained as an excited gleam reached her eyes. "Tell me all about your superhero adventure." Jane could only roll her eyes at Darcy's lack of parenting skills. Tony must've been insane if he willingly left Emma in the care of someone like Darcy. Darcy could take care of starving scientists like herself but teenage assassins? No, that was something else entirely.

"Well, I met with Spider-Twerp again. We heard a big explosion in the distance and then went to investigate." Emma described as she ate and Darcy listened eagerly to the blonde's story. Even Jane was a little curious as she peaked up at Emma from over her research notes. "We found some idiots that were the usual criminal assholes that I'm used to dealing with. Black market guys are never that smart. We chased them down but lost them when this other flying dickhead with wings rudely interrupted us. Now we have to start a search from scratch and see where that leads."

"That's how you ended up all messed up from last night?" Darcy asked doubtfully. Emma just rolled her eyes as she remembered the amazing idea Peter had last night.

"Oh, no, that was because Spider-Twerp thought it would be a fun idea to be dragged on a filthy street by a van in the middle of the night." Emma replied as she shook her head. "That was so not my idea. It's clear that he's really new to this."

"And that's the guy that Tony recruited?" Darcy asked doubtfully before a look of realization came over her face. "No, that actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it."

"You're telling me." Emma agreed. "I guess it's my job to show him the ropes. I never thought I'd see the day where I had to train someone who wasn't an assassin. With Hydra I always thought I'd have to train another assassin like my father trained me."

"So you're not going to teach Spider-Boy how to hide a dead body?" Darcy asked her and Emma smirked.

"I guess not." Emma replied. "It's too bad. We could've had a lot of fun." Jane sighed as she put down her research notes. She had enough of Emma and Darcy's weird relationship. Darcy was supposed to be Emma's guardian but it was almost like she was encouraging Emma's bad behavior.

"Not that I don't like discussing how to commit murder but don't you think you should've asked Darcy for permission last night before you went out and hunted down some criminals?" Jane asked Emma and the blonde raised an eyebrow at Jane. If there was one thing Emma didn't like about the doe eye brunette it was the fact that she always seemed to be a buzz kill. Emma didn't know how Thor dealt with her.

"It's not like I expected to chase down those black market guys." Emma responded with a calm expression on her face. "It was kind of Spider-Twerp's fault if you look at it. He was the one that just had to save the drug dealer. I was going to let him get shot but Spider-Twerp seemed to think he was worth saving. I mean… he probably only sells pot to kids but still." Jane's eyes widened as she stared back at the nonchalant blonde.

"Drug dealer?!" Jane exclaimed in surprise before she quickly shook her head. "Wait. No. I don't even want to know."

"My point is that you're fifteen, Emma. You should be hanging out with your friends and going to parties instead of sneaking around and chasing down felons." Jane told her and Emma offered her a smile.

"I was technically at a party last night… Well, I watched the party from a far." Darcy snorted at Emma's statement.

"You're the weirdest teenager ever." Darcy remarked and Jane took the conversation from there with a serious tone of voice.

"Emma, you need to focus on school and getting into a good college. Steve would want that for you." Emma rolled her eyes at the brunette.

"Please, don't give me a lecture." Emma told her. "I already got one of those from Stark last night and you wouldn't even believe how bad he was at it." Darcy and Jane both gave Emma confused looks.

"I thought Tony was in India?" Darcy questioned and Emma shrugged.

"He is but he was there virtually through one of his suits." Jane just groaned at Emma's admission.

"He really can't ever go away, can he?" Jane said bitterly. It was clear that Jane also held a disdain for Tony but nowhere near the hatred that Emma held for him. Emma liked that their mutual dislike of Stark was something they could bond over. "Fine. I'll spare you the lecture because of what you had to deal with last night but try not to give Darcy and I anymore scares."

"I can't make any promises." Emma told her and Jane sighed.

"That's the best answer that I'm going to get, isn't it?" Jane asked and Emma nodded.

"Yeah so be grateful." By this time Emma had already cleared her plate. Jane couldn't believe how fast that girl could eat for someone who looked so delicate but she supposed that was the point. Darcy stood up from the table as she went to go wash the dishes in the sink and Jane politely excused herself from the table as she went to grab some stuff for work. Emma looked up curiously as Darcy immediately dashed back over to her side and began to whisper something in her ear eagerly.

"Do you have that dealer's number?"

* * *

"What's up with you and Parker?" Michelle asked Emma as they worked on a classroom assignment together in English. Emma gave her friend a curious glance as she looked away from her textbook.

"What ever do you mean?" Emma said, playing dumb. Michelle just rolled her eyes at the blonde's response.

"I mean you're always talking to him. You're always texting him too and you just told me that you're skipping third period to see him." Michelle told her with a suspicious look on her face.

"It's not skipping if the teacher gives you permission to be absent from class." Emma said smugly and Michelle scoffed.

"I still don't know how you do that." Michelle muttered.

"Do what?" Emma questioned.

"Get people to do things." Michelle elaborated and Emma shrugged.

"I guess I'm that nice." Michelle narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She hadn't known the blonde long but she knew that Emma wasn't nice.

"Don't deflect. What's going on between you and Parker?" Michelle pressed and Emma looked her straight in the eyes before answering.

"We're having sex." She deadpanned and Michelle met her gaze defiantly. That kind of thing would usually shock someone but not Michelle. The only thing was that Michelle couldn't tell if Emma was joking or being serious. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I don't believe you." Michelle told her. "Parker doesn't have it in him." Emma laughed.

"You've got me there." Emma joked.

"So you're seriously not going to tell me what's going on?" Michelle questioned and Emma just sighed.

"Look, Parker said he needed help in wood shop so I offered some assistance." Emma told her and Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't realize you liked wood shop so much." Michelle said, her voice doubtful.

"I don't. I'm just there to make sure Parker doesn't saw off a finger." Emma replied. "It's not like I'm going to be alone with him. Leeds will be there too." Michelle rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Fine, if you won't tell me what's going then I'll just shut up about it… for now." Michelle finally relented. She gave Emma a suspicious look, letting the blonde know that she knew that she was up to something. "I know you're hiding something, Lewis, and someday I'm going to find out just what that is." Emma then grinned at her friend.

"I'm counting on it, MJ." Emma told her and it was true. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Michelle would be able to figure out what it was that she was hiding. In fact, Emma was a bit curious to see how long it would take her. She suspected not long because Michelle was one of the most observant people she had ever met and for that she respected Michelle immensely. That meant a great deal because there was not many people on this planet that Emma respected. Yes, Michelle would figure out the truth in no time. It was inevitable.

* * *

Emma walked into the wood shop classroom like she had been in there a hundred times before. Peter would never understand how confident the blonde could be and how no one even questioned what she was doing in a wood shop classroom where there were zero girls. Emma was so confident that not even Mr. Hapgood noticed that there was a random student in his classroom. Peter wondered if Emma could teach him to be that confident. His thoughts were interrupted as Emma immediately made a beeline to the table he was standing at.

"So you really brought that thing to school, huh?" Emma questioned as soon as she stood next to him, carefully eyeing the Chitauri weapon.

"I told you that I was going to, didn't I?" Peter replied and Emma shrugged.

"I guess." Peter raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's your problem? You're acting weirder than usual." Peter observed and Emma shook her head.

"It's just that the last time someone messed with something beyond their understanding Ultron was created." Emma said darkly and Peter swallowed at Emma's admission. That's a pleasant thought.

"Well, that's not going to happen." Peter said, trying to reassure her. "I just want to know what we're up against. Don't you?" Emma nodded.

"Yes, I just hope we can get everything over with so that we can take down those assholes and hand this thing over to Stark." Emma told him before pausing and rethinking that statement. "Actually no. If we hand this over to Stark he'll probably create Ultron 2.0. No, we'll give it to Jane Foster. She'll tell Thor and he'll know what to do with it." An excited look then came over Peter's face as he processed what Emma just told him.

"Thor? Do you think I could meet him? That would be so cool if I did." Peter said dreamily and Emma just looked at him like he was the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen.

"Yes, because it's not like Thor has anything important going on." Emma muttered. "Infinity stones be damned." That seemed to snap Peter out of his dreamy state.

"Infinity Stones? What's that?" Emma just shook her head.

"Never mind what that is. Let's just focus on the problem that's in front of us." Emma snapped and Peter immediately forgot about the infinity stones as he looked back at the Chitauri weapon. "Get to work, Parker. We don't have all day." Peter then picked up a hammer from the table and immediately began hitting the hammer against the weird weapon so that they could get a better look at the purple orb. Emma thought it was kind of stupid that they were doing this in public but it's not like anyone at this school really cared. Emma didn't think she could bring the weapon back to her and Darcy's townhouse because Jane would immediately know what it was and report back to Happy. She didn't need that right now.

"Hey, thanks for bailing on me." Ned called out to Peter as he walked up to them. Emma didn't even spare him a glance as her eyes remained glue to the weapon.

"Yeah, well, something came up." Peter defended and Ned gave the weapon a curious look as he stood in front of the table off to Emma's other side.

"What is that?" Ned asked as he stared transfixed at the weapon. It seemed to have that kind of effect on people, Emma noticed. She noticed that Peter had smashed away a lot of the coating of the weapon so that they could see the wiring that held it together. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she saw the wiring. That didn't look very alien.

"I don't know. Some guy tried to vaporize us with it." Peter told him.

"Seriously?" Ned questioned in amazement.

"Yeah." Peter confirmed.

"Awesome." Ned said in awe before Peter and Emma gave him an odd look. "I mean, not awesome. Totally uncool of that guy. So scary. Did you get him?"

"No but I broke his nose." Emma answered coolly and Ned just stared at the blonde in admiration.

"Badass." Ned breathed. Peter just shook his head at Ned as he tried pry the purple orb from the weapon. Emma had an uneasy feeling which was well founded because this was alien technology after all even it didn't appear to be completely alien.

"Well, look, I think it's a power source." Peter stated as he analyzed the weapon, taking off more bits and pieces.

"Yeah, but it's connected to a bunch of microprocessors." Ned said as he looked down at the wiring in the weapon.

"Can you speak English please?" Emma asked, feeling out of place as the two teenage boys started speaking science. Peter gave her a confused look.

"I thought you had a genius IQ?" Peter questioned as he recalled what Mr. Harrington had said at the decathlon meeting a week and half ago. Emma just glared at him.

"Yeah, I can make a bomb but that's as sciencey as I get. I'm more of a navigating my way out of the Amazon and surviving the Siberian woodlands kind of girl. Survival genius, not science genius." Peter and Ned stared at the blonde in surprise. It seemed like everyday Peter learned something new about Emma. When she talked about stuff like that it made Peter unbelievably curious about her. He would really like to hear some of the stories she had because he was sure she had many interesting stories to tell but Emma wasn't the most forthcoming about information about herself. He supposed he would just have to wait until Emma felt like talking more about her past. Peter would just have to respect her privacy.

"As I said before… Badass." Ned commented before elaborating on what he meant by microprocessors. He pointed to another part of the weapon. "That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush."

"Okay, now I'm starting to get the big picture." Emma murmured. It was starting to become clear to her that those weapon dealers really were messing with technology beyond their understanding if they were putting their own personal touch on the weapons.

"Whoever's making these weapons is obviously combining alien tech with ours." Peter told them before glancing at Emma. "You were completely right about the alien part of it. Look at how this thing glows."

"I'd say that this is Chitauri weaponry. I heard those idiots talking last night and they mentioned having Chitauri and Ultron weaponry that were salvaged from New York and Sokovia. The power source looks like the stuff Hydra used to collect." Emma said as she stared at the purple orb. Peter and Ned both eagerly listened to her as she gave them her intel. The way she talked made her sound like an adult. It was times like this that Peter was reminded of the fact that Emma's thought process was probably completely different than anyone else's. She talked like she knew what she was doing and that was probably because she did.

"How would they even get stuff like this?" Ned questioned and Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"They probably salvaged what they could from the battle of New York and then the rest of the stuff probably came from the black market." Emma answered. "It wouldn't surprise me if they happened to have some Dark Elf weaponry from Thor's time in London."

"But Shield was still functional during those battles here in New York and London." Peter interjected. "Wouldn't they have made sure that no one would get their hands on those weapons?" Emma sighed.

"Think, Parker." Emma told him. "Do you know how long Hydra was inside Shield before my grandfather ended it? Too long. I would know that because I remembered seeing those weapons at all the Hydra bases. Hydra took what Shield had gathered and started doing what these idiots are doing. They started making weapons from Alien technology." Emma paused before continuing. "Granted they were a lot more professional about it. I never saw Hydra agents doing back alley deals with drug dealers but their agenda was more political."

"That is literally the coolest thing anyone has ever said." Ned said dreamily as he stared at Emma in awe. She only raised an eyebrow at him before returning her attention to the power source. "I just want to thank you guys for letting me be a part of your journey into this amazing-" Ned was then cut off as Peter hit the hammer against the weapon once more which caused it to make a loud noise as some debris flew off. All three of them immediately turned to look at Mr. Hapgood to see whether or not he was coming over but to Emma's amusement the elderly man was still sitting at his desk, his eyes glued to his book.

"Keep your fingers clear of the blades." Mr. Hapgood said without even looking away from his book. Emma snorted. Couldn't this school afford better staff? Not that Emma was complaining. The three of them then turned back around to look at the weapon. Emma turned her attention to Peter as a serious expression came over her face.

"We need to make sure that Hydra doesn't get their hands on this." Emma told him seriously. "Whatever price they have, Hydra will match it. They'll spare no expense trying to get these weapons. The Avengers took all of their alien tech. They don't have anything."

"I thought Hydra was done for?" Ned asked in a confused state and Emma scoffed.

"Hydra will always be around." Emma replied bitterly. "Cut off one head and two more shall take it's place."

"That's a nice motto for the workplace." Ned mumbled and Emma cracked a smile at that but her smile vanished as quickly as it came.

"But before we can stop that from happening," Peter started as looked at the power source curiously. "We've gotta figure out what this thing is and who makes it." Peter told both her and Ned. Emma nodded in agreement. That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Who was making these weapons because Emma was positive those two idiots from last night weren't Hydra and neither was birdman. They knew that the power source was alien technology, Chitauri more than likely, but they didn't know just how dangerous it was.

"After class we'll go to the lab and run some tests." Ned suggested.

"Let's do it." Peter agreed before both himself and Ned did some sort of complicated handshake. Emma just stared at the two in bewilderment and wondered how on Earth she went from Hydra to this. She was starting to notice that she asked herself that question a lot these days.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Emma said under her breath as she watched their handshake with a look of disdain. When could this whole rivalry between Stark and Steve end so that she could just leave this place and go home? Emma really wondered about that but deep down she knew that she didn't mind Peter and Ned that much. Emma never had this much excitement going on at Avenger's Tower or the compound. Peter and Ned never ceased to amuse her.

* * *

"First, I say we put the glowy thingy in the mass spectrometer." Ned told Emma and Peter as they walked down the hall. It was after school by now and the three of them had met up after sixth period to run some tests on the power source. Emma tried to follow along with what they were talking about but she was just going to trust that they knew what they were doing. As Emma said before she only knew enough science to enable her survival.

"We gotta come up with a better name than "glowy thingy." Peter retorted.

"Yeah, that's what we used to call Loki's scepter so that name's kind of taken." Emma said with a straight face and Peter couldn't tell whether or not Emma was being serious. Emma had a weird sense of humor so Peter was still learning how to tell whether or not she was joking. Peter's eyes widened as he looked down the hall and noticed one of the idiots from the night before as well as a different guy than the one with the broken nose that Emma had attacked. Emma stiffened as she saw them but maintained her composure and stayed calm. It struck her as odd that they were at the school but she knew it was impossible that they knew who her and Peter were.

"Crap." Peter cursed as he used his enhanced agility and practically flew behind the wall. He then furiously gestured for Emma and Ned to hide behind the wall too. "Come on. Come on. Come on." Emma rolled her eyes. Someone was a drama queen. Ned looked around in bewilderment before he listened to Peter and joined him behind the wall. Emma reluctantly followed Ned's lead and crossed her arms as she casually leaned against the wall next to Peter. Peter peeked around the corner in a way that she was sure he thought was discreet.

"High schools creep me out." Emma heard one of the men say as they walked down the hall. "They've got this funny smell, you know?" She wondered how they were even able to get into the school. Didn't you usually have to check in the office before you were able to go waltzing around the school? Emma didn't understand how this was one of the best schools in the country yet they lacked security or sufficient staff.

"Hey, that's one of the guys that tried to kill us." Peter stated as he looked wildly over at Emma to see if she seemed surprised or worried about this new development but she just had a stoic expression on her face. Emma didn't seem the slightest bit bothered that the guy who tried to kill them was at their high school.

"What?" Ned questioned, a shocked expression on his face.

"Yeah." Peter said as he continued to try and process what was happening.

"I wonder what happened to the one who's nose I broke?" Emma inquired curiously and Peter just stared at her in disbelief. What was wrong with her? Those guys might be there to kill them and she wasn't even concerned.

"We gotta get out of here." Ned said as he started panicking.

"Don't worry, Leeds, I'll protect you." Emma said snarkily. From the bored expression on her face, Ned didn't know if he believed her when she said that. He didn't know who scared him more? Those guys that tried to kill Peter and Emma or the blonde assassin herself. Probably Emma.

"No, no, no. We gotta follow them." Peter said as he locked eyes with Emma. "They can lead us to the guy that dropped me in the lake." A mischievous smirk then came over Emma's face.

"Wow, Parker, you've actually said something smart for once… and something I actually agree with." Emma told him.

"Someone dropped you guys in a lake?" Ned asked.

"Not me." Emma replied. "No one drops me in a lake and lives to tell the tale." Peter sighed before he peeked around the corner again.

"Yeah, it was not good." He muttered. Emma could understand his grief because he almost got hypothermia last night. She'd be pretty pissed if someone was able to drop her in a lake too. That water looked cold. Emma peeked around the corner as well and noticed that the men were walking through one of the doorways. She knew that doorway. They were heading down to the art classroom.

"Peter-" Ned said as Peter began removing himself from behind the wall. Emma just decided to follow his lead because she thought Peter being discreet and sneaky would be the most hilarious thing she had ever seen.

"No, stay there, Ned." Peter told his friend as he stepped out into the hallway. Emma gave Ned a reassuring look.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't die." Emma told Ned, thinking that would made the boy feel better. It was obvious that Emma didn't know how to comfort people but it was the thought that counts after all.

"Peter. Emma." Ned quietly called out for them but he went ignored as Emma followed Peter out into the hallway. She smirked in amusement as Peter tiptoed down the hall. What was he tiptoeing for? Those guys were already out of the sight. Emma snickered as Peter suddenly pressed himself against the wall in an attempt to be covert. The blonde assassin just walked down the middle of the hall without a care in the world.

"What are you doing, Emma?" Peter hissed at her. "We need to be stealthy about this." Peter told her. She raised an eyebrow at him. Stealthy? Where did he learn that? The super secret spy dictionary?

"I think I know what I'm doing, Parker, I've been doing this for eleven years." Emma told him.

"You're going to get us caught." She rolled her eyes.

"In case you haven't noticed, 007, those idiots are down in the art classroom." Emma said with a sarcastic tone. "I'd be more worried if Liz came walking by and realized how much of a dork you are." Peter blushed vibrantly as he glared at Emma. Sometimes she really annoyed him. It was like she enjoyed bickering with him. Emma suddenly turned to Peter before they approached the classroom door.

"Do you have one of Stark's trackers?" Emma asked him and Peter gave her surprised look. He really didn't understand this girl sometimes. She'd tease and make fun of him one minute and then the next minute she was completely serious and demanding.

"Yes… Why do you ask?" Peter questioned her and Emma immediately held out her hand.

"Give me it." She demanded. Not even a please?

"Wait… are you thinking of putting a tracker on one of those guys? Because I was thinking the same exact thing-" He started rambling excitedly before Emma interrupted, quickly becoming tired of Peter's talking.

"Just give me the damn tracker." Emma told him with an annoyed look on her face. Peter raised his hands defensively before digging into his backpack to retrieve the tracker.

"Okay, okay. You could at least say please." Peter mumbled to himself as he took the tracker out and handed it to Emma. He didn't understand why she had to be the one to use the trackers since they were his after all. "You know, I can be just as stealthy as you. I don't need you to do everything for me. I'm not some dumb high school kid." Emma narrowed her eyes at Peter as he handed her the tracker and she quickly pocketed it.

"Believe it or not, Parker, I don't think you're a complete lost cause." Emma told him. "If you want to be in my world then you better watch and learn. This isn't fighting Captain America at an airport. Steve held back because he's nice. These assholes won't hold back. You have to learn to think on the spot and you have to learn how to fend for yourself. Stark isn't going to be there to save you every time."

"You think that I don't know what I'm getting myself into?" Peter questioned, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

"I think you're naïve." Emma told him and that was the truth. She didn't want to admit it but a part of her felt slightly protective of Peter. He was completely innocent and untainted from the darkness that had tainted her. When she realized who Spider-Man really was, she was incredibly pissed but not at Peter. No, she was angry at Tony for dragging him into all of this. She didn't think it was possible to despise Tony even more but it was. Even after everything Tony had known about her he still didn't hesitate to bring another child into this war.

"So why did you want a truce in the first place if you think I'm so naïve? Why would you want to work with me if I'm only going to screw things up for you?" Peter asked her and Emma's expression softened. Peter marveled at how much younger she seemed when her features weren't hardened. It was clear to him that Emma seemed much older than her age and he supposed that she had to act older with a past like hers. Right now, however, she looked like the teenager she really was.

"I don't know." Emma lied. She could've told him it was because she knew he was a good person and she wasn't. She could've said it was because he knew how to make the right decisions and Emma just didn't trust herself to do the same. However, Emma said none of this. "What I do know is that if you're going to have my back through this then I can't have you running around and not having a clue as to what you're doing. So take notes, Parker, because this is important." Emma told him before walking through the doorway without saying another word.

Peter followed her quietly as they proceeded to creep down the stairs, wondering what went on inside the mind of Emma Rogers. Peter had never been in the art classroom so he let Emma take the lead since he knew she took art. He remarked at how quiet the blonde was as she walked down the stairs and it was like she wasn't trying at all. Her movements were both graceful and effortless. Peter wondered if Emma might also secretly be a ballerina with all her graceful movements.

"Man, can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew where we were." One of the idiots stated as they looked around the classroom. Emma narrowed her eyes at the two before she silently signaled for Peter to stop moving. The teenager was a bit confused as to what Emma meant with her odd hand signals at first but then he realized what she must've meant. It seemed like in her determination Emma had reverted back to how she acted on missions with her father. Her father and her had created a silent language between them so she was used to using signals and certain looks without ever having to speak. She had forgotten that she was on a mission with Peter and not her father.

"It's saying there was an energy pulse right here." The idiot from last night said as he read something off a device in his hands. So that's why they were at the high school. It wasn't because they knew who Emma and Peter really were. No, it was because they were able to somehow track the power source that Peter currently had in his backpack.

"There's no sign of the weapon." The other idiot replied. "And even if it was here, now it's gone."

"So are we." His partner responded as he glanced around the room in wonder. The moron was probably wondering why the hell his little device lead him to a high school. She'd be equally as suspicious if she were him. Emma noticed that he was about to turn to look in their direction so she instantly turned back to Peter. The blonde quickly grabbed onto Peter's forearms and Peter's eyes widened as he wondered what the hell she was doing. She locked eyes with him, oceanic blue meeting warm brown, and without hesitating she flew the both of them back up the stairwell a ways. Peter gasped quietly from the action and only then became all too aware of the close proximity between him and Emma as they huddled close together. Peter was pressed up against the wall as Emma had her head turned in the direction of the two idiots who were still in the classroom, not paying the slightest attention to him. She was obviously listening to what they were saying but Peter was too preoccupied by Emma's hand resting on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked in a whisper as his heart started racing. He thought Emma might've removed herself from him so that they could make an escape but was surprised to find that he wasn't sure he wanted her to leave. What are you thinking, Peter? He asked himself. You like Liz! Liz who's kind, intelligent, and beautiful. Emma was beautiful and intelligent as well but she was also very mean, cold, and crazy. He couldn't even begin to think what went on inside her mind and Peter didn't know if he wanted to. Emma then turned around to face him and at this distance he could see those familiar flecks of green in her blue eyes. Peter felt a bit transfixed at the sight and was barely able to snap out of his thoughts when she started talking.

"We still need to place the tracker on them." Emma told him with a determined look on her face, apparently oblivious to the goofy look on Peter's face for the time being. Emma was much too occupied with her own thoughts as she came up with a plan. She couldn't exactly claim the idea as her own because the credit technically belonged to Natasha. Emma remembered Natasha telling her how she and Steve managed to get out of a tight situation from some Hydra goons. She really wished that she could've been there to see the look on Steve's face when that happened. "I have a plan."

"You do?" Peter asked dreamily, barely able to comprehend what Emma was saying. Emma nodded as she locked eyes with him.

"I've heard some people are uncomfortable with public displays of affection." Emma said seriously. "Do you want to test that theory?" Peter snapped out of his dazed state as he gave Emma a confused look.

"Wait… What?" He asked and before he could even blink Emma quickly grabbed his face and leaned in towards him. Peter could only watch dumbstruck as Emma pressed her lips against his. Part of him wanted to back away and ask what she thought she was doing but something stopped him. Peter instantly melted into the kiss as he closed his eyes and found himself kissing her back. Her lips felt impossibly soft against his and even tasted sweet. He felt a bit panicked because he wasn't sure what he was doing. Peter had never kissed a girl before but he was silently reassured by Emma's confidence as she seemed to take the lead.

Emma honestly hadn't had this in mind when she took the tracker from Peter. She had been hoping to somehow sneak up on the two idiots and plant the trackers that way but they were too far away. Emma needed to get them at a closer distance. The idea came to her as soon as the idiot from the night before turned in their direction. She always thought quickly on her feet and that was the first and only idea that came to her. As the blonde kissed Peter she couldn't help but notice that he wasn't that bad of a kisser. Not that Emma had much experience with kissing save for Rumlow unfortunately. As her hands held onto his face she couldn't help but feel how nervous he was under her touch and somehow she found that endearing. Peter's movements were unsure and anxious but Emma didn't mind that much. She had been willing to do anything for the mission even if meant having to be somewhat intimate with Peter but she didn't think she'd enjoy the kiss as much as she did. Maybe it was because she always thought it'd be sloppy like it was with Rumlow and it would make her skin crawl but surprisingly Emma didn't feel disgusted. She didn't feel disgusted at all.

"What the hell?!" One of the idiots yelled out and both Emma and Peter jumped apart. Peter jumped because he was honestly surprised and Emma jumped because she had a part to play. She discreetly removed the tracker from her pocket and held it in her hand as she turned around to face the two idiots. Emma feigned a wide eyed, surprised look as she stared at the two in horror.

"Oh my god! We thought there wasn't anyone down here!" She exclaimed and the two men gave the teenagers a look of disbelief, not believing what they had just walked in on. The African-American man had a hand in his pocket and Emma could assume he was feeling for his gun. The men didn't say anything so Emma continued speaking in her little nervous rant. Peter just continued to stare at both Emma and the two men in shock.

"We just wanted a moment of privacy. We weren't doing anything else… I swear." Emma continued to say, sounding like she was panicking. "Please don't tell anyone what we were doing. My boyfriend and I were just kissing. I can't have a mark on my record… it'll ruin my college application." Emma pleaded, her voice sounding whiny and her eyes watering. At this point she had grabbed onto the idiot from last night's sleeve as if she were trying to emphasize her point. The two men instantly looked uncomfortable by the blonde's tears and the dark skinned man looked down at Emma's hand on his arm in disdain. What he didn't notice was the small spider shaped tracker that had crawled out of Emma's palm and discreetly crawled through the sleeve of his shirt. He gave Emma a forced smile as he yanked his arm away from her.

"Don't worry, princess. We won't tell a soul." He said in a dark tone. Emma's skin crawled at the name he called her. It was the same name Rumlow used to call her. Don't let yourself be compromised, Emma told herself. Finish the mission. "We didn't even see each other." He then moved past her, his shoulder brushing against her as he passed her in the narrow staircase. His partner followed suit.

"Thank you!" She called out after him, sounding absolutely delighted that she was off the hook. She watched as the men walked out the doorway and listened in on them to make sure that the two idiots weren't suspicious.

"Damn horny kids." One of them said in annoyance. "Just what the world needs." No, they didn't suspect a thing. And with that she could hear their footsteps become quieter and quieter as they walked further away. They were gone. The teary eyed look fell off Emma's face as she turned back to Peter. He was still staring in shock at the blonde, reeling from the kiss they just shared. His mind was completely blown and he had no idea how to process what just happened.

"You kissed me." Peter breathed, his heart racing. Emma just raised an eyebrow at him.

"And?" Peter swallowed nervously.

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked her and Emma shrugged.

"For the mission." Emma told him. "Did you learn your lesson?" Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked back at the impossibly confusing girl.

"What lesson?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed tiredly.

"That when you commit to a mission you need to follow through." Emma explained. "You need to think on your feet and do whatever you can to complete the mission. Your only goal is to finish the mission."

"So you just kissed me for the mission? It's just work to you?" Peter asked, feeling a bit hurt and used. Emma scoffed.

"Don't be such a girl about it, Parker." Emma sneered at him. "You should thank me. At least you'll actually know what you're doing when you attempt to put the moves on Allan." Peter just glared at her. He was instantly reminded why he liked Liz… because Liz actually had feelings and she wasn't an emotionless robot. The cold look in Emma's eyes reminded him of the fact that she wasn't a person that would kiss someone because she liked them. No, it was all work to her.

"Well, I'd like to have a little warning next time you do that." Peter told her, still annoyed at how cold and calculating she could be. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, there won't be a next time." Emma retorted, sounding just as annoyed with him as he was with her. Emma didn't understand why he was acting so weird about this. He was the one that wanted in on this sort of world… The world that Emma had grown up in. It wasn't her fault that he got too emotional. Peter just shook his head before he started heading back up the stairs, Emma quietly following him.

If she was being honest she liked the kiss more than she was willing to admit. She always thought any intimate encounter with a boy would instantly cause the bile to rise in her throat but she was wrong. Emma might've initially kissed him for the mission but she didn't have professional feelings about the kiss. She liked kissing Peter and that made Emma more disgusted with herself than anything. Those kinds of emotions were beneath her. She didn't think about boys that way. Teenage boys, from her observations, were lazy, immature, and obsessed with sex. However, Emma couldn't help but think that Peter wasn't really anything like those stereotypical teenage boys. He was different. Emma just shook her head as she tried to put those thoughts to the side. She had way more important things to do than thinking about some silly kiss with a boy. Emma was a former assassin… she wasn't supposed to have those kinds of thoughts.

The kiss she shared with Peter meant nothing to her.


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I know the last chapter was kind of a shocking one because of the kiss. This is a huge step in Emma and Peter's relationship but don't think that they're going to rush into anything. Emma and Peter are definitely attracted to each other but it's a slow process for them. The kiss might cause feelings to evolve more between them but Emma clearly has a lot of issues so it'll be a while. Emma and Peter are still in the process of trying to figure each other out.**

 **JuggernautJJ: I don't think I'll work any of the Netflix story lines into this story because I think Emma's going to have enough adventure in her life as it is. I have a lot in store for her after the Homecoming story line. She might cross paths with Jessica Jones but I don't she'll be a part of the defenders. Also... I think Emma might actually root for the Punisher. I can see everyone else wanting him in prison but Emma just totally being cool with the Punisher on the loose.**

 **writeremma: I don't think it'll be forever until Emma has contact with Steve and Bucky but definitely not a for a while. It'll be post Homecoming. That's not to say that Steve and the others will be completely absent from the Homecoming story line so you might want to stay tuned for the next chapter. I also have to say that it breaks my heart having Emma be apart from Steve and Bucky. I just want them back together so bad but I know some stuff has to happen in this story before that can happen. That's why I'm going to keep updating.**

 **Spawn Hades: I've really thought long and hard about this but I don't think I'm going to wait until Infinity Wars comes out. It's a long time and I also have a lot of ideas where I want my story to go after the Homecoming story line. I'll probably do something of my own with Thanos but it won't be for a long time. It'll just be my own little spin on the Infinity Wars. So... no, there won't be a time jump.**

 **Thanks and keep reviewing!**

* * *

Emma followed Peter and Ned back to Peter's apartment after the two had finished running tests on the power source. All through that time Emma felt like there was a different sort of atmosphere than there had been before. There was definitely tension between her and Peter but Emma couldn't really figure out why. She had a feeling like he might be angry with her but she wasn't sure. When Steve angry at her he would yell at her and get all red faced and her father never got mad at her… she didn't think she had ever seen him mad despite being one of the world's most feared assassins. When Rumlow or Colonel Karpov had been mad at her they'd beat her to a bloody pulp. That was Emma's experience with people being mad at her but Peter did none of those things. He was just unusually silent for an otherwise chatty teenage boy.

The obvious tension between herself and Peter was setting her on edge because she didn't understand what his deal was. Peter was usually an easy person to read but right now he couldn't be more complicated. His deafening silence was really starting to frustrate Emma. She just couldn't seem to figure him out. No one told her that teenage boys were this confusing. If someone had then Emma might've reconsidered asking him for a truce. It was only when Ned left Peter's bedroom, to get some snacks from the kitchen, did she finally choose to ask Peter what his problem was. If they were going to be working together in close proximity then she needed to get this settled with now.

"Okay, what's your problem, Parker?" Emma asked suddenly, cutting to the chase. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him cautiously as he sat at his desk. Peter just shrugged as he turned around to look at her.

"I don't have a problem. I'm fine." Peter replied and Emma groaned.

"Can we not do the thing were you say you're fine but you're really not." Emma told him. "I've seen Stark and Pepper do the same exact thing more times than I wished I'd seen." Peter just sighed as he ran a hand over his face. He was at a tipping point with the frustrating blonde.

"Fine. The truth is that I don't understand you." Peter finally told her and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What?" Peter just shook his head.

"You're the single most confusing human that I've ever met." Peter said. "You can be nice to me one second and then just completely insult me the next. You tease and taunt me then you kiss me of all things but you tell me that it's for a mission. I can't understand you." Emma just stared at him with an unreadable expression before answering.

"Maybe I don't want you to understand me." Emma retorted and Peter just shook his head in frustration.

"See! It's exactly that." Peter stared at her as he gave her an incredulous look. "That whole thing you did in the stairwell? You never even told me what you were planning. You don't tell me anything."

"Why would I have told you anything?" Emma questioned. "You would've only asked a hundred questions and we didn't have time for that."

"You should've told me because we're partners in this." Peter told her, his features softening. Emma didn't know how to feel as he stared at her with those warm brown eyes. Kind eyes. "Look, Emma, I guess I sort of get your point in showing me how far I have to be willing to go in a mission but we really need to communicate better if we're going to do this. Communication is just as important as the stuff you showed me." Emma processed what he said thoughtfully and she realized that he was right. Maybe she had been so used to the silent communication between her father and her that she just expected the same thing to happen between her and Peter. Emma sighed.

"I guess you're right." She admitted. Peter gave her a slightly surprised look because he didn't take Emma as a person to admit when they were wrong. "I haven't had a partner in a long time so I'm still a bit hazy on teamwork."

"You had a partner before?" Peter asked softly and Emma nodded, a barely noticeable smile on her face.

"Yes. It was a long time ago." Emma told him. "He's a silent kind of guy so we never verbally communicated that much."

"It's the Winter Soldier, isn't it?" Peter asked quietly. "I remember reading somewhere that the Winter Soldier and the Viper Assassin were companions of sorts. I also remember seeing you two at the airport together. You fought really well together… almost like it was a dance routine." Emma nodded, the smile on her face growing wider as she fondly remembered her father. If there was any time at Hydra that she actually enjoyed, it was all the time she got to spend with her father on missions. It wasn't really the norm for a father daughter day out but it was enough for Emma.

"Yes. The Winter Soldier was my partner." Emma confirmed and Peter noticed the gleam in her eyes as she mentioned the Winter Soldier. He suddenly felt a little flushed as he took notice of the happy gleam in Emma's eyes. He felt a searing feeling of... Jealousy? Was that right? Did he actually feel jealous that Emma had a partner before him and it was the Winter Soldier. Peter bet the Winter Soldier was a lot better partner than he was. The guy has a metal arm for crying aloud. You couldn't get cooler than that.

"Was he a good partner?" Peter asked, trying not to seem too interested. He tried to play it cool and surprisingly Emma seemed to buy it as she became lost in the thoughts of her former partner in crime.

"The best. He never talked much but he didn't need to." Emma stated, the smile never leaving her face. "We had an understanding. We'd do anything for each other." The jealousy in Peter seemed to spike the more Emma talked about the Winter Soldier. He had never heard her speak that nicely about anyone before. It had to mean something.

"Do you like him?" Peter blurted out, instantly blushing as Emma gave him a bewildered look. Okay, he hadn't meant to go that far.

"What?" She asked in a confused state.

"I know he's older and all but do you think you're into him or something like that?" Peter tried to ask nonchalantly and a disgusted look immediately came over Emma's face. She couldn't believe he just asked her that repulsive question. What even drove him to ask that?

"What?! No! Of course not." Emma told him, repulsed by the question. "Why the hell would you even ask that?" Peter was starting to think he might've had the wrong idea about Emma and the Winter Soldier. She seemed kind of pissed that he asked her that. Okay, so maybe she didn't like the Winter Soldier like that.

"I don't know." Peter said defensively, immediately knowing that he had asked the wrong question. "You just seemed really close. That's all." Emma just scoffed.

"You do realize that he's my grandfather's childhood best friend, don't you?" Emma asked him, glaring at the stupid teenager. Peter just gave her a sheepish look. "Even if I didn't care about that it would still be disgusting considering that he's like my fa-" Emma never got to finish what she was saying as Ned walked back into the room with an assortment of snacks.

"I got everything, guys, Doritos, Chex Mix, Cheetos… you name it." Ned proclaimed as he remained oblivious to the odd conversation Emma and Peter just had. It seemed like that part of their conversation was over and Emma was glad. She didn't know what got into Peter's head sometimes. How did he think up shit like that? Honestly…

"Here, I got the tracking device so we can see where those guys went." Peter said as he brought out the tracking device from a drawer in his desk. He instantly wanted to get back to business so he could forget that awkward turn in his conversation with Emma. Peter handed the tracking device to Ned who immediately looked at in awe. Emma noticed that it was part of his suit, remembering seeing it around his wrist the night before. Emma's disgusted look had then morphed into a bored one as she looked at the device. She had decided to put that last bit of conversation with Peter out of her mind. It was better for everyone that way.

"This is so awesome." Ned said as the device turned on and showed a holographic image of the current location of the two idiots. Peter sat down on the bed next to Emma as he also stared at the device.

"I know, right?" He agreed. "They're in Brooklyn." Peter pointed out as the holographic image grew larger. Brooklyn. A saddened expression came over Emma's face as she heard Peter mention Brooklyn. Steve. Steve had always talked about Brooklyn and how proud he was to call it home. She was instantly reminded of him yet again until she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. Don't let you self be compromised. Don't be compromised. She repeatedly told herself.

Before anyone of them could respond Emma heard the door of the apartment open and close. She instinctually stiffened but reminded herself that it was probably only Peter's aunt. With some amusement she noticed the wide eyed look on Peter's face as he started panicking. He immediately told Ned to hide the device and then grabbed some school books from his backpack, tossing one to Ned and then Emma. She realized then that Peter probably had to be a lot more secretive about what he did at home since his aunt didn't know about his superhero alter-ego. It was quite different than Emma who had just told Darcy and Jane all about her adventure from the night before.

"It's Aunt May." Peter explained anxiously. "Just be cool and act natural." Emma just raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as Peter pretended to study the notes in his notebook.

"Hey, Peter are you in here?" A soft voice asked as the door immediately opened. Emma was met with the sight of a pretty brunette woman who looked to be in her late forties. The woman wore a kind smile on her face as she entered the bedroom. "I was wondering if-" May immediately stopped talking as she saw an unfamiliar face sitting next to her nephew. May looked at the pretty blonde teenager in surprise, having never seen a girl in the apartment before let alone Peter's bedroom. She was a pretty young thing with golden blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. For some odd reason the girl instantly screamed ballerina to May. It was just something in the way the girl held herself and probably how long her legs were too. May also thought it was odd how close the girl sat next to her nephew. She was completely astonished because she had never seen Peter with a girl before. Granted Ned was there too but still.

"Oh, hi." May said in surprised as she continued to stare at Emma with much interest. May then looked at Peter curiously. "I didn't know you had a girl in here, Peter. I don't think I've ever seen a girl in here before." Peter instantly blushed at his aunt's admission and Emma looked between the two in amusement.

"She's a friend from school." Peter muttered, feeling embarrassed by his aunt. Emma then decided to put on some charm and gave Peter's aunt a kind smile, feigning the part of an innocent doe eyed teenage girl.

"Hi, I'm Emma." Emma introduced and May smiled at the girl's polite tone.

"I'm Peter's Aunt." May introduced before a slightly curious look came over May's face. "Emma? You wouldn't happen to be the Emma Peter keeps telling me about? The one who sits next to him in history class? He said you're the smartest the girl he's ever met. He also said you're the reason he got a perfect score on his history test." Peter suddenly felt like sinking into a hole in the ground and never coming back out. His face flushed an impossible shade of red as Emma briefly gave him a smug look before smiling a more innocent smile at his aunt.

"Well, I guess that's me." Emma told her. "I hope it's okay that I'm here, Mrs. Parker. We're supposed to be working on a project together for history class." May just waved her hand dismissively. Peter just stared at the blonde in astonishment. How did she do that? How did she act so innocent and cordial and then play that part so well? Peter just had to know.

"Of course it's fine. Make yourself at home." May told her. "And you can call me May." Peter then cleared his throat as some of the embarrassment went away.

"Emma and Ned might stay the night tonight." Peter told his aunt. "We've got a lot of work to do." May nodded.

"Well, that's fine. As long as Emma's parents know." May told Emma. She didn't bother telling Ned because her nephew's friend was there so often that he practically lived there. Emma nodded as she kindly smiled at May.

"Yes, I've already let my sister know. It's her I live with and not my parents." Emma told May and May nodded understandingly.

"Okay. Make sure you guys just leave the door open." May told them. She never used that rule when it was just Peter and Ned but now that a girl was in her nephew's room… well, rules changed. She then gave Emma another welcoming smile. "If these boys are bothering you just let me know, Emma." Emma then flashed a charming smile in May's direction as she then wrapped an arm casually around Peter's shoulder, pulling the wide eyed teenage boy closer to her.

"Don't worry, May, you've raised quite the gentlemen." Emma told her and May just smiled before leaving the room. The older woman couldn't help but remark at how nice of a girl Emma was. She really hoped that a girl being in Peter's room meant that her nephew was finally dating because she was really starting to get worried for him. The charming smile then fell off Emma's face as she removed her arm from Peter's shoulder and looked back at both him and Ned.

"Your aunt seems nice." Emma remarked.

"She is." Peter replied as he tried to calm down from the encounter between his aunt and Emma. He was still in awe over how calm and collected Emma had been, portraying herself as just another ordinary teenage girl. She really had to teach him how to be that calm and collected. Emma then smirked at Peter as a thought popped into her head.

"So… I'm the smartest girl you've ever met, huh?" Emma questioned Peter teasingly. Peter immediately flushed red in embarrassment at Emma's remark and even Ned snickered at his best friend's embarrassment. "I hope this doesn't make Liz too jealous. I don't really do cat fights." Peter glared at the smug looking blonde before closing his notebook.

"Shut up." He muttered bitterly. It was nice to see that Emma was back to teasing him which meant that things were back to normal between them. The tension felt awkward earlier and he was glad that it was over. Truthfully, he didn't think he could stay mad at Emma for long. Emma Rogers was just too interesting of a person for that. It was true… Peter had never met anyone like her and he didn't think he ever would again.

* * *

"I really hope this doesn't take too long." Ned said suddenly as he and Peter shared a bag of Doritos. Emma just looked at the nacho cheese flavored chips in disgust before returning her attention to her sketchbook. She was currently lying across Peter's bed, making herself at home just like Peter's aunt told her, as she sketched a new drawing. Peter and Ned were still paying avid attention to the tracking device as they tracked the two idiots but Emma didn't really concern herself with the tracking device. It would let them know when the two idiots finally arrived at their evil lair.

"Why not?" Peter asked curiously.

"Because we have the decathlon trip tomorrow." Ned explained and Emma looked up from her sketchbook as she suddenly remembered the trip. It wasn't really like her to forget things like that but so much had occurred over the past few days that her mind didn't have time for much else. It really surprised her that she was able to forget about the trip considering there was some important business she had to take care of once they arrived in D.C.

"Shit. I forgot about that." Emma cursed and Peter looked down at his hands. He was reminded of the fact that he kind of ditched the decathlon team.

"I honestly can't wait." Ned boosted, not noticing the sad expression on his friend's face. Emma noticed. Ned then glanced over at the blonde who was glancing at Peter with a curious expression. "Have you been there before?" Ned asked her and Emma immediately turned her attention to the other teenage boy. Peter's brief saddened state ended once he looked at Emma curiously.

"Yes, a few times. My grandmother used to live there when she was still alive." Emma told them honestly. Peter noticed the somewhat softer look on her face when she mentioned her grandmother.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Peter told her quietly and Emma gave him a small smile before shrugging as if she didn't really care.

"It's fine. She had a long life." Emma told the both of them. A curious look came over Ned's face as he stared at her. Something was definitely bugging him.

"Who was your grandmother by the way?" Ned asked curiously. "We all know that Captain America is your grandfather but who's your grandmother?" Peter also gave her a curious look because the thought never occurred to him. Emma just sighed before answering.

"Her name was Peggy Carter." Both Ned and Peter's eyes widened at Emma's admission.

"Peggy Carter?" Ned asked in disbelief. "As in _The_ Peggy Carter? One of the most badass women of all time? Wait… that makes so much sense. Badass genes must be hereditary in your family." Emma laughed at that. Peter stared at the blonde in wonder because he had only heard Emma laugh like that once. It was the same music laughter that he had heard when Peter accused her of trying to kill him.

"That's hilarious, Ned." Emma told him. "I don't think I've ever heard that one." A perplexed expression came over Peter's face as something else occurred to him.

"Wait… How did that happen?" Peter asked suddenly. Emma just looked at him like he was stupid.

"What do you mean how did it happen?" Emma asked sarcastically. "They fucked and my father was conceived. Geez, Parker, I thought they taught sex ed at school." Peter immediately blushed at Emma's crude remark.

"No, I meant how did it happen if Captain America was frozen in ice for seventy years?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"Well they obviously conceived my father before then. Apparently my grandmother didn't even know she was pregnant when my grandfather went down in the ice." Emma said as a thoughtful expression came over her face. "When Steve woke up, years later, my father was long dead and my grandmother had already moved on with her life. She had gotten married and had more children hence lots of grandchildren… She had a happy life." Peter felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he thought about what Emma just told him. Even Ned seemed troubled by this information. Peter just realized that Emma never mentioned what happened to her parents. She told him before that Hydra had taken her away from her home but he didn't remember her saying what had happened to her parents until now. He supposed it was safe to assume that her parents were both dead. That resonated with Peter since he also lost his parents at a very young age.

"That's so sad." Peter stated as he thought about what she said about her grandfather but the thought of her deceased parents still lingered there in the back of his mind. Emma looked back at him. "I never really thought about how hard it must've been for Captain America. It seemed so cool when everyone found out that he was still alive and he had only been asleep for all those years. I never thought how hard it must be waking up in a completely foreign world. Everyone you love is either dead or they've moved on with their lives." Peter finished saying and Emma looked down at her hands. She knew it was hard on Steve but she never really brought it up that much with him because she knew it probably hurt. Her grandfather was a bright and positive person that didn't let anything get him down so she never mentioned it because she hated to see him sad.

"It is hard on him." Emma admitted. "He never even got to know the son he never knew he had. I think that's why he's always so protective over me… he's actually quite smothering. Steve wasn't there to protect my dad and so he promised himself that he'd always be there for me." Peter analyzed the lost look in Emma's eyes. Maybe he had been wrong before when he called her an emotionless robot. It was clear to him that she really missed her grandfather. Peter felt a bit guilty as he stared at the lost looking girl because he felt partially responsible for taking her grandfather away from her. He had been on Mr. Stark's side of the fight after all. The lost look in her eyes then vanished as quickly as it had come and Peter continued to wonder how she did that. She showed you a more vulnerable side and then just in a flash it was gone. She was back to being her stoic and cold self.

"But he's gone and that's probably for the best." Emma continued to say, making it clear that this conversation was over. "It's better that he's on the run than him sitting in some underwater prison." Both Peter and Ned's attention was immediately taken away from the emotional response they had gotten from Emma as they were left dumbstruck by what she had just said.

"Underwater prison?" Peter questioned in surprise. Emma just raised an eyebrow at the two as she smirked, loving how she still knew more than Spider-Twerp did.

"Oh, Stark didn't tell you, Parker?" Emma said mockingly. "He didn't tell you where all the other Avengers were sent to after the airport fight? That's right. Prison. He sent them to the Raft Prison which is basically an underwater prison in the middle of the ocean… Well, it's more like a helicarrier prison."

"I didn't know." Peter said quietly, trying to process what she just told him. He knew that the other Avengers had probably been held somewhere before they escaped but he figured that it might've been a regular prison with college classes and cable. A really nice prison and not an underwater one.

"It's a pretty shitty prison if you ask me." Emma said truthfully. "If I was unenhanced then I would've been really seasick." Peter and Ned both looked at her in surprise.

"You were in prison?" Ned asked her, completely in awe that there was a potential ex-inmate of a superhero prison sitting in front of him. Emma just shook her head.

"No, I'm technically a minor so they couldn't hold me there." Emma told them. "I was interrogated for seventeen hours though. That was incredibly boring and a huge waste of time. I think Ross finally realized that at the end." Peter raised an eyebrow at that.

"Secretary Ross interrogated you?" Peter asked. This story just kept getting stranger and stranger. A lot of the stuff that Emma told him he found shocking but this was incredibly shocking to the teenager. Emma just scoffed at Peter's question.

"Yeah but he wasn't any good at it." Emma replied. "You would not believe the shit that guy's been trying to hide in his past. If the President knew than he never would've appointed him. He's a pretty sketchy individual." Wow… Peter thought to himself. Government conspiracies? Well, there wasn't really ever a clean cut politician. Most of them were corrupt.

"So they just let you go?" Ned asked and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I wish." She muttered before continuing. "They released me into Stark's custody. It was my worst nightmare come true. He made me live at the facility upstate with him, Vision, and Rhodes before he finally kicked me out. Thank god. If I had lived any longer in that place with him than we probably would've murdered each other. I could stand living with him when the others were still there but not when there was only four of us left. It was a really toxic environment." Emma glanced over at Peter and Ned who were eagerly hanging onto every word she said as she described living with the Avengers. She didn't really know why she was telling this all to them. Maybe it was because she wanted their trust or maybe it was just because she needed to vent about this to someone. Sure, she had Darcy to talk to but Darcy was weird about stuff like that. She didn't really take Emma's annoyance with Stark seriously. Darcy was kind of annoyed with Stark for tearing the Avengers apart like some people were but she was an easygoing person who didn't hold it against him either.

"So why did he send you to school?" Peter asked curiously. "Wouldn't he try to keep you there with the other Avengers?" It was a question that had been bothering him a for a while. Emma was a former assassin who was the last person someone should've wanted to send to a high school. He didn't really understand why Mr. Stark would send her to a high school when she could probably be of better service to the Avengers.

"He said that he wanted me to be a normal teenager… that I should spend time with kids my own age." Emma told them. Peter had to admit that Mr. Stark had a point there. Emma had grown up in a Hydra facility most likely and then spent all her time with superheros. It made sense that he wanted Emma to have a normal life. "I think he just wanted to punish me." Peter didn't really believe Mr. Stark would want to punish Emma but he didn't argue with her.

"Why didn't you run away then?" Peter asked her. "I don't think Mr. Stark could really keep you here." Emma glanced back up at Peter, her expression softening.

"My grandfather made me promise to listen to Stark." Emma confessed. "He told me I'd be safer with Stark so I decided to respect his decision. I owe him that much. Trust me… the second I turn eighteen I'm leaving this place to join the others… that is unless they come back before then." Peter didn't know how he felt about Emma's statement. She wanted to leave and she had made that so obvious. Emma seemed like she couldn't wait for the day when she was eighteen so that she could run away and join her grandfather. It made Peter a little sad knowing that she wanted to leave so bad but it was still years away. Maybe this whole Sokovia accords thing would blow over by then and Emma wouldn't have to run away.

It still perplexed Peter that Emma might just up and leave one day. Maybe she'd leave before she turned eighteen if she got tired of waiting for her grandfather. Would she even say goodbye if she left? Would he just walk into Spanish class one day and the seat next to Michelle would suddenly be empty? Peter hadn't known Emma that long but after the past week he suddenly couldn't imagine going to school and her not being there. It was like she was there all along. He knew that Emma was kind of crazy but he was really liking the idea of having a partner… someone to fight alongside. It was like they really were Batman and Catwoman. He didn't dare say that to Emma because the last time he said that she looked at him like he was stupid and then flew out his window.

"Wouldn't you be a war criminal then?" Peter asked. "You'd always be on the run." Emma didn't seem that bothered by Peter's statement. She just shrugged and leaned back on the bed, not looking to have a care in the world.

"I've been worse things." Emma said, a far away look in her eyes. "Being on the run wouldn't be so bad. At least I wouldn't have to worry about seeing Stark's ugly mug." Peter wondered how she could hate Mr. Stark that much. It wasn't completely his fault that the Avengers had been torn apart. It was both side's fault. Captain America was to blame too.

"Okay, I just have to say that you're the single coolest person I've ever met." Ned said suddenly breaking the obvious tension in the room. Emma and Peter looked away from each other to give Ned an incredulous look. The serious conversation quickly became forgotten. "You're like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. You're all like "I've been places and I've seen things"… you're like this super cool assassin who used to be one of the bad guys but now you're one of the good guys so you know how to think like a villain. Not to mention you're the granddaughter of two badass people. Wait… what about your parents? What do they do?" Ned suddenly asked in his little rant. Emma just looked at him, debating whether or not to talk about her parents before she eventually relented. Who could it hurt?

"They were Shield agents." Emma answered, avoiding the subject of her parent's death and Ned's jaw dropped open. Even Peter was surprised to hear this although he wasn't sure why. Emma's grandmother had technically created Shield so it made sense that Emma's father would join Shield as well.

"Is your whole family a family of badasses?" Ned asked her in disbelief and Emma smirked as thought about her cousin Sharon.

"Something like that." She answered, remaining as vague as possible.

"It really must be hereditary then." Ned said to himself before he went back to asking Emma all sorts of questions about her past life as an assassin. "Peter told me that the Avengers rescued you from Hydra. That must've been cool." Emma just shrugged.

"I guess. I didn't want to leave at first but they managed to convince me." Emma told them and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Convince you?" Peter inquired and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Well, they sedated me. We kind of got off to a rough start… I broke Barton's bow and knocked him out then broke Romanoff's wrist. I also threatened Banner with a scalpel later on… I guess bonding with them was a slow process." Ned gave her a wide eyed look. Peter just stared at her, stumped by what she just said. Emma made it seem like she hadn't wanted to leave Hydra. If she was forced to work for them like she previously told him than why hadn't she wanted to leave? Peter didn't really want to question it about her right this moment. He had a feeling she wouldn't give him an answer with Ned there.

"Marry me." Ned said suddenly as he stared at the blonde in awe. Emma looked at the boy like he was crazy and even Peter wondered what the hell was up with his best friend. Could Peter not see how cool this girl was? Ned wondered. If Peter was still too hung up on Liz then Ned had to at least try. "Please marry me. It would be so cool. You'd go out there and be a badass then I'd have dinner waiting for you when you'd come home." Emma just laughed as she looked at Ned in amusement.

"Sorry, Leeds. I'm you'll make some girl very happy but marriage isn't on my agenda." Emma told him and Ned pouted.

"I'd be such a good husband though. I promise to wash all the dishes and clean the bathrooms." Ned pleaded although it was clear that he was joking… Well, semi joking. "I would love you so much. I promise." Emma looked at Ned as if she couldn't believe he actually said that but she was mostly just amused by the dark haired boy. Peter was still in disbelief that Ned was actually going there.

"Love is for children. There's more important things I have to worry about." Emma said as she shot him down but Ned wasn't that dejected. It made sense that Emma was anti love and marriage. It wasn't like there was many assassins out there who were married and lived domestic life styles. Peter just sat there wondering what Emma meant by that. Love is for children? What an odd saying.

"Well, if you're not going to marry me can you at least tell me about one of your missions?" Ned asked her and Emma gave him a suspicious look. Peter was snapped out of his thoughts about Emma when he heard Ned's strange request.

"You mean one of my Hydra missions?" Emma inquired and Ned nodded excitedly. That kid was too weird. Why would he be curious about a Hydra mission? Hydra was one of the bad guys.

"Yeah. Come on, tell us about one of your missions." Ned begged and Emma stared at him for a long moment. She guessed that she could tell them about one of her missions. Not all of them had to do with assassinations. Sometimes Hydra had her rescue important Hydra operatives from hostile situations. Emma finally relented and decided to tell Ned and Peter about one of the less horrifying missions she had been on. She wanted them to trust her so maybe this was a way for her to earn their trust. However, she still didn't want to make them scared of her by talking about a mission like the ones she had gone on with her father.

"Fine." Emma agreed. She'd tell them about the mission she went on in the Amazon. That was one of the more PG-13 missions. Both Ned and Peter eagerly listened to the blonde as she agreed to tell them a story. Emma was someone that had seen some real action… a lot of action actually. She obviously had a lot of experience in the world of spies and assassins. That's what made Peter and Ned interested in her past even if her past was the dark kind.

"It was 2011 and I was in the Amazon." Emma started to tell the story and the boys hung onto each and every word that came out of the blonde's mouth. "All my technical equipment and gear had been compromised and there was still an important Hydra official I was supposed to save. A corrupt politician that had been held for ransom by some Guerilla fighters…"

* * *

It was almost midnight when the three teenagers decided to finally call it a night. Emma had heard Peter's aunt head to her bedroom hours before so the apartment was dark and quiet. Ned was already passed out on the bottom bunk snoring loudly. Emma had spent most of the past couple hours telling the boys all about the less gory missions she had been on. They seemed to be really impressed with all the places she had been to. Truthfully, Emma never paid much attention to Big Ben when she was in London or the Eiffel Tower when she was in France. No, she was more invested in the mission.

"I guess we should probably get some rest." Peter told Emma as they sat on the floor, facing each other. Emma had been sketching in her sketchbook during that time while Peter just stared at the tracking device. She glanced up from her sketchbook. "Especially you since you still have to go to the decathlon trip tomorrow." Emma sighed but nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Parker." Emma agreed. She could still tell that he felt a little guilty about leaving the team but she didn't call him out on it.

"You can take the top bunk." Peter told her and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Then where will you sleep?" Emma inquired. "Ned doesn't look like he wants to share the bottom bunk." The both of them glanced at the boy in question who was sprawled across the bed with the bag of Doritos strewn at the end of the bed and an assortment of his books from school littering every other available area.

"No, I'll sleep on the couch." Peter said and Emma just looked at him.

"It's your bedroom. You shouldn't have to sleep on the couch." A mischievous look then came over Emma's face and Peter started feeling worried. Nothing ever good seemed to come out of that look. "Why don't you join me?" Peter's eyes immediately widened at the blonde. She really was insane.

"What?!" He asked in surprise, his voice did that thing were it got all high pitched and squeaky. Emma thought it was hilarious whenever his voice got like that. She was just glad that she knew the right buttons to push to get that sort of reaction out of him.

"I trust that you'll keep your hands to yourself, Parker." Emma told him. She should've been wary of even the idea of sharing a bed with someone of the male gender but Emma decided not to care. Maybe if she pushed herself into this then she could get over her irrational fear of men… or rather intimacy with men. It was a dangerous game she was playing but Emma was used to playing dangerous games. She also didn't think Peter would try to hurt her. He wasn't like Rumlow.

"I can't do that." Peter said panicked. "My aunt is in the next room." Emma just rolled her eyes at his childishness.

"It's not like we'll be having sex." Emma replied causing the teenager to blush a vivid shade of blood. How old was this kid, anyways? Why did he blush every time she mentioned anything remotely sexual. It almost reminded her of when Stark would tease her grandfather. Her grandfather's embarrassment was very misplaced. It was clear her grandfather was no perfect angel. How else did she and her father come to be in this world? "I promise not to jump you, Parker. I'll keep my hands to myself. You'll be safe from my lustfulness. Don't you worry one bit." Emma said sarcastically as she slowly levitated off the ground so that she wouldn't have to climb the ladder of the bunk bed.

Peter just stared at the blonde in bewilderment. She was completely insane… just incredibly crazy. He watched as she landed herself onto the top bunk of the bed with no effort at all and gazed down at him from her new spot on the bed. She smirked at him and patted the spot next to her. Peter just groaned, rolling his eyes as he immediately started climbing the ladder of the bed. He couldn't believe he was even giving into her demands but he honestly didn't want to sleep on the couch. It was incredibly cold in the living room at night. Emma slowly scooted over to give him some space and Peter glared at the innocent look on her face. He didn't understand why she loved to play these games so much. He didn't know what was in it for her and he may never know either.

"You better not murder me in my sleep." Peter told her as he laid there next to her. "Because I'm kind of starting to feel like Michael Douglas at the end of _Basic Instinct."_ Emma just watched him, her blue eyes looking him over with interest. When she stared at him like that it made him nervous. She looked at him like she could almost see through him and that terrified him.

"Murder you? I'd never murder you, Peter Parker." Emma said in a mocking tone. "You're too entertaining for me to murder. Who would be there to entertain me if I killed you?" Emma joked and Peter realized that he really didn't like her sense of humor. She had the weirdest sense of humor out of anyone he had ever met. He huffed.

"I'm glad that I'm entertaining to you." Peter said bitterly and her smirk slowly morphed into a small smile at his bitter tone.

"I'm just messing with you, Parker." Emma told him. "I don't hate you like I hate everyone else." Peter just mulled over her odd confession. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment.

"Um… Thanks?" Peter said, sounding unsure of what he was supposed to say to something like that. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"I'm trying to be nice here. Work with me, Parker." Emma replied. Peter just stared at her in wonder as a comfortable silence grew between them. A few minutes passed by and Emma had relaxed on her side of the bed, her eyes closed but Peter could tell that she hadn't fallen asleep. Her breathing hadn't really slowed.

"Emma?" Peter asked quietly through the darkness of the room. Emma's eyes shot back open as she glanced back at him.

"What, Parker?" Emma asked, her voice sounding slightly annoyed. "I'm trying to get some rest here."

"Was that your first kiss?" Peter asked suddenly. Emma looked at him tiredly as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion from his random question.

"What are you going on about?" She asked in confusion.

"The kiss today. Was that your first kiss?" Peter asked her. Emma immediately stiffened at Peter's question. She quickly grew uncomfortable but answered his question nonetheless.

"No." She said vaguely and hoped that Peter's would drop it but she should've none better. Peter was way too curious for his own good.

"Who was your first kiss then? When did it happen?" He asked her and Emma tensed.

"It doesn't matter." She said coldly. Peter noticed the coldness in her voice but he didn't understand it. Emma teased him all the time and made jokes of a sexual nature. Why would she be bothered about a simple question about a kiss?

"I think it kind of matters." Peter insisted. "I mean this was my first kiss. Today, I mean. You were my first kiss." Emma just stared at him. She kind of figured that Peter was inexperienced but she hadn't been completely sure until that moment.

"I didn't know." Emma murmured, her voice softer than usual. "I know that you probably wanted to kiss Liz. I'm sorry if I took that away from you. It was never my intention." Emma told him sincerely and she meant it. She knew what it felt like to have something taken away from you. Peter was a bit taken back by the sincerity in her tone. Wasn't this the girl who said never to apologize? Emma's gaze was intense as she stared back at him and Peter was just glad that it was dark in the room so she couldn't see him blush. Or maybe she could if she had enhanced vision but she didn't say anything or tease him like usual. Peter shook his head.

"No, I enjoyed it. I mean… I did kiss you back after all, Emma. You didn't take anything away from me." Peter told her seriously. "Don't misunderstand me... I really like Liz and all but the kiss was nice."

"I know you like Liz, Peter." She replied and Peter felt his heart race against his chest as she called him by his name which she hardly ever did. "She's a nice girl."

"She really is." Peter replied as he thought about Liz but his thoughts suddenly felt torn. He knew he liked Liz but he was starting to wonder if he may have been forming feelings for the blonde next to him. A thought suddenly occurred to Peter as he looked back at her. "What about you? Do you like anyone?" Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do you really want to have girl talk with me right now?" Emma asked him before she shook her head. "But to answer your question. No… I don't like anyone. I don't have time for stuff like that right now. I have too much on my plate and even if I did have time… Well, I don't think I'm capable of having those sort of feelings." Peter gave her a confused look.

"What?" Peter questioned.

"Hydra taught me that love is a weakness. They instilled that in me from a young age." Emma knew she was just bullshitting Peter because she did feel love. She loved Steve and her father but what she meant was that she didn't think she'd be capable of falling in love. "I wasn't lying when I said love is for children. Romanoff taught me that phrase and she's right. There's no place for love in our world."

"You can't honestly believe that?" Peter asked her as he looked at her in shock. "Emma, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Is it? It's not like it matters how I feel anyway." Emma told him bitterly. "What person would want anything to do with me if they knew all the things I've done? You know, Steve wanted that for me. He wanted me to have the whole American dream because he missed out on it. He wants me to have that sort of thing for myself but it's just a pipe dream. Steve thinks I'm a better person than I am. He only sees what he wants to see... he doesn't really see me." Peter felt his heart clench at the bitterness and cynical nature of Emma's words. Did she honestly think of herself like that?

"You shouldn't talk like that about yourself." Peter told her with determination. "I know we haven't known each other long but you're not a bad person… you're good. You do and say some crazy things but you're still good underneath it all. If you weren't then you wouldn't be helping me track down those weapon dealers." Emma carefully scrutinized him.

"What if I'm just doing this for entirely selfish purposes?" Emma asked him. "What if I just don't want Hydra getting the weapons to be on my conscience?" Peter just stared back at her, his gaze unwavering.

"I don't believe you. You care about people and you care about the world." Peter said and Emma could tell that he really believed that. Emma was taken back by the fierceness in his eyes as he said that. Emma wasn't sure how deserving she was of his praise. Steve was the only other one who really believed those things about her.

"I'm sorry you believe that." Emma told him, closing herself off and Peter could only sigh in defeat. He knew he had been so close to breaking down some of her walls but she just closed herself back up. Peter wished more than anything that Emma would open herself up more to him since they were working together but he could tell he was just lucky that she had told him as much as she had. That was probably more than most people were able to get out of her. The room had been quiet for a few minutes again but Peter couldn't take the silence as something else started to bother him. Maybe if he brought this up he would be able to connect with her on a different level. He just had to take the chance.

"Emma, what was it like?" Peter asked and Emma's eyes flew open again. It was easy to tell that she was becoming very frustrated with him.

"What is it this time, Parker?" Emma asked in an annoyed tone. Peter looked a bit shy as he asked her a less serious question than the one before.

"What was your first kiss like?" Peter asked, honestly wanting to know. Emma's throat grew dry as she stared back at him through the darkness.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" She threw back at him.

"Well, I shared my first kiss with you so I just wanted to know about your first kiss. Who was he?" Peter said to her and Emma could feel her heart pounding against her chest. Honestly Peter felt very curious about the kiss since he was slowly starting to maybe have feelings for Emma. He wanted to know if there was someone else out there waiting for Emma. Peter knew he was treading into dangerous waters if he was going to start having a crush on Emma so he told himself he was just curious because Emma was his first kiss. It was only natural that he was curious about her first kiss. He was very conflicted with himself hence why he was in denial.

"It wasn't anything special, Parker. Neither was he." Emma said shortly. Peter felt a bit taken back by the coldness in her voice.

"I guess what I really want to know is if he was a lot better at it than I am." Peter admitted shyly. Emma analyzed the innocent expression on his face and knew that if it was anyone else she wouldn't hesitate to beat them to a bloody pulp for asking that but it was clear that Peter didn't mean any harm. He was just curious and it wasn't like he knew about the nightmares that still haunted her. She couldn't blame him for his curiosity. Emma swallowed as she relaxed against the pillow her head was resting on.

"You were so much better, Peter. A hundred times better." She told him quietly before she quickly turned around to face the wall without another word. Hearing something like that might've given Peter some satisfaction but he couldn't help but frown at the blonde's back. There was something not right. The way she said it sounded so empty and cold. Peter wondered why she was so touchy about her first kiss but he knew better than to ask her. Emma made it clear that there were some topics that were off limits with her and this was clearly one of them. Peter just wondered why this was one of those topics.

* * *

Emma was woken up an hour later by a beeping sound. Her eyes shot open as she sat up in bed and she immediately noticed that Peter wasn't next to her. She looked around the room and spotted him hanging upside down from the ceiling. Emma just shook her head the sight. Weird kid. She then brought her attention to the tracking device as she realized that was what was making the beeping noise, probably alerting them that it had the location of the two idiots. Emma immediately flew down from the top bunk and softly landed on the floor without making the slightest of sounds. Ned was sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk with the tracking device in his hand. She didn't even concern herself with the fact that he was wearing Peter's Spider-Man mask as she focused on the holographic image.

"They stopped." Ned said, still wearing the mask. Peter hung lower from the ceiling as he moved closer to look at the tracking device.

"Maryland?" Peter questioned.

"What's there?" Ned inquired.

"I don't know." Peter told him. "Evil lair?" Even though it was an incredibly cheesy idea, Emma had to admit that Peter was right. Every evil asshole in the history of the world had an evil lair.

"They have a lair?" Ned asked in astonishment.

"Dude, a gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings?" Peter said. "Yeah, they have a lair." Ned looked at Emma for confirmation and she nodded.

"Every major villain has a lair… it's a common stereotype but it's true. I would know… I grew up in an evil lair." Emma told him honestly.

"Badass." Ned said as he nodded. "But how are you going to get there if it's like three hundred miles away?" Emma gave the both of them a solemn look as something very obvious occurred to her.

"I can think of a way." She then pointedly looked at the poster Peter had of the decathlon team's school trip. The two boys followed the blonde's gaze as their eyes widened in realization. Peter looked back at Emma and Ned with a determined look in his brown eyes.

"It's not too far from D.C." Peter said, agreeing with Emma. So it was settled then… Peter was back on the decathlon team. Emma was a little relieved that this trip wasn't just going to be all about the decathlon team. She didn't know how much she could've stood being there and thinking about the weapon dealers back in New York. This way at least she was doing some more work. She could've quit the decathlon team but Emma thought it might raise a few eyebrows if both she and Peter quit. Emma didn't need to draw any attention to herself… that and being on the decathlon team seemed to make Stark think she was assimilating into this normal teenage life he had planned out for her. It didn't really matter either way. This trip was going to be more work than pleasure and that, for once, wasn't a bad thing.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. This chapter is pretty long and I can confirm that there's going to be an appearance of an Avenger within it so hang tight.**

 **Avalongirl55: I'm updating as fast as I can because I'm just really feeling inspired for this story again. I'm glad you love the story so much. The elevator scene in D.C. will probably be the chapter after next so still a couple chapters away. Don't quote me on that though.**

 **JokeLover123: Peter's not going to find out about Rumlow anytime soon. I think him and Emma would have to spend a little more time together for that to happen. There's subtle hints that Peter sees but he'll kind of remain oblivious to what those hints mean. This is going to be something that Emma would have to admit to him on her own. It's not something he'd going to figure out himself.**

 **swanqueen4: As the creator of such a complicated character like Emma, I also love seeing her open up to people more. The audience essentially knows everything that happened to her but we're the only ones that do. It's nice for me to finally get to write a different side of Emma. A side of her that opens up to people. Her revealing some of her past to Peter is a huge step in her character development.**

 **JuggernautJJ: I do think it would be cool for Jessica and Emma to meet. They share the same kind of humor. A meeting between the two would be interesting so it's possible that I might explore that. Not sure when though.**

 **gossamermouse101: I totally get what you mean about Ned. He's really funny and I feel like he's portrays what any one of us would be like if we found out our best friend was this secret super hero.**

 **Thanks and please review!**

* * *

Emma had left Peter's apartment early the next morning to freshen up at her and Darcy's townhouse before she left for D.C. She also needed to pick up her suitcase before she left for the trip. Emma had packed a few days ago before this whole mess with the weapon dealers came up. It was a good thing too because Emma didn't think she would've had time to pack her suitcase if she had waited any longer. They would only be in D.C. for the weekend and would return late Sunday night. Emma was sort of looking forward to the trip and not just because her and Peter would be there on official Viper Assassin and Spider-Man business. No, there was another reason she was looking forward to going.

"Do you have everything packed?" Darcy asked as she walked into Emma's room with her Stark tablet in hand. The blonde had her suitcase sitting next to her bed as she put on the dorky yellow decathlon team blazer. It was the first time she ever worn the ugly thing and Emma really hoped that it would be the last time. Darcy smirked at the disgusted look on Emma's face as she looked down at the blazer. "Nice blazer." Emma glared at her.

"Don't remind me." Emma said.

"Okay, Steve, today is the day Emma goes on a school trip to D.C." Darcy said into the tablet before she practically shoved it in the blonde's face. Emma gave the brunette an annoyed look. "Remember a couple episodes ago I told you that she joined the decathlon team? Yeah, I was as surprised as you are since it's basically a nerd squad and all. Apparently she joined it for a boy."

"I did not join the team for a boy." Emma hissed at her, looking quite pissed. "I thought he was up to something but I was wrong. That's the end of it. It's too late to back out now." Darcy didn't look like she believed Emma.

"She totally joined the team for a boy." Darcy told the camera. "His name is Peter and she's in love with him. She even spent the night at his house last night... oops probably shouldn't have mentioned that. I imagine you and John Wick over there will probably have to go kill the kid now but don't worry, Stevie, I told Emma that she has to use protection. Emma knows all about safe sex." Emma took a deep breath before also looking into the camera.

"I swear, Steve, if you don't come home soon Darcy's going to end up dead." Emma told the camera. "I don't think I have enough patience to last that much longer."

"Well, that's not nice." Darcy commented. "Anyways… Emma's supposed to take a lot of pictures while she's in D.C. so we can all see how her trip went. So let's hope Midtown takes home the cash prize."

"There's no cash prize, Darcy." Emma told the brunette and Darcy gave her a look of bewilderment.

"What? Then why are you guys going?" She questioned and Emma shrugged.

"I don't know… bragging rights?" She suggested and Darcy scoffed.

"Lame." Emma smiled at Darcy in amusement as the brunette decided to wrap up the home video. Emma thought Darcy would give up making all the home movies but she seemed super into it. It was like a fun little project for the otherwise bored brunette.

"So I guess that wraps up another episode of diary of a teenage assassin." Darcy stated. "Tune in next time for when Emma goes to the Homecoming dance. Hopefully her boyfriend Peter will ask her in time and you can finally see your future grandson-in-law." Emma immediately snatched the tablet away from Darcy who glared at her.

"Don't worry, Steve, there's no boyfriend. Darcy's just as crazy as usual." Emma told the camera. "And there's definitely not going to be a Homecoming dance. Not in a million years. Tune in for next time when the police discover the dead body of a loud mouth brunette woman at the bottom of the Hudson river." Emma then ended the video and handed the tablet back to Darcy. Darcy stuck her tongue out at the blonde and Emma just rolled her eyes. Very mature.

"Well, I hope you're happy, Emma." Darcy told her. "You just ruined Steve's hopes of great grandchildren." Emma just scoffed.

"Yeah, I bet Steve will be so disappointed." Emma replied sarcastically. "Now that's over with, are we going to discuss something a little more important than a home movie? Like the meeting in D.C.?" A more serious expression came over Darcy's face as she set the tablet down on the bed. This was something that Darcy had to be very discreet about which was something she wasn't used to. This was probably the most spy like, Avenger worthy thing she had ever done. She was slightly nervous since she was technically going behind Tony's back but she was given specific instructions on how to go about this.

"Well, as I mentioned a week ago you're going to have a meeting with a certain someone in D.C." Darcy told her. Emma already knew this since Darcy had talked to her about this potential meeting almost a week ago when the decathlon team's plan to go to D.C. was set in stone. It was perfect timing for a meeting to happen but Emma just didn't who the meeting was with. Even Darcy was being really tight lipped about this whole thing. Since Stark didn't know anything about what was going on, she assumed that the meeting was most likely with her cousin Sharon Carter. Who else could the meeting possibly be with? She didn't think her grandfather or the others would risk coming back into the country so soon.

"Yes, I know. You've been being very vague about it for the past few days." Emma mentioned.

"That's because I don't know much about it myself. I don't even know who you're supposed to be meeting." Darcy told her honestly. "I only know what Maria tells me. I'm just the messenger here." Darcy was of course referring to the fact that Maria Hill was setting this whole thing up. The fact that Maria was involved in all of this was a bit astounding to her since the woman was still working at the Avenger's facility in upstate New York. Emma wasn't sure where her loyalties lied but no harm could really come of it. If worse came to worse than Emma could defend herself.

"I understand that." Emma replied. "I'd just like to know who I'm going to be meeting."

"I'd like to know that too but this is what I do know." Darcy claimed as she started laying out the instructions for Emma. "As soon as you arrive at the hotel in D.C. there will be a car to pick you up. A dark grey Audi SUV. You'll hand the teacher the permission slip I signed for you that permits you to leave the hotel for the time being. The meeting will take place in the car and then the car will drop you back off at the hotel around forty five minutes later." Emma nodded as she took in that information. It was almost like it was a mission… she supposed it was technically a mission but just a different one than the one her and Peter were on.

"Sounds good." Emma confirmed and Darcy just smiled at her.

"I already put your permission slip in your backpack." Darcy told her, an amused look on her face. "You know, most kids just go visit the Smithsonian when they go to D.C. You have a super secret spy meeting instead." Emma just shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm more fun." Emma retorted and Darcy just shook her head as she began to leave the room. However, she slowed down as she passed the bookcase that was positioned next to the bedroom door. Emma noticed she always slowed down when she passed that bookcase because of the picture that was resting on the top of it. It was a framed picture of her father in his WWII days, before Hydra took him and made him into a weapon. Her father was all dressed up in his military uniform in the photograph with a bright and charming smile on his face. Emma smirked as she noticed the way Darcy ogled the photograph.

"You know, Darcy, I kind of feel like your eyes are violating my father with the way you're staring at him." Emma said snarkily and the brunette blushed before glaring at her.

"Well, I'm sorry if you're dad's a total DILF." Darcy replied. "I call them as I see them." Darcy then stormed out of the bedroom dramatically, causing Emma to roll her eyes at her. Darcy could be so weird sometimes. Emma glanced at the picture of her father and wondered what he was doing right at that second. Was he thinking about her like she thought about him and Steve? Were him and Steve back to being the best of friends again? Emma sincerely hope so but it seemed like she was still going to have to wait a while before she could see them again. That day could not come soon enough.

* * *

Darcy dropped Emma off at school about half an hour later. Emma quickly bid the annoying brunette goodbye before heading towards where the other students were. She noticed some of her fellow classmates were already waiting by the bus. Mr. Harrington was getting everything ready with the bus driver and she watched as they loaded her suitcase into the undercarriage like they did with all the other students. Little did they know that her Viper Assassin uniform was buried underneath all her other clothes in that suitcase. Emma saw Michelle leaning against the bus with a book in her hands. Peter and Ned didn't look to be there yet so Emma decided to go over and interact with her bookish friend.

"Excited for D.C.?" Emma asked her and Michelle looked up with from her book with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, totally." Michelle replied sarcastically.

"We're sharing a room according to Mr. Harrington." Emma said before giving the dark haired girl a scrutinizing look. "You don't snore do you?"

"No. Why? Do you?" Michelle retorted and Emma shook her head.

"No, but I'm a light sleeper." Emma replied. "I'll know if you snore. I probably won't be in the hotel room that much tonight anyways so you can have your peace and quiet." She said as if Emma wasn't already a quiet and reserved person. Michelle gave her a slightly suspicious look.

"Why not?" She asked her and Emma shrugged.

"I've got some business to take care of." Emma told her vaguely and that only caused Michelle to look even more suspicious.

"We're not supposed to leave our hotel rooms after ten. It's supposed to be lights out." Michelle informed her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't realize you were such a stickler for the rules." Emma retorted. Michelle just shook her head as she stared at her blonde friend as if her friend was a puzzle she was trying to solve.

"I'm not." Michelle said shortly. "Does this have to do with whatever you're hiding?" Emma just smirked at her. So she still hadn't let that go, huh? Emma didn't really care. She thought it was amusing how Michelle seemed to be getting closer and closer to the truth. It would be any day now when Michelle would finally discover Emma's secret. Emma was sure of it. She'd give it two weeks tops. It's not like Emma was really hiding it from her anyways because it was something like a game to her and Emma loved games. She just never had an opponent as intelligent and observant as Michelle so the games had been boring before. Michelle, however, made it very interesting.

"If it did do you think I'd tell you?" Emma questioned her and Michelle scoffed.

"Of course not." She told the blonde. "I hope you know that I'm getting closer and closer to finding out. I feel like I might be on the verge of something."

"Oh, really?" Emma asked, looking genuinely interested. "What are some of your theories?"

"Well, they're all pretty stupid ones currently. All I have at the moment is vampire, witch, or werewolf." Michelle told her and Emma threw her head back and laughed a real, genuine laugh. That had to be one of the most hilarious things she heard in a long time. The only people that could really make her laugh like that were Steve and Sam. Those two were pretty hilarious together but they never made her laugh as much as Michelle had right in that moment. "I'm completely wrong, aren't I?"

"Completely." Emma agreed before she spotted Ned standing next to the other teammates. She wondered where Peter was? It looked like she was going to have to go other there and ask Leeds if Parker hadn't chickened out yet. Emma returned her attention back to Michelle briefly. "Think less supernatural, more scientific." Emma told Michelle before walking away to go talk to Ned. Michelle narrowed her eyes at the back of the blonde's head as she pondered over her words. _Less supernatural, more scientific_. What could that possibly mean?

* * *

"Where's Parker?" Emma asked Ned suddenly. The dark haired boy jumped about a foot in the air at Emma's voice. He put his hand over his heart to steady his breathing as he looked at the blonde in shock. She had seriously not been there two seconds ago. The blonde wore a serious expression on her face as she stared at him, her arms crossed.

"Seriously?!" Ned exclaimed as he stared at her in disbelief. "How do you do that? Just pop out of nowhere like that?"

"What are you talking about? I was here the whole time." Emma said in a mocking tone before her voice became serious again as she repeated her question from before. "Where's Parker?"

"He's on his way." Ned assured her. "He had to pack his bag. That's why he's running a little late." Emma nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"Good." Emma said shortly. Ned then gave the blonde a curious look as a question suddenly occurred to him.

"Are you going to teach Peter how to be a master assassin like you?" Ned asked curiously and Emma glared at him.

"Are you seriously going to ask me that right now?" Emma threw back at him as she pointedly looked at the other classmates. She knew none of them were listening in but she still didn't like Ned bringing that up in public.

"I just want to know if my best friend's going to be a real life Jason Bourne." Ned said nonchalantly and Emma rolled her eyes before answering his question.

"As much as I'd love to see Parker trying to be an assassin, I don't think Stark would appreciate me turning his little project into a killing machine." Emma told him truthfully. "Parker's also not the type. He could never be a killer… he doesn't have it in him."

"That's so cool." Ned remarked. "You can tell whether or not someone's a killer? Awesome. You could be a serial killer profiler if the whole Avengers thing doesn't work out. You'd be like Hannibal Lector in _Silence of the Lambs._ " Emma just raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do know that there's difference between being an assassin and a cannibalistic serial killer, right?" Emma told him, partially amused.

"I guess so." Ned admitted. "Being an assassin means you get paid to kill people, right?" Emma shrugged.

"That or your employers let you live. Take your pick." Emma told him and Ned furrowed his eyebrows at her confusing statement. Before he could respond, however, Peter came running over to the group.

"Hey, it's Peter." Abraham said from over by the bus. Everyone looked up in surprise at Peter… everyone except for Emma and Ned that is.

"Guys." Peter greeted as he approached and came to a halt.

"Peter?" Liz said in confusion, surprised to see the sophomore there. He had quit the team a few days ago, after all.

"Yeah, I was hoping, maybe, I could rejoin the team." Peter suggested as he gave them all a pleading look.

"No, no way." Flash said as he inserted himself into the conversation. Emma rolled her eyes. Take deep breaths, Emma. Deep breaths. In the past she had killed people for a lot less but that part of her life was over now. She could not murder Flash because her grandfather would be so disappointed in her. She didn't think her father would be but definitely Steve. "You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone."

"Hey, welcome back, Peter!" Mr. Harrington greeted cheerfully. "Flash, you're back to first alternate." Emma laughed and Flash shot her a glare. Oh, you would not be glaring at me like that if you knew who I really was, Thompson. That was definitely a promise. Everyone then joined in on Emma's laughter as they laughed at the egotistical, rich daddy's boy.

"What?" Flash asked in surprise.

"He's taking your place." Abraham told him with a smirk as he tried not to laugh. Emma always liked that kid.

"Excuse me, can we go already?" Michelle asked in a bored tone. "Because Emma and I were hoping to get some light protesting done in front of one of the embassies before dinner so…" Emma nodded in agreement as Mr. Harrington just stared at them in bewilderment. It seemed like Michelle and Emma had that kind of effect on people. It was still equally surprising to everyone that Michelle had managed to find someone who was as aloof as she was.

"Protesting is patriotic." Mr. Harrington said awkwardly before looking at everyone else. "Let's get on the bus." Flash practically threw his blazer at Peter as he sulked. Emma really loved it when that kid got whatever was coming towards him. It never got old.

"You got the signs we made?" Emma asked her friend as she stood in the back of line with Michelle. She had to give her permission slip to Mr. Harrington so she decided to be one of the last to get on the bus.

"Yeah. They're in the undercarriage of the bus." Michelle told her as the line moved up a bit. Emma noticed that Peter and Ned had already got on the bus so she didn't have to worry about Peter wimping out last second. She honestly didn't think he would but even in her head she liked to tease him.

"Good." Emma replied and Michelle looked back at her.

"So the protest is going in front of one of the embassies. We'll head over there while the others are at the museums." Michelle told her and Emma nodded.

"Yes, as soon as I get done with meeting my aunt." Emma confirmed. Her cover story was that she was meeting a family member at a nearby café after they all arrived to the hotel. Emma had no idea who it was that she was actually meeting but it was good to have a cover story. "It shouldn't take long so I should be back at the hotel within the hour." Michelle nodded, satisfied with that information as Emma followed her onto the bus. Michelle headed towards the back of the bus to grab a seat but Emma hung back so that she could talk to Mr. Harrington.

"Hey, Mr. Harrington. I've got that permission slip my sister signed." Emma told the older bespectacled man. Mr. Harrington just blinked as the blonde handed him the slip of paper. He quickly skimmed the paper before smiling at Emma.

"Everything looks to be in place here." He confirmed before continuing. "Your family member will just have to meet with me before you go. I hope you have fun. It's your aunt, right?" Emma smiled kindly.

"Yes, my aunt." Emma told him. She felt the curious gazes of both Peter and Ned on her back as they were obviously listening to every word she said to Mr. Harrington. "We shouldn't take too long. She's very busy. I'll be back in time for the outing in the city."

"Well, that's good to hear." Mr. Harrington told her and Emma just nodded before she headed towards the back of the bus. Emma sat next to Michelle in the seat behind Peter and Ned before pulling a book out of her backpack. It was time to read and it seemed like Michelle had the same idea as her. Although Michelle seemed to be reading one of her philosophical books while Emma was reading a spy novel called 'Red Sparrow'. It was about a Russian trained spy which was pretty ironic considering who Emma really was.

"You're meeting with your aunt?" Peter asked curiously and Emma looked up from her book. She narrowed her eyes at the brown eyed boy.

"I didn't know you were an eavesdropper, Parker." Emma told him even though she actually did know that. The kid couldn't control his need to stick his nose in other people's business. Something told her he might get along really well with the witch.

"I didn't know you had an aunt." Peter remarked and Emma sighed. She didn't know why he was questioning her like this right in front of Michelle. Michelle's eyes were glued to the pages of her book but Emma knew that the girl's attention was completely on the conversation between herself and Peter.

"It's not like it's really any of your business anyways." Emma replied. Peter narrowed his eyes at the blonde and knew she was hiding something. Just when he was starting to feel like their friendship was blossoming, she did or said something to prove him wrong. It was like she was pushing him away.

"I think it's my business if it has to do with that thing we're doing." Peter told her as he tried to remain discreet, not wanting to talk about their mission aloud with Michelle sitting there. Emma couldn't believe how bad he was at this. If Michelle wasn't suspicious before than she definitely was now. Idiot.

"What thing, Parker? I don't know what you're talking about." Emma said calmly with a stoic expression on her face. "If you mean if it has anything to do with nationals then it doesn't. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." Emma then returned her attention her book, ignoring Peter's piercing gaze. He knew she was up to something but he had no idea what. If it really did have to do with the weapon dealers she would probably tell him but Peter just didn't like not knowing something. What did Emma Rogers have up her sleeve now?

* * *

"Focus up." Liz announced as she stood towards the front of the bus. She had been quizzing everyone else on potential topics for nationals. So far Emma had been pretty quiet through out the whole thing, letting other people answer. It's not like she was well versed in science stuff. Not like Michelle, Peter, or Ned anyways. Liz hadn't really gotten around to the history and language part of the questions so Emma kept quiet and read her book.

"Our next topic is Language." Great… just great. Hopefully the others were smart enough to answer so Emma wouldn't have distract herself from her book. She'd rather not participate but she guess she would if she had to. She had remained focused on her book before as the others answered the rapid fire questions. She lost count of how many questions Flash got wrong. Emma didn't understand why he was so eager to put himself out there if he was only making the situation worse by looking like the idiot he really was.

"What is the formal Japanese greeting for good morning?" Liz asked. The bus quickly grew silent as Flash huffed in annoyance.

"Who would even know that?" He asked only to be interrupted by the familiar ding of the bell.

"Ohayō gozaimasu." Emma answered without looking up from her book. Everyone's attention went to the quiet blonde who's eyes were still glued to her book. Peter raised an eyebrow at her since she had been quiet the entire bus ride and hadn't chosen until right then to participate. Liz then proceeded to read off the card in surprise.

"That's exactly right, Emma… good job." Emma only nodded but still didn't turn away from her book.

"What's the formal Romanian greeting for good evening?" Liz asked, moving on to the other question. Still no one answered. They all looked dejected from the impossible questions. Who in the hell knew how to speak Romanian anyways? "Sorry guys but these questions are from the website." When no one answered the bell dinged again. It looked like Emma knew.

"Bună seara." Emma answered in Romanian. The others stared at the mysterious blonde again as she remained glued to her book.

"Correct again, Emma." Liz said as she read off the card once more.

"Demonstrate a formal Russian introduction." Liz said as she read off another question. This time Emma didn't wait for the others to answer because at this point she knew they probably didn't have a clue.

"Kak vas zovut (What is your name)? Menja zovut Emma (My name is Emma). Prijatno poznakomit'sja (Pleased to meet you)." Emma said in Russian and this time Peter really had to stare at her in shock. Her Russian was perfect. He couldn't speak Russian so he couldn't know for sure but her accent, when she spoke the language, sounded perfect. He figured that Russian must've been like a second language to her since she grew up in Russia. Peter suddenly wondered how many languages she could speak. He only spoke three languages… Well, he was almost fluent in Spanish and Italian but his French wasn't all that great.

"Well done, Emma." Liz congratulated again. "That looks to be right." Emma only nodded, a little bored by the questions. Those were very common and basic phrases in those languages. She wished the questions were a bit more complicated than that.

"Good job, Emma." Mr. Harrington said as he gave her a thumbs up. Emma just smiled briefly at them before sticking her nose back in her book. She wasn't able to return her attention to her book long before she felt eyes on her. Emma looked up, only to be met with Michelle's very suspicious gaze.

"What?" Emma questioned as she gave her a bored look. "I'm a Rosetta Stone nut." Michelle just narrowed her eyes at the calm looking blonde.

"I'm on to you, Lewis." Michelle told her and Emma just rolled her eyes before looking back at her book. It seemed like Michelle really wasn't going to give this up. Emma didn't really mind. She hoped that the observant teenager would be able to figure her out. Emma was kind of rooting for Michelle to win their game.

* * *

Emma was almost done with her book when Liz started going back to asking more science based questions. It looked like her participation was done for the day… thank god. Flash really seemed to be competing with Peter but Emma was amused to see that he didn't stand a chance. It was kind of sad because Flash was obviously trying so hard. Emma finally finished her book when Peter answered one of Liz's questions. She put the book away in her bag just as he answered the question.

"Strontium, Barium, Vibranium." Peter answered after dinging the bell. Emma had almost no clue what he was talking about except for the Vibranium part, of course.

"Very good, Peter." Liz told Peter with a small smile. "Glad to have you back."

"Glad to be back." Peter replied but his attention was taken away from Liz as his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He immediately noticed who it was and looked back at Emma with a wide eyed look. Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked at him curiously. "Happy", the teenager mouthed to her and Emma nodded in understanding.

"Can I take this real quick?" Peter asked Liz. "I'll only be a second."

"Yeah, fine." Liz told him as she quickly turned her attention to the others. Peter started walking towards the back of the bus and Emma immediately followed, no one noticing the quiet blonde following the boy genius… no one except for Michelle that is.

"Hello?" Peter said into the phone as they walked towards where Ned was currently sitting in the back. The dark haired boy was watching the tracking device, trying to see if there were any new movements from the two idiots.

"I got a blip on my screen here." She heard Happy say on the other line. "You and Rogers left New York?"

"Tracker." Peter muttered away from the phone. Did Peter seriously not know that Stark was tracking them? Emma had easily placed a tracker on Peter that night in the alley so how could he not think that Stark had placed a tracker in their suit. She knew that Stark probably planted one in her suit as well.

"Uh… yeah, it's just a school trip. It's nothing." Peter explained and Emma tore the phone from Peter's hand. He glared at her but she pointedly ignored him as she began to speak to Happy.

"Hey, Happy. It's so nice to talk to you after our little chat the other day." Emma greeted casually as she spoke into the phone. "Isn't it funny not knowing everything that's going on around you? Kind of like how when you refused to tell me who our little spider friend was?" Happy sighed.

"Look, Emma, it was my job to keep that private. Parker didn't know about you either." Happy told her before changing the subject. "How come I wasn't aware of you going on a school trip?"

"I don't really know. I suppose Darcy should've said something about it but you know how she is." Emma responded before speaking in a more devious tone. "She's a little scatter brained. Darcy might accidentally forget to tell you certain things from time to time. These little occurrences might just slip her mind when she's feeling especially forgetful." She could hear Happy gulp. It was clear that she was making him uncomfortable. Emma wanted to make it clear that Darcy was on her side and not theirs.

"I'll have a talk with her." He said quietly and Emma smirked.

"You do that. Tell your boss to stay tuned… I'll be sending him pictures of my time in D.C. I just want him to know how much fun we'll all be having down here." She told him before handing the phone back to Peter as Emma sat in the seat next to him. Peter gave her a suspicious look as he took the phone back. Why did he feel like she was always up to something? He then looked away from Emma and proceeded to focus on his talk with Happy.

"Happy, I gotta say you tracking us without our permission is a complete violation of our privacy." Peter told him as Ned pointed at the tracking device, indicating that he was doing the same exact thing.

"That's different." Peter said as he shook his head and Emma smiled in amusement at the two teenage boys.

"What's different?" Happy questioned suspiciously.

"Uh… nothing. Look, it's just the Academic Decathlon. It's no big deal." Peter told him dismissively.

"Hey, hey. I'll decide if it's no big deal." Happy said, trying to sound like he was more important and powerful than he really was. Emma rolled her eyes from the seat next to Peter as she waited for Happy to realize how silly he was being. "It sounds like no big deal, but remember, I'm watching you." Emma then took the phone from Peter again and at this point Peter was used to it.

"Ooh, we're shaking in our boots." Emma said sarcastically. "Don't worry, Happy, we all know you're doing the best you can at your job. No pressure. Now go back to packing Stark's fine china."

"Rogers, I've had it up to here-" Happy began to say in an annoyed tone before Emma cut him off.

"Oh no, it looks like we're breaking up, Happy. We're going under a tunnel… wait… no…bye." Emma said and then hung up on him. Her usual bored expression came over her face as she handed the phone back to Peter. He just looked at her in annoyance, not believing how rude and mean she could be. It's like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Why did you have to piss him off? We don't need him pissed off at us." Peter said to her and Emma just shrugged nonchalantly.

"Happy's not going to suspect a thing." Emma told him seriously. "He knows I'm not up to something when I'm my usual bitchy self. If I told him how much I appreciated his service to Stark Industries… now that's when he'd start knowing something was up." Peter just shook his head in disbelief but he didn't respond because he didn't feel like arguing with her. He just began to put his phone away instead.

"Was that Tony Stark?" Ned asked excitedly as soon as Peter put his phone away.

"No." Peter said.

"Was that Thor?" Ned asked, sounding even more excited than before.

"No." Peter said in annoyance before he thought the question over more thoroughly. "I don't think Thor uses a phone." The two boys then turned to Emma for confirmation. She sighed deeply before she answered.

"Okay, all I'm allowed to say is that Thor had a phone and then another but… let's just say he was a little too enthusiastic about Candy Crush." Emma said with a slightly haunted look in her eyes as she recalled an incident from almost two years ago involving an innocent Stark phone and Mjolnir. "We don't talk about the Candy Crush incident. Never mention it to anyone." Peter and Ned both exchanged a bewildered look before their attention was taken away by the sight outside the window. The sight also captured Emma's attention as she curiously looked at several buildings in the distance that were being reconstructed.

"What is going on?" Peter asked.

"Damage control." Michelle said as she suddenly appeared behind them, also looking out the window. Ned gave the teenage girl a surprised look because she seemed to have the same exact ability of sneaking up on people that Emma had. Emma glanced at her friend, not surprised in the slightest to see her there. The blonde had heard Michelle walking up the aisle only a moment ago, probably trying to see what her and the guys were talking about.

"They're still cleaning up from when Captain America took down those helicarriers for no apparent reason." Michelle continued to say and Peter immediately glanced at Emma to see if she was offended by Michelle's statement. It was quite the opposite actually. Emma was looking at the dark haired girl with something akin to amusement.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Cap was trying to save us from tyranny." Ned defended and Michelle scoffed.

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think." Michelle told them before immediately walking away and returning to her seat. Emma just laughed at Michelle's odd statement and Peter and Ned both stared at her in disbelief.

"She just insulted your grandfather and you're laughing?" Peter asked her. Why was she so hard to figure out? She was so unpredictable and it was unnerving to Peter.

"She's got a point. It's not like he ended Hydra by doing that." Emma told them before continuing. "You cut off one head then-"

"Yeah, yeah. We know." Peter said he rolled his eyes at her. "Two more shall grow in it's place. We've heard it all before." Emma should've been mad at his dismissive retort but she couldn't help but smile at him. Maybe Peter was starting to get her sense of humor.

Peter felt his heart race as Emma smiled at him. It was rare that her smiles were ever truly genuine but he could tell that this one was. Her smile reached her blue eyes and the green flecks in those blue orbs were brighter than ever before. Peter was disappointed to see, however, that her smile had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"You weren't there when that happened, were you?" Ned asked nervously and Peter's attention was taken away from the green flecks in Emma's otherwise blue eyes. Emma then playfully glared at Ned.

"No, I wasn't there." Emma replied. "I'm offended that you would even ask me such a question. No, I was in no way responsible for the sight you see outside the window. I was in Argentina during those events." Peter then returned his attention to the window, satisfied with Emma's answer. He felt like she was the kind of person to own up to something like that if she truly had a part in it. Emma wasn't really a denier… probably a really good liar at times but not a denier.

"I wonder where they take it all?" Peter asked in wonder as he continued to look at the window. Emma shrugged.

"Probably somewhere where Hydra can't get their hands on it." Emma replied. "I think the world learned a lesson from Hydra gate." Emma then got up from the seat which caused Peter and Ned to look back up at her.

"Where are you going?" Ned asked.

"Back to my seat." Emma told them both.

"What about tonight? We need a plan." Peter told her and Emma groaned in annoyance before rolling her eyes. It was true that they really did need a plan but Emma didn't have time for this right now. She needed to mentally prepare herself for the meeting that was just on the horizon. There would be plenty of time for planning later when they were in a more private environment than the back of a school bus.

"Fine. I'll meet you two in your hotel room after dinner to discuss tonight's plan. Until then… hang tight and don't draw any attention to yourselves. I'm sure not even you two could screw that up." Emma told them in a lower volume. The blonde then turned away and began to head back to her and Michelle's seat without another word. Peter and Ned stared after her in wonder, both with the same question revolving in their minds. Could they ever possibly seek to understand Emma? Did they want to?

* * *

Emma had returned to the lobby of the hotel after dropping off her bags in her and Michelle's room. The dark haired girl gave her a suspicious look as she left but didn't say anything, she just continued reading her book. She had bumped into Peter and Ned in the hallway and the two boys had once again pestered her about who she was meeting but Emma ignored them and walked away. Someday those two were going ask the wrong question to the wrong person and Emma was going to have clean up their mess. Emma smirked once she reached the lobby because she spotted a familiar head of blonde hair talking to Mr. Harrington.

"Emma, it's so nice to see you." Sharon Carter said as she looked away from Emma's history teacher. Emma wanted to roll her eyes at the way Mr. Harrington was practically drooling over the blonde. God, he was worse than Peter. Emma returned her cousin's smile as she approached them.

"I know, it's been so long." Emma replied as she hugged Sharon and the blonde woman returned the hug as if they had done this a hundred times. They were playing the part of family members who hadn't seen each other in a long time and that was the only way Emma was going to show public affection.

"You've grown up so much." Sharon told her kindly but Emma could tell from the look in her cousin's eyes that she partially meant it. Emma just nodded as Sharon looked away from her and back to Mr. Harrington with a small smile. "Mr. Harrington was just telling me what a great addition you are to the decathlon team." Sharon informed her and the history teacher smiled at the both of them, momentarily ceasing to drool over Sharon.

"It's true, Emma. I don't know where we'd be without you." Mr. Harrington told her. "I hope you have a great time with your Aunt Penelope." Penelope? Is that what Sharon was going by? Emma thought in amusement.

"We will, Mr. Harrington. I'll be back within the hour." She promised with an innocent smile on her face. Mr. Harrington just smiled at the both of them before saying goodbye and probably walking to his hotel room. The innocent smiles fell off both Emma and Sharon's faces as more serious, anxious looks came over them. Sharon immediately began leading Emma away from the hotel lobby. They reached the outside of the hotel in no time and Emma looked back only to narrow her eyes at the figures of Peter and Ned who were obviously trying to spy on her. She watched as they quickly hid behind a pillar but Emma had already seen them. Emma rolled her eyes. How embarrassing for them.

"So are you going to tell me what this little meeting is about?" Emma asked as Sharon opened the Audi door for her. Sharon just smirked as Emma got in.

"Oh, I'm not the one you're meeting." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she sat down in the backseat. Before she could respond Sharon shut the car door before opening the driver's side and getting in. What the hell? She didn't even have a chance to demand what was going on when someone suddenly gracefully climbed into the row of seating that Emma was sitting in from the third row of seating in the back. Emma immediately tensed and prepared herself for a fight when the person removed their sunglasses. Emma stared into a familiar pair of emerald green eyes. Well... She certainly wasn't expecting _this_.

"Natasha." Emma said, maintaining her composure as the redhead smirked at her. Natasha was wearing a hoodie, concealing much of her recognizable red hair, as well as a hat under the hood. It was only then that Sharon pulled away from the curb and began driving.

"Hello, Rogers." The former Russian assassin casually greeted. Emma narrowed her eyes at the redhead.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were on the run." Emma immediately demanded to know. Natasha just chuckled at the blonde.

"Geez, Rogers, I thought you'd be more happy to see me." Natasha said snarkily before seriously answering Emma's question. "I'm technically on the run. I mean, there's no witch hunt for me like the others but I don't think the authorities would refuse to arrest me if they had the chance. That's why Carter's driving me around." Emma nodded as she took in that information.

"Why is it that all the Avengers wear the most obvious disguises when they're on the run?" Emma asked her, lightening the mood. "Seriously… A hoodie and sunglasses?" Natasha smiled at the blonde's humor. She seemed more humorous than she normally did, Natasha observed. How strange.

"I don't know. It's not like we have a big budget for disguises." Natasha threw back. There was a brief moment of silence between the two former assassins as they stared at each other. It was clear they were locked in some kind of staring contest as they tried to figure each other out. It was Emma, however, who finally broke the silence.

"What are you doing here, Romanoff?" Emma questioned, her tone no longer humorous. It was evident that the conversation was taking a more serious turn. Natasha sighed.

"It's been four, almost five months since we all last saw each other." Natasha told her factually. Emma hadn't really given much thought to just long it had been. It had been a long time then… longer than Emma thought. She tried not to keep track of things like that because she knew it would only drive her crazy. "This meeting is supposed to be a check-up. Mostly to make sure that you're doing alright for Steve's peace of mind."

"How is he?" Emma asked suddenly, desperate to know the well being of her grandfather. Him and her father were all she could think about these days when she wasn't thinking about the alien weapons. "The others too. Is everyone doing alright?"

"We're fine. Everyone's doing great actually despite the current situation." Natasha said quietly.

"I know you can't tell me where they are in case I'm compromised but can you at least tell me if Steve's okay?" Emma asked, her tone desperate. The reason Emma didn't ask about her father the same way is because she knew wherever her father was, he could most certainly take care of himself. He probably thought the same thing about her. Natasha nodded solemnly.

"I won't tell you where they are but just know that they're in a place where they don't have to run. No one will be able to find them there so they can relax. We don't have to worry about being captured." Natasha told her reassuringly before moving to the topic of her grandfather. "Steve's doing good. He's taken up drawing again because there's not much else to do."

"That's good." Emma told her quietly. That information didn't make her feel better because it just made her miss him more. Natasha frowned as she thought about something else.

"He tries to keep a happy, positive front for everyone but I can tell that he's also sad." Natasha admitted, causing Emma to stare at her with an unreadable expression on her face. "Sam tries to cheer him up and sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't. He really misses you, Emma. Sometimes I see him staring out the window and I know he's thinking of you. I can just tell." Tears began to flood Emma's eyes at Natasha's statement and she looked away, ashamed at herself for showing emotion like that. Natasha just gave the young girl a sympathetic look, knowing just how hard it was for her to suppress the emotion. She knew exactly how hard it was.

"I really miss him too." Emma said, her tone sad and regretful. Natasha really felt for the teenager. The same emotion always came over Steve's face when Emma was brought up in the conversation. It seemed like the past few months in Wakanda had gone by way too slow for Steve. She could tell a part of the super soldier wanted to come right back, march into the Avenger's facility if he had to, and get Emma so that he could bring her back with him to Wakanda. Something always seemed to stop him, however.

"What about you?" Natasha asked suddenly, trying to lighten the mood. "What have you been up to? That's why I'm here after all… the others would really like to know. Hill mentioned something about Stark enrolling you in school but I didn't take her seriously. Although now that I think about it that would explain why you're wearing that hideous blazer." Natasha said as she wrinkled her nose at Emma's blazer. Emma laughed. She was still thinking of Steve but Natasha's change of topic was slightly distracting her for the moment.

"No, he did enroll me in a high school." Emma told her and Natasha gave her a look of disbelief. "Apparently we couldn't stand living together at the compound so he kicked me out after a couple of weeks. Before I knew it Darcy and I were living in a townhouse in Queens. I've only been attending school a few weeks though." Natasha nodded as she processed that information. So Emma was living with Darcy now? Hmmm… that was interesting and something Steve would definitely be interested in hearing. No wonder Maria said that it would be easy to set up a meeting between her and Emma. She wasn't even living at the Avenger's facility. Natasha wondered how Steve would feel about this.

"I just can't really imagine you going to school. What's that like?" Natasha asked curiously and Emma gave her a look.

"What do you think it's like?" Emma asked sarcastically. "It's me being surrounded by a bunch of hormonal teenage idiots while I learn subjects that I already know. It's boring and unnecessary." Natasha just smirked at the pouting blonde.

"I'd really pay good money to see you in high school." Natasha quipped and Emma playfully glared at her.

"Well, you're in luck because Darcy's currently making her own home movie series where she documents my high school experience. She said she doesn't want Steve to miss out anything." Emma replied as she rolled her eyes. "I guess you guys will be able to see it whenever you come back." Natasha laughed at her.

"I'm looking forward to it. I knew Lewis was alright." Natasha told her, an amused look on her face. "Do you have friends or are you one of those loners who eats their lunch alone in the library?" Emma narrowed her eyes at the redhead.

"There's nothing wrong with eating lunch in the library but to answer your question…. Yes, I might've made a couple of friends unwillingly." Emma admitted and Natasha was honestly surprised to hear that. She would've thought Emma would try and rebel against Stark's ruling by trying to get herself expelled from the school or something. Natasha was surprised that Emma managed to stick around the school.

"What about a boyfriend? Have you gotten one of those?" Natasha asked, a smug look on her face. "Please, say yes. I'd love to see the look on Steve's face when I tell him." Emma glared at her.

"Why does everyone ask me that?!" Emma said in an annoyed tone. "The answer is no. I don't have a boyfriend and I won't have one in the near future… I actually won't have one in any sort of future. You're the one who said love is for children." The look on Natasha's face slightly faltered as she heard Emma say that last phrase. A regretful look then came over the redhead's face before the look vanished as soon as it had come.

"Fine, fine. Don't be so dramatic." Natasha curiously glanced at Emma's blazer again. "What's up with the ugly blazer?" Natasha asked as Emma looked down at the blazer. She sighed tiredly.

"I'm on the decathlon team. The reason that I'm in D.C. is for nationals." Emma explained and Natasha grew very silent for a moment as she stared back at the blonde. Her face was void of all emotion before the redhead finally started laughing at her. Emma frowned.

"I know, Nat!" Sharon called out from the driver's side. "I thought it was hilarious too." Natasha calmed down a bit as she shook her head in disbelief. Maybe I should've shot her that day in Odessa, Emma thought to herself. At least Romanoff wouldn't be sitting there being her usual smug and annoying self.

"I can't believe you're on any sort of school team." Natasha told her and Emma huffed, crossing her arms.

"It throws people off my trail and apparently it looks good on college applications." Emma told her. "Besides… Mr. Harrington said I was a great addition to the team."

"Good for you." Natasha replied in an amused tone which just continued to frustrate Emma. Natasha's expression then softened as she gave the blonde an earnest look. "Look, I'm just glad you're doing well." Emma shrugged.

"I suppose life could be worse. I could be stuck with Stark all day and night." Emma admitted and Natasha just shook her head. She was amused by Emma's clear resentment of Tony but she knew that Steve wouldn't be that amused. This wasn't what Steve wanted. Steve had made it clear that he wanted Emma and Tony to overcome their differences and form a bond. It was clear that Emma needed someone to rely on… someone to talk to but it soon became evident to Natasha that Stark wasn't succeeding in being that person. Emma just held too much resentment for him. Steve wasn't going to be happy hear about the ongoing tension between Emma and Tony.

"And what about the Viper Assassin? Has she made any appearances?" Natasha asked her, genuinely interested to know. Emma just stared back at her, meeting Natasha's gaze without the slightest amount of fear. The blonde kept her face void of all emotion.

"No. Not even once." Emma told her with a straight face, her voice unwavering. "I'm not really the crime fighting type. Unless there's something in it for me then I'm not interested." Natasha snorted.

"Spoken like a true hero." Natasha retorted sarcastically but analyzed the expression on Emma's face. The girl didn't appear to be lying but then again how could Natasha be sure? It was likely that Emma had been trained to lie as well as Natasha could. "At least that'll put Steve's mind at rest, knowing that you're not out there trying to save the world." Emma scoffed.

"Does that sound like something I'd do?" Emma questioned and Natasha shrugged.

"I don't know." Natasha told her. "I know you think you're more like the Winter Soldier but I happen to think you're more like Captain America. You just don't want to admit it." Emma gave her a look of disbelief.

"Are you on something, Romanoff?" Emma asked her and the serious expression fell off the former spy's face as she gave the young girl a small smile.

"No. I just wanted to be sure that Steve didn't have anything to worry about." Natasha told her honestly. It looked like Romanoff actually bought the lie, Emma thought to herself. Huh… She was easier to lie to than Emma originally thought. The reason Emma was lying to Romanoff was because she didn't want her grandfather to worry about her. He was always so protective and nearly smothering so she knew he'd have a panic attack if he found out that Emma was tracking down some weapon dealers with her new friend Spider-Man. That probably wouldn't go over well. She didn't need him to be worried when there was nothing he could do anyways. Her worst fear was that he'd get so worried that he would rush back home and get himself caught. Emma wanted him to come home more than anyone else but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to stand it if he got himself locked up in prison.

"Well, no crime fighting for me. You can tell Steve that I'm as bored as ever." She replied before pausing as something occurred to her. Emma still hadn't asked about her father in all this time but part of her was afraid. She knew that she said that she didn't tend to worry about him because he could take care of himself and that was true. Still… Emma couldn't help but wonder if him and Steve were back to the way they used to be. The way Steve always talked about… the good ole' days when her father and him used to hang out at diners and pal around. Of course she hadn't expected it to be all sunshine and rainbows but it would be nice to see them back to being the great friends that they once were. "What about my father… how's he? I know he's more used to being on the run than the others but is he doing alright?" Emma asked and it was that question that caused Natasha to stiffen. Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously as the redhead looked down at her hands before looking back up. If she wasn't mistaken, Natasha looked awfully regretful and even a little bit torn.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this but I think you deserve to know." Natasha started and Emma paid close attention to the former assassin. "Your father's in the Cyro-Chamber again." Emma stared at the redhead in horror as she tried to process what Natasha was telling her. Cryo-Chamber… Cyro-Freeze.

Images of men in lab coats fussing over a metal looking tank in a dark and cold lab filled her mind. She recalled an eight year old version of herself screaming in terror as they began putting her father in the chamber, his expression stoic but his eyes locked with hers as he silently pleaded with her to stay strong. Emma remembered seeing her father's face through the small window as the frost began blurring her view of him. Karpov and Rumlow would beat her for being too emotional and wearing her heart on her sleeve. At night when she was truly alone with herself she would silently sob in the darkness of her cold and empty room. She trained herself to cry as softly as she could so that no one would hear her. There would be months without seeing him and sometimes a year would even go by before Emma saw him again. Those were loneliest months of her life.

"Why?" Emma asked breathlessly as she tried to suppress her emotions but the tears were already blurring her vision. Natasha just gave her a sympathetic expression, having an idea of how much this must be hurting the blonde. Emma and Barnes had a bond that none of them would ever be able to understand. Not even Steve.

"He did it voluntarily. Barnes said that he didn't trust himself to not have another break down like he had at the terrorist center in Berlin." Natasha informed her carefully, not wanting to upset Emma anymore than she already had. "Apparently he blames himself for this whole ridiculous war between Steve and Stark. He thought it was his fault for putting you in the middle of Steve and Stark's feud. I think he's punishing himself." Emma shook her head furiously.

"That's not true. Everyone knows that it's all on Stark." Emma said determinedly. "Stark was the one who started this whole thing."

"That may be true but that's not the way your father saw it." Natasha told her sadly. She wasn't immensely sad for Barnes putting himself in the Cyro-Chamber. Everyone tried to talk him out of it but the idiot wouldn't listen. At least they knew where Emma picked up that stubbornness from. However, Natasha was actually more sad for Emma and how this was going to effect her.

"I guess it makes sense." Emma said through all the tears. She hastily wiped the tears away but it was no use. They just kept coming. "None of you saw what Hydra did to him. It makes sense that not even _he_ would trust himself to be in control. The things they did to him…" Emma trailed off, trying to force the memories out of her head. She turned away and looked out the tinted window. "Well, let's just I'll never be able to forget what happened in that base."

"I know it's hard." Natasha told her comfortingly. She honestly wasn't sure how to comfort the blonde in a situation like this one but she was going to try her best. Natasha still felt like she was indebted to the young girl after Emma had saved her life all those years ago in Iran. She had also always felt guilty for not taking Emma with her that hot day in the desert. "But maybe it's for the best. He's safer this way. No one will be able to capture him if he's in the Cyro-Chamber. He'll be in peace and it's only until we figure out how to cure him of Hydra's brainwashing."

"You're right even though I don't like it." Emma said quietly. Emma and Natasha then fell into a brief silence as Sharon made a U-turn to take Emma back to the hotel. It seemed like Emma's surprise meeting with Natasha was already coming to a close. Emma stared out the window with an unreadable expression on her face while Natasha watched her. A million thoughts went through Emma's mind as the Sharon drove back to the hotel. Most of them circulated around Steve and her father. They were about half way back to the hotel when Emma asked Natasha something that she had been feeling curious about for the past couple days. Emma didn't know why the question was bugging her but it was like she just had to know… like it would somehow help by knowing. This would also distract her from the pain of knowing that her father was back in the Cyro-Chamber.

"Natasha?" Emma suddenly said which caused the redhead to raise her eyebrows at her. "Why do you like Bruce?" An uncomfortable look came over Natasha's face before the former assassin made her face void of all emotion.

"I don't know what you mean." Natasha replied, playing dumb but Emma just shook her head.

"I don't mean to embarrass you. I know that you have feelings for him but I just want to know why or how." Emma told her friend honestly and Natasha just stared at the blonde, trying to figure her out. "Please, Natasha, I need to know. It's important." Something in the desperation in her eyes told Natasha that this was really important to her. It seemed like something was troubling Emma and if Natasha could help her in any way than she would. She owed her that much. Natasha then sighed, giving in.

"Everyone that I know is a fighter. They all run full force into battle because they want to win." Natasha said suddenly, her eyes locked with Emma's as the teenager listened to her intently. "He's the only person that I know who avoids a fight because he knows he'll win. He's also a huge dork so there's that too." A corner of Emma's mouth briefly tilted up at Natasha's confession before she maintained her composure.

"He doesn't look at me like I'm a monster because let's face it. I am." Natasha continued to say. "He looks at me and sees someone better… someone who's not an assassin or a murderer. He's sees the good in me."

"And that's enough?" Emma asked her curiously. "That's enough for you to like him? How can you? How is that possible for someone like us? I don't know what the Red Room did to you but Hydra wanted ensure I'd never feel emotions like that."

"It's enough because he's a sweet guy. He has all the power in the world but underneath it all he's just a sweet guy who would never harm a fly if it was up to him." Natasha told her honestly. "We're still human, Emma. Granted you're enhanced but you're still human… we're not machines like the Red Room and Hydra thought we were. They can't take away emotions from us. Don't let them win by letting your past define who you are."

"You were always the one who said love is for children." Emma accused and Natasha just shook her head.

"I was wrong, Emma. I was lying to myself… love isn't _just_ for children." Natasha said quietly, looking far away as her thoughts drifted towards a certain doctor. "It's for adults too. I never meant for you to take those words to heart."

"Don't be like me, Rogers." Natasha told her sincerely. The two former assassins locked eyes with each other, emerald green meeting ocean blue. "I've spent so many years wearing this mask to hide my emotions that now… I don't even know to convey them to the people who matter most. I've avoided things like attachments because I thought it would make my life easier but it's only made it harder. You don't have to wear a mask anymore, Emma. You're not working for Hydra and you're not an assassin. Not anymore." It was clear to Emma that Natasha wasn't talking about the Viper Assassin mask. They continued to stare at each other in silence, both of their gazes unwavering. They had an understanding that few people could ever relate to. Their pasts were very similar… too similar. Emma didn't think there was anyone in the world that could understand everything she had been through. Not even her father despite the bond they shared. No, Natasha and Emma shared something completely different.

"He'll come back." Emma told Natasha. She didn't say that just to comfort Natasha but she said it because she knew that Bruce wouldn't stay away forever. It was obvious to Emma. "He's crazy about you, Natasha. Everyone knows it but you two." Natasha just smiled faintly at the blonde.

"We're here, guys." Sharon announced as she parked in front of the hotel. Emma nodded to herself before she reached over to open the door. Natasha stopped her before she could.

"I have something for you." Natasha told her before pulling out an old, antique looking metal contraption. Emma narrowed her eyes at the contraption in Natasha's hands. Why did it look so familiar to her?

"Steve wants you to have it. It was his compass from the war." Natasha said and Emma immediately took the compass from Natasha, her fingers eagerly tracing every outline and edge of the old compass. Emma opened the compass and gasped at what she saw inside. An old photograph of her grandmother was staring right back at her. It was a picture of a beautiful and brave young woman that her grandfather had fallen in love with and Emma could see why. Tears flooded her blue eyes again as she stared at the compass in amazement. Any trinket that Stark had given her paled in comparison to her grandfather's old compass. It just couldn't really even compare to this gift that her grandfather had decided to bestow upon her.

"He said something really cheesy." Natasha continued to say with a sly smile on her face but Emma was too intrigued by the compass to look at her. "Steve said that he wants you to have the compass in the hope that one day it will lead you back to him. He said that he promises that you won't be apart forever but just to stay strong in the mean time and you'll be together again." Emma nodded as she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She closed the compass and pocketed it inside the pocket of her blazer.

"Can you tell him that I miss him too… a lot. I miss him more than I ever thought it would be possible" Emma said, being more honest than she ever had been before. "Tell him that even though I claim to hate this new life Stark set up for me… I really wish he was here with me to see it all. Also, tell him if he doesn't come home soon then Susan will probably find some other love struck idiot to marry and settle down with. That would suck because she definitely has my approval. I think she'd be a pretty cool step-grandmother." Natasha chuckled but nodded at the emotional looking blonde.

"I'll tell him, Emma." Natasha promised before smiling at Emma again. "It was good seeing you again. You look good… High School is treating you well." Emma returned her smile.

"It was good seeing you again too, Romanoff. Being on the run is treating you well too." Emma responded.

"Take care of yourself." The redhead told her and Emma nodded.

"Of course. You too." Emma then opened the door before looking back at Sharon. "It was good seeing you too, Sharon. Thanks for driving us around." The older blonde gave her a kind smile.

"Don't mention it, Emma. Have fun at the decathlon finals." She told her cousin and Emma just smiled at her before getting out of the car. She gently closed the car door behind her and Sharon didn't waste anytime before taking off and driving away. Emma watched the car as it left, not knowing if she felt more sad or relieved by the meeting with Natasha. The car soon vanished down the street and Emma was left standing alone in front of the hotel's lobby. She looked down at the pocket of the blazer before reaching her hand inside and feeling around for the compass. Emma grasped the compass in her hand, feeling the cold metal against her skin. It was just another piece of her grandfather that she could have with her at all times. It would join the dog tags that she always wore under her shirt. Emma liked to think that the dog tags brought her some luck so maybe the compass would too. Still… Emma knew that it wouldn't be the same as having him there with her.


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I just wanted to say one quick thing about Emma. If she seems smug at all that's only because that's her mask. I mentioned in the last chapter Natasha referring to wearing a mask to hide emotions and that applies to Emma. She's been forced to be under the care of a man who she blames for tearing apart everything she's come to know and who also wants her father dead. Emma's forced to go to school which is somewhere she never wanted to go in her life. There's also no people that she can trust. I mean, she has Darcy but even Emma knows that she can't completely trust Darcy because it's Darcy's job to give Tony updates on Emma's current status. Emma only truly trusts Steve and Bucky so she's a much different Emma around them. She's happier and she's herself when she's around them. Emma might also trust Sam too since he's a close friend of Steve. The Emma we've been seeing right now in the story is a more distrusting and hostile Emma. She's also very miserable without Steve and her father there even though she won't admit to that most of the time. I think once she and Peter start becoming closer friends and she allows herself to trust him then we'll see happy Emma again. She won't hide behind sarcastic remarks and insults as much. If Emma seems mean it's only because she's lashing out. She misses her family and I think it's understandable why she acts the way she does. Once she becomes more comfortable around Peter she'll be a lot like the way she was around Steve. Also in reference to a guest review I also want to say just because I don't show you guys a scene of Emma training that doesn't mean she hasn't been training all this time. I just showed you guys a lot of scenes with her training in the beginning so I didn't think it was interesting enough to write scenes with her training consistently since we all know she trains. I'll probably include scenes of her training with Peter since I think you'd like to see that.**

 **writeremma: I wanted to include the chat with Natasha because I knew Natasha would be the only person that Emma would listen to. She never really listened to Steve when he told her things like that because she knows her and Steve are different. They're family and both super soldiers but Emma was raised a lot like Natasha was so they have an understanding. I also can't wait for the day when I get to write Steve and Bucky officially meeting Peter. That's going to be one of the best chapters I'll probably ever write for this story.**

 **JokeLover123: Yeah, I definitely think that the talk with Natasha will push Emma to trust people more. That conversation is really going to stick with her as she learns how to trust. It'll definitely apply to the situation with Peter.**

 **Again, thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for not responding to every single one but I just thought you might like to have the chapter faster. Also, I want to say that I don't own the song 'Cold' by Maroon 5. Those lyrics completely belong to Maroon 5. Sorry for the Maroon 5 bashing in this chapter. I personally love Maroon 5 and they're one of my favorite bands ever but I just felt like Emma probably wouldn't like them. It also made for a funny scene in this chapter.**

 **Thanks and please review.**

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"Fellow citizens of this great nation of ours." An man in his mid twenties announced. Judging from his beret, Emma had to assume he was some sort of college student who was trying his hand at political activism. "We're standing here amongst you today to make our voices heard as we protest against the totalitarianism known as the Sokovian accords! We ask that you join us in the fight to demand the freedom of Captain America and his faction of Avengers. Captain America who is practically the national symbol for our country. Captain America who represents freedom, justice, and liberty which is something that our government wishes that we didn't have."

"I don't know if I really like that guy." Michelle stated as she looked over at the man leading the protest. Emma glanced at him too as he stood up on a bunch of wooden crates with a huge megaphone in his hand.

"It's the beret, isn't it?" Emma inquired.

"I think so." Michelle replied as she stood there next to Emma. The two teenagers had long since decided to participate in the Sokovian accords protest since they heard about it a week before. Michelle wanted to participate because she was all about government conspiracies and Emma wanted to participate because she hated Stark. Together Emma and Michelle had created their own protest signs. The signs weren't half bad either since Emma and Michelle were both talented artists. The pair were even wearing shirts from the Free the Avengers line of clothing that had recently come out. The line of shirts was very popular and was sold in most department stores across the country. Emma had purchased her own 'Free Falcon' t-shirt with a picture of Sam in his Falcon gear stamped across it. Michelle was wearing a 'Free the Winter Soldier' shirt from the same line of clothing. Emma was a little amused to see the picture of her father stamped across the shirt. She hadn't wanted to buy the shirts with her father or Steve on them because she thought it would be a little too much.

"Why are you even here?" Emma asked her curiously. "I thought you said on the bus that you didn't like Captain America." Michelle just shrugged.

"I never said that I did or didn't like him." Michelle said, beginning to answer Emma's question, her tone fierce and strong. "I just don't like government control. The government tried to control the Avengers and when Captain America actually stood up to them they ran him out of the country. The thing with the Winter Soldier was just a diversion… they wanted Captain America to look like the bad guy for aiding an assassin but they actually wanted to snuff his voice out." Emma stared at dark haired girl with something akin to admiration. It was clear to Emma that even though Michelle pretended to be aloof and uncaring, she cared about things with more passion than anyone Emma had ever met. Maybe they were a lot alike in that way.

"So, why are you here? You've never struck me as the type to participate in political protests." Michelle asked Emma just as curiously. Emma chuckled lightly before she shrugged, looking around at all the other protesters and knowing how truly different she was from them. They were here because they wanted to protest something… Emma doubted that they actually cared what they were protesting about. Except for Michelle that is. Emma was here for something else entirely even though she kept telling herself it was because she hated Stark. Well, that may have been part of the reason but only a really small part. Emma then returned her attention to Michelle as she locked eyes with her friend, a serious expression on her dace.

"I'm here because of what a very brave and intelligent woman once said. She said to compromise where you can but where you can't, don't." Emma started to say as Michelle listened intently to the blonde speak. "Even if everyone else is telling you that something wrong is something right… even if the whole world is telling you to move, it's your job to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and tell them no… you move."

"She does sound intelligent." Michelle said quietly as she looked at the blonde who, for the first time, looked quite emotional. Michelle didn't think she had ever seen the blonde so overcome with emotion that she could clearly see the sadness and fondness in those blue eyes. "Who was she?"

"My grandmother." Emma said proudly and Michelle nodded. It was obvious that Emma felt quite close to her grandmother. The admiration in Emma's eyes clearly conveyed how Emma felt about her grandmother.

"Let's make her proud then." Michelle said, a smirk on her face as she started to hold up her sign which said 'Winter Soldier: The Scapegoat' with a hand drawn picture of Emma's father in his Winter Soldier gear. Emma thought Michelle did her father justice in the drawing the frizzy haired girl had drawn. Emma then held up her own sign which said 'Tony Stark for Prison:2016' and had a hand drawn picture of Stark behind bars. The former assassin thought the drawing was her best work yet.

It didn't take long before the protest in front of one of the embassies turned into a march across Washington. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing since the organization that had set up the whole thing had also gotten the correct permits to march through the streets. Emma knew that the protest could never be contained in front of the embassy since thousands of people showed up to join in on the protest. Emma was amazed at all the people who had turned out for the protest. She had even heard some people mentioning coming from all parts of the country. There were people from more liberal areas of the country like Washington state and California but there were also people from more conservative areas like the deep south and the mid-west. Emma was amazed that everyone had come together for an event like this to come and protest against the government who had tried to control the Avengers with the Sokovia Accords… to protest against the people who had run this nation's symbol, and all he stood for, right out of the country and forcing him into hiding. This wasn't just about politics. No, it was about freedom.

"The government has used the Winter Soldier as a scapegoat to try and turn us against Captain America but we're not stupid!" The guy with megaphone said into the megaphone as they marched through the streets. "The Sokovia accords were said to be created to protect us but it's all lies feed to us by greedy and corrupt politicians! They want to control everything including the Avengers! They would rather let innocent Americans… innocent humans die than not be in control!" Okay… this guy was very enthusiastic. If he wasn't actually wearing a beret than Emma might even respect him some what.

"Tony Stark sits in his little castle protected by his advanced security systems and Iron Man armor but what about us? If the aliens attack us again can we really expect him to save us?" The guy continued to say into megaphone as they continued to walked down the street. "This is what the government wants! They want us to rely on them and not the Avengers! It's why they punished Captain America's faction for not signing the accords and it's why they ran them all out of the country!" The guy took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down after finishing his rant. He then turned to Emma and Michelle who were marching towards the front of the crowd, seemingly exhausted by his little speech.

"Here, kid, do you want a go at it? I need a break." The beret wearing college student said to Emma as both girls gave him a look of surprise. The look of surprise on Emma's face quickly morphed into a look of mischievousness as she smirked. The worst thing anyone could ever do is give her a platform to complain about Stark. She really hoped someone was filming this so that Stark could see her good work.

"Don't mind if I do." Emma said deviously as she took the megaphone from college student. Even Michelle looked a bit wary at the look on Emma's face. It was the first time she had seen a true look of evil on someone's face but instead of fearing the look, Michelle just felt intrigued at what Emma was going to say. Emma had told Peter and Ned to keep a low profile but that was because Peter was trying avoid Stark... to remain under radar. Emma wanted Stark to see this more than anything. She wanted him to see how unafraid she was of him and let him know that wasn't intimidated by the likes of him. Stark needed to know that he wasn't the one holding all the cards. Emma then maintained a calm composure as she spoke into the megaphone.

"As we march through Washington today, let us not forget who's really to blame for Sokovia." Emma said into megaphone, her tone calm and even, as she walked beside Michelle. "Tony Stark. A spoiled billionaire who thinks he knows better than everyone else… a man who created Ultron because he was playing god. Ultron who caused mass destruction in Sokovia and who could've done worse if it hadn't been for the other Avengers cleaning up Tony Stark's mess. What happened in Sokovia wasn't the Avengers fault… no, it was Tony Stark's fault." The crowd of protesters all cheered at Emma's speech. It seemed like Emma wasn't alone in blaming Stark for everything… that was nice to know. Even Michelle smirked at Emma's speech because she didn't know her friend was such a talented speaker.

"Tony Stark is a man who's made his fortune off profiting from war. He should be tried and convicted for his war crimes." Emma continued to say into the megaphone, wrapping up her speech. "Tony Stark: The War Lord!" Everyone cheered at Emma's proclamation as the blonde handed the megaphone back to the college student who gave her an impressed look.

"That was pretty good, kid." He told her and Emma nodded, feeling a bit out of breath for the first time in her life.

"Thanks." She replied as they continued to march down the street.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" He asked her and Emma allowed herself to smile. He was right. She honestly felt a whole lot better after venting out her frustrations with Stark to people who actually wanted to listen and people who even felt the same way. It was an amazing feeling getting that all off her chest.

"Yeah… It does."

* * *

The protest wrapped up about a couple hours later so Emma and Michelle both headed towards the hotel to meet up with their teammates for dinner. The decathlon team decided on a pizza place for dinner which was only a couple blocks away so they walked. Emma spent the entire walk to the pizza place, talking to Abraham and Michelle. She didn't really feel like talking to Peter and Ned because she knew the two would only demand to know who it was she met up with earlier. They weren't stupid enough to really believe it was her aunt and Emma gave them credit for that. Peter and Ned hung in the back of the group, as the decathlon team walked to the pizza place, talking amongst each other in hushed tones. They obviously thought that Emma couldn't hear them because they were debating on what Emma was hiding from them. If she didn't have enhanced hearing than maybe she wouldn't hear anything but unfortunately for them she did. She practically rolled her eyes at their antics. What dorks.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the pizza place. Mr. Harrington ordered very simple pepperoni pizzas for the large group except for Liz and Michelle who were vegetarians. Emma would never understand how people could deny themselves the pleasure of meat but she was sure it had to do with the murder of farm animals. Emma liked animals well enough but that didn't mean she liked them enough that she'd give up meat for them. Emma liked some people too but that didn't stop her from killing them when she worked for Hydra. It was basically the same thing.

"So what were you and Michelle protesting today?" Abraham asked in his thick Ghanaian accent. Emma shrugged nonchalantly at the same time that Michelle did which only creeped out their fellow classmates.

"Oh you know, the usual stuff. The government, Sokovia accords… Tony Stark." Emma explained as she took a sip of her Dr. Pepper. It seemed like she now had the attention of Peter and Ned as well as a few other curious onlookers. However, Peter and Ned looked more suspicious than Emma's other classmates. They couldn't really believe Emma would actually go out there and participate in a protest. She seemed more quiet and reserved than that… she seemed like she wouldn't want to be the type of person to be in the spotlight. That just showed how much she resented Tony Stark.

"It was pretty cool, I guess." Michelle added with a bored expression on her face. "The beret wearing idiot leading the march actually handed Emma the megaphone. She completely buried Tony Stark. She made him sound like the hypocrite he is." Peter glared at Emma once he heard Michelle's recollection of the protest. He couldn't believe she actually went out there and protested against Mr. Stark in public. What if Mr. Stark saw the protest? It was then that Peter saw the smirk on Emma's face. It finally hit him. She wanted Mr. Stark to see the protest. This was just Emma's way of getting more revenge against Mr. Stark. This was her way of rebelling against him. It was kind weird if you thought about it. Most kids rebelled by sneaking out to parties but Emma rebelled by publicly protesting Mr. Stark's actions in a political speech. The Avengers were definitely a dysfunctional bunch of individuals.

"I was only stating facts." Emma said with an aloof expression on her face. "Facts about him profiting off of war and playing god. It's all true."

"Not it's not." Peter said suddenly with an angry look on his face. Emma looked up with interest at the expression on his face, her smirk disappearing as she feigned a look of surprise.

"What ever do you mean, Parker?" Emma asked mockingly. "You mean to say that Tony Stark never made money off the weapons he sold? He never created Ultron who destroyed Sokovia? He's never caused a single amount of destruction in his sad, pathetic life?" Peter held her scrutinizing gaze fearlessly, refusing to back down. Emma didn't scare him.

"Mr. Stark's made mistakes like everyone else but he's learned to do right by those mistakes and make the world a better place. He just wants to make the world safer." Peter argued and their other classmates looked back and forth between the two as if they were watching some sort of tennis match. Emma raised her eyebrows.

"You sound like you know Tony Stark really well." Emma commented as she crossed her arms, her voice icy and manipulative all at the same time. "It actually sounds like you're more than just his intern… you two sound like best friends." Peter glared at the smug looking blonde again. He could never win with her, could he? He'd never met a more frustrating person in his life.

"I've met Mr. Stark a few times and I know that he's a good person." Peter replied coolly and he was proud of himself for speaking in such a cool and even tone as he stood up to Emma. Even Emma was slightly impressed with Peter's boldness as she relaxed back in her chair. She looked into Peter's eyes as if she were trying to search for something, the action caused Peter's heart to race as he blushed from her scrutiny.

"Well, I'm sure you believe that." Emma finally said as she backed off, seeming to find what she was looking for. Truthfully, Emma was actually very impressed with Peter's boldness in standing up to her. There wasn't many people that stood up to her without faltering but she had to admire the way Peter acted. He did it so fearlessly that even she began to question if her effectiveness in striking fear in others was somehow lessening.

"Okay, guys." Mr. Harrington said as he laughed nervously and did his best to defuse the tension between his two students. "It's nice that we have talks like this. This is demonstrating that we all have different opinions about issues that we care about but at the end of the day we can still be friends." Emma tore her gaze away from Peter as she looked at their dorky teacher. This guy was the most spineless man she had ever met… well, not the most spineless. Dr. List will always take first place for most spineless in her heart. Emma then feigned an innocent look as she looked at Mr. Harrington.

"You're completely right, Mr. Harrington. We were having a disagreement but now it's over." Emma then looked back at Peter with the same innocent look on her face. "Peter and I are still friends. Right, Peter?" Peter glowered at the blonde. Suck up, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, totally." Peter grumbled as he crossed his arms. Mr. Harrington then gave Peter a look as he looked away from the nice young student. Emma was such a sweet and agreeable student which was more than he could say about his other students.

"Now, Peter… Emma's willing to put this disagreement behind her. Shouldn't you do the same?" Mr. Harrington asked Peter in a slightly scolding tone. Peter bit his lip so he wouldn't glare at the teacher. Just like a lot of other people, Emma had him completely fooled.

"Of course, Mr. Harrington." Peter said begrudgingly before resting his eyes on the innocent looking blonde. Innocent? Yeah, right. "Sorry, Emma." Emma smiled at him but it wasn't her genuine smile that reached her eyes...The smile that emphasized the green in her otherwise blue eyes which was also his favorite smile. No, it was a fake smile that Peter didn't really like at all. It didn't even compare in the slightest to real one.

* * *

"Peter?" Ned questioned as sat up on his bed with his laptop in his lap. "Why are we removing the trackers from yours and Emma's suits?"

Peter had poured himself over both his and Emma's suits as he tried to find the trackers in them. Emma laid down on Peter's bed as she intrusively flipped through his notebook, reading all the little notes he had written inside it. Some of the notes were pretty embarrassing including the one where he wrote "Liz Parker" all over one page in particular. Who knew Parker could be such a girl sometimes? Well, she kind of did but this really confirmed it.

"Because we gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again and we don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it." Peter explained as he had a flashlight in his mouth, continuing to look for the tracker in his and Emma's suits. Emma had decided to let him do all the work since she didn't really know the high tech nature of Stark's devices. With her luck she'd probably do the impossible and break the suit. Hydra never really trained her to disengage technology that high tech because nothing Hydra or their enemies ever had was as high tech as Stark's stuff. Besides… Peter looked like he knew what he was doing.

"So you're lying to Iron Man now?" Ned asked as he looked between Peter and Emma in disbelief. Emma looked away from Peter's notebook and raised her eyebrows at the dark haired boy.

"It wouldn't be the first time." She retorted before returning her attention back to Peter's notebook. Peter just shook his head at the odd girl. There was an unspoken agreement that came between the two of them as they returned to Peter and Ned's hotel room. They had silently agreed to put the small argument at the pizza place behind them. He could tell that Emma wasn't really offended or angry about the argument. It was just the normal bickering that came in between them. Peter didn't know why but he felt like Emma was testing him for some strange reason.

"No, _I'm_ not lying." Peter told him pointedly, making it clear that he wasn't on the same level as Emma who was the poster child for manipulative and deceitful behavior. "He just doesn't really get what I can do yet." Peter then smirked as he found the tracker in his suit.

"Got you." Peter said in triumph before also looking back at Emma's suit. He immediately looked at the same spot in Emma's suit that he had found the tracker in his own suit and with little to no surprise he found an identical tracker in the dark green colored suit. Emma looked at him approvingly.

"Nice job, Parker." Emma complimented as if she complimented people all the time. Peter was left a bit dumbstruck by the approving nature of Emma's comment. Emma had never really complimented him on anything in all the time he had known her and he couldn't help but feel elated by her compliment. Had he really impressed Emma Rogers…A person who didn't seem that impressed by anything? Peter just smiled at her before returning his attention to the identical noticed that his brown eyes had a bit of a mischievous glint in them. His smile made Emma uncomfortable as she reluctantly looked away from him. She felt that familiar sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she was just nauseous which was odd because Emma didn't think she could get nauseous.

"All right, Happy, enjoy tracking this lamp." Peter said as he placed the two trackers on the lamp. Emma returned her attention to the teenage boy as she looked at him questioningly. Maybe she was becoming a bad influence on him. Stark certainly wouldn't like that… which only made the situation better.

"There's a ton of other subsystems in your suit, Peter." Ned said he read the coding on his laptop. Both Emma and Peter's suits were plugged into the laptop through USB cords.

"Hmmm?" Peter asked distracted as he continued to look at both his and Emma's suits.

"But they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol." Ned continued to say, grinning as he read the coding. Emma snickered from her spot on Peter's bed and Peter looked up at Ned in disbelief as he hopped onto the bed next to his friend to have a look at the screen.

"What?" Peter asked as he read the coding on the screen, not believing what he was seeing. "Training Wheels Protocol?"

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, Emma." Ned suddenly announced as he noticed the coding from the Viper Assassin suit on his screen as well. "Some of your subsystems are disabled by the Mini Cap Protocol. Granted you have access to more subsystems but there's still a lot that are disabled." The smug look immediately fell off Emma's face and was replaced by a glare. Peter was just happy to see that Mr. Stark thought they were somewhat equals. This would definitely make Emma stop thinking that she was somehow above him.

"What?!" She asked angrily.

"Is that what Tony Stark calls you? Mini Cap?" Ned asked as he laughed at the pissed off expression on Emma's face. Peter recalled that Mr. Stark had, in fact, called Emma that but he hadn't questioned it at the time because they were a little busy discussing the weapon dealers. "Is that supposed to be a reference to your grandfather?" Emma just gave the giggling teenager her famous death glare and he immediately shut up, disguising his laughter as a cough.

"Turn it off." Peter demanded, wanting the protocol to be turned off from both his and Emma's suit. The protocol was only going to hold them back from their full potential. Peter knew that him and Emma were more than capable of taking down the bad guys but Mr. Stark was insistent on treating them like children.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ned told them honestly. "I mean they're probably blocked for a reason."

"Come on, man. I don't need training wheels." Peter complained as he got off the bed. He then jumped onto the bed that Emma was sprawled across, snatching his notebook from her and tossing it across the room. A normal person might've been embarrassed at being caught snooping around but not Emma. She just gave him a bored look as he stood there on the bed.

"I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It's not cool." Peter whined, sounding very much like the child he was convinced he wasn't. Back when the Avengers all lived in the tower together, Emma used to glare in annoyance at Stark whenever he would whine. Pepper would smile in amusement at him but Emma never understood why. What was cute about whining? But sitting there now, Emma thought the act was kind of amusing on Peter. She wouldn't go as far as say that it was cute on him because nothing was really cute to her.

"It's pretty annoying actually." Emma said, agreeing with Peter. If there was anyone in the world that knew how Peter felt, it was Emma. Her time with the Avengers was spent with people who treated her like some silly little girl. She was patronized just like he was and they were both sick of it.

"But you guys _are_ kids." Ned told them both and Peter scoffed while Emma just looked away. This reminded her of the conversations she used to have with Steve. Conversations in which they would argue with each other but those arguments just seemed silly now that he was gone and she was alone.

"Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands." Peter retorted as he spared Emma a glance. "And Emma can fly and totally take on Thor is she really wanted to."

"I've also assassinated a lot of people." Emma added which caused both boys to just stare at her but she didn't seem bothered. Ned gulped as he was suddenly reminded of how dangerous the blonde really was. She was like Charlize Theron's character from _Atomic Blonde_.

"Peter, I just don't think that this is a great idea." Ned told his best friend. "I mean… what if this is illegal."

"It is illegal." Emma told him as if that would reassure him. She now had her phone out as she looked at Pedro Pascal's wikipedia page after looking at the wikipedia page of the show _Narcos_. Emma was just that bored with the whole conversation between Peter and Ned. Now she was looking up random people and shows on wikipedia. Emma didn't understand why they were sitting there discussing this which only caused them to waste precious time. Peter quickly got down from the bed and knelt down on the ground next to Ned's bed.

"Look, Please. This is a chance to prove myself." Peter said pleadingly. "I can handle it… Emma's will be with me the entire time. Ned, come on."

"I don't think this is a good idea." Ned said to Peter before speaking in a more hushed voice. "And I really don't think you can trust Emma."

"Superhuman hearing!" Emma called out to him as her eyes remained glued to the screen. Pedro Pascal was from Chile? She never would've guessed. Well, at least that explained how he spoke Spanish so fluently on the show.

"The guy in the chair." Peter said to Ned, trying to get his friend to give into him. Emma liked seeing a manipulative Peter. Manipulative Peter was way more fun than uptight and nosy Peter.

"Don't do that." Ned replied in an exhausted tone.

"Come on." Peter begged before Ned sighed heavily, caving into Peter. Emma honestly thought Ned might've held out a little longer but she had been wrong before. Ned typed a few keys on the keyboard and suddenly both Emma and Peter's suit started glowing and humming. Emma even tore her eyes away from her phone as she sat up in the bed, staring at her suit with a curious look on her face.

"I guess we're all set to go then." Emma said without looking away from her suit. She was excited to see what was Stark holding out on them with. What was her suit's full capability if it just wasn't McConnaughey? Emma then got up from the bed and immediately held up her suit as it stopped glowing. She looked it over but didn't notice anything that different about it. She supposed she'd be able to tell the difference when she put the suit on.

"What are we doing about the weapon dealers?" Peter asked her and Emma glanced at him briefly.

"We go over to their lame evil lair, find their boss, and then stop him. It's that simple." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head. Emma didn't sound that concerned with the mission.

"No, it's not that simple. _How_ do we stop him?" Peter pressed and Emma shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, usually I'd just kill him but I can tell that you might not be interested in murder." Emma quipped and Peter just stared at her. Emma rolled her eyes. "Relax, Parker. I haven't killed anyone in years. I promised Steve that I wouldn't."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better." Peter muttered. "No, seriously… how are we going to do this?" Emma just sighed.

"Okay, listen to this. I'll distract him and when he's not paying attention you shoot him with your webbing. You make sure he's all tied up and restrained." Emma told Peter as she laid out the plan. "Then I'll fly myself and birdman out of there. I'll dump him on Stark's doorstep like a Fedex package and Stark will handle the boring legal side of it."

"That doesn't really sound like I'll be doing much of the work." Peter noted disapprovingly which caused Emma to glare at him.

"I'm sorry… do _you_ want to fly him back to the Avenger's facility? I didn't realize you could fly." Emma said sarcastically. She didn't know why Peter was being so trigger happy about all of this. It's not like Emma was thrilled at the idea of flying herself and a two hundred(not including the weight from the suit) pound man back to New York. If Parker could fly than you better believe he would be doing all the heavy lifting.

"Fine we'll go with your plan." Peter reluctantly agreed. He could see that Emma was right even though he didn't want to admit it. There wasn't any other plan they could go with… at least not one he could think of. This would be the only realistic way to catch the guy with the wings.

"Let's suit up." Emma told him before she inwardly winced at herself. God, she sounded just like her grandfather when she said that. It looked like Steve's captain attitude had rubbed off on her more than she thought.

Peter only nodded at the tall, willowy figured blonde, assuming that she was going to take her suit to the bathroom to change. He and Ned, however, were both surprised to see that Emma made no move to go to the bathroom and was actually about to pull off her t-shirt. Peter watched wide eyed, stunned at what the blonde was doing. He immediately turned his head away when he saw the bottom of Emma's bra as she carelessly started to pull her shirt off. Ned just stared at the blonde in shock, not knowing where else to look.

"What are you doing?!" Peter exclaimed as he looked at the wall, trying very hard not to look at the blonde. Emma stopped pulling off her shirt and let the article of clothing fall back down against her body. She gave both Peter and Ned a confused look.

"I'm suiting up… just like I just said." Emma replied casually.

"I thought you were going to go to the bathroom to change." Peter told her as he tried to steady his breathing. That was actually the most he had ever seen a girl naked and it happened to be a girl that Peter was starting to become attracted to... which was something he couldn't even admit to himself aloud. Emma just gave Peter an odd look.

"Why would I do that?" Emma questioned. "That would take up too much time. Wait… why are you interrogating me like this? We're wasting time."

"Because I don't think it's appropriate for us to change together. I'm very uncomfortable." Peter said honestly and Emma glared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe he was really worrying about social customs in a time like this. They were about to get ready to go on a mission together and he was having a panic attack because he saw part of her bra? What the hell was wrong with this boy? Couldn't he grow up?

"Are you seriously telling me that you're uncomfortable right now? Come on, Parker, we have a mission to go on. We don't have time for this crap." Emma argued but Peter stood by his words. He stared back at her with defiance in his eyes, silently telling her to go change in the bathroom. Emma just groaned, rolling her eyes as she picked up her suit and started to head towards the bathroom. Normally she'd argue with him all night long but Emma didn't have time to spare.

"I can't believe you're being so immature about this." Emma complained as she opened the door to the bathroom before glaring at him. "I'm going to be changed in two minutes so if you're still not done getting dressed by the time I come out I could give a shit less." The blonde then slammed the door closed. Peter flinched at the loud sound before turning to Ned who was still staring at the door the blonde had slammed shut with the same shocked expression on his face. Peter just sighed.

"She's never going to be boring, is she?"

* * *

Emma had pulled up to the side of the hotel in a newer model of a black Ford Mustang. Before she left the hotel room she had told Peter to meet her outside and she'd give him the signal when she brought the car around. He actually believed Emma had somehow rented a car for the occasion. Rookie mistake. Rental cars could be tracked and it wasn't like Emma could legally rent one anyways since she was only fifteen. Emma was sitting in the driver's seat waiting for Peter without her mask on. It kind of screwed up her line of sight when she was driving so she left it off for the time being. Emma spotted Peter sitting up on top of the hotel building so she flashed the headlights three times. Peter spotted the signal and immediately leapt down from the building, using his web shooters. She watched as he cautiously made his way over to the car, looking as though he were taking time to admire the car as he did so. He finally approached the car and opened the passenger side door, hoping into the seat.

"Woah… this is such a nice car." Peter remarked as he closed the door behind him. Emma didn't even wait for him to buckle himself in before she immediately took off.

"Sure is." She replied distractedly as she turned out of the parking lot of the hotel. Peter jumped up and down excitedly in his seat as he looked around at the car's interior.

"I didn't know you could drive." Peter said and Emma shrugged.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Emma replied calmly. Peter just nodded as he drummed his fingers against the arm rest. Emma clenched her jaw tightly. She hadn't realized he'd be this annoying to drive with. It didn't take long for the teenage boy to become restless before he reached out to mess with the knobs on the stereo. Peter immediately turned on the stereo before he started changing the radio stations to find a song he liked. Emma told herself to calm down and let him be. There would be no use in arguing with him in a time like this. Peter finally settled on a radio station as the station played a familiar sounding pop song that Emma immediately knew that she didn't like.

 _'_ _Acting like we're not together, after everything that we've been through. Sleeping up under the covers.'_ What sort of song was this? The singer had the most nasally annoying voice she had ever heard. Did Peter really listen to this crap? Between the singer's high pitched voice and the electronic nature of the music, Emma was quickly becoming annoyed.

' _How am I so far away from you? Distant when we're kissing. Feels so different.'_ At first Peter only hummed along to the lyrics which set Emma on edge enough. She was always tense before a mission. Emma usually spent her time before a mission mentally preparing herself for every possible scenario. It was then that Emma became even more tense when Peter started singing the chorus of the song.

"Baby tell me how did you get so… cold enough to chill my bones. It feels like I don't know you anymore." It sounded like Peter was singing at the top of his lungs to Emma since her hearing was more enhanced and they were in a tight space. She couldn't help but notice that he was also a pretty horrible singer. Never quit your day job, Parker... or maybe night job considering just who he was. "I don't understand why you're so cold to me."

"With every breath you breathe, I see there's something going on-" Peter continued to sing until Emma finally had enough.

"Can you shut up?" Emma said in annoyed tone as she cut him off. It was impossible to think around him. She couldn't seem to have a coherent thought pattern around him at all and it frustrated her beyond belief. Peter immediately turned to look at her with a surprised expression hidden under his mask.

"What? You don't like Maroon 5?" Peter asked her incredulously.

"Turn it off." Emma said as she gritted her teeth.

"Well, I get that they're not what they once were but I think it's cool that they're evolving with the times-" At this point Emma grew tired of arguing with him and immediately pulled out her gun from her holster, pointing it at the stereo system. It seemed like she had finally snapped.

"Turn it off or I'll turn it off for you." Emma snapped and Peter's lenses widened as he looked at the gun in shock.

"What the hell?! Is that a real gun?" Peter exclaimed as he looked between Emma and the gun, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"No, it's a water gun." Emma said sarcastically before rolling her eyes. "What do you think? Of course it's a real gun."

"Why do you have a real gun?!" Peter asked, slipping somewhat into a panic mode.

"In case things go south." Emma answered as if it were the obvious thing in the whole world. Emma always had a gun with her on missions. There was nothing that had changed since Hydra that would make her not take a gun with her on missions. She understood that it had been a while since she had missions to go on but Emma didn't think she had changed that much since then except for the fact that she didn't kill people anymore.

"South? What do you mean _south_?" Peter kept asking her, his voice becoming slightly hysterical. Emma just sighed as she tried to calm herself down. She didn't think that she could get headaches but Peter was really starting to test that theory. Emma put the gun back in her holster before shutting off the stereo herself.

"It's just a precaution, Parker. Those guys have guns… shouldn't I have one too?" Emma said, posing what she thought was a good question. Peter just shook his head.

"Why would you need one? Mr. Stark's designed these amazing suits for us. They have everything in them." Peter told her and Emma just glared at the road ahead of them.

"Well, I didn't always have Stark to make fancy gadgets for me. I guess old habits die hard." Emma replied in a harsh tone. Peter immediately got the feeling that she didn't wish to further discuss the subject. Maybe it was best to just let it go. They were about to go on a mission and they didn't need to start another argument which they always seemed to do. Peter lost count of the amount of times he and Emma bickered in the short time they had known each other. The teenage boy just shook his head as he reached for the stereo again but a heated glare from Emma stopped him.

"I swear, Parker, if you turn on that stereo again you're out of the car." Emma told him sharply. Peter rested his hands in his lap as he muttered to himself, not believing how someone could really be that unpleasant. Still… Emma could be her unpleasant self and he couldn't help but secretly enjoy bickering with her. It was kind of fun to see her get all annoyed and angry even if she was sort of terrifying at the same time. Peter liked seeing that side of Emma because she was actually showing emotion instead of wearing the mask she always seemed to wear.

"Okay, okay. You hate Maroon 5… I'll remember that for next time when I make our road trip playlist." Emma just focused on the road as she drove down a highway.

"How far are we from the weapon dealers?" Emma asked him in a more quiet tone as she tried to bring their attention back to the mission. Peter turned to look at her, trying to analyze the unreadable expression on her face. It was then that he notice the readings that had come up on the screen inside his mask. The readings showed him her heart rate as well as an x-ray that confirmed that the blonde sitting next to him was in good health. It seemed to be part of the new upgrades his suit had. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as several Viper Assassin files started popping up on his screen. He noticed that the files were emblazoned with a sinister looking symbol. Hydra's symbol.

"Parker?" Emma asked again, breaking Peter out of his thoughts. It seemed like Emma must've been trying to get his attention for a while. He blinked before shaking his head. The female disembodied voice must've heard Emma as the screen showed the location of the weapon dealers again.

"We're about five miles away. Just keep driving north." Peter told her and Emma nodded solemnly. "The new subsystems that Ned gave us access to are awesome. I even have an AI system like you have. Do you know if you have anything new in your suit?" Emma just shrugged.

"I don't really know. I haven't put on my mask yet but I'm sure I'll find out soon." Emma replied. Truthfully, Emma really hoped that there wasn't that many new little gadgets that Stark had included in her suit. She was kind of curious to see what Stark thought up for her but at the same time she knew how far Stark went with things sometimes... how unnecessary he could be. Unlike Peter, Emma hadn't really care if Ned had given her access to the new subsystems or not. Emma was trained to fight in hand to hand combat and as well as how to be resourceful. Stark just tended to make things harder than they had to be. The only problem Emma had with Stark disabling the subsystems was the fact that he didn't think she was responsible enough to have them. Who was he to judge her? "Let's just hope that Stark didn't over complicate things."

It was quiet in the car for a brief fleeting moment as Emma focused on the road and Peter looked outside the window. They didn't have that much further to go and the anticipation in getting there was really starting to get to Emma. A mischievous smirk came over Emma's face as she pressed her foot against the gas pedal. There really wasn't anything that sounded better to Emma's ears than the roar of the Mustang engine. She smoothly passed cars on the highway that were going way too slow for her liking. Emma also noticed the way Peter clutched onto the sides of his seat.

"Why are we going so fast?! We're going to die!" Peter exclaimed as he stared at the road in fear. Emma was amused to see how panicked he was with her driving. It wasn't like she was going a crazy speed. She was only driving at 95 mph. Emma had driven way faster on previous missions.

"I want to get there faster. The faster we get there the sooner we can come back and make it in time for nationals." Emma explained and Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah but we won't make it back to the nationals if we crash and die." Peter told her pointedly which caused Emma to roll her eyes at him yet again.

"Drama queen."

* * *

Emma parked the Mustang a couple blocks away from the location of the tracker. She didn't want the idiots to become suspicious about a random Mustang parked near their lair. To Peter's surprise they both survived Emma's erratic driving. Emma had since slipped on her Viper Assassin mask and was immediately surprised by all the new little pop-ups on her screen. Great, she thought to herself, it looks like Stark really did over complicate things. While Emma had access to a AI system before, she now had access to many more subsytems than were previously allowed. Emma was getting all kinds of readings that she could care less about. Who cared about the percentage of humidity in the air? That didn't make the slightest difference to Emma.

"McConaughey, can you put on Viper vision?" Emma asked the AI system quietly as she and Peter made their way through a grassy field. Emma could see a gas station in the distance and she was assuming that this was where their evil lair was. An evil lair inside of a gas station? Were these guys some backwoods rednecks or something? Although Emma shouldn't judge. She was technically from Oklahoma originally.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey answered as her red lenses went down and Viper vision came on. Emma smiled faintly as the familiar thermal imaging of Viper vision filled her line of sight.

"Miss, Rogers, I am detecting three individuals in the distance." McConaughey informed her as Emma spotted a beat up looking van at the gas station. She could see their thermal heat signatures through the van as the red lenses zoomed in on the vehicle. Emma gave Peter a hand signal, silently telling him to stop. She crouched down behind a bush and Peter followed suit. They now had the advantage since the weapon dealers had no idea that they were even there. Emma didn't want to reveal themselves to them just yet.

"Why is their secret lair in a gas station? That's so lame." Peter quipped which caused Emma to smile.

"I know. I was thinking the same exact thing." Emma whispered to him much to Peter's surprise since the blonde hardly agreed with him on anything. Peter just smiled a small satisfied smile from under his mask, pleased that Emma was starting to become slightly less hostile to him.

"Mr. Parker, are you alright?" The female disembodied voice asked Peter. "Your heart rate had just accelerated. Shall I inform Miss Rogers of your current predicament?"

"No, no. That's fine… I'm perfectly fine." Peter assured the voice as he blushed in embarrassment. Emma raised a brow at the masked teenager, wondering what it was that his AI system said but Peter just shook his head at her. She decided to just let it go. They had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"We should find a higher location so we can get a better vantage point." Emma told him quietly as she looked up towards the deteriorating sign near the gas pumps. Peter just nodded and they both left the bush they were previously hiding in. Emma flew gracefully up to the top of the sign while Peter used his webshooters to fling himself up to the sign and landed in a crouched position. Emma stood on the ledge of the sign a little lower so that she could remain hidden.

"Hey, suit lady, what are they doing?" Emma heard Peter ask his AI system as she focused her enhanced hearing on what was going on inside that van. Her Viper vision suddenly showed depictions of all the different types of weapons that the idiots had in their van. Emma could not believe that they actually were able to acquire that many advanced weapons. Maybe they weren't as stupid as she thought but they were still stupid enough to actually have all those weapons with them. If something happened to that van than Emma was sure the weapons would cause a massive explosion. Although… it wouldn't be that great of a loss considering who was currently occupying the van.

"I got the gautlet from the Lagos cleanup. The rest is all my design." Emma narrowed her eyes as she listened to the weapon dealers. Lagos? That's where Steve, Sam, Natasha, and the witch tried to take down Rumlow when he attempted to steal that biological weapon. She thought they had done a good job in cleaning up after themselves but these weapon dealers must've been fast if they somehow got their hands on anything from the incident.

"I can't believe they're still cleaning up that Triskelion mess." Another weapon dealer said, referring to the same exact mess Emma and Peter had just witnessed on their way to D.C. It was a terrible sight to be seen but Emma knew what her grandfather had saved the world from. She had agreed earlier with Michelle that Captain America hadn't really done anything to stop the tyranny of Hydra which was true but he did stop Project Insight. Emma might not have been allowed to see much details about Project Insight but she knew enough about it to know that it would've wiped out a couple million people from the face of the planet. Some people might've considered the plan insane but Emma understood why Hydra felt the need to design such a plan. They wanted to eliminate anything or anyone who they saw as a threat and Project Insight was the way to do it. It was an insane and evil idea but it made sense for Hydra.

"I love it. They keep making messes, we keep getting rich." A different weapon dealer replied and Emma instantly recognized his voice. He was the same one who they saw at school the other day and the same one who tried to shoot at them. Emma still wondered what happened to that buddy of his whose nose she broke. Probably dead, Emma decided. When agents at Hydra failed to do their job right they were terminated. Birdman probably had the same kind of mindset when it came to his goons.

"Target inbound." The other one suddenly said and Emma realized that they were in the middle of a heist. Of course, Emma thought to herself. Why else would they be staked out in their crappy looking van? They were probably waiting around for Birdman. Well, this just kept getting better and better.

"They're in the middle of a heist." Peter whispered, unknowingly agreeing with Emma's thoughts. Emma had to commend Peter because he was learning the game fairly quickly. Maybe the two of them spending so much time together was finally proving to be worth while if it was having a positive effect on him.

"We could catch them all red-handed. This is awesome." Peter continued to say in an excited voice. Emma really hoped that he wasn't going to become too anxious. She didn't need him to jump the gun on this one.

"Pace yourself, Spider-Twerp." Emma whispered, knowing full well that his suit would now enable him to hear her. Peter was so excited for how close they were to catching these guys that he didn't even feel annoyed at Emma's nickname for his alter-ego.

"Okay but we should get a little closer so that we can see what's happening." Peter told Emma. Emma sighed but nodded reluctantly. He was probably right about that but they needed to remain hidden until the last second. They couldn't let their targets gain the upper hand.

"Fine but we need to remain discreet." Emma agreed. "These guys are idiots but they're not your average petty thiefs. We need to be smart about this."

"Of course. Discreet and smart are right up my alley." Peter replied. Emma strongly resisted the urge to snort at his words. It was really hard to resist the urge but she finally managed to do so.

"Miss Rogers, would you like me to engage enhanced combat mode? Mr. Parker has just engaged the same mode in his suit." McConaughey told her and Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure, why not." Emma replied. It would probably be a smart move for her and Peter to be on the same page anyways. Maybe if they were locked into identical modes than it would make it easier to apprehend the weapon dealers.

"Activating instant kill." McConaughey said as her Viper vision zoomed in on the weapon dealers and labeled clear targets on their bodies. Emma looked at the targets in fascination as it showed her various different ways to take out the targets. Images of different weapons also popped up on her screen and Emma could only assume that the weapons were hidden somewhere in her suit.

"Okay, I think I can be cool with this." Emma said breathlessly, feeling overwhelmed by all the options of death. Stark had a more sadistic mind than she originally thought. That might've made her hate him a little less… not much but still less than before.

"Emma, deactivate it." Peter told the blonde after seeing the scary smile on her face. He had already deactivated his instant kill mode much to his relief. Peter just couldn't believe Mr. Stark would put something like that in his and Emma's suit… well, anyone's suit actually. "We can't kill anyone. You need to deactivate it right now." Emma was a little surprised and impressed to hear the authority in Peter's voice as he ordered her around. Normally she would defy him because he wasn't Steve and he couldn't tell her what to do but somehow she was more impressed than pissed off at his attitude. Parker was finally standing up for himself, Emma thought to herself. Good for him.

"Fine. McConaughey, deactivate instant kill." Emma told the AI system, slightly pouting as she did so. Peter was the one with the moral compass after all so she should probably take his advice on that.

"Deactivating instant kill." McConaughey told her as Viper vision went back to the manual mode it was originally in.

"You're no fun." Emma muttered to herself as she glared up at Peter. This time he actually glared back at her since he could finally hear the snide comments she said under her breath when she thought he wasn't listening. Looking away from the blonde, Peter held his wrist out and shot his webbing towards the gas pumps. He expected the webbing to stick to the side of the gas pumps when it actually didn't and he instead fell face flat on the ground. Normally Emma would've laughed at him but she knew that the idiots in the van could possibly see him. Emma immediately flew herself to the top of the gas pumps as she looked between Peter and the van. No one had come running out of the van yet so she assumed that the idiots were oblivious like usual.

"What the hell just happened? What was that?" She heard Peter ask his AI system before he flung his wrist out again and began shooting webbing at a sign above the gas pumps. Emma glared at him from her spot on top of the gas pumps.

"What are you doing?!" Emma whisper-yelled at him.

"My suit's malfunctioning." Peter whispered back to her before he ran for cover behind one of the gas pumps. Emma rolled her eyes as she heard his answer. His suit malfunctioning? Yeah, right. He didn't mean that the suit that Stark designed for him was malfunctioning… No, he actually meant that he just couldn't figure out how to work his own suit. And she thought Steve trying to figure out how to use a Stark phone was hard to watch.

Peter then flung his wrist again and shot webbing that immediately caused the top of the gas pumps, where Emma was positioned, to spark with electricity. Emma stared at the sparking lights with wide eyes before she quickly flew up, not wanting the sparks to touch her. What was going on with that boy? Emma looked over at the van with her Viper vision and could tell that the idiots were momentarily distracted by something in the van. She took her chance and then proceeded to fly down from the gas pumps towards Peter who was hiding behind the abandoned building. She gracefully landed right next to the panicky boy and sent him a scathing glare.

"What the hell are you doing?" She questioned angrily.

"Nothing, nothing. Come on, we've got to catch those guys." Peter told her dismissively as he hopped onto a dumpster before propelling himself onto the roof of the abandoned building. Emma just sighed before flying herself off the ground to join him on the roof. He really needed to get things together. She never remembered her father saying that she was _this_ difficult to train. Then again… her father never really said much in those days.

"I got a visual." Emma heard one of the weapon dealers say as a line of heavy duty cargo trucks passed the gas station. Emma narrowed her eyes as she looked at the cargo trucks suspiciously.

"Green light, green light." Another weapon dealer said. Not a minute later Emma saw a familiar looking outline fly through the night sky. She still had her Viper vision but she could definitely tell that the outline was of the mysterious Birdman that had grabbed her and Peter the other night. Who was that guy?

"Oh, that's him." Peter said before turning to her. "We need to get him right now, Emma. I don't care if you say it's too soon or not. He's not getting his hands on those weapons."

"I wasn't going to disagree with you, Parker." Emma said much to Peter's surprise. Peter was right. They couldn't let that guy get away. It was times like these that made Emma wonder what Steve would do and she was a hundred percent positive that he wouldn't let that guy go. Usually Emma liked to sit back and observe her targets before making a move. Sometimes that took weeks on end but she wasn't going to have that luxury for this mission. The weapons this guy could use or sell could ultimately cause massive devastation. They needed to act fast. "You're right. We can't let him get anymore weapons. He needs to be stopped right this second."

"I'm glad you're finally seeing things my way." Peter replied.

"I'm not seeing things _your_ way. I just know that if my grandfather was here that he wouldn't hesitate to stop Birdman over there." Emma told him, her tone full of determination. Peter just nodded slowly to himself. Emma looked him over carefully as she asked her next question. "Are you okay to make your own way over to Birdman? You don't want me to fly you over there?"

"No, I'm fine." Peter said in an assuring tone. "Besides… I don't trust that you won't drop me in the middle of the highway." Emma couldn't tell if his tone was joking or not but either way she still smirked at him.

"Fine. Have it your way." Emma said casually before she propelled herself off the roof and swiftly flew over to the cargo truck. Peter sighed as he watched her fly away. Sometimes he really wished that he could fly like Emma. It would make things so much easier.

* * *

Emma flew well above the cargo truck so that she could remain out of Birdman's sight but quickly lowered herself down once she noticed that he had disengaged himself from his wings. How could he already be inside the cargo trucks? Those things looked reinforced and surely they would hear him trying to break into the back of one of them. Emma silently grasped onto the side of the cargo truck as it drove down the highway. She hadn't wanted to land on top of the truck, afraid that it would alert Birdman to her presence. Emma easily lifted herself onto the top of the cargo truck from the side and noticed Peter crawl up on top of the truck at the same as her. It was nice to know that there were so in sync. Emma furrowed her eyebrows immediately as she noticed the ray of purple that had encompassed the top of the truck. She found that she could look directly through the mass of purple and see everything inside the cargo truck, including Birdman. It was like some sort of portal that allowed for someone to go through solid surface areas. It just had to be another tool those idiots created with the alien weaponry.

"Woah, cool. It's like some kind of matter phase shifter." Peter remarked quietly as he gently touched the purple mass. Emma raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. She wanted to tell him not to touch it but she didn't want to alert Birdman to their presence. There was also the fact that Peter seemed to know more about what the hell that thing was than she did. Emma continued to stare at Birdman through the purple mass and saw that he wrapping up his little heist. She immediately looked at Peter.

"We should get into position." Emma told him and he nodded in agreement as they both got up from the roof. They immediately stood a ways back as they waited for Birdman to come out of his little cubby hole. Emma clenched her jaw in anticipation as she saw him finally pop out of the purple mass with a bag of weapons in his hand. Peter shot out his webbing without warning and immediately snatched the bag out of his hand. Birdman whipped back around to stare at the two crime fighting individuals. The spider and the snake... An unlikely combination.

"Hey, Big Bird! This doesn't belong to you!" Peter yelled at him. Birdman just stared at them before reattaching himself to his wings. This caused Peter's confidence to falter but it only made Emma more determined to take him down. Remember, she told herself, Peter said that you can't kill anyone. This was going to be the hardest mission she ever had to do if she wasn't supposed to kill anyone. All her other missions ended in death which made everything simpler as messed up as that sounded.

"Oh, god." Peter mumbled as his lenses widened. Birdman immediately flew in their direction threateningly causing Peter to do a flip in the air and Emma to fly off to the side so that they could avoid being hit by his wings. Peter flung his wrist out and shot out his webs but they missed Birdman by a long shot. Emma groaned in frustration. Was he still figuring out his suit?

Birdman then flew towards Emma, trying to shoo her away from the cargo truck but she fearlessly flew in his direction. It didn't seem like Birdman anticipated this move as he jolted in shock when Emma grabbed onto his forearms with a harsh grip. They spun around through the air like dancers until Birdman eventually was able to kick her with one of his clawed feet. Emma flinched when one of his clawed feet managed to kick her in the stomach but she quickly recovered as she dodged another one of his kicks. Emma had to say that this was an odd circumstance. She had never fought in the air like this before but then again there wasn't many people who could fly.

"Miss Rogers, would you like for me to dispense the Viper Venom?" McConaughey asked her. Emma raised her eyebrows as she delivered a kick to Birdman's side. It didn't seem to do any good because Birdman's suit seemed to be well armored. Peter was still on the ground trying to figure out his suit as Emma tried to apprehend Birdman.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever, McConaughey. Anything would help right now." Emma told him as she dodged another hit from Birdman.

"Dispensing Viper Venom." McConaughey said as Emma heard a soft hissing sound. She watched in surprise as a green colored liquid sprayed the metal arm of Birdman. Emma noted that the liquid was coming from a metal plate on the wrist of her suit. The green liquid seemed to make a sound that could only be compared to bacon on a frying pan as it hit the metal of Birdman's suit. She watched in shock as the liquid seemed to burn through the arm of Birdman's suit like it was some kind of acid. It started expose some wiring which sparked when it made contact with the Viper Venom. Stark, what did you do? Even Birdman seemed shocked at what was happening but he soon clearly became pissed as he flew backwards from Emma. Emma had stupidly allowed herself to become distracted at Stark's little gadget. So distracted that she barely had time to anticipate Birdman's move when he propelled himself through the air and flew, towards her, feet first. Emma held out her hands defensively in hopes of somehow slowing down his impact but his speed was too fast and the force of his feet caused Emma to fly backwards through the air.

"Viper!" Peter yelled out in concern. Emma tried to slow herself down but the impact of Birdman's feet was so forceful that she only stopped when her head hit the edge of the cargo truck, causing her to fall through the purple mass and land on the floor of the truck. The last thing Emma saw before she blacked out was the night sky through the purple portal. If only the view from outside her bedroom window was this pretty, Emma thought deliriously as her eyes fluttered shut.

If only…


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. I would've updated sooner but somehow the edit I did of this chapter got deleted so I had to edit it all over again which is super annoying but necessary.**

 **writeremma: There will probably be a romance between Darcy and Bucky but it won't be the focus of this story. I think it might be nice for Emma if Darcy and Bucky got together.**

 **JokeLover123: I think Emma might trust Peter somewhat even if that's hard for her to deal with. It scares Emma how easy it is for her to talk to Peter about things because a part of her is terrified he might use that against her someday. There's still a lot she hadn't told Peter in regard to everything that happened at Hydra, her exact relationship with Bucky, the meeting with Natasha, and even Rumlow. I think when we see Emma talk to him about all of these things than we'll know that she completely trusts him. There's still some time before that will happen though. I think both her and Peter will go through some things in the Homecoming plot that will solidify their friendship and cause it to bloom into something more.**

 **knarl: I don't really know how to answer that question without giving everything away but the Homecoming storyline will stay pretty close to the original plot of the movie. I think some things need to happen with Emma and Peter before their relationship can progress.**

 **TheFandemonium: I'm not going to write a full-on rape flashback scene but Emma might eventually share what happened to her with Peter but it's not going to happen for a little while. There's some stuff that needs to happen before they reach that point. It's coincidental that you mention that though because there is a little fragment of what happened with Rumlow in the beginning of this chapter.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and I'm sorry for not answering every single one but I figured you'd want to have the chapter sooner anyways.**

 **I'm just going to say trigger warning for this chapter because there's mentions of rape.**

* * *

 _She watched him as he pulled his pants back up. The blonde was still sitting on the bed, her head resting against the wall as her chest heaved up and down with fear. Her blue eyes were widened in horror as she tried to process what just happened. A part of her knew what had happened since Hydra made it clear what was expected of her for missions when she was older. However, Emma still didn't completely understand what had happened. Her father had spent years training her to take down men three times her size but somehow Emma hadn't been able to fight against this man in particular. Despite her enhanced strength and fighting skills she had remained frozen the entire time, unable to move or fight back. She just let it happen._

 _Emma knew that she should've made a move to kill him or hurt him but she didn't. It occurred to her that she was scared. She was utterly terrified at the much older man standing by the bed… a man that now held something over her. Emma could tell that he was fully aware of that too with the smug look he was giving her. The thirteen year old girl knew that she would eventually have to do that when she was older for missions but she still thought it would be years away. She also thought she wouldn't feel so powerless and violated… so filthy and disgusting. Emma felt disgust as she looked over her torn clothes that he had carelessly ruined when he first came into her room. She suddenly felt the need to throw up the contents of her stomach which was a feeling that Emma thought she was immune to._

 _"_ _Don't worry, princess." He whispered softly. She could make out the outline of his face through the darkness of the room. "You were perfect tonight. I have to leave but I'll be back soon after I take care of some business in D.C."_

 _Emma then stiffened as he moved swiftly towards her, moving in a wolf like fashion… moving like he was a wolf taunting his prey. He knelt right down next to her as he immediately grasped her hands in his, placing a chaste kiss against them as he held her hands tight within his grasp. She only watched him in a frozen state and hoped that he would leave. He took one of her hands and placed the palm of her hand against his cheek. The imposing man closed his eyes in content as he rubbed his face against her hand. Emma felt the bile rise up in her throat._

 _"_ _We'll be together again, Margot." He whispered through the cold and empty room, Emma could practically feel his hot breath against her skin. She swallowed uncomfortably, wishing she was anywhere but in that room with him. "I'll take you away from this place and we'll be together forever."_

* * *

Peter had been in the damage control vault for close to twenty minutes. He had tried very unsuccessfully to open the vault doors but those doors were even beyond his superhuman strength. It was too bad that Emma was still unconscious or she might've been able to help him to open the vault. He glanced at the passed out blonde who he had moved out from the cargo truck when he first broke out. She was sound asleep in a hammock he had made out of his webbing. Peter noticed how carefree she seemed when she was asleep… how angelic she looked which was ridiculous because he knew that Emma was anything but angelic. Peter still couldn't help but remark at how different she seemed from the awakened version of herself. He didn't know if he found it endearing or terrifying how much she looked like Sleeping Beauty in that moment.

According to his AI system Emma had a mild concussion like he did but otherwise she was fine. Peter had been worried when he saw her hit her head against the cargo truck which was why he dove in after her. He had just managed to yank the bag of weapons out of the Vulture's clutches and then dived into the cargo truck after Emma which was when the purple portal closed, trapping them inside the cargo truck. Peter had woken up when he felt the cargo truck stop but by then they were already inside the vault.

Peter's thoughts were briefly interrupted as he heard Emma mumbling from the hammock she was resting in. He curiously looked over at the resting blonde who no longer appeared to be resting peacefully. A deep crease had appeared in between her eyebrows as she started moving around in her sleep. At first her movements were subtle and seldom but her movements then increased as her mumbling became louder. It occurred to him that her mumbling hadn't really been mumbling at all but just Emma speaking a foreign language. He assumed that it was probably Russian but he couldn't be sure. It seemed like the blonde would go back and forth between Russian and English as her movements then became frequent and violent until she was thrashing around in her sleep.

"Stop it!" She screamed, her voice sounding pained. "Stop! It hurts!" Peter immediately climbed down from the high vantage point he had been sitting on so that he could have a better look at Emma. He didn't know what was going on with her. He had never heard anyone scream like that in their sleep and it frightened him.

"Get off of me!" Emma continued to scream and Peter was shocked to see tears streaming down her face. It shocked him because Emma always seemed so put together and calm. He had seen glimpses of real emotions with her like when she was angry, annoyed, and somewhat compassionate but he hadn't seen her like this. She seemed almost hysterical as she thrashed around violently in her sleep. Peter's throat suddenly felt thick as he heard the terror and pain in Emma's voice. What was she dreaming about to illicit a reaction like that? Peter felt a strong wave of concern come over him as he climbed into the hammock, hovering just above her as he sought to awaken her from whatever nightmare she was trapped in.

"Emma, wake up. It's me, Peter. You're having a nightmare." Peter told her softly as tried to wake her up. His words did little wake her up as she continued to thrash around in her sleep, muffled cries echoing throughout the facility.

"Come on, Emma, wake up. None of it's real. You're here with me… you're safe." Peter said as he tried to wake her up again but there was still no reaction from Emma. She was still trapped inside whatever nightmare she was having.

Emma, you need to wake up. You're not in any danger." Peter repeated and this time he gently grasped her by the shoulders in an attempt to wake her. He carefully shook her shoulders, not wanting to hurt her, and was relieved to see her eyes fly open from the action. His relief was however short lived when Emma quickly grabbed hold of his hands and in the blink of an eye flipped them both over so that she was on top and he was pinned to the bottom of the hammock. His hands were pinned to the webbing by her knees as she sat on his chest with a cold and enraged look in her eyes. Peter didn't think he had ever seen her eyes look that cold before and it slightly frightened him. Her hands immediately wrapped around his throat in a tight grip and Peter could only struggle underneath her. He was sure that he might be able to throw her off himself but he didn't want to cause her any injury. Peter knew that Emma wasn't in her her right state of mind in that moment.

"Emma, stop. It's me, Peter." Peter managed to say as he struggled for breath. He didn't think he would ever doubt her again even if he hadn't before. Her grip was outlandishly strong especially for a girl who resembled something more of a cheerleader looking teenage girl rather than a super soldier. He supposed that was the point after all.

"Emma, stop!" Peter said as he continued to try and awaken Emma from whatever trance she was in. Eventually Peter knew that he wasn't going to succeed in waking her with his words so he'd have to resort to something else. He just hoped that Emma wouldn't be too angry with him when she woke up. Mustering all his strength, Peter immediately pushed her knees off of his arms before rearing his hand back and slapping her across the face. The action sent Emma flying off of him and onto the floor a few feet before. Peter immediately got out of the hammock and jumped down after her to make sure she was alright. He hadn't wanted to be physical with her but it was the only way he could wake her up and stop her from potentially killing him. Peter kept a considerable distance away from the blonde as she rubbed the spot on her face where he had slapped her. He knew better now than to approach her when she was in a sleepy state.

Emma felt a stinging sensation across her face as she came to. She rubbed the stringing in her face soothingly as her eyes began to focus on her surroundings. Emma looked around the room rapidly as she tried to search for any sign of Rumlow. Rumlow who had just whispered into her ear like he was in the same room as her. As Emma began to awaken from her nightmare and come back into reality she also began to realize that Rumlow wasn't there. It had only been a bad dream like the countless others she had in the past. This nightmare seemed to be more like the ones she used to have when she was first rescued from the Hydra base but she figured that was only because being back in action seemed to trigger it. Emma relaxed more when she saw Peter in the room with her instead of Rumlow. She couldn't tell what his facial expression was from under his mask but she could tell from his body language that he was probably worried or concerned. That was some of the last things he should feel for her.

"Did you slap me?" Emma asked him, her voice was still sleepy. Peter bit his lip as he looked at her before answering.

"Yes. I'm sorry about that." Peter apologized. He thought Emma might be angry with him but he was surprised to see a troubled look on her face as she slowly nodded. Something appeared to be bothering her quite a bit.

"No, it's fine. I really needed that." Emma replied quietly before looking him over in poorly concealed concern. If she had been more awake she might've been able to hide her concern more but unfortunately she was still in the process of fully waking up. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not really. I'm stronger than I look but you sure have quite a strong grip." Peter told her, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. Emma looked down at the floor she was sitting on with an unreadable expression on her face. Peter thought the expression on her face was unreadable because it looked something akin to guilt which he didn't know she felt. Sometimes he was fairly sure Emma was sociopath which wasn't necessarily a bad thing because Sherlock Holmes was a sociopath and he seemed cool. Other times Peter could tell that Emma was more human from the brief and fleeting compassion in her eyes as well as when her features would soften from certain statements Peter made.

"I'm sorry." Emma said in a barely audible tone. Peter was almost unsure if she had even said the words. It didn't seem like she apologized much.

"It's okay. You were just having a bad dream." Peter replied and that seemed to trouble Emma more. She took her hand away from her face and looked away from him.

"Bad dreams are for children." She said bitterly, sounding a bit angry with herself.

"Bad dreams aren't just for children. Everyone has them." Peter told her in a comforting tone.

"Well, they're for the weak." Emma sneered but he could tell that it wasn't him that she was annoyed with this time. She seemed to be annoyed with herself.

"It's okay to have bad dreams, Emma. It's not like it's something you can control." Peter watched the way Emma clenched her jaw when he said that. Control… it seemed to be something Emma favored very highly. When she looked this vulnerable he realized how easy it was to read her. Control seemed to be something Emma had to have at all times and it made so much sense now that he thought about it. "You can't control everything, you know."

Emma just looked at Peter and wondered if she was really that easy to read. Hydra spent years trying to make her emotionless or trying to teach her how to mask her emotions in the very least. Those years seemed wasted if someone like Peter could read her so easily. Maybe she was just spending too much time with him. After spending so much time with Steve, he had also began to know how to read her. Yes, that had to be it… she was just spending a lot of time with Peter.

"I wish I could." Emma admitted after a moment of staring at Peter. "It would make everything so much simpler. If I could control everything than I wouldn't be in this place with you… I wouldn't be going to a high school and Stark wouldn't be my legal guardian. I'd be living at the Avengers facility with my grandfather and father. Steve and I would spend the days sketching, reading, and watching classic films. My father and I would find something new to bond over. I wouldn't have anymore nightmares and neither would my father… all that brainwashing would be vanquished from his mind completely. It wouldn't be happily ever after but it would come close."

Peter fell silent after Emma hatched out her perfect fantasy. He felt vague confusion over what she said about her father who she had previously said was dead but he thought it might've been a slip of the tongue. He wanted to tell Emma that she would see her grandfather again soon but he didn't know whether or not he would be lying. Peter knew that Captain America was a war criminal and kind of crazy but he could tell that Emma missed him a lot. The young hero wondered briefly if Captain America really was crazy. Mr. Stark had told him that he was so naturally Peter listened to the billionaire because Mr. Stark was Iron Man. Mr. Stark just had to know what he was talking about but now that he thought about it… now that he had started doing his own thinking he could kind of see Captain America's point of view. Emma and Captain America had more of a right than anyone else not to trust the government and especially not to trust the Avengers in the government's hands.

"What was the dream about?" Peter asked suddenly as he remembered how violently Emma had reacted to the nightmare. He had never seen anyone have that bad of a nightmare before and he wanted to know why Emma had reacted in the way she had. There had to be some kind of explanation. "Was it about Hydra?" Emma looked up and met Peter's gaze even though she couldn't see those kind brown eyes from under his mask. A part of her wanted to tell him what happened with Rumlow... to tell the truth for once in her life. She had been holding this nightmare within herself for so long that she felt like it was the large dark cloud that was always looming over her and following her where ever she went. Emma knew if she finally told someone about what Rumlow did to her than it might give her some peace. It was then, however, that Emma's more rational side took over. How ridiculous would it be of her to divulge her sob story to Peter who she had only known for about a month? How did she know that he wouldn't use that information against her the first chance he could? Deep down Emma knew Peter wasn't capable of doing something like that but it was what she kept telling herself so that she wouldn't make herself too vulnerable.

"Yes, it was about Hydra." Emma lied. It wasn't technically a lie but it wasn't exactly the truth either. Peter noticed the way Emma stiffened when she answered his question. He wanted to continue to question what the nightmare was about but he gathered from Emma's demeanor that she really didn't want to talk about it. Peter didn't want to push her more than he already had so he decided to drop it. "What happened anyways?" Emma asked Peter suddenly, breaking him out of his thoughts and also changing the subject from such a sensitive topic for her.

"You don't remember what happened?" Peter asked her and Emma rubbed her head as she recollected what had happened before she was enveloped in another nightmare.

"I remember Birdman kicking me in the chest and then everything went black." Emma answered honestly because it really was all she could remember.

"Well, you hit your head against the side of the cargo truck and went through the portal thingy. I went to help you and then the portal thingy closed. I also hit my head against the cargo truck and when I woke up we were inside the Damage Control deep storage vault." Peter explained to her and Emma furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"You let him go?" Emma inquired in disbelief. Peter just looked at her, not believing that was what she got from all that information.

"You got knocked out and I wanted to help you." Peter said, trying to explain himself as she narrowed her ocean blue eyes at him.

"So you just let him go because I got hurt?" Emma asked rhetorically, her tone low and dangerous sounding. Peter scoffed.

"Well, excuse me for trying to be the chivalrous partner. Next time I'll just leave you to be stuck inside a high security vault all by yourself." Peter said sarcastically. He was a bit hurt that Emma wasn't the least bit thankful or impressed that he had gone out of his way to save her. She could at least say thank you. Well, it seemed like they were finally back to their old bickering ways at least.

"Your first priority is always the mission." Emma told him sternly and Peter just shook his head.

"You're saying that you'd just leave me there to die if it meant completing the mission?" Peter asked in disbelief and Emma just stared at him.

"Yes." Emma said even though she wasn't too sure about that. Even though Hydra tried to beat the compassion out of her she knew that she would never leave her father to die if they were on a mission. Peter was nowhere near as close to her as her father was but Emma wasn't sure if she would leave him to die either.

"Well, that's very reassuring." Peter mumbled before looking back at the blonde who was back to being her cold and emotionless self. Her being genuine and apologetic was nice while it lasted. "I guess we really are like Batman and Catwoman." The statement was meant to be more to himself than to Emma but he kept forgetting that Emma had enhancing hearing.

"Didn't they fuck?" Emma asked randomly. Peter immediately turned to look at her incredulously. Wait… did she say what he thought she just said? It was sort of hard to tell with that stoic look on her face but Peter already knew the answer to that. What was he thinking? Of course she just asked that. This was Emma he was talking about after all.

"What?" Peter asked despite himself.

"Batman and Catwoman. Didn't they have sex or something?" Emma asked him and despite the stoic expression on her face her eyes were teasing. She couldn't see Peter's face with his mask on but she just knew that he was blushing.

"They were in love, yes." Peter finally admitted and Emma rolled her eyes at his wording.

"Ugh! Don't say it like that. Catwoman was way too cool to fall in love." Emma told him.

"What? Do only lame and stupid people fall in love?" Peter asked in amusement. For once he wasn't annoyed by Emma's vulgar and cynical humor. He was actually beginning to find her cynical nature a little amusing if he was being perfectly honest.

"Yes." She answered without hesitation. Peter just smiled even though Emma couldn't see his smile from under his mask.

"You know, you're the first teenage girl I've met who doesn't seem interested in falling in love." Peter remarked with a curious tone in his voice. Emma scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure men, especially high school boys, are a waste of time. I have more important things to do than suck face with some idiot like Flash who doesn't know how to keep it in his pants." Emma told him seriously. Well, there was another reason he liked Emma right there. She seemed to despise Flash almost as much as he did.

"So you've sworn off men for good then?" Peter asked. He didn't know why he was so curious about that side of Emma's life but he couldn't help himself. Peter knew that he had a similar conversation with Emma about her love life the night before but he was still immensely curious about Emma Rogers. Emma just shrugged at his question.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe if Loki was alive out there we could still be very happy." Emma said casually and Peter widened his eyes.

"Loki? As in Thor's brother who caused massive destruction in New York and tried to take over the world?" Peter asked in disbelief and Emma nodded as if it was normal thing to think.

"Yes. I feel like we could've gotten along very well. He seemed like fun." Emma said honestly. "We would've made a good team." Peter just shook his head at the blonde.

"You're crazy." Peter told her and Emma just smiled at him.

"Come on, Parker, it would be fun. Loki and I could have double dates with you and Liz." Emma quipped and Peter just glared at her.

"Help me open this stupid vault, would you? We're not going to get out of this place with you just sitting there all night." Peter grumbled as he started walking away from her. Emma just smirked, knowing that she had gotten under his skin again. Peter really made it too easy for her sometimes.

* * *

Emma and Peter had decided to give up trying to open the vault themselves. Even with Emma and Peter's enhanced strength combined they still couldn't get the vault to open. It kind of made sense that the vault was that reinforced since Stark was known to be involved with Damage Control. It seemed like Tony Stark was always trying to get in Emma's way even when he wasn't there. He never ceased to be annoying to the blonde super soldier.

Peter was relaxing on one of the storage containers chatting with his AI system after screwing around with his suit for a few minutes. Emma had stolen Peter's notebook from his backpack again but this time she was only sketching something while they waited for the doors to open in the morning. Emma really wasn't that worried about missing nationals. Worse comes to worse, they'd probably expel her from the school which wouldn't be that bad. It might actually be hilarious considering how pissed off Stark was going to be. Maybe he'd get so pissed off he'd kick her out of the townhouse too and she'd be free to go find her grandfather. Even so Emma would still hate to leave Peter alone on this mission.

"Should I tell Liz that I'm Spider-Man?" Emma's ears perked up when she heard Peter say that. She was about to answer him until she realized he was only talking to his AI system. Emma thought that it was a pretty stupid question considering he could probably be putting other people's lives in jeopardy by sharing that kind of information with someone. You know… if you were the kind of person who cared about that sort of thing. Emma was actually more concerned with Peter blabbing his mouth off to Liz about her. Ned knowing was already one too many people who knew the truth about her. She couldn't afford Liz finding out too. Michelle was one thing because Emma was sure that Michelle would probably be discreet when she found out about Emma but Liz not so much. What was Parker going to do now? Tell the whole school about them?

"Who's Liz? She's the best… she's awesome. Yeah, she's just a girl that goes to my school." Peter said in that dreamy voice. Emma rolled her eyes as she refrained from vomiting. It really got on Emma's nerves how much Peter could be like a girl sometimes. It was always Liz this and Liz that. Liz is so perfect. Liz is so amazing and kind. Liz and I are going to get married and have disgusting little spider babies and Mr. Stark will be the godfather to all of them. Okay, so maybe Peter had never actually said the last one but he might've as well have said it with the way he always acted so disgustingly over the moon about Liz Allan. Seriously… get a life, Parker. "I mean, I really want to tell her but it's kind of weird, you know. Hey I'm… I'm Spider-Man."

"What if she's expecting someone like Tony Stark? Can you imagine how disappointed she'd be if she sees me?" Peter inquired and Emma couldn't believe he seriously thought that. Liz would have to be the most insane, tasteless, and idiotic girl on the planet if she would actually be into Stark more than Peter. Not that Emma had a thing for Peter but if she had to choose between Stark and Peter she'd definitely pick Peter. Stark was like a middle aged man with a terrible goatee and Emma also thought he was really senile. Emma wasn't attracted to Peter or anything but she was just saying that Peter was way more attractive looking and more tolerable to be around than Stark.

"Thanks, Karen. It's really nice to have someone to talk to." Peter said to his AI system and Emma refrained from looking offended. What was she? Chopped liver? She supposed Peter had a point though. Emma knew she wasn't exactly easy to talk to. Emma was also assuming that he had finally named his AI system although she thought Karen was kind of a boring name. It was nowhere as creative as McConaughey. "Hey, how long have we been here anyways?"

"What?! Thirty seven minutes?! That's insane!" Peter exclaimed after his AI system answered him. He must've not liked that answer, Emma observed. She was fully aware that they hadn't been there that long but Peter was a lot more restless than her. Emma was perfect fine with waiting. She had been trained to be patient even in the most boring of situations. Emma prided herself on how patient and disciplined she was.

"I cannot take this anymore. I've gotta get out of here." Peter stated as he hopped off one of the storage containers. Emma watched as he shed the decathlon blazer he had been wearing over his suit and headed for the cargo truck they had previously been trapped in. She sighed heavily before getting up from the ground, leaving Peter's notebook behind. Emma briefly wondered if he would be pissed off by the drawings she had done in the notebook but then remembered that she didn't care. Wow… she was really starting to spend too much time around Peter if she actually cared whether or not she pissed him off.

"What are you doing, Parker?" Emma asked with a bored expression on her face as she leaned against the doorway of the cargo truck. She watched as he dug through various items within the cargo truck with so much desperation that it was actually kind of sad to watch but Emma was more amused than sad if she was being honest.

"I'm trying to find a way to get us out of here." Peter told her in a huff.

"You're not going to find anything in here that would help us." Emma replied and Peter gave her an annoyed look.

"Well, aren't you optimistic?" Peter said sarcastically. "Why don't you help me?"

"Why would I waste my time doing that? There's no possible means of escape for us until the doors open in the morning." Emma explained to him.

"How do you know there's no means of escape for us if you haven't even tried anything." Peter said pointedly and Emma just gave him a look that Peter had become accustomed to. She looked at him like he was ridiculous.

"One of my abilities from the super soldier serum is a survival instinct. I've already looked for any possible exits and there are none." Emma told him honestly. "We could look for a weapon to blow the place up but we'd probably end up blowing ourselves up or getting severely burn in the very least. Our chances of getting blown up are exponentially high. My survival instinct is telling me right now that we're basically fucked so I suggest that we just sit tight and wait until those doors open."

"What if we get caught by the people in charge?" Peter inquired and Emma just shrugged.

"Then I'll take care of it." Emma replied before gesturing to the gun in her holster. Peter gave her a horrified look before she rolled her eyes at him. "Relax, Parker, I was just kidding. We'll knock them unconscious."

"Good." Peter said, giving her a firm nod.

"Even though that would make everything way harder than it should be." Emma quickly added in and Peter just glared at her.

"Whatever. In the meantime I'll just try and find a way out." Peter said as he returned his attention to the bag that he had snatched from the Vulture. Emma just continued to lean against the doorway of the cargo truck with the same bored expression on her face.

"Great. I'll just stand here and watch your sad attempt to be a man and save the day like Humphrey Bogart in literally any movie ever." Emma quipped and Peter gave her another sharp look but Emma wasn't intimidated at all by his demeanor. Sometimes Emma pushed him so far that he wanted to strangle her. No one had ever made him feel that way before. She frustrated him beyond belief yet Peter still liked bickering with her. Sometimes he even seemed to look forward to it although he would never admit that aloud. He could just imagine the smug look on Emma's face if he said that to her.

"There's got to be something in here we can use. Okay, let's see." Peter stated, ignoring Emma's previous insult. He unzipped the bag before pulling out a mysterious metal part that looked harmless but was probably from a very dangerous weapon. "Nope."

"That's awesome." Peter said as he pulled out one of Ultron's heads. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust at the head of the familiar vanquished robot. She really hated that thing beyond belief. Ultron was like a more evil and crazier twin of Tony which made sense since he created the ugly thing.

"Worthless garbage can." Emma muttered under her breath as she watched the head roll over to her. She gave it one last look of disgust before completely crushing the metallic head under her foot with her enhanced strength. Emma looked at what was left of Ultron's head and was satisfied to see that Ultron looked more like a license plate now rather than an evil robot. Good riddance.

"Hey, it's like the glowy thing." Peter said and Emma looked up curiously. He was holding the purple power source they had previously found in someone's front yard. The same power source that was back in Peter and Ned's hotel room.

"Miss Rogers, I would like to inform you that the object that Mr. Parker calls a glowy thing is actually a highly explosive Chitauri energy core." McConaughey said suddenly through her mask and Emma's eyes immediately widened as Peter then dropped the energy core back into the bag. Wait… What?! Emma knew that the power source had most likely belonged to a Chitauri weapon but she had no idea that it was explosive.

"You mean, we've been carrying around a bomb?!" Peter exclaimed to his own AI system, expressing Emma's exact sentiment in this particular situation.

"What the hell, McConaughey?!" Emma also exclaimed, a bit furious with her AI system. "Why didn't you mention this before when… you know… we first found the thing? I don't remember you ever warning me not to bring a bomb to school or on a school trip."

"I'm sorry, Miss Rogers, but that part of my subsystem was restricted by Mr. Stark." He told her. Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Why would Stark restrict my access to a subsystem that automatically lets me now that I'm carrying a bomb around? I didn't realize he hated me that much." Emma couldn't believe Stark. Well, maybe she could but this was incredibly ridiculous and also stupid but how could she expect anything more of Stark?

"I'd also like to inform you that the Mini Cap Protocol was put in place for missions that would not inquire you to be in the presence of alien weaponry but since you've seemed to miraculously complete your training you now have full access to all subsystems." McConaughey informed her and Emma narrowed her eyes at his tone of voice. Did AI systems even have a tone of voice? Emma didn't know but she was sure that McConaughey seemed sort of sarcastic at the end of that sentence.

"That better not be a sarcastic tone, McConaughey." Emma told him.

"I'm an artificial intelligence system, Miss Rogers. I don't have a sarcastic tone of voice." McConaughey replied and Emma really didn't believe him. She was sure Stark must've programmed some of his own charming personality traits into the AI system. She wouldn't put it past him.

"Should Ned be worried about that thing blowing up?" Emma asked McConaughey, bringing up a more concerning issue.

"Not without radiation, Miss Rogers. It would require radiation to transform it into a explosive state." Emma sighed heavily at McConaughey reassuring statement and she meant that sarcastically because that wasn't reassuring at all.

"Thanks, McConaughey. You sure know how to make a girl feel better." Emma retorted sarcastically.

"You're welcome, Miss Rogers." He replied and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It would be pretty foolish of her to roll her eyes at an AI system. She watched as Peter went through his backpack for his phone and attempted to call Ned. It didn't appear that he had any service within the vault. Wow… this vault really was secure. It was nice to know that the scraps from the Avengers battles around the world actually ended up in a safe place. Well, they ended up in a safe place if they managed to make it to the vault before Birdman's band of idiots got their hands on the weapons.

"Does my phone have any service, McConaughey?" Emma asked the AI system quietly as she watched Peter fail to reach Ned.

"None whatsoever, Miss Rogers." He told her and Emma sighed.

"Great. I thought Stark phones and service were supposed to be top of the line. Expensive isn't always better." Emma stated bitterly as Peter then rushed out of the cargo truck. She observed as he shoot out his webbing towards the front of the vault before propelling himself in that direction, landing on the vault doors.

"Hey! Please! Please, somebody let me out! Hey!" Peter pleaded as he banged his fists against the doors. Emma just shook her head and walked towards the front of the vault, watching silently as he became more and more desperate to leave. He glanced over at the time lock that was a metal contraption positioned to the right side of the doors. "Karen, you have to help me override that time lock."

"What are you doing, Spider-Twerp?" Emma asked breathlessly as he began to climb towards the metal contraption.

"I'm going to get us out of here." Peter told her. "If I can override that time lock then maybe we can get out in time to retrieve the energy core and take it somewhere safe. Didn't you say that Thor's girlfriend might know what to do with it? Do you think she might rat on us to Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, Jane would probably know what to do with it. She'd call Thor for help if she really needed it but she'll definitely rat on us. She's like a little tattle tale. Seriously… she's almost as bad as the witch." Emma told him before changing the subject. "That's beside the point. How are _you_ going to override the time lock of a vault that Stark helped create. He probably designed this vault for every possible scenario which includes being outsmarted by a fifteen year old nerd." Peter just looked back at her and even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was staring at her with those determined brown eyes.

"Since we've entered this partnership I've always followed your lead when all the spy stuff is involved." Peter stated before continuing. "Can't you just follow my lead on this one? Can't you just trust me for once?" Emma stared back at him long and hard. It was true despite how annoying and bad Peter was at following her lead. He hadn't really seemed to question the things she did so far and if he did it was only after they were safely away from the harm. He obviously trusted that she knew what she was doing so maybe she could trust him on this one for once. Emma gritted her teeth before nodding reluctantly.

"Fine. Is there anything I can do to help?" Her offer of help sounded very forced to Peter's ears but he smiled despite her reluctance. He was just happy that she seemed to place some trust in him for once. She acknowledged that the scientific and mathematic side of things were not her area of expertise so she was trusting that he could take over from there. Maybe they could make a good team after all.

"Nope, I'm fine. I have Karen to help me. You just sit down and relax." Peter told her, sounding much happier than before. Emma rolled her eyes as Peter began to get to work on the time lock. She was already starting to regret this.

* * *

It had been a few hours since Peter had first began trying to override the time lock and they were still locked within the vault. Emma had since moved into a resting position of the floor, using Peter's decathlon blazer as a pillow as she closed her eyes and listened to music that McConaughey was playing through her mask. It turned out the mask apparently had amazing speakers as it blasted out her David Bowie playlist. Emma was a bit bored now that Peter had retrieved his notebook which meant that she no longer had anything to draw on. All of the books in Peter's backpack were boring math and science textbooks from school. She noticed that while he did a lot of reading, he didn't really seem to be interested in the kind of books that Emma was interested in. It didn't matter anyways. She had Michelle for things like that and she used to have Steve too… well, she used to have him for things like that before the fight at the airport.

"Are you a really big Bowie fan?" She heard Peter suddenly ask as he worked on the time lock. She opened her eyes and looked over at the teenage boy curiously. It was curious to her because they had been very quiet for the past few hours. Emma hadn't dared to fall asleep, worried that she might have another nightmare like the one before.

"What?" Emma asked him, wondering if she might've imagined him asking the question. He seemed to be hard at work, trying to override the time lock.

"It's just that the first time we met you were wearing a David Bowie shirt and you've been listening to him nonstop for the past couple hours." Peter continued to say and Emma just stared at him. He remembered what shirt she had been wearing on her first day at Midtown? Emma barely remembered what shirt she wore that day and she was supposed to have an exceptional memory.

"I do listen to David Bowie a lot." Emma started to say before she got really invested in the topic. A lot of the people back at the Avengers facility realized that if they wanted to get Emma to talk than it was best to bring up music. Talking about music was actually one of the few times her and Stark were able to get along. While she hadn't exactly been a fan of Black Sabbath or AC/DC, they both shared a love of Alice Cooper and Nirvana. "The guy was a genius. He was like the best concept artist ever. I mean, I really love Melanie Martinez and all now but David Bowie was like one of the original concept artists and he really took it to the next level. Especially with Ziggy Stardust. His songwriting was also amazing… Did you know he used the cut-up technique in his songwriting?"

"Cut-up technique?" Peter inquired curiously. In all honestly Peter had never really heard Emma talk about something this much. At least something that didn't involve teasing him or discussing the mission. He remembered her talking to him about that Chinese emperor in history class quite a bit but that was about it. Peter found that he liked this talkative side of Emma. A side that seemed genuinely excited and passionate about something for once.

"It's a technique in which a text is cut-up and then rearranged to create a new text." Emma informed him and Peter quickly processed that information. Well, you learned something new every day.

"That actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about some of his lyrics. It's actually kind of cool. I've never heard of that before." Peter replied and Emma smiled.

"Well, it's part of what made him so amazing. I would've loved to see him in concert. Especially back in the day." Emma said as she imagined what it must've been like to see a Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie on stage. It was probably something no one could ever forget. "What about you? Who do you listen to?" Emma found herself asking and for once it wasn't something she was asking because she was pretending to be nice. No, she was asking because she was genuinely curious.

"I mean, I like some old stuff like the Ramones and Queen but I'm mostly into newer music like Alt-J, Maroon 5, and Imagine Dragons. Lorde's really good too." Peter told her and Emma was surprised to hear Peter talk about the music he liked. Mostly because Emma always took him for an Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith kind of guy. Not that that was a bad thing or anything but it was just how Emma saw him.

"I like Alt-J and Lorde too." Emma admitted quietly and Peter looked over in her direction in surprise. Was she actually agreeing with him on something? How strange but also wonderful. He never really thought he could ever like the same things as Emma. Aside from them being superheros in training, they really didn't have much in common. That also might've been because they didn't really know each other all that well.

"You do?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"Alt-J's way different than any other rock band out there and Lorde's really weird which is a good thing. She reminds me of Bowie in that way but also a little of Bjork too." Emma said thoughtfully. "Plus… Bowie thought she was the future of music so that just proves how brilliant she is. He never said that about anyone else so it must mean something."

"My favorite song of hers is 'Glory and Gore'. That's a pretty cool song." Peter commented, feeling a bit excited that he was connecting with Emma on a different level.

"I like that song too but my favorite is 'Ribs'. There's not another song out there that quite sounds like 'Ribs'." Emma replied. It was weird actually having something in common with Peter for once. Most people didn't really like the same kind of music she did and that was mostly because Emma's taste in music was basically everywhere. While Darcy and her shared a love for bands like the Killers, Arctic Monkeys, and Cage the Elephant, Darcy didn't really like a lot of the alternative pop kind of music that was out there. Don't get her started on Steve. Steve just seemed to like the big bands and jazz music, stuff that came out of his time. It was definitely a success when Emma had managed to get him into more modern music like the Eagles and the Kinks which weren't really that modern at all. Emma thought the only truly modern artists that Steve liked were Lana Del Rey and Sam Smith although Steve made it clear that he found a lot of Lana Del Rey's lyrics to be widely inappropriate. Prude.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your car by the way." Peter said suddenly as he changed the subject. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"My car?" She questioned.

"Yeah, the car you drove to the gas station. We just kind of left it there." Peter elaborated and Emma just shrugged when she realized what he was talking about. In all honesty she had completely forgotten about that car. The car had served a purpose and now she was finished with it. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Well, it wasn't really mine to begin with so it doesn't matter." Emma told him and Peter glanced back over at her from his position on the wall.

"What do you mean? I thought Mr. Stark had given it to you?" Peter questioned, confusion clear in his voice. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? You thought Stark liked me enough to just give me a car?" Emma said doubtfully and Peter felt even more confused.

"I don't understand. How did you get the car then?" Peter asked her and Emma just gave him a look. Really… she thought it was pretty obvious how she acquired the car yet Peter didn't seem to have a clue. That seemed to be one of his faults… seeing the good in everyone. It was a trait that she admired more than she would ever admit but it was definitely something that could get Peter killed in this world of superheros and villains.

"I guess you could say that I borrowed it from the hotel parking lot." Emma finally said and the lenses on Peter's mask immediately widened in shock.

"What?!" He exclaimed. "You mean to say that you stole a car?!" Emma rolled her eyes.

"It's not like I had no intention of giving it back. That's why we left it back there without a scratch on it." Emma told him and Peter shook his head furiously.

"I can't believe I was an accomplice to grand theft auto." Peter mumbled and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, but you're completely okay with breaking into a high security vault?" Emma retorted sarcastically.

"That's way different." Peter told her as he pointed his finger back at her. "This was an accident."

"I'm sure Damage Control would see it that way." Peter's lenses narrowed at her before he turned back around to focus on the time lock. He started mumbling something about blondes being way too much trouble which he only said to try and piss Emma off but she was just amused. Peter was actually kind of adorable when he was angry.

Emma would deny thinking that if anyone ever asked her.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

**Author's Note: I feel like it's taken me forever to write this chapter when in reality it's been like three or four days. I just saw _Thor: Ragnarok_ and I really liked it. It's not like other marvel movies and I know some comic book fans might hate that Marvel takes a comedic route but I personally don't find anything wrong with that. I think it makes the movie more fun. The only DC movies I currently like is _Wonder Woman_ and the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. How can you not love Christopher Nolan? The guy is a visionary. Seriously, go see _Dunkirk_. I had goosebumps the entire time. I also want to say that there's a bit more comedy in this chapter towards the end because I've been binge watching the _Mindy Project_ again. That show is literally my favorite and I don't care if any of you think less of me for it. Mindy Kaling is one of my favorite people of all time. I really wish that I was her because she seems like a lot of fun.**

 **Also I hope no French, Italians, or Germans take offense in this chapter. It's just a joke and not meant to be taken seriously or meant to be offensive. I am half German or of German descent and I also love Italian food... I really wish that I was part Italian because I love Italian food so much. I'm half Mexican too but I don't really like Mexican food except for tamales and breakfast tacos. My family tells me a traitor but I just love Italian, Chinese, and Japanese food the best. It can't be helped. I find the Mexican culture super interesting though and I really wish that I was bilingual but unfortunately my mother said that it was too much work teaching me Spanish so those other cool Latinas who speak in Spanish all the time behind people's backs will never be my friends. I'll always be _that_ Gringa. Sorry about the rant but my mother doesn't understand my non Spanish speaking Latina struggles. lol.I've been watching _Mindy Project_ way too much today and she talks about herself a lot too so that's why I've been like this. I'm just kind of in that mind set now. I'm pretty sure watching the _Mindy Project_ for twelve straight hours is going to melt my brain but oh well. But don't worry about the _Mindy Project_ rubbing off too much in this chapter. All the characters are still in character.**

 **SabrinaInWonderland001: Thanks so much! Your review is super nice and thoughtful. I have a low self esteem so that review pretty much made my day. Lol. I honestly wish that someone else would write a Tom Holland Spider-Man fanfiction because I can't find any that I like and the ones that I do like are like three chapters long and the author just stopped writing. I don't why there's not anymore but I'll keep updating to be that one person who's writing a Spider-Man fanfiction. I'm happy that you're actually recommending me to someone else but just tell your friend to excuse some of my grammar errors. I know that they're there but I'm really lazy and I haven't reedited the chapters yet. Maybe when I eventually finish writing this story someday far away from now then I'll go back and edit again.**

 **I'm surprisingly really good about updating which has never been a thing for me. There was that time when I stopped for like two months but otherwise I've been pretty good at updating. I honestly enjoy writing this fanfiction so much. I never want to stop.**

 **gossamermouse101: I figured that he was spending so much time around Emma that he couldn't really help but to sympathize with her point of view.**

 **knarl: If you loved the part of Emma trusting Peter in the last chapter than you're totally gonna love this chapter. There's this one moment between Emma and Peter in this chapter which I think is really big for them. Emma is definitely becoming more and more vulnerable and actually caring about stuff. I think it's really good for her... this just proves how good Peter is for her.**

 **JokeLover123: I'm kind of wondering why people didn't seem to get notifications about the story. I'm just assuming that a lot of people didn't get notifications because I didn't really get any reviews for a while and I was panicking over the fact that everyone hated the chapter. lol.**

 **Feelings are definitely developing between the two of them. Peter kind of knows that he's attracted to Emma but Emma's kind of trying to figure out what it is that she's feeling for Peter. She's kind of in denial and her and Peter definitely aren't relationship ready yet. Peter's kind of focused on Liz right now anyways because he's liked Liz since way before Emma came into the picture. I think any attraction he feels for Emma really scares him.**

 **I also feel like Peter and Emma are growing fond of each other. Things that normally would've shocked him or really pissed him off aren't really doing it for him anymore. I think the more time Peter spends with Emma the more he sort of adjusts to her because I don't think anyone could ever get used to her. Peter's just kind of learning to go with it. Her weirdness and shock value commentary have become something he looks forward too.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one. Please let me know what you think.**

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It didn't take Peter very long to finally open the vault after Emma's confession about the stolen car. He managed to open it after over two hundred failed attempts and Emma was honestly surprised he had been able to do it. Granted that it was morning anyways but at least they hadn't bumped into anyone from Damage Control. It seemed like they were running low on time seeing as how Ned was unknowingly carrying around a bomb that could potentially blow everyone up. They hitched a ride back to D.C. which took forever considering how far the drive was. It wasn't like Emma could just fly back. She had never flown that long before and she didn't want to test her limit today.

"McConaughey, can you try and get a hold of Michelle for me?" Emma asked McConaughey as her and Peter were just starting to enter the city. Peter seemed incredibly panicked as he tried and failed to get a hold of Ned. Emma wasn't so mellow herself right now but she knew she needed to remain calm if they were ever going to make it through this.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey replied and Emma listened to the ringing before being disappointed once again. It seemed like they just couldn't get to D.C. fast enough. Not when that Chitauri energy core was still on their minds. She could barely comprehend the damage that thing could potentially do.

"Hey, this is Michelle. I would say that I'd call you back but I probably won't so, yeah, just leave a message or don't. I don't really care either way." Michelle's voice message said and Emma groaned in frustration. Well, that was certainly going to help Michelle get a job when she turned sixteen. Emma told McConaughey to end the call before she went back to thinking about what they were going to do in this situation. Her survival instinct kept telling her to leave and get out of town but Emma knew that that was just part of Hydra's training talking. What would her grandfather do in this sort of situation?

"I keep trying to call Ned but he's not picking up!" Peter called out to her from over the loud sound of the freeway. Emma nodded quickly.

"I know. I tried calling Michelle but she won't pick up either. They're probably already at Nationals." Emma told him.

"What if they're dead?" Peter said in a panicked tone of voice and Emma sighed.

"Peter, you can't think that way. We need to remain focus until we get a full analysis of the situation. You're not helping anyone by panicking." Emma said with a stern tone. Peter just gave her a bewildered look from under his mask.

"How are you this calm? Are you not even worried about them? They could die, Emma." Peter ranted, thinking that Emma's calmness was because she didn't care. Emma looked him right in the lenses of his mask, determination clear in her blue eyes.

"Of course I'm worried, Peter. I'm not heartless." Emma admitted before continuing. "I was trained to be calm even in the most tense situations because when you're calm you think clearly. Right now I can't afford for you to be panicked. Believe or not, Peter, I really need you." Peter just stared at her in shock. Did she really just say that or was he imagining it?

"You need me?" He asked breathlessly and Emma nodded.

"Yes, I need you in your right state of mind. We're a team, aren't we? You got us out of that vault and I'm sorry for ever doubting you but it's that kind of thinking that I really need right now." Emma told him honestly. She wasn't lying when she said that she needed him and she wanted him to know that so he'd calm down. "Can you do that for me? Can you calm down?"

"Yes, of course." Peter agreed as he slowly nodded his head.

"Good. Just live right here in the present with me… no what if situations. We just take this one step at a time. Agreed?" Emma inquired as she stared at him, wishing she could see his warm brown eyes to give him more of that reassurance that it was going to be okay. She could tell, however, that he seemed to have calmed down a bit from her little pep talk. His shoulders weren't quite as tense as they had been before.

"Agreed." Peter finally stated as he took a deep breath. It was then that Emma could see Michelle's caller id appear in her mask. She had her lenses down again and could see a picture of a bored looking Michelle pop up on her screen.

"Incoming call from Miss Jones. Would you like to take it?" McConaughey asked her.

"Yeah, take the call, McConaughey." Emma told him and Michelle's voice immediately came through the speakers in her mask.

"Well, isn't it the new Mrs. Parker." Michelle sarcastically greeted. "Is that why you and Peter were gone last night? Did you two get hitched? I thought that was only a thing in Vegas."

"What are you talking about, MJ? Where have you been? I've been trying to call you but I've only gotten a hold of your charming voicemail." Emma told her as she decided to ignore the snide comment about her and Peter.

"Where have _I_ been? You've been missing since you went into Peter and Ned's room and never came back out. I talked to Ned this morning and he miserably failed at covering for Peter." Michelle told Emma and Emma could only inwardly curse at Leeds for continuing to screw things up. "Does this have to do with that thing you're hiding? I'm guessing Peter and Ned are somehow in on it too. This just keeps getting more and more interesting."

"MJ, I have something very important to ask you-" Emma started to say but was annoyed to see that she was interrupted by her friend almost immediately.

"Is it about me covering for you because it's a bit too late for that. I tried but Mr. Harrington busted into our room looking for you only to find nothing but your suitcase." Michelle informed her. "Yeah, you and Parker are going to be in a shit ton of trouble when we get back. We won Nationals by the way in case you were wondering."

"Listen to me, Michelle." Emma said with a more firm voice. She didn't really give a shit whether or not her and Peter were in trouble. Getting busted for sneaking around with Peter was the least of her worries right now. "Where are Ned and the others?"

"Ned?" Michelle asked in confusion. "Well, the entire team just went to the Washington Monument to celebrate the victory but I didn't go. I didn't really want to go inside a building that was built by slaves."

"Wait… they went to the Washington Monument?" Emma asked in surprise. God, she really hoped that Ned wasn't still carrying around that Chitauri energy core with him. That thing inside the Pentagon wasn't going to end well. "When was this?"

"Just a couple minutes ago. Why?" Michelle answered and Emma groaned as she ran a hand over her face.

"Shit. Look, just keep your distance from the building. I've gotta go." Emma told her hurriedly.

"Wait. What are you-" McConaughey then got the message to end the call with Michelle and Emma was actually sort of relieved that Peter and her were well within the city by now. They weren't even that far away from the Washington Monument but they still weren't close enough for her liking. Emma was about to tell Peter the bad news about the team and the Washington Monument when she noticed that he had finally managed to reach Ned.

"Oh, Ned, you're alive." Peter said in relief as he talked into his phone.

"Peter, are you and Emma okay?" She heard Ned say on the other line.

"Ned, where's the glowy thing?" Peter demanded to know, his tone was rather rushed and with good reason.

"Don't worry, it's safe." Ned told him, trying to reassure him. "It's in my backpack." Emma groaned in frustration when she heard Ned. In his backpack… while he was inside the Washington Monument? That was absolutely the worst place it could be right now. People were worried about terrorists bombing the Washington Monument and the whole building was going to probably be undone by a kid unknowingly carrying around a Chitauri energy core. The Washington Monument was about to be destroyed by a complete fluke.

"Ned, listen, the glowy thing is dangerous." Peter tried to tell him but it was clear that Ned wasn't taking him seriously.

"You guys missed the decathlon. I covered for you although everyone kind of thinks that you and Emma spent the night together somewhere. Yeah, the rumor mill is up and running even all the way here in D.C." Ned told him and Peter couldn't even bring himself to panic over the fact of what people were saying about him and Emma. Emma couldn't believe that their teammates were actually debating over something like that. This was ridiculous.

"Listen to me." Peter pleaded but his pleads were going unnoticed by Ned.

"We're at the Washington Monument-" Ned began to say as he was then interrupted by Liz.

"Peter, is that you?" Liz said into the phone. Emma rolled her eyes at the older girl's voice. It wasn't that she disliked Liz but Emma was starting to think that Liz was going to be one of those damsels in distress like Jane or Pepper. Nice women but they almost always distracted their boyfriends from the task at hand by constantly being in danger. Emma sincerely hoped that Liz didn't get in the way of her and Peter's mission too much. She didn't have time to waste on Peter's would be girlfriend.

"Hey Liz." Peter replied nervously.

"Please put Ned back on the phone." Peter told her hurriedly and Emma glanced over to see the Washington Monument in the distance. She gave Peter a hand signal, signaling that they were going to jump off the top of the bus they had been riding on. Peter gave her a brief nod before the both of them jumped off the bus and landed on their feet in unison.

"You flake, you're lucky we won." Liz scolded him before her tone turned into a more concerned one. When Peter and her both landed on the ground they immediately broke off into a run. People stared at the two new heroes in surprise and fascination as they ran by, bolting for the Washington Monument. Spider-Man was only known from YouTube and the battle at the airport in Germany. The Viper Assassin was mostly known for her former allegiance with Hydra and companionship with the Winter Soldier. The public was aware that she had been a former member of Captain America's faction before defecting to Tony Stark's faction but there was not much else known about the mysterious blonde assassin. Nevertheless they were still terrified of the assassin as she ran past them but also curious as she ran alongside Spider-Man who was known to be a more innocent and less hostile hero rather than an anti-hero with a shady past. "I want to be mad, but I'm more worried. Like, what is going on with you and Emma? You've both been MIA since last night and there's some seriously nasty rumors going around about you two."

"Nothing's going on with us. We're just friends." Peter hurriedly explained as they ran. Emma wanted to roll her eyes at his need to assure Liz that he was absolutely single. Really? They weren't exactly in the right situation for him to be soothing Liz's jealousy. "Liz, I really have to talk to Ned. It's important. There's something in Ned's backpack. It's really dangerous and don't let it go through x-ray."

"Liz?! Liz?!" Peter continued to call as they ran but she didn't answer him. "Damn it!" Emma clenched her jaw as she realized what that meant. It meant that the Chitauri energy core had most likely gone through the x-ray and it was going to blow up any second now. Great… what a way to start a day. Trying to save a bunch of high school students from being blown up by a Chitauri energy core. When she first agreed to a truce with Peter she definitely didn't foresee running through D.C. It felt weird being out in the open like this as the Viper Assassin. When she was with Hydra she was usually a lot more covert than this.

"When we go up there to save the team from the energy core do we have to save Flash as well?" Emma asked Peter as they ran across a crosswalk. Peter had just managed to throw his backpack up against a tree after shooting his webbing at it so it wouldn't get stolen. Peter then turned to look at her sharply, not believing what she just suggested.

"What?!" He exclaimed as they came closer and closer to the Washington Monument.

"I'm just saying that no one really likes him. He's a real dickhead. I don't think anyone would really miss him… except for his parents maybe but I wouldn't feel bad for them. They're the ones who raised him after all." Emma elaborated as they ran.

"No! We can't let Flash die! That's terrible!" Peter yelled at her.

"What if I could make it seem like an accident." Emma said, making another suggestion. To Peter it felt like she was negotiating and he really hoped that she was joking. "I've made other deaths look like accidents. I could say that I tried to save him but I accidentally dropped him in the process. It would look like a tragic mistake. We could tell Stark that my hand accidentally slipped and if you vouched for me he'd actually believe it. No one would know the difference."

"I'm not committing murder with you!" Peter yelled at her in disbelief. "I'm just going to forget you ever said that." Emma smirked as they continued to race over to the Washington Monument. She was only kidding around… well, semi kidding anyways. The situation was way too tense right now and she didn't want Peter panicking again like he had before. They finally reached the area in front of the Washington Monument and the smirk fell off Emma's face as they heard a large crack echo through the sky. The top part of the Monument shifted as some cracks were formed down the side of the building. Emma gritted her teeth. This day just kept getting better and better.

"No, no, no." Peter said as they both looked up at the top of the building along with the other onlookers.

"McConaughey, what's the damage?" Emma asked as she just stared emotionlessly towards the top of the building. McConaughey zoomed in on the top of the monument and showed her an x-ray image of the elevator as well as the students trapped inside.

"It appears that the Chitauri energy core had detonated, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her. "It's caused massive structural damage to the building." Emma took a deep breath before exhaling at the information. Stay calm, Emma… Think about what Steve would do in this situation. He would most likely remain calm and proceed with caution. Just do what Steve would do.

"Oh no." Peter said breathlessly and it was then that Emma finally noticed Michelle standing off to the side. Her friend looked immensely worried as she looked up towards the sky. Emma was just glad that Michelle wasn't up there too. That was one less person she had to worry about at least.

"My friends are up there." Michelle said in a concerned voice. If they had been in any other situation Emma would've teased her about finally calling them friends but now wasn't the time for that. Her and Peter had a job to do.

"What?!" Peter exclaimed as he turned around to look at her, looking slightly surprised but also relieved to see that Michelle was out of harm's way. "Don't worry, ma'am, everything's gonna be okay." Peter then took off towards the building. Emma wanted to roll her eyes at him. And _she_ was the one who lacked communication skills? Emma noticed Michelle still standing there staring at her with a frightened look in her eyes, probably scared out of her mind for her fellow teammates up in the elevator. She was probably too worried to make any connection between Emma and the Viper Assassin not that that mattered right now anyways.

"Stay calm. We'll save your friends." Emma told her softly before she levitated off the ground much to Michelle's surprise and then flew upwards, heading towards the top of the Washington Monument. Emma really hoped that she wasn't lying to Michelle when she told her that. She usually didn't like making promises when she didn't know if she could keep them but Emma wanted Michelle to know that everything was going to be okay. She wanted her friend to know that the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed even though it was. Maybe that was what being a friend truly was. Emma didn't know but she was even more determined to save her fellow classmates. The blonde would never admit it but she would be immensely sad if any of them died. She didn't know if she could ever forgive herself if she let them die… Well, except Flash maybe. Emma could forgive herself for letting him die probably.

"McConaughey can you connect me to Peter? We really need to have a chat." Emma requested as she flew up towards the top of the building. She observed that Peter was still climbing up the side of the building and was taking forever.

"I'm connecting you to Mr. Parker's communication subsystem right now." McConaughey informed her before Peter's name popped up on her screen, notifying her that she was now in contact with him.

"Hey, Spider-Twerp, did you forget something?" Emma asked in an annoyed voice.

"I'm a little busy right now, Emma." Peter huffed as he climbed the side of the Washington Monument.

"I thought we were supposed to communicate. What happened to that?" Emma inquired.

"Can we discuss this later? We really need to get to the others." Peter told her and that pissed her off even more. She didn't like being dismissed like that.

"If you asked nicely I would've flown you up to the top." Emma told him, already feeling tired from arguing with him.

"Yeah, well, I don't trust that you wouldn't drop me and the fall would be kind of far." Peter replied and Emma groaned. He was being ridiculous.

"Fine then. Waste your time climbing when you could already be up at the top with me." Emma told him before she told McConaughey to disconnect her from Peter's suit. Sometimes he really got on her nerves and this happened to be one of those times. She really didn't understand that boy sometimes. He just had to make everything way harder than it had to be.

"Miss Rogers, I'm estimating around ten minutes before catastrophic failure." McConaughey informed her as she began nearing the top of the building. She didn't want to fly too fast because using up all her energy on the flight up probably wouldn't do her any favors in the long run.

"Well, that's reassuring." Emma replied sarcastically.

"The safety systems are completely failing." McConaughey told her, ignoring her sarcasm. "The occupants in the elevator are in imminent mortal danger, Miss Rogers."

"Can you just stop giving me the numbers at this point, McConaughey. You're not helping." Emma finally told the AI system.

"My apologies." He replied and Emma quickly noticed the small window at the top of the Washington Monument. A bunch of birds were resting on it but quickly flew away when she came closer to the window. The window looked to be her only and fastest way into the Monument. Peter was still down a ways so it looked like she was going to be on her own for now.

Emma flew closer to the window and didn't hesitate to throw a punch against the glass. She was surprised to see that glass didn't even crack under her strength. Emma punched the window again but there was still no damage. The blonde assassin continued this action until she realized that the glass was most likely a ballistic glass window. It was going to need a much larger impact if it was ever going to break. She then began to kick the glass but nothing came of her brutal kicks. No, Emma was going to need to apply more force against the glass.

She then propelled herself off the side of the building and flew back a ways before pointing her feet in the direction of the window. Emma clenched her jaw, a determined look in her eyes, before she quickly flew herself back against the glass and landed harshly. She winced a bit from the soreness of her feet but put her pain aside and repeated the action. Emma tried propelling herself towards the glass window a few times but still nothing happened. She just wasn't strong enough and that pissed her off more than anything.

"Why haven't you gotten inside yet?!" Peter called out to her and she noticed he finally showed up. He was standing on the ledge, pressed against the side of the building, as he looked over at her. Emma tried not to appear annoyed as she met his gaze.

"I've been trying to while you've taken your damn time getting up here!" Emma yelled back at him. He better not be criticizing her tactics right now. She was already frustrated enough as it was.

"Mr. Parker seems to be having a mild panic attack. His heart rate has accelerated quite a bit according to the AI system in his suit." McConaughey told her as she continued trying to get inside the building. Emma then furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she looked over at Peter who seemed to be looking towards the ground. In all fairness they were very high up and if Emma couldn't fly than she'd probably be nervous too.

"I've just never been this high before." Peter said breathlessly as he tried not to panic. Not this again, Emma thought to herself. They couldn't afford Peter having a panic attack all the way up there. Even despite herself Emma felt very concerned for him. She hadn't seen him look that terrified before. "Oh my god."

"Peter, just relax. You're going to be fine." Emma told him firmly. His frightful state was putting her on edge but she needed to be the calm one in this situation. Usually that job went to her father or Steve but neither of them were there so she had to step up and take over. Peter then began to kick the glass like she had been doing earlier.

"Why is it not breaking?" Peter questioned and she watched as his AI system probably answered his question.

"That's why I haven't been able to break it, Peter. It's a ballistic glass window. It's going to need a large impact." Emma told him and Peter looked at her curiously.

"You're not strong enough to break it?" Peter asked and he didn't ask it in a mean or condescending way. He was honestly a bit shocked that Emma hadn't been able to break it. She sighed and shook her head.

"No, I'm not but... maybe you are." Emma told him and Peter nodded, immediately knowing what she was asking of him. Peter then aimed his web shooters right above the window and shot out his webbing before quickly grasping the end of his webbing like some sort of rope. He swiftly positioned his feet against the top of the window before propelling himself off the side of the building and swiftly coming back down. Emma hovered near by as she anxiously watched him try to break the glass but it still wasn't working. The clock was ticking but Emma didn't allow herself to think too much about the amount of time they had left. She watched as Peter actually managed to cause a crack in the window which was more than what she was able to do but it still wasn't enough to break the glass.

Emma stiffened as she heard the sound of helicopter wing propellers as well as sirens in the surrounding area. She turned to look only to see three police choppers closing in on them. Emma groaned in annoyance because this really wasn't what they needed right now. They were only going to get in the way of what Emma and Peter had to do. The police really couldn't have shown up at a worst sort of time.

"This is D.C. Metro Police. Identify yourself." One of the guys in the chopper called out from over the intercom. Peter looked back nervously but Emma just shook her head at him, signaling for him not to worry but that obviously wasn't going to happen. This really wasn't what Peter needed right now. He was already nervous enough as it is.

"My friends are in there! Stop!" Peter called out to them.

"Return to the ground immediately." Another officer called. Emma narrowed her eyes at them as she saw one of the officers with a large looking gun pointed in their direction. She really hoped that he didn't have the balls enough to actually shoot at them.

"Stand down! Return to the ground immediately!" They ordered. "Return to the ground or we will open fire!" Emma really hoped for their sake that they didn't shoot at them. She didn't feel like getting shot at today.

"I'm not strong enough either!" Peter shouted over the choppers. "I don't know how we're going to get in!" It was then that something finally occurred to Emma. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before because it was so obvious to her now.

"Peter, I have an idea!" Emma called out to him.

"I'm all ears! We don't really have a lot of other options right now!" Peter yelled, gesturing to the choppers.

"We're not strong enough to break the glass separately but if we're able to break the glass together then it'll probably break. We just need to gain some more momentum." Emma explained and Peter gave the blonde a confused look from under his mask.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Peter questioned and Emma gave him a serious look, reassurance clear in those ocean blue eyes of her.

"I can fly us back a ways and then propel us back towards the window. The glass should break from the impact of both of us hitting it." Emma told him and Peter quickly looked back towards the ground nervously. At this point Emma was hovering in the air right in front of him and she grabbed his face with her fingers, quickly jerking his face back to look at her. Emma looked him right in the lenses, her gaze sincere and full of promises.

"I won't let you fall, Peter." Emma told him sincerely. "You can trust me." Peter felt a bit lost in her eyes, watching the way the light brought out more of the green in her eyes. He could tell that she was being completely honest with him in that moment. There was no manipulation or deceit on her face as she stared back at him. Peter knew that he completely trusted her. He knew that she wouldn't let him fall… that she wouldn't let go.

"Okay." He finally said and Emma sighed in relief that he was actually agreeing to this. She quickly flew around him before placing her arms under his arms. Peter gulped as she did this but reminded himself that Emma wasn't going to drop him and if she did she'd probably catch him. He was safe with her. With Peter in her clutches, Emma quickly began to fly backwards and Peter let his feet dangle out from underneath him. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that his feet were no longer resting on a surface.

"It's okay, Peter. I'm not going to let go." She whispered softly into his ear and Peter nearly shivered and it wasn't from the cold fall air. Emma flew backwards, flying underneath the helicopters much to the police officers confusion. When she flew back far enough she paused briefly.

"Brace yourself." She told Peter before she positioned herself to fly back to the Monument feet first. Peter tried to copy her moment but found it hard since he wasn't able to float through the air like Emma could. Their legs were tangled together but Emma knew that it would only make the impact of their feet against the glass that much stronger. Peter closed his eyes as Emma began to fly back towards building with more speed than before. Emma could feel the cool breeze through her hair as they gained more momentum and finally hit the glass window feet first. As expected the impact of both Emma and Peter finally caused the glass to break as they went flying through the window before landing on the floor of the building, sliding swiftly across the linoleum floor just when the elevator was about to fall down the elevator shaft.

As Peter slid by the elevator he shot out his webbing towards the falling contraption, managing to successfully grab hold of the elevator with his webbing. Emma pressed her hands against the floor to stop from sliding and watched as Peter was jerked forward by the webbing as he tried to pull the elevator back up. He pressed his feet against the doorway of what was once the elevator and began to pull the contraption back up. Emma noticed that some of the team had already made it out but she estimated that some of them were still inside the elevator. Most likely Ned, Liz, and Mr. Harrington since she didn't see them in back of her. She quickly moved over to Peter and wrapped her arms around his chest from behind him, her fingers laced a crown, as she tried to help him pull the elevator back up. Emma had begun to pull him back away from the doorway so that he could continue to pull the elevator back up the rest of the way. It also helped to relieve him of some of the weight as Emma helped him.

"I did it!" Peter exclaimed a little too soon before some of the webbing snapped out of his grip and he was launched forward, out of Emma's grip. She watched wide eyed as the elevator began to drop again and Peter fell down the elevator shaft with it.

"Spider-Twerp!" She called out in fright as she looked down the elevator shaft.

He had seemingly landed right in the middle of the falling elevator before he shot more webbing towards the ceiling of the elevator shaft, stopping the elevator from falling. Emma let out a sigh of relief that he had been able to stop himself and the others from plummeting to their death. Stark would never forgive her if Peter died. Emma wouldn't admit this aloud but she also would never forgive herself if something ever happened to Peter.

"Viper! Open the doors and get these guys out!" Peter called out to her as he struggled to hold the elevator in place with his webbing. "I'm going to pull us back up to you but I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold it." Emma just nodded as Peter began to pull them back up to the top floor. She easily opened what was left of the elevator doors much to the shock of the onlookers. It was kind of strange to be around her fellow classmates dressed as the Viper Assassin but it was just something she was going to have to get over. It wasn't like they actually knew who she was. Peter had finally managed to pull them back up to the top floor and Emma immediately held out her arms to Ned as he began to get ready to get out of the elevator.

"Ned, come on." She heard their classmates say as Emma easily pulled Ned into her arms and lifted him out of the elevator. She quickly passed him off to the others as he mumbled a relieved thanks to her. The security guards gave the skinny looking blonde a bewildered look as they watched her take over the situation. Emma noticed that Mr. Harrington looked somewhat nervous to leave the elevator and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that she looked like a scary assassin but it's not like he had any other options here.

"Guy with glasses, we don't have all day." Emma said in a bored tone of voice, sounding nothing like what some might've thought an Avenger would sound like, as she held out her arms towards him. She supposed he might've also been nervous because she didn't really look like she was capable of carrying anything over fifty pounds. Mr. Harrington must've figured that he didn't have any other options so he quickly stepped towards Emma and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, picking him up like he weighed as much as a pillow. The blonde assassin lifted him out of the elevator and back onto the floor. Emma pushed him out of the way as she prepared to lift Liz out of the elevator next.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Someone asked from behind them. Emma wanted to snap at them for doubting her abilities when the webbing finally snapped on the elevator, causing the elevator to fall back down the shaft again.

"Liz!" The others screamed and Emma watched with wide eyes as the older girl began to fall. The elevator shaft was full of Liz's screams as she started to fall through the air but Peter shot out his webbing last minute to catch her. Liz managed to grab hold of the webbing, stopping her fall before she could meet the elevator's same fate.

"You're okay. You're okay." Peter told the older girl reassuringly. He began to pull her up with his webbing, quickly grabbing onto her hand. Peter then passed her off to Emma who didn't waste anytime grabbing her and lifting her out of the elevator shaft. Liz's friends eagerly took her from Emma and quickly scanned the dark skinned beauty to make sure she was okay.

"You guys good?" Peter asked in a deeper voice. Emma wanted to scoff at him for being such a dork. It sounded like he was doing a really bad impression of that short Italian American doctor from _The Mindy Project_ which is another show that Darcy forced her to watch. "Is everyone okay?" Everyone nodded simultaneously as Peter and Liz were locked into some kind of an intense staring contest. Emma looked between them, an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the way Peter looked at Liz. She didn't know why but Emma really didn't like the way Peter was staring at Liz. It didn't feel right to her. The blonde usually wouldn't care about something so insignificant but for some reason she did and Emma didn't like the feeling one bit. The incident soon vanished from her mind as the webbing snapped again, causing Peter to plummet towards the bottom of the elevator shaft. Liz gasped as Peter fell and Emma even had a worried look on her face as she hurriedly looked down the elevator shaft, trying to see if Peter was okay.

"Thank you!" Mr. Harrington called down the elevator shaft. Peter who was lying at the bottom of the elevator shaft, seemingly completely okay despite his obvious exhaustion, tiredly waved his arm at them. Emma sighed in relief as she packed away from the edge.

"Are you really friends with Peter Parker?" Flash called down to him as he looked down the elevator shaft with the Nationals trophy in hand. Emma narrowed her eyes at the short teenage boy. Oh, it would be so easy for her to push him over the edge. She could easily just walk over and shove him over the edge. It wouldn't even require much effort on her part.

"Are you the Viper Assassin?" She heard Cindy ask from behind her. Emma was immediately broken out of her thoughts by the question and slowly turned around to face her fellow classmates who were all staring at her with wide eyes. Emma had nearly forgotten they were there in the midst of everything. Some of them looked slightly fearful of her but also curious at the same time. Emma coughed awkwardly as she cleared her throat.

"Why, yes… I am." Emma answered hesitantly.

"Are you one of the Avengers now?" Abraham asked her as he gave her a curious look and the others also awaited her answer somewhat eagerly. Emma swallowed, uncomfortable with being in the spotlight.

"I guess so." She replied. That seemed to be the answer everyone was waiting for as all the fear melted away from their faces and was replaced by looks of excitement as they walked closer and closer to her. Emma was really starting to feel crowded by their close proximity and grinning faces.

"That's so cool!" Sally exclaimed as she bounced up and down excitedly. "I can't believe a real Avenger actually saved us all. You must be super strong to lift Ned, Liz, and Mr. Harrington out of the elevator. That was awesome!" Emma just eyed the happy looking teenage girl carefully.

"Yeah, sure." Emma was about to excuse herself from the group and make an escape when she was embraced by slender arms. She immediately tensed from gesture as Liz hugged her tightly. The slightly taller teenage girl had a somewhat strong embrace for someone who was probably a below average strength human girl.

"You saved us. Thank you." Liz told her with a look of admiration in her eyes. Emma didn't waste anytime disentangling herself from Liz's arms as she gave the girl a small smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace.

"Well, that's what the Avengers do." Emma replied awkwardly as she started thinking of a way to get herself out of the situation. "Speaking of which… there's some other Avengers type business that requires my immediate attention."

"Kids, we don't want to keep the Viper Assassin from her job." Mr. Harrington told the others as he smiled warmly at her. For once in her life she didn't seem to find Mr. Harrington completely useless. Emma gave him a quick nod.

"Hey, Viper Assassin! Can I have your number!" Flash called out to her as he gave her a suggestive smirk, waggling his eyebrows in a fashion that Emma was sure he found attractive. Peter really should've let me push him down the elevator shaft, Emma thought to herself as she forced herself to smile.

"No but if I ever need a munchkin impersonator for my niece's birthday party, you'll be the first guy I call." Emma quipped which caused the smug look to fall off Flash's face and the others to laugh at him. Emma began to walk back over to the window of the building that her and Peter crashed through.

"Viper, you're a friend of Emma's, right?" Ned asked her with a hopeful look on his face. Emma turned back to look at him curiously.

"Emma?" She questioned and Ned nodded furiously.

"Yeah, you're old friends, aren't you?" Emma immediately knew what he was doing. He was trying to say that she and the Viper Assassin were friends so that he could win some popular points by association. Emma knew exactly what she was going to do to teach this kid a listen. She feigned a confused look as she looked back at Ned.

"Emma? I don't believe I've ever heard of a Emma." Emma said in a confused voice and Ned gave her a look, trying to signal for her to go along with it. Emma knew exactly what he was trying to do but she was going to have her fun.

"Yeah, you have. Emma Lewis… one of your best friends. Emma who's also my friend." Ned continued to press and Emma just stared at him blankly.

"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell." Emma deadpanned as she climbed onto the ledge of the window. Ned just gave her a pissed off look and Emma smirked at him in return. "Have a nice life, kid who I've never met before." The blonde assassin then leapt out the window which caused all the other students to rush over to the broken window. They watched in shock and awe as the Viper Assassin flew through the air and becoming smaller the further she flew away. Everyone stared out the window except for Ned who glared at the window she had just flown out of.

"Stupid perfect blonde assassins." He muttered under his breath as he decided to wait by the door so they could finally leave the building. At this point he just wanted to go home and relax. It had been a long week for him and Ned had a feeling with Peter and Emma as friends this wasn't the end of the adventure. This was only the beginning.

* * *

Initially the decathlon team was supposed to stay in D.C. for the entire weekend but after the events at the Washington Monument, Mr. Harrington decided to call it a day and head home as soon as they arrived back at the hotel. Emma was actually relieved to finally go back home to New York because she really needed to rest. She hadn't slept since she was knocked unconscious the night before. At least she could get some rest Sunday and then on Monday her and Peter could continue their search for Birdman who evidently called himself Vulture according to something she heard when she was eavesdropping on his band of idiots. Vulture? What a pathetic name for a villain. It was almost as pathetic as Crossbones.

"I tried opening your suitcase last night." Michelle said suddenly, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. The blonde immediately turned to look at the dark haired girl sitting beside her but Michelle's eyes were still glued to the pages of her book. Emma raised an eyebrow at her friend. They were currently on the bus back home to New York and it was already night again. She made sure that she sat as far away from Peter as she could because everyone seemed to think her and Peter either hooked up or got hitched. Emma wanted to put as much distance as she possibly could between herself and Peter at the moment so everyone would hopefully forget the whole thing by Monday. She was also hoping they were all too distracted by the events at the Washington Monument to pay her much attention too. Her and Parker? Nothing made her more sick. His eyes were too kind for her liking and he was also kind of a dork. No, she wasn't attracted to him at all.

"Did you?" Emma questioned in amusement and Michelle finally turned away from her book.

"Yes, but it was locked." She said vaguely and Emma smirked.

"You wouldn't have found anything anyways." Emma told her which caused Michelle to narrow her eyes at her.

"I have another theory." Michelle stated as she continued to look at the blonde suspiciously. Emma gave her a curious look as she then looked very interested in what Michelle had to say.

"Have you now?" Emma inquired and Michelle nodded.

"Yes. You said before to think more scientific than supernatural so I've theorized that you're like Eleven from _Stranger Things_. Your mom was part of a scientific lab study in college where they gave her experimental drugs." Michelle explained and Emma listened intently to her friend's theory about her. "It turns out she was pregnant with you when she was taking them so you inherited some sort of superpower from the drugs."

Emma then started laughing at Michelle's insane theory although she wasn't sure how insane it was. It wasn't like Michelle's theory was that outlandish. Everyone in the bus turned to look at Emma who was actually laughing. They were surprised because Emma Lewis never really laughed or even smiled. She was a lot like Michelle in that way so it was shocking to them when they heard her laugh a soft musical laughter. Peter turned around in his seat to look at the blonde who currently looked to be full of life. He smiled because this was the Emma he liked… the real and sincere Emma who wasn't always cynical or sarcastic.

"Yeah, Parker and Lewis definitely hooked up. She's way less uptight now." Charles Murphey whispered to Flash and Peter immediately sent the boy a death glare that Emma would approve of. The boy widened his eyes at Peter's glare and immediately looked down at the floor of the bus without saying another word. Peter smirked to himself. Maybe Emma had it right.

"So I'm completely wrong?" Michelle inquired as she looked at her mysterious friend. Emma shrugged nonchalantly as she relaxed back into her seat.

"Well, you're on the right track." Emma admitted and Michelle raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?" Michelle asked, surprised that she was actually somewhat close to the correct answer. Emma nodded at her.

"Yeah, you're definitely getting warmer." Emma smirked as she leaned in closer to Michelle's ear before whispering. "It wasn't my mother they experimented on." Michelle looked at her with wide eyes as Emma moved away from her and looked out the window. Michelle was completely speechless at what Emma just told her. That was probably the biggest hint Emma had ever given her yet Michelle was still left a bit clueless as to what Emma was hiding. All she knew was that a relative of Emma, most likely her father or a grandparent, was experimented on which made her something like Eleven but not quite. If Emma somehow had superpowers or something then that would definitely explain how she never seemed exhausted or out of breath during P.E. It also explained Emma's just overall weirdness. Whatever it was Michelle knew Peter was involved as well. Michelle glanced at the blonde who was currently looking outside the window. What kind of secret was Emma Lewis hiding?

* * *

"EMMA!" Darcy screamed the moment Emma walked off the bus. Emma winced at the brunette's loudness as nearly everyone looked over at Darcy. Emma also noticed that Jane was there as well but she didn't appear to be nearly as hysterical as Darcy. She thought Stark told Darcy to keep a low profile but Emma realized he was only asking the impossible. Darcy could never keep a low profile. Peter, Ned and Michelle all gave the blonde curious looks as they watched her go over to the crazy brunette woman. As soon as Emma got off the bus Darcy immediately ran over like a crazy person and ambushed Emma.

"I'm never letting you go again." Darcy said as she wrapped her arms tightly around Emma. Jane gave her an apologetic look as she walked up to them. Emma just stood there awkwardly as Darcy buried her face against Emma's chest since the brunette was a few inches shorter than Emma. Emma awkwardly patted Darcy's back.

"I'm fine, Darcy." Emma said in an annoyed voice. She didn't really know why Darcy was freaking out like this. The incident in D.C. had been all over the news so Darcy should know better than else that Emma was one of ones helping out. It wasn't like she was in any sort of danger.

"I know but you never texted me to let me know how things were." Darcy told her and Emma rolled her eyes. Jane sighed tiredly.

"We've been waiting in the school parking lot for the past three hours." Jane told Emma as she gave Darcy a pointed look. Darcy backed away from Emma to give Jane a glare.

"Well, I'm sorry if I was worried. Emma's my more fun bff and not to mention her grandpa and John Wick would have my head if anything happened to her." Darcy said as she explained herself.

"Don't be dramatic, Darcy. I can take care of myself." Emma told her tiredly as she noticed Peter and Peter's Aunt approaching them. She gave Darcy a sharp nudge as she signaled for her to stop talking about top secret stuff. Darcy and Jane shared a confused look before glancing at the two approaching strangers.

"Hi, you must be Emma's sister." May greeted as she smiled at all of them and Peter stood awkwardly to the side, not able to meet Emma or Jane's eyes. Jane because Jane was a very famous scientist and Emma because… well, because she was Emma. "I'm May Parker. Peter's Aunt." Darcy and Jane's eyes widened in unison as they looked between Peter and Emma.

Darcy smirked a little as she noticed the cute, shy looking teenage boy who was unable to meet Emma's gaze. So this was the famous Peter Parker Emma was always talking about. He was actually a good looking kid. Darcy always assumed Emma's type would be more of guys who were super pretentious with their Ernest Hemingway novels, hipster shoes, and beanies. Kind of like how she imagined a Hipster Loki would look like. He'd be super dark and brooding but this kid didn't look anything like how she imagined Emma's type to look like. Peter actually looked like a sweet kid and attractive in a dorky way. He was cute in the same way Bruce was and now that Darcy thought about it there was a lot of similarities there. Emma and Peter were like a mini Natasha and Bruce.

"Yes, well, I'm Darcy Lewis." Darcy then glanced over at Jane. "This is Jane Foster. We're not lovers or anything. Just co-workers that happen to be friends." Emma rolled her eyes at Darcy's rambling and Peter smiled in amusement. Now that Peter knew that this Darcy woman was just a cover for Emma's family background, he didn't understand how Mr. Stark could expect anyone to believe that Darcy and Emma were related. It was clear to him that the two were nothing alike.

"It's nice to meet you." Jane told May who gave her a curious look. Everyone kind of knew who Jane Foster was. She was a famous astrophysicist known for her work on the Einstein-Rosen bridge, something May only knew from Peter, but Jane was also known as Thor's girlfriend. Lucky woman, May thought to herself.

"You too." May said politely. "What a crazy day today. I was worried that Peter had been in the elevator but he's already assured me that he wasn't. He's a lucky one, isn't he?" May said before she pinched her nephew's cheek, causing him to blush. Darcy and Jane shared an odd look before they looked at the teenage boy suspicious. He wasn't in the elevator either? They knew Emma wasn't in the elevator because she was the one doing the saving but where was this Peter kid the whole time?

"Yeah, we're lucky that Emma wasn't in the elevator either." Jane said slowly as she looked between Emma and Peter with suspicious eyes. Emma was her usual stoic self as she stared blankly at her but Peter was averting his eyes from all the adults there. Darcy and Jane didn't really know the kid too well but he seemed incredibly nervous.

"Emma, wasn't in the elevator either?" May inquired curiously before looking back at Peter. "Were you two hanging out somewhere or something?" Peter furiously shook his head with wide eyes. Emma honestly didn't know how his Aunt hadn't figured out his secret identity yet. He was literally one of the worst liars she had ever met.

"No, no. I was sick in my hotel room… I think it was the pizza I ate last night." Peter told her before everyone turned to look at Emma who just shrugged.

"Menstrual cramps." Emma said shortly which made Peter uncomfortable. Jane glared at the tactless blonde.

"Emma!" She scolded and Emma just gave her a look.

"What? We're all ladies here." Emma quipped before she looked over at Peter teasingly. "Oops. Sorry, Peter." Peter glared at Emma. Oh, she thought she was so funny, didn't she? Peter thought bitterly to himself. The teasing never stopped with her and Peter thought there must be something wrong with him for ever thinking he could be attracted to her. She was the single most frustrating person he had ever met.

"It really is nice to meet you, Peter." Darcy told the teenage boy who looked away from Emma. The brunette woman smirked a little at having caught him staring at Emma. He had been glaring at her but Darcy could definitely tell that the two seemed to have one of those love hate relationships. Darcy didn't really want to mention this, since Emma and Peter were kids, but the sexual tension in the air was pretty thick. It was way more intense than Darcy thought it was going to be, especially with two fifteen year old kids but nothing was ever normal when it came to Emma Rogers.

"I feel like I already know so much about you. Emma talks about you all the time." Darcy continued to say. Emma clenched her jaw at Darcy's statement before giving the brunette the death glare. Emma was finally going to murder that woman when they got home. She didn't care if Steve didn't approve. It was bad enough that Darcy kept teasing her about Peter at home but in public now too? She sulked even more when she saw the smug look on Peter's face as he smirked at her. When she eventually started teaching him hand to hand combat, she'd definitely wipe that smirk off his face. Even so Emma couldn't help but notice how much being devious suited him.

"Well, Peter's the same way. He's always going on and on about the pretty blonde girl that sits next to him in history." May replied and all three women laughed in unison. Emma took great pleasure in watching the smirk fall off Peter's face as he blushed a vibrant shade of red. She didn't want to say that she thought him blushing was adorable but she would say that she was fond of the way he blushed.

"Kids, right?" Darcy said jokingly. "It was really nice meeting you, May, but we've gotta get home. Dinner's waiting." May smiled at Darcy before nodding.

"Of course. I hope we meet again soon." May told Darcy and Jane before smiling at Emma. "It was nice seeing you again, Emma."

"You too, May." Emma replied with a small smile as May began to lead Peter away. Emma watched him as he walked away with his Aunt, noticing the glances he would throw her from over his shoulder… glances that he probably thought were subtle. Her smile didn't fade as she watched him. It was only when she noticed Darcy and Jane giving her a knowing look that the smile dropped from her face and she stopped staring after Peter. It felt odd being apart from him after spending so much time with him during the past few days.

"What?" She asked them when Peter and his Aunt were out of ear shot. Darcy just smirked at her and shook her head while Jane just gave her a kind smile.

"You totally have a boyfriend now." Darcy teased and Jane nodded.

"You two are so sweet." Jane added in agreement. Emma gave the both of them a glare before shaking her head and storming off to the car. God, those two should really have their own show. They thought they were so funny and clever, Emma bitterly thought to herself. Steve better find a way to come back soon because Emma's calmness was really being tested.

* * *

 **Meanwhile in Wakanda….**

Steve had just had a long conversation with Natasha who returned from her trip to the states a few hours prior. He had been in Wakanda for close to five months now but that was also five months without Emma. Despite all the people bustling around T'Challa's hideaway palace, Steve still felt incredibly lonely without Emma there. He hadn't realized it until they were apart but Emma was sort of the center of his universe. The past couple of years of his life had completely revolved around Emma and that's how it should be. She was more than a granddaughter to him. Steve saw Emma as his daughter.

The past few months had become even lonelier for Steve when Bucky had decided to voluntarily submit himself to the Cyro-Chamber. Steve knew that it was probably for the best but that didn't stop him from missing his best friend. It was probably safer for Bucky to be in the Cyro-Chamber anyways considering that Tony had probably started some kind of witch hunt for him. It put Steve at ease knowing that Tony would probably never find him. Steve grimaced as he thought of his former teammate who now his… Enemy? Could Steve really call Tony an enemy now? Is that what they were? Steve sincerely hoped not.

Natasha had just finished filling him in on her meeting with Emma back in D.C. Steve felt relieved that Emma seemed to be doing more than fine. Natasha informed him that Tony had sent her to live with Darcy after having enrolled her in school. Apparently she had joined a decathlon team and even made some friends which surprised him beyond belief but Steve was happy for her despite the fact that wished that he could be there to see it all. He had always meant to enroll Emma in a school with other kids her own age but with everything that had occurred in past couple of years Steve just didn't feel safe doing that. At least she was living the life he always dreamed of her having.

Even with all the good things that seemed to be happening in Emma's life he was still very aware of the fact that her and Tony couldn't be further apart. Natasha seemed sure that Emma really hated Tony which upset Steve a bit. He knew her and Tony were never exceptionally close but she never hated him. Steve didn't want her be so full of resentment but it seemed like the rift between the two factions was only making everything worse for her. It caused him some pain to know that Tony and Emma were keeping their distance during his absence. That wasn't what he wanted for them. Steve knew better than anyone else that Tony and Emma needed each other now more than ever.

"You okay, man?" Steve snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Sam who was giving him a look of concern. The super soldier nodded slowly as he came back into reality. It seemed like Emma encompassed most of his thoughts these days. It was no secret that Steve constantly worried about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Steve replied, flashing Sam a forced smile. "I was just thinking."

"Uh oh. We all know where that leads." Sam joked as he took a seat next to Steve on the couch. They were currently in a rec room of sorts in T'Challa's palace along with the other Avengers… or former Avengers.

Steve had always expected a palace to look more like Buckingham palace but he was surprised by how modern T'Challa's palace looked. He wondered if Emma would like it before dismissing the idea. Steve immediately knew that Emma would've hated the palace. She always hated the extravagance of the Avengers tower. He fondly remembered Emma always staying on their floor of the tower so she wouldn't have to talk to other people or navigate the tower. She said that she spent three days navigating her way out of the Amazon and didn't really feel like doing the same with Tony's big ugly tower. Emma also said it was about finding man eating anacondas to be more preferable than the sound of Tony's annoying voice. At the time Steve scolded her for being so impolite but he found that he really missed her cynical and rude nature these days.

"Thinking about the kid? Natasha said she's doing fine." Sam said and Steve sighed. He momentarily glanced over at the others. Clint and Wanda looked to be in a deep discussion on one of the other couches in the room. Steve knew that Wanda was having a lot of nightmares these days and Clint had become a father figure to her during the separation from his wife and kids. Scott was standing by one of the massive windows in the palace as he pestered T'Challa with a number of ridiculous questions about Wakanda's culture. Steve didn't know why Scott kept asking if T'Challa was somehow related to Prince William and Prince Harry.

"I know what Natasha said but I know Emma. She probably hates going to that high school and it sounds like she hates Tony too which is never what I wanted." Steve said in a depressed tone and Sam just sighed.

"Look, Steve, let's be honest… Emma never exactly liked Tony. I wouldn't be surprised if she was secretly devising a plan to kidnap Tony and hold him for ransom in exchange for our freedom. It's not like she hasn't done that before." Steve gave Sam a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" He asked him and Sam's eyes widened in realization.

"Right. You weren't there. You, Thor, and Nat were taking down that Hydra base in Mumbai." Sam told him which only made Steve more confused. Sam sighed heavily before he explained what happened a couple of years ago. "Emma may or may not have locked Tony in a supply closet at the tower. She somehow got Bruce in on it and he overrode Tony's access code to the closet so it was impossible for him to escape. Clint guarded the door so that Happy couldn't get Tony out… Happy's not that great of a bodyguard actually."

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Steve asked in surprise. He was completely bewildered about this information.

"Well, Emma got her vinyl collection back from Tony so we decided that it was all water under the bridge. He was trying to ground her at the time… that's why she got pissed and locked him in the closet." Sam explained and Steve gave him a look of disbelief.

"Where were you during all of this?" Steve asked him and Sam shrugged.

"Enjoying the show." Steve just shook his head. Emma would never cease to be boring.

"Okay, we just got horribly sidetracked. I meant to say that I'm worried about Emma. We all know how she can hold a grudge. I never wanted her and Tony to become like this… I was hoping that the aftermath of everything would make them closer." Steve admitted as a worried expression came over his face again. "It worries me to know how alone she is over there."

"Steve, she's not alone. Nat says that she's living with Darcy and Jane practically lives there too." Sam said as he tried to reassure Steve. Steve still didn't look that reassured by Sam's statement.

"She _is_ alone, Sam. I know her… she'll sneak around and lie to them. She'll keep everything bottled up inside while she assures them she's fine. She's probably having the nightmares again and I'm not there for her. Emma needs someone to talk to… someone that she trusts. I was hoping that Tony could be that person but I can see now that it was a long shot." Steve remarked sadly and Sam just gave him a sympathetic look.

"Tony was never going to be that person, Steve. He can't replace you." Sam told him seriously and Steve knew that he was right even though Steve wished that he wasn't.

"When she was at the Hydra base for those nine years she wasn't even alone because at least she had Bucky." Steve said quietly. "Now she doesn't have anyone. I don't want her to let this resentment consume her. It's not healthy for her."

"She'll be fine. She always is. Emma can take care of herself." Sam replied, not knowing what else to say to Steve. "Hopefully this whole thing will blow over soon and we can forget the Sokovia accords thing ever happened. You can take Emma out of that school and home school her again. Maybe you two could even start traveling. You two could travel across Europe and visit all those fancy art galleries." This seemed to cheer Steve up a bit as he managed to chuckle at Sam's suggestion.

"Fat chance of that ever happening. Emma hates Europe. She said that the French are weak and Germans are too loud." Steve said as he fondly remembered his granddaughter's dislike of Europe. Only Emma could be that unpleasant about Europeans although Emma could usually be unpleasant about everything. There was very few people and places that Emma was actually pleasant about.

"She also said Italians are annoying." Sam added, laughing as he recalled the odd habits of a certain blonde. Steve smiled at the memory of Emma as the two settled down from their reminiscing.

"Maybe we'll go to Asgard or something. Emma seemed interested in going there at one point in time." Steve replied.

"I think she'll really like that." Sam told him and before Steve could say anything he heard Wanda gasp from across the room. Steve and Sam both turned their attention away from each other and looked at the shell shocked brunette who was staring at one of tv screens in surprise. Clint also had a look of shock which was actually quite rare for the archer. Steve then glanced at the tv screen and also widened his eyes once he saw what had Wanda and Clint in such a state of shock.

"An event that could of turned into a potential tragedy took place in Washington D.C. today." An anchorwoman stated as she looked into the camera seriously. The news channel had just been in the background while they had all been chatting amongst each other but now it was the main focus of their attention. "The Washington Monument was struck by an unexplained anomaly that trapped a group of high school students within a collapsed elevator. The decathlon team from Midtown Tech fought for their lives as they remained trapped within an elevator that could've sent them plummeting to their deaths had it not been for two unlikely hero."

Footage that had been taken of the incident then popped up on screen. The footage showed one figure dressed in red and blue climbing up the side of the Washington Monument while another figure dressed in a darker uniform flew towards the top of the Monument. Steve's jaw dropped open as he took a closer look at the figure dressed in the dark outfit. He'd recognize that blonde head of hair from anywhere. Steve just couldn't believe what he was actually seeing.

"Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin came to the rescue earlier today and saved the high school students from what would've been a tragic freak accident in the city of D.C." The anchorwoman then smiled before continuing. "Spider-Man is mainly known as the hero from YouTube as well as his support of Tony Stark's faction in the fight against Captain America's faction. Captain America who is currently public enemy number one in the United States. The other members of Captain America's faction are also wanted for their war crimes."

"Partnered in a partnership that is mystifying many is the Viper Assassin. The Viper Assassin who was a previously instrumental assassin for Hydra. As a former assassin and terrorist, she is credited with the assassinations of almost thirty individuals." The Anchorwoman explained. "The deadly assassin was a known ally to Captain America's faction and even fought against Spider-Man in the battle at the Leipzig/Halle airport in Germany. Although the Viper Assassin has said to have since defected to Tony Stark's faction, the new partnership of Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin is still a huge mystery."

"Hopefully we will see more of this curious superhero partnership in the future." The anchorwoman wrapped up, finishing the topic of the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. Everyone in the room just stared at the tv screen in shock, not really believing what they were seeing. Steve was still trying to process what the anchorwoman just said.

"What the fuck was that?" Clint asked breathlessly, the first one of them to actually speak.

"Captain, isn't that your granddaughter?" T'Challa asked in his thick accent as he and Scott both walked away from the window and over to where everyone was sitting. Steve swallowed uncomfortably as he still stared at the screen, not understanding what he just saw.

"Yes." He said shortly and it was then that Natasha walked into the room. She had a slightly concerned look on her face which was odd for the redhead. Steve was so used to her either looking stoic or teasing. She really was like Emma sometimes.

"Steve, I saw-" Natasha started to say but Steve immediately interrupted her.

"What the hell, Natasha?!" Steve exclaimed as he glared at the Russian woman. Everyone stared at Steve in shock because they rarely ever saw the positive, easy going super soldier look angry. "I thought you said she was doing fine? I thought you said she was staying out of trouble?"

"She said she was going to school." Natasha told him calmly. "She said that she joined some dork squad and made friends. Emma even said that she was in no way interested in a life of crime fighting… she made that pretty clear."

"Then why am I seeing her on the news with that kid?!" Steve said as he wildly gestured to the television screen.

"Not to mention an especially annoying kid." Sam added. "I met that kid at the airport. Not a fan. I'm also finding it really hard to believe Emma would suddenly be buddy buddy with that guy. She kicked his ass all over that runway." Natasha just rolled her eyes at Sam before returning her attention back to Steve.

"Look, when I talked to her she assured me that she was fine." Everyone raised their eyebrows at that. Yeah, Natasha clearly didn't know Emma that well if she just took Emma's word for it.

"I don't really know this girl that much," Scott said as he walked over to them. "But she didn't seem like the type to be upfront and honest... She really scared me if I'm being honest. Seriously though, I know she's like fifteen and all but I'm terrified of her. I just had a nightmare where she murdered me." Scott seemed a bit reluctant to admit the last part as he looked down at his shoes. Everyone stared at him for a moment before returning to the task at hand.

"So she's deciding to be like you, Steve. I don't see the problem." Clint said nonchalantly. "You should be proud that she's taking after you." Sam nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Clint. Emma can definitely hold her own and I'm glad that she's taking the initiative herself. It really shows how far she's come along." Sam said and Steve just shook his head angrily.

"Don't you get it? I never wanted this for her. I never wanted her to become an Avenger." Steve said bitterly. "She was supposed to have a normal life. Emma was supposed to leave all the super soldier stuff behind."

"If she was supposed to have a normal life then why did you home school her?" Wanda asked Steve curiously. "Why not let her go to a normal high school with normal children her own age like Stark did?" Steve glared at her.

"I have my reasons." Steve said shortly before Natasha sighed heavily.

"You're being dramatic, Steve." Natasha told him honestly. "I'm sure this is just a one time thing. It sounded to me like her dork squad was stuck in the elevator and she helped get them out. Emma's not the type to go out of her way to look for people to save. Trust me, I know."

"What about that kid… the one who calls himself Spider-Man?" Steve inquired as he relaxed back into his seat. He was feeling slightly comforted by his friends' words.

"Stark probably just made him her babysitter or something." Clint told him. "Stark most likely wants to make sure that she doesn't murder anyone."

"I agree with Mr. Barton, Captain." T'Challa said, his tone calming as usual. "Your granddaughter will be fine. She seems like a very capable young woman." Steve was about to nod his head in agreement and thank his friends for their words when the Anchorwoman on the news started reporting on a different story.

"In other news, a very political protest took place downtown D.C. yesterday when a group of protesters took part in the Sokovia Accords March. The Sokovia Accords March which is a protest against the Sokovia Accords as well as Captain America's faction being deemed as war criminals. The March was also a demonstration against the government and Tony Stark who sponsored the Sokovia Accords." The Anchorwoman said before showing a couple of clips from the protest.

"The March showed people from all over the world coming together and joining the protest. Even young protesters as shown in this new clip where a teenage girl is shown voicing her opinion." Steve and the others looked up in surprise once more when they saw the clip on the screen. It was none other than Emma Rogers marching at the front of the crowd of protesters. She wasn't dressed as the Viper Assassin this time but just seemingly as herself as she donned a t-shirt with Sam's picture on it which said 'Free Falcon'.

 _"_ _As we march through Washington today, let us not forget who's really to blame for Sokovia."_ Emma said as she began to give a speech through a megaphone. _"Tony Stark. A spoiled billionaire who thinks he knows better than everyone else… a man who created Ultron because he was playing god. Ultron who caused mass destruction in Sokovia and who could've done worse if it hadn't been for the other Avengers cleaning up Tony Stark's mess. What happened in Sokovia wasn't the Avengers fault… no, it was Tony Stark's fault._ _Tony Stark is a man who's made his fortune off profiting from war. He should be tried and convicted for his war crimes._ _Tony Stark: The War Lord!"_

The crowd cheered as Emma finished her speech and Steve was left staring at the screen with a blank expression on his face. The anchorwoman then went on to talk about Tony Stark selling Avengers Tower but Steve just couldn't find himself to care. The others carefully looked at Steve, trying to determine his state of mind. He clenched his jaw tight and some of the others winced because that was never a good sign. Steve just shook his head before glaring right at Natasha.

"Dramatic?" Steve questioned and Natasha actually looked guilty for once. It was clear that Emma might not have been as well as Natasha had insisted. It wasn't like there was anything any of them could do about… at least not for a while. Emma would just have to handle life on her own in the mean time. The only problem was that they didn't know who was handling life on their own worse.

Steve or Emma.


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine

**Author's Note: This chapter is taking forever for me to publish because my edit somehow got deleted again. I seriously have no idea what's wrong with my computer sometimes. So glad that you guys loved Michelle's voicemail. I knew that I had to be creative with her voicemail.**

 **Capricious-Sunshine: Once again, I didn't mean any offense to French, Germans, and Italians in the last chapter. I just wrote Emma's dislike of those countries as a weird quirk of hers and she has many weird quirks. I really love Tony too and this isn't a Tony bashing story. Emma just resents Tony for the time being and she has every right to. I also wrote this conflict between Emma and Tony because I just love writing complicated relationships like that. They both have such a complex relationship with each other and I really like writing that. Emma and Tony will eventually overcome their differences but not for another few chapters.**

 **Spawn Hades: I think the similarities between the two couples mostly has to do with Natasha and Emma. Natasha and Emma are very similar to each other and they both have a mutual understanding. Their taste in men is sort of similar too in way that they both like guys who are nice, dorky, and sciency.**

 **I don't think Emma and Steve are switching personalities. Steve isn't cynical. He's just worried about Emma and being worried about Emma sets him on edge. Emma's still cynical but she's slowly becoming more trusting towards Peter. I think a part of her will always be cynical but when she's around people she's comfortable with then that feeling will lessen.**

 **alleya02: I don't really want to give anything away in regards to the future but you'll see in the chapter after this one.**

 **SabrinaInWonderland001: I'm really excited for Emma and Peter's relationship too. I know as the writer I could just write them together already but it doesn't feel right yet. It has to feel right and make sense before they can get together. I don't want it to be feel rushed or anything. I usually hate slow burn stories like this one so it's weird that I'm writing one.**

 **I'm also glad to find another Mindy Project fan. That's one of my favorite shows of all time and I'm so sad that it's ending. I'm hoping that Mindy and Danny get back together in the last couple episodes. I know Danny was a sexist jerk and Mindy was justified in dumping him but I want them to get back together so bad. I just hope Danny can stop being stupid and do that. One of the episodes this season indicated that he may have changed his ways a little bit so I'm hoping that means Mindy and Danny still have a chance.**

 **JokeLover123: I love writing a jealous Emma. It's hilarious because she's jealous and doesn't even know it. I can't wait to write Emma and Peter as a couple because I have a feeling she might be a little possessive over Peter. That would be so funny to write.**

 **I also just had to include the other Avengers in the chapter because we haven't seen them in forever. I also missed writing Steve so much. It breaks my heart having him and Emma apart but it's kind of necessary for the story right now. And I give it maybe five chapters before Michelle finds out about Emma. Don't quote me on that.**

 **infinityneverlasts: Emma still calls him Parker but in really vulnerable moments between the two she does call him Peter. Emma calling him by his first name will only become more frequent the closer they become. I don't think the other Avengers will show up in the story for a while but you never know. Seeing the other Avengers is definitely not going to be a regular thing right now in the story.**

 **Guest: Glad you love the chapter so much. It's funny you mention a jealous Peter because you just might catch a glimpse of a jealous Peter in this chapter.**

 **I'm sorry for not answering all the reviews but I just really wanted to get this chapter out there. Thanks and please review.**

* * *

"You're grounded." Darcy told her. Emma was currently sprawled out across her bed as she read a biography of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's real life romance. Michelle had dared her to read a romance so of course Emma picked a real life one about a couple who cheated on each other constantly and were twenty five years apart in age. And people were always going on about Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively? Emma didn't think those two were fucked up enough for her liking.

"Really?" Emma asked doubtfully as she turned a page in her book. Darcy crossed her arms as she leaned against Emma's doorway. It was the day after she had returned from D.C. and Peter had made her promise they would meet up at school to discuss what they were going to do about Birdman.

"Yes, you're grounded." Darcy confirmed and Emma glanced up from her book, raising an eyebrow. The school had called Darcy earlier and told her that Emma had skipped Nationals to go off God knows where. Darcy was apparently trying to discipline Emma.

"Was this Jane's idea?" Emma inquired nonchalantly and Darcy spluttered.

"No." Darcy said and Emma gave her a doubtful look, causing Darcy to sigh heavily. "Fine… Maybe."

"I think it's cute that you think that I care whether or not I'm grounded." Emma deadpanned and Darcy groaned in frustration.

"Why can't you just argue with me like a normal teenager?! Or murder me in my sleep because I took your phone away like other kids you're age?!" Darcy complained and Emma smirked at her.

"That sounds very tempting actually." Emma quipped and Darcy just shook her head at the blonde.

"You're the hardest kid to ground." Darcy told her. "Fine. Since you don't seem care whether or not you're grounded then I'm just going to take this super hot picture of your DILF of a dad with me. That's right. I'm confiscating it and not for my own needs." Darcy ranted as she snatched the picture of Emma's father from her bookshelf. Emma just watched her curiously as the brunette took the framed picture and then walked out of the room.

"Make sure the picture comes back in one piece! Don't violate my father's picture beyond recognition!" Emma called out of her and was answered with the sound of Darcy's bedroom slamming. She really hoped the brunette was just joking or otherwise that was just nasty. Before Emma could think of any other worst nightmares another nightmare of hers was trying to make a guest appearance. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust as she saw Stark's caller id pop up on her phone. It looked like he wanted to facetime. She really didn't want to talk to Stark right now but she knew he'd probably only continue to annoy her if she ignored him. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, Emma accepted the call and watched as Stark's hideous face popped up on her screen.

"Mini Cap!" Tony greeted jovially. "It's so nice to see your bright and shining face staring back at me." Emma only blinked before answering.

"What do you want, Stark?" Emma asked boredly.

"What? I can't just call you to see how you are?" Tony questioned but Emma wasn't buying it.

"No. You only call when you want to be annoying." Emma told him and Tony sighed tiredly.

"No, I only call when I see something that causes me some concern." He pointedly told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Can you actually not right now? I'm too busy being grounded." Emma replied as she glared at Tony and Tony glared right back at her, all niceness gone from his face. It was time to talk business.

"Listen, Rogers, I'm two seconds from actually kicking you out for real this time and sending you on your merry way to find your grandpa." Tony told her and Emma really had to hand it to him this time. He was doing his best to act like some sort of father figure but he still didn't have her respect and he never would.

"Promise?" Emma questioned sarcastically and Tony groaned in frustration.

"You don't get to talk to me like that right now." He scolded. "I woke up yesterday morning to see a news report about a protest downtown D.C. and a protest that you decided to take part in as you apparently called for my imprisonment. What a lovely little sign you made by the way. It was very creative."

"Thank you, Stark. I always knew you appreciated my artistic ability." Emma said snarkily. "I'm glad you liked the protest though and I hope that it gave you some insight into the mindset of many Americans."

"Don't act like you did that for any reason other than to humiliate me." Tony snapped, furious with the irritating blonde. Seriously… How did Rogers put up with her for so long. Steve really must be a saint. "I know you, Rogers. You don't do anything for free. You don't do anything if it doesn't somehow serve a purpose for you or daddy dearest." Emma clenched her jaw as she felt the strong urge to somehow reach through the screen and beat the shit out of Stark. Instead she swallowed her anger and forced herself to maintain her composure.

"I don't care what you think of me, Stark. Believe or not the whole world doesn't revolve around you." Emma practically hissed as she told him what she really thought of him. "If you want to talk politics, fine… we will. The Sokovia Accords is a complete load of crap. I know for a fact that you don't really believe in any of it either."

"Yes, I do. I think this whole thing has been me actively believing in the accords." Emma just scoffed before shaking her head in disbelief.

"No, it's not. It's because you've decided to have a conscience. You do this thing where every once and a while you decide to have a conscience and when you do, it messes everything up." Emma told him honestly although her tone was very bitter. "First it was the weapons then it was Ultron and now it's the accords. You only sponsored the accords because you feel guilty about Sokovia. The accords were founded on nothing but guilt and a need for control. It'll never work out in the way you hope that it will."

"What? And you're the judge of good decisions?" Tony sneered and Emma just stared back at him blankly, not wanting to demonstrate her anger or annoyance.

"I'm not claiming to be a saint but I know that you're wrong." Emma told him quietly and Tony just assessed the expression on her face but as usual found nothing. She looked as cold and emotionless as she normally did. Tony sighed heavily.

"Look, kid, I didn't want to start another argument with you today." Tony told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"No?" She questioned.

"No, I didn't. I just saw what you and Peter did in D.C. and I wanted to congratulate you. You did a good job." Tony complimented which Emma found surprising. She couldn't remember a time where she and Tony ever said anything nice to each other. Emma was slightly suspicious of his change in behavior so she decided to hide behind sarcastic and cruel remarks as she normally did. She didn't trust him one bit.

"I don't need your validation, Stark. I'm not Parker. I didn't do it for you." Emma told him coldly and Tony tried not to snap at the blonde. She made it so difficult sometimes.

"Can you ever be pleasant about anything?" Tony asked her and Emma gave him her signature bitchy look.

"Not if it has anything to do with you." Emma quipped and Tony glared at her.

"Fine. Be that way but just try and stay out of trouble… make sure Peter stays out of trouble too." Tony told her before his expression slightly softened. "I'm glad you two finally found each other. I think you're going to be good together." Emma didn't know how to feel about what Tony just said.

The way Tony spoke it seemed as though he expected Emma and Peter to continue to be partners of sorts. Emma only thought this whole truce going on between her and Peter would last until they captured the Vulture… well, that's what she originally thought but she had honestly come to think of Peter as a friend. She would never tell anyone else that but it was true. Peter was a friend to her and she was even fond of him on some level which was odd because he wasn't the kind of person she usually enjoyed spending time with. He was too… nice. Yes, nice was the word for it. Peter was kind of like Steve in that way but the only reason she hung around Steve was because Steve was family and it was inevitable that she would come to love him in the way she had. She was forced to like Steve but she wasn't forced to like Peter. Peter wasn't family at all so it bothered her to know that she considered him a friend.

"Whatever, Stark. I've gotta go… I've have to get back to being grounded." Emma answered quietly, a conflicted look in her eyes. Tony nodded and smiled faintly.

"Yeah. I guess I'll see you soon, Mini Cap." He replied and Emma ended the call right then. She took a deep breath as she rested her head against her pillow, turning her phone over, and just laid there on her bed. Why did talking to Stark always take so much energy out of her? Oh, that's right. Because he was like the most annoying person in the world. Emma knew that Peter was annoying as well but Emma actually liked him. Liked him? That was odd to say. Emma didn't really like anyone. Well, she liked Clint, Sam, Darcy, and Susan but that was only because she had known them all for a couple of years. Emma had barely known Peter for a month even though it felt way longer than that. The blonde immediately turned her head to stare at her photograph of Steve which was sitting on her nightstand.

"What do I do, Steve?" She asked the photograph in a whisper. It seemed like she was always wondering what Steve would do these days. Her question seemed valid and reasonable to her. She was basically asking Steve whether or not she could trust this boy… if she could trust him enough to call him a friend. It was easy enough calling Michelle a friend because Michelle didn't know enough about Emma to judge her. Peter was something entirely different because he was fully aware of who she was. She feared rejection from him but she feared rejection from everyone. Emma still feared rejection from Steve and she knew that Steve loved her unconditionally. Rejection was one of her greatest fears. Emma didn't like admitting to having fears because she knew from Hydra that having fears was the same as having weaknesses.

"I wish you were here. You'd probably tell me what to do in this situation." Emma continued to whisper to the picture. She nestled her face against the pillow as she stared at her grandfather's smiling face.

"You'd probably say something incredibly corny… tell me to trust more or something similarly ridiculous." Emma smiled a bit at the thought of Steve giving her one of his many lectures.

"I'd tell you that you can't trust anyone. I guess I was right in the end. I mean, look what happened with Tony." Emma said sadly. "I know you wanted me to make amends with him but it's just… well, it's just impossible. Every time I look at him I'm just reminded of what he did. He's the reason why I'm talking to a photograph of you instead of the real thing. He's the reason Papa's in a Cyro-Chamber right now. He's the reason why I'm so alone." Emma looked away from the photograph and stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know how you expect me to just let go of all that." Emma finished as she rested her hands on her stomach, her fingers laced a crown. Her eyes rested on the ceiling but she was seeing way beyond the ceiling as she remained lost in her thoughts. Emma then scoffed at herself, not believing what she had just been doing.

"I guess I really have lost it."

* * *

Monday finally rolled around and with Monday came school again. It seemed like her and Peter were no longer part of the rumor mill since all that anyone could talk about was the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man saving the decathlon team. That was sort of a relief because Emma didn't know how she'd handle a bunch of nosy teenagers poking their noses in her business. That being said, Mr. Harrington and Principal Morita had most certainly not forgotten about her and Peter skipping nationals. Yeah, apparently Emma had detention after school but she didn't really mind it. Any punishment the school handed out was probably like a vacation compared to Hydra's idea of punishment. Who knows, detention may even be fun to Emma.

"Why isn't it Midtown's resident rebel." Michelle announced boredly as she began to walk next to Emma. Emma just gave the bookish girl an amused look as she made her way to art class.

"Hello, MJ." Emma greeted casually.

"How much detention did you manage to get?" The dark haired girl asked her and Emma smirked.

"Two week's worth." Emma replied shortly and Michelle raised an eyebrow at her.

"Two weeks? Everyone was so sure you and Parker would get expelled." Michelle told her and Emma shrugged.

"Well, since I'm new to the school and Parker's a goody goody, Principal Morita is deciding to give us a break." Emma explained and Michelle still seemed doubtful.

"Two weeks still doesn't seem like that much."

"It used to be a month but I managed to cut it down to two weeks. I don't know about Parker but I'm definitely only getting two weeks worth of detention." Emma told Michelle which made Michelle even more suspicious of the blonde.

"How did you do that? Principal Morita is notoriously known to have a stick up his ass." Michelle said with a suspicious tone as she stared at the smug looking blonde who was looking exceptionally pleased with herself. Emma just shrugged.

"I happened to take interest in some of photographs he had of his grandfather and Captain America. His grandfather was a Howling Commando, you know." Emma informed Michelle but to be honest Emma had known that about Principal Morita for a long time. Ever since coming to the school she had known about the Principal being a grandson of one of her grandfather's old war buddies. It was kind of weird that they had that sort of connection with each other but it was a small world. It wasn't like Principal Morita knew about Emma anyways. She also knew that her father had been friends with his father given another photograph she had seen in the Principal's office but Emma figured that their families probably lost contact with each other decades ago. Michelle groaned at Emma's statement.

"Everyone knows that, Emma. The guy never shuts up about it." She said with an irritated look on her face but Emma didn't seem that bothered.

"Anyways… I'm a history buff so I just sucked up to him a lot and got detention for two weeks instead of one." Emma replied nonchalantly and Michelle just shook her head in disbelief at the girl. She still couldn't believe how Emma was able to easily manipulate people into caving into her. It must have something to do with whatever she's hiding, Michelle determined. Before Michelle could even respond to Emma's remark, she was interrupted by one of the televisions hanging on the wall. The television displayed Betty Bryant and Jason Ionello's broadcast news segment. Emma curiously looked up at the screen as the awkward duo began talking about the decathlon team.

"This past weekend, Midtown's Academic Decathlon team defeated the country's best to win the national championship." Jason Ionello stated as he looked into the camera. "Later that day, they also defeated death."

"Explosion!" Abraham exclaimed in a new clip shown on the television. "Sally scream. Flash scream. Everybody screaming." Another clip then showed Charles Murphey who was one of Flash's buddies which immediately made Emma dislike him by association.

"There were purple lasers and smoke. It was *beeping* tight, like a Bon Jovi concert." Emma rolled her eyes at Murphey. No wonder he was friends with Flash. Morons like that stuck together. Another clip then showed Mr. Harrington standing in front of the school bus as he was being interviewed.

"As you know, we made it out alive and that's the important thing." Mr. Harrington said solemnly before continuing. "I couldn't bear to lose a student on a school trip… Not again."

"Thankfully, no one was seriously injured thanks to Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin." Jason said as he and Betty began to draw the segment to a conclusion. "Thank you, Spider-Man and Viper Assassin."

"Up next: The Viper Assassin and Spider-Man mania is sweeping the school. How can you show your Spider Viper spirit?" Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust at the remark. Spider Viper spirit? Just a few months ago Emma was something to be feared by the masses but now people were talking about Spider Viper spirit? How underwhelming.

"Spider Viper spirit? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Emma muttered. She only meant to say that under her breath but apparently Michelle heard her.

"Everyone's dressing up in either red and blue or green and black." Michelle explained. "It's supposed to show our appreciation for the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man." Now that Emma thought about it, she had noticed a lot of green being worn around school today as well as red. Emma had thought today was some sort of holiday or spirit day that she could really care less about but it turned out to be in devotion to her and Peter's superhero aliases.

"That's kind of lame." Emma remarked and Michelle just shrugged.

"I guess. I mean, it's a little too far to come to school dressed like them. We're not in the third grade anymore." Michelle told her just as a group of freshmen girls walked by dressed in poorly made Viper Assassin costumes. Emma rose an eyebrow at the picture of a snake one of them had taped to their chest. The snake taped to their chest wasn't even a viper.

"Isn't it messed up that they're celebrating a murderer?" Emma asked her in reference to herself. "The Viper Assassin used to work for Hydra and not to mention she's credited with a ton of assassinations."

"I think she's pretty cool." Michelle admitted casually which caused Emma to stare at her incredulously. Wait… What?

"You do?" Emma asked doubtfully and Michelle nodded.

"Yeah, she's not perfect like some of the other Avengers. Her past is about as shady as they come but I think that's what makes her one of the best Avengers." Michelle told her. Emma kind of shifted uncomfortably from being referred to as an Avenger. That wasn't technically true but it wasn't like she could just deny it right on the spot. "She's done a lot of bad things but she's overcome those things to be a hero… to be a good person."

"I don't think that will change the things she's done in her past." Emma told Michelle quietly. "She can't be a hero. There's too much red in her ledger."

"So she's an anti-hero then." Michelle stated. "All the best characters are anti-heroes anyways. The goody goody types are way too boring for my liking."

"Anti-hero?" Emma questioned as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She knew what the term meant but she didn't think anyone had ever applied it to her before. Michelle just nodded.

"Yeah. An anti-hero. A lot of really cool people have been anti-heroes in pop culture." Michelle informed her. "Severus Snape was a deatheater before he changed his mind and became a member of Dumbledore's army. Sherlock is pretty fucked up and probably could be a serial killer if he really wanted but he chooses to help Lestrade find serial killers instead. Catwoman's always on the fence but a lot of the time she tries to be the good guy and helps Batman. See… anti-heroes are the best."

"I guess I never thought of it that way." Emma confessed as she took in all that information. Michelle had certainly given her a lot to think about. A part of Emma wondered if Michelle already knew about her so she subtly analyzed Michelle's facial expression to try and determine whether or not Michelle had already figured it out. Emma noticed that Michelle seemed very relaxed and casual as they walked to class, keeping her eyes on the hallway in front of them. If Michelle knew than she would've had to of been trained by an agency very similar to Hydra because her composure was untelling. No… Michelle most certainly did not know. At least not yet.

"She didn't seem that terrifying." Michelle admitted after a moment of silence. Emma looked at her in confusion from her sudden remark. "I saw her and Spider-Man before they went in to save the others." Michelle added once she saw the confused look on Emma's face. Emma gazed at Michelle curiously as she maintained her composure.

"Did you now?" Emma inquired and Michelle nodded.

"Yes. I always expected the Viper Assassin to be more cold or the kind of scary that makes you piss your pants but she wasn't any of those things." Michelle told her and Emma struggled not to let the annoyance show on her face. Great… she couldn't even scare fifteen year old teenagers these days. There were times when she used to strike fear in the hearts of individuals three times her age but it seemed like those days were long gone. "No. She was a good person."

"A good person? Really?" Emma questioned her doubtfully but Michelle didn't seem swayed by Emma's questioning. Her opinion was obviously very firm on the matter.

"Yes, she told me not to worry. She promised me that she would save my friends." Michelle said softly as she recollected her encounter with the Viper Assassin. "If she was really a bad person then she wouldn't have made that promise let alone go and save everyone."

"I guess not." Emma agreed quietly. Maybe what Michelle was telling her had some truth to it. All this time she had been wanting to be the monster that Hydra wanted her to be. She had wanted to be something to be feared so that no one would ever hurt her again. It was clear that the time she had been with Hydra was long over. She didn't have to fear being beaten to a bloody pulp ever again. Emma didn't have to fear being poked and prodded with needles or having to see Rumlow. There was no need for her to be the monster everyone feared anymore. Her life was far different than it had been when she was working for Hydra. People didn't have to be scared of her like before.

"So…" Emma trailed off as she brought herself out of her own thoughts. A smirk could be seen on the blonde's face as she gave Michelle a smug look. "Your friends, huh?" Michelle immediately glared at her friend, the nice moment between the two completely over.

"Shut up."

* * *

Emma didn't know why but she had expected detention to be held in the library. She guessed that was what Darcy forcing her to watch _The Breakfast Club_ got her. Unrealistic expectations. No, detention was held in one of the history classrooms and instead of Paul Gleason keeping watch of them from his office across the hall, it was actually Coach Wilson keeping watch of them from his desk towards the front of the classroom. She guessed there wouldn't be any Marijuana smoking parties for them with Coach Wilson there. Emma still didn't understand all the crap those kids got away with in that movie. If anything the movie just showed how inept the assistant principal was at his job.

"You're here too?" Peter asked as he walked into the classroom, immediately taking a seat next to Emma. Emma had been sketching her own fan art from _The Breakfast Club,_ having felt inspired from her current predicament. She barely glanced up at him as he sat down in the seat next to her.

"Well, you weren't the only one who skipped nationals although I managed to get my detention cut down to two weeks." Emma informed and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"Two weeks? How did you manage that?" He questioned and Emma just smirked at him.

"Why my charm, of course. What else?" She said mockingly as she innocently batted her eyelashes. The teasing look on her face immediately fell off, however, when she noticed someone else walk into the room. Peter could only describe the look on Emma's face to be one of revulsion when Flash walked in. The Latino sauntered into the classroom with a smug look on his face as he made a beeline to Emma.

"Hey, Penis Parker." Flash greeted as he gave Peter a distasteful look before smirking once more at Emma. "It's so nice to see you, Emma. I heard you got detention. What a shame." Emma eyed him cautiously before shrugging nonchalantly.

"It's fine." She said shortly, trying to make it clear that she didn't want to talk to him. Flash, however, didn't seem to get the hint.

"I just thought I'd drop by to see you. I mean, I don't have detention or anything but I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Flash told her and Emma fought the urge to reach over and strangle the life from that annoying little brat. Ugh! Emma took it back. Stark wasn't the most annoying person she had ever met. No, it was definitely Flash.

"I'm fine, Flash." Emma repeated as she clenched her jaw. Flash nodded as he rested a hand on the back of her seat. Emma eyed his hand suspiciously but decided not to comment on it.

"Good. Well, the real reason I stopped by is because I have an important question to ask you." Flash said and Emma became even more suspicious. Peter pretended not to pay attention to their conversation but he was finding it really hard to look at anything other than Emma's face.

"Well, the Homecoming Dance is Friday so I was just wondering if you'd like to come with me. My dad's got some connections with this fancy French place and he's also going to be lending me his car for the night. It's a really awesome car. I think you'll love it." Flash then finally finished his annoying rambling. He looked incredibly sure of himself in that moment and Emma wanted nothing more than to punch the smug look right off his face. Emma would rather suck face with Ultron than go to some stupid dance with him of all people.

Peter couldn't really describe all the emotions that went through him in that moment. He really wanted to kick Flash's ass which was a bit more than what he felt for Flash normally. Sure, Flash annoyed the hell out of him but this time he really seemed to piss Peter off. The moment Flash came walking over, with that smug look on his face and asked Emma to Homecoming, Peter wanted nothing more than to deck him in the face. How dare he ask Emma to Homecoming? Wait… Why did Peter care so much about Emma and Flash going to Homecoming together? It wasn't really like it was any of his business. Then it occurred to Peter. Maybe the problem wasn't Flash going to Homecoming with Emma but it was Emma going to Homecoming with anyone.

He knew that he had developed some kind of attraction for Emma as well as feelings to go along with that attraction but Peter hadn't thought he felt that strongly about her. Not like Liz at least. Peter couldn't possibly like Emma more than he liked Liz. He had a crush on Liz for far longer and besides… him and Emma just didn't make sense. They were completely different personality wise and they argued about everything. Peter was also pretty sure that she didn't like him at all and only tolerated him because she was forced to. Sure, they had some nice moments but those were only moments. Peter saw one part of Emma and then a minute later she threw her walls back up and he only saw the version of her that she wanted him to see… not the real her. No, Peter was probably just weirded out by the prospect of Emma spending time with someone that wasn't him since they had been spending so much time together. That had to be it.

"Sorry, Flash, but I can't. I'll be out of town that weekend… I have to go to a funeral." Emma told him vaguely. She really wanted to tear him down but Emma knew that she didn't need to be burning her bridges right now. Emma had enough enemies out in the real world and she didn't want them at school too. Flash gave her a confused look as Peter tried to hide his relief at her statement.

"Funeral? I thought you went to one the last time I asked you out?" Flash questioned in a confused state. Emma didn't seem fazed by this information as she feigned a saddened look.

"I know… my family members just seem to be dropping like flies." Emma told him and Flash nodded slowly.

"Right. Well, sorry for your loss." Flash replied and Emma forced a smile.

"Thank you, Flash. I hope you have fun at the Homecoming dance while I'm over in Denver at Aunt Bridget's funeral." Emma said and Flash suddenly looked awkward. He knew it was time for him to leave. The situation just got very awkward and depressing.

"Um… okay. I'll see you around then, Emma." Flash told her as he then hightailed it out of the classroom. The moment he left the classroom the smile fell off Emma's face.

"Asshole." She muttered under her breath and Peter just laughed at her. She shot him a curious look. "What?" Peter shook his head as he tried to regain control of his fit of laughter.

"You're so terrible." Peter said but it was clear that he meant the words jokingly. Emma looked at Peter in amusement, a real smile actually forming on her face. The smile soon faded away when Coach Wilson stood at the front of the classroom and Emma noticed Michelle slip into the classroom last minute. She wondered what her friend was doing there. Emma knew for a fact that Michelle didn't have detention.

"Okay, you little delinquents." Coach Wilson said in a bored tone as he looked at the five students who sat in the classroom. "Because of your bad behavior, I have to spend an extra hour here at school so it would mean a lot to me if you guys just shut up and be quiet for an hour." All five of them stared blankly at the coach which caused him to sigh tiredly.

"Great. Now I'm going to put on a video for you to watch. Please watch the video and don't bother me." Coach Wilson told them as he turned on the tv. Seriously, Emma had to applaud the school district for picking such outstanding teachers. In all honestly Emma really liked Coach Wilson. She could relate to his constant boredom.

"Emma?" Peter whispered from over next to her. Emma turned to look at the teenage boy, an eyebrow raised.

"What?" She whispered back.

"We've gotta find that guy. We don't have all the time in the world." Peter told her and Emma sighed.

"I know that but we need McConaughey and Karen to do that." Emma replied and Peter groaned impatiently. The Vulture was still out there yet the both of them still sat in detention instead of trying to track him down.

"Well, we're not going to have McConaughey and Karen help us from school. We need to head back to my place." Peter suggested but Emma didn't really agree with his suggestion.

"I'm not going back to your place, Parker." Emma told him. "It's not safe. Your Aunt could pop in at any moment and I don't really need to be worrying about that right now. No, we'll be meeting at my place. Darcy and Jane aren't there right now and even if they were it's not like I'd have to hide everything from them. Do you have your suit?" Peter nodded slowly at her question. Emma's place? Peter had never been over to Emma's house in all the time they had spent together. A part of him was curious to see what her place looked like but another part of him was more focused on the task at hand.

"Yes, it's in my backpack." Peter replied. Emma felt a bit tense about Peter just carrying around his suit in his backpack all day, making it that much easier for anyone to find it, but that wasn't the concerning issue right now.

"What did I say about being quiet?" Coach Wilson said as he glared at them. Both Emma and Peter feigned innocent looks. Maybe she was rubbing off on Peter a little too much. Coach Wilson just rolled his eyes before relaxing back in his seat after pressing the play button on the dvd player.

The video then began to play although Michelle was still sending Peter and Emma subtle suspicious looks, having heard their vague and suspicious conversation. To many it might've sounded like Emma and Peter were engaging in some kind of weird sexual relationship but Michelle knew better. No, they were definitely up to something. Emma immediately furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she stared at the screen. Steve had popped up on the screen in his more colorful, dorky looking Captain America uniform as he sat down in a chair backwards.

"So…" Steve said, staring into the camera with a kind look on his face. Emma still didn't understand what the hell she was seeing. When did her grandfather do all these ridiculous videos? When were these ridiculous videos going to stop? She had thought the only one he had made was the one shown in P.E. but apparently not. "You got detention."

"You screwed up." Steve said in that familiar tone of authority. Emma couldn't believe the irony of this situation. She was complaining about missing Steve earlier and now here he was giving her another one of his famous lectures. If Emma was being completely honest she kind of missed those lectures. She knew it wasn't the same though. Steve usually was pretty pissed at her when he was giving her a lecture and he wasn't nearly this compassionate during those lectures. Emma kind of wished that Coach Wilson wasn't forcing them to watch the video. Seeing Steve and hearing his voice only seemed to make her miss him more. It really and truly hurt.

"You know what you did was wrong. The question is, how are you gonna make things right?" Steve continued to say and Emma could actually feel tears prickling her eyes embarrassingly enough. She clenched her jaw tight as she tried to force the tears away. Emma was not going to cry now in the middle of the classroom with all these people around her. She was stronger than this… she was stronger than her emotions.

"Maybe you were trying to be cool… but take it from a guy who was frozen for sixty five years." And there it was. That did the trick. Emma immediately stiffled a giggle as she hid her mouth behind her hand. She couldn't believe Steve actually said something like that. What a dork. Emma didn't feel quite as sad as she did before. It seemed like Steve still had quite the effect on her even without physically being there. He always seemed to know just the way to cheer her up. Steve knew how to make her laugh and forget all her problems. "The only way to really be cool is to follow the rules."

"Do you want to leave?" Peter whispered and Emma finally tore her eyes away from the tv screen. She saw the desperation and impatience resting in Peter's brown eyes. Emma gave him a surprised look.

"Really? Peter Parker wants to ditch?" Emma asked him and she was also surprised to see that he didn't even glare at her for her teasing comment.

"We've gotta find him, Emma." He told her pointedly and Emma found herself nodding. She was still shocked that goody goody Peter Parker wanted to ditch detention. Okay… maybe she was rubbing off a little too much on him. This was certainly a turn of events.

"Sure. Let's go then." Emma told him and he gave her a quick nod before getting up from his seat as quickly as he could. Emma followed suit but wasn't worried about Coach Wilson stopping them. He didn't seem like the type to actively hunt them down if they left. Coach Wilson barely looked at them as they rushed out of the classroom.

"We all know what's right. We all know what's wrong." Steve said and it was almost like he was trying to give her advice like he normally would do had he been there. Peter and her were already well down the hallway but with her enhanced hearing she could still hear her grandfather's voice. She let Peter walk ahead of her as she hung back a few feet.

"Next time those turkeys try to convince you of something you know is wrong just think to yourself…" Steve's voice echoed and Emma felt a single tear fall down her cheek.

"What would Captain America do?"

* * *

"So this is your room?" Peter asked her as he looked around her bedroom in wonder. They had walked from school to Emma's townhouse in a reasonable amount of time after he had retrieved his web fluid from behind the lockers at school. Emma had already dropped off the Viper Assassin suit that Hydra made for her there too after Peter made the surprisingly smart suggestion to have a suit there just in case. The suit had been mended by Stark over a year ago since she had grown so much since she had last worn the suit.

Peter hadn't known what he expected Emma's room to look like. Maybe he expected it to be dark with pictures of murder and violence which was really stupid now that he thought about it. The walls of her room were adorned with posters from Emma's favorite bands or singers as well as movie posters. Peter also spotted art work that he could only assume was done by Emma's own hand. He knew because his notebook was littered with a ton of Emma's drawings not that he minded. Peter actually thought her artwork was quite beautiful despite the gore of a couple of them. He still couldn't unsee the very detailed drawing of Mr. Stark being eaten alive by a giant snake.

Peter saw a vinyl record player in the corner of her room with a crate full of vinyl records placed next to it. A bookcase was filled to the brim with various different books although most seemed to be classic literature. However, it was all the framed photographs in the room that captured his attention. He saw q picture of a bored looking Emma standing next to Darcy and the Falcon out of his Falcon gear. It was when he saw the picture of Emma and her grandfather that his breath hitched. Peter stared at the picture in bewilderment because he had never seen Emma look as happy as she looked in the picture. Emma was laughing in the picture, her face lit up with happiness as her grandfather grinned at her. Her grandfather must've said something funny to her, Peter observed. He then glanced at another photograph that made him curious. It was a picture of what looked like a wedding. An older looking man was dressed in semi formal clothing as he looked adoringly upon a beautiful younger red headed woman dressed in a simple white dress. The couple looked to be very much in love.

"Obviously." Emma answered his previous question and Peter tore his eyes away from the photograph.

"Are those your parents?" Peter asked curiously as he looked back at the picture. Emma followed his gaze and her expression softened as she looked at her parents.

"Yes." She answered shortly and Peter gave her a kind smile. Peter couldn't say that he saw many similarities between Emma and her mother. He supposed they looked quite similar in the face but Emma seemed to share a lot of her looks with her father and grandfather.

"Your mother was very beautiful." Peter told her softly and Emma allowed herself to give him a small smile. It was true. Her mother _had_ been very beautiful. Emma had distant memories of watching her mother sitting at a vanity, putting on make-up and doing her hair. The memory seemed to be fading these days and Emma was sure it wouldn't be long before she completely forgot the memory.

"Yes, she was. She was very kind too… gentle even." Emma replied, looking far away in her thoughts.

"What happened to them, Emma?" Peter asked her hesitantly, fearing her reaction. "If you don't mind me asking." Emma looked back at her him and sighed. A sad look came over her face as she stared back at him. Peter wanted nothing more to give her a hug or do anything to make her look as happy as she had in that picture with her grandfather. He did no so thing, however, because he knew Emma would probably slap him or worse. She didn't seem to be the overly affectionate type.

"They died." Emma told him honestly as Peter listened intently to her. "They were murdered right in front of me. Hydra wanted me very badly and my parents stood in their way. They fought back but in the end it wasn't enough. I was four." Peter looked at Emma in horror, appalled by what he was hearing. Emma's parents had been murdered in front of her when she was only four? That was the most horrific thing he had ever heard. Peter couldn't even imagine such a thing.

"Oh my god, Emma… I'm so sorry." Peter said sympathetically and Emma just shrugged, trying to appear like their deaths didn't affect her.

"It was a long time ago. I barely remember them anyways." Emma replied and Peter just shook his head as he stared back at her, his warm brown eyes filled with compassion. Emma felt her heart race against her chest at the mere sight of his eyes.

"That doesn't make their loss any less painful." Peter told her seriously. "My parents died too. I was also really young." Emma gave him a curious look at his admission. She figured his parents had probably passed away since he was living with his aunt but she tried not to pry that much. It didn't really have anything to do with him being Spider-Man so she decided it wasn't any of her business. Now, however, Emma couldn't help but be curious about what happened to Peter's parents.

"Really?" She asked him and he nodded.

"It was a plane crash." He admitted quietly and Emma witnessed the sad expression on his face. The warmness in his brown eyes dimmed a bit as he too seemed to become lost in memory. Emma wished that she knew how to comfort him but she just didn't. Comforting someone had never been her strong suit. One time she had seen Pepper bawling her eyes out from something that Tony had done so Emma had quickly stopped and backpedaled out of the room. She didn't know how to comfort people. However, she did happen to know how he felt so she knew the last thing he wanted was to keep talking about it.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Emma told him quietly. She knew that if she could figure out a way to change the subject then at least she could distract him from the thought of his parents. She could distract the both of them from the thoughts of their parents.

"I met with Natasha the other day." Emma told him suddenly which caused Peter to snap out of his thoughts and turn to look at her in confusion. Well, it seemed to have worked somewhat. The sadness quickly faded from his face as a look of confusion replaced it.

"What?" He questioned and Emma took a deep breath. She knew she was risking a lot by telling him that because he could easily go tell Tony what she had done. Tony seemed to be at such a tipping point with her that there was no telling what he would do if he found out.

"Romanoff. I met with her that day we arrived in D.C. I didn't meet with an aunt." Emma confessed. "Some people helped set up the meeting and Stark would probably want their heads if he knew. It's not like Romanoff is a complete war criminal like the others but the government still wants her for questioning."

"So that's where you were." Peter remarked, still bewildered by the fact that Emma had a secret meeting with the Black Widow. "What did you meet about?" Emma just shrugged.

"She just wanted an update on how things were going with me and she gave me an update on how things were going with the others." Emma told him honestly as she sat down on the edge of her bed. She momentarily spared him a glance before looking down at her hands, Peter took that as a hint to sit down next to her. He waited for her to object but she did no such thing. "Don't worry. She wouldn't tell me where they are although I still wouldn't tell you even I knew. You understand that, right?"

"Yes. You just want to protect them. There's nothing wrong with that." Peter replied, a look of complete understanding on his face. "How are they?"

"They sound like they're doing well. Natasha says that Steve misses me though." Emma said quietly and Peter just looked at the girl sitting next to him. The expression on her face was troubled. It was clear that something was immensely bothering her and Peter wished that he knew a way to fix that.

"Do you miss him?" Peter asked her and Emma swallowed before nodding furiously.

"More than I thought I ever could. It just feels like I took him for granted while he was here and now that he's gone I don't really know what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do." Emma confessed and Peter instinctively moved his hand over her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Emma stared at their hands in bewilderment but surprised herself by making no move to remove herself from him right away.

"It's okay to miss him." Peter told her, his voice sounding surprisingly soft. Emma continued to stare at their hands, not knowing how to feel. There it was again… that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sometimes she didn't understand the feeling because it made her feel nervous and Emma hated feeling nervous. She was never nervous so why was she nervous now? Emma quickly disentangled her hand from his which severely disappointed Peter. The blonde became desperate to change the subject from whatever this was. She subsequently reached inside her backpack and pulled an odd looking metal contraption. The disappointment Peter felt was soon forgotten as he became transfixed with the antique contraption.

"He had Natasha give me this." Emma said as she held the contraption in the palm of her hand.

"What is it?" Peter asked her and Emma just gave him that look again. The look that indicated that she thought he was ridiculous.

"It's a compass." She said as if it was obvious. Truth be told, it may have been a little obvious but Peter had grown up in a generation of having a compass on a phone instead of an actual physical one. Emma brushed her fingers across the smooth surface of the compass as she smiled at the tiny object. "It's _his_ compass actually. He showed it to me once before. Steve had it with him through the war and up until now when he decided to give it to me. The compass was actually my great grandfather's originally. He fought during the first world war."

"Really?" Peter asked, completely interested to hear Emma's family history. He was always curious about Emma's past and it was seldom that she talked much about it. Emma nodded solemnly.

"Yes, his name was Joseph. He died during a mustard gas attack before Steve was born." Emma told him as she then opened the compass. Peter stared in wonder as he saw an old picture of a beautiful brunette woman staring back at them.

"Is that your grandmother?" Peter inquired and a small smile graced Emma's face as she nodded again.

"Yes. Steve really loved her." Emma replied quietly. Peter suddenly wondered if good looks were hereditary in her family. Literally every single person in her family was attractive. Peter looked back at her, closely observing her ocean blue eyes, cheekbones, flawless blonde hair, and naturally rosy pink lips. Yup. Attractiveness was definitely hereditary in her family.

"It's a nice compass." Peter told her as he tried to look away from Emma. It was probably for the best that he didn't look directly at her. Peter didn't know how she seemed to have this sort effect on him. She made him incredibly nervous sometimes and that was possibly in a good way. Peter was still debating whether or not that was a good thing. Emma just nodded as she tucked the compass back into her backpack.

"We should probably try to track down Birdman again." Emma said suddenly as she changed the subject once more. Peter widened his eyes as he snapped out of the daze he had been in.

"Yes. Right. Of course." He stammered nervously. Peter then pulled his mask from his backpack and Emma got up from the bed, heading for her closet. He watched her curiously as she dug through her closet, overstuffed with clothes, before pulling out the familiar Viper Assassin mask. Peter didn't say anything as he put his mask on and Emma did the same with her own mask. Emma barely noticed Peter making himself at home and relaxing on her bed as they got to work on tracking down Birdman.

"Hey, McConaughey?" Emma said as the red lenses on her mask came down and she saw the screen of information presented in front of her.

"Yes, Miss Rogers?" McConaughey inquired.

"Do you think you could sync you and Parker's AI system together? That would make this whole thing a lot easier and not to mention faster." Emma suggested.

"Of course. I'm synchronizing to Mr. Parker's suit right now." Emma smiled in satisfaction.

"Thank you, McConaughey." Emma told her AI system before her screen was divided into two sections. One half of her screen showed what her line of vision was while the other side showed Peter's line of vision. She had to admit that was a cool little trick Stark had designed for them.

"Woah! This is awesome." Peter said in awe as he could see Emma's line of sight. "I'm seeing what you're seeing."

"That's kind of the point. We'll be able to hear and see other information our AI systems provide us with too." Emma informed him. Peter nodded solemnly as he got ready to get down to business. Hopefully they'd be able to get some new information on the Vulture to figure out where they could catch him.

"Okay, let's do this." Peter said determinedly. "Hey, Karen. What's up? You there too, McConaughey?"

"Hey, Peter. Hello, Emma. How was your Spanish quiz?" Karen asked, this time addressing Emma as well. Emma curiously listened to a female voice instead of the usual male southern drawl of McConaughey.

"It's a pleasure to be of help to you, Mr. Parker." McConaughey told him. Peter smiled in amusement from the accent before getting to the real issue he and Emma were currently facing.

"Listen, I was wondering if you both could help us." Peter said to both AI systems. "We're trying to figure out who the guys under the bridge were that night but, I mean, I can only remember part of a license plate."

"And I was a little distracted with being dragged through the street like garbage." Emma added as she sent a sharp look in Peter's general direction. It seemed like her and Peter thought alike because she also knew that the only way that they would be able to find that guy is through his band of idiots. If they found one of those idiots then they could find Birdman.

"I can run facial recognition on the footage of that encounter." Karen informed them both.

"Footage?" Peter asked in confusion.

"Yes, Peter." Karen answered. "I record everything you see."

"Everything?" Peter questioned. "All the time?"

"It's called the Baby-Monitor Protocol." Karen told him as footage from both Peter and Emma's past incidents came onto the screen. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, of course it is." Peter said dejectedly as they both continued to stare at the footage. Emma even surprisingly saw some footage from when she was on Coast of Africa during the confrontation with Ultron. She clenched her jaw in anger as she glared at the screen.

"Damn it, Stark." Emma cursed. "You little liar." She remembered previously thinking that Tony wasn't watching anything she did but she was obviously being naïve. Of course he was keeping tabs on her. How could she be so stupid?

"How long has Stark been doing this?" Emma asked McConaughey.

"Mr. Stark installed the Baby-Monitor Protocol for you after the ordeal with the Sokovia Accords." McConaughey told her and Emma sighed tiredly.

"Yeah, just roll it back to last Wednesday." Peter said as he momentarily glanced at Emma and she nodded in agreement. It was hard to believe all that had happened within the past few days. It felt like a lifetime ago when in reality it hadn't even been a week yet. It had only been a week since Emma discovered Peter's other identity yet Emma felt like they had been doing this for far longer.

"With pleasure." Karen and McConaughey replied simultaneously. Footage from Emma talking to Darcy, before she left to go supervise Peter at the party, popped up on screen. Nothing too interesting… well, that was until footage from Peter's suit also popped up on the screen. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she saw footage of Peter looking at himself in a mirror with his mask on. What the hell?

"Hey, everyone. Yeah, kick-ass party. Hey, what's up, Liz?" Peter said in the footage as he gave the mirror what he deemed as a confident, self-assured look. Emma snorted as she tried to maintain her composure. "Peter's told me a lot about you."

"No, no, no." Peter said in embarrassment as he blushed from under his mask. He was even more embarassed to see Emma struggling to maintain her composure as she tried not to laugh. Great. Let's just give her one more reason to think I'm ridiculous, Peter thought to himself. "This is just me messing around."

"That's um… very interesting, Parker." Emma told him as she stiffled a giggle. Peter glared at her before waving his hand dismissively.

"Go later in the day, later in the day." Peter said hurriedly as he tried to get his AI system to show them something actually useful and something that wouldn't embarrass him in front of Emma. A new clip from Peter's footage showed Peter, still standing in front of the mirror, but now holding a meat cleaver in his hand.

"It is I, Thor, son of Odin." Peter proclaimed proudly in a terrible British accent as he waved his meat cleaver around. When he started flexing his muscles Emma busted out laughing, not being able to hold in her laughter anymore. Peter was burning up under his mask at this footage being shown to Emma. Great… the girl he was unwillingly attracted to got to see nearly every part of his life including the most humiliating parts. Why did you do that, Peter? Peter asked himself. Why did you pretend to be Thor?

"No, no, no. That's definitely… no, that's definitely not what we wanted to watch." Peter said and Emma couldn't believe how much of a dork he was. Emma didn't think she'd ever tell him this but she found his dorkiness somewhat endearing. It seemed like she rarely laughed these days but he had actually managed to make her laugh. Even though Peter was embarrassed that Emma had seen that, he couldn't help but smile at the way her laughter seemed to light up her entire face. It was the same musical laughter that he had come to enjoy hearing.

"Your impressions are very funny." Karen told him.

"I agree with Karen." McConaughey added and Peter just face palmed.

"Yeah, I'm with Karen and McConaughey on this one, Parker." Emma told him seriously after she calmed down from her laughing fit. She could actually feel tears in her eyes which surprised her because it had been forever since she had laughed that hard. "You nailed that Thor impression by the way. It was really uncanny." Even though Peter was happy to see her laughing, he still sulked at the fact that he was just humiliated by his own AI system.

"Wanna just fast forward to the arms deal?" Emma asked him once she finally calmed down. It was probably about time to get this show on the road and Emma could tell that Peter would probably gladly change the subject if he could. She then noticed him staring at her. Emma could tell that he was probably glaring at her or giving her a dirty look from under the mask. Without another word Peter quietly got up from the bed.

"Yeah, what she said." Peter told Karen and McConaughey. As soon as he began pacing Emma's bedroom the footage that he and Emma had been searching for appeared right before their eyes. Emma focused her attention on the footage of arms deal. She was hoping that maybe the bearded idiot, who seemed to have gone missing, might have gotten a positive id since last time she checked. When McConaughey ran facial recognition last time nothing came up so Emma was hoping that the bearded idiot's dead body might've shown up somewhere, giving them a positive identification.

"The two on the right, who are they?" Peter asked their AI systems.

"Searching law enforcement databases." Karen said as the AI system started going through law enforcement databases.

"No records found for two of the individuals." Karen then confirmed. Emma was disappointed to see that once again there was no positive id. It seemed like they were out of luck once again.

"Nothing?" Peter questioned and there was a brief pause before McConaughey answered.

"One individual, however, seems to be identified." McConaughey confirmed in his southern drawl. Emma raised her eyebrows as a picture of the small time drug dealer popped up on screen. She had previously dismissed the man as a waste of everyone's time but he could actually be the key in apprehending Birdman.

"Aaron Davis. Age thirty three." Karen informed them. "He has a criminal record and an address here in Queens."

"Let's pay him a visit." Peter stated as he pulled his hood off before glancing over at Emma. "You in?" Emma just gave him a look of disbelief.

"Of course I'm in. Let's go interrogate this guy so we can find Birdman and finally be done with this whole ordeal. I think I've done enough do gooding to last me a life time." Emma told him and Peter couldn't tell whether or not she was joking about the last part. It was so hard to read Emma sometimes.

"Would you like me to activate the Enhanced Interrogation Protocol?" Karen asked Peter as Peter walked back over to his backpack to retrieve his suit.

"Uh… yeah." Peter replied, his tone casual. Emma headed to her closet to retrieve her own suit. It seemed like it was mission time again. Emma had worn the suit more times in the past week than she ever had in the entire time the suit had been in her possession. That was a fact that she wouldn't soon forget.

"What about you, Miss Rogers?" McConaughey asked her. "Would you like me to activate the Enhanced Interrogation Protocol as well?" Emma scoffed at McConaughey's ridiculous question.

"Thanks but no thanks, McConaughey. I've been interrogating people long before Stark installed a fancy protocol in my suit. I think I'll survive." Emma told the AI system and Peter glanced at her curiously. There it was again. Another glimpse into her time at Hydra. It seemed that he was only getting fragments of the story of her past. Peter realized the story of Emma's past was something like a puzzle that he had to put together. He had a few pieces of that puzzle so far but he knew it would be a long time before he could have all the pieces of the puzzle.

And Emma Rogers would truly be a tough puzzle to solve at that.


	41. Chapter Forty: Part I

**Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter was originally going to include the whole Ferry Fight part of Homecoming but I'm dividing it into two parts since it would've been like 16,000-17,000 words long which is way too long. I'll probably have part II of the chapter out tomorrow but just this for now. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter by the way.**

 **JokeLover123: Natasha actually did tell Emma about Bucky being in the Cyro-Chamber when they had their meeting in D.C. She said something like "I wasn't suppose to tell you this but Bucky's in the Cyro-Chamber". Emma got really upset about it as expected so she does know about it. No worries though. Bucky being in the Cyro-Chamber is definitely going to be something that haunts Emma so it will definitely come up again soon.**

 **Krakengirl: Emma and Tony's relationship will eventually improve. There's going to be another row between them in the next chapter but I think their relationship will definitely improve after the events of Homecoming. Peter might really help with that too.**

 **So sorry for not answering every single review but it's late and I just want the next chapter to be out there. I really do appreciate all the reviews so thank you so much. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Emma and Peter managed to locate Aaron Davis to a parking garage in Queens and after locating the small time drug dealer, they both decided to change and get ready for a confrontation with the man. Once they were fully geared up in their respective suits Emma and Peter devised a plan on how to get information from the drug dealer. It wasn't anything original but more of the traditional "Good Cop, Bad Cop" routine. Peter made Emma promise not to kill the man and she reluctantly made the promise. Emma still couldn't believe that Peter was actually using the Enhanced Interrogation Protocol. He sounded completely ridiculous to her. Maybe if he looked more like Batman with the Enhanced Interrogation Protocol she might take him more seriously but it seemed kind of ridiculous when he was wearing a bright red and blue suit. She was amused that he was trying so hard to be intimidating but it was just impossible to find Peter intimidating. Emma thought he was cute for trying so hard though. Cute… that was a word she had always hated to use but Emma was starting to make an exception when Peter was involved.

The plan was for Peter to approach the drug dealer first when he started walking to his car and once Peter had him distracted Emma would make her entrance and surprise him. Hopefully by seeing the both of them the drug dealer would become intimidated enough to just give out all the information he had. If not then Emma had some other back-up tactics she could use. None that involved his death of course but Emma needed to have a back-up plan just in case this one didn't work. Peter wasn't scary enough to spook even a amateur drug dealer. It was okay that he wasn't scary because Peter didn't need to be scary in the long run. Emma was clearly going to be the scary one in this partnership and that was all they needed. Peter didn't need to be scary because, even though it was hard for her to admit, Peter was a lot stronger than her. Not to mention he had the web shooters and may have even been just a tiny bit more agile than her. Emma guessed that they balanced each other out in those ways which was nice.

Emma was currently hiding behind a cement pillar in the parking garage as she waited for her signal. It turned out that Peter's suit wasn't the only one that had a mini drone. Apparently Stark had equipped her suit with it's own little drone which was the weirdest drone she had ever seen. The drone was in the form of a small snake and latched itself off her suit, slithering over to Aaron Davis's car. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust as she watched the drone slither because, ironically enough, Emma hated snakes. The way they slithered and looked around at the world with that dead stare in their eyes creeped her out. Emma had even killed many snakes when she was in the Amazon and they had been everywhere down there. It was just another reason to hate the Amazon. She also thought her dislike of snakes had to do with what happened in the tank when she received the injections. As a child she had thought the tubing that went into her arms, when she received the injections, looked like snakes so when she had nightmares the tubing was replaced by actual snakes biting into her flesh. Emma still had that nightmare from time to time but every time she saw a snake she felt the familiar wave of disgust and fear wash over her. It really was ironic that she was the Viper Assassin when she hated snakes.

Emma peeked around the pillar and watched as Peter landed on the ground from the ceiling without even making a sound. She was actually a bit impressed that he had been able to do that. Emma could see that she had severely underestimated him. Peter immediately stood up from his crouched position and held out in his wrist in the drug dealer's direction as the man in question was putting groceries into the trunk of his car. Without hesitation Peter shot his webbing at the felon, the webbing immediately gluing the man's hand to the trunk of the car. The man looked around in confusion as Peter stalked towards the man. Not bad at all, Emma thought to herself. He had some real potential.

"Remember me?" Peter asked in his distorted voice. Emma sighed heavily as she heard the ridiculous sounding distortion in his voice. Okay… she kind of took that back. That Enhanced Interrogation Protocol was the most stupid thing Emma had ever heard and she definitely didn't think it would win Peter any favors either. The drug dealer looked surprised at Peter being there as he stumbled back a bit.

"I need information." Peter said in a demanding tone. "You're going to give it to me _now_." Emma wasn't going to lie. Peter was kind of hot when he was being authoritative and demanding like that. She wasn't saying she was into him or anything but he was really starting to look more attractive to her in that moment.

"All right, chill." The man told him.

"Come on!" Peter continued to demand, trying to seem imposing to the small time drug dealer. The man then gave Peter a confused look as he stared at him.

"What happened to your voice?" He asked him, his voice sounding bewildered. Peter gave the man a confused look from under his mask, not taking his meaning.

"What do you mean "what happened to my voice?" Peter shot back.

"I heard you on the bridge." Aaron Davis told him. "I know what a girl sounds like." Emma smirked as she tried not to laugh. This was definitely going to piss Peter off. Emma was going to love this. She loved it whenever Peter got all angry and frustrated.

"I'm not a girl. I'm a boy. I mean, I'm a-I'm a man." Peter told him, sounding very flustered.

"I don't care what you are, a boy, a girl-" Aaron told him as he continued loading his groceries into the car. Emma watched him carefully, making sure that he didn't have a weapon he was hiding but was relieved to see that he didn't. If Peter was more experienced with this than he would've made sure too. Emma would just have to remind herself to inform Peter to be more careful later on.

"I'm not a girl. I'm a man. Come on, man." Peter insisted, obviously frustrated with the man. "Look, who is selling these weapons? I need to know. Give me names or else." The man narrowed his eyes as he slammed the trunk door of his car. Peter jumped back from the noise in surprise, not as used to aggression or hostile behavior. Emma stiffened as she prepared to jump in whenever it was necessary for her to do so.

"You ain't ever done this before, huh?" Aaron asked him, somewhat amused.

"Deactivate interrogation mode." Peter told Karen, sounding dejected before speaking in his regular voice. "Look, man. These guys are selling weapons that are crazy dangerous. They can't be out on the streets. Look, if one of them can cut Delmar's Bodega in half imagine-"

"You know Delmar's?" Aaron interrupted as he looked at Peter in surprise.

"Yeah, best sandwich in Queens." Peter told him and Aaron gave him a doubtful look.

"Sub Haven's pretty good." He replied and Peter shrugged.

"It's too much bread." Peter said in response and Emma rolled her eyes. Was part of his plan to just sit around and bullshit with this guy all day? They needed the information and they needed it now.

"I like bread." Aaron said, sounding slightly offended by Peter's disapproval of the sandwich shop. Peter just sighed as he tried once more extracting the information from this guy.

"Come on, man, please." Peter begged. Begging? Was he was actually begging that idiot? Peter then started to leave when Aaron didn't say anything. Emma gritted her teeth as she mentally prepared herself for a confrontation with this idiot. She took her gun out of her holster as she maintained a stoic expression on her face before quietly stalking over to the drug dealer from behind. "Stupid Interrogation Mode. Karen, don't ever do that again."

Aaron Davis watched Spider-Man walk away, feeling very conflicted about whether or not he should say anything when he felt something at the temple of his head and heard the distinct sound of a gun cocking. His eyes widened in surprise and fear as he allowed his eyes to drift over to the right side of him only to be met with the sight of the notorious Viper Assassin. Emma glared at the man who was only a couple inches taller than her. Aaron raised the hand, that wasn't glued to his trunk door, up defensively.

"Don't move." She told him, her voice cold and chilling. Every instinct Aaron had was telling him to listen to her because her voice sounded absolutely dangerous. Peter immediately whipped around when he heard Emma's voice, the lenses of his mask widening when he saw the gun she had pointed at Aaron's head.

"Viper?!" Peter exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing?!" Emma barely spared him a glance as she continued glaring at Aaron.

"I'm extracting the information. You know... our mission." Emma snapped at him as she maintained focus on a wide eyed Aaron Davis.

"Look, I don't want any trouble." Aaron told her nervously, not seeming as confident as he had with Spider-Man. Emma gave him a doubtful look.

"Don't you?" She questioned sarcastically and he shook his head furiously.

"No." He replied and Emma scoffed.

"Well, it didn't seem that way a moment ago when you refused to give my friend over there the information he needed." Emma said venomously. "You stood there and bullshited him for five minutes."

"He's just a kid." Aaron said as he laughed nervously. Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"So you just wasted our time instead." Emma spat as she became more and more hostile with the felon. Hostility was the best tactic. You had to talk to these kinds of people in a language only they would understand. Criminals didn't respond to anything other than hostility. "You know, Mr. Davis, I hate it when people waste my time. My time is very precious to me so you can imagine how annoyed I am right now."

"I didn't mean to waste your time. I'm sorry." Aaron told her as a fearful look entered his eyes. Emma responded by pressing the gun more tightly against his temple which caused him to start to tremble.

"Don't apologize to me." Emma hissed angrily, her tone becoming even more dangerous than before. "Apologizing is a sign of weakness. Are you weak, Mr. Davis?"

"No." Aaron told her as he furiously shook his head.

"No, who? Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Emma asked him and he gulped.

"No, Ma'am?" Aaron said although it sounded more like a question. Emma's smirk signaled to Aaron that he had gotten it right however.

"Now... you're going to tell my friend and I everything you know about the man with the wings and those dangerous weapons he has." Emma told him, her tone cold and demanding. Peter could only watch Emma in fascination as she interrogated the man. This was a much different Emma than the one he had just had a vulnerable moment with back in her room. Peter wasn't even being interrogated by her and yet even he was a little bit scared of her. She just acted so cold and calculating. Peter, however, knew it was all an act. He was starting to think that the cold and calculating part of her was the Viper Assassin but the real Emma was the one he had talked to in her bedroom. There was a difference.

"What do I get out of it?" Aaron asked, getting a little too confident and the smirk dropped off Emma's face, replaced by an emotionless demeanor.

"Wrong answer." Emma told him before rearing the gun back and pistol whipping him across the face with just enough force that it caused his nose to bleed but not for him to get knocked out cold. Peter's eyes widened in surprise when he witnessed the action.

"Viper!" Peter exclaimed and Emma looked at him as though she didn't know why he looked so shocked. She then returned her attention to Aaron who was holding his nose in pain with his hand. Emma put her gun in her holster since she didn't think he would pose much of a problem to her.

"Ow!" Aaron said as he groaned in pain. He slightly glared at the Viper Assassin as she stood there looking at him with a stoic expression. "That hurt."

"I don't like being made a fool of, Mr. Davis." Emma told him as if that explained everything.

"Sorry. I didn't think you were being one hundred percent serious." Aaron told her and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"And now?" She inquired. Aaron then turned his head to look back at Spider-Man.

"Your girlfriend's crazy. Learn to control your woman, man, because this shit must be what it's like when you forget your anniversary." He told Peter and Emma immediately glared at him. He raised his hand up defensively again. "Sorry… I was kidding. Just a little humor to lighten the mood."

"Are you going to tell us the information or are you just going to continue to waste our time?" Emma asked him, her tone cold and icy again. Aaron sighed as he held his hand up to his nose again to stop the bleeding.

"Look, I was kind of messing around with you guys but in all seriousness I think I do want to help." Aaron admitted and Peter looked up in interest at him as Aaron glanced at him again. "The other night, you told that dude, "If you're going to shoot somebody, shoot me." That's pretty ballsy." Aaron paused briefly before continuing, it was clear that he had both Emma and Peter's full attention as he decided to cooperate with them.

"I don't want those weapons in this neighborhood." Aaron told them both honestly. "I got a nephew who lives here."

"Who are these guys? What can you tell me about the guy with the wings?" Peter asked him and Aaron shrugged.

"Other than he's a psychopath dressed like a demon… nothing. I don't know who he is or where he is." Aaron replied and Emma rolled her eyes. Great, what a load of help this guy turned out to be. He better not be wasting their time again. Even Peter seemed a bit dejected as he leaned against the car and sighed. Emma watched Aaron as he looked to be deep in thought about something. Wait… maybe he did know something.

"I do know where he's going to be." Aaron told them after recalling something. Peter stood back up from the car, seemingly more excited.

"Really?" He asked excitedly and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. God, he was acting like his aunt told him he was going to Disneyland. Maybe he should just turn it down a few notches and act slightly more professional about this. No wonder Aaron hadn't taken them seriously at first.

"Yeah, this crazy dude I used to work with… he's supposed to be doing a deal with him." Aaron told them.

"Yes! Yes." Peter exclaimed, his voice full of happiness as he jumped up and down. God, this was embarrassing, Emma thought to herself. She then stared at him in shock as he began walking away. What the hell?

"Where the hell are you going, Spider-Twerp?" Emma demanded. She seriously wondered what went through his mind sometimes. There were a lot of times that she just couldn't seem to understand him.

"Hey. Hey. Hey." Aaron called out and Peter immediately turned around. "I didn't tell you where. You don't have a location." Peter nodded in realization as he immediately ran back over to Aaron and Emma. Emma noticed that he was practically skipping.

"Right, of course." Peter said apologetically. "Yeah, my bad. Silly. Just… yeah. Where is it?"

"Can I give you some advice?" Aaron told Peter as he gave the hero an odd look and Peter nodded. "You got to get better at this part of the job. Maybe follow your girl's lead a little more because she has it down. Seriously though. She's downright terrifying."

"I'm no one's girl." Emma told him seethingly as she narrowed her eyes at him. Aaron gulped again once he head the coldness in her voice. Peter just blushed at Emma being referred to as "His girl". Thank god he was wearing the mask otherwise Emma would see how much he was blushing at that statement.

"See! That's what I mean. Terrifying." Aaron said as he looked between the two heroes who were obviously polar opposites before resting his gaze on Emma. "You just gotta teach this guy a few of your moves. It might save you a little time even though the good cop, bad cop routine isn't that bad."

"It's still a work in progress." Emma told him casually.

"Well, try to help him more because he's unbelievably bad at this part of the job." Aaron told her and Peter didn't like how they were talking about him like he wasn't there. Peter just shook his head as he leaned against the car and tried to look cool.

"I don't understand." Peter said before he crossed his arms. "I'm intimidating." Emma tried not to find his efforts adorable whenever he tried to be scary or intimidating. He just didn't really seem to have it in him. She also tried to ignore how her heart raced a little more when he acted like that.

"Staten Island Ferry. Eleven." Aaron finally told them and Emma was just glad that he finally told them the information. It's not like they wasted a ton of time trying to get that out of him. She meant that sarcastically of course.

"Oh, that's soon." Peter replied before pointing at the webbing. "Hey, that's gonna dissolve in two hours." Peter said he began to walk away and Emma immediately followed suit.

"No, no, no. Come fix this." Aaron told them.

"Two hours. You deserve that." Peter told him and Emma smirked. Maybe Peter _was_ a little evil. That was definitely something she could work with.

"I got ice cream in here, man." Aaron complained before giving Emma a hopeful look. "Tell your boyfriend to get me out of this!" Instead of denying the boyfriend remark, Emma just smirked evilly at the man.

"He's the nice one. Not me. Bad cop, remember?" Emma told him before she and Peter broke into a jog as they started to leave the parking garage.

"You deserve that. You're a criminal. Bye, Mr. Criminal." Peter called back to him as he and Emma ran further and further away. Emma glanced over at him as they were running, feeling a bit more optimistic after extracting the information from Aaron.

"That was fun." Emma commented and Peter shot her a bewildered look.

"Fun?!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "You threatened him with a gun."

"I wasn't really going to shoot him." Emma replied nonchalantly as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, you still hit him in the face with the gun." Peter told her but Emma didn't seem that fazed.

"He's got a mouth on him. He deserved that and you're not innocent either, Parker. That was kind of evil what you did back there." Emma told him, referring to Peter leaving the guy glued to the trunk of his car.

"He's a criminal." Peter reluctantly admitted as he decided not to speak anymore on the matter. Emma smirked at him as they continued to run through the parking garage.

"I'm not judging. I actually thought it was kind of hot." Emma told him and Peter looked back at her in shock, thinking that he may have misheard her.

"What?" Emma just continued to smirk at him, knowing that she was really getting under his skin. He was cute when he got all flustered. Emma just wished he didn't have the mask on so she could see him blush.

"Yeah, it was kind of a turn on. Evil Peter really does it for me." Her tone was low and suggestive as she teased him. Peter started feeling really hot in the face from under his mask. Emma was clearly insane. He really couldn't believe she just said that… Well, he couldn't believe Emma said a lot of things but this really took the cake. When she said things like that his heart pounded against his chest and he didn't know what to do with himself. Emma really frustrated him in that sense especially because he knew she was only teasing him and probably didn't mean any of that. Peter just groaned in annoyance as he spared her a quick glare.

"Don't say another word."

* * *

The two heroes managed to make it to the ferry just as the ferry was leaving, now focused on the task at hand. All they needed to worry about now was finding that winged idiot and stopping him from selling anymore weapons. The only downside was that there was a lot of civilians on the ferry which made Emma uncomfortable. They would surely get in the way of her and Peter's mission. Emma would have to make more of an effort ensure there were no civilian casualties as they apprehended Birdman. Guys like Birdman tended to want to bring other people down with them and she couldn't let that happen.

Peter sent his drone off to try and see if it could find any suspicious characters on the ferry. Emma was comfortable enough with Peter's drone that she didn't see any need to send her own drone over there. That and she really hated watching that thing slither around. It grossed her more than she could ever tell you. Emma took her attention away from the drone and then rested her gaze on the civilians in the ferry. All of the people on the ferry looked pretty normal but Emma knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving.

"Okay, Karen." Emma heard Peter say to the AI system as they peeked through the window of the ferry. "Activate Enhanced Reconnaissance Mode."

Emma looked at the readings on her screen as the camera in her lenses zoomed in on a familiar face. Facial recognition immediately matched it to the guy she and Peter had seen that night under the bridge as well as at school. Her hearing immediately picked up on his voice as he talked to a man sitting behind him. It was obvious that he was keeping his meeting with the man discreet. Emma narrowed her eyes as she looked at the man sitting behind him. He was an older man who was slightly balding but she didn't have a good at his face from where she and Peter were positioned.

"He's up front. Main deck." The older man told the idiot.

"I hate this guy." The idiot mumbled.

"That's the guy from the bridge, right?" Peter asked Emma quietly and she slowly nodded as she rested her eyes on the two men in the main cabin of the ferry. "Who's that other guy?"

"I don't know but I have a feeling that he might be the one we're looking for." Emma told Peter as she looked at the older man suspiciously. Peter spared her a single glance before returning his gaze to the pair they were watching.

"Just keep me posted." The older man told the idiot as the idiot got up from the seat and quietly walked away without another word.

"There's no record of him in my criminal database." McConaughey told Emma as he tried to get a positive identification. That was disappointing information yet not that surprising. This guy had to be good if he hadn't managed to ever be caught. He managed to keep law enforcement off his trail this long but Emma was about to change that. This guy was good but he wasn't that good. He was going to be a challenge to back up into a corner but Emma thrived on challenges. Challenging missions were her favorite kind of missions. That assassin she managed to terminate in Tokyo was challenging to catch but she still did it. This old man would be no different.

Emma watched as the caller id of Peter's aunt showed up on part of her screen seeing as her and Peter's suits were still in sync. Truthfully, her and Peter were probably in a lot of trouble back at school since they basically just walked out of detention. Emma had even been receiving several texts from Darcy asking her what was going on. Jane had also left a number of angry voice messages as well which Emma ignored. She was too busy to be dealing with Jane's annoying personality right now.

"Incoming call from May Parker. Should I reroute to your head's up display?" Karen asked Peter.

"I can't talk right now. I'll call her back." Peter said hurriedly as he kept his eyes on the mysterious man inside the ferry. Peter's drone then crawled up the side of his head before taking flight and hovering above them. Emma wasn't so sure she liked that thing either. Stark's little gadgets kind of overwhelmed her from time to time. She was much more comfortable with just relying on her hand to hand combat skills, gun, and her own instincts although she couldn't deny the usefulness of McConaughey. McConaughey definitely made getting information a lot easier.

"Hey, Droney, keep an eye on that guy." Emma raised an eyebrow at him. Did he seriously name that thing? "We can't let anybody get away this time."

"Let's head up to a higher vantage point so we can get a good view of the main deck." Emma told Peter, keeping her game face on as she normally did whenever she was on a mission. "We need to remain discreet until we can get a better picture of the situation. We'll have the advantage if we can manage to surprise them."

"Agreed. Let's go." Peter replied after giving Emma a quick nod. He began to climb the side of the ferry as Emma swiftly flew up to the top of ferry before landing on a ledge. Peter met her up there in no time. He remained in a crouched position as he stayed out of the sight and Emma laid on her stomach as she spied on the activity on the main deck of the ferry. Emma spotted a couple suspicious looking individuals loitering around the main deck. She narrowed her eyes at the suspicious characters.

"Who's the guy on the left?" Peter asked Karen as both his and Emma's lenses zoomed in on the man's face. Emma watched as McConaughey went through the criminal database and several bits and pieces of information popped up on the screen about the man.

"Mac Gargan." McConaughey told Emma. " He has an extensive criminal record including homicide." Emma snorted. A real upstanding guy. This must be the crazy guy Aaron Davis mentioned working with. She was honestly surprised that Birdman was selling the weapons to these lowlife scumbags rather than Hydra. It wasn't like she wanted Hydra to have the weapons because that's why she was there with Peter right in that moment but from a logical point of view she just didn't understand it. He could be making so much more money selling weapons to people with huge pocket books. Maybe he wasn't as smart as she originally thought.

"Would you like me and McConaughey to activate Instant Kill for you and Emma?" Karen asked Peter which completely unnerved him as usual.

"No, Karen, stop it with the Instant Kill, already." Peter told the AI system and Emma pretended to pout.

"Come on, Peter. Live a little. It's not like he's a good person anyways. No one would even miss him." Emma said although she didn't think she meant any of it. She was only teasing Peter who glared at her from under his mask.

"No one's going to die." He told her sternly and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, we'll just do this the boring way." Emma replied, sounding a bit dejected but Emma didn't think she minded doing this the hard way. Killing these idiots was the easy way out. Capturing them was more challenging and Emma had already said before that she thrived on challenges. The smirk fell off her face when she spotted Birdman's idiot walk onto the main deck.

"White pick-up truck." He said shortly to the two men and the one named Mac Gargan nodded to his companion. Emma narrowed her eyes at them again as Gargan's companion walked silently towards where all the other cars were parked.

"Droney, scan the ship for a white pick-up truck." Peter told his drone as it flew off in the opposite direction. Emma watched silently as the camera feed from Peter's drone popped up on her screen. The drone's camera feed paused on a white pick-up truck that the companion of Gargan was approaching. She spotted a man, with a baseball cap on, exit the driver's side of the truck before leading Gargan's companion to the bed of the truck. Emma clenched her jaw when she saw all the weapons in the bed of the guy's truck.

"This is too perfect." Peter said to her as they watched the men engage in another weapon's deal. "They got the weapons, the buyers, and the sellers all in one place."

"Don't get too cocky." Emma told him quietly as her eyes remained glued to the men. "We need to test the terrain." Before Peter could respond to Emma's statement, however, a new caller id appeared on his screen. Mr. Stark.

"Incoming call from Tony Stark." Emma sighed as she heard Karen. Was yesterday not enough? It seemed like the universe loved torturing her with Stark's lovely presence. Emma was just glad that Stark would only see Peter and not herself. Still… she'd probably have to listen to his annoying voice again. Emma didn't understand how Peter looked up to that idiot so much.

"No, no, no. Don't-" Peter was then interrupted by the call connecting to Stark. Emma smiled a little at his discomfort but continued to stare at the men on the main deck. Stark could really not call at a worse time.

"Mr. Parker." Emma heard Stark say as the call connected. "Got a sec?"

"Uh…" Peter stammered nervously as he tried to figure out a way to excuse himself from having to talk to his mentor. "I'm actually at school."

"No you're not." Karen told him but Peter ignored her.

"Nice work in D.C." Tony complimented but Peter was a little distracted by the situation to pay much attention to the compliment. "You and Mini Cap did a great job."

"Okay." Peter said distractedly.

"My dad never really gave me a lot of support and I'm just, uh, trying to break the cycle of shame." Tony continued to say and Emma rolled her eyes. Great, it's always the daddy issues with this guy. Tony was nearing fifty now. Couldn't he just get over those daddy issues? Emma's dad was murdered in front of her and you didn't see her bringing it up to whoever would listen.

"Uh, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now." Peter told him and Emma wished that he would just end the call instead of playing this game. Stark wasn't really their priority right now since they had much more important things to deal with rather than trying to not piss off Stark. Emma really didn't have much concern for hurting Stark's feelings… obviously.

"Don't cut me off when I'm complimenting you." Tony said, his voice kind of annoyed. Emma kind of understood why since it wasn't often that Stark complimented people. It's what earned him the title of being one of the most entitled assholes in the world.

"Anyway… Great things are about to happen-" Tony continued before he was interrupted by Ferry's horn. "What was that?"

"Uh, I'm at band practice." Peter replied nervously. God, he was such a bad liar.

"Nice save, Parker." Emma quipped and Peter immediately glared at her.

"That's odd. Happy told me you quit band six weeks ago. And was that Mini Cap I heard?" Tony asked suspiciously. Great. Now Stark knew that they were definitely up to something. In all honestly she probably shouldn't have said anything but she just couldn't resist making a snide comment. "What's up?"

"I gotta go. End call!" Peter ordered.

"Hey." Tony said, sounding unbelievably pissed just when Karen ended the call. Yeah, he definitely knew something was up. Not even Stark was that stupid.

"You probably should've ended the call from the get go." Emma told Peter and he just shook his head at her.

"Well, you shouldn't have said anything." He shot back. Emma raised an eyebrow as she gave him a doubtful look.

"Don't blame me, Parker. You're an unbelievably terrible liar." Peter was about to respond when Karen zoomed in on a set of keys Birdman's idiot was holding in his hand. It was obvious he was about to hand the truck with the weapons over to Gargan. Peter glanced over at Emma and she just stared back, a focus and determined look in her eyes as she nodded at him. It was time to get this thing over with.

"I'll take those!" Peter yelled as he shot some of his webbing towards the men, yanking the keys out of the idiot's grasp and retrieving them. Peter and Emma then both leapt down from their vantage point, landing on the main deck right in front of the group of men. Emma glared at them, her hand resting above her gun holster but she knew that Peter wouldn't like it if she used it. No, she could probably rely on her hand to hand combat in this case as much as the gun probably would've ended this a lot quicker. It was weird relying on her hand to hand combat before an actual weapon. She guessed that was what set this apart from Hydra.

"Hey guys, the illegal weapons ferry left at 10:30. You missed it." Peter said as he tauntingly dangled the keys in front of them. Emma watched as two of them pulled out guns and she didn't hesitate in fully charging at one of the men, using her ability of flight in the process.

The guy watched Emma in shock and probably forgot he even had a gun in his hand as she ambushed him, landing a forceful punch to his stomach. The man flew back from the impact and landed on the ground harshly. He groaned in pain as Emma stalked over to him and stood above him when she approached the criminal. She immediately rested her foot against his wrist and easily applied a bit of pressure, not releasing her foot until she heard a sickening crack. He cried out in pain as Emma bent down and snatched the gun from his hand before chucking it into the ocean. The man pathetically cried as he clutched his wrist to his chest and Emma landed a kick to his face, immediately knocking him out cold. It was enough to knock him out but not enough to kill him. She figured Peter would be pretty pissed at her if she killed anyone today.

Emma then took a good look at Gargan who was still standing there in shock, watching the Viper Assassin take out one of his men. And this guy was supposed to be a criminal mastermind? Yeah, right. This guy could clearly not think on his feet and that would be his greatest disadvantage. He then seemed to get over his shock as he glared at Emma, cursing at her loudly before charging at her. Emma narrowed her eyes at him as she waited for him to come near her.

"McConaughey, dispense the Viper Bite." Emma told him as she held out her wrist in preparation.

"Of course, Miss Rogers." McConaughey replied. When Gargan got within range of her the Viper Bite immediately dispensed from her suit, the green colored gas enveloping the air around him. Emma watched curiously as Gargan's eyes began to roll back into his head the instant he inhaled the green gas. Gargan immediately staggered around until his eyes closed and he fell back against the pavement, his head hitting the ground hard. Well, he was going to have an outstanding headache when he woke up.

Emma turned around and noticed that Peter had managed to throw a couple of the thugs back a ways with his webbing but that wasn't his current problem. Birdman's idiot, the same one with one of the alien weapons was currently attacking Peter with his high tech weapon. That wasn't going to be good for any of them since Emma doubted that the guy even knew how to use that thing. She watched as the idiot managed to get the weapon on his arm stuck through one of the gates on the deck. Was he really going to make it that easy for them?

It was then that a couple of the other idiots decided to make another move and sneak up on Emma and Peter. Apparently they hadn't realized that Emma and Peter could hear every move they made. Fighting these morons was only a little too easy for Emma. She was trained to fight individuals who were a lot more trained than a few low life scumbags. These idiots were in no way a match for Emma and Peter.

"Woah, woah. Not so fast." Peter said he turned around and shot some more of his webbing at the two thugs before flinging them to the other side of the deck. They groaned in pain as they landed on the hard ground. It was like these guys enjoyed getting the shit knocked out of them, Emma observed as she watched the idiots with a hand resting on her hip. She barely even deemed these guys a threat to her and Peter.

"Are you guys okay?" Peter quipped. "My bad. That was a little hard." Peter and Emma then turned their attention back to the man who still had his arm stuck in the fence.

"I gotta say the other guy was way better with that thing." Peter told the man snarkily as he refilled his web shooter. "I'm honestly shocked."

"Yeah, what ever happened to that buddy of yours?" Emma asked as she sneered at the man. "Did boss man kill him for messing up the job? I guess we know who's next on his hit list." The man glared hatefully at Emma but she only smirked at him, giving him a condescending look. Emma heard another idiot running towards him but she left it to Peter. Peter didn't even look behind himself as he shot the moron with his web shooter. The guy hit the wall harshly and remained glued there with the webbing. Emma knew what _that_ felt like.

Emma started hearing the distinct sound of a struggle from the other end of the deck and immediately turned to look between all the cars. She saw the same old man from before knocking the shit out of one of Gargan's men. Gargan's companion dropped to the ground as the old man looked at Emma and Peter. Emma stared back, not intimidated in the least bit. This just had to be the guy… there was no doubt in her mind that this was the guy they were looking for. Emma and Peter exchanged a look and she gave him a quick nod, signaling they should ambush the guy. They were about to break into a run when they were stopped from doing so.

"Freeze FBI!" Someone yelled out as a bunch of men popped out from a higher deck with their guns pointed at Emma and Peter. They also came out of one of the doors on the deck with their guns pointed at the pair. Emma narrowed her eyes at the group of agents. She really hated it when people pointed guns at her. "Get down on the ground!"

"Wait! What do you mean FBI?!" Peter exclaimed as he raised his hands defensively. Emma didn't do anything as she stared at the group of men with a bored expression even though she was really pissed inside. This was so frustrating. They almost had that idiot yet these morons just had to step in and ruin everything. Stay calm, she told herself as she tried to maintain her composure. Don't get mad. These men are just trying to do their jobs even though they suck at it. Just do what Sam always says and take deep, calming breaths.

"The FBI is the federal bureau-" Karen began to say before Peter interrupted her.

"I know what the FBI means but what are they doing here?" Peter asked the AI system.

"Ma'am, get down on the ground this instant!" One of the FBI agents told her and Emma gave him a cold look.

"No." She told him shortly, her tone icy and dangerous. The FBI agent gulped as he saw the look the Viper Assassin graced him with. Her reputation was near legendary amongst all the federal agencies. Before the FBI agent could respond, however, the sound of something tearing through metal echoed through the main deck. Emma looked past the agents only to see Birdman's wing popping out from the side of the van. This was what they were trying to avoid.

The FBI had terrible timing.

The agents immediately pointed their guns in the opposite direction as Birdman came out of the white van, his green eyes glowing through the darkness of the main deck. He quickly began to fly his way over to them with one of the alien weapons in his hands. One of the FBI agents thought it would be a good idea for him to shoot at Birdman, probably not realizing that Birdman's suit was most likely bullet proof. His gun shots wouldn't even make a difference.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Peter called out them but the ignorant agents were ignoring him. As per fucking usual, Emma thought to herself. Birdman shooting his alien weapon was finally what it took for the agents to quickly get out of the way. Emma narrowly missed the flash of purple as she stood next to the agent who tried ordering her around before.

"Look out!" Peter yelled as Birdman decided to pick up a car to throw at them. Emma groaning, not believing she was actually going to do this, and grabbed the agent before flying to the over side of the deck with Peter and the others. She unceremoniously dropped the man on the ground before landing next to him. Peter had also managed to toss one of the men to her side of the deck but was slightly hit by the flying car, sending him sliding across the deck. She'd ask if he was okay but she figured he could probably handle himself. It wasn't like he was Clint or anything. Peter was enhanced after all. The car then slid off the ferry and into the water as Birdman flew into the air, aiming his weapon towards Emma and Peter. He immediately shot the weapon at the fence that the idiot had been stuck in, releasing the idiot from it's hold.

"Get to the top deck. We're getting out of here!" Birdman told the idiot. The man then began to run from the fence and Peter tried shooting his webbing at the man but the webbing was severed by another blast from Birdman's weapon. Emma watched as the man escaped through the door on the other side of the deck. Well, that was nice. The little weasel seemed to have escaped yet again which only served to piss Emma off even more. A pissed off Emma was never a good thing either.

Peter immediately shot his webbing at Birdman's foot and then began to attempt to pull him back down to the ground as if he were flying a sort of kite. The man fought against Peter's strength as he was locked inside of something that resembled a tug-o-war between himself and Peter. Emma then wrapped her arms around Peter's mid-section from behind and she could immediately feel him tense up.

"What are you doing?!" He exclaimed, feeling slightly panicked by having Emma pressed this close against him. Emma rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"Relax, Spider-Twerp. I'm trying to help you! Now just shut up and pull!" Emma yelled at him as she tried flying them backwards so that they could bring Birdman closer to the ground. Even with both Peter and her strength combined it was still a great effort to bring Birdman back to the ground as they worked against the propellers in his wings. Even so… it seemed like they were making some progress since he started getting lower and lower to the ground. This seemed to panic Birdman, however, as he immediately pointed the weapon at the FBI agents shooting at him from the top deck. Birdman shot the weapon and a bright beam of purple sliced through the top deck, the men narrowly escaping it's powerful blast. After he shot the weapon at them, he shot it again towards the deck where all the passengers were situated. Emma gritted her teeth. This asshole just didn't want to go down, did he?

"Let go and get out of the way." Peter told her quietly. "I'm going to attach the webbing to that car behind us. This isn't working." Emma immediately nodded and let go of him, flying herself out of the way. Peter pointed his web shooter towards the car and shot the webbing at it. He then tied the other rope of webbing to the new one before letting go, doing a back flip and landing on the car. The car was pulled forward, stopping as it hit one of the metal pillars, and holding Birdman in place. Birdman shot his weapon at Peter again and Peter leapt up to one of the higher decks to dodge it.

The webslinger shot another one his webs at Birdman just as Emma took notice of the fire extinguisher positioned on the wall. She gave the fire extinguisher a determined look as she ripped it from the wall, taking it for herself. Emma then faced the direction Birdman was in again before rearing her her arm back and throwing the fire extinguisher full force at Birdman. She watched as the fire extinguisher flew through the air with extreme speed before hitting Birdman harshly, causing a massive dent to damage his suit as he flew back a ways from the impact. Birdman grew angry as he shot another couple beams of purple energy, one at her and then another at Peter. Emma flew out of the way as the purple beam narrowly missed her and Peter also managed to dodge one of the beams but only to be dragged over the water as Birdman flew further away. Peter seemed to absolutely refuse to let go of the webbing as he was dragged away.

"Spider-Twerp!" Emma called out worriedly as she watched him go, her eyes wide and full of concern. Her worry only increased as Peter was being shot at by the alien weapon and Emma was even about to propel herself off the ground to rescue him. She was, however, relieved a moment later to see that he managed to regain control of his webbing and fling himself back to the ship. She blushed in spite of herself… blushed?! Emma couldn't really believe it but she felt the obvious warmth against her face. The truth was right there in her reddening face. Emma couldn't believe herself but she soon put that thought aside as Birdman flew closer to the ship again. Birdman easily snipped the ropes of webbing and Emma glared at him.

"Yeah, right. Bullshit." She muttered to herself. Peter then shot more of the webbing but this time at Birdman's weapon instead. Emma widened her eyes immediately when he did that because if the Washington Monument taught her anything it was the fact that Chitauri weaponry was very sensitive and there was no telling how it would react to Peter's webbing.

"Spider-Twerp, wait! Don't-" She tried to warn Peter but he interrupted her as he tried reel in Birdman.

"I'm kind of busy right now, Viper." He said dismissively and Emma didn't even have it in her to give him a glare before Birdman tugged him forward and he hit the metal pillar on the main deck near where she was standing. Peter held himself to the metal pillar but still kept the webbing tight in his grasp.

"Activate Taser Web!" Peter ordered Karen and Emma immediately shook her head furiously.

"No, you can't! It'll-" Emma tried to warn again but it was too late. The taser web had actually managed to make Birdman let go of the weapon and Emma moved out of the way as it came flying towards her and Peter. She managed to grab Peter and move him to the side as well just as the weapon hit the ground. Emma's worst fear was confirmed true as the weapon started to go off by itself, shooting out frequent beams of purple energy in every direction. Emma narrowly dodged a couple of the beams before throwing herself near the weapon.

Emma tried to grasp her hands on either side of it in an attempt to hold it down but she didn't have a clue as to how to shut the weapon down. She knew how to handle a simple gun and weapons that were more of Earth. Her knowledge of alien weaponry was obviously very limited. As the weapon shot out another beam of light Emma was thrown a couple feet to the left right when the weapon bounced off the ground. She was just lucky she wasn't on the other side of the weapon. Emma knew she didn't have the capability of stopping the weapon herself. One, because she had no idea how the thing worked and two, because she saw what it did to the Washington Monument. However, Emma did know someone who might be capable of containing the weapon. Emma looked over at Peter quickly.

"Spider-Twerp, quick you have to stop this thing. It'll tear the whole ship in half!" Emma called out to him as Peter carefully approached the weapon.

"Already on it, Viper!" Peter called back to her as he aimed his web shooter at the weapon and began to try to contain the weapon from letting out anymore beams of energy. "Get out of the way! I'm going to try to glue it to the ground with my webbing!" Peter said and Emma immediately threw herself away from the weapon, rolling away to the other side of the deck as she then gracefully ended the tumble in a crouched position. Emma ducked for cover behind a car as Peter kept shooting his webbing at the weapon. She went with the idea because it's not like she had any other ones at the moment. Peter's was the best one they had for the time being. Emma watched as Peter finally managed to glue the weapon to the ground with his webbing, covering the entirety of the weapon within his webbing.

"You're messing with things you don't understand!" Birdman yelled out at them. It was then that the weapon began to tremble and shake from within it's cocoon. Emma stared at the webbing with uncertainty. She certainly didn't like the look of that. Peter jumped in surprise when the weapon started to glow purple again and shoot off another beam of energy. It didn't seem like that idea was working out for them very well. The webbing wasn't going to stop that thing. In fact, it probably only make it worse.

The webbing seemed to disintegrate as the weapon started shooting off beams of purple energy into every direction all at it once. Emma counted probably around ten or so beams of energy coming from the weapon at the same and it was way worse than before. The beams of energy began hitting the ceiling of the main deck as Peter got out of the way and moved over to Emma. The beams seemed to go through the entirety of the ship, making a loud humming noise as it did so. Emma and Peter could only watch helplessly as it brought it's wave of destruction over the ferry. But then it stopped. The beams of purple were suddenly gone before they could even blink their eyes.

"What's happening?" Peter whispered to her as their eyes remained glued to the large cracks in floor and ceiling of the deck. Emma shook her head slowly as she looked around the deck cautiously, uncertain of what to expect.

"I don't know but I don't think it's over." Emma whispered back to him and Peter gulped. Well, that sure made him feel better. The blonde seemed to really have a way of words and Peter completely meant that in a sarcastic way. It was then that water began to spray up from the giant crack in the floor of the deck. The water sprayed up like it was a geyser and Emma widened her eyes at the sight as Peter also looked on in shock.

"Shit!" She cursed and she felt herself be jolted backwards slightly before the ship began coming apart in the middle. The ship was being torn apart as the two sides of the ship began to separate from each other. The screams of the passengers filled the air as everyone panicked.

"Oh my god. What do I do?" Peter breathed before he decided to quickly maintain his composure and try to find a solution to the problem. It was probably best not to panic right now. That wouldn't do anyone any good. "Karen… Uh… give me an x-ray of the boat and target all the strongest points."

Emma knew that this was only something Peter was able to do. He'd probably be able to glue the ship back together with his webbing but Emma knew that there was something that only she'd be able to do as she looked at some of the people who were still on the main deck of the boat. Passengers who had locked themselves in their cars during the confrontation between the two heroes and man with wings. She needed to get these people out of there before the water level got too high on the lower deck.

"Peter, do what you have to do. I'm going to get these people out of here." Emma told him and once again she couldn't help but wince at how much she sounded like Steve. Peter looked back at her worriedly.

"Are you sure?" He asked her and Emma nodded, a determined look in her blue eyes.

"Yes. Now go and put the ship back together. I'll be fine." Emma told him firmly and Peter nodded although he was still reluctant to leave Emma there. He knew, however, that there was no time to argue. He had to fix this and he had to fix this now. Peter flung his wrist out before shooting his webbing to one of the higher decks of the ship. He propelled himself off the ground and flew in that general direction. Emma sighed as she watched him go, hoping that they could somehow make it out of this without any blood on their hands.

The blonde former assassin then turned to glance at the passengers who were still seated in their cars, looking to be in a state of great fear. She took a deep breath as she began to calm herself down. It was important that she remain calm in this tense situation as to not invoke any panic in the civilians. Emma immediately stalked over to one of the cars where a man was seated at the wheel. She rapped on his window and signaled for him to get out of the car but he furiously shook his head no as he looked at her with fear present in his eyes. Emma rolled her eyes as she groaned.

"I don't have time for this shit." She grumbled as she then ripped the door off his car and forcibly grabbed him from his seat. The man cried out in surprise as he threw his hands up defensively.

"Please, don't kill me!" He pleaded and Emma just shook her head at the pathetic man. She scoffed.

"I'm not going to kill you, you big baby." She told him before a small smirk came over her face. "Say… how much do you like amusement park rides?"

"What?" The man asked in confusion, calming down somewhat from his state of fear and panic. Emma just gave him an evil look before she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and propelled herself off the ground. The man began to scream in surprise as Emma flew them off the ground. God, this guy was annoying. She was saving his life. The least he could do was be grateful. When they reached a higher deck of the ship, Emma quickly threw the guy onto to the deck and he landed with a soft thud.

"You're welcome." She told him before quickly flying back to the main deck to rescue more passengers. The man watched the blonde disappear through the maze of webbing that Spider-Man was currently shooting to try and keep the ship together. It was obvious that the new hero had to work on her bedside manner because his back was going to be killing him in the morning. It became clear to him that the Viper Assassin was a different sort of Avenger than what people were used to seeing.

The Viper Assassin was definitely one of a kind… that was for sure.


	42. Chapter Forty: Part II

**Author's Note: Sorry, it took me longer to update than I thought. I just got so distracted over the past couple days. I finally finished Stranger Things season 2 so at least there's that. So grateful I live in the Pacific Northwest by the way. So much great seafood. I literally ate a ton of Calamari the other day and it was so good. I've been thinking about that ever since. Sorry... I just had to mention that Calamari.**

 **Okay, so this chapter was super emotional for me to write. I think I cried a lot while writing it because this chapter contains the confrontation between Emma and Tony which is their biggest fight yet. I had to listen to a lot of classic rock to sooth my soul. Lots of The Kinks and The Zombies. I just want to make it clear that I don't hate Tony. This isn't a Tony bashing story but for obvious reasons Emma really resents him right now. She misses her father and Steve and Tony just happens to be there for her to cast her blame on.**

 **I also want to thank knarl so much for creating a trailer for Some Things Never Sleep on youtube. I've watched that thing like almost ten times already. I love it so much. The face claim for Emma is Elle Fanning in my story but for the trailer she had to use Chloe Grace Moretz for obvious reasons since it was easier for her to edit. Hit-Girl and Emma are very much alike. I think Hit-Girl amongst other female characters subconsciously inspired Emma. It's a great trailer and here's a link. Once again, thanks so much.**

 **watch?v=WCnFOnDuOW4**

 **ArtemisLuna85: Emma does know what Bucky did to Tony's parents. Tony asked her about it on the way back to the compound from Raft prison. She didn't know about it until Tony asked her but she wasn't surprised either.**

 **treyalexander63917: Emma and Peter will eventually talk more about both their pasts as their relationship progresses. After the Homecoming storyline they will definitely become very close so we'll start seeing more stuff like that in a little bit.**

 **JokeLover123: Emma is really starting to recognize her attraction to Peter although she tries to dismiss it as not being anything significant. It's going to be interesting for everyone to see how she starts handling her emotions and feelings in future chapters.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and please let me know what you think of this chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

As Peter was in the process of gluing the ship back together Emma was trying to evacuate the main deck of the ferry as fast as she could. She must've rescued twelve passengers from the main deck. There were a couple of families as well as a few loners that she managed to rescue. Peter was still shooting his webbing at both sides of the broken ship so Emma did her best to dodge the webbing whenever she placed another passenger on one of the higher decks. She had even rescued the group of criminals that had been knocked unconscious. The FBI agents eagerly took the criminals off her hands as they rounded them up and kept guard over them while the ship continued to fall apart. Emma had just gotten done rescuing a grandmotherly looking woman and her dog when she returned to the main deck to look for any other passengers.

"Are there any other passengers left on the deck, McConaughey?" Emma questioned as she tried looking through car windows to see if there was anyone left. McConaughey did a quick scan of the area before the camera in her lenses zoomed in on an SUV towards the back of the deck.

"There appears to be one woman left in a Honda SUV. She's the last remaining passenger aboard the deck." McConaughey told her and Emma nodded to herself.

"Okay, I'm gonna go grab her before this place floods." Emma said and it was true. The place really was starting to flood. The water on the main deck was already up to her knees as she tried to keep her balance on the moving half of the deck. It wouldn't be that much longer until the entire deck was underwater.

Emma then propelled herself off the ground and flew in the direction of the SUV. It was faster just to fly rather than wading through the water. The blonde landed right outside the SUV and looked in only to see a woman passed out cold in the driver's seat. At least Emma hoped she was only asleep. There hadn't appeared to be any casualties yet and she rather hoped that it stayed that way. Emma opened the door of the car and immediately checked the woman's pulse which was still steady. Good. She was right. The woman was just unconscious for the time being. Emma immediately picked the woman up out of the car and into her arms, not wasting anytime as she flew them off the deck and out of harm's way. Emma noticed that the woman looked to only be in her late twenties or early thirties at the most. Still young, Emma noted. It was a good thing she found her when she had.

Emma dropped the woman on the floor of the deck which seemed to awaken the olive skin toned woman. It was when the woman opened her eyes to look at her that Emma immediately recognized her. Those honey brown eyes were too familiar to her and especially since this woman was part of an important moment in Emma's life. No, Emma would recognize those eyes from anywhere. Camila. It was true. This was the same woman Sam had her meet at the VA nearly two and half years before. She was the child soldier from Colombia that Emma had been able to relate to on some level.

"Daniel? Daniel?" She said in her thick Colombian accent as she looked around the ferry, her eyes still heavy from sleep. That's right, Emma recalled. Her husband's name was Daniel. Emma thought she remembered seeing Camila's husband that day at the VA. A nice looking man with blue eyes and brown hair.

"Relax. You're safe. We're trying to put the ship back together." Emma told her in a soothing voice, trying to keep the woman from panicking and passing out again. She figured that Camila probably passed out from a panic attack earlier when Emma found her. "Stay calm."

"No, no, no. Where's Daniel?! Where is he?!" Camila asked, sounding more hysterical as she glanced around the area. It was clear to Emma that Camila was wide awake now.

"Daniel? Your husband?" Emma asked her in confusion and Camila furiously shook her head.

"No. My _little_ Daniel. My son." Emma's eyes widened as she heard Camila's admission. She suddenly remembered the prominent baby bump Camila had last time she had seen her. The baby bump that made Emma curious and terrified at the same time. Curious at how Camila had managed to make a life for herself after everything but terrified at the prospect of ever having children. That was something Emma didn't think she was ever deserving of. "We were heading back home to Staten Island when the... well, when I heard the explosion."

"Your son? He's here?" Emma questioned, suddenly feeling her heart pounding against her chest. The situation was suddenly taking a drastic turn. Camila's eyes were filled with tears as she nodded.

"Yes, he's two. He was in the car with me. Please, you have to save him." Camila begged her. Emma swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling dry as she tried to gather her thoughts. There was still a kid, practically a baby stuck down there, and somehow she hadn't spotted him. Great. Now was not the time for her to be making rookie mistakes like that.

"Don't worry. I'll get him." Emma told her firmly as she maintain her composure. "You stay here." Camila could only nod as she watched the mysterious blonde hop back off the edge of the deck and into the mass of webbing. Emma quickly dodged the sticky webbing as she flew down towards the flooding deck of the ship. Hold yourself together, she told herself. Just get the kid and get back out. It was that simple.

When she landed back on the deck the water was nearly to her waist. She was starting to run really low on time so she needed to find that kid right this instant. Emma moved towards the SUV again and this time ripped one of the back doors off the vehicle without hesitation. She threw the backdoor to the side and was immediately bombarded with the screaming and crying of an infant. Emma winced at the sound of the loud crying little boy as she looked inside the car. She noticed the two year old toddler seated on the other side of the car, buckled into his car seat. He looked exceptionally like his mother. He shared the same olive skin tone, black hair, and even the same honey brown eyes. The kid would probably be a real heart breaker when he was all grown up. Right now, however, his face was all red and blotchy from crying and snot also streamed down from his nose. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust but she knew that the kid would never cooperate with her if she seemed too unpleasant. Kids could sense that kind of thing so Emma forced a smile onto her face as she looked at the little boy.

"Hi, you must be Daniel. I'm Viper." Emma said in an even tone as she tried to seem pleasant towards the two year old. The little boy only continued to cry in his car seat.

"Mama!" He cried and Emma nodded anxiously.

"Yes, I know your mother. She sent me here to rescue you. She's waiting for you." Emma told him but that didn't seem to make the little boy feel any better.

"Mama!" He continued to cry and Emma could feel her patience being severely tested by the crying little boy. This kid was going to make it really hard on her, wasn't he? Maybe Emma really shouldn't ever have kids if this was what kids were like. Kids always seemed gross and messy to her… too much of a hassle so maybe she shouldn't.

"I know but like I said before I'm here to help you so let me help." Emma told him but the little boy shook his head furiously.

"Want Mama!" He cried again and Emma gritted her teeth in annoyance. That was it. She tried being patient with this kid but this was taking too long. Emma was about to lean into the car and snatch the kid from the car seat when something else happened. She immediately felt s tremor from below her feet. Emma glanced down at the cement floor in confusion. What the hell? Before she could ponder anymore on the subject she felt herself being thrown back as the deck of the ship began to separate from the other side again. Emma groaned as she hit one of the cars harshly and looked up towards the webbing that Peter had placed between the higher decks. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she saw it snapping. What was going on up there?

Her attention was taken away from the webbing as she remembered the car which still held the two year old little boy in dire need of saving. Emma's eyes rested on the SUV but she felt her breath hitch when the crack in the floor of the deck started becoming bigger again, sending the SUV through the crack. The blonde gasped in horror as she immediately got up from the ground and started flying in the direction of opening in the floor. As Emma hovered above the opening she was relieved to see that the SUV had become stuck in between the two halves of the separating floor. That probably wouldn't last for much longer once the two halves started moving further and further apart. The SUV would be underwater in no time. Emma looked down into the SUV which was turned sideways as it rested there in between the two halves of the ship. What was once it's side now seemed to be the floor. Thankfully, Emma could see Daniel still sitting in his car seat bawling his eyes out although the car seat had somehow fallen from the backseat and was now resting against the car window. Emma swallowed nervously as she could see the depth of the ocean underneath the window and the window was all that stood in way of that little boy falling in and drowning. Water also seemed to be gushing into the car at a rapid rate. She didn't have much time to rescue him.

"I would not suggest going into the car, Miss Rogers." McConaughey informed her. "Anymore weight and the car would be sent plummeting into the ocean. The risk of Hypothermia is increasingly high for this time of year."

"Noted." Emma told McConaughey as she tried to think about how she was going to handle this situation. She obviously couldn't get inside the car to rescue the kid so how was she going to do this? The situation was increasingly delicate and Emma couldn't afford to make any mistakes or this little boy might die. No, she had to remain calm and approach this as cautiously as she could.

"Daniel, are you okay?" She asked in her nicest voice. The only answer she received from the little boy was his sobbing. "Look, Daniel I need to get you out of there but I'm going to need your help."

"Mama!" He cried again and Emma sighed.

"I know, kid. You want your mother but right now I'm your only option." Emma told him. He sniffled as he looked up at her with those familiar honey brown eyes. It was kind of hard to believe that this kid was the same baby bump she saw just two years ago. The years really did seem to fly by.

"Scawy." He said, seeming to calm down a bit as he sat there. Wait… was he trying to say Scary? Emma gave him a confused look, not understanding what he was trying to say.

"Scary?" Emma asked and the little boy nodded as he then pointed at her face.

"Scawy." He repeated and Emma then understood what he was trying to tell her. He found her mask scary… she was scaring him. Emma hovered there above the opening gap of the car where the door was missing as she decided what to do. It occurred to her that she had to get this kid out of that car no matter what. This was her mission. To save lives and this kid's life was possibly one of most important ones she could save. She wasn't about to fail him and let him die. Emma took a deep breath before exhaling as she rested her fingers on each side of her mask. Without another thought Emma took her mask off, revealing the face of a normal looking fifteen year old girl.

"So long, McConaughey." Emma muttered to herself as she took the mask off before tossing it over to the right half of the deck that was still being flooded. It landed with a small splash and began to float as she abandoned it. Emma looked back at the toddler and noticed how he stared at her in awe.

"Not scawy." He told her and for once Emma was completely fine with being not scary. Emma also had to admit it was pretty cute how he pronounced the word scary. It looked like someone couldn't pronounce their R's yet. She gave the boy a small smile… a genuine one this time.

"Can you help me now, Daniel?" Emma asked him softly.

"Danny." The little boy said sulkily.

"Danny? Is that your nickname?" Emma asked him, trying to suck up to him so that he would let her help him. The little boy nodded quietly and Emma grinned at him.

"Well, Danny… I kind of need your help." She told him seriously. "I'm going to reach in there to help you but I'm not going to touch the sides of the car. It's like a game, you see."

"Game?" Danny asked he looked back up at her, suddenly looking interested. Emma nodded quickly.

"Yes, a game. If I touch the sides of the car than I lose." Emma continued to tell him. "But in order for me to even play this game I need your help. See that red button on your buckle?" Danny immediately looked down at the buckle of his car seat.

"Button?" He questioned and Emma nodded again.

"Yes, I'm going to need you to press the red button." Emma instructed, hoping that she could get through to him this way. If she didn't get this kid to understand what she needed him to do than they were both doomed.

"Wed?" Danny said as he tried to pronounce the word red.

"If you press the red button I can get you and we can get out of here." Emma told him calmly. Danny's attention was taken away from the red button as he noticed the water starting to rise within the car. He looked around in fear and even started to shiver when the water touched him.

"Cold!" He cried as the water touched him.

"I know it's cold but if you help me than you won't be cold anymore." Emma said as she tried to convince him to let her help him.

"Scawy!" He cried again as he started panicking. Emma sighed heavily. She needed to get him out of there as soon as she could. Come on, Emma! She told herself. Think of a way to get him out of there. There has to be a simpler way.

"Do you want to fly, Danny?" Emma asked him suddenly as something came to find.

"Fly?" He questioned, his tears coming to a sudden halt as he looked up at the blonde girl. Emma nodded.

"Yes. Fly." Emma told him before she swallowed her disgust. She couldn't believe she was actually going to say this but she had to get this kid out somehow. "Do you want to fly like Iron Man or Vision? I can help you fly."

"Pete Pan." Danny replied quietly and Emma looked at him in bewilderment.

"Pete Pan?" Emma questioned.

"Pete Pan fly." He repeated and it suddenly occurred to Emma that he was trying to say Peter Pan. He wanted to fly like Peter Pan. That kid was a million times cooler to her for saying that. Emma smiled at him before nodding.

"Yes. I can fly like Peter Pan and so can you if you press that red button." Emma replied, knowing that she almost had him convinced.

"Pixie dust." He said and Emma let out a small laugh.

"Yes, I have all the pixie dust in the world. You'll have the pixie dust too if you just press that button." Emma told him and this seemed to convince Danny as he nodded.

"Kay." He mumbled. Danny then placed his tiny fingers over the small red button at the center of his buckle. He pressed the button with all his might and the buckle immediately came undone. Emma grinned at the little boy in delight.

"Good job, Danny. Now I'm going to enter the car without touching any of the sides." Emma informed him. She wasn't going to touch anything in the car because she knew the added weight would only cause the car to probably fall through the crack in the ferry. However, if she managed to go through the door-less side of the car and hover inside the car than she wouldn't be adding any extra weight.

"Game." Danny said and Emma gave him a quick nod.

"Yes, game." Emma responded before she started to fly into the car without touching the sides like she previously stated. She hovered within the air inside the car carefully but Danny was still a bit out of her reach. Damn it. If she flew anymore inside the car then she was going to somehow touch the console. That wouldn't end well for anyone.

"I'm going to need you to do one last thing for me, Danny." Emma told the small boy who looked at her curiously.

"Vipey, help?" He questioned and Emma smiled.

"Yes, Viper needs your help." Emma confirmed before continuing. "I'm going to need you to stand up in your seat and raise your arms up as high as you can. Can you do that for me, Danny?"

"Stand up." Danny said and Emma nodded at him again.

"Yes, stand." Danny then got up from his seat and began to stand himself up. Emma swallowed nervously as she noticed the car make a quiet squeaking sound from the movement but she remained calm. There was no reason to alarm the boy. Danny finally managed to stand up in his seat and Emma gave him an encouraging smile.

"Good, good. Now raise your arms as far as you can." Emma instructed before she raised her own arms in his direction. "See. Like this." Danny watched her movement thoughtfully before he started to copy what she was doing. The small boy immediately raised his arms out to her and Emma gritted her teeth as she inched her way a bit closer to him. The car started shaking and trembling again. Most likely whatever was going on up there with the ship separating again was having major repercussions down here as well. Emma didn't allow herself to think about it as she kept her hands from shaking. Everything was going to be fine. The blonde then wrapped her hands around Danny's tiny ones and immediately pull him in closer to her, holding him tightly to her chest as they started floating through the air upside down.

She could feel the car begin to move and Emma just cradled him close to her chest as the car finally slipped through the crack in between the two halves of the ship. Emma's eyes were tightly squeezed close as she held Danny in her arms just as tight. She felt the whoosh of air through her hair and a coldness hit her just as she opened her eyes again, noticing that they were no longer within the car. The carwas instead in the ocean while she and Danny were still floating upside down in the air. To her astonishment the little boy was actually giggling and giggled even louder when she did a back flip through the air so that they were right side up again. Emma wasn't sure she'd ever understand children. She flew back up to the main deck that was still flooding and noticed her mask floating in the surface of the water. Thank god. Emma immediately swooped down to retrieve it.

"Do you think you could hold onto this for a moment, Danny?" Emma requested as she handed the mask to him. Danny immediately grabbed onto the mask and looked at it in fascination. "It can be your very own mission."

"Yes." He replied distractedly as he held onto the mask with wide eyes. Emma just smiled as she shook her head in amusement before she flew them away from the main deck.

"Wee!" Danny called out excitedly as they flew through the air. "Pete Pan!" Emma chuckled at the little boy before they finally landed on one of the higher decks Camila was on. The woman looked incredibly worried, tears streaming down her face. That is until she saw Danny in Emma's arms.

"Could you put my mask back on for me, Danny?" Emma asked him and Danny nodded eagerly. He reached over and immediately placed the mask on Emma's face, noticing that she didn't seem quite as scary as she did when he first saw her. Emma smiled kindly at him as he placed the mask on her.

"You're one of the few people that's ever seen what I really look like." Emma told him softly and Danny only stared at her, not really understanding what she meant by that. He was too little to understand and Emma knew that. "I guess it'll be our little secret."

"Danny! Thank God, you're okay!" The Colombian woman cried out as she approached the blonde and her son.

"Mama!" Danny exclaimed happily as he held out his arms for his mother. Emma immediately handed Danny over to his mother and Camila didn't hesitate in wrapping her arms tightly around her son, relieved to be reunited with him. The boy buried his face in the crook of his mother's neck as Camila cried in happiness. Emma smiled at the scene of the reunited mother and son but couldn't help but feel conflicted about the sight. She was suddenly reminded of her own mother. It saddened Emma to know that she didn't even remember what her mother's hugs felt like or even what her mother's voice sounded like. It had been so long since she had been in the arms of her own mother that she just couldn't remember the simplest things about her. Camila looked at the masked blonde from over her son's shoulder.

"Thank you, Viper. Thank you so much." Camila said, her voice thick with emotion. Emma just stood there awkwardly.

"Don't mention it." Emma replied but Camila shook her head.

"No, really. I don't know what I'd do without my little Daniel." She told her firmly and before Emma could respond the ship moved once again, causing Emma and Camila to be jolted forward. It seemed like the webbing wasn't holding up at all. Emma tightly grasped her hands on Camila's shoulder as she steadied the older woman.

"You guys stay here and be safe. I have to go help my friend." Emma instructed the dark haired woman and Camila nodded in understanding. The blonde gave her one last tight lipped smile before propelling herself off the ground again to see what Peter up to. Camila and Daniel watched her fly away in awe.

"Bye, bye, Vipey!" He called after her and with that she disappeared through the expanse of webbing. Camila stared at the webbing that the Viper Assassin disappeared into as she wondered about the mysterious blonde. For some reason Camila felt like she might've met her before but where? Camila wasn't sure but she had the strongest feeling that she had seen those sad looking blue eyes before. She just couldn't place her.

* * *

Emma flew through the webbing and to her surprise noticed that a lot of it was snapping, making the divide between the two halves of the ship larger than ever. She watched, mystified, as the two halves were starting to sink into the ocean even more. It was then that she noticed Peter hanging onto the ropes of webbing, one on each side, looking as though he might be torn in half himself. He yelled in both pain and turmoil as he used all his strength to stop the ferry from sinking into the ocean. Emma witnessed in horror as not even _he_ was strong enough to keep the ferry together. The instinct that Hydra had instilled in her, for years, told Emma that it was time to abandon ship and seek safety. It was an instinct that represented self-preservation. As Emma watched Peter and the rest of passengers she knew that she would never be able to do it. How could she leave knowing that all those passengers could drown? How could she leave Peter by himself? There was no reason to still listen to Hydra's teachings. They were a bunch of cowards and she was most certainly was not a coward.

Emma took a deep breath, maintaining her calm composure, before she flew over to where Peter was situated. She immediately grabbed one of the ropes of webbing and started pulling, using all her strength and her power of flight to stop one half of the ship from sinking. The other half was still sinking but Emma was being logical. If she could keep one half of the ship a float than that would leave her with less people to save from drowning when the other half finally sank. Emma groaned as her arms were strained from the weight of the ship.

"What are you doing?!" Peter called out to her and Emma gave him an annoyed look. She was a little busy at the moment.

"If we can't save both halves of the ferry than maybe we can save one!" She answered him. Peter didn't seem to like that answer as he tried to keep the ferry from sinking.

"No! That's not cool! No one dies!" Peter yelled back at her and Emma tried to steady her breathing as she continued to pull back against the rope of webbing attached to the ferry.

"No one's going to die! If we can keep one half a float then that's less people we have to save from drowning!" Emma explained even though she was in no position to explain with the circumstance she was currently in. She gripped the rope of webbing tightly in both hands as she then flew back but the weight of the ferry was too much. Her flying ability seemed to weaken underneath all the weight. The half of the ferry, that Emma and Peter were both trying to hold up, seemed to be fairing well with their combined strength as it began to stop from sinking but the other half of the ferry was most likely doomed. Emma just hoped that this half of the ferry could stay a float long enough for them to save the rest of the passengers.

It was then that Emma and Peter both felt the strain of holding the ship together lessen as the other half of the ship started moving back in place seemingly on it's own. Emma looked back at the other half of the ship in bewilderment just when the half she was holding up started moving on it's own as well. As the ship came back together, Peter repelled himself down onto one of the decks. Emma also let go of the rope of webbing she had been holding onto as she flew herself back down to the deck to stand next to Peter.

"What the hell?" Peter questioned as they heard strange noises coming from outside the ferry. Emma tensed, getting the strongest feeling that this wasn't going to be a good thing. She already kind of had an idea as to who was behind this and Emma really hoped that she was wrong. It was then, however, that Emma spotted a familiar figure of red and gold appear outside the window of the ferry. Yeah, it looked like she was unfortunately right. Iron Man looked up through the window at Emma and Peter in a fashion that reminded Emma of a monster out of a scary movie. This wasn't going to end well.

"Hi, Spider-Man." Tony said mockingly as he pushed the ferry back together. "Nice to see you too, Viper Assassin." Emma just rolled her eyes. Great, he sounded pissed. It looked she was about to receive yet another useless lecture.

"Band practice, was it? School?" Tony asked sarcastically. Dozens of Stark's tiny little gadgets flew past the windows as they latched themselves against both sides of the ferry and immediately started finishing the job of putting the ferry back together, even cementing both halves in place.

"Yeah, Iron Man!" A man yelled in back of them as he clapped. Emma glared at the man before glancing away and resting her gaze on Camila and Danny who were seated off at the opposite end of the deck. Danny seemed more than fine as he told his mother how he and the Viper Assassin flew like Peter Pan and Wendy. Her gaze softened. They were safe and that's all that mattered to her. Camila completely deserved this life that she had managed to make for herself. Nothing should ever have the capacity of taking that away from her… not even a bunch of idiots with alien weapons.

Peter immediately ran off to follow Tony, trying to see if he could offer him any help but Emma knew better. She let Peter run off as she stayed on the ship momentarily to watch Camila and her son interact. There was no use in trying to aid Stark now. It was over… at least for now. Emma smiled softly as she watched Camila tickle Danny and the little boy giggled infectiously. The pair had no idea that they had the attention of the mysterious blonde anti-hero. She swallowed thickly before she decided that she had seen enough. The blonde began to walk towards the balcony of the ferry, preparing herself to take off. Emma wondered if she could ever be happy. She knew it was hopeless even thinking she could have a life like that but maybe she could still somehow be happy. Emma, however, knew that she could never be happy unless she had both Steve and her father with her. Until then she could only hope.

* * *

Emma flew over to where McConaughey told her Peter was located. She bit her lip nervously as she saw the forlorn looking teenage boy sitting on the roof of a building, his legs dangling off the edge as he looked down at the city below him. It was clear that Peter wasn't really thinking about the city. His gaze was distant and troubled. Emma sighed as she landed on the edge of the roof next to where he was sitting. She didn't really know how to approach this situation since he looked absolutely devastated. Emma sat down next to him as she tried to think of something nice to say… it was probably one of the most difficult things she had to do. Compassion was never something she was trained for. She had only learned the idea of compassion within the past two years she had spent living with her grandfather.

"So… no one died. That's good, I guess." Emma finally said, the first one to speak out of the two of them. Peter didn't say anything as he continued to stare blankly at all the cars and buildings beneath them. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"It didn't go exactly as planned but it's not the worst mission I ever went on." Emma told him but Peter didn't even glance in her direction. She sighed heavily before deciding to move on to a subject that might take his mind off things. "My worst mission was actually my first one." It was then that Peter looked up at Emma with interest. Good… they were actually getting somewhere. Feeling encouraged by his curious gaze, Emma continued with her story.

"My first mission was in Odessa, Iran. I was only eight but my handlers thought I was ready so they partnered me up with Winter." Emma started to tell him before continuing. She didn't want to refer to Bucky as her father because it was still a boundary she didn't want Peter to cross. Her father was hers and she didn't really feel like divulging the details of their relationship to anyone else right now. Her father was a very sensitive topic for her. "The mission was to assassinate a nuclear scientist that had originally been a Hydra scientist before defecting to Shield. Hydra was afraid that he'd tell them about Hydra's secret existence so they ordered the hit."

"It was supposed to be easy. He'd be driving through Odessa in a hummer with a Shield agent as his personal bodyguard until he reached a safe destination. My job was to assassinate the scientist and the Shield agent as well if she got in the way. Do you know who that agent was, Peter?" Emma asked him quietly and Peter shook his head, seeming perplexed by the story of her first mission. "It was Natasha Romanoff."

"The Black Widow?" Peter asked in shock as he raised his eyebrows. It was completely mind blowing to him that Emma had been given the mission to assassinate not only a scientist but the Black Widow as well. Emma just smiled as she nodded.

"Yes. I thought it would be simple to assassinate them both since they'd never see us coming. Winter reassured me that I would do well. He wasn't to interfere in my mission… only oversee." Emma stated and Peter listened to her intently. "I blew the tires out with a sniper rifle as the hummer came by. They were sent careening off a cliff so Winter drove me over to the car wreck."

"My job was to make sure that they were dead and if they weren't then I had to kill them both but they weren't dead... unfortunately. They were still alive and breathing." Emma remarked sadly before continuing. "I had my gun pointed right at Natasha as she shielded the scientist. She pleaded for me not to do this and to come with her but I knew that I could never leave Winter so I didn't. I had my finger on the trigger and was about to shoot but for some reason I just couldn't."

"Really?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded. It was like he was seeing a completely different side of Emma… this was clearly the more vulnerable, open Emma that he liked. He could that she was being genuine and honest with him. There was no lies and manipulation.

"Yes. This was something I trained years for. I should've been able to end it right there but when I was actually there with my finger on the trigger… Well, I just couldn't. All I could see when I looked at her was my mother." Emma told him honestly. "I could see my mother and my mother looked so disappointed in me."

"What did you do then?" Peter asked, somewhat afraid to hear the answer but at the same time curious. Emma had a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. Hurt. She had a hurt look in her eyes as she gazed down at the city.

"I did nothing. It turns out that I wasn't capable of doing that so Winter did the dirty work for me. He shot through Natasha and killed the scientist. Mission over." Emma replied, somewhat bitterly. Peter couldn't help but be surprised at Emma's confession. He knew that she had killed people in the past which was something he tried to ignore but he had thought it was something Emma had always been able to do. Peter hadn't known it was something she had struggled with at the beginning. "She was still breathing and I should've left her to die in the desert alone but I didn't. I pressed her panic button and spared her life. That was the first time I completely screwed up."

"You didn't screw up, Emma. You did the right thing." Peter told her softly and Emma just scoffed as she laughed humorlessly.

"Do you think Hydra saw it that way? Of course not. Winter lied for me… he said I completed the mission successfully which he never should've done because it completely backfired on us a couple weeks later." Emma told Peter, her gaze hardening as she remembered how they had tied her father up in that chair and tried to wipe his memory. "They found out the truth and they punished us both for lying. It didn't end there. They thought a more rational part of my training was to bring in random living, breathing human targets for me to kill so I could get used to killing someone. It would've been so much easier if I had killed Romanoff that day in the desert." Emma eyes were filled with unshed tears as she looked at Peter. Peter just stared at her in bewilderment, never having seen Emma look so vulnerable before. He hated seeing her that broken because it seemed to break his heart a little. Peter also noticed that he couldn't really see the green reflected in her blue eyes when her eyes were filled with tears like that.

"I've killed a lot of people, Peter. If there's a hell I'll probably burn in it for what I've done and the worst part is that I think I would do it all over again if I had to." Emma told him, her voice trembling as she spoke but Peter just shook his head furiously.

"No, you wouldn't. I know you… you wouldn't do that. That's not you." Emma just smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes.

"You don't know me at all, Peter. I've done a lot of bad things but it was for survival so of course I'd do it again." Emma stated and Peter just watched her with wide eyes, not knowing how to feel as he saw the emptiness in those blue orbs. "I didn't enjoy killing people but I did it because the second I stopped being useful to Hydra they'd probably end me."

"Why are you telling me this?" Peter asked her, tears welling up in his own eyes a little.

"Because there's still hope for you. We might of screwed up this mission but there will always be another one. Don't let what happened today get you down. You'll be fine. You're a good person, Peter." Emma told him honestly and Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What? Are you saying there's no hope for you? That you're not a good person?" Peter questioned and Emma just stared at him, not knowing what to tell him. Before Emma could even respond to his question, they both heard the familiar sound of Iron Man approaching. Emma's gaze immediately hardened once she saw Tony's red and gold Iron Man suit hover inches above the roof. She forced herself to bottle up her emotions since she didn't want to appear weak in front of Tony of all people. Emma wondered which Tony Stark they were getting today. The living and breathing Tony Stark or the virtual one?

"Previously on Peter and Emma screw the pooch, I tell you to stay away from this and you both hack a couple of multi-million dollar suits so you can sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do " Tony told them scoldingly as if he were a parent in this situation. So that's how much the suit cost? Emma thought to herself. And to think she almost dumped her mask in the ocean without so much as a thought. Emma maintained a calm and collected composure as she sat there on the ledge. Stark didn't intimate her. Who was he fooling?

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked quietly.

"No thanks to you two." Tony replied shortly, obviously beyond pissed at the both of them. Tony's reply seemed to be what caused Peter to snap. His emotions were already running high right now from the Vulture getting away once again as well as the emotional conversation he just had with Emma.

"No thanks to me?" Peter said angrily as he caught up from the ledge and started stalking over to where Tony's suit was hovering. Frustrated and angry tears filled his eyes as he glared at Tony.

"Those weapons are out there and we tried to tell you about it but you didn't listen." Peter continued to say and Emma watched the confrontation silently, shocked as she saw Peter in his angriest state. There were times that he had appeared frustrated or annoyed at her but he never seemed as angry as he had in that moment. "None of this would have happened if you would just listen to me!"

It was clear to Emma that this went beyond just Tony not listening to the both of them. This seemed to be between Tony and Peter… it was personal. Emma had been berating Peter for looking up to Tony as a mentor but she realized that he didn't look up to Tony as a mentor… No, he looked at Tony and saw a father. Emma understood Peter a little better now because she could relate to him on some level. She too had idolized her father for the longest time and wanted to be just like him. Emma did everything she could impress him but he never really seemed that impressed. It wasn't until Emma realized that it was because he didn't want her to be like him… he wanted her to be better.

"If you even cared you'd actually be here right now." Peter told him bitterly before he stumbled back when the Iron Man armor starting shifting and Tony came walking out of his suit with a beyond pissed look on his face. Emma hadn't seen him this angry since that helicopter ride home from the Raft Prison. So he actually showed up. Emma thought and kind of hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with him in person today.

"I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh?" Tony questioned as he stalked towards Peter and the teenager walked backwards away from him nervously. The FBI? Stark must really be insane if he thought those low level agents stood a chance against Birdman, Emma thought to herself.

"Did you know I was the only one who believed in you?" Tony told him as he glared down at the teenager. "Everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a fourteen year old kid." Well, everyone was right, Emma thought to herself. Stark was insane if he thought it was a good idea to recruit a fifteen year old boy for a war that he had no part in. Emma knew better than anyone else that Stark was out of his mind. Look what he did to her family. He took them away from her and then proceeded to destroy the Avengers. All these battles they fought and it wasn't the villain who destroyed the Avengers. Loki, Ultron, Hydra… none of them had managed to destroy the Avengers. No, Tony did that all on his own.

"Preaching to the choir." Emma quipped bitterly at the same time as Peter responded to Tony.

"I'm fifteen." Peter added and Tony's nostrils flared as he looked at the both of them angrily, completely exhausted from their behavior.

"No, this is where you both zip it! Alright, the adult is talking!" Tony said as he raised his voice at them. Emma narrowed her eyes at the billionaire. How dare he talk to her like that… what gave him the right? "What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? Cause that's on the both of you."

"And if you died…" Tony said as he looked between Emma and Peter, a conflicted look in his eyes. "… I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

"Yes, sir I-" Peter stammered on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony said bitterly as he just shook his at Peter.

"I understand." Peter said, looking crestfallen. "I just… I just wanted to be like you."

"And I wanted you to be better." Tony told him and Emma was reminded too much of the relationship between her father and her. She clenched her jaw as she forced the thought of her father out of her mind, focusing all her resentment and anger onto one individual. Tony.

"He's already better than you." Emma told Tony venomously as she glared at him before stepping off the ledge and onto the roof. She stalked over to Peter and Tony, her glare focused on Tony entirely.

"Don't get me started on you." Tony said seethingly as he looked at the blonde. "You've been nothing but a pain in my ass since you ended up in my custody."

"Well, that makes two of us." Emma replied and Tony just shook his head as he looked back at her.

"You know, the reason I sent you to school wasn't just to give you a somewhat normal adolescence. No, I sent you to school because I knew you two would find each other and I had hoped that you would help each other but I was severely mistaken." Tony told her as Emma stared back at him emotionlessly. "You were supposed to help him but all you've done is encourage him to do all the wrong things. But of course…What did I expect from an assassin?" Emma bit down on the inside of her cheek hard as she tried to control her anger. Her eyes were filled with resentment as she glared at Tony.

"I hate you." She spat, her tone laced with bitterness and resentment. All the anger and hatred that she had been holding inside of her was beginning to be released onto Tony. "I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone or anything. I hate you more than that school you sent me to, I hate you more than I hate the townhouse you've imprisoned me in, and I hate you more than I hate Hydra."

Tony tried not let what she was saying effect him as he clenched his jaw. It saddened him, more than he could ever admit, to hear those words coming from Emma's mouth. They had never been very close in the past but they always enjoyed funny and laid back banter. Tony had developed somewhat of a soft spot for the blonde in past years, especially after feeling guilty for what happened to her in that Hydra base. His father was the one who created the serum she was injected with after all. When Steve and some of the others were on missions, Emma had even sat quietly in the lab with him. She'd draw in that sketchbook he had given her while he made modifications to his Iron Man suit. Emma had said that she was only there in the lab with him because she needed a change of scenery but he knew that she was there to keep him company so he wouldn't feel lonely. Pepper had just broken up with him at the time and Emma knew that he wasn't his usual sarcastic self. This was why it hurt him beyond to belief to hear her say that to him. It even pained him to see the tortured look in her eyes as she gave him the coldest glare he had ever seen.

"You've taken everything from me." Emma hissed at him as she continued. "My father and Steve… my home. You've messed everything up like you always do because you seem to love sabotaging yours and everyone else's happiness. You just can't stand to see other people be happy, can you?"

"You know, it's not just those things that fuels this hatred that I feel..." Emma trailed off as Tony swallowed, his throat suddenly thick with emotion. Peter only watched the confrontation with wide eyes as Emma seemed angrier than he had ever seen her be before. The blonde was definitely a scary sight when she was angry. "It's not the fact that you ripped my family apart. It's not that you abandoned me at that school when things got hard… And it's not even the fact that you want my father's head on a silver platter."

"It's that you brought _him_ into this." Emma stated, her eyes filled with unshed angry tears as she pointed at Peter. Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he became the center of Emma's argument. A single tear streamed down from Emma's eyes much to both Peter and Tony's surprise. They had never seen the blonde so much as shed a tear before. "You knew what Hydra did to me… you know what they made me do and what they turned me into. They forced me into a war I had no place in. Yet…. Knowing all that you that, you still recruited him to be one of your foot soldiers. You just didn't even give me a single thought. You didn't care."

"That's not true, Emma." Tony told her, denying what she was saying but Emma didn't believe him. Peter could only stand back and watch the emotional confrontation between Emma and Tony. It was clear that this tension between them went back a ways. Emma had known Tony for a lot longer than he had so he couldn't really deny all those things she was saying about Tony.

"Yes, it is. You took advantage of him. You knew that he looked up to you and you took advantage of that, giving him promises of being an Avenger… promises of a father. It's so cruel." Emma told him, her voice thick with emotion. "And I know it's not all one sided. You hate me too."

"I don't hate you, Emma." Tony told her but Emma shook her head. It was true… he didn't hate her at all. In fact, he saw her as the closest thing he would ever have to a niece or a daughter. Maybe Tony should've told her that in the past… maybe he should've told her how much she meant to him… how hard this tension between them was on him but he just couldn't bring himself to.

"Yes, you do. I don't know if it's because your father obsessed over Steve too much or if he looked at my father, my biological one, as his son but you hate me." Emma said, sounding very sure of herself as she looked at Tony. "I've been nothing but a problem to you since you guys rescued me from the Hydra base. You've resented me from the beginning."

"No I-" Tony tried to say but he was interrupted by Emma as her gaze hardened, her eyes becoming cold and resentful once more.

"Don't deny what we all know to be true, Stark." Emma said stiffly as she clenched her jaw. "It's okay that you hate me. We were never friends to begin with." Emma gave him one last hateful look as she spoke the next words.

"I just want you to know that I'll never forgive you… not in my lifetime and not even in Thor's." Emma spat, her tone cold and unrelenting, and Tony stared back at the blonde with an unreadable look on his face. He shoved away the hurt feelings he was feeling as he forced himself to glare at her, his jaw clenched. Tony didn't need to worry about how much Emma's words had hurt him and he would never admit how much her words stabbed him like knives. No, he needed to do what Steve would if he was here. He needed to enforce some authority in this situation and administer discipline. Steve would do that and Tony was left with no other choice but to follow Steve's lead. Tony exhaled as he tried to calm himself down.

"Okay, it's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back." Tony told them both and Peter immediately panicked as he moved forward, his brown eyes wide with surprise.

"For how long?" Peter questioned worriedly but Emma just glared daggers at Tony, her gaze unchanging from before.

"Forever." Tony said firmly. Emma wasn't surprised. She was actually surprised that Tony let her have the suit in the first place. Peter, however, wasn't as relaxed about the situation as he furiously shook his head. His eyes were flooding with tears as he gave Tony a desperate look. Emma was just pissed off that Tony had driven Peter to tears. It was so cruel of him to encourage and mentor Peter like that… to paint himself as the father in Peter's eyes and then take it all away. Just like that. But that's what Stark did, wasn't it? He just pushed everyone away until he was all alone.

"No, no, no. Please, please, please." Peter pleaded with him desperately as he tried to get Tony to change his mind. Emma knew trying to get Stark to change his mind was a lost cause. "You don't understand. This is all I have. I'm nothing without this suit."

"If you're nothing without this suit then you shouldn't have it." Tony told him seriously, looking to be a parent for once in his life much to his disbelief. "God, I sound like my dad." Emma scoffed at the billionaire.

"You want the suit then fine. It's all yours." Emma snapped at him as she tore the mask from her face and threw it at him. Tony flinched as the mask fell to the ground by his feet. It was moments like that that he reminded that he wasn't dealing with a normal teenager. He was dealing with an enhanced former assassin with the emotions of a teenager. It didn't escape his mind that she could probably throw him off the roof without any effort which was why he had to stand his ground with her. Peter could barely pay attention to Emma's aggression, completely heartbroken about losing the suit.

"You've finally got your wish, Stark." Emma sneered as she continued to glare at him. "You've finally managed distance yourself from everyone. And what do you have left? A big empty building upstate with only two Avengers and your charming self to keep you company."

"You're just a bitter and lonely old man." Emma told him and if Tony didn't feel that hurt by her words he might've come up with something sarcastic to say. The truth was that he did feel hurt by her words even though he didn't think he would ever admit that aloud. Mini Cap sure knew how to hit someone right where it hurts. Emma gave him one last glare before she leapt back onto the ledge. Tony swallowed his emotions down as he raised a hand.

"Where are you going? I still need the-" Tony started to say, trying to maintain his stern exterior, but Emma just gave him a cold look.

"Don't worry, Stark. I'll give you your precious suit back because we all know I was never cut out for all this Avengers nonsense." Emma said, her tone was harsh. Peter looked up at the blonde when she said that. What did she mean that she wasn't cut out for this?

"Happy can come pick up the suit." Emma continued to say, looking at Tony in disgust. "Because I can't even stand to look at you right now." Her eyes then rested on Peter briefly, her gaze suddenly not as harsh.

"Emma." Peter breathed as he tried to read the expression on her face. He didn't want her to go… not when he was feeling as broken as he was in that moment. Peter also didn't want her to leave because he knew that she shouldn't be alone right now. She was obviously feeling angry and bitter but Peter knew that they could more than likely comfort each other. Even though Emma always had a cold and calculating demeanor she somehow knew just when to say the right thing. Peter felt like he needed her now more than ever.

"I'm sorry, Peter." She told him softly before she propelled herself off the roof and flew off in the distance with all the strength and speed she could muster. Peter immediately rushed over to the ledge to try and get a better view of where she was at but she was already too far gone. A crestfallen look came over the teenager's face as Emma disappeared. Why did she have to leave him in a time like this?

Tony just stared off into the distance as he realized how much he had failed. He had failed Steve, the others, and now he had finally failed Emma. Tony had tried to step in for Steve but it was obvious to him that she would never accept him as that figure in her life. He had finally made her hate him which was only another example at how much he had failed Steve. Steve had asked him to be there for Emma but Tony couldn't even do that. He never felt like he had failed anyone more than he had failed Emma. Tony then kept a calm and stern composure as he ignored his own discomfort and self loathing. He coughed awkwardly and Peter's gaze was immediately taken away from the sky where Emma had disappeared off into.

"Suit, kid?" Tony inquired, getting back to business as he ignored his thoughts that encompassed a certain blonde assassin. Peter sighed sadly as he avoided Mr. Stark's stern gaze.

"I don't have any other clothes." Peter told him and Tony just stared at him before nodding.

"Okay, we'll sort that out."

* * *

Emma entered the townhouse, slamming the front door so hard that it broke off the hinges and fell to the ground. She was angry, bitter, and filled with an inescapable feeling of sadness. All three were not a great combination and only served to cause Emma great turmoil. Darcy just stared at the broken front door in shock as she eyed the angry looking blonde from her spot on the couch in the living room. Darcy was shocked because she didn't think she had ever seen the blonde so visibly angry before.

"Hey, Em? Is everything alright? I tried to call you earlier but you never answered." Darcy said carefully but Emma just glared at her before making her way upstairs. Darcy sighed as she sank back against the couch.

"Well, that went well." She mumbled to herself.

Emma didn't know why her first instinct was to go to her room. She had no idea what to do now that she was in there. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? Emma just shook her head as she immediately went to go sit down on the edge of her bed, her body heaving with her angry. The blonde furiously wiped the tears off her face with the sleeve of her suit as a million thoughts went through her mind all at once. Steve. Her father. Hydra. Rumlow. Stark. Peter. All of those names and faces flashed through her mind as tried to calm herself down but for once in her life Emma just couldn't keep calm and collected. She sniffled as she tried to block out all the events that had occurred within the past couple hours. It didn't seem like Emma had much control of herself. The breathing exercises Bruce taught her didn't even seem to be working and neither were any of the methods that Sam mentioned.

Emma immediately opened the drawer of her night stand and took out something that she knew she wasn't supposed to have. It was something she had stolen from Steve's room at the compound before Stark sent her away to live with Darcy. Her eyes gazed down upon an old framed photograph of her father and a pre-serum Steve. It must've been taken right before the war, Emma figured. It mesmerized her as to how happy and care-free they looked in the picture. So much had changed since then and Emma wished that in another life she could've been there to see Steve and her father at their happiest.

A lone tear fell from her eye and landed on the picture she was holding in her hand. Something in the image of the fallen tear finally caused Emma to snap as she immediately glared down at the fallen tear, her temper rising. Without another thought Emma chucked the framed photograph at the wall with such speed and strength that the glass shattered in pieces on the floor. The sight of the broken photograph seemed to snap Emma out of her anger momentarily as she raced over to kneel on the floor and pick up the broken pieces. Emma sniffled as she desperately tried picking up the pieces so she could save the delicate photograph. As she started pushing away the broken glass, one of the pieces immediately cut her. Emma winced in surprise as she retracted her hand, the blood flowing from her cut. She finally gave up in the effort of trying to clean up the mess as she stared at the old photograph longingly.

"I give up, Steve. I give up." Emma told the photograph, her voice sounding exhausted and frustrated. She was exhausted from constantly trying to play by the rules and being the hero… trying to be more like Steve. It was all so tiring to Emma and she was just frustrated for herself for letting her emotions rule her. She was better than this… she was stronger than her emotions so she shouldn't be crying. Emma never usually cried that often but for some reason she couldn't stop. Everything was finally getting to her.

"I can't do what you asked of me. It's just too hard." Emma continued to say, not even bothering to wipe all the tears from her face this time. There was no use at this point. "You asked me to listen to him but he just makes everything impossible. I lived here, went to school, and tried to play hero but I just don't have it in me."

"I just can't do this anymore, Steve. Pretending, I mean. This just isn't who I am." Emma said as she started crying more. "I miss you and Papa so much. I just want to go home."

"Why can't I just be with you guys?" Emma said quietly, her voice nearly breaking from the strangled sob that also managed to escape her at the same time. She groaned in frustration as she tried and tried to suppress the emotions but she just couldn't. Getting up from the floor, Emma immediately grabbed the first thing in her sight which happened to be her vinyl record player and threw it at the wall. The heavy record player was thrown so hard that it went through the wall on impact and Emma glared at the now the gaping hole in the wall, her body heaving with anger. She screamed in anger before she also grabbed the bookshelf in her room and pushed it over, causing all the books to come falling out.

"I hate it here!" Emma screamed, her face painted with tears and her eyes red with anger.

"Emma?" Emma immediately turned around and saw Darcy standing in the doorway with a concerned and bewildered look on her face. Her body was still heaving with anger as she looked back at Darcy. Darcy stared in shock at seeing the wave of destruction in Emma's room and also seeing Emma in such a wild and angry state. Emma was usually so calm and put together so Darcy didn't know what to think. Most people would probably run in the opposite direction if they saw a former Hydra assassin in a state like this. However, Darcy wasn't most like most people.

"What's going on, Emma?" Darcy asked her again but Emma didn't say anything. She just stared at the floor with a haunted look in her eyes. Darcy took a deep breath before she climbed over the large bookcase and the other debris on the floor before finally making it over to Emma.

"You've gotta tell me what's wrong, Em. You can't keep it in like this. Not anymore." Darcy told Emma and Emma just continued to avoid her gaze. It was clear that she was trying to suppress her sadness but Darcy could see the tears streaming down her face and her red rimmed eyes. Emma had been crying. The blonde teenager was still heaving with both anger and frustration as she looked away from the brunette woman in embarrassment. Embarrassed at the way she couldn't control her emotions. Darcy just sighed.

"Come here, Em. It's gonna be okay." Darcy said as she then wrapped her arms around Emma without hesitation. Emma stiffened when Darcy wrapped her arms around her but relaxed a moment later. She was tired of fighting with herself. Darcy rubbed Emma's back soothingly as she held her.

"You're going to be just fine, Emma. Whatever happened… it's gonna turn out alright." Darcy told her as she tried to reassure Emma. Emma really wanted to be believe her but she couldn't bring herself too. She didn't think anything was ever going to be alright. Not when she was living in a world without Steve and her father.


	43. Chapter Forty One

**Author's Note: I know last chapter was super emotional so just hang in there. Things got a little more difficult in this one on a whole new level. A huge revelation for Emma in this chapter. This chapter's a little shorter but completely worth it. I think the Homecoming dance will either be in the next chapter or the one after that. I'm still deciding. We'll see.**

 **swanqueen4: Thank you so much! It was just as much of a tear jerker for me as well. I had the confrontation between Tony and Emma planned out for months in my head but actually putting it to words was immensely hard.**

 **writeremma: You're going to be severely disappointed in this chapter then but things will start looking up within the next couple chapters. I promise.**

 **Spawn Hades: Well... kind of. Peter's definitely going to have that moment but I'm not going to exactly say because I don't want to give anything away. You'll see within the next couple of chapters.**

 **peoplers: Yeah, definitely. I think she was hurt that Tony recruited Peter sort of like a child soldier like Emma was. She was upset because he didn't really give her any consideration.**

 **boxofpotter: Last chapter was super hard for me to write but I finally managed to do it. It took me longer than originally thought but I liked the way it turned out.**

 **SabrinaInWonderland001: I don't know if Emma really hates Tony that much or if she could never forgive him. I think she misses the others a lot and she takes that out on him. After the events of Homecoming I think they'll start mending their relationship and becoming even closer. Peter was definitely help them get over their differences. Thank you so much for your feedback. That's such a nice compliment to hear.**

 **XxRikela-ChanxX: I think Darcy is a good female figure for Emma because she doesn't really have many of those in her life.  
**

 **gossamermouse101: Don't worry. I cried just as much writing this chapter. I had to listen to a lot of The Kinks to make me feel better. One of the most underrated bands of all times but they sure are like comfort food to my ears. lol.**

 **: I think this chapter's going to be even more on the edge of your seat. Emotionally wise anyways.**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: Thanks! You're too kind. I'm glad you like the story so much. I never planned on having Emma's backstory be so long before meeting Peter but it just turned out that way. I think I was originally thinking 15,000 words before she meets Peter but then it turned into a backstory of over 100,000 words I think. I'm glad with the way it turned out though. This has to be my favorite story that I've ever written. Thank you for reading.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and please let me know what you think of the new chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Miss Lewis, you seem like a level headed young woman." Principal Morita told Emma as sat in the principal's office the next day. Last night she had slept the hardest she had ever slept in her life. She supposed crying that much would do something like that to a person. So much had happened the day before that Emma was still trying to process everything… she was still trying to figure out what she was going to do. Needing time to figure out her next move, Emma had also been ignoring all of Peter's texts and calls. Emma wanted to answer his calls and texts but she didn't know how. She didn't know what to say to him or how to hide the embarrassment she had that he had seen her in one of her most vulnerable states.

"So I can't understand your actions. First, leaving your hotel room in D.C. and now ditching detention. Do you care explain yourself, Miss Lewis?" Principal Morita asked Emma seriously and Emma just shrugged as she feigned a regretful look.

"I don't know, Principal Morita. I suppose that it's just been tough moving away from home and trying to fit in." Emma told him in a soft tone, playing the part of a guilty and lost teenage girl. "I've been having kind of a hard problem with trying to find my place here but that in no way excuses my behavior." This was who she was. Emma wasn't a hero and she never would be. She was a manipulator and talented liar… she was what Hydra had made her to be. She'd never be able to wipe the red out of her ledger because there was too much red there. The idea that she could be anything more than what Hydra made her was laughable.

"I can understand that but if you were having problems trying to assimilate here at Midtown, you could've talked to one of the counselors." Principal Morita told her and Emma looked down at her hands, pretending to be ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like discussing my personal problems with strangers." Well, at least part of that was true.

"Just don't let this happen again, Miss Lewis." Principal Morita said in a stern tone but his eyes were compassionate as he looked at the blonde. Emma nodded. "You seem like a good kid so I'll give you another chance. Just report to detention after school but actually stay this time."

"Of course, Principal Morita." Emma said gratefully and he gave her a small smile.

"Now get to class. We can't have you be late on top of everything else." He replied and Emma immediately got up from the seat in front of his desk.

"Thank you." Emma responded as her eyes rested on one of the pictures placed on his wall. It was the picture of Steve, her father, and the rest of the howling commandos. She felt her heart clench at the sight as she was reminded yet again of their absence. It seemed like everywhere she looked these days she was reminded of them. Emma would give anything just to be back with the both of them again. She didn't let the sadness show in her eyes as she started heading towards the door.

"Could you send the next student in, Miss Lewis?" Principal Morita asked her politely and Emma forced a smile as she nodded.

"Yes. Have a nice day, sir." Emma told him and he gave her a quick nod as she opened the door.

"You too." Emma then proceeded to walk out of the Principal's office and stepped into the main office. She took a deep breath as she stood out in the hallway. It seemed to be getting harder and harder for Emma to keep herself together these days. If seeing a picture of Steve and her father managed to make her feel this terrible then she was clearly losing her touch. What was happening to her? She used to be so amazing at hiding everything but now it seemed to be real struggle for her to do so.

"Emma?" Emma immediately turned to look and noticed Peter sitting in one of the chairs outside the Principal's office. She wanted to roll her eyes. It looked like it was going to be way harder to avoid him than she previously thought. Peter stared at her with a look of concern in his eyes. The look of concern in Peter's eyes made Emma uncomfortable because she knew he had questions. Questions that Emma really didn't feel like answering.

"Principal Morita will see you now." Emma told him coldly and Peter was immediately taken back by the coldness in her tone. The blonde was never the easiest person to talk to but Peter felt like she was opening up to him more and more lately.

"I've been trying to call you." Peter told her, trying to get some answers from her but Emma just stared at him blankly.

"I've been busy." She deadpanned but it was obvious to Peter that she was lying. He had spent so much time around her the past couple weeks that it was becoming more and more easy for him to tell when she was lying. "You should probably go see Principal Morita. I don't think you should keep him waiting." Emma then started walking past Peter to go to her first period class without so much as another glance and that bothered Peter beyond belief. She was almost acting like they were strangers or something.

"Emma!" Peter called out to her and Emma immediately stopped, she squeezed her eyes close before opening them again. The blonde immediately turned around and gave Peter an annoyed look.

"What, Parker?" Emma asked, her tone sounding irritated. Peter was taken back by her tone and immediately felt speechless. He shook his head furiously.

"Nothing… uh… see you at lunch, I guess." Peter responded and Emma just stared at him, her eyes much colder than usual. She didn't even respond to Peter's awkward statement as she turned back around and started walking in the opposite direction. Peter was left to watch as the blonde walked further and further away. He didn't really understand what her problem was. Peter knew that she had quite the row with Mr. Stark but he didn't think Emma was the type of person to let something like that get her down. No, something else had to be going on with her. Peter just didn't know what.

* * *

After carefully avoiding Peter, which was difficult since they had a few classes together and detention, Emma immediately left school to head for a local coffee shop a few blocks over. It had been hard avoiding Peter in detention especially since she felt his eyes on her the whole time. Emma sat far away from him in the back and drew in her sketchbook the whole time. The instant Coach Wilson announced detention was over, Emma didn't waste anytime getting out of there before Peter could talk to her. A confrontation with Peter wasn't what she needed right now.

The coffee shop Emma entered was the same one where she usually ordered her Italian Bulls from but she hadn't really ever sat and spent time there before. It was an older coffee shop that a lot of hipsters seemed to frequent but it was more quieter than other coffee shops in the area and the baristas were never rude. As Emma entered the coffee shop she immediately spotted the person she was meeting. The person in question raised their hand, waving her over and Emma immediately headed towards the back of the shop.

"There you are." Susan Winters said to her as Emma took a seat across from her at the table Susan occupied. Emma hadn't seen Susan since the parking garage in Germany, right outside the airport, but she managed to stay in contact with her. The two had texted each other on a weekly basis although both were busy. Susan with work in San Francisco and Emma with balancing school and Viper Assassin business. Fortunately Susan was back in town for an expo her boss had wanted to attend. Emma noticed the raven haired woman didn't look that much different than she had the last time Emma had seen her. She just look a bit more tired.

"Hey, Susan." Emma greeted.

"God, I feel like you've grown since last time I saw you." Susan remarked as she looked the blonde over. It was true. Emma looked much different than the last time Susan saw her. Maybe it was because she was dressed more like how a teenage girl dressed with her bubble gum pink skater skirt, black velvet long sleeve shirt, and black velvet ankle high boots. The blonde also wore more make-up than Susan had ever seen her wear. Well, now that Susan thought about it she didn't think she had ever seen Emma wear make-up before. Susan supposed that Emma was just trying to play the part of a normal teenage girl but it still bewildered her as to how adult looking Emma looked. It also saddened Susan to see Emma's eyes which were the same eyes that Steve had. She was instantly reminded of the blonde super soldier turned war criminal that she desperately missed.

"Nope. I'm still the same size as last time." Emma told her and Susan just nodded slowly, still trying to come to terms with how fast Emma was growing up. She first met Emma when the blonde was only thirteen and now Emma was almost sixteen. It was almost surreal as to how fast Emma was growing up and Susan was completely sure that Emma must've had a lot of options for dates at that high school of hers. Steve certainly wouldn't be happy to hear that.

"It's been a while since we've last seen each other." Susan said quietly and Emma nodded.

"I guess it has been." Emma replied.

"I ordered you an Italian Bull. I remember Steve always complaining about how unhealthy those things were for you so I figured you might like one." Susan told her and Emma smiled. It was true. Steve had always hated when she would drink energy drunks. He called them liquid garbage for the human body.

"Yeah, he absolutely hated them. I mostly just drank them to piss him off." Emma said as she recalled the memory of the pinched expression on Steve's face whenever she drank an energy drink. "He was so funny when he pretended to be angry with me." Susan smiled at the affectionate look on Emma's face.

"Do you miss him?" Susan asked her quietly and Emma snapped out of her thoughts to look back at the dark haired woman. For some reason Emma always felt like she could talk to Susan about anything. It was just the kind of aura Susan had about her. She was kind and compassionate which was why Emma never minded the budding romance between Steve and Susan.

"All the time." Emma admitted without hesitation. "Where ever I go I see reminders of both him and my father. I can't seem to think of anything else these days."

"Have you heard anything?" Susan inquired and Emma sighed.

"Natasha came to D.C. when I was there on a school trip. It was a secret visit so not even Stark knows. She just told me he was doing fine. It's not like she could tell me where he was and I understand that. If I knew exactly where he was, I wouldn't be wasting my time at school." Emma told Susan and despite Susan feeling a bit more relieved to know that Steve was okay, she noticed something a bit more obvious about Emma. She noticed that Emma seemed more bitter than she had ever seemed before.

"Steve wouldn't want you to go looking for him." Susan told her honestly and Emma just shook her head.

"I know that but he doesn't know how hard this is for me." Emma replied and Susan gave Emma a concerned look.

"What's hard?" Susan asked her, trying to get to the bottom of Emma's apparent bitterness. Emma clenched her jaw as she glared down at the table.

"Everything. Going to school… pretending all the time… living my life without him and my father." Emma confessed and Susan felt sad for the blonde. It wasn't really fair for Emma to have to be away from her family for a second time in her life. Steve and Bucky were basically all Emma knew… all she had left… and they had been so cruelly taken away from her.

"This won't last forever. It's going to blow over soon. Some other global catastrophe will happen and Tony will need the gang to get back together again. It'll all be forgotten." Susan said, trying to comfort Emma but Emma didn't look that comforted.

"It couldn't happen soon enough." Emma muttered and before Susan could reply one of the baristas came over to drop off their drinks, setting an Italian Bull in front of Emma and a coffee in front of Susan. Susan smiled in thanks at the barista before the barista went back to tend to one of the espresso machines.

"You're going to be fine, Emma. You always land on your feet." Susan told her with a bright reassuring smile. Susan always seemed to have a way with words which was probably another reason why Steve was so smitten with her but Emma found that not even Susan could really comfort her in a time like this.

"I saw on the news that you, Tony, and Spider-Man saved that ferry from sinking. You seem to be doing okay." Susan continued to tell her but Emma knew that that wasn't the half of it. The news seemed to leave out the fact that it was kind of her and Peter's fault as to why the ferry started sinking in the first place. Susan seemed to think that she and Tony weren't doing that badly and Emma didn't want to worry or disappoint her by telling her the truth. Susan probably had enough to worry about back in San Francisco.

"So… enough about me. How's life in San Francisco?" Emma inquired politely and Susan smiled at her.

"Well, things have been tough since Scott went on the run but Hank and I have been experimenting with his new…" Emma tried to force herself to pay attention to Susan's words but she couldn't help but let thoughts drift elsewhere. A part of her had wanted to ask Susan if she could stay with her for a while but Emma noticed that Susan seemed to be doing quite well for herself. Emma didn't want to spoil that by burdening Susan with her presence. Emma knew more than well that she would be nothing but a dark cloud looming over Susan's happiness. The blonde was in no place to be pleasant company so she would just have to figure out what else to do because Emma really didn't have a clue as to what she wanted to do. She had never felt so lost and unsure of herself in her life.

* * *

Peter noticed that Emma was making herself very scarce after the confrontation between them and Mr. Stark. At lunchtime she seemed to make herself absent from the lunch table she usually sat at with him, Ned, and Michelle. When Peter asked Michelle where Emma was the dark haired girl just shrugged and told him that she wasn't obsessed enough with Emma to stalk her. Even so, Peter couldn't help but notice that Michelle appeared slightly worried when she said that although she hid it well.

Peter saw Emma during their classes together but the blonde pointedly ignored his gaze and didn't even turned around when he threw paper balls at her back in Spanish. Usually she would turn around and glare at him when he did that but she didn't even seem to care now. When they had to work together in History class, Emma remained cordial and professional but Peter could hear the coldness in her tone when she spoke to him. Gym and Chemistry she just seemed to keep to herself, not even sticking by Michelle's side and talking to her friend like she normally did. It was certainly odd behavior and Peter didn't know how much more he could take of it.

Emma was slowly driving him insane so Wednesday after detention Peter quickly rushed after her before she could get away. She was walking down the hall when Peter shoved her into one of the empty classrooms. Emma stumbled into the classroom, surprised by the sudden and rough action. She immediately glared at Peter but her death glare didn't frighten him anymore, he held his ground and glared right back at her after shutting the door behind them.

"You have some nerve, Parker. The last person who put their hands on me got the shit knocked out of them so I'd tread very carefully." She said threateningly but Peter wasn't scared of her. He knew her. She made a point of trying to scare people away but it wasn't going to work this time.

"What's wrong with you?" Peter asked her suddenly and Emma just stared at him.

"What?" She asked. Peter crossed his arms as he continued glaring at the blonde.

"You've been avoiding me the past couple days and I think I deserve an explanation as to why." Peter told her in a demanding tone. Emma couldn't believe that now was the time Peter decided to stick up for himself and be more authoritative. Now of all times. She then proceeded to roll her eyes at him.

"I don't have time for this." Emma grumbled as she tried walking past him but he stopped her from leaving. Peter easily shoved her back, not letting her leave the room. Emma narrowed her eyes at the teenage boy.

"You want to keep that hand of yours?" Emma said in a dangerous tone but she still wasn't scaring Peter. It seemed like all the defensive tactics she had come up with were having no effect on Peter… not this time.

"Tell me." He demanded and if Emma wasn't pissed off at Peter's inquisition than she might've been a little attracted to this new side of him. The way his brown eyes hardened as he glared down at her, his clenched jaw, and the way his nostrils flared. If this wasn't directed towards her than she might really like this new side of Peter Parker. Emma instead continued to glare at Peter, not wanting to him to think he could intimidate her.

"Don't you see? It's over." Emma said seethingly and Peter's glare faded from his face as he looked at her in confusion.

"What?" He questioned and Emma shook her head.

"It's over. This whole superhero thing with saving the world… it's over. It was actually pretty stupid now that that I think about it." Emma told him and Peter just stared at her.

"Well, I know that it's definitely put on hold for now but I don't get why you're avoiding me. I know you're avoiding Michelle too and even though she says she doesn't care I know she does." Peter told her, trying to scold her for her actions but Emma wasn't going to let herself feel guilty even though she secretly might've felt the tiniest bit guilty over her actions. It wasn't like she'd ever admit that to Peter.

"It's put on hold forever… at least for me." Emma told him, her blue eyes locked onto his brown ones. Peter furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked her and Emma scoffed.

"Stark's going to give you back your suit, Peter. Maybe not today but in a year or two… once he's seen you mature." Emma replied honestly. "But he's never going to give me back my suit."

"Yes, he will." Peter argued but Emma didn't look the least bit convinced.

"No, he's not. Why should he? It's not like I could ever be the hero in real life… it was nice to play pretend but it's a pipe dream. I'm not my grandfather and I never will be." Peter furiously shook his head.

"That's not true. You're a good person, Emma." Peter told her and that's what made this harder. Emma just smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm really not, Peter. I've done terrible things… things that would make you question whether or not you'd even want to be in the same room as me." Emma responded bitterly.

"I don't care!" Peter told her as he took a step forward, looking determined. "It's all in the past. You're not like that anymore."

"But I am, Peter." Emma replied, her eyes seeming sad and regretful as she looked back at him. "The Winter Soldier isn't just Winter to me… he's my father. Winter is my father in everything except flesh and blood." Peter stared at her in shock as she told him this. That was one of the last things he had expected to hear. And to think he thought the relationship between Emma and the Winter Soldier was somewhat more romantic. He should've known Emma and the Winter Soldier had more of a familial bond.

"He practically raised me in that Hydra base. Everything was always so cold but he was like a warm light… protective and caring. He never really said much but he didn't need to." Emma said before continuing, her eyes filled with tears at the thought of her father. "He's the first person I ever allowed myself to love. Love is a weakness but I allowed myself one exception because he means the world to me."

"Hydra recognized that weakness and they used it against us. We've lied and killed for each other and I would do it all over again if it meant that he could be safe." Emma said and Peter completely believed her. The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know."When he was being accused of blowing up that UN building, I didn't even care whether or not he did it. I knew that I would tear apart cities, swim across oceans, and kill whoever I had to if it meant that he could come home to me. What kind of hero thinks like that?" Peter was silent for a moment as he stared at the teary eyed blonde. There was no doubt in his mind that she meant every word she said. He swallowed nervously before answering.

"When you love and care about someone you're just more passionate than most people. There's nothing wrong with that." Peter told her honestly and that hadn't been the answer Emma wanted to hear. She just shook her head at him.

"There is something wrong with that. I'm not like you, Peter." Emma argued. "I don't have a moral compass. I don't know right from wrong. Hydra taught me not to have a moral compass because it makes everything easier… especially killing. I'm not meant to be the hero."

"Don't say that." Peter replied, his tone sad as he looked at the tormented blonde.

"It's true. I was never meant to be the hero and everyone knows that. Stark's right." Emma told Peter. "I'm going to be the person you're probably going to have to save the world from. I'll have the evil lair because when you've grown up in an evil lair it's probably inevitable that you'd have one as an adult."

"You're wrong… more than you know." Peter argued, not wanting to let Emma actually believe that about herself. "I know that you care about people. You effortlessly saved all those people from drowning on the main deck of the ferry. That's not someone who ends up as a villain."

"It doesn't make up for all the bad things I've done." Emma responded and Peter shook his head.

"But you can still redeem yourself." Peter shot back and Emma scoffed as she laughed humorlessly.

"Redeem myself? Redemption is a joke. I can't wipe that much red out of my ledger. Nothing I do will ever erase all the pain and terror I've left in my wake. Nothing." Emma said darkly. Peter didn't know how she could think so little of herself… how she could think of herself as someone incapable of doing anything good.

"I don't care what you've done, Emma." Peter told her softly. "All that matters to me is who you are now and the person I see in front of me is someone who's done terrible things but who also wants to overcome her past and do good."

"Don't believe in me, Peter. I'll only disappoint you." Emma said harshly before her gaze softened as she looked at the hopeful brown eyed boy. "You're going to be an amazing Avenger one day. You'll be an amazing leader too and you might even give Steve a run for his money. I'll probably be a mercenary for hire but I'll try to stay out of your way. I have a feeling you'd put up a pretty good fight against me. You might even win."

"I want you to be an Avenger _with_ me." Peter said as he tried to be strong when arguing with Emma. She was the kind of person that you just couldn't win an argument against. She made everything so difficult. "We're supposed to be partners, remember? Like Batman and Catwoman." Emma fought against the way he was tugging on her heartstrings with that sad and hurt puppy dog expression on his face.

"I'm not a good partner to have. I'll only hold you back." Emma told him truthfully. "It's better that we go our separate ways."

"No." Peter protested weakly, taken back by what Emma was actually saying. Tears flooded his eyes as he looked at the blonde who was currently avoiding his gaze. It was true that their partnership had started out as a truce of sorts but Peter had quickly come to think of Emma of a close friend. It also didn't help that he had formed something of a crush on her which only confused him even more given his crush on Liz as well.

"Yes. You're better off without me." Emma told him quietly.

"No, I'm not." Peter tried to argue. "I thought we were friends, Emma." It was then that Emma tensed and a cold look came over her face as she looked past him.

"I don't have friends." Emma told him coldly before she walked past him, not sparing him another look. Peter just stood there staring at the wall in shock and hurt as she walked past him, not believing what just happened. He couldn't see but as Emma walked away a single tear escaped her eye and trailed down her face as she left the empty classroom. Emma wouldn't admit it but that hurt more than she thought it would but it was necessary. She had to distance herself from Peter. It was true… he really was better off without her and she was sure he would see that eventually.

* * *

Emma noticed that Peter seemed to get the hint because he didn't text her again or even try to call her. The next day when they were in class, Peter didn't even glance in her direction or try to get attention. It was clear that things were different now and Peter was probably pissed at her for leaving like that as well as saying the things she had. It was a good thing that he was angry at her. At least it would make everything much easier. Peter didn't need to waste his time worrying about her because Emma knew that she was a lost cause. Steve had tried again and again to get her to open up but she never did… not completely. There was a lot about her that not even Steve knew and that was probably for the best. There was some stuff about her that her father didn't know either and she never wanted to tell either of them. She feared their reaction.

"Are you done brooding?" Michelle asked Emma boredly and Emma immediately snapped out of her thoughts to look at her. They were currently in the lunch room which Emma was begrudgingly allowed herself to sit in since she refused to starve herself just because she was trying to avoid Peter. He wasn't going to get the lunch room in the divorce even though everything was kind of her fault.

"Excuse me?" Emma asked her, her tone was bitchy but Michelle wasn't intimidated. She just stared unflinchingly at Emma.

"You've been brooding like Mr. Darcy for the past couple days. I was just wondering who managed to piss you off so much that you can just sit there and glare at your lunch all day." Michelle told her and Emma smirked at her.

"I didn't know you read _Pride and Prejudice_ , MJ. I never took you as a romantic." Emma replied and Michelle glared at her.

"It's a classic. Everyone's read it." Michelle defended before continuing. "Stop deflecting."

"Nothing's wrong." Emma replied shortly but Michelle clearly didn't believe her. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde before glancing at Peter who was sitting as far as he possibly could from them without leaving the table. Ned also seemed pretty mystified by the situation since he also glanced in their direction a few times.

"Really? Is that why Peter's not drooling all over you like usual?" Emma glared at Michelle.

"Parker doesn't drool over me." Emma argued but Michelle just smirked at her.

"Yeah, right. It's almost like he's obsessed with you or something." Michelle told Emma before pausing for a brief moment. "You know, I used to think it was all one sided but now I'm not so sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma questioned, her voice low and dangerous but Michelle just continued to smirk at her.

"I'm just saying that I think that you might have a thing for dorky, nervous science nerds. That's all." Emma scoffed.

"Don't be stupid." Emma replied and Michelle just shook her head.

"Seriously though… what's going on with you two? One day you're ditching detention together and then the next you couldn't be further apart. I thought you two were friends?" Michelle questioned and Emma's gaze hardened as she stared at the table in front of her.

"We aren't friends." Emma said bitterly. "We were never friends." Michelle raised her hands defensively at Emma's bitter tone even though she didn't quite believe Emma when Emma said that. Emma seemed way too close to Peter to not be friends.

"Okay, okay. Relax… I was just asking." Unknown to them, a certain teenage boy heard every word they said. Peter's eyes were filled with hurt as he glared down at his lunch and clenched his jaw. He was hurt because Emma was acting like he meant nothing to her… she was acting like she didn't care about him at all. The girl he had developed feelings for… the girl with the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen and the most flawless blonde hair in existence. The girl who pretended to be tough but still always knew when to say the right things. The girl who others deemed cold and calculating but who Peter knew to have the kindest of hearts. Were those all lies? Peter didn't know. When she said such cold and cruel words like she had, however, he couldn't help but feel like he didn't know her at all. If that's the way she wanted it to be then fine. He wouldn't waste his time trying to be her friend ever again. It's not like he meant anything to her after all.

* * *

Emma had been sent by Mr. Harrington to retrieve a set of whiteboard markers from one of the psychology teachers down the hall. It was fourth period now and Emma couldn't wait for the school day to finally end so that she could go back to the townhouse and unwind. It seemed like Emma was going to have to resort to just listening to music on her iPod since she kind of broke her record player when she threw it though her bedroom wall. She was already regretting doing that since she couldn't listen to any of her records. Life currently sucked. Emma was just about to walk around a corner of the hallway when some voices immediately stopped her. Peter's voice more specifically.

"I thought you had calculus fourth period?" She heard Peter ask and Emma immediately hid behind the wall. Her main task for school at the moment was avoiding Peter at all costs. She had class with him fourth period as well but being in a crowded classroom with him was more different than sharing an awkward encounter with him alone in a corridor.

"Yeah, I was just doing some homecoming stuff." Emma heard Liz reply and Emma rolled her eyes at the older girl's voice. She couldn't help but feel annoyed by Liz although Emma wasn't exactly sure why. Liz had never done anything wrong and she seemed to be pleasant enough but for some reason Emma couldn't seem to like her. Maybe it was just because she was too nice for Emma's liking. People who were too nice rubbed Emma the wrong way. It was why she instantly hated Vision. Another thought then gave Emma some pause. Peter was nice and he hadn't actually rubbed her the wrong way. Emma was actually quite fond of Peter.

"Hey, look I uh… I just wanted to apologize about the whole decathlon thing." Peter said to Liz as Emma eavesdropped on their private conversation. It wasn't like Emma hadn't eavesdropped on people before but this was a different situation. This was obviously just a normal conversation with a normal fifteen year old boy and his high school crush. The times she eavesdropped on people were normally when there was much more at stake like when she was on missions with her father. Emma didn't think this really counted as high stakes situation so she didn't know why she was still standing there, hidden behind a wall, listening to Peter and Liz. She never cared about people's business before so why now?

"It's fine." Liz replied. "Last week, decathlon was the most important thing, but then I almost died."

"No, I'm-Uh-I-" Peter stuttered nervously before finally getting a hold of himself. "I just mean that… it was not cool." Emma had a curious look on her face as she listened in on Peter. What was he trying to say?

"Especially… because… I like you." Peter finally said and for another reason unknown to Emma, she could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the feeling. Could she actually be sad at the statement? Sad? Why should she feel sad at Peter's statement? This had absolutely nothing to do with her.

"I know." Liz told him.

"You do?" Peter asked in confusion.

"You're terrible at keeping secrets." Liz retorted and for some reason Peter felt a little crestfallen at that statement. Maybe it was because that was something a certain blonde was always telling him. Instead of letting his sadness show, he just laughed the feeling off.

"Yeah, you'd be surprised." Peter replied. "I gotta get to class but um… I'd say we should hang out but I'm gonna be in detention forever. I guess you already have a date to homecoming."

"Actually, I was so busy planning it, I never really got around to that so…" Liz trailed off and Emma could feel her breathing hitch, her eyes actually filling with unshed tears as she continued to listen to the private conversation.

"Do you want to… go with me?" Peter asked nervously and normally Emma would find his nervousness adorable but not when it was directed at another girl. Another girl? Emma shook her head furiously as she anxiously wiped the tears from her eyes. What was wrong with her? What had gotten into her? Her throat suddenly felt thick as she was suddenly overcome with so many emotions. None of which she could even begin to describe.

"Yeah. Sure." Liz answered, sounding delighted.

"Really? I mean, great. Cool." Peter said, sounding both excited and more happy than Emma had ever heard him be.

Emma immediately tore herself from the wall and walked back down the way she came. Her heart was pounding against her chest so much that Emma could almost hear it's drumming in her ears. She quickly rushed into one of the girl's empty bathrooms and leaned against a wall for support. What was happening to her? Why did she feel so… weak and… icky? Emma didn't really use the word icky too often because it sounded childish to her ears but Emma couldn't think of another word to describe it. It was then she remembered a conversation she once had with Steve from two years ago.

 _"_ _Then she actually shoot my shield with a gun. Howard was as bewildered as I was." Steve told Emma as he affectionately remembered another memory of Emma's grandmother. They were both seated at their favorite diner in D.C., eating lunch as they always did before they went to see Peggy. Emma smirked at Steve's story of her grandmother._

 _"_ _Grandma sounded pretty badass." Emma remarked and Steve just smiled as he nodded._

 _"_ _Yes, I think it was then that I realized that I was hopelessly in love with her." Emma rolled her eyes at Steve's statement._

 _"Ugh! D_ _on't ruin a good story by saying that." Emma said as she looked at him in disgust and Steve raised his eyebrows at her._

 _"_ _What? I'm telling you the story of how I came to fall in love with your grandmother and you somehow find that disgusting? You do realize we're the reason you're here, right?" Steve told her and Emma scoffed._

 _"_ _Falling in love is a ridiculous notion created by marketing companies of rom-coms and Valentine's day cards. It's only a game for children to play." Emma replied and Steve shook his head._

 _"_ _How are you this cynical? You're only thirteen years old." Steve said and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _I was taught to be cynical… to find love as a weakness. Don't get me wrong. I don't completely look down upon relationships. I mean they have their reproductive value." Emma told Steve bitterly and Steve gave her a look of disbelief._

 _"_ _You don't believe that." He told her and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _Well, it's true. Look at you and Peggy. You fell in love and look where that got you. A bunch of heart break on both sides. She had to move on with her life and marry another man whom she probably wished was you all along." Emma explained to Steve who just stared at Emma, completely bewildered as to how she could actually think like that. "You're stuck in another time as you watch the woman you love slowly wither and die right before your eyes, always wondering what could've been. You can't tell me you're glad you fell in love in the first place." Steve just stared at Emma long and hard, his jaw clenched, before he finally spoke. He needed to get something through that thick head of hers. Emma had spent way too much being taught to thrive off resentment and hatred by Hydra. She needed to learn that love wasn't a weakness... it was a strength.  
_

 _"_ _You're wrong. I don't regret falling in love with your grandmother at all. I would do it all over again if I had to. You want to know why?" Steve asked her and Emma just stared back, shrugging._

 _"_ _No. Why?" Emma responded._

 _"_ _Because I'm sitting in a diner with the product of that relationship. I'm sitting across from the granddaughter of the woman I fell in love with… a granddaughter that she gave me. I always pictured being surrounded by grandchildren someday and although this isn't what I originally pictured, I don't regret any of it." Steve told Emma honestly and she honestly hadn't been expecting an answer like that. Emma wasn't sure what to think of Steve's answer._

 _"_ _Emma, I'm not going to tell you that it doesn't hurt seeing your grandmother in the state she's in but no one ever said that love came without hurt or heart break. You can't deny yourself the pleasure of falling in love with someone just because you're afraid." Steve continued to tell her as a smile graced his face. Emma felt herself becoming far more invested in this conversation now. Steve made some interesting points and she wanted to get to the bottom of this._

 _"_ _Okay. Fine, I get it but why my grandmother? What made her so special?"Emma asked him curiously. She didn't mean it in a bad way but she was genuinely curious as to why her grandfather had fallen in love with Peggy of all people. Steve just continued to smile as he remembered those early encounters with Peggy._

 _"_ _Well, Peggy was many things. She was brave, bold, empowered, and the most intelligent person I had ever met." Steve told Emma as she intently listened to him. "The reason I fell in love with her, however, is because she always looked at me the same. When I was the little guy from Brooklyn and then after the serum… she never looked at me any differently. She saw the good in me and she didn't see anything else."_

 _"_ _After I saved Bucky and the others from that camp, the feelings only intensified. My heart beat a little quicker whenever she was around." Steve said as he recollected the feeling of first becoming attracted to Peggy, right when he was on the cusp of falling in love with her. "I'd go red in the face whenever she came closer to me. And I hated thinking of her being with anyone else."_

 _"_ _Anyone else?" Emma asked in confusion and Steve nodded._

 _"_ _Yeah, jealousy. I wanted to her to be my girl… no one else's. Of course, if your grandmother had ever heard me say that way back when she'd smack me upside the head. She was always no one's girl and that's what I loved about her. She was so independent... she didn't need saving." Emma took in that information even though she didn't really understand the complexities of adult relationships at the time. One thing, however, stuck in her mind as Steve went on talking about Peggy. It was the subject of jealousy._

"Jealousy?" Emma questioned quietly to herself. It was then that it all hit her at once as her eyes widened in realization. Emma didn't dislike Liz because Liz was too nice. No, Emma disliked Liz because Peter liked her and Emma was pretty sure Liz reciprocated the feeling. Normally Emma would question why she would ever care whether or not Peter had a thing for Liz but Emma knew now what it meant. She didn't want Peter to like Liz… she wanted him to like _her_. As in she wanted Peter to desire no one else but herself, selfishly. Emma was jealous of Liz which astonished her beyond belief because she didn't know she possessed the capability of being possessive over anyone.

These feelings of jealousy were suffocating to Emma because it forced her to admit to the fact that she must've had feelings for Peter on some level. The idea of having feelings for someone slightly disgusted her but it was true. She had feelings for Peter and everything suddenly made so much sense. The way she felt that slight fluttering in her stomach sometimes when Peter would look at her in a certain way. It wasn't because she was nauseous or sick. No, it was because she felt attracted to him… she liked him. The way her heart sometimes raced when she was around him or the way her heart melted when he looked at her with those kind brown eyes. Emma was going to be sick.

She was attracted to Peter.

How could this happen? She was supposed to be beyond such sentiment but it suddenly didn't seem that way. Emma realized that she was more like Steve than she ever cared to admit. Was it possible that she was softening? She guessed that's what happened when you spent too much time trying to be a normal teenage girl… you started becoming one in one way or the other. Emma supposed it made sense that she started becoming interested in boys and Peter in particular. She spent so much time around him these past couple weeks that it was inevitable and now she had some kind of school girl crush on him.

Emma started panicking as she internally started coming to terms that she was attracted to Peter. Her heart raced as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Did she love him? No… Emma didn't think she loved him. Not yet at least but if what her grandfather told her was true than it wouldn't be long before she fell in love with Peter and Peter was probably the easiest boy to fall in love with. He was kind and sweet… understanding even. Peter was also easy to talk to and she could actually hold an intelligent conversation with him. He was a dork but Emma liked that about him and not to mention he wasn't bad to look at either. She never thought she was ever capable of falling in love but she didn't think she was capable of ever being attracted to men or boys either yet here she was in this current predicament. This was only the beginning and her feelings would only progress from here. She was, of course, thinking about this from a logical perspective. It's what she did in tense and threatening situations.

Emma didn't want to fall in love with him. She didn't want to end up like her grandfather who suffered from one of the most severe cases of heartbreak. Steve was doing okay but she knew that he'd probably go back in time and marry her grandmother if he could. No, Emma didn't want to end up like him. Besides… Peter liked Liz and he'd probably fall in love with Liz eventually. How could he not? Liz was the ideal girl for Peter… she was innocent, kind, and a damsel in distress. All the things that Emma was not and never could be. Why would Peter ever want anything to do with her? She was cold, cruel, and ruthless… Emma had killed people so she had blood over her hands. And innocence? Well, Rumlow had stolen that from her a long time ago, hadn't he? She was ruined while Liz Allan was perfect in every way… Every guy's dream girl because she was untainted by darkness.

Emma knew that she'd probably fall in love with Peter the longer she stayed there but he would never feel the same. She'd probably end up like Taylor Swift in one of the popstar's pathetic music videos where she stared at a boy longingly, knowing that she could never have him because he loved someone else. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. No, she didn't want to end up like Taylor Swift. Emma would rather tell Stark that she loved him rather than end up all love struck over a boy. She wasn't going to allow herself to become reliant on anyone but herself especially since she knew she would only end up hurt.

Emma had made the mistake of becoming too attached to Peter and now she had to fix the situation. She had to do what was best for everyone including herself. If she stayed she'd only drown in her own turmoil and self-loathing. This wasn't what Steve ever wanted for her but Emma knew that she couldn't stay anymore. No, she had to get out of this place before she did anymore damage to herself. Emma had to leave. She was going to follow that instinct Hydra instilled in her when the going got tough.

Run.


	44. Chapter Forty Two

**Author's Note: So sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've just been a bit distracted with the holidays and I was also working on another fanfiction. Hopefully this chapter makes up for all the time missed. It just took me forever to write this chapter and I was stuck for a while.**

 **Can I just express my excitement for The Last Jedi? Friday cannot come sooner and I'm so excited to see it! I've waited two years to find out who Rey's parents actually are and I'll be pissed if I have to wait another two years. I'm kind of hoping that she's not Luke's daughter because I am a fan of the Kylo Ren/Rey ship which would automatically be weird if they were actually cousins.**

 **BabyPinkPuppy: Thank you for the note on the grammar. I think you're right about the periods. I didn't even realize I was doing that until you mentioned it.**

 **writeremma: Emma might not run away after all but just stay tuned and you'll see. Everything becomes a lot clearer in the next chapter.**

 **cabrera1234: Emma is still very much a part of Homecoming. Just stay tuned and you'll get it.**

 **infinityneverlasts: Emma finally admitting that she has feelings for Peter is incredibly difficult for her. She's used to having complete control so it scares her that she has an attachment to Peter that may cause her emotions to rule her actions. It scares her that Peter might have power over her because she doesn't like feeling powerless. Peter's not the kind of guy who would hold anything over her but Rumlow really messed her up.**

 **Spawn Hades: I'll just tell you to stay tuned since I don't really want to give anything away. The fight with the Vulture will stay pretty close to the movie with a couple of exceptions but you 'll see.**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: Yeah, Emma's not going to react the right way to having those feelings. Most girls would probably be giddy about that sort of thing but Emma's just feels terrified at the thought of becoming so close to a person that they could easily hurt her.**

 **ShyStars: Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm glad you're liking the story so much. I know the adults are kind of suffocating in this story but I think it's makes a lot of sense. In a lot of stories the Avengers are totally cool with letting underage kids fight crime alongside them which isn't realistic. In their eyes Emma and Peter are still children which is why they get treated like children. Tony will probably treat them more like adults after the Homecoming storyline but it's going to be really hard for Steve to do that. I feel like Bucky might also treat Emma as an equal since they've fought alongside each other for so long.**

 **Emma and Tony will definitely make amends within the next two or three chapters so just stay tuned.**

 **Tumblr-O-Trash: Deadpool and Emma might work well together. Emma does have a sense of humor but nothing to the extent of Deadpool's craziness. Another person she would probably work well with would more than likely be Jessica Jones and Punisher. Jessica Jones because they both have the same sense of humor and are victims of sexual abuse. They'd have a common understanding. The Punisher because Emma would be a fan of his work and she probably gets why he does what he does. Wiping clean of the evil for good is easier than just throwing those same people in prison.**

 **Strike Faster Than Starlight: I don't really think Emma steals the spotlight. If I leave anything out about Peter during fight scenes it's only because we've already seen that in the movie and I want to focus on Emma in the story. I think a major point in the film was how new Peter is to the superhero game. He's inexperienced but I think Emma helps him a lot. The fight against the Vulture is Peter's battle and his alone and that's not going to change in this story.**

 **Sorry for not answering all of the reviews but I figured you'd want the chapter more. Thanks for all the reviews and let me know what you think of the new chapter.**

* * *

The plan she had to run away was simple. She wasn't going to tell anyone where she was going let alone the fact that she was leaving in the first place. It would probably be better that way so she didn't have to make any awkward goodbyes. The only question was when would be the right time to leave? Emma figured maybe some time next week would be best or maybe even as soon as the weekend. It's not like Emma needed much to run away. All she really needed was some personal items that included her beloved photographs, sketchbook, and her iPod. The rest of everything else was just materialistic. In all honesty she probably needed to get rid of her Stark phone in case Stark decided to track her. What Emma considered her most useful super power was her survival instinct. With her survival instinct she didn't need anything because she'd be able to find a way to survive.

She always found a way to survive.

It was finally Friday and Emma was surprised that the week passed by so fast. Emma felt a little awkward seeing Peter in Spanish class second period because she didn't really know how she was supposed to act around him. Instead she just avoided looking at him which was easy to do since he sat behind her. Michelle didn't waste anytime taking notice of Emma's even stranger behavior. Emma seemed unusually tense but thankfully Michelle didn't question Emma about her weird behavior. She told herself that she was going to be fine because it wasn't like she was going to stick around long enough to be around Peter anymore. No, pretty soon she'd be far away from there and wouldn't have to worry about her feelings pertaining to a certain brown eyed boy. Emma would be gone from Queens and on a new adventure as she started tracking down Steve and the other Avengers. That was going to be her main priority for now and the only thing that deserved her attention. This attachment that she had to Peter would only serve to ruin her if she stayed. Her time was best served tracking down the others.

After discovering her feelings towards Peter, Emma decided that it would be best to avoid him even more than before. She didn't even spend lunch in the cafeteria this time around and instead ate her lunch in the library as she read one of her books. In all honesty she wasn't really reading the book but instead putting together a very thorough and thought out plan. Emma had to devise a plan in order for her to have a head start against Stark and the others. She'd need several hours before she could get out of the country. Once she was out of the country than it would become very difficult for Stark to locate her. Emma just needed to find a way to buy enough time for herself to leave before Stark could catch up. If he even cared enough to try and locate her, that is. Emma was suddenly interrupted from her thoughts as she noticed someone sit across from her as they plopped their lunch tray down on the table. She glanced up from her book and was surprised to see Ned of all people sitting there.

Well…this was interesting.

"Do you need something, Leeds?" Emma questioned as she narrowed her eyes at him. Ned gulped once he saw those blue eyes give him a cold and calculating look. Okay, he could do this. Emma wasn't _that_ scary. Well…that was sort of a lie. As cool and badass as Emma was, Ned didn't know how Peter could hang out with her so much. She was very terrifying.

"I just thought I'd have lunch with you today. Michelle told me I could find you here." Ned told her and Emma just gave him a suspicious look, not really knowing why he was there.

"Why aren't you sitting with Parker? I thought you were his sidekick." Emma said snarkily and Ned ignored her rude comment before answering her. Peter wasn't kidding when he said she was being bitchier than usual. Well…Peter hadn't said bitchier but Ned was just paraphrasing his words.

"Peter's actually sitting with Liz and her friends today. They're kind of annoying so I thought I'd sit with you instead." Ned explained and Emma felt that familiar feeling of jealousy wash over her as she visibly remained uncaring about Ned's statement. This was why she had to leave. She was becoming emotionally compromised the more time she spent there.

"Aren't you breaking some kind of code by sitting here with me?" Emma questioned, her voice patronizing. Ned shrugged.

"Peter doesn't really know that I'm here." Ned admitted as he played with his food nervously. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Lying? That's no grounds for a friendship." Emma said mockingly and Ned scoffed.

"Like you know anything about friendships. Peter told me everything you said to him." Ned told her and Emma just watched him with mild interest, unused to someone other than Peter standing up to her. "I'm sorry but what you said to him was heartless and mean. It-it was a-a really bitchy thing to do."

Ned almost couldn't believe he actually said something like that to Emma. She had probably killed people for less but he was a bit upset with her for ruining the good thing she had going with Peter. Ned had honestly wanted Peter to date Emma rather than Liz but not just because it would be the coolest thing ever since two superheroes dating was entirely awesome. No, it was because Ned thought Peter needed someone like Emma. Emma who was the center of many of his best friend's complaints but also Emma who was all Peter could talk about most of the time. Liz was nice but if Peter dated her than she would always be in danger and he'd have to worry about saving her all the time. Emma didn't need to be saved. She'd be there right next to him, fighting all the bad guys because she wasn't a damsel in distress. Emma was exactly the person his best friend needed. She pushed him and challenged him in ways that Peter had never faced before. Ned gulped as he saw Emma looking back at him with a stoic expression on her face. She scared him at times because he never knew what she was thinking. Ned was pretty much convinced that Emma was a sociopath.

"I'm impressed, Leeds. I didn't know you had the balls to stand up to anyone let alone me." Emma told him after a moment of silence and Ned was able to regain some more confidence.

"Well, it's true. He really likes you, Emma, and it really hurt him when you said those things to him." Ned sighed heavily before continuing. "Look, I've been his best friend since kindergarten but I know that there's things he can't talk to me about. Things that have to do with super people. I think in these past couple weeks he's come to think of you as a best friend too." A million things went through Emma's mind when Ned told her that. She immediately felt guilty for hurting Peter because that was last thing she ever wanted. However, snipping their attachment to each other was what was best for the both of them. Emma didn't let any of these conflicting emotions show in her face as she maintained the same stoic expression as before.

"Well, that sounds more like his problem than mine. We worked together to achieve a common goal and now, with everything that happened with Stark, that common goal is over." Emma replied coldly and Ned glared at her.

"Peter might be too hurt to realize this by now but I know you're lying. You hide behind the Viper Assassin because you think that's who you really are but you're not…you're Emma Rogers." Ned said in a more hushed tone before he continued. "You want everyone to be scared of you and to think you're this cold, unfeeling person but none of it's true."

"I know Peter has feelings for you." Ned told her suddenly which caused Emma to look at him in bewilderment. It was the first reaction he had been able to get out of her since he first sat at the table. "He's never admitted it but I've known him long enough to be able to tell. It goes beyond anything he's ever felt for Liz. Liz is everyone's crush at Midtown but you're more important to Peter than she is. He really cares about what you think…what you think of him even."

"So?" Emma said shortly. She didn't really think she believed Ned when he talked about Peter having feelings for her. In all the time she had known Peter he had only been able to talk about Liz. It was always Liz this and Liz that. No, Emma was buying it at all.

"So…he has a huge crush on you which is why it hurt him when you said those things." Ned told her as he glared at the blonde who appeared to be aloof about the whole thing. Why did she have to act that way? Like she didn't care at all? "The only reason he asked Liz to the dance is because you basically rejected him. He was probably going to ask you instead." It was then that Emma finally had enough of Ned lecturing her. She immediately leaned forward across the table with a dark look in her eyes. Ned quickly pressed himself against the back of his seat to put as much distance between them as he could. The look in her eyes scared him.

"Who Peter dates bears little consequence to me. He's not a possession of mine…I don't own him." Emma told Ned darkly as she glared down at him. Okay…so maybe getting on Emma's bad side wasn't a good idea, Ned thought to himself. "I'm no one's property either so we're both free to do whatever we want. I didn't reject him because we were never in a relationship to begin with. He could fuck all the girls at Midtown and I could care less."

"Why do you seem so bitter then?" Ned asked despite himself. Emma's vulgar language always made him flinch but he chose to ignore in this instance. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Excuse me?" She asked him, her voice was low and dangerous. It became obvious to Ned that he was entering very dangerous waters. However, he tried not to think about it too much as he stood up to Emma.

"I don't know why you're so bitter if you don't care. But it's not that, is it? You do care and that's why you're pushing Peter away." Ned told her and Emma just stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Ned thought he might've gone too far but he felt relieved when he saw her relax back in her seat. She avoided his gaze for a moment as she tried to put her thoughts together before she glanced back at him.

"You look like an idiot but you're much more perceptive than what people give you credit for. You would've done well in Hydra." Emma told Ned and he gave her a slightly flabbergasted look.

"Uh…thanks?" Ned said, sounding unsure.

"It's a compliment." Emma told him and Ned wasn't sure how he felt about what she deemed a compliment. He supposed that was what Emma being nice looked like.

"Great. So I'm guessing you don't want to discuss this anymore." Ned said to Emma and she looked at him like he was stupid.

"You guessed right." Ned just sighed as he shook his head.

"So I assume you're not going to the dance then?" Ned asked her nonchalantly and Emma just continued looking at him like he was stupid.

"Why do you ask stupid questions? Do I seem like someone who goes to high school dances?" Emma questioned sarcastically.

"I don't know. I thought you'd bring a date and make Peter jealous or something. Isn't that what girls usually do?" Ned said and Emma glared at him. He's just a defenseless and average human, Emma reminded herself. She'd never hear the end of it if she ended up murdering or severely injuring Ned.

"Do you want to keep that tongue of yours, Leeds? Why would I waste my own time and dignity trying to make Parker jealous? I have more important things to worry about." Emma told him and Ned just smirked at Emma which only served to piss her off more. He was getting much too comfortable around her for Emma's liking.

"Because you love him." Ned sang teasingly and Emma glowered at him. "I know you love him and don't you dare deny it. Peter and Emma sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-" Emma interrupted him as she chucked her book at his head, applying enough force to not severely maim but just enough for it to hurt. Ned groaned in pain as he rubbed his head where Emma had thrown the book. He looked back at the blonde who's face was void of all emotion. Okay, maybe he went a little too far that time.

"Love is for children. Like I said before…There's more important things I have to worry about." Emma said to him and Ned stared at her, wondering if she would ever admit to herself that she had feelings for Peter. If she had already admitted it to herself pride probably stopped Emma from admitting it aloud. "Besides…why are you sitting here nagging me about the stupid dance. Shouldn't you be preparing yourself for tonight?" A saddened look then came over Ned's face at Emma's question.

"I don't actually have a date so I'm not sure if I'll even go." Ned said quietly and Emma didn't know but she felt a tugging at her heart at the sadness in Ned's voice. Emma bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to forget the feeling.

"Maybe you could go with Michelle." Emma suggested to him. She was just glad that Ned had finally forgotten the topic of her and Peter but she couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic towards Ned. Although she thought the whole social hierarchy of High School was stupid and a waste of time, Ned clearly wanted to be more liked. Emma didn't really understand that since she spent her whole life not caring what others thought of her. Still…she could somewhat see why it was important to him just like it was important to Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall in literally every movie of the eighties.

"Michelle's going with Abraham." Ned replied before giving her a confused look. Emma was just stunned that Michelle was actually going to the dance. That was odd. "Shouldn't you know that? Aren't you guys friends?"

"I haven't really been around the past couple days." Emma told him, shrugging, before she tried making another suggestion to him. "Maybe you could just go by yourself."

"Are you kidding me?" Ned said, giving Emma a look of disbelief. "I know you're a former assassin and all but don't you know anything about high school? I can't show up without a date. I'll literally be the only one there without a date. That's social suicide."

"Okay…I think you're being a little dramatic." Emma told him as she rolled her eyes. "Who gives a fuck whether or not you have a date. Most of the kids at the dance will probably ditch homecoming to go lose their virginities in some cheap motel downtown."

"I know!" Ned exclaimed suddenly as he had a revelation and ignored another vulgar comment Emma made. Ned looked at Emma with a goofy look on his face, apparently not listening to a word Emma just said. "We can go to the dance together."

"What?" Emma questioned, feeling bewildered at Ned's sudden statement. Ned eagerly nodded.

"Yes, we can go together. You're not going with Peter so you can go with me." Ned told her and Emma shook her head furiously.

"I'm not going." Emma replied. "We already talked about this. Remember?" The excited look on Ned's face didn't seem to falter as he continued to stare at her, looking at the blonde in a new light.

"I know a ton of boys already asked you to Homecoming and you said no but it's still not too late." Ned said. Other than Flash, a lot of boys hadn't even had the opportunity to ask Emma to the dance. The moment she saw a hopeful idiot with a stupid grin on his face, Emma immediately sent him the death glare. That seemed to terrify any boy who tried gaining the courage to ask her to the dance. They would do a u-turn and go back to where ever the hell they came from.

"Why would I want to go to a dance with a bunch of horny teenagers grinding all over each other. I'd rather spend my time pouring bleach into my eyes." Emma deadpanned but Ned just pouted as he gave her a hopeful look.

"Please, Emma… you'd be my favorite Avenger in the world if you did." He continued to plead.

"I'm not an Avenger." She said shortly.

"I'll do all your chemistry homework for the rest of the year." Ned begged and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"I don't need help in chemistry. I'm not an idiot." Emma retorted.

"Fine! I'll pay you." Ned finally said which caused Emma to glare at him.

"What am I? A Prostitute? You're lucky I don't clock you just for suggesting that." Emma told him and in all fairness Ned probably hadn't completely thought that suggestion out very well. Ned threw his hands up in frustration.

"Fine! I give up. But when you're an old lady and you've taken over the world, you're going to look back at this moment." Ned told Emma seriously as he returned her glare. "You'll think…gee, I'm sure glad I didn't go to that stupid dance with Ned because it probably would've sucked. Only you'll never know for sure because you never went. You'll always wonder if the dance really would've sucked if you had gone and that will haunt you forever." There was a brief pause of silence as Emma watched him silently, processing his dramatic proclamation. It was about a minute before Emma finally broke the silence and responded.

"I'm sure if I've taken over the world some stupid high school dance will be the last thing on my mind. I'd also like to think I'd be in my late twenties when I take over the world…it wouldn't take me that long." Emma quipped, breaking the silence. Ned groaned in frustration before he slid his chair back, preparing to leave.

"Whatever. I'll just leave then. I totally get why Tony Stark kicked you out of the Avenger's facility by the way. You're the worst." Ned told her heatedly before he got up from his seat and Emma raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn't really angry at him for saying that but actually a bit amused in a weird way. If it had been a couple months ago, Emma would probably let him storm off in a huff and not even give him a second thought. However, a lot had changed in the time she had been attending school. Emma couldn't just let Ned leave like that. She internally cursed Peter for making her this way. He was softening her heart and Emma partially hated him for doing that. Another part of her adored him for doing that although she was barely able to admit that to herself. Yes, it was probably best that she left while she still could but for now she had something else to do.

"Wait." Emma said, stopping Ned in his tracks before he left. The dark haired boy slowly turned around to look at the blonde in confusion. She had a look of disdain on her face as she looked at him, not actually believing that she was going to do this. "If we're going to do this than I want you to go all out."

"Really?" Ned asked, the hopeful look returning to his face and Emma glared at him.

"Don't get too excited, Leeds." Emma told him before continuing. "I want a corsage and dinner before the dance."

"Of course. A corsage and dinner." Ned said as he nodded furiously and Emma gave him a pointed look.

"You'll also keep your hands to yourself unless I tell you otherwise. If you grope me I won't hesitate in breaking your hand." Emma warned him and Ned gulped at the sincerity in those blue eyes. He believed her when she said that.

"I'd never do that, Emma, I'm a total gentlemen. My mom taught me to respect women." Ned promised her and Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just keep your hands to yourself." Emma told Ned before she made one last demand. "I'll have Darcy drop us off at the restaurant you choose and it better be good. She'll drop us off at the lame ass dance later."

"Sounds good. I can be at your house at seven?" Ned suggested and Emma gave him a brief nod.

"Don't be late. I hate tardiness." Emma replied and Ned nodded, an excited grin coming over his face as he came closer to Emma.

"Thank you so much, Emma. You won't regret this one bit." He assured her and Emma scoffed.

"Too late. I already do." Emma told him before Ned held his arms out in front of him and Emma eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"I want to give you a hug." Ned answered and Emma immediately glared at him.

"What did I tell you about keeping your hands to yourself, Leeds?" Emma snapped at him but Ned didn't look hurt. He still had that stupid, happy look on his face. Not even Emma's grumpy demeanor could get him down. He was going to the dance with one of the prettiest girls at school who also happened to be a secret badass former assassin. His life couldn't get any better. "Now get the hell out of here and don't bother me again until tonight. You've annoyed me enough already."

Ned only grinned and nodded like an idiot before he happily left the library, practically skipping as he did so. Emma only shook her head in amusement at the teenager as he ran off. She couldn't help it as a small smile came over her face although she quickly tried her hardest to rid herself of the smile. Emma couldn't believe she actually agreed to go to a dance she swore she'd never go to. She guessed that settled it then. The dance would be her send off because Emma was almost completely positive that she wouldn't return to school after the dance. She'd run away after the night was over. Once Ned had his fun at the dance, she'd leave and never return. The least she could do before she left, however, was to give Ned the time of his life. She owed everyone at school that much at least. Tonight would be the night…Emma just dreaded the look on Darcy's face when she told her that she was going to the dance.

Darcy was never going to let her live this down.

* * *

It was easy enough to tell that there was a certain awkwardness between Emma, Peter, and Ned after lunch. Emma figured that Ned must've told Peter that he was taking her to the dance because there was tension between the two boys during fourth period. The tension wasn't something Emma could ignore since Peter sat in between both her and Ned. She knew he was probably still angry at her given the way he glared straight ahead at the white board and clenched his jaw…not that Emma could blame him. She regretted saying the things she had the moment she said them but Emma knew that it was best to just leave him be. It's not like she was going to stick around for much longer anyways.

When Emma arrived back at the townhouse a little while later she walked into the living room with an expression that was somewhere between shock and disdain. Darcy and Jane were in living room binge watching a show on Netflix when they saw the blonde slowly walk into the room. She seemed somewhat unsure of herself as she did so…as if she had something on her mind that was bothering her. Darcy had noticed that Emma was acting a lot stranger ever since the fight she had with Tony. Every day the blonde seemed to retreat more and more into herself. Not even making the usual snide comments she did whenever Jane said something that Emma deemed stupid. Darcy just wished that Emma would talk to her more because she knew it wasn't just the fight with Tony that was making her act weird. No, there was probably more going on with her than she was letting on.

"What's going on with you? You seem more unpleasant than normal." Darcy said to Emma and the blonde looked up at her as if she just noticed them for the first time. Darcy and Jane exchanged a look.

"Emma? Is something wrong?" Jane asked her out of concern and Emma swallowed nervously before answering.

"I'm going to the Homecoming dance." Emma finally said, sounding somewhat unsure of herself. Both Darcy and Jane's eyes widened in surprise as they stared at the teenager.

"Wait…what?" Darcy questioned in disbelief.

"It's sort of a favor I'm doing for someone, I guess." Emma explained even though she didn't really seem to know why she was doing this either. Darcy still couldn't believe what Emma was telling them. Wasn't it just a week ago that Emma swore that she wasn't going to go to any sort of dance or school event?

"Are you going with Peter?" Darcy asked and Emma's gaze immediately hardened as she glared at the brunette.

"No, of course not. Why do you always ask me about Parker?" Emma questioned defensively and both Darcy and Jane smirked at her. It was so obvious to them that Emma had something akin to a crush on the nerdy teenage boy. They both thought the two teenagers would make an adorable couple. Jane thought they were adorable in the same way Sam and Suzy from _Moonrise Kingdom_ were adorable. The two women didn't know Peter that well but they heard a lot about him from Emma and that proved to them that he must've meant a great deal to Emma. Emma never talked about anyone else that much.

"Because he's your boyfriend." Darcy teased but the smirk immediately fell off her face as an unreadable look came over Emma's face. Usually Emma would become frustrated or annoyed whenever Darcy teased her about Peter but this time she just seemed…blank. Darcy couldn't seem to get a good read on her.

"Well, I'm not going with him. He's going with Liz." Emma said coldly while both Darcy and Jane exchanged confused looks. Darcy didn't really understand that. Anyone with eyes could see the way the teenage boy practically stared in both awe and adoration at Emma. It was enough to make even Darcy swoon.

"What do you mean Liz?" Jane asked as both her and Darcy continued to stare at Emma in confusion. "Do you mean to say he's going to the dance with Liz who's the captain of the decathlon team?" Emma shrugged nonchalantly as if she didn't really care but Darcy knew her better than that. When everything wasn't okay that's when Emma pretended like it was or at least pretended like she didn't care. She didn't know why Emma always acted like she didn't care about anyone or anything. Everyone knew that Emma wasn't that type of person but she seemed to want people to think of her that way.

"That's what I just said, wasn't it?" Emma said snarkily. Jane resisted the urge to roll her eyes but it wasn't Emma she was feeling frustrated with. It was so typical of a teenage boy to go to the dance with the most popular girl in school. How cliché. The nerd getting the popular girl…like there wasn't a hundred movies from the eighties based on that.

"What's wrong with that kid? Just tell me when and I'll go kick that little nerd's ass, Emma." Darcy said as she went into protective older sister mode and Jane completely agreed with Darcy.

"I can't believe he's not taking you to the dance. What a jerk." Jane told her before giving Emma a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Emma, this really sucks." Emma just rolled her eyes at the both of them. She couldn't believe they were so concerned about Peter not taking her to the dance.

"Why are you making such a big deal? It's not like I care who Parker goes to the dance with." Emma said emotionlessly but Darcy and Jane still didn't believe her. Darcy remembered high school enough to know how much it hurt when the boy you liked was interested in another girl. High school was a shit show…that was for sure. "We're not even friends."

"What do you mean? You hang out with him all the time." Darcy asked with a confused expression on her face.

"I don't have friends." Emma said shortly and Darcy rolled her eyes. Of course Emma would say that. It was just the usual bullshit the blonde spouted out to anyone who would listen. Darcy was a little sick of hearing it.

"So who are you going to the dance with then?" Jane asked her and Darcy was curious to know as well. They both wondered why Emma was going to the dance when she was so against it earlier. Darcy supposed no one really understood completely what went on inside Emma's mind.

"I'm going with Ned." Both Jane and Darcy widened their eyes at Emma's nonchalant reply. Darcy knew that she remembered Emma mentioning Ned, once or twice, who was apparently Peter's best friend. This was certainly a twist in Emma's dramatic high school love story.

"Ned?" Darcy asked in disbelief. "Ned as in Peter's best friend?"

"So?" Emma retorted and Darcy just smirked as she looked at the blonde.

"Wow, Em, I didn't know you were that cruel. Going after Peter's best friend to make him jealous? You sure know how to break hearts." Darcy teased and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. He annoyed me into going because he doesn't have a date so I decided to just give in so he'd quit bothering me." Emma explained while both Darcy and Jane gave her small smiles.

"You do have a heart." Jane told her and Emma glared at her.

"Shut up." She then turned to leave, deciding to go upstairs until she had to get ready for the stupid dance but the two older women stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Darcy asked and Emma turned around to look at them as if they were both stupid.

"I'm going to my room so I can try and not think about spending the night surrounded by a bunch of teenage idiots." Emma answered. Emma was actually going to be packing a bag full of essentials for after the dance so she'd be already to go once she got back. Darcy just shook her head furiously because she honestly couldn't believe Emma thought she was going to lock herself up inside her room until she had to come down. No, that was definitely going to happen. They had a lot of work to do if Emma was going to go to the dance tonight.

"Uh…no you're not. You're going to the dance in a few hours and you don't have a dress or shoes. We'll also need time for hair and make-up." Darcy informed her and Jane nodded her head in agreement. Emma groaned as she glared at the annoying pair of women. They always seemed to get on her nerves in the least convenient of times.

"I already have a dress and shoes. The dress and flats from that stupid party Ultron crashed at the tower." Emma explained but Darcy and Jane seemed appalled that she even made the suggestion.

"That was over a year ago!" Darcy exclaimed. "You're totally not getting the big picture here, Emma. This is your first Homecoming dance ever…well, it's your first dance ever. Shopping for your dress is half the fun and I'll be damned if you miss out on that." Emma rolled her eyes.

"What if I told you that I didn't care whether or not I missed out on anything?" Emma said snarkily and Darcy met her gaze, not wavering one bit as she locked eyes with the intimidating blonde.

"I'd tell you that I don't give a shit what you think." Darcy retorted. "Now put down your backpack because we're going to make a quick trip to the mall before Ned picks you up. There's still time." Emma sighed heavily as she reluctantly took her backpack off and dropped it on the floor.

"What? Are you and Jane going to give me a makeover? Is this some new pitch for a teen rom-com? A teenage assassin gets a makeover for her first ever school dance." Emma quipped before scoffing. "I can already see the terrible reviews on Rotten Tomatoes."

"You're damn right you're getting a makeover. Peter will see just what he's missing and he'll regret ever asking this Liz chick to the dance. He'll come crawling right back to you." Darcy confirmed as if it were a genius plan and Emma couldn't believe Jane was nodding in agreement. Didn't that woman have a PhD or something? They didn't even know the half of it.

Darcy and Jane seemed to think that Peter had deliberately gone out and messed with Emma's feelings by asking Liz to the dance but it wasn't like that. He had no idea how she felt and that was for the best. Did she selfishly want him for herself? Yes…and that was something that wasn't easy for her to admit to herself. Usually she'd claim that she didn't form attachments but that wasn't true. Ever since Steve and the others rescued her from the Hydra base she had become more and more soft. Was it actually Steve's fault then? Was he the one that caused her to become so soft that she started having feelings for a kind and compassionate teenage boy who sat next to her in history? Was it Steve's fault that she allowed herself to become close and vulnerable with this very same boy? She had even become so soft that she found herself caring about silly little things like school and not to mention the compassion she felt for Ned.

Emma knew now that this was why she had to leave. She was becoming too comfortable and she was letting her guard down. This wasn't her. This wasn't the assassin that Hydra raised…the Viper Assassin was all she had for the longest time and it was all she knew. Everyone was foolish to think that she could just go to high school with normal kids and pretend like the Viper Assassin was only a part of her. No, the Viper Assassin was who she was and nothing would ever change that. She could pretend to be a normal fifteen year old girl all she wanted but at the end of the day she still had to look at her reflection in the mirror and acknowledge all the horror she inflicted on others in the past. She was a lost cause and the only person who could ever understand that about her was her father. Emma only needed to find him first.

"Fine, Alicia Silverstone. We'll go dress shopping." Emma said sarcastically as she pretended like nothing was wrong. This time, however, Darcy and Jane seemed to believe her or maybe they were just too distracted by the excitement of taking Emma dress shopping for Homecoming.

"Let's go then. The sooner the better." Jane said with a determined look in her eyes. Emma somehow knew she was going to regret agreeing to go to Homecoming with Ned but she didn't know she'd regret it this much. It was going to be a longer day than she originally thought.

* * *

"God, that sure took forever." Emma said as she glared at Darcy in the mirror. Darcy was currently working on Emma's hair and the blonde was clearly not enjoying it. They had gotten back from the mall not that long ago and Darcy was nearly done working on her hair. The brunette seemed to think it was a good idea to put Emma's hair up half way with a crown braid while the rest of her hair hung loose in curls down her back. Emma would never admit it but Darcy had done a pretty good job on her hair. It wasn't that Emma didn't like hair and make-up because the perfectionist in her actually liked looking her best and having control over that part of herself. No, Emma just hated being fussed over by other people.

"Well, you look amazing so you're welcome." Darcy told her as she finished with the curling iron. Emma just rolled her eyes before quickly assessing the make-up that Jane had applied to her face. She was probably wearing the most make-up that she had ever worn before. Smokey eye shadow with winged eyeliner and heavy mascara. Her make-up was topped off with a dark red shade of lipstick that contrasted against her pale skin and blonde hair. Darcy thought Emma looked something like her grandmother with the dark red lipstick. Peggy Carter was famously known for her dark red lips back in her younger years.

"We're all done with your hair and make-up so we'll leave you to put on your dress. Don't take too long…wouldn't want to keep your date waiting." Emma glared at her.

"Go do something useful before I break Steve's promise and decide to do something more homicidal with my time." Emma threatened but Darcy wasn't intimidated. The older woman just snickered as she looked at the blonde.

"I love you too, Emma." Darcy teased before leaving the room and Emma was left to glare at the mirror. Relax, she told herself. You're just going to willful Ned's obligation and then leave this place forever. Soon she'd be reunited with Steve and the others so she'd never have to worry about silly, insignificant things like school dances and a stupid crush on a teenage boy. She'd be back to her old life which was more than fine with Emma.

Emma immediately walked over to her bed which her dress was currently resting on. It had taken a good hour at a store in the mall for Emma to find the right dress. She was okay with just settling for anything but Darcy and Jane said she needed to find the perfect dress for her first Homecoming. Emma thought that they were being silly and ridiculous but she did happen to quickly become attached to one dress in particular and with good reason.

It was truly a lovely dress.

The bodice of the dress was white with a sheer fabric that went over the bodice and also served as off the shoulder long sleeves that ended at her wrist. The sheer fabric was covered in emerald green beads that stood out against the otherwise plain color. The emerald green a-line skirt, which matched the beading, of the dress flounced out from the waist and ended just above her knees. Emma didn't waste any time putting the dress on, leaving it unzipped as did so. Darcy could help her with the dress in a little while but Emma wanted to make sure she had everything ready for after the dance.

Emma checked her backpack for what must've been the tenth time to make sure she was set to go. It wasn't filled with much except for a couple changes of clothes, the usual essentials, her sketchbook, and some personal items. She made sure to take the photos of her father, grandmother, parents, and Steve to keep herself going. This was the first time she was going to be truly alone in almost three years. Not even Darcy or Stark would be around. Not that Emma wanted anything to do with Stark anyways. Not now and not ever. Emma also made sure to take one of her fake passports and a wad of cash that she had kept hidden inside her bedroom wall. Her passport said that she was nineteen years old and Emma knew that if she wore enough make-up no one would question her otherwise.

Emma zipped the backpack up before setting it on the floor as if it were the carelessly discarded backpack of a normal teenager. She was sure Darcy and Jane wouldn't pay the backpack any attention and it wasn't like she would be gone for long anyways. The blonde then sat on the edge of her bed as she put on her platform pumps that matched the emerald green of her dress. The pumps gave her another four inches of height which Emma liked. She sighed as she got up from the bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She felt a little ridiculous going to a school dance when there was much more important things on her mind but Emma knew that a couple hours at a dance wasn't going to kill her. Ned was right. When she looked back at this moment when she was older, she didn't want to wonder what would've happened if she had gone to the dance. She wanted to try being a normal teenager one last time before she cut loose ends. There was also the fact that she would get to see Peter one last time before she left forever…even if he was with Liz.

"Are you ready yet? Ned's here." Darcy said as both her and Jane walked into the room before her eyes immediately widened at the sight of Emma. Jane also stared at the blonde in surprise. It was no secret that Emma was a fan of fashion and liked to look her best, being the perfectionist she was, but they had never seen her look so grown-up before. "Oh my god, Em. Look at you!"

"You look so beautiful." Jane said in agreement as tears welled up in both her and Darcy's eyes. Emma glared at them both. She didn't know why they acted like a couple of old ladies all the time. Emma was convinced that those two would still live together in their old age surrounded by a twenty cats and without any perspective husbands.

"You two are ugly criers. Did you know that?" Emma replied. "Now do something useful and zip me up." Darcy just shook her head before going over and zipping up the back of Emma's dress.

"I hope you save some of that charming personality for your date." Darcy snarked as she backed off. "Jane, hand me the tablet." Emma raised an eyebrow as Jane wordlessly handed her friend the Stark tablet. She had a feeling what Darcy was going to do but she really hoped that she was wrong.

"Please tell me you're not going to take pictures with that thing." Emma deadpanned and Darcy grinned at her.

"Come on, Emma. This is you're first Homecoming dance. Of course I'm going to document it." Darcy explained. "Steve would never want to miss this."

"As if this wasn't bad enough." Emma muttered under her breath. Darcy ignored her as she hit the record button on the tablet and held it up to Emma's face. Emma glared at the tablet but Darcy and Jane didn't look phased by the blonde's demeanor.

"Hey Steve! So remember how Emma said that she was never going to a Homecoming dance?" Darcy announced gleefully as she pissed Emma off beyond belief. "Well, it looks like she was a liar because guess where she's going? Homecoming!" Darcy then moved the camera up and down as she made sure she got a full shot of Emma's dress and pumps.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Emma questioned as she continued to glare at Darcy.

"Language! Sorry you had to hear that, Steve. We all know how much you hate vulgar language." Darcy quipped as she smirked at Emma from behind the tablet. Jane just snickered at the pair. "Shame on you, Emma."

"Are you surprised that I haven't killed her yet, Steve? Well, that makes two of us." Emma said as she gave Darcy a dirty look. The blonde immediately grabbed her new clutch purse that matched her dress. Inside the clutch purse was her wallet, phone, iPod, along with the compass and dogtags her grandfather had given her. The wallet and phone she'd probably ditch in the Hudson river so that Stark wouldn't be able to track her through credit cards or her Stark phone. Her compass and dogtags, however, were much more important to her. Emma was hoping that they might give her some luck and she'd need all the luck she could get. She was never a believer in luck but Steve was so that had to be worth something.

"Emma's actually not going to the dance with Peter believe it or not. I guess Emma and him are having some kind of lover's quarrel." Darcy said as she rambled on and Emma told herself to not let Darcy annoy her too much. "You and Emma's DILF of a dad should totally kick that kid's bony ass when you get back."

"Can you ever shut up?" Emma asked as she glared at Darcy once more. Darcy really knew how get under Emma's skin sometimes and this was not how she wanted to part ways with the brunette.

"Come on, Emma, don't let Darcy ruin your night." Jane piped in. "You should smile…you look really pretty when you smile." It was true. When Emma smiled and laughed she did in fact look pretty and her actual age. Years of being trained in a secret Hydra base hardened Emma's heart and made even the slightest form of a genuine smile a rare sight. Emma gave the pair a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes in the least bit.

"Happy?" Emma asked them and Darcy scoffed.

"No. You better act pleasant around Ned." Darcy told her sternly before returning her attention to the tablet. "You've kind of missed a lot, Steve. Emma's now going to Homecoming with Ned who happens to be Peter's best friend. It's the teenage girl way of making a guy jealous. I did the same thing freshman year of college."

"I already told you. This has nothing to do with Parker. Can you guys back off so I can just leave already?" Emma said in an annoyed tone as she walked past them to leave the room. Darcy and Jane just laughed at the blonde's expense before following her as Emma walked down the stairs. They had left Ned in the living room of the townhouse and he immediately looked up as he saw Emma walk down the stairs. His eyes widened as he saw Emma come down the stairs, looking more like the part of a Homecoming date than a former assassin.

"Wow, Emma, you look amazing." Ned said and Emma just shrugged as she barely glanced at Ned. Jane glared at the blonde before harshly elbowing her in the ribs. Emma forced a smile in Ned's direction as she assessed his appearance. He was wearing a white sport's coat over a blue button down shirt. Ned was an array of colors as he also wore a pink plaid bow tie that clashed against his brown fedora hat. She admired his confidence in wearing an outfit that she didn't personally approve of but there was little Emma ever approved of. The assassin could usually find something wrong with everything.

"You look nice." Emma said and then grimaced. It was difficult for her to give people compliments but she was told that it was the normal and nice thing to do.

"Smile, Ned, you're on camera." Darcy said cheerfully which took the teenager's attention from each other. Ned gave Darcy a confused look as he glanced at the tablet in her hand.

"What?" He asked in a confused state and Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Darcy's just trying to document my life to show my grandfather when he gets back from overseas." Emma said vaguely. She gave Ned a look that indicated that he didn't need to ask anything else about the topic. Emma didn't need Darcy and Jane to know that Ned knew about her true identity and her connection to Captain America. If they found out about that then they'd probably want to know why he knew about that and she'd have to explain that Peter and Spider-Man were the same person. It was just a whole mess of a situation that Emma didn't need to get into right before she left.

"Your grandfather?" Ned asked with wide eyes as he tried to process what Emma just told him. Did this mean that Captain America would know who he was? He had to admit that was kind of cool and exciting but it was also terrifying at the same time. Ned wasn't interested in Emma romantically but he was sure any boy that dated Emma was in for a world of trouble since Emma basically had more than half the Avengers backing her up. That was fairly intimidating but Ned was sure that Emma would be the scariest one if a boy ever pissed her off. He had seen Emma annoyed and that was scary enough.

"Look, Steve, it's Emma's date." Darcy said as she practically shoved the tablet in Ned's face. Ned awkwardly smiled and waved.

"Hi, Emma's grandpa." Ned greeted hesitantly as he looked into the camera, knowing that he was addressing Captain America which was already weird enough. "I promise to be very respectful of Emma and treat her right. Your granddaughter is a very kind and wonderful girl." Emma scoffed as she shook her head at his statement.

"Great. Now he'll know you're bullshitting him. No one's ever described me as kind and wonderful in my life." Emma deadpanned and the others collectively rolled their eyes at the blonde. None of them were unused to her cynical and rude nature.

"As you can see Emma's just being her usual pleasant self but she's going to be even more pleasant at the dance. Isn't that right, Emma?" Darcy added in and Emma nodded before sighing.

"Yes, I promise to be the perfect example of a polite and courteous young lady." Emma replied, sarcasm evident in her tone. Darcy decided to just accept the blonde's answer before realizing that was the best response she was going to get.

"I got you a corsage." Ned said suddenly as he remembered the corsage he was still carrying in his hand which was placed inside a small plastic box. Emma eyed the corsage which displayed a small bouquet of yellow flowers that matched the yellow flower Ned had pinned to his sport's coat. "I wasn't sure what color your dress was so I hope yellow's fine."

Emma stared at his hand cautiously as he carefully placed the corsage around her wrist. She had never seen one in real life before…only in movies. It was actually quite pretty, surprisingly enough. She then wondered if Steve and her father ever went to a Homecoming dance. It never even occurred to her to ask and now she wished she had. This was just another reminder of how much she took them both for granted. She should've asked more questions instead of spending all her time arguing with Steve about joining him for missions. Now all that precious time had been wasted.

"It's fine. Thank you." Emma said shortly and she even gave Ned a tight lipped smile.

"Isn't Emma's corsage pretty, Steve?" Darcy said as she smiled at the two teenagers. "Well, I guess that's all you need to see this time. Stay tuned for Emma's sweet sixteen." Emma rolled her eyes at the older woman as Darcy stopped recording.

"Fat chance of that ever happening." Emma muttered under her breath but Darcy heard her anyways.

"That's what you said about Homecoming but look at you now." Darcy told her as she smirked at the blonde. "Now stand real close next to each other. I need to take some pictures." Emma gave Darcy a look of disbelief.

"You just got ten minutes worth of footage. Isn't that good enough?" Emma asked her but Darcy just shook her head.

"No, it's not. Smile for the camera, Em." Darcy retorted. Emma sighed heavily as she stood closer to Ned so that they could pose for the camera. Ned gave her a nervous smile as he looked at her, asking a question with his eyes.

"It's fine." Emma told him, quietly assuring him that it was okay to touch her. He placed his hand on the small of her back. Emma stiffened slightly, her instinct telling her to push him away, but she remained calm and smiled for the camera. She could be good immensely good at smiling when she wanted to. A lot of people bought into her kind smiles and mistook her for an innocent fifteen year old girl. It was what made her staple in Hydra's agenda.

"Okay, I think we're finished here." Darcy said as she finished taking the pictures. Darcy then sat the tablet on the table and went to go grab the car keys. Jane also went to go grab her purse so the two teenagers were left alone in the living room. Ned glanced around the house curiously as they stood in silence while Emma watched him. He blushed at being under Emma's close, unashamed scrutiny. Sometimes he didn't understand how Peter handled Emma because she was truly an intense person to be around.

"You have a nice home." Ned told her.

"It's nice for a rich, entitled family who has family game night two times a week. As I'm sure you know, that's not really my scene." Emma replied and Ned just nodded, pretending to understand her. He didn't really get Emma's strange sense of humor or her odd choice of words.

"Right…well, it's still really nice. Tony Stark's really generous." Ned instantly regretted saying that as he noticed the cold look that came over Emma's face. It was an annoyed and pinched look as she looked away from him.

"Stark isn't generous. Everything you see here is just a physical representation of his guilt. I don't need his money…I never needed it before and I can survive just fine without it." Emma said bitterly and Ned swallowed nervously.

"Of course. That's not what I meant at all." Ned responded but Emma just shook her head.

"I know what you meant." Emma said shortly. Ned decided not to mention Tony Stark anymore. Peter had told him about the falling out that both him and Emma had with the famous billionaire. It was obvious to anyone who would listen that Emma held a vast amount of disdain for Tony Stark but that disdain seemed to only be increased since the other day.

"Listen, Emma, I don't know what's going on with you. I don't think anyone does but I know you'd rather go to the dance with Peter." Ned informed her but Emma's stoic expression was unchanging.

"I'd actually prefer not to go the dance at all. Parker has nothing to do with it." Ned just groaned as he rolled his eyes at her.

"You're impossible. You know that?" Ned commented before continuing. "Why are you even going to the dance if you're so opposed to it? Is it pity? Do you feel sorry for me?" Emma scoffed.

"I don't pity anyone, Leeds." She stated before her expression then softened. "I just figured that you might've had a point earlier."

"What point?" He asked in confusion, not understanding what Emma was getting at.

"It's just…I…well, I just want to make sure that I'm not going to miss out on anything. Even if it's something as stupid and trivial as a high school dance." Emma said honestly, her ocean blue eyes locked onto his. "I guess I want to satisfy that curiosity and move on."

"Gee, thanks. I feel really special." Ned said sarcastically and Emma sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry. If you want me to express my undying love for you that's never going to happen. I don't love and I don't get all touchy feely." Emma said honestly. "I agreed to go with you to the dance because I'm somewhat fond of you and you're a nice guy. I know you wouldn't make me want to kill you if we went to the dance together."

"Your compliments are a little misguided but I'll take what I can get." Ned finally said and Emma didn't say anything else because Darcy and Jane returned to the room. It seemed like the night was already here and she would have to leave soon…leave New York and leave for good. A small amount of dread filled her at the aspect of leaving everyone behind without so much as a goodbye but it was easier this way. At least Emma would be reunited with the others soon enough.

* * *

"You look so handsome, Peter." May Parker gushed as she looked over at her nephew from the driver's side of the car. Peter blushed as he looked down at his hands, embarrassed at the fact that his aunt was being a typical affectionate maternal figure. May was driving Peter to Liz's house while giving Peter tips every now and then on what to do during the date.

"Thanks." Peter mumbled as he looked out the window. He watched the street lights while a million things went through his mind but none of those things had anything to do with Liz or Homecoming. All of his thoughts seemed to circulate around a certain blonde and blue eyed teenage girl. As much as he tried not to think about her it was nearly impossible to think of anyone else even if he happened to be taking the most popular girl at school to Homecoming.

A part of Peter might've blamed Mr. Stark for Emma's coldness and withdrawn behavior but he knew that wasn't right. Emma was the one who shut him out after all. Mr. Stark didn't force her to do that. Maybe Emma was really never his friend after all…maybe all those meaningful and heartfelt moments between them had all been a lie or a ruse. It was possible that it was all an act because Emma had been trained to lie and manipulate. That explanation made the most sense of all but Peter hated to think that the Emma he had become so attached to was all just a lie.

It was then that Peter's phone vibrated in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts as he took his phone from out of his pocket. It was a Facebook notification and when he unlocked his screen, to see what the notification was about, he immediately clenched his jaw in anger. There was a picture Ned posted that showed the grinning teenager with his arm wrapped around an unsmiling but still beautiful Emma Rogers. Peter focused on her appearance and marveled at how gorgeous she looked in that emerald green dress she was wearing. The green almost matched the small flecks of green that could sometimes be seen in her otherwise blue eyes. She looked far older than she was with all the make-up she was wearing and that took him by surprise. Emma normally wore make-up but never that much. She never needed to wear make-up because she was more than beautiful without it.

It was when his eyes lingered on Ned's arm wrapped around her that he was reminded why he was angry at his best friend. He was angry with Ned because Ned asked Emma to the dance without even giving him any notice. Peter didn't understand his anger because why should he be angry that Ned and Emma were going to Homecoming together? Why did he feel so betrayed? Peter could pretend all he wanted that he didn't really know the answer to the question but deep down he did.

He had feelings for Emma which was something he had known for a while now. Which was why it hurt him beyond belief to know that Emma was going to the dance with someone who wasn't him. The irony of the situation suddenly occurred to Peter. For the past couple years he had dreamed of finally going on a date with Liz Allan, the girl of his dreams, but here he was about to go on a date with Liz and it suddenly didn't mean as much to him. It didn't mean as much to him because the crush he had on Liz was just a silly school crush. What he felt for Emma was far more than a school crush. His feelings for the blonde former assassin ran far deeper than anything he had ever felt for anyone before. It hurt knowing that she couldn't feel that same way about him.

"What's the matter, Peter?" May asked him as she looked at him in concern. Peter immediately snapped out of his thoughts. He just shook his head as he continued to look out the window.

"Nothing." He said quietly but May didn't look convinced. She knew her nephew well enough to know that he was acting off these past few days. May had assumed that he was only acting weird because he lost the Stark internship but something told her that it must've been something else.

"Really? Because you seem pretty sad which is strange since I thought you'd be more excited to go to the dance with the Liz. Wasn't Liz your first crush?" May asked him and Peter shook his head furiously.

"Of course I'm excited to go to the dance with Liz. Liz is perfect." Peter replied but it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself rather than his aunt. May gave him a doubtful look.

"And this has nothing to do with the Stark internship?" May continued to pry but Peter seemed even more guarded at her constant questioning.

"It's over. Mr. Stark made that clear and I know I should focus more on school now." May stared at him for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should believe him. She had the very distinct feeling that whatever was going on with Peter went beyond Tony Stark. It was then that it occurred to her why Peter was acting so strange...why he was acting so flustered and defensive lately. It had to be a girl and if it wasn't Liz than it could only be...

"What about Emma? You haven't talked about her for a couple days…it's so strange. You usually can't shut up about her." May said as she continued to push Peter to tell her what was wrong with him. Peter immediately stiffened and May knew what was wrong. Peter really was growing up fast. Fifteen and already having girl problems.

"I'm actually surprised that she's not the one you're taking to the dance." May added but Peter just glared out the window and shrugged.

"Well, I was never going to go with Emma to the dance. Apparently we're not even friends." Peter muttered darkly and May frowned. She certainly hadn't expected to hear that. The older woman gave her nephew a sad look after hearing his admission about Emma.

"I'm sure that's not true, Peter." May said as she tried to comfort him. "I know she likes you as much as you like her. Teenage girls are complicated and confusing…I would know since I used to be one."

"I don't like Emma." Peter lied as he avoided eye contact with his aunt. May didn't believe him but she knew better than to continue to badger Peter about his obvious issues with Emma. He'd only become more withdrawn if she continued to push him. "Liz is the one that I like. I'm taking her to the dance, aren't I?"

"I know that, Peter. I don't doubt that you really like Liz…she's a nice and pretty girl." May responded before she reached over to rub Peter's shoulder soothingly. She had that understanding look on her face that always seemed to make Peter feel more at ease. "Your uncle and I raised a gentlemen so I don't doubt you would ask her to the dance unless you really liked her."

Peter didn't say anything else as May continued to drive to Liz's house. He didn't really want to think about Emma anymore since he was supposed to be taking Liz to the dance. Wasn't it wrong to think about Emma when he was supposed to go on a date with a different girl? Peter didn't really know anymore…he was so confused. This made him even more frustrated with Emma for confusing him like this. He was never this confused before she came into his life. A part of him wished that he had never met her but another part hated the idea of never meeting Emma.

Emma made life interesting and left him excited to get up each day just so he could see what adventure she would bring him next. Before she came along his life was filled with the boredom that school brought him, Star Wars marathons with Ned, daydreaming about Liz, and fighting crime as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. When Emma came into the picture she brought all the chaos with her…chaos that was normal for her but not for Peter. She was unpredictable…a wild card and he was never quite sure what went on in her mind but Peter liked that about her. It was what made her different from anyone he had ever known before. Emma may be insane, cold, and at times even a bit smug but she was also intriguing, highly intelligent, and he knew that she cared and even loved people more passionately than regular people did. Emma was an incredibly intense human being. It was then that a sudden feeling of sadness came over him as he remembered the fight they had a couple days prior. All of it was true…Emma was capable of love which was something she would deny if anyone would ask her. She loved and cared about a selected number of individuals which probably only included the Winter Soldier and her grandfather.

Peter just supposed that he wasn't one of the people she cared about.


	45. Chapter Forty Three Part I

**Author's Note: Okay, so this was just going to be one chapter but I was forced to split it up into two parts because it's like 16,000 words long. I'm almost done with Part II so that should be out tonight or tomorrow. If I can't finish it by tonight I'll probably publish it tomorrow night because I still have some last minute Christmas shopping to do. I was completely stuck on what to get my brother because he orders a ton of stuff from Amazon all the time so I have no idea what he has or doesn't have. I actually decided to get him Fargo season 3 so that's what I'm looking for tomorrow. My brother is literally the hardest person to shop for.  
**

 **About the Last Jedi...I'm not going to spoil anything but I have to say that I really liked it. As a shipper of Reylo the movie was really satisfying for me. I heard some people in the row behind me that made it really clear that they weren't fans of Reylo so don't know what their problem is. The Last Jedi left me wanting more but every Star Wars movie does that to me. The new characters were really cool to see too and I was glad to see more Poe. I've even developed an idea for a Poe Dameron/OC fanfic but I probably won't work on it for a while. I'm mainly just focused on Some Things Never Sleep and Yours to Keep, Yours to Lose right now.**

 **I also completely forgot to even mention the Avengers: Infinity War trailer last chapter. That movie is going to be so amazing! Peter in the new Spider-Man suit! His Spidey senses on full display! This is going to be incredible. I'll probably make an AU to Some Things Never Sleep that follows the movie storylines after Homecoming but not for a while. Steve with a beard also blows my mind. I can just think of a ton of smart ass comments Emma would make about Steve's beard. She might steal from the Punisher hipster beard jokes. lol. Maybe that'll still happen within this storyline. I guess you will just have to see.**

 **I'm just going to mention how exciting my Christmas vacation has been(I mean that sarcastically of course). I've been binge-watching Law and Order: SVU from start to finish. I'm currently on season eight but I've also seen season 14-17. Barba is one of my favorite characters on the show. I weirdly have a huge crush on him.**

 **I also binge watched _Godless_. It's this western mini series on Netflix which is one of the best recent westerns I've ever seen. _Westworld_ doesn't count as a western in my opinion since it's more science fiction than western. _Godless_ is really amazing and I highly recommend it if you love westerns or just something different. Michelle Dockery was a badass in it and Jeff Daniels was also an incredible villain. Sam Waterson was in it surprisingly enough. Wasn't expecting that. So as you can see...my Christmas vacation has been pretty average. **

**I just want to express how much I want to see _S_ _hape of Water._ It's directed by one of my favorite directors of all time and it's the movie you never knew you always wanted. Del Toro is a genius. It's only playing in Seattle which is kind of stupid but I guess I'll just wait see it. I wanted to see it so bad that I was willing to go see it instead of The Last Jedi and that's saying a lot. **

**crazyman844: I'm American and I've never been to a Homecoming dance either or even prom. I was super awkward and anti-social in high school. I don't really have any regrets but I probably will in twenty years or so. At least I get to live through Emma in this story. I think Emma will start paying more attention to the advice Natasha gave her shortly. She was just really terrified but she'll eventually grow more used to the idea of having feelings for Peter and accepting those feelings.**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: I actually spent like two hours looking through different dresses that Emma could wear for Homecoming and finally found one online. I wanted to post a link to it but fanfiction wouldn't let me post it so I figured the description would be enough.**

 **Spawn Hades: Peter's probably going to put those feelings aside during the upcoming confrontation with the Vulture. He definitely won't forget about Ned and Emma going to the dance together though. It's something he'll probably have to eventually discuss with both Emma and Ned.**

 **Agent Hill: I think you'll really love this chapter and the next so stay tuned.**

 **Cabrera1234: I'm not sure if I'll do that but it's definitely something to consider. If that were to happen it wouldn't be a focus point in the story although I think Ned completely deserves a girlfriend.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for not answering all of them but I just really want to get this chapter out to you guys. Let me know what you think.**

 **Just a little note for this chapter by the way...TCM stands for Turner Classic Movies. It's a channel that plays classic movies 24/7. I don't know whether or not some people might not know what that means.**

* * *

 _ **2014**_

 _"_ _See, I told you the ending's terrible." Steve Rogers told his granddaughter as they sat on the couch in the penthouse of Avenger's tower. Dozens of snacks were littered across the coffee table from Clint and Sam's earlier Xbox session. Steve and Emma had helped themselves to a bag of chex mix as they watched a film on TCM together._

 _"_ _I don't think so." Emma replied as her eyes remained focused on the black and white movie. Steve raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the thirteen year old curiously._

 _"_ _No?" He questioned._

 _"_ _It's realistic. Rick and Ilsa were never going to end up together." Emma explained during the credits of Casablanca, a classic film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. "Ilsa was married to another man…that man also happened to be the leader of a resistance. Laszlo needed his wife more than Rick did." Steve gave Emma an amused look._

 _"_ _Are you a romantic, Emma?" Steve asked and Emma scoffed._

 _"_ _Of course not. I'm just looking at this from a logical perspective. What good would it do anyone if Ilsa left her husband for Rick?" Steve shrugged nonchalantly._

 _"_ _Well, Rick and Ilsa would be happy together. That's worth something, isn't it?"Steve said to her and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _They'd be happy for a little while but Rick's right. She'd just end up resenting him eventually and he'd resent her in return." Emma told him truthfully._

 _"_ _So you actually liked the ending?" Steve asked in disbelief. "Figures…this was Bucky's favorite movie too. Well, he also loved the Maltese Falcon but Casablanca really spoke to the romantic in him."_

 _"_ _Romantic?" Emma questioned._

 _"_ _Bucky always had a thing for damsels in the distress. He just could never find the right dame to settle down with." Steve answered and Emma rolled her eyes._

 _"_ _I guess that was the way of thinking back then. Girls always had to have a Humphrey Bogart to save them." Emma said bitterly. "Men were turned off by anyone other than someone as delicate and fragile as Ingrid Bergman. What's attractive about a woman that doesn't need saving?"_

 _"_ _I never thought that way." Steve said quietly and Emma gave him a doubtful look._

 _"_ _Never?" Steve just shook his head._

 _"_ _No. How could I think that way about women when I was delicate and fragile myself? Your grandmother was the strongest person I ever knew… man or woman and I respected that about her."Steve informed Emma, giving the teenager a lot to think about. Emma exhaled as she returned her gaze to the television._

 _"_ _Well, you're a rare sort, Steve. I mean…just look at Stark and Thor." Emma told him. "Pepper and Jane are about as helpless as they come. They're both incredibly intelligent but otherwise helpless."_

 _"_ _Are you worried that a boy won't like a girl who can handle herself…that no one would ever like you?" Steve teased and Emma glared at him._

 _"_ _Don't be stupid." Emma hissed but Steve didn't look at all bothered by her cold glare. He gave her another amused smile as he affectionately rubbed her shoulder. Emma stiffened but she didn't remove his hand from her shoulder._

 _"_ _Emma you don't need to be Ingrid Bergman because let's face it…you're Bogart through and through. You're the hero of your own story… just like your grandmother. People are just going to have to accept that about you." Steve lectured and Emma just stared at him, not knowing whether or not to take him seriously._

 _"_ _I'm no Bogie, Steve, and I'm definitely not a hero. I'm more like the Vincent Price or Bela Lugosi of my own story." Emma told him and Steve just gave her a sad look. He hated the way she talked about herself sometimes. He wanted to say that it was self loathing but Steve didn't want to think that a thirteen year old would wallow in their own self loathing._

 _"_ _You're more like Bogie than you realize, Emma."_

* * *

 **Present Day**

 _"_ _Emma? Emma?"_ A voice echoed in her mind and it sounded quite like Steve's voice. _"We'll be together again. I promise."_

"Emma? We're at the school…are you alright?" Emma immediately snapped out of the flashback as she realized that the car had stopped. She was sitting in the backseat of Darcy's car and next to Ned who looked quite concerned. Emma looked out the window and realized that they really had arrived at the school. It was dark as she watched students walk up the steps into the school, dressed in their respective suits and Homecoming dresses. Darcy and Jane also looked quite concerned with Emma who seemed pretty absentminded. That was unlike her, Darcy observed. The blonde seemed to be in her own little world.

"I'm fine…just trying to mentally prepare myself for the shit show we're about to enter." Emma said sarcastically and everyone knew that the blonde was more than fine. Darcy and Jane had picked both Emma and Ned up from the restaurant just a short while ago and Darcy had driven them to the dance. Something that was obvious to Darcy was the fact that Emma had been oddly quiet during the whole entire car ride. From what she had heard from Ned, dinner went well so Darcy didn't know what Emma's problem was. The teenager was definitely acting stranger than usual.

"Yeah, she sounds fine." Jane said as she rolled her eyes. Darcy didn't really seem to think so but she knew better than to question Emma in front of Ned and Jane. Darcy turned around in her seat to look at Emma, concern in her eyes.

"Do you need us to pick you guys up after the dance?" Darcy asked her but Emma just shook her head softly.

"No, we'll be fine. I'll take a cab home." Emma replied.

"My mom's picking me up after the dance." Ned told them nonchalantly. Darcy just nodded, accepting their answers. It wasn't like she was worried at all about Emma being alone in the city at night. This was Emma Rogers after all. No rapist or mugger was going to gain the upper hand against Emma.

"You sure, Emma? We wouldn't mind waiting around for you until the dance is over…Jane's boyfriend is currently off planet and my boyfriend is non-existent so as you can see we don't have lives." Darcy told Emma but the blonde wasn't about to change her mind anytime soon. No, changing her mind would ruin her plan. Her plan was actually quite simple. She would go back to the townhouse after the dance but she wouldn't let Darcy or Jane know that she was there. Emma would climb up the fire escape to her bedroom window that she had left open. She would then change out of her silly dress and shoes into something sensible before grabbing her packed backpack. Only then would Emma leave the townhouse for good and New York soon after that. Emma would probably get the first flight out to Berlin where her cousin still worked. Through Sharon, Emma could probably get into contact with Natasha which would eventually lead her to Steve and the others hopefully. That was Emma's plan and she was determined to stick to it.

"Go home and get some rest. Don't wait up for me." Emma said in an tone that reminded both Darcy and Jane of Steve Rogers. It was a tone full of authority. "I'll try and be home before midnight."

"My mom could drop you off, Emma." Ned suggested and Emma looked back at him. That wasn't what she wanted at all. Emma knew what she had to do and nothing was about to get in her way.

"I want to stop by the bodega to get an Arizona tea. I'll need one to unwind after tonight." Emma informed Ned, displaying her usual amount of disdain for the dance. Nothing seemed off or unusual about that statement in particular. That was Emma on a pretty average day.

"Be careful then." Darcy finally said as she reluctantly accepted Emma's answer. Emma just nodded as Ned opened the car and hopped out. She scooted down the seat to follow him but paused right before she stepped out into the cold night air. Emma looked back over at Darcy, a small smile on her face…a smile that actually reached her eyes. It was a rare sight to see.

"Take care of yourself, Darcy." Emma said, her tone full of affection. Darcy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, not sure what Emma meant by her odd statement. It was truly an odd thing to say before going to a school dance.

"See you in the morning then, Em." Darcy replied, not knowing what else to say. Emma just gave her a nod before also sliding out of the car. Ned offered her a hand which she reluctantly took as he did the gentlemanly thing to do and helped her out of the car. Normally Emma would push his hand away but she didn't feel like fighting with anyone right now.

As Ned led her up the steps to the school building, Emma didn't dare look back. She was afraid if she looked back at Darcy than she wouldn't be able to look away. Emma instead focused on the pounding music coming from inside the dance as numerous students walked alongside them, all excited for the night ahead. She felt excited as well but not at the prospect of a school dance. No, she felt anxious to leave town and finally start tracking down Steve and the others…to start a new chapter of her life.

"Wow, Emma, this is so awesome." Ned remarked as they finally entered the school building. The lighting was dim in the room as the constant flash of colors hit them in face from the strobe light. Emma heard 'Blow Your Mind(Mwah)' by Dua Lipa blasting through the speakers as Ned continued to look around the dance in awe. Sky's the Limit was the apparent theme of the dance and Emma thought that was pretty lame and unoriginal.

"If you say so." Emma muttered as she stuck close to Ned's side.

"I can't believe you actually showed up to this thing." Emma heard Michelle say just as she turned around to face her friend. Michelle smirked at Emma as she crossed her arms, looking quite smug as she did so.

"Me? What about you? I didn't think this was your scene." Emma told her as she analyzed the pretty yellow dress her friend was wearing. Michelle just shrugged.

"Well, Abe asked so I figured it wouldn't hurt." Michelle replied and Emma nodded at Abraham who stood at Michelle's side.

"Hey, Abe." Emma greeted and the dark skinned boy smiled kindly at her.

"Emma, it's so good to see you." Abraham said in response. Emma always liked Abraham and didn't find him to be annoying like most teenage boys. He was actually pretty pleasant for another fifteen year old.

"Hey, guys! Guess who brought something to get this party started!" Charles Murphey announced as he came strutting over to them. Emma rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy with glasses. Great, just what she needed right before she left for good…to be annoyed by Flash's henchman. The kid was almost irritating as Flash himself. Emma was just glad that Flash didn't appear to be around yet. She noticed the discreet flask Charles managed to keep hidden inside his suit. Really? A flask of alcohol? Was he supposed to be Kenickie from _Grease_ or something?

"If someone catches you with that you'll be expelled." Abraham said in a worried tone but Charles just snorted, not seeming to care in the slightest. Emma was then reminded why high school wasn't for her. It was because high school was filled with idiots like Charles and Flash.

"Relax, Abe. Don't be a spoil sport." Charles replied as he rolled his eyes. "Do any of you want a sip? It's straight out of my dad's liquor cabinet."

"Yes, because getting wasted at Homecoming is every girl's dream." Michelle said sarcastically as she eyed the flask with disdain.

"Fine. Be that way." Charles then waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he smirked at Emma. Emma struggled to not give him a look of disdain similar to the one Michelle gave him. "What about you, Emma? You feel exceptionally naughty tonight?"

"No thank you. I'd rather not get grounded for life." Emma responded which seemed like a polite enough response except for the coldness of her tone. Ned looked at Emma in confusion.

"Suit yourself." Charles said as he then walked away to return to whatever snake hole he crawled out of. Emma was glad he was gone because she didn't think she could survive the night if she had to continue to be in close proximity of that idiot. Ned gave his blonde companion a look of surprise as he tried to understand what she said to Charles.

"I never thought you were the type to care about getting grounded." Ned said under his breath, making sure that only Emma could hear him and no one else. Emma just raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head.

"I'm not but it's not like there's a point in someone like me drinking alcohol anyways." Emma said vaguely and Ned furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ned questioned and Emma rolled her eyes as she sighed.

"Do the math, Ned. I'm not exactly a normal human…getting drunk is not something I'm capable of." Ned's eyes widened as he stared at Emma in shock.

"You can't get drunk?!" He exclaimed, causing a bunch of people to look oddly at the pair…Michelle looked particularly bothered by Ned's weird statement. Emma glared at the loud teenager before he gave her a sheepish look as he calmed down.

"What do you think?" Emma sneered as she looked away from Ned and observed the growing crowd inside the dance. An excited look on Ned's face continued to grow as he looked at Emma in amazement, ignoring her hostile tone.

"Can you imagine how well you'd do in college? Think of all the drinking games you could win!" Ned said in awe of all the possibilities of Emma's super soldier abilities. Emma could feel the corners of her mouth quirk up in a smile as she couldn't help but glance at Ned in amusement. She snorted as she shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what Hydra had in mind when they injected me with the serum." Emma replied sarcastically and Ned shrugged.

"You never know." Emma shook her head once more but this time in disbelief. She couldn't believe she actually agreed to go with him to this thing. Even so…Emma didn't know if she could really regret it either. Emma had never done something so normal and teenagerish in her life. This was probably the first time her life had been more like a Molly Ringwald movie than a Matt Damon movie. Although after tonight her life was back to being a Matt Damon movie which was fine with her. Emma had grown accustomed to the kind of life she led many years ago but for some reason she was still scared and she knew exactly why. Emma was going to be alone with herself for the first time in years and she was slightly scared of that. Even when Steve left Emma was never truly alone because she had Peter even if she didn't want to admit she had relied on his…friendship.

Emma looked at the floor sadly as she thought of the brown eyed boy. She had really hurt him and Emma regretted being so cruel but she was afraid it was too late to make amends with Peter anyways. Emma didn't really have many friends but deep down she considered Peter to be a close friend. There was some things that Emma told Peter that she hadn't told anyone else which proved the power he already had over her. There was nothing that terrified her more than the feelings she had for him. Emma knew that if she stayed a moment longer that she would inevitably fall in love with Peter. One of the many things Emma had promised to herself was to never fall in love and she was quite intent on keeping that promise.

* * *

"Peter…nothing is more important than family." Adrian Toomes told Peter as Peter looked back at Liz's father with wide eyes. It completely took Peter by surprise when he realized that the Vulture and Liz's dad were the same person and now the situation was even worse because Liz's dad seemed to know who he was too. It didn't take long for Toomes to put all the pieces together although Liz had unintentionally helped him a lot with figuring out Peter's superhero alter-ego. The only thing that gave Peter hope was that Liz's dad wouldn't figure out who the Viper Assassin really was and Peter desperately hoped that it would stay that way.

"You and Blondie saved my daughter's life. I could never forget something like that so I'm gonna give you both one chance. Are you ready?" Toomes said to Peter, a fleeting look of gratitude on his face. Peter wasn't buying into it…he knew what was coming. "You walk through those doors, you forget any of this happened…and don't you ever, _ever_ interfere with my business again."

"You can even give your assassin buddy, whoever the hell she is, this very same message. I'm sure she'll be especially interested in hearing it." The look on the older man's face had since darkened as he threatened Peter and then Emma by extension. Peter just stared at the man, feeling bits of rage and fear wash over him as Toomes threatened both himself and Emma.

"Let me also just say this…" Toomes added as he glared at the teenage boy. "If you do interfere in my business again I'll kill you and everybody you love…starting with Blondie and I'll make you watch her suffer and die before I do the same to you."

Peter felt his heart race against his chest as he panicked over what Toomes just said. He had never felt this scared in his life and he wasn't scared because Toomes threatened him…no, he was scared because Toomes threatened Emma. His threat was so vivid that Peter couldn't help but imagine Emma in that situation. He also couldn't help but imagine her being tortured just like what Hydra did to her before. This was all his fault, Peter thought to himself. Liz's dad would've never found out about him if he had just been a better liar. If Emma was there she never would've let him make a mistake like that. Peter suddenly felt disheartened because Emma wasn't there at all and he was on his own on this one.

"That's what I'll do to protect my family. Do you understand?" Toomes said and Peter was ripped out of his thoughts. He looked down at the floor of the car and quietly nodded as he tried to think about how Emma would act in a situation like this.

"Hey. I just saved your life. Now what do you say?" Toomes bullied, demanding that Peter answer him. Peter knew exactly how Emma would react in a situation like this. She wouldn't be afraid at all…she would be strong and she'd look Toomes directly in the eyes without any fear whatsoever. With that in mind, Peter immediately lifted his head and locked eyes with Liz's dad.

"Thank you." Peter said shortly and Toomes stared back at him.

"You're welcome." Toomes replied, satisfied with Peter's answer. "Now you go in there and you show my daughter a good time, okay? Just not too good." Toomes smirked at Peter and the young boy could only nod as he discreetly dropped his phone onto the floor of the vehicle. He was already defying the older man's request because this had to end and it had to end tonight. There was too much at stake.

Peter exited the car with a heavy weight resting upon his shoulders as he closed the car door behind him. The car drove away a second later and it was almost like Peter was in a sort of trance. The threat Toomes made kept echoing through his mind as he made his way up the steps into the school building. This was the most dangerous situation he had ever been in and there was so much to lose. Not even the fight at the airport had given Peter such a strong feeling of apprehension and fear.

Peter paused in front of one of the doors and looked through the window at the crowd of his classmates. They were all dancing and seemingly carefree as they laughed and had the time of their lives. It wasn't until Peter's eyes landed on a particular area of the room that he felt his heart nearly stop. Standing amongst his friends was none other than Emma Rogers who was casually chatting with Michelle and Abraham while Ned joined in every once and a while. She was beautiful just like in the picture Ned had posted earlier but Peter had no time to dwell on Emma's beauty as he stared at her.

His feelings of anger and betrayal over her previous actions immediately vanished the second he laid eyes on her. The petty fight they had the other day didn't even seem to matter to him anymore as he saw Emma being the normal teenage girl she always struggled to portray herself as. Toomes meant to harm and kill Emma and it was all Peter's fault. He had given himself up to Toomes, although unintentionally, and now he had made Emma a target as well. It was only a matter of time before Toomes found out about the Viper Assassin's real identity too. Toomes could badger Liz with a couple of innocent questions and Liz was sure to reveal the name of a blonde girl Peter had been spending so much time with. Toomes would inevitably put two and two together. Peter put Emma at risk which was something he had never wanted to do.

Peter didn't care how Emma felt about him. He simply could not let Toomes kill her if there was something he could do about it. Emma had been through so much in her life and she didn't deserve any of this…she deserved a long, happy life without having to deal with the consequences of his stupidity. Peter couldn't imagine living in a world where Emma didn't also exist. His heart would break if anything were to ever happen to her just because she was trying to do the right thing. No, this was going to end once and for all.

* * *

"Come on, Emma, won't you dance with me?" Ned pleaded with Emma as he watched all the other students make their way onto the dance floor. Emma sighed as she looked at Ned in dismay.

"No." She said shortly.

"But that new Selena Gomez song is playing." Ned whined and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Even more of a reason to leave this stupid dance." Emma snapped, becoming quickly tired of Ned's constant whining. "If I have to listen to one more Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift song then I'm going to pour gasoline into my ears and light a match."

"What's wrong with Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez?" Ned questioned and Emma looked at him like he was stupid.

"Beside the fact that they have their own weird, creepy cult…their music fucking sucks. It literally melts your brain." Emma said bitterly as she glared at the DJ. "Can't this DJ play something good like Haim or the Killers? I mean if he has to go the pop route at least play Lorde or Sia."

"I should've known you'd be the alternative type." Ned said, sounding defeated. Emma was about to retort when she noticed the boy, who was the very center of her problems, enter the dance. Anything else Ned might've said to her probably fell on deaf ears as she stared at Peter Parker. Her heart rate increased slightly as she saw him in his suit, looking more fashionable than Emma had ever seen him look before. It killed Emma to even think this but even she had to admit that Peter looked quite handsome tonight. Who was she kidding? Peter always looked handsome which was something Emma had always noticed about him. There was something about the warmth in those gorgeous brown eyes that always seemed to make her heart beat just a little bit faster whenever he looked at her.

Emma watched as Peter walked across the dance floor, seemingly having a target in mind as he moved. That sinking feeling in her stomach suddenly occurred as she realized who he was searching for. Liz Allan. It wasn't like Emma had the right to feel jealous, after all. She was the one who pushed him away and Peter didn't even know how she felt…if everything went according to plan than Peter would never find out either. One of the few reasons Emma came to this dance was to have one last look at Peter before she left and this was it. Even if the image of him was tainted by him being with another girl.

The blonde former assassin then snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed something odd about Peter. There was something very off about him as he walked towards Liz…he walked slowly across the dance floor with wide eyes as if he were lost or something. His posture also looked immensely tense and Emma spent enough time around him to realize when something was wrong. Peter was like an open book so it was no effort on her part to notice when he was acting strange. Emma narrowed her eyes as he finally stood in front of Liz, the look on his face unchanging.

"Gotta go." Emma heard Peter say to Liz with her enhanced hearing. "I'm sorry. You don't deserve this." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she heard what Peter said to Liz. All Peter ever dreamed about, in all the time she knew him, was finally going out with Liz Allan yet he was going to ditch her at the Homecoming dance? She watched as he suddenly bolted away from a very confused Liz and headed for the doors in the back. Emma wasn't the only one watching the scene in confusion as she also noticed Ned and Michelle with similar looks of confusion on their faces. She wasn't sure why but she had a really bad feeling about this.

"We need to talk." Emma told Ned as she grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to a more private corner of the building. She knew that Michelle was watching them suspiciously but Emma didn't have time to care about what Michelle found or didn't find suspicious. Something was going on with Peter.

"Ow! Can't you be more gentle?" Ned asked as Emma finally let go of him and he massaged his wrist soothingly. Emma didn't even look apologetic as a very serious look came over her face.

"What was that?" She asked randomly and Ned gave her a confused look.

"What was what?" Ned questioned and Emma glared at him.

"The scene with Parker? What's going on with him?" Emma continued to question and Ned just shook his head.

"I don't know."

"Well, something's going on with him." Emma responded. She knew something was very wrong with the way Peter just acted and she needed to figure out if Peter knew something she didn't. "Has he been acting weird lately? Does he know something I don't?"

"Look, the only reason Peter's been acting weird is because of you." Ned said, shrugging his shoulders and Emma groaned. That certainly wasn't what she wanted to know and it was clear to her that Ned didn't know anything. Something was clearly going on with Peter and she knew better than to think that it was just the usual teenage drama. This probably had something to do with Birdman and since Peter and her weren't on speaking terms he most likely didn't feel the need to inform her. This kid was pure trouble and always seemed to get in the way of her plans. She was just about to leave the dance once and for all before leaving the country all together but Peter always seemed to have a way of ruining her plans. Emma knew that if he was in trouble that she could never just walk away. She was going to help him even if the survival instinct in her was telling her to run. See…this is why she wanted to leave in the first place. Forming an attachment was already clouding her judgement and Emma had never even so much as kissed Parker before.

"Follow me." Emma suddenly ordered as she began to head for the same doors Peter had went through just a couple minutes before. Ned stood there, staring at the blonde in bewilderment before he finally made any move to follow her. Emma could feel watchful eyes on both their backs as Michelle continued to stare at them but at this point she no longer cared. She pushed the doors open harshly as she stormed down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Ned questioned.

"Just follow my lead and you'll be fine." Emma told him but somehow Ned didn't feel reassured by her statement. Her eyes finally landed on the set of lockers that Peter and her had originally hidden their spare suits under. She easily grasped the bottom of the lockers and lifted them up only to reveal her spare Viper Assassin suit that she left there. Emma also noticed how Peter's suit was missing which confirmed that she was right. Peter was definitely up to something. She quickly grabbed her suit and mask from the lockers before letting the lockers fall back into place.

"Hold this." She told Ned as she practically threw her clutch at him before bending down to take her pumps off. Ned could only watch in confusion, not knowing what was going through Emma's mind.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I'm changing into my suit. Peter needs our help." Emma replied as she kicked her pumps off to the side. "Now unzip me." Ned's eyes immediately widened in shock.

"What?!" He exclaimed and Emma rolled her eyes, trying not to be too frustrated with the teenage boy.

"Unzip me…come on, we don't have much time." Emma pressed and Ned hesitantly grabbed her zipper as he looked anywhere other than Emma. His fingers trembled as he unzipped her dress and as soon as he was done he turned around to give Emma some privacy.

"I can't believe you're doing this in the hallway." Ned muttered as he focused his eyes on the clock on the wall. Emma immediately pulled her arms out of the sleeves of the dress before letting it fall to the ground. She stepped out of the pretty green dress before immediately grabbing the suit and replacing her dress with her old Hydra issued Viper Assassin costume. Even with Stark's previous altercations to the suit, it still fit her very snug as she zipped it up from the front.

"I'm all dressed now so you can stop being an infant and look." Emma told Ned as the boy turned back around. She immediately grabbed the clutch from his hands and rifled through it's contents. Emma placed her Stark phone in one of the compartments around the utility belt before grabbing a hold of her grandfather's dog tags and putting them on, hiding them under her suit. Lastly, she grabbed her grandfather's compass and placed it in another one of the compartments on the utility belt. Emma grasped the familiar looking muzzle mask that Hydra had made her wear and put it on. It covered only the bottom part of her face unlike the mask Stark had made for her which covered the top portion of her face.

"You look scary but I guess that's the point, right?" Ned said as he looked at the former assassin in awe. She did look pretty terrifying and he didn't fail to notice the impression of the Hydra symbol which had probably been left behind by a patch that Emma had long since torn off. The suit didn't look nowhere as cool as the suit Tony Stark had made for her but it did it's job in making Emma look intimidating. "What about the top part of your face?"

"Excuse me?" Emma inquired, not sure what Ned was referring to.

"You're still pretty recognizable." Ned told her and Emma didn't look too worried as she shrugged.

"Well, there's an easy way to fix that." Emma replied before she placed her fingertips over her eyes and quickly smeared the smokey eye make-up she had been wearing all around her eyes. When she was finished, Emma looked something like a racoon with all the eye make-up she had smeared but it was clear that no one would recognize her.

"Woah." Ned said and Emma smirked.

"A genius make-up look that my father made famous." Emma joked to herself. Ned didn't really understand what she meant by that but he didn't have anytime to question her as she took the dress, pumps, clutch purse, and easily hid them underneath the lockers just like she had hidden her suit.

"Let's go." Emma told him as she immediately started walking down the hall. "It's time to save Peter's ass and figure out what he's not telling us."

"And just how do we do that?" Ned asked her as he struggled to keep up with her. Emma barely spared him a glance as she set her sights on the door with the exit sign above it.

"Just be quiet and follow my lead. Everything else will work itself out." Emma replied and Ned decided to just give up and listen to her. She probably knew what she was doing and he was just tired of constantly trying to understand what went on inside her head. Emma paused in front of the door and glanced outside the window. She needed to see what they were up against and how much trouble Peter was in. It immediately became clear to Emma what was going on as she saw the familiar henchman of Birdman walking around outside with that alien enhanced weapon he seemed so fond of. She clenched her jaw in annoyance before quietly opening the door and signaling for Ned to be quiet as well.

The idiot henchman was too distracted by chasing Peter around the school buses that he hadn't even noticed Emma and Ned walk down the steps into the outside area of the school. Emma immediately signaled for Ned to follow her and she only paused when she hid behind one of the buses for cover. Ned made sure to stick close to Emma's side as he followed her. It was then, as he hid with Emma, behind one of the buses that he noticed a familiar looking contraption on the ground. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Look, Emma." Ned whispered to her. She glared at him and was about to berate him for not being quiet when she followed his gaze, noticing what he was staring at. Peter's webshooters. Shit…well, Peter was kind of screwed without his disgusting webbing, wasn't he? Even with his enhanced strength, a hit from that alien weapon was still difficult to go up against. Emma was really putting her life on the line since she didn't have any weapons on her. All she had was her own enhanced strength and reflexes.

"Grab them. Peter's disadvantaged without them." Emma ordered Ned and the teenage boy did as he was told. Emma peeked around the corner of the bus and immediately winced when she heard Peter grunt as the idiotic henchmen hit him with the weapon, sending Peter flying through the inside of one of the school buses. The man grinned as he walked over to the bus and punched it, causing the bus to roll. Emma's gaze hardened as she heard Peter's muffled screams through the rolling vehicle. She felt concerned and worried about how injured Peter might've been but she also felt anger towards the man who hurt Peter in the first place. This guy was going to get it.

No one hurt her spider.

"Stay here." Emma told Ned as she decided to make her move. She didn't wait for Ned to respond as she immediately started stalking over to the man. His back was turned to her, making him completely unaware of her presence as she approached him. Emma was going to make sure he paid for hurting Peter. The look on her face was entirely dangerous and anyone who looked at her would know that the Viper Assassin was not someone to be messed with.

The blonde immediately grabbed him by the shoulders before throwing him at one of the buses with such ease and force that it gave the man whiplash. He cried out in pain as he hit the bus before falling to the ground. He groaned in pain as Emma stalked back over to him with a deadly look in her eyes. She immediately rested her foot against his chest before applying pressure. It was a tactic to keep him from moving as well as to cause him pain. He cried in pain more as Emma kept her foot situated against his chest.

"We meet again, asshole. Hopefully for the last time." Emma said snarkily as she glared at him coldly. He coughed as he struggled against her strength. Peter was still lying on the ground, winded from being thrown through a bus, as he watched Emma. He was in shock that she had even shown up. Hadn't she said that they weren't friends? That she didn't care? Yet, she was still there, coming to his rescue when he needed her most.

"You're just a stupid little girl." He said weakly and Emma bit the inside of her cheek as she struggled not to kill him where he sat. Peter wouldn't like that.

"And you're just a stupid fuckhead playing with things he doesn't understand." Emma retorted. She should've known that the man was only acting slightly more hurt than he actually was. She should've predicted his ploy to attack her when she thought she had the upper hand…Emma honestly should've seen this coming from miles away but she didn't. She was so caught up in her anger over Peter being hurt by this idiot that she noticed a little too late when the idiot lifted the arm with the weapon and hit her in the leg. Emma grunted from the unexpected blast and was sent flying several feet back. Okay…that one was on her. She really should've seen that coming.

Peter immediately felt concern wash over him as he saw Emma now lying on the ground, still trying to recover from the harsh blast from the weapon. He really needed to get up to help her but he was still reeling from his incident with the bus. Feeling desperate to assist Emma, Peter immediately tried and failed to get up from the ground. It was a real struggle as he attempted to find the will to get back up and fight the man. Peter groaned but he was still a little too weak to get up.

"Why did he send you here?" Peter asked as the man walked back over to him. Emma gritted her teeth as she also tried to stand up but her legs felt like jelly after being hit by that stupid weapon.

"Guess you'll never know." The man told him as he smirked at Peter. He lifted the weapon up and was about to to deliver another punch to Peter when something suddenly stopped him. The man, Peter, and Emma all glanced up only to see Peter's webbing attach itself to the weapon. They all stared in bewilderment as a very fearful and shocked looking Ned stood at the other end of the webshooter.

"Nice shot!" Peter exclaimed happily before finding the strength to get back up from off the ground and used the man's surprise to his advantage. He grabbed onto the webbing and immediately yanked the weapon off the man's arm. Peter easily flung the webshooter out of Ned's hand and attached it to his wrist. He didn't waste anytime shooting the man with the webbing which sent him flying into the bus and glued him to the side of the large vehicle.

Peter didn't hesitate in immediately running over to Emma's side and noticed that she was still on the ground, seemingly a bit dazed from being hit by the weapon. His eyes immediately assessed her appearance, looking for any injuries but he didn't see any. It was then that he finally noticed that she had gone back to wearing her old suit just like he had. Peter was immediately taken back by the muzzle looking mask she was wearing and wondered if this was the suit she had worn when she was with Hydra. Probably. He didn't think Mr. Stark would create anything so sinister looking. Still…Peter couldn't seem to stay mad at her especially when she stared at him with those beautiful ocean blue eyes. Under the street lights he could clearly see the flecks of green reflected in them.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked her softly as they locked eyes…or at least when Peter locked eyes with Emma. Emma couldn't see his eyes through the tacky white lensed goggles he was wearing. She stared up at him, feeling very conflicted as she tried to figure out what to say. For the first time in her life she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Yes…are you?" Emma asked hesitantly and Peter shrugged, smiling from under his mask.

"I was just thrown through a school bus…no big deal." Peter replied and Emma smiled a small smile. He didn't seem to be angry with her and she was glad although this was a pretty tense situation. Peter then offered a hand to her and Emma surprised herself by actually taking his hand. He easily helped her off the ground but she still felt a bit woozy from being hit by the weapon. Peter glanced over her in concern as he placed his hands on either side of her, trying to steady her. Emma's heart raced as she looked at him from under her eyelashes. Her throat was starting to feel increasingly dry and she could even feel herself blush. Luckily it was probably too dark for Peter to notice that she was actually blushing.

"Thank you." Emma murmured. The two stared at each other quietly as they seemed to be trapped in their own little world, seemingly worlds away from the actual danger that was going on right now. It was only when Ned ran over to the pair that they both snapped out of it. Peter immediately removed his hands from her and Emma felt slightly disappointed at the loss of his touch.

"Peter! Emma! Are you guys okay?" Ned asked them hurriedly, his eyes wide with worry. It was then that Peter remembered the danger they were all in and the situation involving Toomes. He gulped as he tried to get back on task. Emma glanced at the idiot glued to one of the buses with Peter's webbing and looked away. She knew how that felt.

"The guy with the wings is Liz's dad." Peter said as he panicked. Emma's immediately forgot the little moment she and Peter just shared as she raised her eyebrows in surprise at what Peter had said.

"What?" Ned asked in surprise and even Emma had to admit that she never saw that one coming. She shook her head in disbelief as she tried to process that new piece of information.

"Wow, I thought the universe really seemed to have it out for me but you have it so much worse." Emma said breathlessly as she looked at Peter. "You really are one of the unluckiest people I know, Peter Parker."

"We've gotta tell Mr. Stark, Emma." Peter told her, ignoring her previous comment of disbelief. He might've thought Emma would give him a look of disdain at the mere mention of Mr. Stark but she surprised him by nodding in agreement. It seemed like this kind of situation forced people to put rivalries and fights aside.

"You're right." Emma agreed. Even she was a bit surprised at herself for agreeing to call Stark for help but what other choice did they have? They now knew the Vulture's true identity and he had to be stopped before anymore damage was done.

"Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security and uh…get a computer and track my phone for me." Peter said as he took on the role of authority. Emma admired him a lot for his quick thinking. He even reminded her a bit of her grandfather in that moment. Peter then turned to look back at Emma as he nodded towards the sky. Emma immediately got the hint just as Peter prepared himself to jump onto the lamp post.

"Will you be okay?" Ned asked out of concern as Peter landed on the lamp post and Emma took off into the air, following behind Peter.

"Hurry, we gotta catch him before he leaves town." Peter called back to Ned before he aimed his webshooter across the street and headed off into that general direction thanks to his webbing. Emma flew through the night air, staying close to Peter as they made their way down the street.

"What's the plan, Parker?" Emma asked him, slipping back into their old routine. Peter glanced at her cautiously before answering.

"Remember when you borrowed that car in D.C.?" Peter inquired and Emma immediately understood what he was suggesting as she smirked at him. She must've really rubbed off on him in the time they previously spent together.

"I really like the way you think." Emma responded just as Peter landed on the side of the building and paused. Emma hovered next to him as she noticed he was gazing down at something in the street. She followed his gaze which only allowed her smirk to widen as she noticed what he was looking at. It was a nice looking Audi convertible that was only a little too familiar to Emma's eyes. Emma _really_ loved the way Peter thought.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	46. Chapter Forty Three Part II

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter came a little later than what I intended. I was a little preoccupied with last minute Christmas shopping. On the bright side I finally went to see _The Shape of Water._ It was one of the most beautiful and amazingly weird movies that I've seen in a while. I can't even begin to describe it so just go see it.  
**

 **I also can't get over how it's snowing right now where I live. A perfect Christmas Eve. I hate being in the snow but the snow sure is pretty to look at when it's falling on the evergreen trees.**

 **Spawn Hades: Glad you loved the chapter so much. I definitely think Emma and Peter relationship is strengthening. This chapter will be far more telling than the last. I also didn't mean to imply that Peter might someday take on Cap's role. I meant that Emma sees qualities in Peter that she's also seen in Steve. Emma holds a great amount of respect and admiration for her grandfather and he's the only one she listens to and allows to order her around because of that respect and admiration. I don't think Emma could fall in love with Peter unless he had certain traits that Steve has.**

 **bonitalito: Rumlow will definitely make an appearance soon. Probably after the Homecoming storyline. We're still in Part II of the story which has been super long but it's about to end. Part III will focus more on Rumlow. I'd give it a couple more chapters before Part II ends.**

 **ilypopxtart33: Thank you so much! I'm glad you love it so much. I never thought Some Things Never Sleep could ever be someone's favorite Avengers fanfic. I do wish that there was more Peter/OC fanfics. I don't really get why there's a shortage of them but hopefully as more movies come out that will change.**

 **WooBinah: I always binge read fanfics because I just can't help it. The curiosity always gets to me. Thanks for the feedback. Glad you like it.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews! Let me know what you think of this chapter. Merry Christmas!**

* * *

"Flash's car?" Emma questioned before looking back at Peter, mischief in her eyes, as they stared at Flash's car that the annoying teenager was currently driving down on the street below them. "I could kiss you, Parker." Peter immediately blushed from underneath his mask, thanking God that Emma couldn't see his blush. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Emma awarded him with an amused look.

"It's a fast car and it'll get us where we need to go in no time." Peter said quietly and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Am I driving or are you driving?" Emma asked him.

"I'll drive. You drove last time so it's only fair." Peter replied, trying to seem cool and nonchalant. In all honesty Peter really didn't know how to drive that well but he didn't want Emma doing everything like last time. He could do some stuff too.

"Sure." Emma agreed before giving Peter a devious smile. It was odd how there was so much anger and hurt between them a short time ago and now it was like they were back to normal. Almost like an unspoken spell of forgiveness fell over them. "Let's get the car then."

Peter immediately dropped down from the building with little to no hesitance and Emma flew down after him. He landed on the car with a loud thump surprising both Flash and his date so much that they both screamed in unison. Flash immediately stopped the car as Emma landed a short distance away. She casually walked up to the car as Flash looked between her and Peter in both fear and surprise.

"Flash, I need your car and your phone." Peter said as he disguised his voice.

"Uh…sir, technically, this is my dad's car, sir." Flash said as he weakly protested. Emma glared at the stupid boy, feeling beyond impatient at this point. It didn't help that she didn't like Flash at all either. "So I can't-"

"Get out of the fucking car!" Emma snarled and Flash's eyes widened before he quickly nodded. The look on the Viper Assassin's face made it clear that she wasn't up for negotiating.

"Of course, Miss Viper Assassin…anything you want." Flash said as he immediately got out of the car along with his date. He tossed his phone back into the car and backed away as Spider-Man immediately got into the driver's side while the Viper Assassin got into the passenger's side. She smirked from under her mask when she saw the amount of fear in Flash's eyes as he watched both herself and Peter steal his car. How pathetic.

Peter immediately grabbed a hold of the steering wheel before turning the car around to head in the opposite direction. Emma grabbed onto the edge of her seat as Peter made the turn a little fast, causing the car jerk around uncontrollably. She stared at Peter but flinched when he hit a bunch of bikes on the side of the road. What was up with his driving? Assuming that Peter was just a little panicked, Emma decided to put her uneasy feelings aside and try to find out more about the situation.

"You said that Liz's dad is Birdman?" Emma inquired and Peter looked over at her as he made a turn very fast. Emma's grip tightened against the edge of her seat. "Do we know what he wants exactly?"

"I don't know. He just said that if we interfere in his business again that he'll kill us and everyone we care about." Peter told her but Emma didn't appear at all bothered by what Peter told her. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Is that the best he's got? He's going to have to do a little bit better than that." Emma said bitterly as watched the road ahead of them. "Sounds to me like he's more of a business man than a politician."

"What does that mean?" Peter asked her.

"It means that his agenda isn't political…he doesn't care about taking over the world. He just wants money." Emma responded. "He kind of makes for a boring villain actually. The world domination sort are always more interesting." Peter looked over at her, a small smile on his face although Emma couldn't see his smile. He felt a feeling of warmth wash over him as he continued to stare at her.

"I missed this." Peter said suddenly and Emma gave him a confused look.

"Missed what?" Emma questioned and Peter just shook his head.

"I missed working together." Peter answered and Emma just stared at him, not knowing what to tell him. She had missed the familiar routine they had created as well. These past few days felt entirely lonely without Peter's constant presence in her life. Emma, however, didn't want to seem all worked up over the issue. She laughed it off.

"You're acting like we haven't seen each other for months." Peter sighed as he shrugged.

"Well, it kind of felt that way." Peter told her. Emma chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously as she decided to change the subject.

"So…Liz's dad is a villain. No offense but your girlfriend is kind of living my dream." Emma joked as Peter looked at her in disbelief. "I mean, my father's kind of a villain too but he was actually just brainwashed until he decided to be one of the good guys. It's a little boring if I'm being completely honest. He was a lot more fun when he was homicidal."

"She's not my girlfriend." Peter said, ignoring Emma's usual odd banter. Emma narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to understand what he might've meant by that. She decided to just let his weird comment go as she leaned back in the seat.

"Well, I hope not. Ditching a girl at a dance is kind of a dick move." Emma told him. It was then that Peter made another sharp turn which put Emma on edge. She was starting to think that Peter might not have been the most experienced of drivers. Emma looked at him incredulously as he gripped the steering wheel tonight and swerved to avoid hitting a car in the next land. What the hell was his problem? Peter then reached for Flash's phone as he sped down the street so that he could get in touch with Ned.

"Hello, Ned? Hey, can you hear me?" Peter said into the phone.

"Go for Ned." Emma heard Ned say on the other line.

"Ned, I need you to track my phone for me." Peter told him which made Emma a bit curious. His phone?

"Yeah but where is it?" Ned asked him and Peter sighed.

"I dropped it in Liz's dad's car." He explained briefly and Emma had to admit that she was a bit impressed by Peter's smart thinking. She would've done the exact same thing had she been in his position. This would make it simple for them to track Peter's phone and by extension Liz's dad.

"Good thinking." Emma told him, sounding very impressed. Peter felt a feeling of pride wash over him at Emma's comment. It wasn't very often that she seemed impressed with anything he did. Emma Rogers wasn't someone who was easily impressed.

"Genius move." Ned added in agreement before continuing. "Okay, he just passed the GameStop on Jackson Avenue."

"Hey, where are the headlights on this thing? I'm in Flash's car." Peter said, sounding slightly panicked. Emma could see well enough through the dark with her enhanced vision but she wasn't the one driving after all.

"I'll pull the specs." Ned replied.

"Okay, you're on speakerphone."

"You guys stole Flash's car. Awesome." Ned said, sounding very delighted. Emma knew exactly what he meant by that. The look on Flash's face when they stole his car was priceless.

"Yeah, it's awesome. It's-" Peter was then interrupted as a bus pulled out in front of them and he narrowly managed to dodge the bus as he swerved around it. Emma bit down on her lip hard as her nails finally pierced through the leather seats. That was how nervous and on edge she was. She knew that they both needed to stop Birdman before any real damage was done but Peter was driving a little too recklessly for her liking.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way! Move! Move!" Peter yelled as he continued to dodge numerous vehicles. Emma flinched every time they nearly hit a car. She fixed Peter with a very agitated glare.

"What the hell are you doing? You're going to get us both killed!" Emma yelled at him.

"Don't yell at me when I'm driving! You're making this worst!" Peter yelled back over the loud sound of traffic.

"How can this get any worse?!" Emma argued. It seemed like Emma and Peter really were back to their old ways as they starting entering their usual routine of bickering.

"Peter, are you okay?" Ned asked in concern.

"I've never really driven before…only with May in parking lots. This is a huge step up." Peter admitted sheepishly and Emma looked at him in horror.

"What do you mean you've never driven before?! You volunteered to drive!" Emma said in disbelief. Peter ran a red light and narrowly missed hitting an oncoming vehicle. This time Emma's entirely hand went through the passenger seat and she could feel the foam inside her fist.

"I'm sorry! You already drove before and I just wanted to show you that you don't need to do everything…I can do stuff too." Peter explained childishly and Emma gave him another incredulous look, not believing that was his final answer. She scoffed before shaking her head.

"Your male ego?! That's why you're going to get us both killed?!" Emma rolled her eyes as she withdraw her hands from the seat cushions. She didn't really care about wrecking Flash's car since Peter seemed hellbent on doing that himself. The blonde crossed her arms as she tried to keep herself calm. "This is so ironic. I've been almost killed a hundred times by trained killers yet you're the one whose going to do me in. If only my father was here to see this."

"We're not going to die." Peter told her. In all honesty he thought Emma was being a little dramatic. Peter thought he was driving quite well for someone who had only driven in parking lots before. His attention was then drawn back to the task at hand as he kept his eyes focused on the road before calling out to Ned. "Hey, have you gotten through to Happy yet?"

"Yeah. I'm working on it. I just gotta backdoor the phone system." Ned told him. Emma heard the distinct sound of typing as Ned did his job of being the guy in the chair. She was a little amused as to how excited he seemed to be a part of this but at least he was willing to help. There was a brief moment of silence as Peter sped in between a few vehicles on the road before it was interrupted as Peter spoke up.

"Why are you helping me?" Peter asked Emma suddenly. Emma look over at him in surprise…not because she didn't know the answer to that question but because he asked it in the first place. Of course she knew why she was helping him. It was because she could never knowingly let him walk into danger if there was something she could do about it. She was a bit protective over him not only because she didn't want him to get hurt but also because he was Peter…her very own Spider-Twerp. She didn't have any claim to him but in her mind that was what he was to her. However, Emma didn't say any of this. She shrugged nonchalantly, pretending to seem unbothered by his random question.

"Because you need my help." Emma said as if it were that simple.

"You seemed quite adamant about staying away from me a couple days ago." Peter said, trying to get some kind of answer from her that actually made sense. Emma sighed as she looked away from him uncomfortably before responding.

"Look, I'm sorry I was such a bitch about it but the truth is that I really am a bitch. A cold hearted one too." Emma explained before she returned her gaze to him. "I meant what I said before, Peter. I'd be a terrible partner…you're better off without me."

"Then how come I never believe you when you say that?" Peter asked her honestly and Emma stared at him long and hard before looking away once more. She was glad that he had his mask on so she couldn't see his warm brown eyes. Emma was almost positive that she would say or do something incredibly stupid if she saw those eyes.

"That's your own stupid fault. Not mine." She muttered. Peter couldn't help but smile under his mask as he continued to pay close attention to his driving. It seemed like Emma might be his friend after all. Peter believed that all the time he had spent with her in past hadn't been a lie or a ruse.

"Hey, Ned, how are we coming on with those headlights?" Peter asked Ned as he changed the subject and got back on task once more.

"Uh…round knob to the left of the steering wheel, turn clockwise." Ned answered.

"Left." Peter repeated and did as Ned told him. And just like that Peter finally managed to turn on the headlights. "Okay, perfect. So where's my phone now?"

"He stopped in an old industrial park in Brooklyn." Ned replied. Emma was instantly reminded of Steve, of course, as soon as she heard the name of her grandfather's hometown. She was supposed to be already leaving town to go find him but those plans seemingly ended the instant Peter was in trouble. She should've felt guilty for abandoning her plans as soon as Peter needed her but somehow she didn't. It was almost like fate was keeping her from going for some reason.

"What? That makes no sense." Peter said and Emma gave him a confused look.

"Why not?" Emma asked and Peter just shook his head, not understanding what Ned just told them.

"I thought he said he was going out of town." Peter responded and Emma didn't know what to think of that. It was a weird thing to make up…going out of town that is but bad guys lied all the time. Maybe he only said he was going out of town because he was having an affair or something. It was plausible and not unheard of but somehow that didn't seem quite right either. Birdman was too fixated on his so called business to busy himself with another woman.

"Weird. Oh, I reached Mr. Happy. Don't think he likes either of you, by the way." Ned added and Emma rolled her eyes, slightly scoffing at the thought of Stark's lazy henchman.

"Don't worry. The feeling's mutual." Emma muttered under her breath. Happy spent all his time proving to Stark that he was still useful and had a purpose but lacked the ability to prove his use when he was needed most. Typical.

"It sounded like he was catching a flight. He said something about taking off in nine minutes." Emma tensed the moment she heard Ned's observation. Catching a flight…wait what day was it today? It felt like it had been years since she started school at Midtown that she also seemingly lost track of time.

"What?!" Peter questioned in disbelief.

"He was surrounded by a bunch of boxes." Emma knew what today was when she heard Ned's last comment. She vaguely remembered Happy mentioning moving day a few times in the past couple weeks but she hadn't really care much about it at the time. The tower was only home to Emma when Steve was with her and now that he was gone it didn't mean as much to her anymore. Emma knew, however, that moving day meant a very different thing to Birdman. He was obviously going to hijack Stark's plane full of Avenger's tech. If Emma was a high profile thief she'd probably do the same thing as Birdman anyways.

"Boxes?" Peter's eyes also widened in realization as he realized what Toomes was going to do. "It's moving day. It's moving day! He's gonna rob that plane. We gotta stop him!" Peter exclaimed as he panicked. The situation seemed to get worse and worse as the night went on. Peter made an abrupt turn down a quieter street and immediately started speeding up again. Emma didn't really mind fast cars since she liked driving fast herself but the problem with Peter was that he didn't actually know how to drive. Going fast in a car he didn't know how to drive really made her nervous.

"Okay, slow down." Ned told Peter. "You're getting close. It's on your right." Peter looked around in confusion as he tried to spot the warehouse but he was going very fast down the road.

"What?" He asked in confusion. Peter and Emma didn't spot the warehouse until the last minute but by then they had almost driven past it.

"Turn right. Turn right." Ned repeated and Peter, in a state of panic, shot a nearby lamp post with his webbing so that he could make a quick turn into the parking lot. What he didn't anticipate, however, was the car flipping onto it's side, causing Emma to wince as they were sent sliding across the parking lot.

She clutched onto her seat belt with all her might to prevent her head from hitting the pavement outside the side of the car. Peter screamed the whole time and Emma dealt with the traumatizing experience on her own terms. Her fingers dug into the skin of her other hand as she grasped the seat belt with both hands. She dug her nails so deep into her skin that it drew blood. The blonde bit down on the inside of her cheek hard, also drawing blood, clenched her eyes shut. She hoped that this night of a rollercoster ride ended soon. Peter's driving was obviously not good for her nerves. The convertible eventually stopped skidding across the parking lot and stopped, sending the car to land back on the ground. As the car landed back onto the ground, Emma gave Peter a dark look.

"You're the worst driver I've ever met." She told him as she tried to calm herself down from that intense car ride.

"Sorry." Peter mumbled and Emma rolled her eyes. That boy was going to kill her one of these days. Emma was sure that he was probably the only person in the world that was capable of killing her.

"Peter. Emma. Are you okay?" Ned asked in concern.

"Yeah. Just keep trying to get through to Happy." Peter said breathlessly as he glanced up at the warehouse. Emma followed his gaze and narrowed her eyes in determination as she saw the building. It was time for Birdman's little business ploy to finally end. Emma was going to take a long nap after they were finished with that old man. She was tired of constantly having to deal with him.

"Are you alright, Emma?" Peter asked her, feeling very bad about putting her through that nightmare of a car ride. Emma looked back at him and knew that he felt concern for her. She couldn't read his facial expression with that mask of his but she knew he was worried about her. Instead of looking insulted at his question like she normally would, she felt a bit touched by his concern. That was strange…she always told people where to get off when they worried over her. Emma nodded slowly.

"I'm better than ever, Peter. You?" Peter just shrugged at her response.

"I feel fine. Come on, let's go." Peter told her and Emma didn't hesitate a moment longer before hopped out of Flash's car, Peter following suit. She glanced back at the wrecked looking convertible, a smirk forming on her face.

"Well, on the upside it looks like Flash's dad is going to have to buy a new car." Emma quipped before they started walking towards the warehouse. Peter shook his head in amusement but he was glad to see Emma making light of the situation. His smile soon faded once he felt apprehension and fear take over him. He once again recalled the threat Toomes had made against both him and Emma. Suddenly Peter's mouth felt incredibly dry as he looked worriedly at a calm and battle ready looking Emma Rogers.

"Wait." Peter said suddenly as he stopped Emma, grabbing onto her shoulder and forcing her to look at him. She gave him a confused look.

"What is it, Parker?" She asked him.

"This isn't your fight, Emma. You don't have to do this." Peter told her seriously. This did nothing to ease Emma's confusion. Emma didn't understand at all what Peter was trying to say.

"What are you talking about?" She continued to ask.

"Toomes…he knows about me because I'm a terrible liar. He threatened to torture and kill you, Emma. If I had been more like you he would've never found out about me." Peter then looked down at his feet, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. "This is all my fault. I put you in danger." Emma watched him quietly, wondering what on Earth he was thinking in a moment like this. How could Peter blame himself for this? She supposed he blamed himself for something like this in a way similar to how she always told him that she wasn't a good partner to have. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

"Peter…I put myself in danger. I knew what I was getting into from the beginning. None of this is your fault." Emma told him honestly and Peter looked back up at her. He could see sincerity in her ocean blue eyes.

"I'd just hate to see you get hurt because of me." Peter admitted sadly. He didn't say how it would break his heart if something bad were to ever happen to her but Peter felt like she might've known deep down how much it would hurt him.

"I can't promise you that we'll both walk away from this unscathed but I can promise you that I won't walk away this time." Emma replied, her tone fierce and determined. She then bit her lip nervously as she remembered something she heard Steve once say when he told her a story about her father. It was a line the two friends gave each other as a means of comfort and Emma thought it was entirely cheesy but she supposed it would do for a situation like this one. "I'm with you 'til the end of the line."

Emma's meaningful statement was a bit confusing to most but Peter thought he understood what she was trying to say. She was promising him that she wouldn't walk away again…not like last time and Peter believed her. There seemed to be an underlying meaning to her words. He could tell that last promise meant a lot to her in way that went beyond words. Peter could see the truth reflected in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. It was enough for him.

"I'm with you too." Peter said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say but Emma wasn't expecting him to say anything. She knew that they were back to being partners again even if she thought Peter was completely insane for wanting a partner like her. Emma knew, however, that she was quite lucky to have a partner like Peter. Emma gave him a curt nod before continuing to walk towards the warehouse and Peter walked alongside her. There was no telling how tonight was going to end but they had to finish this once and for all.

* * *

Emma and Peter landed softly on the roof of the warehouse after Emma had flown herself and Peter up to the top. It was dark and cold but nothing Emma wasn't already used to. Peter quietly lifted the cover of one of the openings in the roof and set it off to the side carefully. They both glanced into the darkness of the warehouse but they couldn't see anything. Emma didn't even think she heard anyone down there. It was dead quiet which only proved to be a bad sign. Silence was never a good sign in these situations. The old man was probably even waiting for them in the warehouse…Emma wouldn't put it past him. She seriously didn't know how someone as nice and innocent as Liz could come from someone as greedy and insane as Birdman. Well…people always wondered how she and Steve were related after all.

"Okay…time for this asshole to die." Emma muttered as she looked down the opening with a determined look on her face. Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"We can't kill him." Peter told her, not knowing whether or not to take her seriously. Sometimes he really couldn't if she was joking or not.

"Why not?" Emma questioned and Peter gave her an incredulous look.

"Other than the fact that killing people is wrong...he also happens to be Liz's dad." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Have it your way. I was just suggesting the easier way out but if you want to do things the hard way than fine." Emma replied. As much as Peter wanted to be annoyed with her over this, he couldn't help but smile at her in amusement. This was the Emma he knew and loved. Peter was so wrapped up in Emma that he didn't even notice how he had slipped over his words in that last thought.

Just like that the pair went back to being serious superheroes on a mission as Peter shot his webbing at a spot on the roof. He looked back at her and it became obvious to Emma what he was planning to do. Peter wanted to propel down to the warehouse floor with his webbing and he wanted her to go with him. If she was being honest than it was probably better that way. Birdman would never hear them coming and Emma would be able to save some of her energy for later.

"I won't drop you. I promise." Peter told her sincerely. The truth was that Emma knew that he would never drop her. It was a gut feeling that told her so. She realized then that she trusted Peter way more than she trusted most people.

"I know." Emma said briefly before she walked over to him. He immediately wrapped his arm around her securely as she held onto him with both arms. Peter had one hand on the rope of webbing as he then propelled them both down. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she held onto Peter. For some unexplainable reason she felt safe in his arms which terrified her somewhat. It terrified her because she never felt safe with anyone before. Sure there was Steve and her father but that was different…no, this felt entirely different to her.

Peter slowly and quietly continued to propel them both down to the floor of the warehouse. It was seldom that Peter ever remained this close to Emma and despite the situation they were in he was going to cherish this. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to hold her this close again. He swallowed nervously as he was able to smell the sweet shampoo in Emma's hair. Peter swore he smelt strawberries and coconut. The teenage boy snapped out of his brief dazed state as he glanced around the dark warehouse. He wasn't sure what he was seeing until he brought both himself and Emma down to the ground. As soon as Peter hit the ground, Emma stepped away from him and Peter felt a bit disappointed from the loss of contact.

Emma looked around the room, scanning and assessing every object she saw within the darkness of the warehouse. It seemed like she was in her investigative mode as she and Peter both walked around the room. Peter was more curious than Emma while Emma just looked for any information that could give them the upper hand against Birdman. She spotted lots of computer monitors that displayed Avenger's Tower as well as the blue prints for what she presumed was one of Stark's planes…the plane carrying all the Avenger's tech more than likely. Mechanical tools laid around the room upon work tables, making the room look like some sort of lab.

"I guess we finally found that evil lair." Emma muttered under her breath. Peter only spared her a side glance before his attention was taken away by something else. The room opened up into an even larger space and Emma immediately saw what grabbed Peter's attention. Propped up on a lower platform was Birdman's wings. Emma narrowed her eyes at the sight.

Emma and Peter then turned their heads to look down the hall on the lower level of the warehouse as they heard noises coming from another room. She exhaled in annoyance. It seemed like Birdman was at it again. He just didn't know when to stop messing with weaponry beyond human understanding. The scare that day on the ferry and even the fact that Peter knew his true identity should've scared him off. If Emma were him she would've fled the country a long time ago but it was clear to her what drove this man to do the things he did. Greed.

Emma and Peter quickly made their way down onto the lower level before bolting down the hallway to finally approach the guy. Usually Emma would want to wait this out to get more of an insight as to what Birdman was currently up to but she was sick of dealing with him. She just wanted to get this over with once and for all. Of course, she'd feel a lot better if she had her gun with her but she was just going to have to do without.

"Hey!" Peter called out as they walked into a large open area located towards the back of the warehouse. Emma wore a stoic expression on her face as they marched over to the older man who was situated in front of a work table. "Surprised?"

"Oh, hey, Pete! I didn't hear you come in." Toomes said casually as he leaned against the work table. He glanced over at the Viper Assassin with a pleasantly surprised look on his face…he looked at her like he was seeing an old friend. Emma didn't like the look on his face one bit. It made her feel uneasy…like he knew something they didn't. "I see you've brought Blondie along too. I'd call you by your real name but since Peter's been so rude and hasn't properly introduced us…" He trailed off, clearly trying to get Emma's true identity out of her. It was an insult to her that he thought she was really that stupid.

"It's Viper to you, asswipe." Emma snapped as she glared at the man. His grin was unchanging as he looked at her. Emma didn't know why he looked that confident and casual. Whatever the reason was it couldn't be good.

"Not as polite and cordial as Pete, I see. That's okay…a strong and independent woman that doesn't take shit from anyone. I admire that." Toomes said, unaffected by Emma's hostility. "I have a daughter, you know. I admire strong and powerful women although you actually look more like my daughter's age than I thought. Why is that?"

"That's none of your business." Peter said angrily, not liking how Toomes was digging around for information about Emma's real identity. "It's over. We've got you."

"You know, I've gotta tell you, Pete. I really, really admire your grit." Toomes said mockingly as Emma and Peter drew nearer to him. He casually put on his leather jacket, appearing not to care about Emma and Peter walking so dangerously close to him. "I see why Liz likes you. I do. When you first came to my house I wasn't sure. I thought, "Really?" but I get it now although I get the feeling that you might be leading my little girl on, Pete. You and Blondie seem to be attached at the hip."

"How could you do this to her?" Peter asked, ignoring the last comment as they kept getting closer and closer to the older man. Emma clenched her jaw as she heard him call her that stupid nickname again. It was really taking all of her control not to lash out and attack him on the spot but that wasn't part of the plan. They needed to somehow convince him to come with them willingly. Emma didn't really like that plan but she understood what Peter meant by not hurting or killing Toomes. He was Liz's father after all and Emma could never stand it whenever her father got hurt. She sympathized with Liz on that level even if Emma wasn't necessarily part of the Liz Allan fan club.

"To her?" Toomes questioned before continuing. "I'm not doing anything _to_ her, Pete. I'm doing this _for_ her.

"Hmm…yeah." Peter said, not quite believing anything Toomes was telling him. Peter then shot his webbing at Toomes, gluing his hand to the table and knocking over a beer bottle in the process.

"Cut the bullshit, old man, and tell us what you want." Emma said shortly as she glared at Toomes. Toomes just sighed and shook his head before glancing up at the two of them.

"Peter…Viper…you're both young. You don't know how the world works." Toomes told them as he patronized the both of them. Yeah, that wasn't going to win him any favors. Emma gritted her teeth as her temper increased. It pissed her off enough whenever Steve and Stark patronized her so it pissed her off even more listening to this old man tell her how little she knew of the world. She knew the world better than most people and surely better than this old man proclaimed he did.

"Yeah but I understand that selling weapons to criminals is wrong." Peter pointed out. If this was any other situation Emma would've smiled softly at him. He was very black and white that way…a trait that he had in common with her grandfather who didn't live in the gray areas of the world like Stark did. Steve was very strict on what was right and what was wrong. There wasn't really anything in between that for him.

"How do you think your buddy Stark paid for that power? Or any of his little toys?" Toomes argued. Emma had to admit that she agreed with Toomes there…he was right about Stark. Stark, for the longest time, had profited off of war. It was true that Stark hadn't been aware of who he had been selling his weapons to but it was still his responsibility. Stark should've been aware since it was his company. He technically still profited off of war even if he built stuff exclusively for the Avengers now.

"Those people up there, the rich and the powerful, they do whatever they want. People like us…you and me…they don't care about us." Toomes continued to lecture and this was where Emma drew the line. He was wrong about the Avengers…the Avengers did care about people or why else would they put their lives on the line to save everyone? Just look at her grandfather and the others. They were forced to go on the run because they fought for what they believed in. How dare Toomes say that Steve Rogers was anything less than caring. Look at all that man had given them…he gave up his own time and someone who was quite possibly the love of his life to save everyone. Steve had even given Emma up to save the world. "We build their roads and fight all their wars and everything but they don't care about us. We have to pick up after them. We have to eat their table scraps."

"That's how it is." Toomes said as he began to wrap up his little speech. "I know you know what I'm talking about, Peter. Blondie might not get it but I know you do." Emma finally had enough of listening to this old man talk. She gave him a scathing look as she forced herself not to lose her temper and attack this idiot.

"Don't tell me that I don't understand the world." Emma hissed venomously as she glared at Toomes heatedly. "The things I've been through would make a coward like you shit themselves and die. I know this world better than you do and I know it's a cruel, unforgiving, and at times even a godless place."

"I agree with you about Stark. He profits off of war and chaos…he leaves misery in his wake but he's not evil like you paint him to be. He's just a misguided fool that does more harm than good." Emma continued as she gave her very own lecture. Peter stared at Emma in surprise…she sounded so impassioned and he knew that something Toomes had said really set her off. "Say what you want about Stark but don't say a word against the others. You don't know the sacrifices they've made to protect ungrateful idiots like you. People like you spit at them and curse them for saving the world." Emma shook her head furiously as she thought of Steve and all the others who were who knows were just to protect the rights of ungrateful people like this man. Money? Was that all that mattered to him?

"They gave up their whole lives just so that you could have the freedom to whine and complain about all the money you've lost when you should really be thankful you're even still alive." Emma sneered as she glared hatefully at the older man. "How do you think you and your family would've fared under Loki's reign? How about Ultron's… or even Hydra's? Loki would've had you beheaded in front of your daughter for even complaining about money. So just shut up and be grateful that Loki never had the chance to enslave us all and sell your daughter to a Chitauri." Toomes looked somewhat enlightened at Emma's rant despite how much she made him look like a fool. He nodded slowly as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll admit, Viper…I was wrong about you. You do know a lot about the world. Everyone's heard your past and it's safe to say that you've had it worse than any of us." Toomes admitted as he smiled at Emma. His condescending smile only pissed her off more. "Maybe you do understand on some level. Don't you see, Blondie? That's just what they want us to think…they want us to worship them and be grateful that they're there to save us. It's only so that they can screw more money out of us." Emma fumed at his statement. Okay…this man was completely delusional and Emma was very tempted to knock some sense into him right away. Peter just shook his head as he huffed.

"Why are you telling us this?" Peter asked him, wanting Toomes to just get to the point already.

"Because I want you both to understand." Toomes answered before adding. "And…I needed a little more time to get her airborne." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, not understanding his response until the pair of the Vulture's wings came crashing through one of the cement walls. Emma flinched at the loud sound and immediately knew why Toomes had given them such a boring and long villain monologue. He had obviously been stalling.

As the pair of wings came flying towards them, Emma immediately ducked to the ground as Peter did a flip through the air before doing the same. As the pair of wings came flying back again, Peter shot his webbing in a different direction and propelled himself over there. Emma simply flew well above the wings but she was even more confused to see that it wasn't following her. In fact, the wings didn't really seem to be targeting Peter either. The wings just kept crashing into the cement pillars in the warehouse almost mindlessly. Something in her, perhaps her survival instinct, told her that there was a reason for this. She bit her lip anxiously as Emma lowered herself back to the ground next to Peter. She landed on her feet and looked incredulously up at Toomes who seemed rather smug.

"I'm sorry, guys." Toomes said them just as the pair of wings flew above them, nearly hitting them before Emma and Peter both ducked to the ground again. Peter was sent skidding across the cement ground as the wings nearly clipped his head. Emma glared at the pair of mechanical wings, trying to put the pieces together. Why was that old fool so smug? What did he have up his sleeve?

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked in disbelief as he got back up from the ground. Emma stood up and walked back over to him so she could stand next to him. "That thing hasn't even touched us yet."

"True…" Toomes admitted with that smug smirk on his face. "Then again…wasn't really trying to." It was then that the pair of wings came flying by and started crashing through all the cement pillars. Emma's eyes widened as she realized what he had meant to do. He meant to bring this whole place crashing down on them. It was a good plan and something she would've done had she been in his place. Emma wasn't even sure if she could survive the impact. She was stronger than most average humans but Emma didn't know if she was strong enough.

It was when the pair of wings went crashing through the last pillar that everything seemed to go into slow motion for Emma. She turned her head and saw Peter standing there staring up at the crumbling ceiling. She could practically feel the fear radiating off of him. Emma was sure about what she had to do but the thing was…she wasn't even afraid. Her self-preservation ideals seemed to leave her mind the instant she saw Peter in danger. Emma wasn't afraid of dying but she was instead afraid of Peter dying. The former assassin didn't even want to think of living in a world without Peter's kind brown eyes and goofy smile. He was one of the few good and genuine people left in this cruel world.

If she died for Peter Parker then so be it. Peter was definitely someone worth saving. At least she could finally be the hero Steve and Peter always believed her to be. Emma would never forgive herself if anything bad happened to Peter. Stark had put her and Peter together in the first place because he wanted her to look out for the teenage boy. However, Emma knew that this went far beyond keeping an unspoken promise to Stark. She cared too much about Peter to just watch him get hurt and possibly die.

Emma didn't even hesitate when she practically jumped on Peter, roughly pushing him to the ground, and covering his body with her own. Their faces were inches apart as the pieces of the roof started falling. Emma stared into the white lenses of Peter's tacky goggles before a piece of debris hit her in the head. Her vision began becoming blurry when more and more debris fell on top of them. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not the darkness was her own hallucination or if it was real. The last thing Emma saw before she blacked out was Peter's mask.

* * *

Peter woke up gasping for air as he looked around wildly but he only saw darkness. It took a few seconds before his vision steadied and he was able to focus. He felt like he couldn't move and he struggled for another few seconds before he felt a heavy weight on his chest. It wasn't just the debris from the ceiling that held him down but it was an unconscious blonde resting on top of him. Peter's eyes widened as he saw Emma's blonde hair pooled across his chest. Her hair was caked in mud and blood much to Peter's horror. Where was the blood coming from? It was then that he noticed the blood streaming down from Emma's nose as well as from a head wound. Peter started panicking as he stared fearfully at Emma.

"Emma?" Peter said worriedly as he tried to wake her up but she didn't even stir. Tears fell from Peter's eyes as he managed to rip off his mask. "Emma? Please wake up! No, no, no. Please, Emma…you have to wake up!"

Peter moved his hands to shake her head but she still didn't move. He let out a muffled sob as Emma remained unmoving. Emma would've looked incredibly angelic resting there if it hadn't been for the blood streaming from her head as well as her smeared make-up. Her muzzle mask had seemingly fallen off her face so he could see her entire face. Peter felt scared as the always strong and brave Emma Rogers didn't even wake up from his desperate cries.

"Please don't do this to me, Emma! Please! I need you!" Peter cried. He desperately tried lifting the debris off them but he felt utterly helpless and weak underneath all the weight. As he struggled some of the debris shifted causing Emma to slide off his chest and onto the ground somewhere below them. Peter tried to reach out a hand to grab her but it was too late. Peter cried out in anguish.

"No! Please, God, don't do this!" Peter screamed before he realized that crying wouldn't solve anything. What would Emma say if she was awake? She'd tell him to stop crying about it and get them out of there. He needed to get this debris off of him so that he could get Emma out of there before it was too late. Peter managed to flip over on his stomach underneath all the weight of the debris even though it was a tight fit and caused him a great amount of pain.

"Okay, ready?" Peter asked himself as he tried lifting the debris but he struggled underneath all the weight. He let out a strangled sob as he continued to try to remove the debris but it was no use. Peter just didn't seem to be strong enough and he had never felt more alone in his life.

"Hello?!" Peter called out desperately as the tears continued to stream down his face. "Hello! Please, hey. Hey, please…We're down here. We're down here! We're stuck…We're stuck!"

"Emma's down here and I don't know if she's breathing. Please. I'm stuck. I'm-" Peter stopped as he felt overcome with emotion. This was all his fault. He wasn't even sure if Emma was still breathing. If only Peter had stopped her from coming along with him to confront Toomes. She'd never be there if it wasn't for him. If only Peter had protected her more…

It was then that Peter looked up from the ground as he spotted his Spider-Man mask lying in a puddle. He saw his own reflection in the puddle that somehow merged with the mask. Suddenly Mr. Stark's words made sense to him as he remembered what the billionaire told him. 'If you're nothing without the suit than you shouldn't have it'. Peter didn't understand what he meant then but now he did. His suit wasn't what made him Spider-Man…he was Spider-Man with or without the suit. Emma had saved him without her suit because she wasn't just the Viper Assassin…she was also Emma Rogers. The same exact thing applied to him as well. Spider-Man wasn't going to save Emma. No, Peter was going to do that all on his own.

"Come on, Peter." He told himself with new determination in his eyes as he started to lift the debris again. "Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man." He chanted as he mustered all the strength he could into lifting the cement.

"Come on, Spider-Man!" Peter yelled out as he pictured Emma in his mind. He pictured her that night in his bedroom when they laid in his top bunk talking about nonsense. Peter remembered the way the moonlight streamed in through his bedroom window and shone over her face and hair. There was something magical in the way she looked that night that simply took his breath away. Peter used that image of her as well as Mr. Stark's words to gain the courage to lift the debris off himself and hopefully Emma too. He groaned from the weight but he didn't care how much it weighed or how impossible it must be. Peter was determined.

Peter finally regained his footing as he lifted the piece of cement and was able to lift it well above his head as he stood under it. He then pushed the large piece of the debris over to it's side and away from himself and Emma. The teenage boy didn't even have time to feel victorious as he overcame an obstacle. He immediately rushed over to where he had seen Emma fall from under the rubble and searched for the blonde. It didn't take him long to find her familiar head of blonde hair. She was lying a few feet away still unconscious and Peter didn't waste anytime grabbing her gently from underneath her arms before carefully dragging her to a safer spot.

He assessed her condition and winced when he saw all the blood that he knew to be her own. Most of the blood came from her nose and a head wound but he knew for a fact that she had most likely broken her legs too. One of her legs looked to be twisted at an odd angle. Even in all his crying and screaming Emma still hadn't woken up. He gently lifted her head into his lap as he softly began caressing her hair, willing her to wake up. She was still unconscious and didn't even look to be breathing. Peter feared the worst.

"Come on, Emma. Please just wake up." Peter said as he gently caressed her cheek. He furiously wiped the tears from his face as he shook his head.

"Why did you do it, Emma? Why did you save me?" Peter questioned but he knew she most likely couldn't hear him anyways. "This all my fault…why couldn't you have just stayed away like you said?"

"Please don't die, Emma. I'd never recover." Peter begged her but she was as still as ever. He sniffled as he took one of her limp hands in his before placing a chaste kiss against her hand. "I should've never let you go that day. I should've known you were lying when you said we weren't friends…if you wake up I promise to never let you go again. Please."

"I love you!" Peter admitted suddenly, surprising even himself. It was weird saying words that he hadn't even admitted to himself yet. He wasn't sure if he loved her since the moment he first laid eyes on her or if it was something that just happened gradually during all the time they spent together but Peter was never as sure as he was in that moment. As Emma laid there possibly dying he knew that he was completely in love with her. There was an old saying that said that you don't know what you have until it's gone. Peter could entirely relate to that old saying in this moment. Which was why it would kill him if she never woke up.

"It's crazy right? We've only known each other for a month and a half but it doesn't feel that way. I feel like I've known you forever." Peter told her as he desperately searched her face for any signs of life but she was still unconscious. Tears flooded his eyes again as he moved a strand of her blonde hair from her face and gently tucked it behind her ear. "I can't even remember what my life was like before you came along. It feels like you were always here."

"You looked so beautiful tonight in that dress. I wish I had the chance to tell you that…I wish I had asked you to the dance instead. Maybe we wouldn't even be in this mess." Peter remarked sadly.

"I know you'll probably never feel the same way about me but please don't die. That's more unbearable than anything." Peter said in misery. He then forced a smile as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You wanted to see your father and grandfather again, remember? You love them, Emma, and they need you. It's why you have to wake up." There was still no sign of life from Emma and the forced smile fell off his face as he leaned down and rested his face against her forehead. He should've protected her better…he should've told her he loved her when he had the chance. Emma probably would've looked at him like he was an idiot but at least she would know.

* * *

Emma woke up to the odd sensation of wetness on her face. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she felt a mysterious liquid continue to drop on her face. What was that? Before Emma could spend anymore time lingering on the idea she felt an immense amount of pain all over her body. She couldn't remember feeling that much in pain since after waking up from the serum injections when she was seven. Her whole body felt sore…as if she had gotten hit by a train or something similar.

"Who's slobbering all over my face?" Emma asked suddenly before she groaned in pain. Peter immediately lifted his face from Emma's to look at her and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw her eyes open. He laughed in both disbelief and relief as Emma sat up from her position on the floor and tiredly looked around.

"You're alive!" Peter exclaimed before he wrapped Emma into his arms and hugged her as if he would never let go. This seemed to make her more alert and aware. Emma's eyes widened in bewilderment, completely surprised and confused by Peter's abrupt action. She normally didn't liked being touched or fussed over but Emma seemed to be making a lot of exceptions when it came to Peter.

"Of course I'm alive, Parker. Why wouldn't I be?" She said, sounding very surprised at Peter abrupt gesture. He pulled back, his brown eyes gleaming with happiness, as he looked her over. Emma was taken back by the joy and wonder clearly displayed in his face, not understanding how he could seem so happy just by looking at her. She blushed from his attention and carefully avoided eye contact with him. It occurred to her then that the wetness she had felt on her face was probably Peter's tears. Had he been crying? His eyes did look a little red rimmed after all.

"I thought I lost you." He whispered softly and Emma smiled at him before shaking her head.

"It's going to take a lot more than an old man with wings to kill me, Parker." Emma quipped before wincing in pain as her soreness made itself present again. Peter's smile faded into a frown as he looked at her in concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked and Emma gritted her teeth before shaking her head furiously.

"No. It really hurts." Emma admitted. Normally she would never admit to her pain but Emma was in too much pain to care at the moment. Despite feeling elated that Emma wasn't gone after all, he felt worried. He had never seen Emma in this much pain…not even when Emma reset her nose after it broke that one time.

"Is there anything I can do?" Peter asked but Emma just shook her head again as tears flooded her eyes from the pain. Most of the pain she felt was in her legs although her ribcage area felt very sore too.

"Nope. I have a healing factor, remember? Only I think this might take more than a few minutes…try several hours." Emma said but groaned in pain a second later. "What the hell happened?"

"Toomes brought down the building on us. You shielded me…you saved my life, Emma." Peter explained to her as Emma tried to process what he was telling her. Peter was still in a bit of awe as he recalled the way Emma had quickly thrown him the ground just as the debris started falling from the ceiling. "The debris knocked you out. I was so worried since you wouldn't wake up. It took me a while but I finally managed to left all the rubble off of us and free the both of us." Emma stared at him intently before glancing over at a concrete slab in the distance. Peter managed to lift that hunk of cement off of them? She always knew he was stronger than she was but he still managed to surprise her. It seemed like they both had saved each other.

"Thank you." Emma said quietly before running a hand over her face only to notice that some of her make-up was now on her hand. "God, I bet I look like a sad clown right now. I could probably pass as the Joker." Emma muttered to herself as she tried to think of something other than the pain. Peter glanced briefly at the smeared make-up on her face. He hadn't really much attention to her make-up before since he was panicking over whether or not she would wake up. The make-up she had smeared all over her eyes actually looked pretty cool but it was her lipstick that seemed to take brunt of it as it was smeared across her face as well. The expression on Peter's face softened as he gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, you look nice…I think you look more like Harley Quinn. The pretty Margot Robbie version, I mean." Peter told her honestly. He really did think she looked a lot like Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in that singular moment. Emma managed to smile in amusement as she looked back at Peter.

"Are you flirting with me, Parker? No one's ever told me I looked like Margot Robbie before even if it's the insane wack job she plays in a movie but…whatever. I'll take it." Emma teased and Peter blushed as he looked away from her, slightly embarrassed because he realized that he _had_ been flirting with her.

"Harley Quinn is actually a really popular DC character that was created in the nineties-" Peter started to argue but was immediately interrupted by Emma who rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't be such a nerd." Emma quipped before frowning as her memory before the building collapse came back to her all of a sudden. It seemed like Peter had been trying to distract her from the pain all this time that she had momentarily forgotten about the reason they were in that situation in the first place. The weapons…Birdman. Emma looked around wildly as she tried to spot Toomes but she didn't see him anywhere. "Birdman…where is he?"

"I don't know where he went." Peter admitted. He realized then that he hadn't even thought of Toomes since he saw Emma passed out under all the rubble. He really must've been that worried.

"We have to find him, Peter. He has those weapons and Hydra can't get them." Emma said seriously, her blue eyes widening at the thought of Hydra getting their hands on those weapons…of Rumlow having those weapons within his grasp. It was needless to say that the thought made her more than a little uneasy.

"Okay, Emma we'll get him." Peter promised but not before looking back at her worriedly as she winced when she attempted to get up from her spot on the ground. It seemed to Emma like her legs just didn't want to cooperate. She tried once more to get up but she knew that there was no way she was going to be able to walk, much less fly or run, anytime soon. Peter placed his hands on her shoulders to try and steady her but Emma just shook her head. She knew it was useless.

"I don't think I'm going to be okay for a while, Peter. My legs are broken…They keep trying to heal but they can't without them being reset. I need medical attention." Emma told Peter honestly and Peter nodded.

"Of course. I'll take you to a hospital right away." He said without missing a beat but Emma just gave him a sad look.

"There's no time for that. You have to stop him now before it's too late…you have to stop him without me." She stated and Peter furiously shook his head. Emma must've been very delirious to say something like that, Peter thought to himself. They were partners…he couldn't do this without her.

"No way…you're badly injured Emma. You're more important than Toomes and maybe Ned finally got through to Happy…maybe Mr. Stark will stop him." Peter said although he was trying reassure himself more than Emma. It was then that Emma grasped both his hands in hers and she locked eyes with him. Peter immediately felt hypnotized by the incredible blueness of her eyes as well as the green combined in them as well. The moonlight truly looked beautiful reflected in them. He was reminded of that night she spent in his room again.

"You need to finish the mission, Peter. That's your job…I already failed but you can still stop Toomes. The mission is what's important." Emma told him seriously as she stared into the depths of his warm brown eyes.

"You're more important to me than some stupid mission, Emma!" Peter argued, furious that she was putting Toomes above herself. He had already almost lost her once…he didn't want to lose her again. Emma was surprised at his passionate outburst but she didn't have time to debate over what his outburst could mean.

"Peter, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You have to make sure Toomes doesn't steal anything from that plane. None of us will be fine if he does." Emma said as she tried to get Peter to think about this rationally. "You have to do this on your own Peter…it's a solo mission from here on out."

"I don't know if I can do this on my own…not without you." Peter said sadly but Emma just shook her head at him. There wasn't a single part of her that believed that. She knew Peter and she knew what he was capable of.

"Yes, you can. You're one of the strongest people I know, Peter, and I don't just mean that literally. I know that you're gonna hunt that idiot down and kick his ass for me." Emma told him fiercely as Peter listened intently to her, hanging onto her every word. "You managed to save us both from being trapped underneath the rubble. I know you can do this."

"What about you?" Peter questioned softly. It seemed like he was becoming more comfortable with the idea of leaving her alone. He was slightly taken back by the words Emma said to him. She completely believed in him and it was clear to Peter that he had been searching for acceptance in the wrong place. He had been searching for the acceptance of a father which he had found in Uncle Ben and had wanted to find in Mr. Stark but it wasn't the acceptance of a father that he wanted. No, it was the acceptance of the girl he loved. The fact that Emma believed in him suddenly meant so much more to him. He felt like the whole entire world could turn against him and it wouldn't even matter because Emma believed in him.

"I'll text Darcy for help. I'll be just fine, Peter." Emma reassured him and Peter nodded although he looked a bit reluctant.

"Even if I do go how will I ever find him?" Peter asked her and it was then that she saw some movement in the distance. She smirked as she spotted something familiar.

"I don't think you'll have to look very far." Emma pointed out as Peter followed her gaze. He narrowed his eyes as he spotted Toomes in his Vulture suit sitting on a billboard a ways away. It was evident that Toomes didn't notice them there as the older man looked in a different direction. Peter then turned back to Emma who seemed rather calm for someone in a lot of pain but he knew that she was probably trying to hide it to make it easier for him to leave.

"I can't just leave you here." Peter told her and Emma looked at him defiantly.

"You can and you will." Emma then finally removed her hands from his and reached into one of the compartments on the belt of her suit. Peter watched curiously as she pulled out a familiar looking contraption. The compass. "Here…take this." Emma stated as she placed the compass in Peter's hands. It felt cold in his hands but Peter couldn't help but looked back at her in surprise.

"This is your grandfather's compass…why are you handing it to me?" Peter asked her and Emma locked eyes with him again.

"He carried it with him through the war and everywhere since. Down in the ice, New York, Washington D.C., Sokovia, The Airport…when he found me. He's managed to stay alive every time so he likes to think it brings him luck." Emma told Peter as she glanced between him and the compass. "It doesn't seem to work for me so maybe it will work for you."

"I can't take this, Emma...I know what this means to you." Peter said, shaking his head but Emma didn't seem to have changed her mind.

"Just bring it back to me then." Emma replied simply and Peter knew better than to argue with her. She could really be stubborn when she wanted to. He glanced down at the small compass in his hand and flipped it open. He could hear the soft ticking as the seconds went by and he saw the picture of a young and beautiful Peggy Carter staring back at him. Peter wondered if Peggy Carter was to Steve Rogers what Emma Rogers was to him? The teenage boy then flipped the compass closed before tucking it away in the pocket of his sweatshirt. He gave Emma a look full of promise.

"I'll take care of it…I promise." Peter told her and Emma started feeling a bit sleepy. It must've been from her body being completely exhausted from the pain and soreness. She smiled at Peter and it was Peter's favorite smile. Her smile actually reached her eyes and he knew she was being completely genuine with him.

"Here's to looking at you, kid." Emma said, not knowing what other way she could wish him good luck. It was a saying she heard in one of her favorite movies which was also said by one of her favorite actors. Steve had said she was the Bogie of her own story after all, hadn't he?

Peter didn't really know what Emma meant by the comment but he figured she was trying to wish him good luck. He smiled back at her before leaning down and completely taking Emma by surprise as he placed a chaste kiss against her forehead. Emma's heart raced at his closeness and her eyes may have even fluttered shut for a brief moment. Something had changed tonight…Emma wasn't sure what had changed but there was something very different in the night air. She couldn't explain it but before she could think anymore on it, Peter pulled away. Emma opened her eyes again to look at him as he put his mask back on. He seemed to be just about ready to go when he turned to look back at her one last time.

"Stay safe and call Darcy." He told her. Emma didn't usually like being ordered around but she didn't feel the same way when Peter said that to her. She knew it was only because he cared about her well being. She nodded briefly as she smiled at him again.

"I will. Now go get him." Emma replied and Peter grinned from underneath his mask. Emma's smile was all he needed to finish this once and for all. She was right…he could do this. Peter was going keep those weapons from getting into the Vulture's hands. Emma and Mr. Stark were right about everything. He was going to go stop Toomes from hijacking that plane and he was going to do it alone. Emma had already done her part in saving him from the brunt of the debris now it was his turn to finish the mission like she said. Peter then shot his webbing in the direction of Toomes who looked about ready to leave.

Emma watched Peter leave feeling both supportive and worried. She knew that Peter was going to finish the mission successfully but that didn't mean that she wasn't worried about him. It seemed like tonight didn't help her solve the problem she had about Peter. Emma decided not to think too much on the topic as she pulled out her phone from another compartment on her belt. The screen was cracked but Emma honestly thought it would be more damaged. Stark phones seemed to be stronger and more resistant against destructive forces like building collapsing on top of you. Emma immediately began texting Darcy to let her know what was going on.

 **To: Darcy**

 **From: Emma**

 ** _Badly injured. Call Stark._**

Emma hit the send button before tossing her phone to the side and laying back on the ground. The pain of her wounds trying to heal troubled her greatly and she constantly clenched and unclenched her fists. There was also a lot of pain from her head and tried to think of anything else to dull the throbbing pain. Her eyes focused on the night sky as she proceeded to count all the stars. It was something her father and her used to do on missions a long time ago when they were just trying to kill time. Sometimes when they were in Siberia they could even see the Northern Lights. Emma spent her life shrouded in darkness and ugliness but the Northern Lights had almost made it seem worth it…almost. It was then that Emma's began to feel herself drift asleep as she thought of the Northern Lights and her father. However, the last thing Emma pictured in her mind, before she completely succumbed to the darkness, were a pair of eyes that were the warmest and nicest shade of brown.


	47. Chapter Forty Four

**Author's Note: Okay, so please excuse the really weird dream sequence at the beginning of this chapter. I wrote it because I think it's the best way to make Emma realize something about Peter and her. So in saying that...I don't own _Casablanca._ This is just a part of Emma's weird dream. Also, not a lot of Peter in this chapter.  
**

 **We're over 400,000 words now in this story. I can hardly believe it!**

 **I hope all of you had a very nice Christmas or related Holiday.**

 **nvnightrider9: Thanks for the kind review. I really wish there were more Spider-Man OC stories but I haven't found any that I've really liked which is why I'm writing my own with Some Things Never Sleep. Hopefully people will put more out as time goes on.**

 **MusicLover315:Thank you! That means so much. I haven't yet read Rebel Columbia although I've seen it around before. I'll be sure to read it one of these days.**

 **Elipignoma: Thanks for the nice review. I'm glad people like Emma so much as well as the way I portray the other characters in the fanfic. I always worry if I write them too much OOC or not. You can thank knarl for the trailer since she did such an amazing job with it.**

 **Emma-Jean02: I always feel like it's important for character development so people become more attached to the character. Emma's personality is something I've worked super hard on. I know she's really stubborn sometimes and also mean but I don't really like perfect characters after all.**

 **Spawn Hades: I don't think Emma will remember what Peter said when she was unconscious. That was more of a moment for Peter to have a huge revelation. There's definitely a future for Emma and Tony making amends which will be seen in this chapter.**

 **knarl: Of course there's going to be a part III! I was thinking of ending it and making a sequel but I'm not sure. It would still be a while before that would happen. Maybe I'll just keep it all together in one story. Time will tell. Thanks so much for the amazing feedback.**

 **bonitalito: I'm glad you like Emma so much. There's seriously been so many kind reviews this chapter. I hope you have a Happy New Years as well.**

 **AppropriateLlama: I can't wait to write Peter, Steve, and Bucky's meeting. I think Steve will be kind of shocked about Peter and Emma at first but he'll be happy about it. Bucky's going to have a way tougher time with it.**

 **Radioactive88: I'm not going to kid you. It was really hard for me to write Emma's huge backstory when I really wanted her to meet Peter but I paced myself. I knew that I wanted people to get to know her before Peter because that was very important to me. There will definitely be time for Emma and Peter's relationship to develop more before Steve and Bucky come back into the picture. I think it'll be better that way. I appreciate your input about who Emma will tell about the rape first. I think it's an amazing idea that she would tell Tony somehow first but I've had it in my head for a long time who she'll tell first. So the scene's already been written in my head even if I haven't written it yet. It's an amazing idea though and I wish I had considered it earlier but I honestly hadn't thought of Tony being the first one she told.**

 **McDuffie145: There's definitely some pop music that I like. I'm a fan of Sia, Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and even Miley Cyrus. I like alternative pop music like the Broods and Lorde as well. There is a lot of horrible pop music so I turn to alternative rock a lot. I've listened to some of the stuff from the Bleachers. I have to admit Jack Antonoff is super talented because he works on a lot of other people's music too even though I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift but I do like the work he did on Lorde's new album.**

 **scrapingskies: I've had this moment planned between them ever since I saw Spider-Man Homecoming for the second time. I got the idea for this story the first time seeing the movie. I thought it would be a super powerful moment for the both of them as they saved each other.**

 **ilypopxtart333: Thanks for the kind review. I really wanted to make Emma feel like she belonged in the MCU and I'm glad that's something that I've seemingly accomplished.**

 **Kittyjune26: Thanks for reading my story. I'm glad you've stuck with my fanfic for so long. Peter will definitely meet Steve and Bucky in Part III which will be coming along shortly.**

 **Okay, guys, I just wanted to leave an important message here. I know most of you have been leaving really nice reviews but I would really appreciate it if other less nice people were to leave reviews that contain constructive criticism instead of just uncalled for rudeness. There's a difference between constructive criticism and just being plain rude. Rude reviews don't help me in any way to try and make the story better. If you don't like Bucky and Darcy together than you don't have to read my story. I mean, it's not Bucky and Darcy are the main couple in my story anyways. If you had a problem with it you could've just left a polite review like most people do. You didn't have to be so condescending. I'm also not blind by the way and I don't think anyone truly knows Bucky other than Steve. I'm sorry if I might appear to be a little sensitive but I don't appreciate being told what to do or being talked down to like I'm stupid.  
**

 **Thanks for all the kind and constructive reviews that people left. You guys were really nice this chapter. Sorry about the message above but I feel like it needed to be said. Thank you.**

* * *

 _It was black and white. That was the first thing she noticed as she looked around the landing strip outside an airport. Everything seemed to be in black and white and Emma had no idea why. Was this how dog's saw the world? Emma wasn't sure. She turned around to look and saw an old plane on the runway. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before observing the rest of the area. The runway was slick with rain as it appeared to be pouring rain in the cold night. There was something very familiar about this place but Emma just couldn't put her finger on it. Had she been here before?_

 _She looked at puddle on the runway as she stood there and was surprised to see her own reflection. It wasn't her reflection that surprised her as much as what she was wearing. Emma was wearing a vintage looking dress that went down well past her knees. The skirt of the dress flared out at her waist and it had a rather modest neckline. She also wore a sort of trench coat over the dress and a pair of vintage looking T-Strap Mary Jane heels. She couldn't tell what color any of her clothing was due to the black and white nature of her sight. The whole outfit was paired off with a fedora hat much like the one she had seen her grandmother wearing in many pictures. What the hell was going on?_

 _It was then that a vintage, classic looking car pulled up next to her as she looked at the car strangely. The car stopped and it wasn't moment later before Ned, Peter, and Liz Allan all came out of the car. It wasn't their appearance so much as what they were wearing that gave Emma some pause. Liz wearing a fashionable winter coat over her very own vintage dress while Ned was dressed in the oddest outfit she had ever seen. He wore some kind of uniform with military looking badges decorating it with an even weirder looking formal hat._

 _However, it was Peter that caused her to stare the most. He was wearing an expensive looking winter coat over what was probably an even more expensive suit. Emma could see him wearing a tie much like the one he had been wearing at the dance. Peter was also looking to be wearing shoes that were much more popular in the forties than they were now but who really knew with all the fashion hipsters were coming up with? He topped the outfit off with a fedora hat similar to her own. It was when she saw all three of them dressed in those outfits that she realized what this was._

 _This was Casablanca…in a weird gender bent sort of way. It seemed like Emma was experiencing an out of body sort of thing as her body moved on it's on accord over to Ned. Emma was assuming that he was Louis, Claude Rains' character in the movie, in this situation._

 _"_ _Ned, have Miss Jones go with Miss Allan and take care of her luggage." Emma ordered Ned as the words seemed to flow out of her mouth naturally. This was the weirdest sort of dream she ever had._

 _"_ _Certainly, Emma, anything you say." Ned said formally before walking over to Michelle who was dressed in an outfit similar to him. Emma internally raised an eyebrow at her formal looking friend. Yeah…this was beyond any dream she had before._

 _"_ _Find Ms. Allan's luggage and put it on the plane." Ned told Michelle who saluted him._

 _"_ _Yes, sir." Michelle said submissively before running off to do as she was told. This dream wasn't the most realistic. There was no way in hell Michelle would be okay with Ned ordering her around. The dark haired girl would tell him to go to hell if he had. Michelle then stopped in front of Liz. "This way." She told her before gesturing for her to follow. Liz gave them all an unsure look before she walked off. Peter barely spared her a glance before looking back at Emma._

 _"_ _If you don't mind, you fill in the names. That'll make it even more official." Emma told Ned as she handed him both Peter and Liz's passports._

 _"_ _You think of everything, don't you?" Ned said as he snatched the passports out of Emma's hand._

 _"_ _The names are Mr. and Mrs. Peter Parker." Emma informed him as Ned walked away but Peter couldn't stay quiet anymore as he rested a hand on Emma's arm._

 _"_ _But why my name, Emma?" Peter asked in confusion as Emma locked eyes with him._

 _"_ _Because you're getting on that plane." Emma told him firmly as she walked closer to him but Peter just shook his head in disbelief._

 _"_ _I don't understand. What about you?" He inquired and Emma glanced in Ned's direction briefly. Peter cautiously followed her gaze, trying to understand what Emma was intending to do._

 _"_ _I'm staying here with him till the plane gets safely away." Emma explained but Peter furiously shook his head._

 _"_ _No, Emma, no!" He said dramatically… almost as dramatically as Ingrid Bergman had in the movie, Emma observed. Peter actually made a surprisingly good Ingrid Bergman. "What's happened to you!? Last night you said-"Peter exclaimed but was quickly interrupted by Emma._

 _"_ _Last night we said a great many things." Emma replied, looking to be determined and her mind unable to be changed even by Peter. "You said I was to do the thinking for the both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then and it all adds up to one thing…you're getting on that plane with Liz where you belong."_

 _"_ _But, Emma, no-" Peter started to say, not believing what she was telling him but Emma interrupted him once again._

 _"_ _Now you've got to listen to me." Emma argued as she gazed intently at Peter. "Do you have any idea what you've got to look forward to if you stay here?"_

 _"_ _Nine chances out of ten we'd both end up at a Hydra base."Emma told him as she continued to try and get him to think rationally just like she always did in real life. Maybe Bogie and her weren't very different after all. "Isn't that true, Ned?"_

 _"_ _I'm afraid Rumlow would insist." Ned confirmed as he turned to look at them. Peter shook his head again as he looked back at Emma._

 _"_ _You're saying this only to make me go." Peter told her and Emma's eyes softened at the heartbreak she could see in his eyes._

 _"_ _I'm saying this because it's true." Emma said, denying what Peter just told her. "Inside of us, we both know you belong with Liz. She's part of your work because she's the damsel in distress and you're the only thing that keeps her going after everything that happened with her father."_

 _"_ _If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with her…you'll regret it." Emma said as she continued. Peter looked like he was about to protest but Emma didn't allow him to have the chance. "May not today and maybe not tomorrow but soon and for the rest of your life."_

 _"_ _But what about us?" Peter asked her desperately, hoping to change Emma's mind. Hope was the only thing he had left._

 _"_ _We'll always have Queens." Emma said quietly as stared lovingly into Peter's eyes. "We didn't have it before…we lost it until you came to the compound. We got it back last night."_

 _"_ _And I said I would never leave you." Peter said, his voice thick with emotion and his eyes flooding with tears._

 _"_ _And you never will." Emma finished as she stared back at him, refusing to look away even for the slightest moment. "I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going you can't follow…what I've got to do, you can't be any part of." A tear had slipped from Peter's eye as he gazed back at her and Emma could feel tears prickling her own eyes. This was incredibly hard._

 _"_ _Look, I'm no good at being noble but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." Emma told Peter sincerely. "Someday you'll understand that."Peter averted his gaze but Emma stopped him from doing so as she grasped his chin and lifted his face back up so she could look at him one last time._

 _"_ _Now, now." Emma said as she sought to comfort him in some way. She then told him something she had once said to him before but Emma couldn't remember from when. It was an understanding between them that only they knew about. The motto of a world that only consisted of the two of them and what a world that would be._

 _"_ _Here's to looking at you, kid."_

Emma opened her eyes and no longer saw the black and white world of _Casablanca._ There was instead light streaming into whatever room she was currently in. She suddenly had a moment of panic because she had no idea where she was. It didn't seem to be her room at the townhouse nor was it the night sky she had seen once she had fallen asleep in all the debris of the collapsed building. Her eyes immediately widened once she remembered someone very important. Peter. Where was he? What happened? Was he okay? Did he stop the Vulture in time? Emma desperately needed to know what happened to Peter. She immediately sat up in the bed she was currently lying in with such speed that she started to feel a little dizzy. Her eyes wildly looked around the room as she tried to find some sign of Peter.

"Relax, Mini Cap, you're going to make yourself sick moving around like that." Someone said to left side of her. Emma glanced over only to notice Tony Stark staring back at her. He was smirking at her but the smirk didn't reach his eyes like it normally did. Emma couldn't understand the look he had in his eyes. Normally Emma would sneer at him and tell him to go to hell but after everything that happened it didn't seem worth it anymore. She looked around the room, feeling a bit more calm now that Tony was there…he was a familiar face after all. It occurred to her then that she was back in her old bedroom inside the Avenger's facility. She hadn't been inside her bedroom in a few months but it looked unchanged for the most part and very similar to the bedroom she had in the townhouse.

"What happened? Where's Peter? Is he okay?" Emma asked rapidly as she locked eyes with Stark. Tony gave her an odd look as he glanced over her, looking quite curious.

"Slow down." Tony told her as he laughed somewhat nervously. "Everything's fine. The kid's just fine. He took care of Toomes and now the old man's at his arraignment hearing. He's pleading guilty so no trial." Emma relaxed back into her bed, feeling a bit relieved to hear that information. That's good. Peter was fine and Toomes was in prison. The mission was finished, she supposed.

"The kid barely got a scratch on him…thanks to you as I've been made aware." Tony said as he stared at her face, trying to see if she gave anything away from her emotions. And she did in a way. Emma looked down at the blanket that was covering her as she tried to get a handle on what she was feeling. The dream she just had was an incredibly odd dream but it had to mean something. Sure, Emma probably figured that she had the dream because _Casablanca_ was one of her favorite movies but she also knew that there was more to it than that. How strange was it that Emma was Humphrey Bogart in the dream while Peter was Ingrid Bergman. Was her subconscious trying to tell her to let Peter go just like Rick let go of Ilsa?

"It's wasn't a big deal." Emma said, shrugging nonchalantly. Tony raised his eyebrows as he tried to imagine what was going through Emma's mind.

"Not a big deal, huh? So you're saying that if a pile of cement were to fall on top of me that you'd do the same for me?" Tony questioned and Emma looked back at him. The look in her eyes gave him the answer Tony was searching for. Of course she wouldn't. "That's what I thought."

"You could've died, you know." Tony told her. "You're pretty indestructible but you're not _that_ indestructible. When I found you, you had several broken ribs, a severe concussion, and both of your legs were broken. Let's not even mention the internal bleeding."

"We were all worried. You were asleep for three days and it took a while for your body to heal in all that time. I've never seen you take so long to heal." Tony continued to say when Emma didn't say anything. "Peter's been worried about you too. He calls Happy almost five times a day to check up on you. I think Happy was prepared to shake you awake so the kid would get off his back."

"I'm fine." Emma finally said. "I don't feel as sore as I did before. He shouldn't be worried about me." Tony just stared at her as he tried determine what was going on between Emma and Peter. There was definitely something going on but Tony wasn't completely sure. He stared at her for another moment before he nodded and got up from his seat.

"Okay. I'll just let you get some rest then. You've had one hell of a Homecoming…that's for sure." Tony told her as he started to walk to the other side of the room where the door was. Emma watched him quietly as she tried to pull her thoughts together. She was conflicted over whether or not to hate him. After almost losing Peter and nearly dying it seemed to change her perspective on a few things. Her resentment of Stark seemed very childish and immature to her now. Emma wasn't sure why she wasted her own time arguing with Stark so often.

"Emma?" Tony said abruptly as he paused in front of the door before looking back at her. She didn't say anything but instead just looked at him. It wasn't very often that he called her by her first name. "I'm glad you're okay." They stared at each other for another moment before Tony walked out the door, softly closing it behind him. Emma watched the door in bewilderment, not understanding why Stark had said that. It wasn't like him to be very sentimental.

Emma rested her head back against her pillow as she allowed herself to drift between thoughts. She ignored Stark's odd words as she went over the dream she had in her head. She figured her weird dream was enough occupy her thoughts. Emma never completely understood the romance between Rick and Ilsa before. She always told herself that she wouldn't allow herself to be pushed around by someone as pathetic and annoying as Ilsa, a person who didn't know how to make up their mind, and Emma never understood why Rick, such a cool and strong willed man, could let Ilsa push him around like that.

Ilsa had been leading Rick on after all since she was married yet Rick still loved her. It was true…as much as Emma loved the movie, she didn't understand Rick. However, now Emma knew why Rick allowed himself to be pushed around. It was because Rick was in love. That's why Rick didn't let her stay with him and why he let her go off with Victor. Rick loved Ilsa too much to simply let her suffer with him when she could be safer far away. He loved Ilsa so much that he was willing to let her go. Emma understood Rick. And why? Well…Emma supposed that was because she was in love too. That was the only way she could possibly understand Rick, right? She wasn't that surprised that she was in love with Peter either. She had shielded him from a collapsing building with zero hesitance which Emma wouldn't do for anyone. Her self-preservation instinct was strong but it wasn't strong enough to allow Peter to get hurt. She groaned as she laid there on the bed.

This was why she had wanted to leave in the first place. She wanted to run away as fast as she could so that something like this wouldn't happen. Admitting to having feelings for the idiot was only a small step that quickly developed into admitting that she loved him too. How could you even love someone you only knew for such a short time anyway? That only happened in movies. Well…maybe not. Steve always said how it hadn't taken him long to fall in love with her grandmother and Emma knew her parents fell in love not long after meeting each other so she supposed it was possible.

It was all so strange. There was always this weird draw Emma felt to Peter and it had even been there when she didn't know who he really was. The first time they faced each other in that airport fight. Spider-Man had always remained in her mind for the following months and then when she met Peter Parker there was also a certain pull she felt to him. Maybe stuff like fate and destiny were true? Maybe this was all some sort of sick and twisted punishment some otherworldly being was bestowing upon her in return for all the monstrous acts she had committed. Emma would always feel attached to Peter…as if a string was attached from her heart to him. She was almost sure that being in love with Peter was some kind of punishment because Peter could never feel that way about her. Emma knew that he cared about her but she doubted that he felt the same way about her. He obviously liked Liz and now Liz would need him more than ever with her father in prison.

The blonde slightly sulked as she thought more about her current predicament. What the hell happened to her? A month and a half in a high school and she had already fallen in love. Had she really softened this much that she had actually managed to fall in love? What would her father say? Oh god…Emma didn't even want to see the smug looks on Darcy and Natasha's faces. Her grandfather would probably say something stupid like how proud he was that she was doing normal things. No, Emma was definitely not going to be telling anyone about this new development. She was much too proud to admit aloud that she loved someone in a way that didn't relate to loving someone like a father.

Emma briefly thought about running away like she had planned to run away before but she knew it was too late. She had already stupidly fallen in love with Spider-Twerp so there was no sense in running away to avoid falling in love. She also knew that if she ran away that she would be a risk to herself. Emma would always be worrying and thinking about Peter which wouldn't leave her in the right state of mind to track Steve and the others down.

It looked like Emma was stuck here and she wasn't sure she wanted to leave anymore. Not when Peter and her had seemingly made amends. Their mission might've ended but that didn't mean there couldn't be another mission. Emma liked going on missions with Peter and she even found, weirdly enough, that she may have even liked Peter better as a partner than her father. Peter was more conversational than her father and he wasn't bad to look at either. It wasn't like Emma would ever admit to preferring Peter as a mission partner. Her father most likely wouldn't like Emma's new preference and there was also her own pride.

Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust at herself. Seriously? Peter was so annoying most of the time yet here she was actually preferring him to her father right now. Stupid Parker and his pretty brown eyes, kind smile, and adorable innocence. She supposed this was all biological since she was still a teenage girl under all her former assassin angst. Emma just always liked to think that teenage hormones were beneath her. Either way, it looked like Emma was going to be staying in New York for the time being since she didn't think she could stand to be apart from Peter. It was too late…she had already formed an attachment. Emma snuggled her face into the pillow as she proceeded to close her eyes in the hope of getting some more sleep. Before she finally drifted off, however, Emma said one last thing through the quietness of her bedroom.

"What do I do, Rick?"

* * *

Emma was lying in bed reading 'Wuthering Heights' as she continued to be in recovery from her injuries. Everything was healed but the doctor at the compound said that she would be more comfortable if Emma stayed on bed rest for a couple more days which hadn't made Emma very happy. She didn't like sitting around all day but she was pretty tired as of late. Emma hadn't rested this much in a long time. It even felt kind of nice to just sit there and relax while reading a good book.

In the two days since she had woken up to Stark's ugly mug, Emma had received quite a lot of visitors. Darcy and Jane, of course, had visited her pretty frequently and were even staying at the compound. Rhodey came by a couple times and filled her in on how physical therapy was going which seemed to be well. Vision barged in her room occasionally and for once Emma wasn't completely annoyed by his presence. She actually found his voice to be quite calming as they discussed the Bronte sisters with each other and Emma recommended that he give Jane Austen a try. Emma hadn't seen Tony since the day she woke up and she wasn't sure she wanted to after the huge fight they had the last time they saw each other. She was dealing with accepting that she was in love with Spider-Twerp so her anger with Tony seemed to be the least of her problems. Blaming Stark for what happened didn't seem important to her anymore and it was strange how that had changed in the matter of a week.

Yes, there was the thing with Peter. Emma tried not thinking about Peter too much but that was nearly impossible. She always wondered what he was doing or what he was thinking. Emma hadn't had any contact with Peter since Stark apparently took her phone away. Darcy told her that it was because her phone was too damaged and Stark always had a thing about everyone having state of the art technology so he was apparently going to replace it soon. That moment couldn't come soon enough as she felt eager to find out how Peter was doing. Tony told her that he was fine but she wanted to know more. She didn't press anyone for information about Peter because she didn't want to raise any suspicions. The last thing she needed was everyone teasing her about her and Peter.

"Can I come in?" Emma's looked up at the doorway of her room only to see Pepper Potts standing there. She was completely surprised to see the strawberry blonde since she hadn't seen her since last Christmas. Emma also thought that Pepper had dumped Stark's sorry ass a long time ago. Emma gave her a surprised look before nodding.

"Sure." Pepper smiled at her before walking over to Emma and sitting on the edge of her bed. Emma looked at her in confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still running Stark Industries in Malibu?"

"I am but…well…Tony and I have decided to recouncil." Pepper admitted to Emma and the blonde just smirked at her.

"Wow. I thought you were smarter than that." Emma told her and Pepper just smiled before shaking her head.

"Stop." Pepper retorted before continuing. "As much as Tony drives me insane, I just can't stay away from him." Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Gross." Pepper rolled her eyes at her.

"No, I just mean that he's the single most infuriating person I've met but I love him. I'll always come back to him and he'll do the same with me." Pepper told her softly with a love struck look in her eyes. Emma just didn't understand how someone could feel that way about Stark. "Love does that to people, I guess. It makes people kind of crazy. You'll see that for yourself someday." Little did Pepper know that Emma did indeed know that love made people crazy because she was currently losing her mind over Peter. She swore that boy was really going to drive her over the edge one of these days.

"Anyways," Pepper said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. "I didn't come here to talk about Tony…I came here because I heard what happened and wanted to know how you're doing." Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm doing good, I guess. The doctor wants me on bed rest until tomorrow but Darcy thinks that a short break from school will do me some good. She wants me to hold back from going to school until next week." Emma answered as she bit her lip nervously. It was an action that caused Pepper to look moderately confused. Emma biting her lip in any context was something she had never seen even though she hadn't seen the teenage girl in some time. Pepper then decided not to linger any longer on the nervous gesture since it probably didn't mean anything anyways.

"Are you sad to be away from school? Tony told me that he enrolled you in a high school. It was a little much for me to comprehend…you in high school, I mean." Pepper said to her, curious to know how Emma was faring in an environment with kids her own age.

"I don't know. It's been okay considering all things." Emma admitted before sighing and continuing. "School's not so bad. Math and Science are boring but I can tolerate everything else." Pepper laughed at Emma's usual cynical nature. Emma seemed to be the same but there was still something off about her. Something that hadn't been there the last time she had seen the young girl.

"What about friends? Tony told me you joined the Academic Decathlon." Pepper inquired and Emma scoffed.

"Am I the only thing you and Stark talk about?" Emma asked sarcastically and Pepper chuckled. Pepper had to admit that missed Emma's blunt honesty and dark sarcasm which was a contrast against her grandfather's relaxed and kind nature . Sometimes Pepper even forgot that Steve and Emma were related.

"No but he did tell me about you teaming up with Peter…Spider-Man. Apparently you two make a pretty good team." Pepper replied and Emma stared at her before shaking her head. She didn't want to discuss Peter Parker with anyone even if Emma always thought of Pepper as someone who was quite easy to talk to.

"He's alright…for an immature little brat." Emma said coolly, trying to maintain her composure and not expose her true feelings. The truth was that Peter was none of those things to her. He was so much more. Pepper sighed because she could tell that Emma didn't want to discuss the subject anymore.

"Can we talk about something else?" Pepper asked her cordially. Polite and to the point as ever, Emma observed.

"Why not? It's not like I have anywhere else to be." Emma retorted but Pepper didn't even smile at Emma's usual rude nature. She looked somewhat guilty and troubled…as if something was bothering her. Emma gazed at her, feeling a bit intrigued as to what was troubling the strawberry blonde.

"I know you and Tony have been having a difficult time…that you've even had several fights." Pepper started to say and carefully watched Emma's face to see if she let any of her emotions show but she didn't. Emma just remained quiet so Pepper continued. "Tony's not perfect as I'm sure you're aware but this hasn't been easy on him. I don't think finding out that Bucky killed his parents was the hard part but I think it was finding out that Steve knew all this time."

"He obviously kept it from Stark for good reason." Emma immediately argued, coming to her grandfather's defense as she always did. "Look at the way Stark reacted."

"Emma, Steve isn't perfect either." Pepper said, shaking her head at the teenager. "I know you love and look up to him but he's made mistakes too. He should've told Tony this a long time ago…he should've explained the situation to him. I'm sure Tony would've eventually understood if he found out from Steve, his friend, rather than from an insane Sokovian." Emma looked down at her closed book because she knew that Pepper was right about that. Tony probably would've come to understand that her father had been brainwashed and tortured by Hydra when he did those things just like Emma had been. Sure, he probably would never come to be friends with her father but things might not have ended the way they had if Steve had only been more honest with him.

"That doesn't excuse everything he's done. Why is he punishing me for what my father did…what Steve did? I didn't know." Emma said stubbornly and Pepper smiled faintly.

"He's not punishing you. I think he feels guilty for tearing everyone apart which is why he's tried to make life as easy and normal for you as he can." Pepper told her and Emma shook her head angrily as she clenched her jaw before getting up from her bed. She exhaled as she went to look out the large glass window but she wasn't really paying attention to what she saw outside. Her mind was somewhere else.

"Why does everyone think they know what's best for me?" Emma asked, finally voicing her feelings over a matter that had bothered her for a long time. "Can't I make that decision for myself? And don't tell me that I don't have that option because I'm a child because God knows that I'm not a child where it matters. I don't talk like a child and I don't act like a child…I'm certainly not innocent like a child."

Pepper stood up from the bed and walked over to where Emma was standing. She clasped her hands on the teenager's shoulders in a motherly sort of gesture. Emma stiffened but she didn't push Pepper away. Pepper had been one of the first people to show her kindness, aside from her grandfather, when she was rescued from that Hydra base. Pepper had taken the time and care to buy the most beautiful clothing for Emma that she had ever seen. It was a selfless and kind act with no ulterior motives like Emma was used to. The former assassin never forgot that.

"I wasn't going to say that, Emma. You are a child but it's also not that simple." Pepper told her softly as she looked at the blonde compassionately. "I just think we all forget that you've seen things far beyond our imagination…things that have aged you. They treat you like a child because they know you deserve a childhood more than anyone else." Pepper then sighed before she continued.

"You have to understand that Tony blames himself for everything that's ever happened to you." Pepper finally told Emma and the blonde looked up at her in surprise.

"What?" She questioned, not understanding what Pepper was talking about. Pepper nodded slowly before she explained.

"He feels guilty. Guilty because his father created the serum that you were injected with…guilty for separating you from your only family and guilty because he feels like he's failed you." Pepper said and Emma didn't really know what to make of it. Stark? He felt guilty because of her? Emma didn't really think that Stark cared about anyone except himself.

"Please don't be angry with Tony." Pepper practically pleaded as she looked at Emma desperately. "Don't hate him and please don't blame him for what happened. He only started the accords because he thought it was what I wanted." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as tears streamed down Pepper's face.

"What are you talking about?" She asked her and Pepper sniffled.

"He promised me years ago that he'd stop with Iron Man and the suits but it didn't take him long before he broke that promise." Pepper stated as she wiped a tear from her face. Emma felt a bit worried over Pepper's current state and she instantly blamed that on Peter. He really was softening her up. "After the thing with Ultron I just decided that I couldn't wait around anymore…waiting for him to finally get himself killed. I broke it off and he started up with the accords because he thought it was the responsible thing to do…he thought it was what I wanted him to do."

"The thing is…" Pepper said continued to say as Emma listened to her intently. Emma just watched the strawberry blonde silently. "I still worry about him even when we're apart. It didn't stop just because I needed a break. He'll never give it up so I'll always worry about him, I guess. What's the point of staying away?"

"It's my fault, Emma. I pushed him into doing this and I wasn't there for him when he needed me most." Pepper then looked down sadly almost as if she were ashamed. "If you want to blame someone than blame me. Just don't be angry at Tony…I don't think he can take it anymore." Emma didn't say anything however so Pepper decided to tell the blonde something else that might change her mind.

"He cares about you, you know." Pepper said quietly and Emma gave her surprised look. "He never left your bedside in all the time you were asleep. Everyone told him that he should get some sleep but he refused. That's not a man that doesn't care."

Emma swallowed as she averted her gaze and looked back out the window, staring into the wilderness of upstate New York. It was so green and peaceful out there. Steve always thought she would love it here because of the quietness but none of it was the same without him. Emma glanced at Pepper from the corner of her eye but the older woman didn't say anything else as she looked out the window with her. It seemed like Pepper had given her a lot to think about but the only thing was that Emma didn't know what to think of any of it.

* * *

The next day Emma had somehow convinced everyone that she was okay enough take a walk outside and get a breath of fresh air. She felt slightly free as she took her walk outside since she had spent the past few days inside the compound without any walking around. Vision had offered to go on the walk with her but Emma politely declined. She'd rather be alone. Emma walked along the edge of the clearing outside, just on the edge of the forest. Steve and her used to go on long walks talking about everything from Bucky and Peggy to the their favorite Cary Grant movies. Emma missed talking about stuff like that. No one she knew liked the same old movies that she did. Darcy said that the acting was incredibly cheesy but Emma liked the acting. There was something very glamorous about old Hollywood. Old Hollywood was magical in a way that modern Hollywood would never be. Steve understood that but no one else seemed to.

"So they let the princess out of the tower, huh?" Emma immediately turned around as she heard the familiar voice. Tony stood there, a few feet away, with an unreadable look on his face. She really must've been lost in her thoughts if she hadn't even heard Stark walk up behind her. Emma stared at him for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.

"I needed to get out of the compound…I was going a little stir crazy." Emma said quietly as she looked over at the forest. It was hard to believe such a peaceful and quiet place could be in New York but they were upstate after all.

"Walk with me." Tony said and she could tell it wasn't a request.

Emma stared at him as she debated whether or not she should just tell him to fuck off. He looked really terrible in all honesty. Tony had bags under his eyes and looked as if he hadn't slept in days but knowing Stark he probably hadn't. Emma then remembered what Pepper had told her the day before and suddenly making Stark feel like shit didn't seem to be a priority anymore. Emma silently nodded as she began to walk alongside him as they walked outside. It was cloudy outside with no sign of the sun even peeking out from the clouds. She was almost sure that it was going to rain. The stormy clouds and the smell of rain indicated that it wouldn't be too long until there was a storm.

"I just want to know one thing." Tony stated as they both walked on the grassy clearing. Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Emma asked, not catching his meaning.

"Why did you stick your neck out like that? Why did you go after that guy?" Tony asked her and Emma thought about saying something sarcastic to make Stark leave her alone. She knew, however, that she was tired of arguing with him. Pepper was right in a way…this was getting really old.

"I couldn't let Hydra have those weapons." Emma answered quietly but even she knew that wasn't the least of it.

"That's it? That's why you've decided to put your life on the line? So that Hydra couldn't get their hands on the weapons?" Tony questioned and Emma fell silent as Tony shook his head. "No, I don't believe that's the entire reason. You probably would've benefited more from Hydra having the weapons. It would give you more of a right to hunt them down." Emma sighed as she decided to be honest with Stark for the first time in a while.

"Okay…fine. The real reason I wanted to take Toomes down is because it's what Steve would do." Emma said sincerely and Tony searched her eyes to see if he could find the truth in them. He usually could never tell the difference between Emma lying and her telling the truth but for some reason he believed that this might be the first honest answer she had given him in a while. "He told me about why he wanted to join the army so badly back in the day. There was lots of people dying…good people. He said that you could either stand by and do nothing or you could actually get out there and make a difference." Emma looked down at the ground sadly as she recalled her grandfather's words from one of their late night conversations when none of them could sleep.

"I know it sounds incredibly cheesy but how could I stand by and watch this happen when Steve, who was smaller and weaker than most people, bravely jumped head first into a war where it was unlikely that he would ever survive?" Emma stated as she looked back at Tony. His brown eyes rested on her face as he listened to her intently. "I've spent my whole life looking out for myself because I had to but I'm no coward. I wanted to stop Toomes because it was the right thing to do."

"What's changed? The only reason you wanted to be an Avenger before was because of Steve and now he's gone so…" Tony trailed off as he fought to try and understand Emma's motive. There was definitely something very different about the blonde than before. She didn't seem quite as agitated with him as she usually was.

"I don't know." Emma lied. She knew exactly what had changed and it had to do with a certain dorky teenage boy with warm brown eyes. "High school must've made me more compassionate, I guess." Tony scoffed but he gave her an amused smile.

"I highly doubt that." Tony said before he decided that it was probably the most he was going to get out of her about that. Emma gave him a curious look as they continued to walk along the edge of the forest.

"Pepper came to see me yesterday, you know." Emma told him and Tony raised his eyebrows which told her that he most likely didn't know about that.

"Did she?" He inquired and Emma nodded as an unreadable look came over her face.

"Yes. I was surprised to see her actually…Couldn't believe she took you back." Emma said as a smirk began to form on her face. "That extremis stuff really must've seeped into her brain." Tony playfully glared at her but deep down he was just happy that she was teasing him instead of screaming at him like she normally did. Tony shook his head in amusement.

"You're hilarious, Mini Cap…Really." Tony retorted and Emma's smirk faded as she started to look more serious once again. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her old hoodie that she found in her bedroom.

"She wanted to put in a good word for you." Emma told him and Tony looked at her in surprise.

"I never asked her to do that." Tony replied and Emma nodded as gazed over at him.

"I know." Emma said quietly. Tony sighed as he knew that now was the time to get something off his chest..something that had been bugging him for the longest time. He stopped walking and Emma stopped, confused by his sudden pause. They were far away from the compound by now but Emma didn't mind. It was more quiet this far out anyways.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize to you." Tony said suddenly and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Stark never apologized… not that she ever saw anyways. "For everything. I've messed everything up so much…Ultron, The Avengers, the kid…you. I've never failed anyone as much as I've failed you." Emma watched him with an emotionless expression on her face as she tried to piece together what he was saying. This was the most vulnerable that she ever seen Tony Stark be.

"You've already lost so much and I've taken even more from you…I've threw you into a high school of all places that made you feel even more lost." Tony said, seeming very regretful but Emma didn't say anything. She just watched him quietly. "I never meant for you to feel like I abandoned you. I just…I've messed up your life so much already and I just wanted you to have something nice for once. Something that doesn't involve Hydra or killing."

"My father created the serum that runs through your veins…a serum that he never should've created. Look at what it's done. He's dead and you were forced to be an assassin for Hydra." Tony continued to say as tears flooded his eyes. "I was always so angry with your father…Steven. My dad loved him because he was the only thing left of Cap. He was treated more like a son than I was…you were right about that."

"I should've known something was suspicious when the house burned down like that." Tony said as he shook his head, referring to Hydra's cover up of her parent's death and her kidnapping. Emma just looked up at him, her throat feeling a bit dry. "We all accepted it…we all accepted that you had died. I should've known that you weren't dead when they couldn't find your body but I just went back home after the funeral and drank my sorrows away."

"I never blamed you for the serum." Emma told Tony honestly and she meant it. She never knew he felt that way about her…that he blamed himself for everything that happened. Emma was also surprised that he had even gone to her family's funeral but he had said that he knew her biological father after all. "I never even blamed your father for it. What happened to me is on five Hydra scumbags and three of those idiots are already dead so…"

"I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on you." Tony said suddenly, completely changing the subject as he recalled a time from long ago. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You mean after you guys got me out of the Hydra base?" Emma also recalled that meeting as well. She thought Tony was very smug and arrogant even back then. It was two and a half years ago but it felt even longer.

"No, I saw you for the first time when you were almost a year old." Tony confessed and Emma looked up at him in shock. She searched his face for any signs to see if he was lying but she didn't find any. "Your parents invited me to spend the holidays with them in their little farmhouse. Steven knew that I always resented him a little but he never cared…he didn't want me to spend the holidays alone." Emma was completely suspicious as she listened intently to what Tony was saying. He continued when she remained silent.

"You were so small and I had never held a baby before." Tony said softly. "You smiled at me for a moment…before you puked all over my nine hundred dollar designer shirt." Emma smiled as she tried to imagine that and Tony returned her smile as he thought about the memory.

"Margot laughed her head off and took a couple pictures. She never liked me…said that I was annoying or something like that." Tony informed Emma before giving her a fond look. "You were a cute baby by they way. I always received a Christmas card with all of you looking sickeningly happy…well, until the supposed house fire. A house fire with two shield agents? I should've known better."

"You never mentioned that before." Emma said as she shook her head in disbelief. Stark had met her when she was just a baby? No one had ever told her. Well…she supposed that everyone else who knew was now dead so it wasn't like she would ever have found out. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I felt guilty for just accepting what happened and I figured that it wouldn't do you any good to tell you anyways." Tony admitted and Emma fell silent once again as she was forced to now reflect upon this new information she had just become privy to. He then sighed before continuing.

"Look, the truth is when I found out about what Barnes did to my parents I felt betrayed and angry." Tony finally said as he prepared himself for what he was about to say. "I felt betrayed because Steve never told me and he knew all along." It was then that Emma decided to give her input as she responded to Tony.

"I admit that Steve should've told you, Tony. It would've made it easier on all of us but he was trying to protect my father." Emma told him and Tony clenched his jaw. He looked so angry and hurt in that moment but not at her. She immediately realized why he was so mad. "You feel like Steve picked my father over you."

"He did pick Barnes and he picked Barnes over you when he left." Tony told her but Emma didn't get angry with him like she normally would. This was a man who was hurting because he felt so alone. Emma could relate in a way.

"I've never seen it that way. Look, Tony, I love my father so I'm not going to condemn him because of what he did to your parents." Emma told him honestly. "I've done terrible things too. I've probably also killed someone's parents." Tony looked down at the ground before nodding.

"I don't want revenge against him, Emma, if that's what you think." Tony confessed as he looked up at Emma. "I was livid when I first found out but I caught up in the moment and he was just there. I've taken some time to think and I know killing him won't change anything. I'd only be taking even more away from you and it's Hydra's fault after all. He was just a pawn in their game…just like you." She was a bit surprised to hear Stark say those words because Emma would never simply forget about the man who killed her parents. She couldn't forget about Rumlow but she understood that the circumstances were far different. Emma nodded before something else crossed her mind. Something that had been bothering her so much more than Stark's hand in tearing the Avengers apart. She gazed back up at him, a troubled look in her blue eyes.

"What about Peter?" Emma inquired suddenly and Tony gave her a confused look.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Why did you bring him into this?" Tears were finally flooding her eyes which was a sight that Tony still wasn't accustomed to seeing. It was odd to see the blonde become so emotional. "I just don't understand it. You knew how Hydra forced me into this and yet you brought him into this mess without a second thought. He came willingly but he's too naïve and innocent to make those kinds of decisions for himself, Tony. He shouldn't be here…he could die."

Tony watched the expression on her face carefully as he tried to determine what she was feeling. There was something about her that confused him. Emma seemed so worked up over this and he wasn't sure why. He knew that she felt hurt because he introduced a child into this world of superheroes and villains but he was almost positive that wasn't all there was to it. Tony sighed once more as he gave her his answer.

"I know that I probably shouldn't have but it's not that simple." Tony told her sincerely as Emma listened to what he had to say. "The kid had been on my radar for a while. Spidey powers and super strength? There's no way I didn't keep up to date and then I found out who he really was. Just some teenage orphan from Queens and I knew what I had to do." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confused, not understanding what Tony was trying to say.

"What was that?" She inquired and Tony locked eyes with her.

"I needed to introduce the two of you…granted I never planned on the first time you two met being at the airport where you fought against each other but I think it worked out in the end." Tony replied and Emma found that today was a day of revelations for her. Whatever seemed to come out of Stark's mouth continued to surprise her. "You were living in a tower full of adults with targets on their backs and you were never around kids your own age. I know you'd never relate to ordinary kids but Peter's not ordinary, is he? I knew you two could relate on some level and you needed a friend. He also needed some guidance and who better than you?"

"You hand picked a friend for me because you thought I was lonely?" Emma asked in disbelief as a couple tears fell from her eyes at the thought that Stark might've cared that much. Maybe Pepper was right.

"You both needed each other although I never planned on you two kids getting into all this trouble together. One month detention? Steve's not going to be happy about that." Tony said jokingly, giving her a small smile. Emma guessed she had Tony to thank for succumbing to these feelings she had for Peter. Thanks to him she was somehow in love with Peter Parker. Tony's expression then softened as he opened up to her. "I miss them too, you know. You're not the only one."

"I don't hate you." Emma said suddenly causing Tony to look at her. She bit her lip anxiously before continuing. "I never really did…I was just upset with you and I was looking for someone to blame. None of us were completely innocent…we all had a hand in what happened. I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you."

Tony was shocked to hear an apology come from her lips and Emma was even more shocked that she had even apologized. She had always been taught to never apologize for anything. Apologizing proved weakness and Emma wasn't weak but she truly meant what she said to Stark. They both made a lot of mistakes and Emma was tired of pretending to hate him.

"I deserved it." Tony replied. "There was more I should've done for you…less that my father should've done."

"None of it was your fault Stark. I never even knew your father." Emma told him sincerely. "If it makes you feel any better then I forgive you. I've never tried forgiveness before but maybe I can start now." Tony just stared at her as he tried to guess what was going on in her mind. That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? No one ever knew what went through Emma's mind.

"Why do you seem so different?" Tony asked suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Did something happen? Did the ghost of Christmas past come around and change your perspective on life? Is this a _Freaky Friday_ scenario?" Emma just shook her head and pretended like she didn't know what he was talking about.

"I'm just trying to be more forgiving." Emma said nonchalantly. "Steve told me he was raised Catholic or something and forgiveness seems to be a part of that."

"So you're Catholic now." Tony stated, not looking to believe her and Emma smirked.

"I'm not anything." Emma retorted. Tony just shook his head at her before he gazed over at the forest, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Emma noticed that the darkening clouds were moving closer and closer to them. She glanced back at him but he didn't seem to care about the darkening clouds as he remained lost in his own little world.

"We better head back to the compound. It's about to rain." Emma informed him but Tony's demeanor remained unchanged as he continued to look at the view. He snapped out of it for a brief moment as he barely spared her a glance.

"You go ahead. I think I'll stay out here for a while longer." Tony said quietly and Emma gave him an odd look. She decided, however, not to argue as she reluctantly nodded before walking back to the compound. It was obvious that Tony wanted to be alone.

When Emma was almost back to the compound she glanced over her shoulder at Tony Stark who was still standing in the same spot she had left him. She wondered if things would be alright between them now. One thing Emma did know was that she felt a lot better after letting go of all that anger and resentment. This was a new chapter in her life and a chapter that she didn't feel so unwillingly to start.


	48. Chapter Forty Five

**Author's Note: I was surprised at how fast I was able to update this time. I guess I just really was inspired to write Emma and Peter reuniting after the building collapse. This will also be the last chapter of dialogue from the movie and I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the ending of Part II. Part III will come right after that.**

 **Plenty of Peter in this chapter by the way. Sorry that last chapter didn't really have a lot of Peter in it but this one will make up for it. I just felt like last chapter needed to be an Emma and Tony chapter.**

 **AppropriateLlama: The upcoming chapters are definitely going to feel less stressful and filled with a more happy Emma. She'll almost be like Emma before Steve went away but still a little different. Things have definitely changed for the better.**

 **Radioactive88: I always love your long reviews. Feedback is always welcomed. Emma and Peter aren't going to admit their love for each other for a little while but it won't be forever. They're both scared that the other will reject them. I think the relationship between Tony and Emma is one of most complex as well and definitely one of my favorites. They've butted heads for so long so it'll be nice to see them be more friendly with each other. They'll still banter a lot but things won't be hostile anymore. She does care about Tony in a way but I think she'll care more about him as time goes on. Okay, thanks for clearing that up about what you were saying about Tony before. I was thinking about that same order. So glad we're on the same page.**

 **Capricious-Sunshine: Peter will be in this chapter so no worries.**

 **Spawn Hades: That would be really cute. I just wonder how long it would take me to get to that point. lol. This story's probably going to be like over 1,000 words long. Maybe I'll split it up into a sequel. Who knows?**

 **JuggernautJJ: And here's to looking at you, JuggernautJJ.**

 **crazyman844: Emma and Peter's reunion in this chapter will definitely be satisfying. I was always going to have Tony and Emma make up because otherwise her relationship with Peter would be too complicated. It's also what Steve would want.**

 **I tend to miss words every now and then within a chapter. I know I need to go back and fix it but I'm pretty busy with writing new chapters. I keep telling myself that I'm going to go back one of these days and fix it. Hopefully soon. Thanks for the constructive criticism by the way. I really appreciate it.**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2: This story is going to be way longer so hold tight. I don't even know when I'm ever going to end it. I haven't the faintest idea.**

 **ilypopxtart333: I really need to update Undisclosed Desires now that you mention it but I'm so busy with this story that I don't think I will in the near future. Hopefully someday. I haven't abandoned it yet. Thanks for the compliment!**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: Yes. Emma and Peter will definitely be reunited in this chapter but they're not going to admit their feelings for each other for a little while so just hang tight.**

* * *

"Miss Rogers, Mr. Stark would like to see you in the lab now." McConaughey said from the ceiling. It seemed like Tony had kept McConaughey as the AI system inside the facility. She had been drawing in her sketchbook but quickly closed it the moment she heard McConaughey.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Emma asked curiously.

"Mr. Stark only stated that there's something you need to see." McConaughey replied vaguely and Emma sighed. She reluctantly got up from her bed and started heading for the door of her bedroom before leaving her room all together.

It had been exactly one week since the confrontation with Toomes and Emma still hadn't heard anything from Peter. She supposed Tony was trying to keep them separate because he was still deciding what he going to do with them. Emma thought Tony might've been considering taking her out of school but she wasn't sure. Sometimes she didn't understand the eccentric billionaire but Emma wasn't angry with him either. Although she missed Peter, she was just happy to be back at the compound in surroundings that were familiar to her.

Emma finally made it the lab area of the facility which she hadn't been to in a long time. She saw Tony through the glass doors and he smiled at her before quickly waving her in. It was so strange for there to be no more anger and resentment between them. Emma felt a whole lot better letting all of that go and she knew Steve would be happy for them too if he was there. Tony and her making amends was exactly what Steve had wanted.

"Mini Cap, you're here." Tony announced as if he were surprised that she had actually showed up. Emma raised an eyebrow at him as she entered the lab, the glass door closing automatically behind her. She looked around the lab curiously and found that not much had changed about the lab since she had last been there. Stark still had all his Iron Man suits in their correct spots against the wall as well as prototypes for new devices displayed on some of the holographic monitors.

"You didn't think I would come?" Emma questioned and Tony gave her a sheepish look.

"Well, you've never exactly listened to me in the past so…" Tony awkwardly trailed off. Emma bit the inside of her cheek somewhat nervously as she tried to hide her own awkward feelings about the situation.

"Forgive and forget, remember?" Emma said shortly before moving on. "Now what is it that you wanted me to see?"

Tony nodded as he remembered what he had brought her down to the lab for in the first place. He gestured for her to follow him to the back of the lab and she cautiously followed him. She was quite curious to see what Stark had planned. He finally stopped in front of a pedestal in the lab that had a blanket tossed over the top as it was obviously hiding something from view.

"What are you up to, Stark?" Emma asked as she eyed the mysterious object covered by a blanket. Tony grinned but his grin soon faded as a more serious look came over his face. He seemed quite sentimental which wasn't something that was normal for Tony Stark.

Tony then pulled the blanket off the concealed object and Emma gasped in surprise. It was Steve's shield. She glanced over the shield and took in every single little detail that she could. The shield was still Captain America's infamous shield but now it had a large, three nail, scratch mark over it. Emma figured that it was most likely from the Black Panther. She just wondered why Steve no longer had his shield.

"I told him to leave it." Tony said suddenly as he looked down at the ground, almost looking ashamed of himself. Emma looked back over at him curiously. "He left me there and went over to Barnes' side immediately which pissed me off. I told him that the shield didn't belong to him but I was wrong. My father made the shield for him and no one else."

"You were angry." Emma stated as she stared at Tony with an unreadable expression on her face. She wasn't angry yet she wasn't happy about it either but Emma understood why he took the shield on some level. Tony sighed before nodding slowly.

"I was." He admitted. "He didn't even care…he just left it there, took Barnes, and left. I was so angry at him but now none of that seems to matter as much."

"No, I get it. It's fine." Emma told Tony, not wanting him to beat himself up over something that happened so many months ago.

"It's not fine, Emma." Tony told her seriously as he locked eyes with her. "He wrote me a letter too, you know. He asked me to take care of you but I haven't even done that. I only made you hate me more." Emma shook her head furiously as she knew that Tony wasn't the only one to blame.

"It's my fault too, Tony. He asked me to give you a chance and I never even did that. We both messed up." Emma confessed and Tony rested a hand on her shoulder. Emma tensed but she didn't swat his hand away either. Tony took that as a good sign.

"Then maybe we can start over?" He suggested and Emma gave him a small smile that was almost too small to notice but it was still there.

"I think Steve would like that." Emma told him. It was clear to Tony that when Emma said Steve she really meant herself. It was clearly a baby step for Emma after all. He returned her smile before glancing back over at the shield.

"Well, as a symbolic gesture of our new friendship I'd like to give the shield to the person it actually belongs to." Tony announced as he then look back at Emma who seemed confused. "You." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she looked between Tony and the shield, not really believing what Tony was saying.

"Are you serious?" Emma asked in surprise as she looked at the shield in amazement.

"Why not? You can be the shield's keeper until Cap comes back. It's not like I can lift that thing anyways. It weighs a ton." Tony remarked as he then gestured for Emma to take the shield from the pedestal. She eyed it cautiously before carefully lifting it up before holding it closer to her so that she could inspect it. The shield must've been heavy for most average humans but Emma wasn't an average human. She was easily able to hold the shield up to herself. Emma gently ran her fingers over the surface of the shield, finding that most of it was smooth save for the scratch marks. She glanced back up at the billionaire with a grateful look in her eyes.

"Thank you, Tony. I really appreciate it." Emma told him sincerely and Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"It was never mine to begin with." He stated but Emma still appreciated the gesture. Something else came to Emma's mind as she stared at the shield. For some reason it was Peter who came to mind in that moment…Peter who she hadn't seen in a week. There was still something she had to ask of Tony. She'd beg Tony if she had to because this was Peter she was talking about. There was a lot she would do for Peter Parker. She bit her lip somewhat nervously as she thought of how she would bring this up to Tony. It was probably the only thing she ever asked of him.

"Can I ask for a favor?" Emma asked hesitantly as she looked into his eyes. Tony seemed curious about what she had to ask but also seemed willing to hear her out.

"Sure…if it's about a puppy I don't know what I can do. I don't want dog fur around the compound." Tony said jokingly before Emma took a deep breath before asking him something that had been on her mind for a short time.

"Can you forgive Peter? I know that incident on the ferry was stupid and immature but Peter was only doing it because he thought it was right." Emma told Tony honestly before continuing. "I should've stopped him. It's my fault but I wasn't thinking. He won't say it but I know you looks up to you like a father. He really hates how much he's disappointed you."

"I didn't know he looked up to me that much." Tony said sadly as he glanced away from her but Emma just shook her head.

"He does. Just please don't stay angry at him…don't punish him anymore." Emma practically pleaded which surprised Tony beyond belief. He never heard Emma plead anyone's case before which made him more curious about just how close Emma and Peter had gotten during their time together. He wondered what was going on with them.

"You and the kid are pretty close, huh?" Tony inquired curiously and the look on Emma's face hardened as she looked away from him. She seemed a bit grumpy as she did so...almost as if she remembered something that she didn't necessarily seem keen on remembering. Maybe Tony didn't want to see what was going on inside her mind after all. Emma seemed like a complex person to even try to understand.

"No…his constant whining about you is just annoying. It hinders our missions together." Emma denied as she tried not give away her true feelings about Peter. Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the blonde but decided not push her too much. He had just gotten back into Emma's good graces after all.

"Fine. I'll take the kid back…I was already thinking of doing that anyways and I wouldn't want to cause a rift in your _friendship_." Tony told her and Emma made a face at his statement, clearly not liking his insinuation about Peter. The billionaire didn't fail to notice how Emma didn't deny her friendship with Peter either.

"Good. I'm sure Peter will appreciate that." Emma replied before returning her attention back to the shield. She wondered what Steve would've thought about her having his shield. Emma didn't know if he'd be proud of her or if he'd be reluctant for her to have it in battle. She was just glad that Tony cared enough to put his pride aside and give it to her. Things had really changed between them after all.

* * *

Emma had spent the rest of the morning admiring Steve's shield as she wondered what he and the others were currently doing. It was a thought she seemed to be having a lot of these days. She was sure, however, that he was okay. She also didn't feel as stressed out as she had before because of all the broken bridges that had been mended as of recently. Suddenly the Avenger's facility didn't seem as much of a hostile environment as it had been before. Emma finally felt at peace…well, she almost did. The current well-being of Peter Parker constantly circulated her mind as she worried about him and wondered what he was doing. Emma wondered why the others weren't letting her have any outside contact. She supposed it was because they still didn't know what to do about her now that she was back at the compound. Emma would probably just have to wait until they made a decision but that didn't mean she didn't obsess over Peter.

It was then that Emma's enhanced hearing picked up on a familiar sounding voice coming from the level below. She opened her eyes as she then abandoned the shield on her bed before letting her curiosity overtake her. Emma wandered out of her bedroom and down the hall as she kept listening to the familiar voice that was leading her away. She almost felt entranced by the voice as her heart raced. It was only when Emma reached the top of the staircase that she saw who was there.

Peter Parker.

She couldn't describe the elation she felt at seeing him. It felt like it had been forever since she had seen Peter when in reality it had only been a week. A smile couldn't help but make it's way onto her face and she wondered if this was what it was like…being in love. Steve would always act this stupid and dorky whenever Susan walked into a room so Emma wondered if Steve had fallen in love with Susan as well. Probably.

"Peter?" Emma finally managed to say from the top of the staircase and that immediately got the teenage boy's attention. He beamed up at her the instant her saw her which caused Emma's breathing to slightly hitch.

"Emma." He breathed and Emma immediately started walking down the stairs towards him.

Peter felt his heart pound against his chest as he set his sights on the beautiful blonde. He had been desperately worried about her but Happy assured him that she was alright whenever he tried to call her. The older man said that Emma was resting somewhere undisclosed where she was completely safe and healthy. That didn't cease to end Peter's worries as he spent all week in school thinking about her. It didn't even throw him off earlier that day when Liz announced that she was moving to Oregon. He did feel bad for the older girl and all that had happened to her but Peter spent the majority of his time recently thinking that Emma was on her deathbed so that was his main concern as of recently. She had been badly injured the last time he saw her after all. But now, however, she seemed to be in perfect health. Emma wasn't bloody nor did he see any other injuries on her.

It was then that Peter glanced over her appearance and he realized just how much he missed her. They only spent a week apart but it felt like it had been much longer…especially since Peter was still coming to terms with the fact that he'd fallen in love with Emma. Everyone around him at school noticed that he had been acting even stranger than usual but most of them assumed that it was just the usual odd behavior of Peter Parker. Ned assumed that Peter was just worried about Emma which was true but it was so much more than that. If Emma had been stuck in his head before she was even more stuck now. He simply could not seem to stop thinking about her.

Peter noticed that Emma was dressed in the most casual of clothing he had ever seen her wear. She wore a pair of printed leggings, a man's shirt, and a pair of ankle boot slippers that seemed to be have the Marauder's Map printed on them. Was Emma a Harry Potter fan? That was something that seemed very important to Peter all of a sudden. He never took her for a Harry Potter fan but he was keen on learning whether or not she was. The blonde also didn't appear to be wearing any make-up but her casual appearance couldn't look any more beautiful to Peter. Emma Rogers was suddenly the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on and it was now more apparent than ever that he was in love.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The way Peter smiled at her before as she had walked down the stairs reminded her a bit of the way Rhett Butler had smiled at Scarlett O'Hara in _Gone with the Wind_. However, Emma was sure that she was imagining it. Her mouth suddenly felt more dry as she took in his appearance. He looked like he had just gotten off from school but Emma didn't think he had ever looked more handsome to her than in that moment. She felt like it may have had to do with the fact that she hadn't seen him in a week. Emma was delighted to see the very same warm brown eyes that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about.

"Happy brought me here. He said Mr. Stark wants to talk to me." Peter answered as he continued to stare at her. He didn't even spare a glance at Happy who was standing next to him. Under Peter's intense gaze, she suddenly wished that she had dressed in something a little nicer than a pair of old leggings and one of Steve's shirts. Wait…what? Now she suddenly cared about her appearance? This being in love thing was very strange. It caused her to act in the most unusual of ways.

"Happy's here?" Emma asked in confusion as her gaze remained glued to Peter. Happy Hogan glanced between the two teenagers in annoyance as he raised his hand and waved it in front of both of their faces. It was clear that he had somehow become invisible the moment the two kids saw each other. Happy didn't understand what was going on. Peter had asked him nearly a million questions about Emma on the drive up to the compound. Happy never should've told him that Emma was going to be at the compound. That was his greatest mistake.

"Right here…I've been here the whole time." Happy said in an annoyed voice. Yet Emma and Peter both ignored him as they continued to stare at each other.

"Hmmm…that's nice." Emma said softly, not paying any attention to Happy.

"Happy said that you're doing better. How are you feeling?" Peter asked her, wanting to know immediately if she was okay. Emma shrugged.

"I've been hurt worse but I'm doing fine now. I'm all healed up and I don't even feel sore anymore." Emma told him sincerely and Peter listened to her intently. "The doctors said that they'd feel better if I got a lot of rest. They said I was really sleep depraved which I suppose is true." Peter felt a wave of concern come over at him as he stared at the blonde. She hadn't been sleeping? It was probably to do with everything concerning Toomes and the weapons. Peter hadn't really slept that much during that time either.

"Really? Have you been sleeping better now?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"Yes. I've never required much sleep to begin with but I've been resting a lot lately. It feels nice." Emma replied and Peter felt comforted to know that she was doing a lot better. She had a lot on her plate recently, even more than him, so getting a lot of rest was probably what she needed.

"That's good." Peter said quietly before continuing. "I tried to call you but Happy said that you were resting."

"I know." Emma told him as she smiled at him. "Tony told me that you really annoyed Happy since you called so often." Peter blushed but he was also curious as to how Emma just referred to Mr. Stark. Tony? Peter thought she had only referred to him as Stark or narcissistic asshole.

"Again, guys…I'm right here." Happy said as he gave his input. "Don't talk about me like I'm not standing right next to you." However, Happy once again went ignored as Emma and Peter seemed to be trapped inside their own little world.

"I was just really worried." Peter defended as he averted his eyes from her and ignored Happy. "The last time we saw each other you were hurt really bad."

"No, I get it." Emma said, shaking her head. "I was really worried about you too." Peter immediately looked up in surprise at Emma's unexpected confession.

"You were?" Peter asked in disbelief and Emma nodded.

"Yes, I was. I've even…" Emma trailed off as she hesitated but then gained a bit of courage and locked eyes with Peter. "I've even missed you." Peter was even more shocked by Emma's statement as he widened his eyes. Emma actually missed him? Did she miss him as much as he missed her? Peter honestly doubted it. He didn't think it was even possible for her to miss him as much as he missed her. Even Happy watched the two teenagers in shock. He felt like he was watching an episode of _Downton Abbey_. This was almost like the episode he saw with Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley.

"I've missed you too." Peter told her softly as he looked at her adoringly. Emma actually blushed at the look he was giving her. Those brown eyes had a way of melting her frozen heart and a part of Emma hated him for it because she felt like he was making her weak but Emma also still loved that he did that to her. No one had been able to make her feel so much…no one had ever confused her this much either. Emma thought of doing something she had thought about a lot in the past couple days. Something she had wanted to do the moment she saw him. A small part of her was afraid but Emma decided to just ignore that feeling. After everything that happened with the building collapse she just didn't care anymore.

Without another moment of hesitance Emma moved forward and immediately wrapped her arms around Peter, engaging with him in a hug. Peter's eyes widened in surprise at Emma's abrupt action but he soon relaxed into the hug and wrapped his arms around Emma as well. Happy even gasped a bit when he saw Emma hug Peter…Emma hugging someone was probably a sight as rare to see as the Lochness Monster. The older man suddenly felt like he intruding on a private moment between the two…a moment which he most certainly didn't belong in. Peter closed his eyes as he smelled the slightly familiar scent of strawberry and coconuts in her hair. He finally felt at peace as he held Emma in in his arms, his heart racing as he felt Emma pressed up against him.

Emma also felt strangely content in Peter's arms. She hadn't really hugged anyone since Steve and her father were around so it was a little strange. However, Emma knew that she loved Peter in a very different way than she loved Steve and her father. She almost didn't want to let go of Peter but she felt like she would be giving away too much if she stayed there wrapped in his embrace. With some reluctance she finally pulled away from Peter only to see the vivid shade of red on his face as he looked almost anywhere other than her face. He felt disappointed at the loss of contact but happy that Emma had even hugged him in the first place. Emma never struck him as the affectionate type after all.

"It looks like the others are going on a mission." Emma said randomly as she tried to distract herself from the giddiness she felt in hugging Peter. She glanced past Peter out the window only to see Maria Hill loading some equipment into one of the Quinjets. Emma walked past Peter and Happy to the large glass window and they followed her. Peter was still in a bit of a dazed state from Emma's hug. He reluctantly followed her gaze and stared at the amazing and high tech looking aircraft on the landing pad. This place was amazing.

"Where are they going?" Peter asked her. Happy looked like he was about to answer Peter but Emma didn't give him the chance as they continued to ignore the older man.

"Maria Hill runs things around here for the most part. She's more than likely just going to stake out a terrorist cell or run some drills with the others." Emma answered as they watched Maria Hill and some former Shield agents board the Quinjet. It seemed like they were all set to go now that everything was loaded.

"Cool." Peter whispered as he watched the doors close on the Quinjet. It didn't take long before the Quinjet powered on before lifting off into the air, flying at a speed so fast that it only took a couple seconds before it flew out of sight and into the clouds. Peter just shook his head in amazement as he glanced at both Happy and Emma, clearly impressed. It was clear that Emma and Peter were finally acknowledging Happy's appearance as the moment between them passed.

"You don't see that everyday." Happy told him as Peter continued to look around the compound in awe. Emma smiled at the expression of wonder on his face. He obviously just wanted to explore the compound and Emma didn't blame him. It really was a state of the art facility and the only place that truly felt like home to her right now even if the others were no longer there.

"Oh, there they are." Tony said as he announced his presence. Emma had been so caught up in Peter that she hadn't even heard him walk up behind them. Peter looked quite happy to see Tony and Emma didn't feel the usual annoyance when she saw him either. She even managed to give Tony a small smile. "How was the ride up?"

"Good." Happy told him as he gave him a brief nod.

"Give me a minute with the kids." Tony told Happy as he stared at the both of them. Emma and Peter both exchanged a look with each other before looking back at Tony. Emma wasn't sure what more Tony had to discuss with her since they had already discussed a lot of things in the past two days.

"Seriously?" Happy asked in disbelief, not believing he was being ignored…again.

"Yeah." Tony replied. "I gotta talk to the kids."

"I'll be close behind." Happy said firmly.

"How about a loose follow? All right?" Tony suggested but Happy didn't seem very pleased. "Boundaries are good."

"Still the bodyguard, Happy? I thought Tony promoted you?" She teased the stocky man and Happy glared at the smirking blonde.

"Shut up, you little brat." Happy muttered under his breath but Emma just gave him another smirk before turning back around as her and Peter began to walk on either side of Tony. She supposed that Tony took her more seriously than she thought when she told him to make amends with Peter. Emma never thought he'd call Happy right away to bring Peter to the compound. Tony playfully punched the teenage boy in the shoulder as all three of them began to walk down the length of the main level of the compound.

"Sorry I took your suits." Tony apologized as he tossed an arm over Peter's shoulders before doing the same with Emma. "You both had it coming. Don't get me wrong. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect tough-love moment that you needed. To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?" Tony asked them both rapidly and Emma scoffed. It was just like Tony to take all the credit but she was more amused than anything else. Peter just scrambled for an answer as he looked at his mentor, just happy that Tony didn't seem to be mad at him anymore.

"I guess." Peter finally managed to say.

"You're full of shit, Tony." Emma told the billionaire bluntly. Tony grinned at the blonde as they continued to walk. He was just happy that she had gone back to calling him Tony rather than Stark or Asshole.

"Let's just say it was." Tony said, apologizing in his own way. Peter didn't know this but Emma and Tony had just done enough heart felt apologies to last them both decades. Tony sighed just as Peter decided that it was finally time for him to apologize to Tony.

"Mr. Stark, I really-" He started to say but Tony interrupted him.

"You two really screwed the pooch hard…big time." Tony said but really only focusing on Peter when he said this. He felt like he and Emma had already said enough the day before. "But then you guys did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies…all right, not my best analogy." Emma had to agree with Tony there. He seemed to have a really bad habit of rambling on about complete nonsense. She figured that Rhodey and Pepper had to be the only two people who ever understood him when he talked like that.

"I was wrong about you." Tony told Peter before briefly glancing over at Emma as well. "I was wrong about the both of you. You two work really well together…better than I could ever hope for. I think with a little more mentoring you could both be a real asset to the team." Tony then walked up a small amount of stairs on to a higher platform as both Emma and Peter followed him. Emma wondered what he was intending to do? Tony was acting strange just like he had earlier this morning before he had given her Steve's shield. What was Tony up to?

"To the-? To the team?" Peter stuttered as he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Even Emma was a little surprised that Tony had said that. It seemed a little crazy for Emma to even comprehend. Her as an Avenger? Maybe Tony was insane after all. Emma always thought she would be the last person to be accepted as an Avenger. Not without Steve around at least. Deep down she always imagined she'd eventually venture off and become a mercenary which wasn't really bad by any means. At least she would get to pick the work she got to do. But Avenger? Emma didn't know why but she kind of liked the sound of that. Especially if Peter was also involved.

"Yeah. Anyway…" Tony trailed off as he glanced back at Emma and Peter before pointing in the direction of the doors. "There's about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers. When you're ready…" Tony trailed off again as he pressed a couple buttons on his watch and the metal contraption in the wall began to rotate before revealing something absolutely shocking to both Emma and Peter's eyes.

It looked to be the new updated version of their Viper Assassin and Spider-Man suits. Both suits looked oddly metallic more than the material that was in their own suits. Emma could tell that the armor of both suits was more resistant against force and other possible attacks. Emma's suit was a dark green color that matched her other suit but the metallic material greatly resembled the rough looking keeled scales that real vipers normally had. There was also some black coloring on the arm and leg area of the suit but for the most part it was green. At the middle of the torso area of the suit was a symbol of a viper ready to strike with it's fangs out. Emma never cared much for snakes but she found the symbol to be fearsome which was a good thing for her. The mask of the suit extended down further than her other suit's mask had. The new mask went way past the eyes and stopped just above the mouth. A pair of golden fangs poked out the bottom and Emma wondered if they had a purpose or if they were just there for decoration. The eye slits looked even more snake like than the other suit. Alarmingly red in color like before but they had slit-shaped pupils that were oddly transfixing to Emma. Over all, Emma really liked this new suit and wondered what kind of gadgets this one contained.

"Why don't you try that on." Tony told them as they walked closer to the suits in amazement and awe. Emma snapped out of her thoughts as she glanced back over at Peter and Tony. Peter was still in awe of his newly updated suit and Emma couldn't blame him. "And I'll introduce the world to the two new official members of the Avengers: Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin."

"I…" Peter trailed off before he laughed in disbelief. He was clearly speechless and Emma was almost the same way. Tony honestly wanted to introduce them as the new Avengers? Emma was pretty sure that Steve had the internet where ever he was from and she didn't believe he'd be true thrilled to realize that Emma had become an Avenger without his permission. He'd probably come racing back home and get himself arrested now that she thought about it. Suddenly Emma wasn't so sure about this Avenger thing. Not right now at least.

"Yeah, give it a look." Tony told them as they both studied their updated suits. Emma had to admit she really liked her suit and how could she not? But she wasn't too comfortable with becoming an Avenger at the moment and being on everyone's radar. She preferred to work more in the shadows than that.

"So after the press conference, Happy will show Peter to his room." Tony announced as he momentarily glanced away from them. Emma watched as the happy look on Peter's face then faded as something else seemed to be on his mind. Peter realized in that moment that everything that he thought he wanted wasn't actually what he really wanted. He had learned that lesson first with Emma and Liz but now he was learning it again with this. "Peter's new quarters. Who's he between? He's next to Vision?"

"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors or walls." Happy added and Emma knew just how true that statement was. Although in the past couple days she had alarmingly gotten used to Vision barging in. She supposed a lot had changed in the time since she had last been to the compound.

"It's fun. I think Emma's room is on the other side of you so I don't think I'll be getting any complaints there. You'll fit right in." Tony said as he smirked at the both of them but his statement seemed to fall on deaf ears as both Emma and Peter had something else on their minds. Peter glanced at Emma and his mind was then made up. She gave him a confused look before he turned back around to face Tony.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said gratefully. "But I'm good." Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise, not exactly expecting Peter to say that. All he had talked about in all the time she had known him was finally becoming an Avenger. What had changed since then?

"You're good? Good? How are you good?" Tony asked in disbelief, completely bewildered by what Peter was saying. Peter swallowed before answering.

"Well, I mean, I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while." Peter informed him much to Tony's confusion. "Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?" Tony then turned to Emma who was watching the conversation in both confusion and surprise. It was one of the few times he had seen the blonde be almost speechless.

"And you, Mini Cap?" Emma broke out of her confused state as she looked up at Tony in surprise. She had barely registered that he had even asked her a question until that moment. Emma was just so caught up in Peter's odd confession.

"What?" She asked, sounding a bit lost.

"I can take you out of school right this instant and you can go back to living here again." Tony told her sincerely as she stared back at him. "We'll give you missions right and left if you really want. I realized that high school was probably beneath you anyways. I'm sure you'd keep busy leading the raids of old Hydra bases and finding Rumlow. What do you think?"

Emma honestly wasn't sure what to think of anything that Tony had told her. Leaving her mundane teenage life had been what she had wanted after all, wasn't it? Emma always complained about being bored at school and high school life. What Stark had told her about raiding Hydra bases and finding Rumlow was also very tempting. Rumlow was the one person in the world she sought vengeance against or cutting loose ends as she always called it. Killing him had been a goal of hers ever since she could remember and she could finally have that chance. Finding Rumlow seemed more interesting to her than high school did after all but high school wasn't really that boring.

If she left Midtown then there would be no more intellectual conversations with Michelle as the frizzy haired girl attempted to guess Emma's secret. Emma would never feel the annoyance that Ned gave her again. There would be no more making fun of Flash and constantly turning down his advances which always gave her pleasure. No more bickering with Darcy as the brunette fought tooth and nail to maintain her pledge to record all of Emma's important high school events. Most of all…there would be no more Peter Parker.

Emma glanced over at the brown eyed boy who glanced worriedly between her and Tony. Since he seemed quite keen on staying in Queens than Emma wasn't likely to see him that often. The thought of not seeing him for long periods of time saddened her. She really enjoyed his company and she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay away from him. Emma should probably let him go like Rick let Ilsa go but she didn't think she was as selfless as Rick.

It was true that vengeance was really important to Emma but Rumlow wasn't going away anytime soon. He'd still be there tomorrow and he'd be there whenever she was ready. Emma wasn't so sure she was ready to face him anyways. The truth was that Rumlow knew that she was out there and he'd come looking for her one of these days. When that asshole finally decided to show his fucked up face around there then that would be the day Emma finally got her revenge. Revenge didn't have an expiration date so Emma didn't see why she should have to obsess over finding him when he'd eventually come around looking for her. Her time was much better spent elsewhere…a place where she didn't have to linger on the memory of what he did to her. Where she could finally be happy.

"I think I'd like to stay in Queens." Emma said in a small voice and Tony was almost certain he hadn't heard her right. A grin suddenly came over Peter's face as he looked overjoyed at what the blonde had just said. He had been afraid that Emma wouldn't want to come back to Queens…come back to him but that didn't seem to be a problem whatsoever. She was coming home…to him.

"What was that?" Tony asked in disbelief, not believing that the girl who had been complaining for the past almost two months about going to school was actually seemingly okay with staying there.

"I think my time is best spent in Queens." Emma said a little bit louder as she maintained stoic look on her face, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible about this. "School's not so bad and Parker's not a terrible partner to have either. Besides…I don't see the harm in rescuing a bunch of filthy cats from trees or helping smelly old ladies hobble across the street. I'd like to think that it's what Steve would want. " Peter supposed that was as close to getting Emma to admit to liking him as he was going to get. It was probably the most Emma sort of way of saying that she actually enjoyed going on missions with him. He was still happy nonetheless that Emma was staying in Queens. Tony just sighed he shook his head at the both of them. He immediately took his tinted sunglasses off to look them both in the eyes.

"You're both turning me down?" Tony questioned in bewilderment. "You better think about this. Look at that. Look at me." Tony pointed at their suits and they both stared at the suits like Tony told them to. Emma didn't feel like it was that great of a loss anyways. Her suit probably had more gadgets than she knew how to deal with. She had gotten back what she really wanted after all…Peter.

"Last chance." Tony told them firmly. "Yes or no?"

"No." Peter told Tony and the billionaire glanced over at Emma who nodded her head in agreement with Peter. Tony was completely surprised by this new information but it seemed like the two teenagers weren't about to change their minds. The billionaire had even tempted her with Rumlow and Emma still turned him down. Maybe she really had changed for the better…maybe sending her to high school hadn't been a mistake after all. She seemed better…healthier even. Emma seemed like how she had been before the accords and when Steve was still there. This was definitely a better version of her. That much he could tell.

"Okay." Tony said briefly as he tried to process what Emma and Peter had just told him. "It's kind of a Springsteen-y, working-class hero vibe that I dig. Happy will take you home, Peter. Yeah?" He asked Happy and the older man walked over to them as he nodded.

"Yeah." Happy confirmed. Peter glanced between both Happy and Tony anxiously as something else came to mind. His eyes then rested on Emma and she stared back at him as they seemingly became lost in their own little world again. Both of the teenagers felt extremely happy to be working together again and even to be going back to school together. It seemed like their partnership hadn't come to an end.

"What about Emma?" Peter asked almost dreamily. "When is she coming back to school?" Peter stared at the blonde almost longingly which was something that confused Tony. What was up with these kids? Tony thought to himself. They were acting even stranger than usual. Emma found that she also wanted to know when she could back to Queens. It was Friday after all so Emma doubted she would going back that day.

"Well, Happy can bring you back Sunday so you'll be set to go back to school on Monday." Tony told Emma before glancing suspiciously at Peter who's eyes were still glued to Emma. "That'll give you the weekend to catch up on the work you missed...you know, since you seem to actually care about that sort of thing now." Emma just rolled her eyes at Tony before giving him an amused smile.

"Whatever. I promise to tend to my studies, _Steve._ " Emma said sarcastically. "Or would you rather me call you dad now too?"

"Nope. Tony's cool…or Uncle Tony if you prefer." Tony told her as he shuddered and Emma smirked at him.

"Good. I think I would've puked if you said yes which would've been a scientific anomaly since I don't think I can puke." Emma told him and Tony only shook his head in amusement. Peter glanced between Emma and Tony in confusion. He wasn't sure what was going on with them. Emma hadn't cussed Tony out once since he'd been there and Tony didn't seem to be irritated with her either. Did something happen since she arrived at the compound?

"Do you mind waiting in the car?" Happy asked Peter as he wanted to get things going as well as have a word with Tony. "I need a minute."

"I'll walk him out." Emma volunteered as she gave Peter a small smile. Peter swallowed nervously as Emma smiled at him. He could tell that things were much different between them than before and he had a feeling that was a good thing. Peter didn't think he was ready to tell Emma that he loved her and he wasn't sure he ever would but it was clear to him that they were friends. He could accept that if it meant being close to Emma. He nodded at her before looking at Tony again.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter told him and Tony formally shook his hand. Emma thought it was quite odd since Tony never really shook hands that often but this was an odd situation after all.

"Yes, Mr. Parker, very well." Tony formally bid him goodbye and Peter smiled at him.

"See you around." Peter replied. Peter and Emma then began to walk down the steps of the platform before a troubled look came over Peter's face. He paused slightly as Emma gave him a confused look. Peter turned around once more to look at Tony and Emma curiously watched the exchange between them.

"That was a test, right?" He asked Tony. "There's uh…nobody back there?" Emma smiled at Peter, clearly amused, because she knew for a fact that it wasn't a test. She could hear the commotion of all the reporters even though the sound proof walls. Peter's hearing was enhanced but it wasn't enhanced like hers was just like how Emma wasn't as strong as Peter despite her enhancements.

"Yes, you both passed." Tony confirmed and Emma almost wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh because not even Tony was brilliant enough to think of a test like that. To go through all the trouble of designing those suits just to throw it all away? No that wasn't Tony. He didn't think that way. Tony was probably even a little annoyed that he had gone through all the trouble of designing and creating the suits just for them to turn him down. It was definitely a blow to his ego but nothing amused Emma more.

"All right, skedaddle there, you crazy kids!" Tony called out to them just as he saw the smug smirk on Emma's face. He knew then that Emma was aware that none of that had been a test. Smart ass, he thought to himself.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said one last time before he and Emma turned back around to walk in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, thank you." Tony replied and he watched curiously as the two teenagers began to walk closely, shoulders brushing. Something definitely was up with them but Tony wasn't exactly sure what although he had a sneaking suspicion.

* * *

Emma knew things between her and Peter had changed now that she had somewhat come to terms with the way she felt about him. She didn't want to tell him because she knew that he still really liked Liz. This was why she never liked movies with love triangles. _Casablanca_ was a favorite of hers and she'd like to think she was Rick in this situation but Rick didn't get Ilsa now, did he? No, Victor was the one who ended up with Ilsa in the end. Everyone also desperately wanted Rick and Ilsa to defeat the odds and actually up together. Emma was almost completely sure if her and Peter were a movie, no one would want them to get together. Someone like Peter ended up with someone like Liz every time. It wasn't just the whole love triangle thing either because Emma was almost positive that Peter would never reciprocate her feelings. He just knew too much about her. He would really never reciprocate her feelings if he knew _everything_ about her…especially what happened down in that Hydra base.

"Michelle's the new captain for the decathlon team." Peter brought up suddenly and Emma look at him curiously. They had just exited the compound and were now walking down the steps of the building.

"Really? What about Liz?" Emma inquired politely and Peter looked down, a bit saddened about the whole situation with Liz. He had ditched her at the dance after all and not to mention how he'd also technically taken down her father too.

"Liz is moving to Oregon. She said that her father didn't want her here during the trial." Peter told Emma and even Emma felt a bit sympathetic. Even with her dislike of Liz, which was really just her jealousy speaking, Emma felt a bit bad for her situation. She knew how difficult it was to be away from your father. Emma knew that better than anyone.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Emma said softly and Peter shrugged.

"Maybe it's for the best. I really screwed things up with her." Peter admitted and Emma looked at him compassionately.

"No, you didn't. It just looked that way to most people…you were trying to help her." Emma told him sincerely. "You were trying to help her father. If it was me I would've just killed him." Peter shook his head, not believing Emma in the least bit. He knew her far too well by now to really believe she'd do that.

"I don't believe that, Emma. That's not you." Peter told her, not wanting Emma to believe that about herself.

"It used to be me." Emma said quietly as they began to walk alongside the building after leaving the set of steps. "But maybe it's just not me anymore." Peter smiled at her, happy that she was finally agreeing with him about that. His smile soon faded as he remembered something that had been troubling him for the past week. It was something he had been dying to ask Emma and now he finally had a chance.

"Why did you save me from the debris?" Peter asked her all of a sudden. Emma stared at him, not really knowing how to answer a question like that. She knew that question was going to come up eventually and Emma knew that she could never tell him the real answer. Emma would have to tell him that she loved if she was going to tell him the real answer. She sighed.

"Because you're my friend, Peter." Emma answered reluctantly and Peter felt slightly disappointed by her answer. He was hoping that she might've said something more but he knew even that was something major coming from Emma. Peter smiled at her softly.

"Really?" He asked and Emma returned his smile.

"Is that so hard for you to believe?" Emma asked before continuing to speak. "Of course you're my friend. You're more tolerable to me than most people."

"Gee, thanks." Peter said sarcastically but he honestly would've thought it would be quite odd if Emma said anything else.

"Don't expect a heart felt declaration of friendship, Parker." Emma said jokingly before a serious expression came over her face. "But in all honesty, Peter, I do consider you a friend. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing."

"Neither would I...you're my friend too, Emma." Peter told her and they both stared each other for a moment. They realized that they had been staring at each other for quite a while which prompted them into feeling awkward. Peter coughed awkwardly before remembering what he had been carrying around in his pocket since last week.

"I almost forgot." Peter said suddenly as he pulled out Emma's compass from his pocket. Emma's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her grandfather's compass. She had completely forgotten about it after everything. "As you requested." He held the compass out to her and Emma carefully took it from his hand before analyzing it. Every time she saw the compass she thought of her grandfather and how much she loved him. The blonde looked back at him hesitantly.

"You brought it back to me?" She said and Peter smiled at her, admiring the way she had stared at the compass in such utter love and adoration. A small part of Peter wished that Emma would look at him like she had looked at that compass.

"Without a scratch." He confirmed before continuing. "I guess it did bring me some luck after all. Maybe your grandfather's onto something." Emma chuckled as she clutched the compass tightly in her hand.

"Maybe." Emma replied. She looked at Peter, wanting to say more, but she was stopped before could even attempt to do so. Happy, like always, seemed keen on interrupting important moments between people. He walked up to the pair of teenagers with an oblivious look on his face.

"Hey, kid, get in the car. I want to get you home before dinner." Happy told them in his familiar gruff tone. Peter looked slightly disappointed to have to leave Emma so soon after seeing her for the first time in a week. He had wanted to spend more time with her…to learn more about her. Emma fought the urge to give Happy a very annoyed look because she had barely seen Peter before he had to go again. The two teenagers returned their gazes to each other and didn't look in Happy's direction as they seemed very reluctant to look away from each other. The both of them, unknown to each other, were already unable to wait until the next time they would see each other.

"Come on, kid, I don't have all day!" Happy called out again.

"I'll be right there, Happy!" Peter called out to Happy, not even looking in the older man's direction as he kept looking at Emma.

"I'll see you at school Monday?" Peter asked her and Emma smiled before nodding.

"Of course. I'd say I'll text you but my phone's broken and Tony still hasn't replaced it." Emma told him and Peter nodded in understanding.

"That's fine. Until Monday then." He replied.

"Monday." Emma confirmed. Peter stared at her for another moment, his eyes searching hers as he tried to look for something but not even he knew what he was looking for. He started debating something, struggling with the idea of whether or not she would kill him for doing it. A part of him was afraid to even try but another part of him didn't care that he was afraid. The part that didn't care urged him to go ahead and at least be brave.

Without another second of thought Peter swooped down and pressed a lingering kiss against Emma's cheek. The blonde tensed for a moment but immediately relaxed at his touch, closing her eyes in the process. Her heart rate increased as she felt his lips pressed against her skin and Emma felt that familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling of butterflies or something similar only now she knew it wasn't because she was sick. Peter pulled away a little too soon for either of their liking. He put the feel of her skin against his lips to memory as he pulled away...skin that was so soft and smooth. Flawless even. Emma stared at Peter with a shocked expression on her face and it was then that reality came back down on him. He blushed shyly and he avoided looking into her eyes any longer. Peter was a little surprised that Emma hadn't even slapped or pushed him away.

"Bye." Peter said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say, before turning around to go to the car. Happy stood by the car, his mouth practically hanging open at what he just witnessed.

"How are you still alive?" Happy asked Peter before the teenage boy got into the car. The older man had never seen anyone that actually had the balls to do that to the blonde. Happy always thought she'd murder anyone who would try and touch her. Peter just ignored Happy as he got in the car, not saying another word.

Emma watched Happy get in the car and then drive off into the distance. She watched the car drive away in complete and utter confusion as to what just happened. Her face felt slightly flushed as she was still reeling from what Peter did. It wasn't anything incredibly and completely romantic since Emma had even kissed Peter before but something felt different this time. She supposed it was because Emma was in love with Peter now and she hadn't been then. The only thing Emma wondered, however, was why did he do it? Why did he kiss her on the cheek? What did it mean? Emma even felt a bit annoyed at him for doing that. How dare he just kiss her on the cheek and then leave with no explanation. Who does that?

Emma started to walk back up the steps of the building feeling even more frustrated and confused than before. It seemed like Peter was doing a lot of that to her these days which frustrated her even more because it wasn't like she could stay mad at him for long. She loved him after all. Love. Was that going to be her explanation for everything now? Emma couldn't believe it. She was actually turning into the most terrifying person she could ever think of. Taylor Swift in a music video. This was exactly what she was afraid of becoming but now it was inevitable.

Peter Parker had her all messed up in the head now and there was no avoiding him anymore. She had turned down hunting down and murdering Rumlow in cold blood just so that she could be near him…so that she could be somewhat happy. If this was several months ago then Emma would've laughed at the very idea of giving that up for love. It was probably for the best if she put off looking for Rumlow. She'd go mad looking for Rumlow but she was also currently going mad just thinking about Peter. It seemed like she relied on him a lot which was dangerous but somehow Emma didn't regret it. Emma sighed as she walked back inside the compound.

"Well, he's finally done it…that boy's finally driven me insane."


	49. Chapter Forty Six

**Author's Note: So the last chapter of Part II: Hardest of Hearts. This chapter will mostly center around May dealing with finding out that Peter's Spider-Man. It may seemed like a super long argument for them to have but it's not like it would be easy for her to accept that her fifteen year old nephew is Spider-Man. She's not going to be like 'Yay! Do what you need to!'. There's also a little surprise during the last half of the chapter but it's not really a happy surprise. It's more like a preview at what's going to be happening in Part III.**

 **So I'm going to address all the questions about where I'm going with this after the Homecoming storyline. I think I've mentioned this before but I'm NOT going to wait for Infinity War to come out to write it into the story. I'm just going to be going full AU and do my own thing since I already know where I'm going with this. I might do my own version of infinity war but that would take place in Part IV and Emma and Peter would be a little bit older by then. Probably seventeen. So AU after Homecoming...although I might do a companion piece to this story when all the Spider-Man movies come out that does include the storylines from the movies but that wouldn't happen for a long time. Some Things Never Sleep, however, is AU from here on out.**

 **I also just want to clarify to anyone who might've been confused last chapter but Emma and Peter aren't together. It's just a kiss on the cheek although it's clearly a step in a different direction in regards to their relationship.**

 **crazyman844: Emma and Peter are slowly becoming more affectionate with each other but they're only friends at this point. It's not going to be forever until they get together but it's not going to happen super fast either.**

 **LovingBOBThePacific: I've never really liked either Spider-Man before Tom Holland. I guess because they both looked too old to be in high school and I didn't really buy it. I still liked Andrew Garfield more than Tobey Maguire because for some weird reason Tobey Maguire just kind of creeps me out. I don't know why.**

 **Civil War has to be one of the most heart wrenching Marvel films. The fight at the airport broke my heart and then the fight between Tony, Steve, and Bucky broke my heart even more.**

 **Spawn Hades: Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Sorry. It was almost one in the morning when I published that chapter so I guess I didn't notice what I wrote. Lol.**

 **nightwingbaby1: So I'm going full AU in Part III so the main villain is going to be Rumlow for the entirety of that. There's going to be more of a focus on Emma and her Hydra past in that part. She'll also finally get to the point where she finally tells someone what happened to her in that Hydra base beyond the torture, training, and experimentation. I think the only people who truly know about it, at the moment is Emma herself, obviously Rumlow, and Wanda. Camila kind of figured that's what happened to Emma when they met because of personal experience. I think you'll get more of my point as to where this story's going towards the half way point of this chapter.**

 **Radioactive88: You have no idea how hard I laughed at your side note about how Tony will react to Emma and Peter. I haven't completely figured out how he's going to react but it's definitely something similar to what you wrote. He's going to feel very conflicted.**

 **I think Steve will be protective of Emma but also happy. There's also a chance that he'll be jealous of Peter a little because he's been the only guy in Emma's life for the longest time and now he suddenly has to share her with both Bucky and Peter. I'm sure once him and Susan get together he'll probably not be that way but it's something he has to get used to. It's not just him and Emma anymore.**

 **Bucky's probably not going to like Emma having a boyfriend at all. He's known her since she was a little girl and he's overprotective of her. Bucky isn't going to take too kindly to Peter. He'll see this dorky teenage boy and wonder what the hell Emma sees in him but eventually he'll get the picture.**

 **McDuffie145: Thank you for being so kind in your reviews! Thanks for saying the bit about Darcy. I couldn't have put it in better words myself. I was just so thrown off from the rude review. Thanks. I appreciate your support.**

 **Emma-Jean02: Another reason I'm excited for the Avengers to be reunited in Part III, other than meeting Peter officially, is so that Steve can see how much Emma's changed for the better. He's really going to be super proud of her and how far she's come along. I think seeing that will definitely make him more pro Peter.**

 **knarl: Things are definitely progressing between Emma and Peter and things will progress even more in the next part once they're not distracted with a mission like the one with Toomes. There will still be crime fighting but they're staying low to the ground like they've both agreed to do. I'm also excited for Emma and Tony's mended friendship. Now that she knows how he knew her parents, I think she'll ask him some questions. There's many conversations between them to be had.**

 **Sorry for not answering all the reviews but I really wanted to get this chapter out to you guys so I can start on Part III. Thanks for all the reviews and let me know what you think of this chapter.**

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Emma had been sleeping fairly peacefully when she awakened by a strange commotion coming from downstairs. She had decided to go to bed early that night so Emma was fairly certain she had been only been asleep for an hour when she woke up. After Peter left during the afternoon Emma only occupied herself with finishing reading 'Wuthering Heights'. While Emily Bronte was one of her favorite writers, Charlotte Bronte was definitely her favorite Bronte sister if she had to pick favorites. Now that's what Emma called a family legacy. Distracting herself with the work of Emily Bronte was the only way she could stop thinking about Peter and the confusing gesture he made. A kiss on the cheek? Emma had been driving herself insane as she tried to figure out why would so such a thing. It didn't seem like Emma had made a conclusion yet and it wasn't likely she would make one any time soon.

The blonde tiredly rubbed her eyes as she looked around the dark room. There didn't seem to be anyone in her room and she knew if there was then she'd be a lot more on edge. Emma slowly got out of bed, still feeling somewhat out of it after such a short amount of sleep. The only light in the room was the moon streaming in from the glass windows.

"McConaughey, what time is it?" Emma asked the AI system tiredly.

"It's 10:07, Miss Rogers." McConaughey answered.

"Is Tony throwing a party or something? What woke me up?" Emma questioned, feeling a bit annoyed at being woken up after only an hour of sleep. She had survived on a lot less of sleep but Emma had been catching up on her sleep after depraving herself of a lot of it lately.

"It appears that there's a puzzling altercation with Mr. Parker, Mr. Stark, and a May Parker." If Emma wasn't awake before she was definitely awake now. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she heard that last name. May Parker? As in Peter's aunt? Emma definitely needed to see what was going on downstairs. The blonde quickly threw on a US Air force sweatshirt that Sam had given her as a last minute birthday present for her last birthday. Sam was never good with dates but Emma honestly hadn't cared about presents anyways. She spent nine years of her life without even celebrating her birthday or remembering when it was. Still…She had appreciated Sam's gesture.

Emma immediately wandered out of her bedroom and padded down the long hallway before reaching the railing that overlooked the main level. It was there that she saw Peter much like she had earlier that day. Only Tony, Pepper, and Vision seemed to be down on the main level as well but it wasn't them that had Emma's attention. May Parker stood in the middle of it all as she glared daggers at Tony Stark. She definitely wasn't the first person to give Tony Stark a death glare. Tony had been the subject of many of Emma's death glares in the past but that was all past them now. Emma was confused as to what the hell Peter's aunt was doing at the compound and at this time of night. It was then that Emma realized something…Peter Parker had a big mouth. A mouth that he just couldn't keep shut for the life of him. Emma rolled her eyes as she realized that he probably blabbed off to his aunt. Seriously…who hadn't Peter run his mouth off to? Would Flash find out next? Maybe Betty Brant? Emma stood in the darkness behind the railing as she listened to what the apparent argument was about.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" May practically screeched at Tony who flinched at the sound of her voice. Emma always knew that Stark didn't handle women being angry at him very well. She had seen Natasha, Pepper, and Maria angry with him enough times that he usually just tried to back out of the room and disappear. For a man, who probably spent _too_ much time with women in past, he sure seemed to be afraid of most women…especially the furious ones. Although May didn't seem to be as scary when she was angry as Pepper was.

"You've given _my_ nephew some kind of high tech killing machine?! He's fifteen for Christ's sake, you stupid bastard!" May yelled at him angrily and Emma stifled a giggle as she listened to the woman yell at Tony. Emma may have gotten over her resentment of Tony but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy seeing him in peril. Well, it was probably obvious to Emma now that May knew about Spider-Man. Peter really wasn't that discreet about his secret identity anyways. Emma knew that ever since she watched him change in the alley in broad daylight. Speaking of Peter…she watched him curiously as he looked between his aunt and Tony in a panicked state, his eyes wide with fear as he nervously chewed on his lip. Well, someone seemed to think this was the end of the world, Emma thought to herself. He was kind of adorable when he was all panicky like that.

"It's not like that, Mrs. Parker." Tony weakly defended. Emma raised an eyebrow at Tony's weak defense. Wow…that guy was able to fly through wormholes and fight against his teammates but when it came to someone's angry aunt, he was left defenseless. The irony didn't escape Emma.

"Then what is it like? Huh?" May questioned and Tony seemed speechless. "You seem to be making all kinds of decisions for him without my permission. God, I'm such an idiot, aren't I? Having no idea while my nephew runs around town getting into who knows what kind of trouble."

"No, May…It's not Mr. Stark's fault." Peter told her desperately, tears in his eyes as he defended his mentor. "He's been helping me. I'm the one who decided to do this. It's not you…it's me." Emma looked at the scene with a troubled expression on her face and a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She never liked seeing a sad Peter Parker. Peter who was usually so happy with a goofy smile on his face.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in the morning when we're all more awake?" Vision suggested even though he didn't require sleep the same way humans did.

"You're both welcomed to stay in any one of the rooms." Pepper told May and Peter but May didn't seem eager to take them up on that offer.

"I just walked in on my nephew dressed as, not the adorable teenage boy I know and love, but as Spider-Man." May stated, seeming quite defiant as she stared bravely at the three people standing in front of her. Emma had to admire May for sticking up for herself and Peter. This world of superheroes wasn't for people with the weakest of stomachs. Especially when someone like Vision was hovering in front of you like that. "Now I've just driven two and a half hours to this place so I demand some answers."

It was then that Emma decided to make her appearance known as she started to walk down the stairs. She was hoping that she might be able to calm the situation down since Tony, Vision, and Pepper seemed to be miserably failing at that. Usually when there was concerned individuals in the compound Natasha or Steve would be the ones to handle them as they were the calmest of the Avengers as well as professionally trained. Emma was just going to have to take their place on this one since there was literally no one else there. Let's see…how could she talk her way out of this one? How was she going to save Tony's ass?

"What's going on?" Emma asked, making her presence known as she continued to walk down the stairs and at the same time playing dumb. Everyone immediately turned to stare at the blonde including a very confused and bewildered May Parker. Peter stared at Emma in awe as he always seemed to be doing these days. Emma Rogers seemed to have that kind of impact on him. He glanced over her appearance and noticed that she was dressed differently than she had been earlier. She appeared to have just rolled out of bed but she looked quite cute in her disheveled state. Emma was wearing a baggy US Air force sweatshirt and a simple pair of cotton shorts. Peter blushed as he couldn't help but stare at her long legs. It was possibly the most he had ever seen of her. Well, that wasn't true. He had seen a lot of her when she attempted to change in his hotel room back in D.C.

"Emma?" May asked in confusion as she continued to stare at the blonde, not having a clue as to what the teenager was doing there. "What are you doing here?" It was then that May turned to look at her nephew for an answer. She immediately glared at her stupid nephew who was practically drooling at the sight of the blonde. The older woman smacked her nephew upside the head and Peter immediately snapped out of it.

"Quit leering!" May snapped at him. Peter immediately blushed a vibrant shade of red at being caught staring at the blonde. Emma shot Peter a quick amused smile before looking back over at May. Tony and Pepper exchanged a look with each other while Vision just looked confused. May then transferred her glare over to Tony. "Is that what you're doing? Kidnapping children?" Tony honestly didn't know how to respond to that question without giving anything away about Emma. A more serious look came over Peter's face as he glanced back over at Emma, his brown eyes seemed to be pleading with her.

"Can I tell her, Emma?" Peter asked Emma softly and Emma thought about it long and hard before deciding that it was okay. She nodded reluctantly and Peter immediately turned to face his aunt. "Remember the Viper Assassin, May? The one I was telling you all about in the car? The one who's been helping me all this time…"

"Yes. You said she saved you from the collapsing building?" May asked in a confused state. "I don't understand, Peter. What does that have to do with anything?" Emma looked quite uncomfortable as Peter prepared himself to answer his aunt's question.

"Well…Emma and the Viper Assassin are the same person." Peter finally told her and May's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait…What?" She asked in bewilderment and Peter bit his lip anxiously.

"It's why Emma's here. She's actually the Viper Assassin." Peter explained and May looked back at Emma in surprise. The older woman analyzed the appearance of the blonde teenager as she tried to pick out any details that might've confirmed what Peter told her was true. May couldn't find any. Emma looked to be an average teenage girl with those innocent blue eyes and a perfectly symmetrical face. But then again…there was always something a little off about the girl to her. Not necessarily in a bad way but just a feeling she got whenever she looked at the girl. Like something in the way she looked wasn't completely right. She looked a little _too_ perfect. Kind of like how you felt whenever you saw Grace Kelly in those old movies. May supposed that would've made her really dangerous if she was actually an assassin. Just look at the Black Widow.

"You're the Viper Assassin?" May finally managed to ask in disbelief and Emma didn't really know what to say to her. Would May be completely disgusted and horrified at Emma? Would she forbid Peter from ever hanging out with Emma again? There was a whole list of ways May could react to this newfound news.

"She's not an assassin anymore, May." Peter said as he quickly came to Emma's defense. "Emma hasn't been an assassin in years. The Avengers rescued her from a Hydra base so she's been living with them for a long time now. She's a good person...and she's also my friend. One of my _best_ friends even." Peter then concluded his rambling, giving May a lot to think about. Peter seemed unwilling to look at Emma, feeling a bit shy, after speaking about her so positively but Emma felt absolutely touched by what he said. He must've thought very highly of her. An unreadable look came over May's face as she stared at young girl who was giving her an unsure look in return. May slowly walked over to Emma and blonde didn't know what to expect. Was she going to yell at her like she had yelled at Tony? Emma didn't know.

"You're the one who saved my nephew from the building collapse? You've been with him this whole time?" May asked Emma slowly and gave her a cautious look, not sure how May was going to react to her.

"I guess…" Emma trailed off and it sounded more like a question than an actual answer. May then abruptly burst into tears before wrapping her arms around Emma so suddenly that even the blonde never saw it coming. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head from the sudden action as May hugged her so tightly that Emma knew what the small victimized mammal prey, of pythons and vipers, felt like.

"Thank you so much! I don't what I'd do without Peter!" May cried into Emma's shoulder as the older woman remained latched onto Emma. Tony snickered at the awkward look on Emma's face as she remained tense in May Parker's arms. Pepper and Vision just looked sympathetic for the blonde since they were more than aware that Emma didn't like being touched in nearly any capacity. Peter just looked shocked at his aunt hugging Emma. Emma awkwardly patted the woman's back a couple times, unsure of what else to do. The hug she gave Peter felt so natural and that was because she was comfortable around him…and there was also the fact that she kind of loved him. There was Steve and Bucky too but Emma, in all honesty, had trouble with initiating contact.

"You're welcome." Emma said quietly, still not sure what else she could say to May in that situation. The brunette woman eventually pulled away from Emma after what felt like an eternity, giving Emma the kindest of looks. Her kind look, however, faded when she heard Tony Stark in the background snickering. May immediately whipped around to give Tony a scathing look.

"Tell me…what do you find so funny about this, Mr. Stark? Really…enlighten me." May said coldly to him and the smug look on Tony's face immediately vanished as he paled. "Because this girl over here has managed to do more for my nephew than you have. She's kept him out of harm's way and helped him through all of this." Emma immediately smirked smugly at Tony from behind May's back. Who was laughing now? She thought to herself. May turned back around to look at the blonde and the smirk vanished from Emma's face as she feigned an innocent look. May gave the blonde a soft look.

"Thank you so much, Emma, for doing what this man didn't." May told her and Emma nodded. Tony realized then that Emma was a little bit evil. Maybe she was more like Natasha than he thought. Natasha liked pretending to be just another innocent pretty face too even though she was way smarter than that.

"It wasn't a problem, May. Peter's my friend." Emma answered truthfully before giving Peter an affectionate look, causing the teenage boy to blush. Truth be told he was starting to get a little annoyed by his aunt for talking about him like he was a helpless child but Emma admitting their friendship was a rarity so he'd take what he could get.

"Still…" May trailed off as she gave Tony another annoyed look. Emma knew that she had to stop screwing around with Tony's sanity and actually do some ass saving because he was in deep trouble on this one. Emma sighed as she prepared herself to diffuse the tension.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Emma asked May who nodded, looking very interested in what Emma had to say. The blonde was actually glad to have seemingly won favors with Peter's aunt because hopefully that would help everyone in this situation. "I know this whole superhero thing must be hard to wrap your mind around, right?"

"Yes, it is." May answered, seeming very overwhelmed by all she had learned so far.

"I'm just going to be honest with you, May. It's only going to get crazier from here." Emma told her honestly. "I've never really been where you or Peter's been. This is all I've ever known but it's going to be a lot to take in."

"That's not very reassuring." May stated as she looked at Emma, feeling very sorry for the girl. All that she had ever known? May wondered to herself as she then remembered everything she had heard on the news before about the Viper Assassin. If half of the stuff was true than this girl must've had the most traumatic of childhoods. It was something that might've even broken May's heart to think about.

"I'm not trying to reassure you." Emma replied before continuing. Peter looked at the blonde in disbelief. If this was Emma's way of making the situation better than she was doing a very bad job at it. "I don't think you have much of a choice. Peter has these powers now and there's no escaping them. He's no more of a normal teenager than I am."

"He's all I have left." May told her sadly, tears in her brown eyes. Emma felt uncomfortable at the sight of tears but looked past May's emotional state.

"I understand that. We all have people we love…I do. They all have the most dangerous of occupations too so it would absolutely kill me if they died." Emma said, being completely sincere with her. "But they're stronger than normal humans so I try not to worry. They're like me."

"You mean Captain America and the Winter Soldier?" May inquired and Emma averted her eyes briefly before looking back at May. It was true what May said about Steve and her father but now there was another person included in that mix as well. Peter.

"Yes…They're exactly who I'm talking about." Emma admitted before moving on. "But Peter's strong too…he's stronger than I am. Did he tell you how he was the one who lifted the cement slab off the both of us? You see, I didn't just save him. He saved me too." May looked back at her nephew after learning this new information. Peter looked shyly up at his aunt as May stared at him questionably.

"Is that true, Peter?" May asked him and Peter slowly nodded.

"Yes." He confessed and May looked back at Emma. Peter wasn't entirely sure where Emma was going with this but he had a feeling she knew what she was doing. Emma always seemed to have a way with words. She always liked to win an argument, after all. It seemed like this conversation was actually heading in a better direction despite his previous apprehension.

"I know Tony's kind of crazy." Emma told May as she continued their conversation. Tony looked up in interest at hearing his own name but glared at the blonde when he realized this was just her way of insulting him. He had remained steadily silent, along with Pepper and Vision, through out the conversation as he watched Emma talk her way out of their current situation. "I actually like to think he's kind of senile but he does have good intentions. He's just a little misguided sometimes."

"That's the understatement of the year." May muttered before Emma continued.

"What I mean to say is that he cares about Peter. He's like a mentor to him." Emma said as May raised her eyebrows at her.

"And that's a good thing?"

"Yes, it is. Tony's the perfect mentor for Peter." Emma said as she locked eyes with Tony briefly. He was shocked to even hear Emma compliment him. It wasn't often that she spoke very highly of him. She then glanced back at May. "He's made some mistakes so he's not perfect but I think that makes him an even better mentor. No one's infallible."

"Tony's taken Peter under his wing so that he can make sure nothing bad happens to him." Emma continued to say as everyone listened intently to what Emma was saying. "He's done that for the both of us. Given us suits that are equipped with every sort of measure that ensures we don't hurt. He tries to keep us from getting into trouble but it's not his fault if we don't listen. We're teenagers after all."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that he went behind my back and encouraged Peter to do all this." May argued but Emma shook her head. Tony was still in a state of surprise at hearing Mini Cap basically singing his praises. He never thought he'd ever see the day.

"Tony never really encouraged Peter to do any of this." Emma responded. "Peter was already doing this long before Tony came into the picture. Tony just provided him with a safer way with some adult supervision." It really seemed like Emma had an answer for everything. She would make an amazing lawyer, Tony observed.

"He's only fifteen...only a kid." May replied weakly. Emma remembered something Peter once said a while back ago.

"A kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands." Emma said as she gave Peter a small smile. The teenage boy smiled a soft smile in return, touched that she had remembered something he had said weeks ago. May seemed kind of crestfallen as she shrank back into her self, finally beginning the process of accepting that her nephew was a superhero.

Emma had spent her whole entire life in this world of good and evil…assassins and spies…heroes and villains. She didn't know anything different than that. It struck her that there was one major difference that set her and Peter apart. Emma was born to have the life she had. Hydra had their eye on Emma since the moment she was born and since they couldn't get to her father when he was a child they settled for her instead. She never knew of a life that was different from this. Peter, however, used to be normal. There was a time in his life that he didn't have super powers and he just a normal teenage boy. He knew normalcy which Emma had never known. This was why it was difficult for Emma to comprehend what May must be thinking although May kind of reminded her of Steve during this whole conversation. It wasn't like Emma ever completely understood Steve's reasoning behind his overprotectiveness.

"Peter, how can I just let you do this?" May said quietly as she slowly looked up at her nephew. "After everything that happened to your parents…your uncle?"

"Aunt May, I have these powers for a reason. I can't just stand aside and do nothing if there's something I can do about it." Peter told his aunt, an earnest expression on his face. It was just another reason that Peter reminded Emma of Steve sometimes. Steve always told her something similar whenever he told her why he still fought...why he still had to lead the Avengers. "If Uncle Ben was here he'd agree with me." May laughed humorlessly.

"Your uncle would've never imagined this." May said as she gestured wildly around her, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Please, May, I don't want you to be angry at me but I need to do this." Peter pleaded with her and May looked down at the ground with an unreadable look on her face.

"You're too young." May repeated as she stood there. "Besides…this is the Avengers we're talking about. You're not prepared for this. It's filled with soldiers, trained assassins, and whatever he is." May said as she pointedly looked at Vision for the last part. Vision didn't even look offended in the least bit at that statement.

"The kid's already done way more than I've given him credit for." Tony informed May hesitantly, speaking up for the first time during the conversation. "He and Emma both stopped Toomes on their own. They work very well together."

"Peter's the one who really stopped Toomes. He saw the mission through when I was too injured." Emma couldn't help but add and it seemed like she had paved the way for the conversation as Tony gave her a grateful smile before continuing to address May.

"Peter, Emma, and I already had a long conversation about staying on the ground." Tony stated as he glanced back at Emma and Peter. "We all agreed on the Springsteen, working-class hero thing. No big missions and definitely no Avenger missions. The two kids will probably mostly help little old ladies cross the street." May definitely felt a lot better after hearing Tony's reassurances and all that Emma had told her. It was then that Pepper decided to step in and give her input, being the strategic businesswoman that she was.

"If it would make you feel better Peter could perhaps stay at the compound on weekends." Pepper suggested. "He could get a lot of training done. We have the world's leading experts to teach him. He'd be safer." Pepper then gave Emma a small smile, obviously referring to Emma as being one of those leading experts. May had a conflicted look on her face.

"He'd be getting a lot of training done?" May asked quietly and Peter perked up when he heard what his aunt said. Everyone seemed surprised by May's sudden question, even Vision, as she abruptly seemed more agreeable than she had been before.

"Plenty." Pepper confirmed reassuringly.

"What about school?" May asked as she turned back to look at Tony. "What if it takes over his school work? I can't allow that to happen. Peter's too smart."

"Then I'll confiscate the suit. If it gets to be too much I'll confiscate it…I'll do the same with Emma." Tony told her seriously. Emma wasn't sure how but somehow during the course of the conversation her and Peter had inched closer and closer together until they standing mere inches apart. They glanced at each other as Tony seemed to almost have May convinced. She gave Peter a reassuring smile before she looked away and Peter felt comforted by her smile.

"Vision and I will even stay with him during missions if that's what you want." Tony suggested helpfully and Vision nodded in agreement.

"I'll offer my assistance whenever Mr. Parker needs it." Vision confirmed but May made a face at the mere suggestion. She shook her head furiously at the billionaire.

"No way… you're just a man in a suit and he's…" May gestured wildly to Vision but looked somewhat lost and regretful as she did so. "Well, I really don't know what you are. Sorry."

"That's quite alright." Vision responded politely before May continued.

"No, if anyone is going to be with my nephew on any sort of mission, hypothetically speaking of course, then it has to be her." May pointed her finger at Emma and everyone immediately turned to stare at the surprised looking blonde. Emma didn't understand what May was saying as everyone collectively stared at her, reflecting the same surprise that she felt. Peter frowned at his aunt's statement.

"I don't need a babysitter, Aunt May." Peter argued but May shot him a sharp look which instantly made him shut up. May slowly walked over to where Emma was standing and locked eyes with her. For some reason Emma felt incredibly nervous and unsure…like she was suddenly under a lot of pressure.

"You used to be an assassin, right? You were trained?" May inquired as she stared at her. Emma swallowed before answering.

"For nine years and every day during those nine years. It was all I ever knew." Emma confirmed and May didn't know whether to fear her or feel sorry for her. In all honesty May was mostly feeling sympathetic for the blonde teenager who had a hard life.

"You know all the ins and outs of this kind of life? You can help Peter?" She asked Emma. Emma carefully glanced at Peter who was staring at her intently. He was the boy she loved and Emma most certainly would never let anything happen to him. It's why she shielded him from all the debris that night when they faced the Vulture. She cared about him to much but Emma didn't want to actually say that aloud…she was too afraid. Emma then glanced back over at May as she gave her a quick nod.

"I can teach him how to survive just like I was taught…well, not exactly as I've been taught. I'll be a lot nicer than they were." Emma told May. The older women wasn't sure if she wanted to know what Emma meant about how she was taught but she decided that she got the answer she was looking for.

"Are you actually okay with this then?" Peter asked his aunt with a hopeful look on his face and May scoffed.

"Of course I'm not okay with this, Peter, but it's clear to me that this is who you are now." May reluctantly admitted. "It's not going to matter if I'm okay with it or not because you're still going to go out there and do it anyways. At least if you're here you can be trained to fight and you'll also be safe when doing that."

"This is so cool. I can't believe you're actually going to let me do this." Peter said excitedly and May rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, I'm hoping that Emma will be such a tough teacher that it might change your mind about this whole thing. She was trained by Hydra after all." May told him before glancing over at Emma. "Don't go easy on him, Emma."

"Don't worry…I won't." Emma replied as she smirked evilly at Peter. However, Peter didn't really let Emma's smug look bother him as he realized that he could have it all. All the most important people in his life could know about his identity and he could still keep everything…even Emma. He didn't care if Emma was giving him an evil look. In fact, there were times that he even cherished her evil and mischievous looks. It was just another thing he adored about her.

"Just remember," May began to say as she gave Peter a serious look. Peter tore his gaze from Emma and looked at his aunt. "The second your grades start dropping then that's it. You'll come home and focus on your studies. That's always going to be the most important thing."

"Yes, of course." Peter said as he nodded furiously. May gave him a satisfied look before taking a deep breath to calm herself. Just don't think too hard about it, the older woman told herself. She knew if she thought too hard about all this she'd lose her mind.

"Good. You can start your training tomorrow." May told him before glancing back at Tony, Pepper, and Vision. "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yeah." Tony said as he nodded, feeling relieved that May wasn't going to murder him after all. "That's okay with us. Right, guys?"

"Maria's gone for the week but I'm sure Emma can help him train." Pepper added as she glanced at Emma. "Right, Emma?"

"Sure." Emma agreed as she gave Peter a very mischievous look that made him nervous for an unexplainable reason. He could tell she had something planned but he wasn't sure he was going to like it. "Peter and I will have lots of fun. Won't we, Peter?"

"Uh…I guess. I-I mean…sure?" Peter stammered nervously. His statement sounded more like a question which only amused Emma more. He then blushed at being under her close scrutiny. May pulled her car keys out of her purse which captured Peter's attention. He gave his aunt a confused look.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Peter asked and May gave him a tired look.

"Home. I'm going to need a glass of wine after this conversation." May told him before resting her hands on Peter's shoulders. "You have a lot to do tomorrow if you want to keep this up. You'll have to get up early." Tears flooded his eyes as Peter felt suddenly guilty for hiding so much from May for the longest time.

"I'm sorry, Aunt May. I'm sorry for everything." He told her but May just shook her head and smiled at him.

"There's nothing to forgive, Peter." May then leaned down and kissed her nephew on the forehead. Emma watched the exchange curiously. It was clear to Emma that May was more like a mother to Peter than an Aunt. Emma had never really had a mother figure in her life so she wasn't sure what it meant…having a mother, she meant. Emma barely remembered her real mother. "We'll talk about this more when you get home." May then pulled away from him before walking over to Tony and Pepper.

"He's in good hands?" May asked softly and the couple smiled at her.

"The best." Pepper confirmed. "We'll have him home by Sunday." May nodded before she glanced at Tony.

"Thank you for caring." May told him honestly. "He needs someone to look up to." Tony didn't know what to say to May. He felt a bit speechless, having never thought that anyone could ever possibly look up to him...that he was worth that kind of admiration. The billionaire just nodded, feeling rather foolish and overcome with emotion, before he gave her tight lipped smile.

"We're glad to have him." Tony replied and it was the only thing that felt right to say. May smiled back at him before looking at Vision. She nodded at him briefly, still a bit speechless and in awe of the purple android, and he smiled politely at her. May Parker then walked out of the compound, tears in her eyes but still feeling like she was making the right choice. Everyone watched her leave with different expressions on their faces. There was one thing that was certain. Peter really needed to be more discreet about his superhero alter-ego.

"What's with all the racket? Don't you people ever sleep?" Someone said abruptly from the upstairs. Everyone turned around to stare at Darcy Lewis who was standing at the top of the stairs, looking to still be half asleep as she tiredly rubbed her eyes. She was wearing an old concert t-shirt and a pair of cartoon patterned pajama bottoms as she glared at them. Emma knew better than anyone else that Darcy was most certainly not a morning person and this was even worse since it was a good ten hours before the brunette usually woke up. It was then that Darcy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she thought she saw someone very familiar standing next to Emma. The sight of Peter Parker seemed to sober her up as she stared wide eyed at him, glancing between Peter and Emma wildly. Emma knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Em…What the hell is your boyfriend doing here?"

* * *

 **Hydra Base**

 **Location: The Swiss Alps**

The new location of the Hydra base was cold and dark.

It shared similarities with the other bases in that nature but it also lacked the technology of the other bases. This was the last somewhat functional Hydra base left untouched by the Avengers but that was only because it had been forgotten over the many decades. The Hydra base in the Alps used to be Hydra Headquarters which was founded by Johann Schmidt, the notorious Red Skull, but it was no longer as functional as it had been during the Red Skull's reign over it. The base was now empty and lifeless but that was slowly changing.

One of the last Hydra leaders, Colonel Karpov, had been killed mercilessly by Helmut Zemo while the coward hid in his small house in the states. Wolfgang Von Strucker had been killed by Ultron the year before and then Alexander Pierce was killed by Nick Fury even before that. Countless leaders had sacrificed their own lives for the cause. Dr. List, a highly accomplished Hydra scientist, was even imprisoned for his efforts. No…there was only one Hydra agent who had survived the fallout. Someone who was loyal to his beliefs and never abandoned Hydra when the Avengers got too person was Brock Rumlow AKA Crossbones.

Rumlow soon found himself in charge of Hydra which had been a dying organization until recently. His stunt in Lagos had been his ego speaking. He had wanted revenge against Captain America for what had happened to him in D.C. Rumlow only realized a little too late that a small attack in a foreign country wasn't the way to get back at the Avengers. He needed to go big or go home.

Hydra had been scrambling to get their bearings back after the Avenger's attack on the Sokovian Hydra base. The organization had lost a majority of their men that day and the men that survived went into hiding, terrified of the Avengers ever finding them. However, things were looking up for Hydra after the Sokovia Accords. The Avengers were split into two factions so more and more people began to come out of the woodwork to join Hydra's ranks. Sleazy politicians with large checkbooks were willing to make generous, under the table, donations to the cause. Soldiers from war torn countries were willing to join Hydra to at least make a profit off the war in their own countries. Mad scientists, hungry for new discoveries at whatever cost, were eager to aid Hydra in anyway they could. Agents from top secret agencies all around the world were more than willing to play double agent. And Brock Rumlow stood in the middle of it all as they all looked to him as a leader of the organization. Rumlow had been the only one to stick it out from beginning to the end after all. Could any of those men say the same?

Now that the Avengers were disbanded for the moment, Hydra was thriving as they experimented with new technology. It was difficult since they had to start all over again but they were finally managing to make a comeback. It was like the old Hydra saying...Cut off one head and two more shall grow in it's place. Hydra would always survive. After receiving such a high authority position from his new colleagues, Brock Rumlow even felt like he deserved the title he recently acquired as the new head of Hydra. People looked up to him as leader and it was everything he could've ever have wanted. Well…not everything exactly.

"Crossbones." A dutiful subordinate called out as the thirty something year old man walked up to where the imposing new leader of Hydra was currently seated. Brock snapped out of his recollection as he looked at the agent. Agent Lance Collins was a highly skilled MI6 agent but little did MI6 know that one of their most skilled field agents was secretly working for Hydra. They were currently in the meeting room of the cold base, along with another Hydra member, as they were coming up with plans on what to do next. They were slowly advancing with some new technology but they were never going to make any major advancements if they couldn't get their hands on useful material. There was a rumor going on that there was a man in the states, that went by the name Vulture, who had made quite the business for himself in selling advanced weaponry salvaged from Avenger battles. The man had everything from Chitauri power cores to Ultron parts. Maybe if they could get their hands on that kind of material they could stand a real chance against the Avengers.

"What is it?" Brock asked in a gruff voice. He wore his Crossbones helmet on his face as he normally did. The Hydra leader hated when people stared at him and there was absolutely nothing he hated more than seeing those looks of disgust and revulsion on the faces of those who were inferior to him.

"Sir, Nygard just informed us of some rather unfortunate news." Agent Collins told him in his posh sounding English accent. Brock raised an eyebrow from under his helmet.

"Well, what does Nygard say?" Brock sneered, not appreciating being interrupted from his thoughts by something unless it was important. Jorgen Nygard, a rather meek and nervous Norwegian Hydra agent, gulped before answering. Jorgen was the daddy's boy on base. His father, Henrik Nygard, had been a highly decorated captain in the Norwegian army and was even more respected within the ranks of Hydra. Henrik Nygard, however, had died at the Hydra base in Sokovia during the altercation with the Avengers. Apparently it was death by Thor's hammer for him, ironically enough considering that the Nygards were Norwegian after all. It was obvious to everyone that Jorgen was nothing like his father. His father wasn't weak or pathetic like he was.

"Well, you see, sir…I've just seen a rather alarming news headline from the states." Agent Nygard replied nervously and Brock glared at the twenty something year old.

"Well, what the hell did you see? What are you just standing around there for?" Brock asked angrily as he wondered if Hydra was so desperate for people that they'd take anyone…even someone as incompetent as Jorgen Nygard. Jorgen blushed before scrambling for one of the tv remotes and switching one of the many flat screens on. One of the international news stations popped up onto the screen and displayed a rather disappointing but astonishing sight to the Hydra members.

"Adrian Toomes, AKA The Vulture, appeared at his sentencing hearing today in Manhattan, New York." The anchorwoman announced as she stared into the camera. A picture of the man she was talking about popped up on screen. "Toomes was apprehended by Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin a week ago after being caught as the ring leader of a group who was illegally stealing and selling advanced weaponry salvaged from Avenger led battles across the world. He's also charged with murder in the second degree after it was discovered he murdered one of his former crew members...Jackson Brice. Toomes is currently facing twenty five years to life. He'll served his time at Rikers Island State Penitentiary."

Video of Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin appeared on the screen as the super powered individuals appeared to be climbing the Washington Monument in D.C. Brock's eyes remained glued to the screen as he spotted the sight of familiar blonde hair. He leaned forward in his seat as his fingers dug into the seat cushion in anticipation. Both Jorgen and Lance exchanged looks with each other before looking at Brock in confusion. They had never seen the newly appointed Hydra leader in such a state before. They supposed his intrigue made sense since the Viper Assassin used to work for Hydra and had been trained by him but they were still confused nonetheless. Why did he seem so intrigued by a traitor?

There was another reason that Brock wanted to end the Avengers once and for all. He didn't just want them disbanded. No, Brock wanted them gone forever and he wanted Hydra to be in control. He wanted this because not only were the Avengers responsible for his injuries but they also took away the one thing he wanted most in the world. The Viper Assassin. They had taken away one of the assets and kept her far from his reach. All these years he had spent thinking about her…obsessing over her. Yet she was too far away as well as locked inside a literal tower for him to ever hope to reclaim. It wasn't the first time Brock had been denied what was his. The first time around Margot's beloved Rogers Jr., Coulson, Fury, and even that stupid partner of hers had all kept him away from her. Now the second time around Rogers Jr.'s daddy and Margot's stupid partner were still doing the same thing only now they had the rest of the Avengers to back them up.

It was so frustrating for Brock to keep seeing Margot's daughter pop up like that then knowing that he'd never be able to doing anything about it. Now that most of the Avengers were gone that Stark prick probably kept a close watch over her. Of course Brock knew that Emma Rogers was no longer in the presence of her beloved grandfather. Her grandfather and the some of the other Avengers were hiding in God knows where. Not even any leads Hydra had led them to the actual location of the exiled Avengers. Brock knew that Emma, however, was still in New York under the protection of Tony Stark. He also knew that Stark was more than likely pushing her into living the life of a normal girl her age. The Hydra leader had seen the footage from the protest in D.C. where she went on a school field trip. He was also very familiar with the footage of the Viper Assassin and that amateur Spider-Man saving a bunch of school kids from the Washington Monument. Brock kept tabs on his little Viper where ever and whenever he could.

Brock scoffed as he thought about the mere idea of the Viper Assassin attending a school surrounded by worthless, sniveling children. Did Stark not know the weapon he had? He just couldn't understand the reasoning behind wasting such true potential. The Viper Assassin was trained and experimented on to kill and conquer. She was made into a weapon for those two purposes only and nothing else. The Viper Assassin was supposed to take over and conquer the world for Hydra. Putting her in a school where spent her days watching football games and gossiping with ditzy teenage girls was like slapping Hydra in the face. Maybe that's how Stark wanted it.

Brock was then reminded of the last time he saw his little Viper Assassin…his princess. He remembered how willing she had been to spend the night with him. The way his princess had looked up at him with those big blue eyes…so innocent and so submissive. When he was with her it was almost like how it used to be with Margot…when Margot and him were still teenagers. The memory of that night with Emma still lingered in his mind as if it just happened the other day. It was hard to believe now that she must've been nearly sixteen. Nearly three years since he had last seen her…since he had _been_ with her.

"Are you alright, sir?" Agent Collins asked him carefully and Brock opened his eyes, feeling increasingly annoyed at being interrupted from his thoughts once again. He was angrier because he had been interrupted from his favorite memory of the assassin.

"What do you want now, Collins?" Brock growled at his subordinate. It wasn't even Jorgen he was focused on and the Norwegian man felt immensely frightened. Lance maintained his composure better than Jorgen and kept a stoic expression on his face as he looked at Brock.

"Sir, we need to discuss what we are to do now that Toomes is in prison." Lance told the Hydra leader. "He was the arms dealer we were looking at to supply our weapons."

"Well, obviously we can't use him now." Brock said in a rude tone, talking to Lance like he was stupid. Lance didn't like being talked down to like that but he had no choice since Rumlow was his superior. He put his feelings of resentment aside as he continued to try and find a solution to the situation they were currently in.

"Yes but we need to find an alternate solution." Lance suggested softly. "If we're ever to gain any footing in our opposition then we need weapons to fight with. We have none as of now."

Brock thought about what Collins just suggested before glancing back up at the screen that still displayed the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. He had never wanted the Viper Assassin more than he did in that moment. Brock briefly wondered if the self-righteous Captain America had completely ruined and softened the young girl with all his beliefs and ideals. He figured that it wouldn't matter much either way since he was bound and determined to get the Viper Assassin back. Brock could only imagine how the both of them would lead Hydra when she was back in his clutches again. With his princess at his side Hydra would be unstoppable. All the Avengers would cower in fear including whoever that idiot in the spider costume was. They'd kill Captain America together, getting the perfect revenge Brock always wanted as he watched the Viper Assassin kill her own grandfather in front of him. Maybe Brock would even let Emma keep her little Winter Soldier pet if they zapped him in the brain enough times. The Avengers would finally be finished, Brock thought gleefully as a new plan formed inside his head.

"That'll change." He told both Lance and Jorgen. "We'll do what I did after I escaped from the hospital in D.C. We'll raid police stations and military bases for weapons." Both Lance and Jorgen's eyes widened in surprise as they stared at Brock in disbelief.

"Excuse me, Sir, but that's absurd." Lance told Brock. "People will be aware of our increasing numbers. We'll be right back on the Avenger's radar." Brock snorted at Lance's concern.

"What Avengers? Most of them are in exile." Brock replied as he rolled his eyes. The mere thought of the Avengers disgusted him but he'd have his revenge soon and he'd also have his princess soon as well. "All that's left is Stark and that purple asshole. I heard that Colonel Rhodes is still recovering from his injuries. So that's what… Two Avengers? How intimidating..." He drawled in a bored tone.

"But Mr. Crossbones, sir?" Jorgen asked nervously with his thick Norwegian accent. "What about the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man? I don't know about Spider-Man but the Viper Assassin is dangerous, isn't she? She was trained by us and is a formidable force." Brock immediately glared at the stupid man.

"Don't tell me how dangerous the Viper Assassin is!" Brock growled at him and Jorgen immediately looked down in shame and fear. "I know! I was one of the ones who trained her. Leave the asset to me. She'll return to Hydra and help us against the Avengers." Lance raised his eyebrow at his superior as he gave Brock a doubtful look.

"She's a traitor, sir. She's no more likely to help us than we are to help the Avengers." The British replied and Brock gave him the death glare. Even Lance couldn't hide his fear at the deadly look on Brock's face.

"The girl belongs to Hydra and no one else." Brock said firmly before continuing. "The Avengers have her brainwashed but she'll be returned to us in no time. She's only spent a little over two and half years with them…she's spent nine years with us." Lance and Jorgen both exchanged doubtful looks with each other. For some reason they thought their leader might've been a little delusional as he said that. They couldn't really see the sense in thinking they could turn the Viper Assassin against the Avengers.

"In the mean time we'll lead raids and gain enough weapons to give to our growing numbers." Brock said as it were really that simple. Lance still seemed unsure but he knew that Brock had to be confident in Hydra's ability to acquire the weapons and that was all he needed.

"Then what will be our next step?" Lance inquired and Brock smirked evilly

"Acquiring the Viper Assassin of course. What else?" Brock stated and the other two Hydra agents looked up at him in shock. Lance shook his head furiously.

"That's insane! You're suggesting that we break through the barrier of Avengers and steal one of their prized possessions. It's not possible with the lack of weapons we have." Lance ranted hysterically but Brock only chuckled as he shook his head at him.

"There's only two Avengers we'd have to face. The others are gone and I say we take advantage of that." Brock told them strategically. "We'll acquire enough weapons to help in our efforts in returning the Viper Assassin back to Hydra, where she belongs might I add, and that's all we need. We'll save the other scumbag Avengers for another time when the Viper Assassin is truly on our side. A couple rounds in the memory suppressing machine and she'll be more loyal to Hydra than she ever was to the Avengers."

"It _would_ help our cause if we were able to reclaim the Viper Assassin." Lance said after listening to Brock's plan. He had to admit that it wasn't a bad plan even if it was kind of crazy. Lance was sure they'd face retaliation from the Avengers if they kidnapped the Viper Assassin but if they turned her against the Avengers than she'd help Hydra defeat them once and for all. It could actually surprisingly work if they were patient and disciplined enough.

"How long could a plan like that take?" Jorgen inquired curiously, gaining some courage to finally speak up.

"Until we've acquired enough weapons and men to successfully break into the Avenger's facility." Brock stated arrogantly. "I'm not worried about Stark. It's the Purple asshole that I'm more worried about which is why we need to find a way to get our hands on some Chitauri weaponry if we can."

"And what about Spider-Man?" Lance asked. "The Viper Assassin and Spider-Man seem to be considered partners. Whoever he is, he must stay close to the assassin's side. Should we be worried?" Brock gave Lance a look of disbelief as he scoffed.

"Who? That little circus freak in red tights?" Brock questioned before laughing. "Don't make me laugh, Collins." Lance nodded, accepting that as Brock's final answer on the subject of Spider-Man. Spider-Man was more a hero on rise and wasn't as well known as the other Avengers. Lance didn't even think that Spider-Man was an official Avenger either from what he'd seen in the headlines. He seemed to be more of an associate just as the Viper Assassin was.

"I'd give it a few months before we make any attempt to attack the Avenger's Facility." Brock continued to say as his subordinates listened to him intently. "We need to make sure we're ready. Until then, we'll just engage in raids until we're strong enough to launch an infiltration of the facility."

"Of course, sir." Lance said agreeably.

"Okay, I think we're done discussing plans for now." Brock announced as he looked at the two agents. "You're both dismissed." Agent Collins and Agent Nygard both nodded respectfully at their leader as they stood up straighter.

"Hail Hydra!" They called out formally as they lifted both their arms up in the official salute. The second the salute was over the two agents quickly left the room and left Brock to his own devices. For that he was glad.

Brock immediately took off his helmet, revealing his severely scarred and deformed face. He sighed as he felt the cold air against his face. That was one of the few things he was able to feel these days. The accident had damaged his pain receptors so much that he was no longer dragged down by the feeling of pain. There was just numbness but Brock still hated the way he looked. What would his princess say when she saw him like this? He wouldn't be the same person she remembered but Brock knew that she'd accept him eventually nonetheless.

He quickly took a worn looking picture out of his pocket as he remembered Emma once more. It was the picture of her from the protest…the most recent picture he had of her and one he had printed out. He admired the determined look on her face as she walked down the street with a megaphone in hand. Brock gently caressed the picture as he continued to stare at the girl in it. He couldn't help but notice that she was looking even more like Margot these days. The only thing that really set them apart was the girl's blonde hair and blue eyes. Her eyes were something that Brock could ignore…he found he quite liked those big blue eyes anyways. Her hair, however, was something he definitely couldn't put up with. It reminded him too much of Rogers…too much of Margot's beloved Captain America Jr. He supposed a bottle of red hair dye could fix that problem and then she'd look exactly like his Margot. She'd be better than the original actually…the perfect Margot Pierce.

"We'll be together again, Margot." Brock spoke softly to the picture. "Just like I promised."

Brock continued to stare at the picture, completely delusional, as he imagined having the Viper Assassin at his side. They would take down the Avengers which would be a huge milestone for Hydra but it was Captain America and Margot's old partner that he really wanted. He would just love to see the look on their faces as the Viper Assassin turned against them and murdered them once and for all. Brock knew that with his princess's help that he could finally get his revenge against the two individuals that took everything from him.

The Viper Assassin was the key to getting his revenge.


	50. Chapter Forty Seven

**Author's Note: Okay this is the first chapter of Part III: Little Of Your Love. I debated a lot over what to call this part and I even might've informed some readers that I was going to name this part 'Don't Save Me' but I ultimately decided to name it after a different Haim song. Little of Your Love. It was between that, 'Don't Save Me', and 'Something to Tell You'. So I'm following the tradition of naming my titles after songs although this is the first time I'm not naming something after a Florence+The Machine song. lol. I think the song fits in with what I'm going for in Part III.**

 **Also...this is going to be really weird but the first chapter of Part III doesn't contain Emma or Peter in it. I know you're probably dying to see what they're up to but they'll definitely be back in the next chapter which I'm working on right now. This chapter actually takes place before Emma and Peter were even born. Part III is going to be centered a lot around Emma's past and this is kind of her past. The first chapter of Part III is more like a prologue than a first chapter but I think you guys will definitely be interested in what's within the chapter. I'm not going to be having chapters like these often but after every few chapters that takes place in present day, I'm going to have a chapter like this one so you get to know Emma's history a bit better. It's not going to be like every other chapter though. Just every once and a while.**

 **Radioactive88: I seriously love your reviews. You make me laugh so much. Yeah, Emma's definitely not going to be cool with Darcy saying that in front of everyone. Before she wouldn't have cared as much because she wasn't in love with Peter yet but now it's different because she is in love with him.**

 **I kind of do that with Emma on purpose. She thinks, in her own way, that she's actually being nice. Emma's thinks that's what complimenting people is supposed to be like. She doesn't even really realize that she's insulting them at the same time and I think Tony and everyone knows Emma well enough to know that she means well.**

 **May sees Emma as a highly trained individual as well as being enhanced so she considers Peter safe with Emma. May's still getting used to the fact that Peter isn't this defenseless kid but I think him sticking by Emma's side would make her more comfortable. She automatically trusts Emma because she knows Emma saved Peter from the collapsing building so how could she not trust her?**

 **Emma does love seeing Tony being yelled at and in a state of peril. They're on better terms now but she'll always love seeing that.**

 **I know, I know. I referred to him as Brock because that part of the chapter was mainly in his perspective. I tried referring to him as Rumlow but it looked weird to me. Rumlow is really deranged and delusional but at the same time very obsessed and fixated with Emma. A lot of rapists are so arrogant and egotistical that they think their victims wanted it and they don't even really consider it rape. I'm still deciding whether or not I want Emma to kill Rumlow. She kind of made a promise to Steve not to kill again and I don't really know if Peter would be cool with it. Maybe if he knew the truth than he would. If not her, I'll probably have someone else like Bucky, Steve, Tony, or even Clint kill him. Actually...if people could tell me whether or not they think Emma should kill Rumlow that would be huge help. I'm super conflicted over it and would like some insight.**

 **Crazyman844: It felt a little repetitive and long to write the scene with May but it was needed. She wasn't just going to be cool with Peter being Spider-Man.**

 **CreatingDreams: Glad to hear that you've been with the story so long. I teared up when I wrote Tony and Emma's argument after the ferry incident. I had it in my head for months but putting the words to paper was really tough.**

 **ImsebastianstanButter: I'll see what I can do. I'll probably update again before Tuesday at least once but I'll see if I can update on Tuesday. Hopefully I can.**

 **I'd like to say that I don't own any of the songs in this story. I also don't own 'Call Me' which actually belongs to Blondie.**

 **Sorry again for not responding to every review but I really want to work on the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews and let me know what you think of this chapter. It's super different and I think you'll be really interested in it.**

* * *

 **Part III: Little Of Your Love  
**

* * *

 **Shield Headquarters**

 **Manhattan, New York**

 **1998**

 _'_ _Cover me with kisses, baby'_

 _'Cover me with love'_

 _'Roll me in designer sheets'_

 _'I'll never get enough'_

 _'Emotions come, I don't know why'_

 _'Cover up love's alibi'_

 _'_ _Call me (call me) on the line'_

 _'Call me, call me any, anytime'_

 _'Call me (call me) oh my love'_

 _'When you're ready we can share the wine'_

 _'Call me'_

Margot Pierce bobbed her head along to 'Call Me' by Blondie as she listened to the song through her headphones and portable CD player before making her way into Shield headquarters, flashing her badge at the security guard positioned at the front entrance. She greeted him, giving him a kind smile as she said good morning. The building was a little flashy for the redhead's liking but she guessed that's the way Director Fury liked it. Margot took a long sip from her coffee as she entered the elevator of the building and pressed the button for the sixteenth floor. A bunch of other Shield agents piled into the elevator and Margot greeted them with a small smile before she let herself become lost in the lyrics of the song again. There wasn't anyone she was especially friendly with in the elevator so she saw no need to tear herself away from her music. While she was usually a pretty social person with anyone around, she was a little too caught up in her music to want to engage in any small talk in an elevator at the moment…at least that was until someone spoke up from beside her.

"Is that a level seven issued badge?" Jasper Sitwell asked curiously from the left of her. The thirty five year old woman lifted one headphone off her ear as she raised her eyebrows at him, indicating that she hadn't heard him. Margot honestly didn't know Jasper Sitwell that much. He was a rather young Shield agent who had only joined the agency the year before. She recognized him as one of Phil Coulson's trainees.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help but notice that your badge says level seven now." Jasper repeated, blushing as he did so. The young agent was at least a decade younger than Margot but he was very much in awe of the almost legendary Shield agent. She had made quite the name for herself in the ten years she had been working at Shield. Margot laughed nervously, scrunching up her nose in a cute way when she laughed, before glancing momentarily at the glossy card that displayed her Shield ID which was now complete with her new clearance level.

"Yeah. I just got it last week." Margot replied and Jasper nodded before looking slightly frustrated with himself.

"And to think I'm still on level three." Jasper muttered to himself and Margot gave him a sympathetic look. She knew what it was like just starting out in Shield. You so badly wanted to progress and advance enough to start doing field missions. It was frustrating being on the sidelines.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Jasper." Margot told him reassuringly. "You're only in your first year and you've already gotten to level three. It took me two and a half years before I got to level three. You'll do great here." Jasper smiled at the kind and friendly redhead. It was well known around Shield how incredibly friendly and chatty Margot Pierce was. She was a fair contrast to the other Shield agents who always wore stoic and serious expressions. Margot Pierce was a very warm and friendly person that everyone couldn't help but like. It must've been her charisma and those vibrant emerald green eyes.

"Thanks, Margot." Jasper told her. "I guess that mission in Singapore went really well then?" Margot just gave the younger agent an amused smile.

"Come on, Jasper." Margot warned playfully. "You know I can't discuss anything like that. It's classified." Jasper rolled his eyes before laughing.

"Yeah, I get it. Level Seven and all that jazz." Jasper said before he remembered something suddenly. "That reminds me. I hear that crazy partner of yours is finally out of the hospital." Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at this new information, completely unaware of what Jasper just told her.

"Really? I didn't know that." Margot said in confusion. "He never told me anything. I just saw him yesterday and he didn't say he was being released anytime soon." Jasper just shrugged.

"Well, Sabrina, on the fourteenth floor, said that she saw him this morning. Apparently he's on desk duty now until he makes a full recovery." Jasper informed her and Margot shook her head in disbelief, not believing her partner was really so absent-minded that he'd completely forget to tell her something important like that. Sometimes she would never understand the mind of that man. Margot then politely thanked Jasper for telling her that information before she got lost in her own thoughts as she reflected on the past.

It was a long story as to how Margot had gotten to be a level seven clearance level Shield agent. Well…not especially long. Margot Pierce had an extremely lavish childhood, being the daughter of a rather important politician, but at the same time she had a boring childhood because she also had a workaholic for a father. Margot never minded that her father worked so much. While she obviously loved her father...she just wasn't sure if she necessarily liked him. He was very temperamental and always seemed to bring his work home with him when actually did come home. Margot spent a lot of time with her mother growing up which was something she never minded. Her mom was almost like her best friend in a way.

When Margot graduated from high school she immediately enlisted in the Air force. She had always had a fascination with aviation ever since she was a child and her grandfather would tell her old war stories from when he was in the 101st Airborne Division in the Army during World War II. Her father of course hadn't been happy about that but when was he ever happy with any decision she made? Her mother had been extremely supportive of her decision as her lovely mother always seemed to be.

After serving three years in the Air force she returned to the states to attend college. She majored in Spanish at the University of Florida which Margot probably wouldn't have done if she was the person she was now. There was nothing wrong with majoring in a language but Margot did it for several stupid reasons. She remembered as a teenage girl finding the Spanish language to be a very romantic language and having teenage fantasies of traveling to Spain so that she woo Julio Iglesias and somehow make him fall in love with her. Margot would never understand the teenage version of herself.

Anyways…so twenty one year old Margot thought it was perfectly reasonable to follow her teenage dream and be an expert on the Spanish language. Little did she know that during her last year of college she would actually get to a spend a semester living in a Spanish speaking country. Unfortunately that country was not the country where the famous Spanish crooner lived. No, it was actually Columbia.

Margot just had to be one of the most unluckiest people in the world because on the one day she decided to be the dutiful daughter and visit her father, with much urging from her mother, when he was working at the embassy in Bogota she was taken hostage by a group of rebels. She probably would've died too thanks to her father's policies and negotiating tactics but Nick Fury, at the head of a military operation, stormed the basement where they were being held. He rescued her and the rest of the hostages from being killed. Margot just remembered being in awe of Fury's badassery as well as being pissed that her father's preference of foreign policy had almost gotten her killed. Fury was so amused by the way she had chewed out her father in front of a bunch of political officers that he suggested that she might interested in what Shield had to offer. It turned out that Margot was very interested in joining Shield…as well as pissing off her father.

That was basically the extent of how she ended up at Shield and Margot never regretted any of it. Shield didn't really leave any time for settling down and starting a family but Margot didn't really mind. She kept herself plenty busy with missions and the paperwork that came with missions. Despite her father's doubts, Margot managed to have a very successful career in Shield. It was the one thing Margot was proud of herself for.

* * *

The elevator doors finally opened to the sixteenth floor, snapping Margot out of her thoughts as some of the agents began to file out of the elevator. Margot quickly exited the elevator and made it just in time as the doors closed but as she made a move to walk down the hallway, she was held back. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked behind her to see if someone was tugging on the back of her jacket. It was then that she was able to see that the elevator doors had closed on the back of her jacket. Great, she thought to herself, this is just what I needed on a Monday morning. Margot tried tugging on the fabric but it wouldn't budge. This was typical.

Suddenly, Margot saw a hand take the fabric of the jacket, trapped in the elevator doors, and yank it out before the elevator moved again. Margot sighed in relief as the person who had helped chuckled at the same time. She instantly knew by their laugh who that person was. The redhead turned and saw none other than her assigned partner laughing at her. Margot glared at the smug looking Clint Barton.

"Stop laughing at me, Barton!" Margot exclaimed as she playfully glared at him while the idiot actually laughed at her expense. While glaring at one of her closest friends, Margot assessed his state at the same time. After a recent mission together Clint got injured pretty bad. He was in the ICU for a couple of days and certainly had Margot worried sick. Thankfully, he came out of it eventually and had been on bed rest at the hospital for the rest of the week. Although he never even seemed to mention that he was returning to work so soon during the several times Margot had gone to visit him. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary about the sandy haired younger agent save for the fact he had a cast on his right arm. His cast was even complete with a sling and everything.

"Seriously, Pierce…How the hell did you get level seven clearance?" Clint asked her sarcastically. "Are they just putting level seven clearance levels in Captain Crunch cereal boxes now? Are they finally replacing those lame plastic flashlight prizes?" Margot rolled her eyes at her friend as they began to walk down the long hallway.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Margot replied. "And how do you know what the box prize is for Captain Crunch anyways, Barton? Huh? How is it that you would know that?" Clint's eyes widened as he blushed, realizing that he had been caught. He then shook his head as he playfully glared at her.

"Whatever. Fine. We'll drop this." Clint mumbled and Margot just shook her head in amusement at the younger man. In all honesty Margot really enjoyed the playful banter she always shared with Clint. Clint was her best friend despite the eight years that stood between them. They instantly clicked the moment Fury assigned him as her partner three years before. Clint was yet another trainee of Phil Coulson who even trained Margot when she first joined Shield.

Margot hadn't been sure how she'd feel about Clint at first, seeing as the other partners she had for previous missions never seemed to like her. Most of them found her to be too chatty and if it wasn't that it was because they thought her father bought her way in. Please…like her father would ever do anything for her benefit. Clint, however, was different than the other agents. He never seemed to mind her chattiness and even turned out to be quite the social butterfly himself once she finally got to know him. After spending five weeks in Madrid together on a mission, Margot and Clint were quite inseparable.

"How did you get released from the hospital anyways? You never mentioned potentially being released." Margot said as Clint shrugged.

"I bugged Fury enough times from over the phone that he finally just gave in and made the hospital let me go." Clint explained to her nonchalantly as Margot shook her head in disbelief.

"You're really something, Barton." Margot commented, still amused by the antics of her friend. "That's a nice cast that you got there. I can sign it for you if you want." Clint glowered at the itchy cast on his arm.

"No thanks. I'm already on desk duty for two months as it is." Clint said, nearly pouting and Margot understood how annoying it was to be on desk duty. She once broke her leg on a mission a few years back and had been on desk duty for three months. Desk duty was always the worst.

"You'll be fine, Clint…you'll be back to shooting your little cupid arrows in no time." Margot teased and Clint scoffed.

"You're not funny, Pierce." Clint retorted before he heard a strange noise coming from Margot's direction. He rolled his eyes when he finally realized where it was coming from. The archer saw the pair of headphones now hanging loosely around the redhead's neck. Everyone knew that Margot never left her apartment without her portable CD player, headphones, and her set of CDs that she always carried around in that suitcase she called a purse.

"Do you shower with that thing too?" Clint asked her sarcastically and Margot laughed.

"Of course not. Don't you like music like most human beings do?" She asked him and Clint nodded.

"Yeah but I don't burn my playlist onto a CD like a little nerd." Clint teased before grabbing her pair of headphones from around her neck. Margot glared at him as he pressed one end of the headphones up to his ear before making a face at what he heard. He quickly handed the headphones back to Margot.

"You listen to the cheesiest '80s music, you know that?" Clint told her and Margot gave him an offended look. "Seriously…Bette Davis Eyes? Did that Cher song not make the cut for your CD?"

"I love Kim Carnes and everyone knows that the eighties was the best decade for music." Margot said defensively. Clint just smiled at the older woman as he shook his head in amusement. He'd never get tired of these weird conversations he always had with her. Margot was like the crazy older sister he never had.

"Well, I personally think the seventies was the best but to each their own, I guess." Clint said as Margot began to put her headphones back in her purse to join her CD player as well as all the other useless crap as Clint liked to call it. "On a more serious note, Fury is going to call you into his office soon." Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at her friend. Wait…what?

"Why?" Margot asked him.

"Well, since I'm going to be on desk duty for the next two months, Fury's assigning you a new partner." Clint informed her, looking very relaxed, but Margot's eyes widened in both surprise and horror at the news. A new partner? No…that couldn't be right. Clint was her partner and her only partner. They were never intimate or anything like that in the past but she was the most comfortable with Clint out of anyone else.

"But I don't want a new partner." Margot said, sounding very panicked. Clint rolled his eyes at her before grinning.

"Relax, Pierce. You can't get rid of me that easily." Clint told her teasingly before continuing. "This is only temporarily." Margot visibly and internally relaxed when Clint told her that.

"Well that's good. You really had me worried there for a second." Margot said, sounding very relieved. An excited and smug look then came over Clint's face as if he knew something that Margot didn't.

"You'll never guess who he's assigning you either." Clint said tauntingly and Margot raised an eyebrow in question.

"No. Who?" Margot asked him curiously and Clint grinned at her.

"Agent Rogers." Margot's eyes immediately widened as she took in that information. Agent Rogers? That couldn't possibly be what Clint had told her if he was talking about who she thought he was talking about. Steven Rogers? The guy was a legend in Shield and was quite possibly one of the most decorated Shield agents in Shield history. Of course there was also the fact that he was the son of Captain America and Peggy Carter…the offspring of two of the most legendary people in World War II history. There was also a rumor going around that he was up for the position of deputy director and Margot wouldn't doubt it. Although recently she heard that Agent Rogers had been undercover for the past year somewhere off the coast of Africa…something about illegal weapons dealers. Apparently Agent Rogers was level nine and not even Margot was privy to level nine intel since she only had a level seven clearance level.

"Agent Rogers?" Margot asked in disbelief. "Agent Rogers as in Steven Rogers? The very same Agent Rogers who captured and arrested that nut job last year? What was his name? Victor Von Doom, I think it was?" The arrest had been a big milestone for Shield as they finally caught the insane madman that had been causing havoc all over the city.

"Yeah, Von Doom. And don't forget that other lunatic back in the seventies. Bullseye. What kind of messed up villain name is that? He was practically asking to be caught with a name like that." Clint said, scoffing at the idea of the notorious psychopathic assassin that gave the world a fright back in the seventies. Margot was only a teenager when Bullseye made a name for himself as his name appeared on the news nearly every week whenever a politician or judge ended up dead somewhere. The crime scenes were always horrendously gory according to rumors. The defeat and death of Bullseye by Agent Rogers' hands became the milestone in his career that made him the legendary Shield agent that he was today. "Anyways…apparently Fury's got a mission all lined up for you two."

Margot didn't really believe that she was being assigned to work with Agent Rogers. She had never met or seen the guy but she had heard plenty about him. Apparently he was the kind of Shield agent who was a real stickler for the rules and kept a serious composure all the time. Margot knew immediately that they probably weren't going to get along. Serious Shield agents like that never liked her. They thought she was silly and didn't take herself or her job seriously which was completely untrue. Margot took her job very seriously. She became a completely different person when the moment called for it. That didn't mean she had to be a stick in the mud the other seventy five percent of the time when the moment didn't call for it.

Clint continued to walk Margot over to Fury's office while Margot could only feel nervous as she tried to brace herself for a meeting with the famous Agent Rogers. What was she going to say to him? Would they get along? Would he think she ridiculous like all the other Shield agents did? Margot didn't think she had felt this nervous about a mission since her very first one, way back when she first started working at Shield. They finally stopped outside Fury's office but Margot made no move to enter since the door was closed and she could hear voices coming from inside. It looked like they were going to have to wait until they were called in.

"How much do you wanna bet that Coulson's gonna have his trading cards ready for when he meets Rogers?" Clint asked her in good humor and Margot rolled her eyes at the younger man. He could be so immature sometimes. "Because I'm willing to bet one hundred dollars that he will."

"So he collects Captain America trading cards...some people have hobbies outside of work, you know." Margot informed him as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you have a hobby? And don't say shooting your bow because that's not really a hobby. That's your job…as medieval of a weapon as it is." Clint glared at her.

"I have hobbies." Clint protested weakly as he thought long and hard about what hobbies he might've had. "I…Well, I go to the movies all the time. I just saw that new Kevin Costner movie before our last mission. What kind of hobbies do _you_ have, anyways? What? Do you just sit around and make playlists all the day?"

"No, I don't actually." Margot retorted, scoffing before continuing. "I'm actually taking knitting classes, I'll have you know. And going to see Kevin Costner movies doesn't count as a hobby. If it did than that would be everyone's hobby."

"Wow…A level seven Shield agent that can knit. You have to be the most terrifying Shield agent." Clint said sarcastically and Margot glared at him playfully.

"Well, then…if you don't have a hobby than you should at least get a girlfriend." Margot told him teasingly as she smiled at him. "Come on, Barton. You're twenty seven now and you're not getting any younger." Clint smirked at her before he leaned in a little closer to the redhead flirtatiously.

"Maybe I _would_ have a girlfriend if you'd ever give me the time of day, Pierce." Clint told her suggestively but Margot knew that he was only joking around with her. Margot and Clint were completely platonic and she never saw him like that. He was the little brother she never had in her eyes.

"You're a little too young for me, Clint. Sorry." Margot said as she then reached over and pinched Clint's cheek affectionately. "Look at that baby face." Clint smacked her hand away but laughed as he did so. This was why Margot enjoyed the friendship she had with her partner. It was always easy like this between them. They could be so carefree and laid back with each other which is something they needed in this line of work.

"Don't make me sick." A voice said from a short distance away. Margot and Clint turned to look at the person speaking only for the smiles on their faces to vanish the instant they saw who it was. Brock Rumlow stood across from them as he glared at the both of them... well, as he glared at Clint at least. Margot had to fight the urge to give the man a disgusted look but this was the workplace. She had to remain professional. "Can you two ever stop flirting?" The tone of Rumlow's voice made it clear that he wasn't teasing them playfully. His voice was full of disgust and coldness.

"Can you ever stop being an asshole?" Clint shot back at him and Margot elbowed him in the ribs. As professional Shield agents they weren't supposed to talk like that amongst each other in the workplace. Clint, like always, ignored Margot's silent warning as he continued to glare at Rumlow who glared back. Margot may have been blind to Rumlow's secret intentions but Clint knew that Rumlow wasn't actually disgusted at them. No, he was actually jealous. Clint's partner could really be blind to the true intentions of people sometimes. He blamed it on the redhead's kind nature despite seeing a lot of horrible things in this world. Her kindness was always unchanging.

"You're a disgrace to Shield, Barton." Rumlow spat at Clint as he continued to glare at the archer. "Make sure to actually remain professional during desk duty. We wouldn't want anyone to think the only thing you're good at is shooting arrows at people's asses."

Clint was about to make an angry retort to Rumlow's jab but was stopped by Rumlow himself as the older man walked over to Margot. He gave Margot a smug smirk that revolted the redhead. She didn't know why but there was just something about him that really creeped her out. Margot supposed that it might've been his dark eyes that had a cold and mean look to them. It was times like these that she even forgot that they used to date once upon a time.

"It's nice seeing you, Margot." Brock told her with a certain amount of malice in his voice. Margot felt rather nervous under his intense gaze but managed to maintain her composure.

"Yeah…it's nice seeing you too, Brock." Margot replied as she gave him an odd look, sounding quite unsure of herself as she spoke. Mostly because she didn't think it was really nice to see him at all. It never was.

"Maybe we could get a drink one of these days?" Brock said suggestively as he continued to smirk at her and Margot was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute. "You know…for old time's sake." Margot nodded hesitantly as she glanced at Clint for support who just to continued to glare at Rumlow.

"Yeah…sure." Margot replied which really meant no. Rumlow always asked her out whenever he had the chance but Margot always politely declined his offer. If there was one thing about Shield that she didn't like than it was the fact that Rumlow was there. She honestly didn't know why he was working for Shield. Margot had been training as a rookie agent for six months when her former high school sweetheart showed up out of nowhere and began his own training. She guessed that the universe really was that cruel to her.

"See you later then, Margot." Brock told her before abruptly walking away and Margot watched him go cautiously. He turned around a corner before immediately disappearing from sight. Margot felt relieved that he was finally gone. It was silent for a moment before either Margot and Clint spoke up.

"I can't believe you ever dated that asshole." Clint said suddenly, immediately breaking the silence as Margot groaned.

"Ugh…don't remind me." Margot told him. It was true…her and Rumlow had dated when they were in high school. Grown up Margot honestly didn't know what teenage Margot had been thinking. Rumlow had been on the football team and he was kind of cute back then so when he asked her out she said yes. It was a mistake that Margot would probably forever regret.

"What did you ever see in him?" Clint asked her, honestly wanting to know what would make someone as kind and pleasant as Margot date someone as vile and cruel as Rumlow. Margot sighed as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know…he was the first boy to ask me out, I guess." Margot answered and Clint snorted as he shook his head.

"So you were desperate?" He retorted and Margot gave him an offended look.

"I was _not_ desperate." She said defensively and Clint gave her a look. Margot shoulders sagged as she realized that Clint was right. "Fine…I was a little bit desperate but I was only sixteen. Sixteen year old girls can be really stupid."

"So what was the reason you dumped his sorry ass anyways?" Clint asked her curiously, legitimately interested in Margot and Rumlow's former relationship. It was an extremely interesting thought…those two being together. "I mean…I'm sure there was a hundred reasons because he's Rumlow but what was the main one?" Margot just shrugged before she answered his question.

"I think he cheated or something." Margot said as she thought back to her high school years. It was hard to think about that time of her life because Margot did some really crazy things back then. Well, she did date Rumlow which was insane but there was also the fact that she once dyed her hair a platinum blonde color because she was obsessed with Debbie Harry. "He used to do weird things too but I'm pretty sure it was because he cheated. I don't know…it was so long ago."

"What a dick." Clint commented but Margot didn't seem that broken up over something that happened years ago. It honestly didn't bother her and Margot tried to put all that behind her. She really didn't want to remember the fact that her and Rumlow ever dated. Margot felt sick just thinking about it.

"It's not like I was heartbroken over it or anything. I think I cried for like fifteen minutes and then I completely forgot about it." Margot said as she smiled in amusement at the memory. She remembered being sixteen and full out sobbing one minute and then the next she was sitting in her living room calmly watching _Happy Days_. Margot could always count on the Fonze to make her forget about her stupid ex boyfriend.

"So are you excited to meet Rogers?" Clint asked with feigned enthusiasm as he changed the subject and Margot laughed nervously. She really was a little excited to meet Agent Rogers. How could she not be? He was the talk of Shield and Margot had to admit that it was quite impressive that he managed to maintain his reputation he had since he must've been in his early fifties by now. It probably had something to do with having Captain America's super serum running through his veins.

"Yes. I don't think he'll be excited to meet me…I don't even think he'll even be happy to work with me after he meets me." Margot said negatively and Clint just shook his head.

"Come on, Margot. Don't talk about yourself like that." Clint told her before continuing. "You're one of the top agents that Shield has. Everyone knows your track record…your missions have a success rate of eight nine percent. The average success rate at Shield is seventy one percent."

"I don't know, Clint." Margot said sadly. "I've been told that I'm too cheerful and chatty at times." The archer gave her a look of disbelief.

"What? You're not a great agent because you don't have a stick up your ass like everyone else here does?" Clint scoffed. "You're the only one in this whole place that I'd ever want to work with. You're the best agent here and I've learned so much from you. If Rogers can't see that than the old man must be going blind."

"Wow…Clint. You really have a way with words." Margot said sarcastically but smiled at her partner in amusement. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Don't worry. This is only temporary." Clint said as he returned her smile. "I'll be back in action in no time and then you'll be back to saving my ass like always." Margot laughed softly at Clint before their attention was taken away by Director Fury's office door opening and a mesmerized Phil Coulson coming out. Coulson seemed to be in a slightly dazed state as he wandered out in front of them. Margot and Clint both exchanged a look before looking over at Coulson.

"Coulson? You okay there, buddy?" Clint asked the agent in amusement. It appeared that did the trick in snapping the agent out of his state. He blushed in embarrassment before turning to look at Margot.

"Fury says that you can come in now." Coulson told her and Margot just nodded as she also smiled in amusement at him. It was so unlike Coulson to act like this but she supposed that's what happened when you met your idol's son for the first time. Margot imagined she'd act the same way if she ever met Debbie Harry or Bonnie Tyler.

"Okay, Phil. Will do." Margot told him before glancing back over at Clint who gave her an encouraging smile.

"Good luck." He told her and Margot smiled at him. She then turned around, making her way inside Fury's office and leaving both Clint and Coulson out in the hallway. She hoped that Clint would be okay without her. Honestly...she hoped that she'd be okay without Clint.

* * *

Director Fury's office was as modern looking of an office that one would expect the head of a large agency to have. Margot knew better than to assume that Fury was a stylish man. She knew him well enough, after all these years, to know that he was a man who could survive at the top of the food chain or at the bottom. All he needed was his resources and nothing could keep the director down. Fury was the first one she noticed in the office as she obediently closed the door behind her. He was sitting behind his large mahogany desk with stacks upon stacks of paperwork littering almost every surface of his desk.

The eye capturing trait about the African American man, however, was the black eye patch over his left eye. No one really knew the exact reason as to why Fury needed an eye patch. When Margot met him he hadn't needed the eye patch but something happened a couple years back which made him suddenly start wearing the eye patch. However, Fury wouldn't say anything about it and none of them were stupid enough to ask. Margot then shifted her gaze to the other person in the room.

The infamous Agent Steven Rogers stood in front of Fury's desk as he gave her a curious look. It was strange to look at the man since Margot hadn't expected him to be so attractive. Margot supposed that was a little rude of her to assume. Just because a person was middle aged didn't mean that they couldn't be attractive anymore. Harrison Ford was technically middle aged now but he was still attractive. Steven Rogers stood at least a foot taller than Margot's short 5'3 height, causing the agent to tower over her. His hair didn't even appear to have any gray in it yet as it was still a nice golden blonde color without even a receding hairline as must men had at that age. Coulson was only a couple years older than Margot and he was already getting a receding hairline. It also struck her as to how muscular the older man was but she guessed that's what happened when your dad was a super soldier. Steven Rogers looked alarmingly young for his age, looking to be in his early forties instead of his early fifties. However, the feature that stuck out the most to Margot was his mesmerizing blue eyes that were so blue in color that they immediately reminded her of the ocean.

"Agent Pierce, I'd like you to meet Agent Rogers." Fury loudly announced, breaking Margot out of her assessment of Steven Rogers. She was a little embarrassed that she had basically checked him out and sincerely hoped that she hadn't been staring too long. Great that's just what she needed…to be caught leering at a man that was nearly old enough to be her father.

"It's nice to meet you, Agent Rogers." Margot said formally as she held her hand out for him to shake. Steven gave her a charming and kind smile that immediately made his blue eyes pop as he gave her hand a firm shake. Margot nearly swooned at his smile and immediately swore at herself mentally.

"You too, Agent Pierce. I've heard a lot of nice things." Steven told her politely before letting go of her hand. Margot blushed under his intense gaze as she tried to maintain her composure. Fury looked at the redheaded agent in amusement. He was used to the impact that the very good looking Agent Rogers seemed to have on the female agents of Shield. It seemed like even Agent Pierce wasn't immune to the blonde haired man's natural charm.

"I decided to assign the two of you as partners temporarily." Fury told the two agents as he decided to get on with the reason why he brought Margot into this. "With your partner on desk duty for the current time being, Pierce, I decided it was would be wise to assign you to Rogers' mission. I think you'll have a lot to contribute in this circumstance."

"I don't understand, Sir." Margot said in confusion. She didn't really understand why Fury picked her, of all agents, to be Agent Rogers' partner for a mission. In all honesty she was really confused. Margot basically knew nothing about the mission and only found out that she was going on a mission thirty minutes ago…by Clint. What was Fury playing at? "What's this all about?"

"You majored in the Spanish language in college, correct?" Fury inquired even though he already knew the answer to that.

"Well, yes." Margot replied, unsure as to where Fury was going with this.

"And you're familiar with the file on Santiago Salazar, right?" Fury asked and Margot immediately blushed as she was under the close scrutiny of the director as well as a level nine agent. Santiago Salazar was one of the most famous and wealthiest drug dealers in the world. He had taken over the empire of drug dealing after Pablo Escobar was killed a few years prior. He was loved by the Mexican people, his own people, but hated by many law enforcement agencies in the states for being impossible to pin anything on. Salazar was remarkably good at slipping out of the hands of law enforcement. His record was clean and there was nothing they could do legally to prove that he wasn't clean.

"Those files are perfectly public to any level seven agent." Margot weakly defended, fearful that Fury was going to accuse her of accessing confidential files. She knew the rules better than anyone so she knew it was perfectly okay for her to be reading files like that but the redhead was still getting used to being a level seven agent. Agent Rogers gave her an amused look and she blushed once more. Damn it. Why was he so good looking?

"I'm well aware of that, Pierce." Fury said as he looked back at her. "The reason I'm asking is because your mission with Agent Rogers involves keeping close surveillance over Salazar." Margot raised an eyebrow at that. Since when was Shield interested in drug dealers? Wasn't that the DEA's job?

"We believe that Salazar is in the business of dealing weapons as well." Agent Rogers added as he gave her a serious look. "He was photographed having a meeting with a couple known members of the Yakuza, the Japanese mob, two days ago in Juarez." The blonde man then handed Margot a file that showed pictures taken of the familiar looking drug dealer. Salazar looked to be in a deep discussion with two very familiar looking Japanese men.

"How do we know that he's dealing weapons now too?" Margot asked, her demeanor immediately changing into a more professional and serious one as she went into agent mode.

"I have an informant that said that Salazar's received a couple large shipments of weapons." Rogers informed her and Margot raised an eyebrow as she looked at him from over the file.

"And it's not for his own business?" She inquired and Rogers immediately shook his head at her.

"He's received five large shipments of weapons just in the last week and this stuff is beyond anything a Mexican drug dealer would supply his men with. Take a look at the pictures." Rogers told her and Margot curiously flipped through the photographs to find the pictures that Rogers was talking about. She paused when she found something slightly disturbing and at the same time bewildering. Margot knew that she had found what Rogers was talking about.

In her hands was the picture of several large weapons that looked to be beyond the kind of weapons a Mexican drug dealer would be able to get his hands on…even if he was one of the wealthiest in the world. Margot saw large advanced looking missiles, guns, and even prototypes of metal armor. She tried to look for an insignia on the weapons but couldn't find any. Margot wished that there was more pictures but those were probably the only ones that Rogers' informant was able to take.

"You think someone's giving Salazar these weapons to sell?" Margot asked as she put two and two together. Rogers and Fury exchanged a look before looking back at her. While the redhead acted a little ditzy at times she was actually very intelligent, keeping a calm and collected composure when the occasion called for it.

"We're certain." Rogers told her softly before continuing. It was clear to Margot that Rogers had probably been working on this case for a long time."We just don't know who."

"We're hoping that you might be able to help with that." Fury told Margot seriously as he took over from there. "You've had a lot of experience with the Yakuza. Do you have any idea who those two men in the picture might be?" Margot sighed as she immediately nodded. She knew who those two men were from the moment she saw them.

"Hiroshi Okada and Yasu Tanaka." Margot answered as she recollected a mission from a few years ago. It was before Margot and Clint were partners. When Margot was only a level four agent and Shield was short handed so they sent her and another agent to Japan to spy on the Yakuza. Margot and the other female agent were supposed to pose as two air headed models seeking work in Tokyo. Their main goal was to capture the eye of a couple of men from the Yakuza, that had a certain fondness for American women, and hopefully be able to keep surveillance of the mob. The mission mostly worked out. They were able to arrest seven major members of the mob as well as their subordinates in an illegal weapons and drug bust but unfortunately the other agent, assigned to the mission, lost her life quite tragically.

"What do you know about them?" Fury asked her, immediately snapping Margot out of one of her sad recollections. She had never actually met Okada or Tanaka but she had heard enough about them to know who they were.

"They're from one of the largest crime families in Japan which operates primarily in Tokyo. I never met them personally because they were from a different clan than the one we were spying on." Margot told the both of them before continuing.

"I know that they're ruthless and a lot more brutal than any other clan in the area." Margot informed them as a haunted look came over her face. "They believe in a messed up form of honor. When someone wrongs their clan, Okada and Tanaka has that person's entire family tortured and murdered. They make the parents watch as they murder and decapitate the children before gauging the parent's eyes out. They cut their tongues and ears off too, leaving them to bleed out until they die a very slow and painful death." Rogers gave her a sympathetic look as she snapped out of her haunted state. He understood what it was like seeing such gruesome and tragic things. This line of work did some good but it also made you see a lot of terrible things.

"This is why I'm assigning you to help Rogers for this mission, Pierce. You're very familiar with the kind of people Salazar surrounds himself with as well as how these people work." Fury said a stoic expression on his face as he looked between both of the agents before he continued.

"Your mission is to keep watch over Salazar. Salazar is your priority in this mission." Fury said seriously, trying to make sure they understood that they were not to prioritize anything else. "He's going to be the key in finding out just who's giving him these weapons to sell."

"You're going to be posing as a married couple for the mission." Fury informed them nonchalantly as he passed a couple passports in their direction. Margot glanced at the passport which listed her as Julia Leigh. This wasn't the first time she was going to pretend to be married to her partner. Margot and Clint had posed as a married couple several times on missions. Although this would be the first time she'd be married to someone other than Clint for a mission. She glanced at the blonde man from the corner of her eye as he looked down at his passport briefly.

"Ethan and Julia Leigh. The perfect all American couple save for the fact that Ethan's a very influential and wealthy drug dealer." Fury told them before glancing at Margot more specifically. "Julia's a dutiful and loyal trophy wife."

"You two will be spending the next two months in Juarez. Salazar is considering getting an American business partner so that he can expand his drug trade." Fury said as he continued to explain their mission to them. "Your job is to earn both his and his wife's trust."

"The second you find out who's giving him the weapons, you get the hell out of there. Juarez is a damn dangerous place…even for two highly trained Shield agents." Fury said firmly. "Don't you two go playing hero and get yourselves killed. I don't want to be writing condolence cards to your families anytime soon."

"Yes, Sir." Margot told Fury obediently.

"Of course, Director." Steven added. Fury looked at both of the Shield agents before nodding to himself, seemingly satisfied with their answers. He had been a little worried about putting Pierce and Rogers together initially. Both agents had a long history of playing hero.

"Good." Fury said as he then focused on Margot. "While you're at it, Pierce, see what kind of information you can get out of Okada and Tanaka. Tread carefully…the Yakuza aren't ones to be taken lightly."

"I'm well aware, Director." Margot replied as she tried not to think of the horror and bloodshed she had seen in Japan. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as some of the images popped into her head and she fought hard to keep them out. All those poor children...

"Well, the rest of the information is inside your debriefing packets. Look them over on the plane. You leave in one hour." Fury informed the two agents before grabbing some paperwork on his desk and preparing himself to fill it out. It seemed like the debriefing meeting was officially over. "You're both dismissed."

Margot and Steven both exchanged a look before nodding at Fury and taking their leave. They left Fury's office in silence with their debriefing packets in hand. Margot couldn't help but notice how everyone stopped and stared when they saw them. The redhead most definitely knew that they weren't staring at her. No, their attention was primarily focused on Steven but he didn't seem to take any notice. If he did notice then he pretended like he didn't. Everyone was probably wondering what the talkative and slightly ditzy Agent Pierce was doing with such a distinguished agent. Margot was still kind of wondering that herself.

"You can call me Margot, you know." Margot said suddenly, immediately drawing Steven's attention to her as he raised an eyebrow at the short redhead. She suddenly felt intimidated and flushed as she felt those ocean blue eyes gazing down at her.

"Well, Margot, you can call me Steven then." He told her, giving her a small smile. They were walking towards the elevator so that they could get to the roof. The landing pad was on the roof and they needed to get to the plane if they were going to leave within the hour like Fury ordered. The pair didn't say anything else as they walked down the hallway, everyone's eyes glued to them as they gossiped about what the pair could possibly be doing together. Margot didn't really mind because for the first time in a while she felt slightly excited for a mission. She was excited to get to know Steven Rogers…the real Steven Rogers and not the one who was a legend within Shield. The pair didn't say anything else the rest of the way to the landing pad but Margot knew they'd have plenty of time to talk later. Now there was just the issue of finding out who was giving weapons to Salazar.

This was going to make for an interesting mission.


	51. Chapter Forty Eight: Part I

**Author's Note: Sorry but it took me forever to write this chapter. It actually ended up being super long so I'm splitting it into two parts. Part II of this chapter will be coming out soon. Maybe tonight or tomorrow. I hope everyone had a good New Years. It's so hard to believe it's already 2018. 2017 passed by way too fast for my liking but at least that means we're closer to Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.  
**

 **I just want to discuss the last chapter with Emma's mother. I know some of you were really shocked about Margot's past with Clint since Clint never made any indication about knowing Emma's mother but just think about it. Clint obviously saw Margot as an older sister so it would've been very hard for him to have a lot of interactions with Emma. Clint and Emma's interactions have been very limited in the past so I think this information will even take her by surprise when she finds out. He feels guilty about not saving Margot from her death so it's hard for him to be around Emma which is why they haven't spent a lot of time together.**

 **Also when I picture Margot in the story, I kind of imagine her as Jessica Chastain. Like...one hundred percent. I'm not sure who I picture Emma's father as. Maybe Brad Pitt or even an older Alexander Skarsgard. By an older Alexander Skarsgard I don't mean Stellan Skarsgard either. Just an older version of Alexander Skarsgard but I definitely picture Jessica Chastain as Margot. There wasn't much of Emma's dad last chapter but he'll have more of a POV in future chapters so you'll get to know him better. Pierce will definitely be making an appearance in the flashback scenes and so will Tony. We'll keep seeing a lot of Clint too.**

 **Not really related to the story but I've been listening to a lot of music from this up and coming Norwegian singer called Sigrid. She's really good. Sigrid's only got like five or six songs out so far but I'm really obsessed with her music. I hope to see her more in the future. Last chapter, however, I was listening to a lot of eighties music to write it. I know it's in the nineties but Emma's mother adores eighties music so I listened to a lot of Blondie(even though Blondie technically started in the seventies), Bonnie Tyler, and a couple songs from Kim Carnes. That's definitely a similarity Emma and her mother have...their love of music. I guess it's kind of reminiscent to Star Lord and his mother in Guardians of the Galaxy.**

 **By the way I also signed up for this book of the month club membership and my December box finally came in the mail today. I felt like I waited forever but I was so happy to see the two books I ordered today. City of Brass but I also ordered Bonfire by Krysten Ritter. It's totally the Krysten Ritter you're thinking of too. That's right, Jessica Jones wrote this awesome sounding mystery thriller that sounds like a Gillian Flynn book and I'm super exited to read it. This makes Krysten Ritter a billion times cooler to me than she was before.**

 **Happy Birthday to ImsebastianstanButter! I honestly thought I'd update before today but I was surprised that I was even able to update today. I hope you have an amazing birthday.**

 **LovingBOBThePacific: I'm so happy to hear all the feedback about the last chapter. I was so afraid everyone would hate it because Emma and Peter weren't in it. Part III is all about the past for Emma so it was important for me to have a chapter like that and to continue having chapters like that.**

 **After hearing a lot of the feedback I've now decided for Emma not to kill Rumlow. I was really conflicted about it but she's come so far and I feel like killing Rumlow would just set her back. I've had an idea where she kills him the same way he killed her mother but I think I'll scrap that. There was also an idea I had to have Emma decide not to kill him and put him in Raft prison but everyone including myself would hate that. Rumlow deserves to die and I'd be the worst person ever to let him live. So he'll definitely die but not by Emma's hands. I'm still trying to figure out who. Clint could be a good choice but so could Tony, Steve, or Bucky. I'm definitely going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about this.**

 **Spawn Hades: I've some subtle hints at Rumlow's obsession with Emma's mother in past but nothing like last chapter. It's a really interesting idea having Peter kill Rumlow. It would be interesting to watch Peter lose himself and intriguing to see Emma help him cope with killing someone despite how evil Rumlow was. So that's definitely something to consider too.**

 **Kitsune Kayls: I don't know if I'm going to post another chapter with the Avengers reaction to Emma doing her own thing back in the states. I think the next time we see them in this story it'll be when they come back for good. We'll see.**

 **Peter and Steve are definitely two individuals I'm considering to kill Rumlow. It would be interesting for Steve to do it because Emma's always talked about how her and Bucky would kill for each other so Steve finishing off Rumlow would prove that Emma and Steve's bond is just as strong as her one to Bucky.**

 **I don't mind long reviews. I actually prefer them.**

 **Radioactive88: Rumlow never raped Emma's mother. Margot had a moment of insanity when she even dated Rumlow so their relationship was consensual. The reason she didn't remember their break up or when they dated that well is because Margot only considered him to be a brief high school fling. She moved on from him and didn't think about him hardly ever again. I wanted emphasize the fact that Rumlow has this insane, weird obsession with her when Margot never really paid him much interest after they broke up. He was never important to her like she was important to him. They did date almost twenty years before so Margot, actually being a sane person, wasn't hung up on him at all.**

 **I think Clint's always getting hurt because he's the only one who's just a normal, average human without any armor or anything. There's Natasha but I think she's more highly trained in combat than Clint is. Tony has the Iron Man suit and Sam's got his wings. I didn't actually make him injured in the last chapter on purpose. I wanted Clint and Margot to have this past being partners but I needed an excuse to have her be partnered with Emma's dad for a mission. I don't know...my favorite decades for music were the sixties, seventies, and eighties. There's some really good music now but you have to really look for it. Back then even good music was mainstream.**

 **Some people have indicated that maybe Peter should kill Rumlow. I know he's like this moral compass for Emma and she wouldn't want that for him but she'd still love him no matter what. It would be interesting to see her help him cope with killing someone even if that someone was Rumlow. I'm not saying that Peter's going to be the one but he's definitely someone that I've been looking at. I'm kind of looking at everyone right now as options.**

 **Clint is a good option too. He obviously hates that Rumlow killed Margot and might even feel guilty that he didn't do enough to protect the woman he saw as his big sister. This new relationship Emma's formed with Tony could also make Tony be the one to finish Rumlow off. I was thinking of Steve and Bucky maybe killing Rumlow together. There's so many scenarios in my head right now. It could go either way. I just know that Emma's definitely not going to kill Rumlow. I've been doing a lot of thinking and that's something I know for sure.**

 **knarl: I've also decided not to have Emma kill Rumlow. It would just set her back too much with all the progress she's made. I also think that she wouldn't be able to do it when it comes down to it. She'd never admit it but she's terrified of Rumlow. He holds a lot of power over her. I do really like the idea of Steve killing Rumlow. Steve and Emma are incredibly close. He's obviously killed before during battle loads of time but I feel like seeing Rumlow, after learning what Rumlow did to Emma, would set him off and he'd kill him in anger.  
**

 **Emma-Jean02: I can say for sure that Emma's not going to be the one to kill Rumlow but he will definitely die.**

 **Wildfarr: Thanks for the nice compliment! I appreciate it. The reason I decided to make Emma's mother sort of carefree, nice, and a bit ditzy because I didn't want her to be like Emma at all. I wanted to show this contrast between them. If Emma's parents had lived she probably wouldn't be the way she is at all. Emma probably wouldn't even be as strong as she is now without the injections. The serum in her leftover from her grandfather probably would've fizzled out a lot by the time it got to her. I think she would've still met Peter through her parents who probably would've worked with the Avengers in some way but their story would've been very different. Emma might've even been a bit like her mother in a lot of ways although immensely spoiled by her parents, grandparents, Tony, and Clint. She would've been the spoiled rich girl in this alternate universe. Maybe I'll even make an alternate story of that actually. That could be fun to write. Who knows.**

 **I will continue with these flashbacks through out Part III. They won't happen very often but they'll occur every now and then. The mission with Salazar was a very important mission that brought Emma's parents together as well as sealed their fate in the end. The last chapter was definitely not a one time thing.**

 **Guest: Emma was actually raped by Rumlow. There will never be a full rape scene because I don't think I have it in me to write that but it will definitely be something she discusses in Part III. Part III is about her finally confronting her past and being more open with those around her.**

 **Mcduffie145: Rumlow hasn't been around for a while so Part III is going to be completely be centered around him. There's a lot Emma needs to accept about herself and the most important thing is to tell people what really happened to her. She's been keeping it in for too long.**

 **Oly E:** **Estoy tan feliz de que te guste tanto la historia. Estoy usando Google translate para escribirte esto porque, aunque soy medio mexicano, mi madre nunca me enseñó a hablar español. Estoy realmente celoso de las personas que pueden. Muy agradable escuchar algunos comentarios y seguir leyendo. Gracias.**

 **ShinigamiLovesApples: I'm considering a lot of options here and Steve is definitely one of them. I can say with full confidence that Emma won't be the one to kill Rumlow. Thanks for your input. Happy New Years to you as well.**

 **Guest: Bucky is definitely another option I'm considering. We'll see how this part pans out and I'll make my decision in due time. Thanks for your input.**

 **Thank you for all the feedback about who you think should kill Rumlow. You've given me a lot to think about and I'll definitely thinking of every scenario. Part III might even be better than previous parts. I really appreciate how all of you have come out and given me your opinions. I'm also glad that you seem to love the chapter with Emma's mother. More chapters like that will be coming up in the future.**

 **Sorry for the super long author's note!**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and please let me know what you think of this chapter.**

* * *

 _'Don't it feel like that night was from a dream'_

 _'I've never felt nothing like that'_

 _'Looking at you, looking right back'_

 _'You say nothing is ever as good as it seems'_

 _'Stop running your mouth like that'_

 _'Cause you know I'm gonna give it right back'_

 _'_ _You're so close now'_

 _'So don't let me down'_

 _'_ _Give me a little of your love'_

 ** _-Little of Your Love by HAIM_**

* * *

 **Queens, New York**

 **Present Day**

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since the night May Parker showed up at the compound and raised hell yet everything had managed to be okay. Two weeks and Emma was still trying to hide her true feelings from Peter Parker. Things had relatively gone back to normal when she returned to Queens after her week long stay at the compound. Her and Darcy were back to their usual routine at the townhouse with Jane occasionally joining them for breakfast before work. Stark and her had also worked out all their differences. They still bickered like usual but that was just what their relationship was like.

Now...back to the matter that was Peter Parker. Emma really didn't know how to describe how her and Peter were doing. They went to school together, spent a few hours of crime fighting in Queens, and spent weekends together at the compound. She supposed she never thought how hard it was going to be for her to be around Peter so much when she was in love with him. Not that he had any idea about that. They were just friends in his eyes and Emma supposed that was better than nothing. She'd rather be his friend than a stranger to him.

"What are you thinking about?" Emma turned her head immediately to the side only to notice Michelle staring back at her with a bored look on her face. They were in their first period English class, reading their assigned book for the semester. Emma was snapped out of her thoughts as she raised an eyebrow questioningly at her friend.

"What?" She asked and Michelle shrugged nonchalantly.

"You just kind of had a stupid look on your face for a moment there so I was just wondering what you were thinking so hard about." Michelle quipped and Emma glared at frizzy haired girl.

"None of your business." Emma snapped at her before returning her attention back to her book. Michelle wasn't in the least offended by the blonde's behavior. She had been friends with Emma long enough to be used to her unpredictable behavior. Although…Michelle had to admit that Emma seemed off as of lately. She seemed to be fidgety and nervous at times which was something that Emma Lewis wasn't really known for. It also didn't escape her notice that Emma seemed somewhat more laid back and relaxed although she did have her moments when she acted grumpy and unpleasant. Michelle wasn't sure why but Emma's attitude seemed to be all over the place these days.

There was also the fact that the blonde had been spending more and more time with Peter. Weirdly enough, Emma and Michelle had actually been sitting right next to Peter and Ned at lunch instead of at the other end of the table. Michelle didn't understand how one moment Emma could be pissed at Peter, for a reason she never really explained, and then be best friends with him the next minute. Emma Lewis seemed to be a mystery that no one could really figure out. Well…Michelle thought she had figured out one part of Emma ,at least, but she was currently just keeping that discovery to herself until she decided to finally confront the blonde about her suspicion.

"Class, if you can just flip to page 237 of 'A Farewell to Arms'." The teacher announced as all the students did as they were told. Emma obediently did as she was requested as well but only because 'A Farewell to Arms' was her favorite Ernest Hemingway book. This was about the fourth time she had read it. Emma still remembered the first time she read the book. She had binge read the entire book in only a few hours. There was something remarkably beautiful about the story even though it was probably one of the most tragic romances she had ever read. A part of her understood why Bradley Cooper had thrown the book through the second story glass window in _Silver Linings Playbook_ but Emma also understood that some things just didn't work out. Not every story had a happy ending. Just look at Emma's parents.

The rest of the English class was spent answering a questionnaire about the chapter they were currently on. Emma filled out the questionnaire in no time and spent the rest of the class period listening to a playlist of Portugal. The Man's greatest songs while she read the next chapter of the book. She chewed on her bottom lip in anticipation as she read the next chapter. Emma knew what happened in the chapter but the feelings she felt when she first read it never lessened...even the fourth time she read it. The bell ringing slightly surprised her as she was suddenly jolted out of the world of Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley. She quickly stuffed her book inside her backpack before her and Michelle left the class together.

A leftover feeling of sadness filled her from reading the book. Ernest Hemingway really knew how to tug at a person heartstrings...even the heartstrings of a former assassin. It was then that Emma spotted none other than Peter Parker walking down the hall, Ned at his side, towards them. He had that same goofy smile on his face that Emma adored. The moment she caught sight of his smile the feeling of sadness left her. A feeling akin to elation replaced the sadness as her heart beat a little faster at seeing him. Emma had just seen him the night before when they did their usual rounds in Queens but somehow she felt excited at seeing him again.

Peter and Ned stopped in front of her and Michelle in the middle of the hall. Ned and Michelle both watched the brown haired boy and blonde girl as the two stared at each other. Even Ned and Michelle could feel the tension between the two and it wasn't angry tension like it had been like with them before. No…it was a different kind of tension. Peter and Emma both blushed as they realized that they had been staring at each other for longer than a couple seconds. Peter coughed awkwardly as he struggled to say something to Emma. It always seemed like he was speechless around her these days. He never knew what to say to her without sounding like an idiot.

"So…um…h-how was English?" Peter finally was able to ask and blushed a darker shade of red as he realized he sounded kind of stupid. Emma gave him a small smile that reached her ocean blue eyes.

"It was fine." She answered as she shrugged. "We just answered the questionnaire about 'A Farewell to Arms'. I'd say more but I wouldn't want to bore you talking about my love for Hemingway." Peter gave her a soft smile as he stared at her with adoring eyes.

"You're not boring. I like hearing you talk about Hemingway." Peter told her softly and Emma locked eyes with him, not sure how to feel about what Peter told her. She felt suddenly very warm as she also felt the familiar feeling of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Ned raised an eyebrow at his best friend because he remembered Peter once saying how boring he thought English class was. Since when was Peter Parker suddenly interested in Ernest Hemingway? Ned and Michelle both gave the pair a weird looks as Emma and Peter continued stared at each other. It seemed like those lived in a world of their own sometimes.

"Sorry to interupt whatever this is but can we go to Spanish class already?" Michelle asked tiredly. "We're going to be late." Emma and Peter both snapped out of their moment as they both glanced over at Michelle and Ned. Peter blushed again while Emma ignored the look on their faces.

"Right…" Peter trailed off awkwardly. "I'll walk with you guys to class then." Michelle just raised an eyebrow at the weird teenager. Peter walking with Emma and Michelle to class seemed to be a regular occurrence lately. Somehow Michelle figured that it wasn't because he suddenly wanted to listen to Emma and her discuss their favorite books. No, it was something else entirely.

"I have to get to my French class. I'll see you third period, Peter." Ned told his friend before turning a corner and walking down a different hallway, leaving the three teenagers alone. It didn't take long before Emma and Michelle were in deep discussion about the complexities of Virginia Woolf. Peter didn't have anything to say as they talked because he barely knew who Virginia Woolf was but he didn't mind. There was a smile on his face as he listened to Emma talk about one of her many favorite authors. She was so passionate whenever she talked about books. It warmed Peter's heart to know that the always serious and cynical Emma Rogers was actually a bookworm. He loved that about her.

* * *

Emma and Peter both walked out of school as soon as the bell rang for school to end. It was Friday so that meant that it was time to return to the Avenger's Facility although no one except Ned really knew that. Happy was waiting for them outside the expensive looking Audi, trying to look cool and intimidating with his tinted sunglasses and a business suit. Emma honestly doubted that even Flash Thompson would find him intimidating.

The way Emma and Peter explained the fact that they always left school together Fridays was because Emma had also gotten an internship with Stark Industries just like Peter had. Emma told all interested parties on the decathlon team that Stark was looking for graphic designers. Most of them seemed to buy that except for Michelle but Michelle was always suspicious anyways. Emma was pretty much sure that Michelle knew her secret. It wasn't like Emma really cared if she had figured it out or not. She wasn't going to talk about it until Michelle decided to finally confront her...whenever that would be.

"You two ready?" Happy asked them once they reached him and the duo nodded at him. It wasn't like they ever needed to pack a bag for the compound. The both of them already had a ton of stuff at the compound. Tony had Peter's room all fixed up with Star Wars merchandise and other nerdy obsessions that he had. Emma had rolled her eyes when she saw the look of awe when Peter saw his room. He practically drooled over a bunch of Star Wars collectable action figures that Tony had left for him. In all honesty Emma thought he was kind of cute when he acted all dorky like that. Happy made a move to open the car door for them but Peter immediately stopped him.

"No, that's okay, Happy. I've got it." Peter told the older man. Happy gave Peter a look of disbelief.

"Are you being serious right now?" He asked in an annoyed voice and Peter nodded furiously. Happy watched in disbelief and annoyance as Peter then opened the car door for Emma. She smiled at softly as he gestured for her to go inside first.

Happy shook his head at the stupid kid. That kid thought he was so sleek, didn't he? However, Happy, knew exactly what he was trying to do. The kid was obviously trying to woo the blonde teenager. Happy rolled his eyes before heading to the driver's side of the car. Good luck with that one, Kid, Happy thought to himself. That idiotic kid obviously didn't know what he was getting himself into. Emma Rogers wasn't the usual run of the mill teenage girl. Peter Parker was treading into dangerous waters with even trying to woo the blonde.

Emma scooted down the backseat as Peter climbed into the car after her. A smile was still on her face from Peter's kind gesture. He was doing a lot of that lately… opening doors and pulling out chairs for her. His gentlemanly behavior reminded her a lot of Steve in moments like those. Steve had always done the same for her and every woman because it was just in his nature to do so. Emma found the gentlemanly gestures that Peter made to somehow be even more sweet and endearing since he was the one doing them.

She figured that was another reason why she had fallen in love with Peter. He reminded her of Steve in a way. Emma knew that kind of sounded weird and creepy but it wasn't like that. Steve had been a kind and supportive male figure in her life for a long time. She trusted and respected him above all others. Emma loved everything about the man that was a father figure to her so it made sense to her way she had fallen in love with Peter Parker. Peter shared a lot of traits with Steve. They were both moral, sweet natured, brave, and strong male figures in her life but in completely different ways to her. Emma didn't think she could've fallen in love with Peter if he hadn't at least shared a couple of traits with Steve.

Speaking of her feelings and her impending visit to the compound…Emma had never really recovered from her embarrassment of what Darcy blurted out that night from two weeks ago. It was fine when Darcy made those kinds of comments before she even had feelings for Peter but things were different now. She was way more defensive about Peter and especially because she didn't want anyone to know she had done something stupid like falling in love. Emma couldn't help it when she finally snapped from Darcy's teasing. Emma became lost in her thoughts as she recalled the event.

 _"_ _Em, what the hell is your boyfriend doing here?" Darcy asked her tiredly in front of everyone. Emma stared at the brunette blankly while Peter's eyes were widened in surprise from being referred to as Emma's boyfriend. It made sense as to why Darcy was confused about Peter being there. She didn't know that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were the same person but what she said about Peter being Emma's boyfriend(in front of him!) finally crossed the line._

 _Vision just seemed confused like he always did about the dramatic and odd nature of humans. Pepper figured that Darcy was just being her usual self as she teased Emma like she normally did. Darcy was the only one in the world that had balls enough to tease the blonde. Tony Stark, however, had a very mischievous and gleeful look on his face as he looked from Darcy to Emma and Peter. He knew the statement was only a joke but somehow the statement finally finished the puzzle that had been going on inside his head._

 _"_ _Awww…" Darcy said as she grinned down at the two teenagers who she perceived as an adorable couple. Mostly she was just doing this to get on the former assassin's nerves. She knew Peter Parker was a sensitive subject for her."That's so cute. You two made up from that little lover's spat you had last week. Well, that's good. I'm happy to see that love can still conquer all."_

 _Peter gave the blonde a soft look. She told Darcy about their fight? That meant that Emma must've talked about him quite a lot. Emma, however, was not amused by the brunette's loud mouth as she narrowed her eyes at her. It was one thing making little teasing comments about the imaginary relationship between her and Peter at home but making those same comments in public…in front of Peter?! Emma was thoroughly embarrassed by Darcy's antics._

 _"_ _Pepper." Emma said quietly as the strawberry blonde looked at her curiously. "Please tell Steve that I'm sorry." Pepper gave the blonde a confused look, not understanding what she meant by that._

 _"_ _Sorry?" She questioned. "Sorry for what?" Emma glared at Darcy who was still standing at the top of the stairs._

 _"_ _Because I'm finally going to kill that woman." Emma nearly growled at her before she leapt off the ground and flew into the air. Everyone watched in shock as the blonde made a beeline for Darcy who yelped in fear and surprise._

 _"_ _No…wait! I'm sorry!" Darcy exclaimed as she darted down the hall. Emma flew after her as the brunette continued to scream in terror. She could just tell that Emma was beyond pissed. Darcy had always enjoyed pushing Emma's buttons but it seemed like this time she just pushed her too far._

 _"_ _Is someone going to do anything?!" Pepper exclaimed as she stared incredulously at Tony and Vision. "I think she might actually kill Darcy this time."_

 _"_ _Darcy will be fine as long as she finds a room to hide in." Tony said as he shrugged any worried feelings off. He didn't really think Darcy was in harm's way. Emma wasn't going to kill her…she might make her sorry for making a comment like that but she wasn't going to kill her. Peter still stared wide eyed towards the area where Darcy Lewis had previously been standing. He didn't know what to make of any of this but he did know that he quite liked being referred to as Emma's boyfriend. Vision sighed from next to Tony._

 _"_ _I suppose I'll try to diffuse the situation." Vision said quietly, not looking perfectly excited to interfere in the affairs of Emma Rogers. He had been getting along very well with Emma as of lately and he didn't want to jeopardize that. A small part of Vision might've actually believed that the blonde was capable of ripping the mind stone from his forehead and making it into a necklace. Emma had made the threat over a year ago but it stayed with him. She just sounded so confident about being able to do it that even he believed her when she first made the threat._

 _"_ _You're a good sport, Vision." Tony said as he grinned at the purple android. "Go take one for the team." Vision didn't look very happy but he floated back into the air and flew down the hall where Emma and Darcy disappeared off into. Tony, Pepper, and Peter waited patiently on the main level while they heard the loud commotion coming from upstairs. Tony imagined the whole compound was awake now from all the racket._

 _"_ _Get your fucking hands of me, asshole!" They could hear Emma yell angrily as Vision most likely saved Darcy's life. Tony and Pepper were both a little relieved to hear that Vision had managed to grab a hold of Emma although they bet that was the same thing as grabbing an angry wild cat. Peter was still in a dreamy state as he imagined a world in which Emma really was his girlfriend. Although in his dream it was the Star Wars universe and he was Han Solo while Emma was Princess Leia. He bet Emma would look so pretty wearing those cute little buns._

 _"_ _Just wait until I rip that stupid rock out of your stupid face!" Emma shouted at him angrily yet Peter wasn't even fazed by her. He was used to Emma's vulgar behavior and it was even something he had found quite endearing about her because it was just how she was. She wouldn't be Emma if she didn't say things like that. "Ugh! You annoying purple hobgoblin!"_

 _Tony snickered as he heard that last insult she threw Vision's way. Purple hobgoblin? Tony would have to remember that one for the future. It was then that Vision brought Emma back into sight as his arms were tightly wrapped around her, keeping her from escaping. A pissed off look was on her face as she was trapped in Vision's arms while he brought her back onto the main level. He subsequently dropped her off onto the main level and she gave the purple android an angry look._

 _Darcy Lewis, who looked a little worse for wear, walked down the stairs. Her brunette hair was messy from when Emma jumped on top of her. She was just lucky that was all Emma was able to do before Vision grabbed the furious blonde. Emma's attention was taken away from Vision as she turned to glare at Darcy who gave her a sheepish look. The brunette awkwardly cleared her throat as she joined the others on the main level._

 _"_ _So…" Darcy started to say as she looked at them nervously. "What's the real reason Peter's here?"_

Emma snapped out of her recollection as Happy made a turn down the street. She suddenly felt eyes on her face and turned to look at Peter who immediately blushed, looking away from her and out the window. Emma looked at her own window, an amused smile on her face, as she stared at the dozens of buildings they passed. A part of her wondered what Steve would think of Peter. Emma was sure that Steve and Peter would get along perfectly. They were so much alike in all the best ways. Emma really wanted Steve and Peter to meet one day…she hoped that one day they might.

* * *

It was 4:30 in the morning when Emma Rogers sneaked into Peter Parker's room and shook him awake. She was clearly not gentle about it either because Peter felt like he was being attacked. The teenager opened his eyes and looked tiredly at the blonde sitting casually on the edge of the bed. Seeing those blue eyes through the darkness of the room caused him to wake up more as he immediately sat up in his bed. He wondered how long Emma had been there before deciding that he probably didn't want to know. The weird thing about it was that Emma didn't even seem embarrassed at being caught in his room.

"Emma?!" Peter exclaimed as stared in shock at her. "What are you doing in my room?!" Emma made it clear that she had no interest in ever being in his room the first time Peter wanted to show her all the cool stuff Mr. Stark put in his room. She had declared it a nerd cave, refusing to be caught dead in it. Emma had also informed him that he wasn't allowed in her room which Peter didn't really understand. She said something about needing her own space so he decided to leave it at that.

"Waking you up." Emma said as though it were obvious. Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly before looking up at the ceiling.

"McConaughey, what time is it?" He asked the AI system.

"4:30 a.m., Mr. Parker." McConaughey answered and Peter turned to look at Emma like she was insane. She woke him up at 4:30 in the morning? She must've never slept at all because getting up that early was totally insane.

"You woke me up at 4:30?! What's wrong with you?!" Peter asked her and Emma just stared back at him, not bothered by his dramatics in the least bit.

"Maria and I have been too lenient with you the past two weeks." Emma explained. "We can get more training done if we get up earlier." It was true…Emma really had been going easy on Peter for the past two weeks. Emma had let Peter get up at his own time before they started their training sessions. She let him get away with holding back while training. She knew he held back when they trained because Peter was a lot stronger than that. Those days were over now. There was no more letting Peter get away with those things now. He needed to get up earlier if he was going to be serious about training. Peter was also going to need to learn that he couldn't hold back when he fought against her.

"This is crazy." Peter muttered as he laid his head back down on the pillow stubbornly. "Whatever. I'm going back to bed." Emma didn't seem fazed by what he just said. She sighed heavily as she revealed the large cup of water she had been holding in her hand. Somehow she knew Peter was going to act like a little brat when she woke him up. It was clear to her that he wasn't exactly a morning person.

"I thought you might say that." Emma said quietly as she looked at him, her face void of all emotion, and subsequently poured the glass of water all over him. Peter's eyes immediately shot open as he fell off the bed and onto the floor. His hair and shirt was all wet as he scrambled to get off the floor. The teenage boy quickly stood up and glared at the blonde who was still looking at him with a stoic expression on her face.

"What the hell, Emma?" Peter said angrily to her as water dripped from his hair onto his face. "The water's fucking cold!" Emma feigned a surprised look as she looked back at him although a part of her was truthfully surprised to hear Peter say such a vulgar curse word. She thought that was more her thing than his.

"Peter Parker, I'm shocked. You watch your language, young man." Emma said as she mockingly scolded him, doing her best impression of Steve. Peter just proceeded to glare at her as his nostrils practically flared in anger. Emma really had to admit this was an attractive look for Peter. He was really hot when he was all angry and frustrated with her. There was also the fact that the water had completely soaked through his shirt and his toned muscles were clearly on display. Emma's eyes kept shooting down to his torso as she tried to be discreet about it. Peter seemed too angry to notice her practically checking him out.

"What's wrong with you?" He questioned, still pissed off. Emma then got up from the bed without a word, ignoring him as headed for the door of his bedroom. She was about to leave his room when she paused in front of the door. Emma then turned back momentarily to look at him.

"Be in the training facility in fifteen minutes." Emma told him, her voice authoritative as she gave him a serious look. She wasn't joking around this time. "If not then I'll send Vision for you and you really don't want that." Emma then turned back around without another word and left the room. Peter watched her go, never feeling more frustrated or confused in his life. Emma drove him crazy sometimes but he still loved her. The teenage boy sighed as he looked down at his soaked appearance. It looked like he was going to have change after all. Well, if he wasn't awake before he was definitely awake now.

* * *

"When you're out in the field you have to remember to never underestimate your opponent." Maria Hill said strictly as she looked over at the two teenagers watching her intently. The two teenagers were dressed for the occasion in almost the same outfits they wore for gym class. Peter was wearing his Midtown academic decathlon team shirt, sweatpants, and a pair of worn sneakers. Emma was wearing a loose concert shirt she took from Darcy, a pair of athletic capri tights, and athletic shoes. Emma, Peter, and Maria were all in the training facility of the compound. Peter had made it to the training facility just in the nick of time before Emma could call upon Vision to go get him. Emma listened to what Maria had to say although she had already heard it all before from Karpov although Karpov never put it as nicely. Peter seemed to be hanging onto every word the infamous former Shield agent was saying.

"The second you underestimate your opponent the second you slip up and lose." Maria continued to tell them. "Arrogance will do you no favors out in the field. You need to remain level headed and assess the situation at all times." Maria then glanced over at Emma and Emma knew what Maria had in mind from the look on the dark haired woman's face.

"Emma, come over here." Maria ordered and Emma actually listened to her beforewalking over to the former agent. "Let's demonstrate for Mr. Parker over there what a fight between two trained individuals looks like." Emma nodded but fought the urge to smirk as she saw the annoyed look on Peter's face. He hated being referred to as an amateur even though he technically was one. Peter wasn't trained in hand-to-hand combat but that was why he was there after all.

"Now I want you to watch very closely, Peter." Maria told Peter seriously. "Watch our movements carefully as well as our mistakes. Learn from us."

Peter nodded quickly as Maria and Emma went to stand at opposite ends of the floor, several feet away from each other. The two trained individuals stood apart as they eyed each other cautiously. Emma wore an emotionless look on her face as to not give any weaknesses about herself away while Maria wore the same look on her face. Emma had sparred with Maria in the past as well as Clint and Sam. None of them gave her that much trouble and Emma regularly won their little sparring matches. They were highly trained opponents but they didn't stand a chance against Emma who was a highly trained super human. There was only one trained opponent that stood a chance against Emma and that was Natasha Romanoff. Although Natasha was technically just an average human, her experience in the red room made her quite the challenge to Emma who had similar training at Hydra. Emma had won quite a few sparring matches against Natasha but she also lost quite a few too.

Emma kept a close eye on Maria's movement as the woman got in a semi crouched position, ready to spring out and launch her first attack at any moment. The only question was when would Maria do this? Emma also got into a semi crouched position as she kept her eyes glued to Maria. She could hear the woman's breathing from several feet away as well as her heart beat which was beating a little faster than normal. An increased heart rate was normal in fighting but Emma could always tell when they were about to attack from the speed of their heart beat. It was then that Emma heard Maria's heart speed up a bit and she braced herself for Maria's first move. She normally always let her opponent make the first move before fighting except in special circumstances.

Maria quickly moved forward a made an elaborate kicking motion in Emma's direction before blonde subsequently dodged the high kick before twirling around and landing a punch to Maria's side. Peter admired the way Emma's movements were so graceful and effortless. It was almost like she was dancing instead of fighting. Emma actually held her strength back when fighting average strength human beings. She knew that she could quite possibly kill a person with one punch. Emma had killed people that way in the past which was how she knew. The dark haired woman grunted from the action before launching a counter attack and grabbing Emma around the shoulders, attempting to trap the young girl in her grasp. Emma let Maria think she had the upper hand as she allowed the older woman wrap her arm tightly over both of Emma's arms. Peter gasped a little from the sight, feeling slightly worried to see Emma end up in such a vulnerable position.

Emma noticed that Maria's posture had relaxed somewhat as the woman focused all her strength into her arms rather than the rest of her body. The former assassin took advantage of that and pushed herself back against Maria harshly, surprising the former agent as she stumbled back a bit. Peter noticed from this that Emma pretended to be weaker than she was at times. He remembered that she faked a broken arm the first time they fought at the airport and he had bought it. Emma seemed to do the same thing in this circumstance as she let Maria think that she had made a mistake when she hadn't.

Emma used Maria's shocked state to her advantage once more as she stalked over the dark haired woman and made a kicking motion, sweeping Maria's feet out from under her. The former agent fell onto the ground, falling onto her stomach. Emma didn't hesitate in immediately jumping on top of her, grabbing Maria's arm roughly bending it across the older woman's back. Maria scrunched her face up in pain from the action as the blonde also placed a hand on the back of her head, forcing her face into the cold and hard floor. The worst part was that Maria knew that Emma was holding back yet it still hurt. Emma held Maria there for almost a minute before the former agent smacked the floor a few times when she started having trouble breathing. The blonde immediately got off of her, face void of all emotions, as she walked back over to stand next to Peter. Emma acted so casual about the whole thing almost as it were nothing to her, Peter noticed. Maria immediately got up from the ground and glared at the blonde as she tried to catch her breath.

"You fought dirty." Maria accused, not liking the way Emma fought sometimes and the teenage girl shrugged. Peter was still in awe at the way Emma fought and won the sparring match between her and Maria. He was amazed at the way she made it seem so easy because he knew it probably wasn't. Maria used to be the deputy director of Shield after all. She was no easy opponent.

"Sometimes you have to fight dirty." Emma told her but Peter knew that she was really talking to him. "When you're out in the real world your opponent isn't going to fight clean. There's no clean fight in the real world. Honor has no place in this line of work." Peter knew that she had a point. He had fought against some of the Avengers at the airport and they fought pretty clean but Peter knew that some of them, like Emma's grandfather for example, had been holding back. The men who worked for Toomes, however, were a clear example of people who fought dirty. Emma was right.

"That's true but not here." Maria said as she scolded her. "In the training facility I don't want to see any of those dirty tricks Hydra taught you. Tricks like that can get someone like Peter killed if he doesn't use them right. You know how to manipulate people…he doesn't. Do you get my point?" Emma begrudgingly nodded because she understood what Maria meant in a way. They were trying to train Peter enough so that he could hold his own in hand-to-hand combat. Teaching him to fight dirty like Hydra was only going to confuse him. He had to be trained to fight properly before he learned to fight dirty. Sometimes Emma lost herself when she was in battle mode.

"Fine." Emma said reluctantly and Maria nodded before the blonde whispered something in Peter's ear. Peter felt himself blush as Emma leaned in real close to him but forced himself to keep his mind focused. "She's just a sore loser." Peter covered up his laugh up as a cough as Maria glared at the both of them. Emma pulled away from Peter, smirking at the annoyed looking older woman.

"Okay, Rogers. Why don't you and Mr. Parker do some sparring of your own?" Maria suggested as she asked herself how she went from being deputy director of a secret agency to training two annoying teenagers. Emma didn't seem bothered by Maria's suggestion as she casually sauntered back to the main sparring area of the training facility. Peter, however, was slightly more nervous and not because Emma was really good at hand-to-hand combat. No, it was because he was always afraid of hurting her. While Emma was more experienced in fighting than he was, Peter was a lot stronger than her. They faced each other much like Emma and Maria had faced each other moments before although Peter was a lot more nervous looking than Maria had been. The confident and sure look on Emma's face didn't help him that department either.

One of the many things Emma hated about sparring with Peter, like in the past two weeks, was the fact that his heart rate sped up so much during moments like these that she never knew when or if he was going to attack. If he was smart about this he could actually use that to his advantage but he never did. Usually Peter let her make the first move anyway which she hated. Emma made a decision right in that moment to not go easy on him like she had been before. She had been making the mistake of going easy on Peter in the past couple weeks because _he_ was going easy on _her_. She didn't want to unfairly fight him when he was holding back. Usually Emma wouldn't care if someone held back because she'd beat the shit out of them anyways but this was Peter she was talking about. However, Emma had enough of his restrained behavior. She actually wanted to fight against Peter with the both of them using their full strength because she thought it would be interesting. Emma wasn't going to let Peter ruin this for her anymore. If she didn't hold back her strength than maybe he wouldn't hold back his either. Emma was just going to have to push Peter into fighting back.

Emma slowly circled Peter as the teenager watched her carefully. He never liked these sparring matches with Emma. She always made him nervous because he had no idea what she was going to do. Peter didn't even have time to brace himself for Emma's abrupt movement when she quickly landed a kick to his side, moving with such grace that he was too in awe to dodge her kick. She then did a fast move as she spun out after the kick, taking advantage of his surprise of the kick, and landed two punches to his side. Peter quickly caught her fist in his hand and pulled it away from him but, like always, he didn't fight her. He only tried to dodge her punches instead of actually fighting back. It pissed Emma off so she immediately kneed him in between the legs so that she could get him to let go of her. Peter groaned in pain and slowly sank to the floor as his eyes watered in pain.

Unlike the other times they trained together Emma didn't wait for him to get back up. She grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him back up from the floor, willing him with her eyes to fight her. Peter gave her a defiant look and she knew that he wasn't going to fight her this time either. So she was just going to have to try harder. The blonde gritted her teeth as Peter steadied himself, clearly still in pain from her kneeing him in between the legs. Ignoring the previous statement made by Maria, she decided to continue to fight dirty as she circled him before hopping onto his back. Peter stumbled forward from the unanticipated weight and Emma wrapped both arms around his neck to get him in a choke hold. He tried to throw her off his back as he struggled for air. The teenage boy didn't really understand why Emma was being so rough with him. He finally wrapped his hands around Emma's arms as he tried to pry her arms off from around his neck. Finally, with a little bit of effort, he was able to rip Emma's grip from him and she went falling back onto the floor.

Emma felt a bit excited at the prospect of Peter finally fighting back as she laid there on the floor, anticipating his next move. Peter had an annoyed look on his face as he immediately hovered over her and Emma looked at him curiously, trying to imagine what his next move would be. Was he going to pull her back up from the floor for close quarters combat or was he going to wrap her in a choke hold like the one she had used on him? As Peter hesitantly hovered over her on the floor, however, Emma was unpleasantly surprised when all he did was pin her wrists to the floor. He glared down at her, angry that she had fought so dirty with him…that she had been so rough.

"Stop it." He hissed at her, his voice full of anger and authority. Emma narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed that he was still holding back and not fighting her like she wanted. She was angry that he treating her like fragile porcelain doll but at the same time her heart raced at their close proximity. The way his eyes darkened as he looked down at her and the angry look on his face. Emma never felt more attracted to him than she did in that moment. The blonde always thought she would be fearful of a male being so close to her…especially one that was hovering over her like that but this was Peter. Emma was never afraid of Peter and she knew that she could trust him.

Emma then quickly wrapped her legs around Peter's waist, taking the teenage boy by surprise. She used all the strength in her hips as she flipped them over so that Emma was on top. Peter stared wide eyed at the smirking blonde who now hovered over him. She had flipped them over so fast that Peter could barely blink before he found himself on the ground with Emma on top of him. Her ocean blue eyes searched his brown ones as she tried searching for something in his eyes and Peter blushed at their position. Emma repeated his earlier action as she then pinned his wrists to floor and Peter hoped that his blush could be passed off as exertion from their training. The smirk faded from her face as she leaned down real close to him, her face mere inches from his.

"Fight me." She whispered softly. Peter stared at Emma's naturally rosy pink lips as she whispered the words and he realized how easy it would be to kiss her at this distance. All he would have to do is lean in a little. Her lips looked tempting to the teenage boy's eyes as he felt his heart race at an alarmingly rate. This was the closest Emma had ever been to him and he desperately wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought of it before. After Peter's mind slowly processed the words she said, he snapped out of his little fantasy and gave her a sharp look. He couldn't let Emma fool him into fighting her…not when he could hurt her.

"No." He said defiantly as he gave her a stubborn look. Emma didn't seem pleased with his response and that was probably because the blonde was used to getting what she wanted. It was no secret that a lot of the Avengers had spoiled her since she started living with them. "You win."

Emma was pissed off at Peter for saying that because she didn't feel like she had won. She knew more than well that he would stand a good chance of winning against her with his enhanced strength, reflexes, and agility but for some reason he wasn't using them. Emma was mad because she had actually wanted to spar with him. It would be the first time she faced someone anywhere near as strong as her since her father. However, Peter was deciding to be no fun at all by letting her win by forfeit.

"Okay, Emma, I think Peter's had enough." Maria told her from across the room. The former agent had an unsure look as she looked between the two. Emma snapped out of her thoughts as she glared at Peter. The blonde didn't waste anytime letting go of Peter's wrists as she got back up from off the ground. Peter felt a bit saddened from the loss of contact but relieved that the sparring between him and Emma was now over. He was definitely going to be sore after the job Emma just did. Emma gave him a cold look as she stared back at Peter who still lying down on the floor.

"I didn't win." She said to him venomously. The blonde then swiftly turned back around and stormed out of the training facility. Peter and Maria watched her leave but both had different expressions on their faces.

"So I guess training's over then." Maria mumbled to herself. She couldn't believe the nerve of that girl sometimes. Peter, however, stared at the door Emma left through with a conflicted look on his face. He was annoyed with Emma's attempt to make him fight her but at the same time he didn't like how he'd made her angry either. Peter laid there on the floor as he groaned in pain from all the kicks and punches Emma had landed. He was going to have some bruises. Peter healed fast but he didn't heal fast enough for his own liking. Now all he had to worry about was finding out the exact reason Emma was pissed off at him. Finding out what was going on in Emma's mind was a task on it's own. Emma was definitely someone he'd never completely figure out.

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**


	52. Chapter Forty Eight Part II

**Author's Note: Sorry this came a little later than I thought. I was reading Bonfire by Krysten Ritter. Super intriguing and suspenseful by the way. I'm only on chapter twelve but more and more questions keep popping into my head. Is it weird that I hear Jessica Jones narrating it as I read?**

 **So here's another famous Emma and Peter argument in this chapter. I love writing their arguments...they really are like an old married couple. This chapter kind of shows the perspective of some of the Avengers over their weird friendship. A super emotional chapter too by the way.**

 **So some artists I was listening to while writing the chapter was definitely Amy Shark and Vera Blue. Both are Australian musicians who I can't believe aren't ridiculously famous...especially Vera Blue. This is the mainstream pop music that should be on the radio instead of the crap that's on there now. She's so good! She's like this combination of classic folk music and modern pop music. That description sounds kind of weird but she's honestly really talented.**

 **A huge thank you to angaran who did the amazing new cover for 'Some Things Never Sleep'. I don't know if you can tell but I really suck at making covers so it was so nice of angaran to make the new one. I love it so much! I kind of consider it a belated Christmas present. Between this and the trailer knarl made I just can't even express my gratitude enough. Thanks so much.**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2: I don't think my frequent updates will end soon since I've super inspired to write this story lately but I don't want to make any promises. I have this idea for a Star Wars Poe Dameron/OC fanfiction but I know if I even start that I'll stop updating this one. So I'm just staying focused on this one for the time being. I've had a really bad habit in the past of starting a ton of different fanfics but never sticking with one for very long. 'Some Thing Never Sleep' is the first one that I've stuck with. I mean... around 450,000 long? I never would've imagined.**

 **Radioactive88: I don't think I even thought about making it steamy or anything. It just kind of happened.**

 **I am still thinking about the Peter option although I'm kind of leaning more towards Steve and Bucky at the moment. The feedback on Clint or Tony being the one is pretty limited but I was never completely sure about those options either. They were just ideas after all. I'm still conflicted but I'm hoping that the more I write, the more easy it will become for me to decide.**

 **ImsebastianstanButter: Yeah, I'm starting to eliminate Clint as an option. It's true that he was friends with Margot and everything but Emma's way closer to Steve, Bucky, and Peter. I haven't really eliminated Tony yet but I can't think of scenario where it would be him and him alone. I'm looking more towards Steve, Bucky, and Peter. Peter I'm not that sure about because I don't want to make him kill anyone. He loves Emma and I'm sure he'd want to but I don't know if I can do that to him. He's so innocent and cute. Steve and Bucky are probably the two options that it'll come down to.**

 **I have like ten different scenarios in my head of how killing Rumlow will go. I invented a scenario where Emma kills him pretty brutally. There was a scenario where Peter just lost it and killed him. Like two scenarios where Steve did it. One where Bucky did it. A scenario where it was Bucky and Steve together and even one with Clint. So I haven't gotten as far to think about where Emma's going to be. I'm still trying to decide if she'll really get kidnapped by Hydra again or if the Avengers will storm the base. It would be kind of interesting for Hydra to put her through that memory suppressing machine like they did with Bucky so we can see a brainwashed Emma. I'm not sure right now. It's not going to happen for a while and I have a lot of ideas. It's just the process of scraping some and deciding on others. This part is going to be the hardest to write because it's completely AU.**

 **Raylan: Thank you! When I was writing that chapter I was trying to think of ways to show the rape scene with Emma without it being too graphic but just as frightening and I decided on that one. She always associated Rumlow with the big bad wolf and that's what he is to her. He's a monster and I really wanted to emphasize that without being overly detailed with the rape scene.**

 **ilypopxtart333: Emma will always have a temper. I think that's why Peter and her bicker so much. She doesn't let anyone get away with anything but neither does he. They're both stubborn that way, I guess.**

 **Avalongirl55: They'll get over their differences in this chapter so a training session like that will definitely happen. Yeah, I'm definitely leaning more towards Steve and Bucky right now as options. I'm not crossing Peter off the list quite yet either so he's still an option. Pretty sure that Tony and Clint aren't going to be the ones now either though. This is super hard which is a good thing for Emma. It's a good thing that she has so many people that care about her.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Guest: There will definitely be more chapters to come with Margot and Steven. I'm not completely sure but maybe in three more chapters. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter with them in it. I was worried people weren't really going to be that into it.**

 **Red1: Rumlow's going to die but I don't think Emma's going to kill him either. There's still a lot of options I'm considering.**

 **Okay thank you to everyone about the whole Rumlow debate. I kind of find it hilarious that we're launching into a whole 'Who Should Kill Rumlow' discussion. That should be fanfiction in itself. 1,000 Different Ways to Kill Rumlow. Lol. You guys are the best.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"I don't get it. How is that _you're_ the one who's mad at _me?_ " Peter said angrily as he followed Emma into the recreational area of the compound. It was on the third floor of the compound complete with a huge living room/entertainment area and a fully equipped kitchen. Pepper and Darcy were really the only ones to use the kitchen these days. Steve used to use it pretty frequently but he was long gone now. Emma turned around to glare at Peter, not believing that he was seriously acting offended when all he'd done in the past two weeks was waste her time. Emma was starting to consider it a waste of time training him if he wouldn't even fight back.

"Are you kidding me?" Emma asked in disbelief. The pair were so immersed in their little quarrel that they failed to notice two other Avengers occupying the living room area. Rhodey and Vision both sat on the couch as they watched a movie but their view soon became obstructed as the two teenagers stood in front of the television screen. The two Avengers looked up in surprise at the tense stances of Emma and Peter but in all honesty they weren't that surprised. They had spent enough time around the two teenagers that the bickering between them became a bit notorious around the compound. Rhodey didn't think he had ever seen two people bicker that much in his lifetime. Not even Tony and Pepper argued that much.

"You were unnecessarily rough." Peter told her as he crossed his arms and Emma scoffed.

" _Rough?_ I wasn't rough." Emma denied and Peter shook his head in disbelief.

"Y-You kneed me d-down there!" Peter exclaimed as he struggled with his embarrassment at Emma kneeing him a private place. Emma rolled her eyes, not believing he was being this dramatic.

"Don't be a five year old, Parker." Emma told him heatedly. "Are you seriously going to cry because I hurt your dick? Sorry, I guess little Peter's not going to get any attention from your hand tonight." Rhodey's eyes widened in surprise as he heard the vulgar bluntness coming from Emma's mouth. He wasn't used to hearing her be that vulgar but then again Emma hadn't lived at the compound for a while. Steve never tolerated that kind of behavior when he lived there but since he wasn't there anymore…

"Woah, woah, kids." Rhodey said as he tried to intervene while Vision just watched the altercation curiously. "Let's be appropriate about this. No need for that kind of language." However, the decorated Air Force colonel went ignored as Peter and Emma continued to glare at each other. Peter blushed beet red from both anger and embarrassment at the words that had come from Emma's mouth.

"Why are you so disgusting sometimes?!" Peter exclaimed, completely livid. "You can't just say things like that!" Emma narrowed her eyes at the brown eyed boy.

"I can do whatever the hell I want! Don't tell me what to do." Emma spat venomously and Peter groaned in frustration as he ran his hands over his face before looking back up at her.

"You always twist my words around. That's not what I said…I'm not telling you what to do." Peter argued back while the two Avengers sitting on the couch could only watch in intrigue as the pair in front of them continued to bicker. Their eyes even moved back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match. In all honesty they had never met someone that had the balls enough to argue with Emma without backing down. Probably Steve but Steve was Emma's grandfather after all.

It was then, however, a certain billionaire came walking into the room but froze when he saw the sight before him. A delighted look came over his face as he sneaked by the two arguing teens before sitting next to Rhodey and Vision on the couch. Tony had been increasingly more annoying to both Emma and Peter recently since he heard that comment Darcy made a couple weeks before. He constantly teased the two of them about being a couple and Darcy often joined him in on the teasing. Emma wasn't sure if he teased them because he thought the idea of Emma being romantic with anyone was hilarious or if he legitimately thought something was going on between Peter and her. Neither Emma and Peter really noticed him as he glanced over at the other two on the couch.

"What's going on with Romeo and Juliet _this_ time?" Tony whispered to Rhodey without tearing his eyes away from the teenagers.

"Their training session didn't go well, I guess." Rhodey answered as his eyes also didn't leave the scene. The two teenagers were more entertaining than any movie on TV.

"I think you're being ridiculous." Emma told Peter bluntly and Peter gave her a look of disbelief. He scoffed.

" _I'm_ being ridiculous?! _Me_?!" He exclaimed and Emma stared at him blankly.

"Did I stutter?" Emma asked him sarcastically and Peter was so overcome with emotion that he didn't know how to feel. He wanted to be angry with Emma for being so infuriating but at the same time he just wanted to kiss her. How did that make any sense? How could you want to yell at someone but kiss them at the same time? It was completely crazy.

"You didn't need to be so aggressive in the training facility." Peter told her and Emma glared at him again.

"Well, maybe you should've fought back instead of just taking it." Emma retorted and Peter did that cute thing where he scrunched his nose up in anger as he clenched his jaw. Emma didn't really get how he could be so annoying yet so attractive to her all at once. It was quite obvious to her that Peter Parker had really driven her crazy. No sane person would think like that.

"I didn't just take it…I-I fought back." He told her and Emma scoffed.

"You did _not_ fight back." Emma replied as she shook her head. "We both know you held back in there, Parker. You're stronger than I am yet you did nothing. You let me beat the shit out of you when you could've easily fought back."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Peter denied but he couldn't fool Emma. She knew exactly what he was doing.

"Don't bullshit me. You've been holding out on me for the past two weeks." Emma accused before continuing. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." Peter protested weakly.

"Is it me? Are you afraid of hitting me?" Emma asked and when she saw the conflicted look on his face she knew she had her exact answer. "I'm right. Aren't I? You're afraid to hit me."

"No, I'm not." Peter denied once again and Emma just shook her head at him.

"You're a terrible liar, Parker." Emma told him before giving him a challenging look. "If you're not afraid then prove it me. Hit me." Emma told him and Peter's eyes widened in both shock and horror.

"What?!" He exclaimed in surprise but Emma had a look of nonchalance on her face.

"You heard me. Hit me." She then kept her hands strictly to her sides as she stared back at him. "I'll even let you have one clear shot. I won't even fight back…we'll switches places in that sense."

"You're insane." Peter accused as he shook his head in disbelief. "I'm not going to hit you."

"Why not?" Emma asked him as she pushed him to actually say it. "Huh? Why won't you hit me?"

"Because you're my friend. Friends don't hit each other." He argued but Emma scoffed, not buying it.

"No, that's not it." Emma then said the answer that she believed to be correct one. She'd say it if he wasn't going to. She just didn't know how wrong she happened to be about her answer. "It's because I'm a girl, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Peter denied, completely taken back by what Emma suggested.

"That's it. Isn't it?" Emma said as she continued to glare at the boy standing in front of her. He could stand there and deny it all he wanted but that's what Emma genuinely believed. Why else would he be so afraid to hit her?

"No it's not." Peter told her but it was no use. Emma was already convinced. Little did the blonde know that her being a girl had nothing to do with it. It was more of the fact that Peter was in love her. He was afraid of his own strength and whether or not he might harm Emma. Peter had almost lost her when the building collapsed and he didn't want to go through that again.

"God, you're so much like Steve, you know that? He never wanted to a hit a woman either. It's so annoying." Emma told him bitterly. "If you don't want to hit me than fine but I'm not going to bow down to your wishes and hold back too. If you want to get the shit knocked out of you than that's on you. Not me." With one last glare Emma then turned around to head back to her room. She was tired of arguing with Peter and she knew that she needed to spend some time away from him. He was only going to continue to frustrate her if she stayed.

"Where are you going?" Peter called after her as he watched her leave.

"Away from you." Emma snapped, not even bothering turning back to look at him as she walked down the stairs and disappeared from sight. Peter felt a bit crestfallen at the sight of Emma walking away from him in anger but he figured that it was probably better that the two of them had some time to cool off.

"It looks like it's time that we have a little guy to guy chat about women, kid." Tony said abruptly, causing Peter to look at all the three Avengers sitting there on the couch. It was the first time he had noticed any of them during the whole argument with Emma. He was a little embarrassed to see that they had witnessed the fight. Sometimes it was like he and Emma lived in their own world. Tony patted the spot next to him on the long couch and Peter hesitantly took a seat next to him.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Mr. Stark." Peter replied as he laughed nervously. Tony took off his tinted shades and gave Peter a knowing look.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Tony told Peter and the teenage boy nodded hesitantly. "Call me Tony. My father was Mr. Stark and I'm certainly not my father."

"Okay, Tony." Peter said, testing the way the name sounded coming from him. It felt kind of strange calling the man who was his mentor something so casual but he supposed that he would get used to it.

"I'm going to be really blunt with you, Peter." Tony said seriously as he looked at the troubled looking kid. "We all know there's something going on between you and Mini Cap." Peter immediately shook his head furiously as he blushed.

"No, there's not I-" Peter started to say but Mr. Stark interrupted him.

"Don't pull my leg, kid. Everyone knows it." Tony said before glancing over at Rhodey and Vision. "Rhodey knows it. Vision knows. Darcy knows it. Practically everyone knows that you have a thing for Mini Cap. Don't try to deny it." Rhodey and Vision nodded in unison at Tony's statement. Peter blushed an even deeper shade of red as he looked down at his hands, trying to avoid Tony's intense gaze.

"Do you think Emma knows?" He asked shyly, cautiously peeking up at the billionaire. Tony smiled at Peter, satisfied that he had gotten the kid to admit to there being something going on. Denial wasn't something good for two teenagers to have.

"No, I don't think so. Mini Cap is too caught up in her own brooding. She's like the male romantic lead of a Victorian era romance novel." Tony said before he smirked at the teenage boy. "But if you keep staring and drooling over her all the time than she'll probably figure it out sooner or later. Mini Cap's clueless about that kind of stuff but she's not stupid." Peter really wanted to sink through the couch and into the floor, disappearing for good.

"I don't drool." Peter mumbled to himself and both Tony and Rhodey laughed at the boy while Vision smiled in amusement.

"Look, I don't blame you, kid." Tony told him as he tried to make Peter feel more comfortable with the situation. "Mini Cap's a looker. She takes after Capsicle in that department. What a gene pool, right?"

"She'd never feel the same." Peter said dejectedly as he stared into space. Tony sighed because he knew that probably wasn't true. He had known Emma for a while now but he knew that she had been acting strange lately. Tony figured that it probably had something to do with Peter.

"I don't think that's true." Tony told him honestly, the conversation quickly becoming a more serious one. "I think Emma's spent so long trying to hide her emotions and fake other emotions that it's hard for her to show what she's really feeling. You have to remember that she spent almost ten years in a Hydra base where she was tortured and experimented on. It's not easy for her to just come out of that. She left Hydra over two and a half years ago but I think she left a part of herself behind in that base."

"Emma's a good person." Rhodey added from Tony's other side as Peter took in what they were saying. He was a bit angry at being reminded of the fact that Emma hadn't had the best of childhoods. Peter knew that Hydra did terrible things to her but he never knew the extent of it. It was never something she really talked about with him. "She's just had a tougher time than most. It's been hard on her since Steve's been away. Her and Steve are really close."

"I believe that Miss Rogers would like us to believe that she doesn't have a heart when, in fact, she does." Vision gave his input politely.

"Besides…you're a good looking kid. I don't think Mini Cap's blind." Tony told Peter sincerely as the teenage boy looked up at him in surprise. "Just be patient with her and cut her some slack. It's been tough on her since Cap's been away but I think she's getting better…I think you have something to do with that." Tony then cleared his throat as he moved on to the next topic he wanted to discuss with Peter.

"So now that we've got that out of the way let me tell you about the mystery that's been baffling men since the beginning of time…women." Tony said as he threw an arm around Peter's shoulder. "I'll give you the same talk that my old man gave me. The second you think you have a woman figured out, you'll be back to square one quicker than you would've ever imagined. Trust me…six years of dating Pepper and I still don't understand what I do wrong sometimes."

"I don't understand." Peter said, completely confused as to what Tony was trying to tell him.

"I'm saying that women are complex creatures but you've picked one that's more complex than all the others." Tony told him. "Hill just told me how your training session went and I have to tell you, Peter…just fight back. Hit her or whatever she wants. Let her have her way…it's much easier. Believe me. Especially with Mini Cap."

"But I can't hit her! I don't want to hurt her." Peter told Tony desperately. Tony gave Peter a very serious look as he heard him say that.

"Never say that to her face, kid. You think she was pissed just now…wait until you say something like that to her." Tony informed him before continuing. "You won't hurt her anyways. Mini Cap is in no way fragile. Go ahead and do your little sparring matches if it'll make her happy. Mini Cap likes sparring and I think she's just been feeling lonely lately because there's no one for her to go up against anymore." Peter looked down at his hands sadly.

"I didn't think of it like that. She never told me." Peter remarked and Tony shrugged.

"Well, she wouldn't. Anyways…the key is to keep her happy. If she's happy than you're happy. It's like that old saying…Happy wife, happy life. That's some good advice right there." Tony told him before smirking at the young, inexperienced boy. "Another thing about women…they're always right."

"No, they're not." Peter argued as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "No one can always be right." Tony just chuckled at the teenager before shaking his head. Even Rhodey looked amused.

"You've got a lot to learn, kid." Tony told him as he ruffled his hair. Peter crossed his arms as he still looked just as confused as before.

"Are you saying that I should apologize to her? She's the one that beat me up." Peter said in disbelief.

"No, I'm just saying to make a compromise…come to an understanding." Tony answered.

"Also some flowers or chocolate probably wouldn't hurt." Rhodey added before a conflicted look came over his face as he thought about what he just said. "Although now that I think about it Emma isn't really a flowers and chocolate kind of girl."

"Maybe a nice new set of knives. She might really like that." Tony quipped but Peter knew he was only joking. Peter knew better than anyone that Emma wasn't a girl you gave flowers to. She'd probably look at him like he was stupid and ask what the hell was wrong with him.

"Perhaps a nice dinner?" Vision suggested. "I attempted to cook dinner for Wanda once to cheer her up. The attempt was not successful but the sentiment was understood. Maybe you could order pizza instead?" Peter couldn't actually believe that he was getting girl advice from three Avengers…especially girl advice from Vision of all people. He appreciated the gesture since he didn't have a lot of male influence back at home.

"Well, Emma's never seen Star Wars." Peter said quietly and Tony grinned at him, giving him an impressed look.

"Okay…so there you have it. Dinner and a movie." Tony said before he started to ramble on. "Tell us when and I'll have Happy order the pizza. What do you like on your pizza? I know Mini Cap's pretty simple. She's fine with pepperoni but what about you? You seem like a pineapple kind of guy. Or maybe even-" Peter thought it was an opportune time for him to interrupt Tony before Tony launched into a full pizza debate.

"What if she doesn't want to talk to me?" Peter asked Tony hesitantly.

"Talk to her anyway. I know that I said that women are always right but don't let Mini Cap walk all over you." Tony told him sincerely and Peter nodded.

"Okay." Peter was about to get up from the couch to go talk to Emma like Tony suggested but the billionaire stopped him from leaving too soon. The teasing look on Tony's face was gone and replaced with a more serious expression.

"Look, Peter, I feel I really need to say something about this thing you have going on with Mini Cap." Tony said sincerely. "I'm happy that she has someone there for her and all. Especially you because you're a good kid…way better than I was at your age."

"But the thing is…Emma is special to all of us. We've known her since we saved her from Hydra." Tony said as he continued to talk to Peter about Emma. He was hoping to get a point across. "Steve was lonely since waking up from the ice. Almost everyone he knew was dead but when we found Emma he was happy again. Emma's his whole world…he adores her. Which is why I feel the need to step in for him in this situation." Tony sighed as he tried to be the parent figure for Emma that Steve was. He knew he could never replace Steve but he could at least try to be for Emma in the way Steve asked him to be. Tony felt like he owed it Steve and he owed it to Steven Jr. as well.

"I'm not really good at being the overprotective dad. That's Steve's job." Tony finally said as he started to wrap up his little talk with Peter. His gaze then hardened as he looked down at the teen. "However, if you ever hurt Emma than you're going to have a whole team of Avengers waiting to kick your ass including me. Well, there's only three here right now, including myself, but I'm sure Darcy would want to join in." Peter gulped as Tony, Rhodey, and even Vision had intimidating looks on their faces as they all looked down the couch at Peter.

"Noted." Peter said, a little too fearful of the three Avengers to say anything else but they could tell Peter got the message. Tony then gave the boy an amused look as he patted Peter on the back.

"Just be glad the others aren't here." Tony told him jokingly. "Not only would you have Cap, Barton, and Wilson to deal with but her father too. Something tells me Barnes isn't going to be cool with Mini Cap dating."

If Peter didn't feel nervous before he certainly did now. He hadn't really thought about any of that when he first started developing feelings for Emma. Not even when he fell in love with her. Peter had to admit that Emma's family was extremely intimidating. Her grandfather was Captain America and her adoptive father was the Winter Soldier. Not to mention that most of the Avengers felt incredibly protective over her. Maybe Tony was right…maybe it was good that the others weren't at the compound currently. The Winter Soldier kind of scared Peter…especially after all that he had learned about him. Peter knew that Emma loved him, however, so that had to mean that the Winter Soldier was a good person deep down.

"I understand, Mr. St-I mean…Tony." Peter said nervously and Tony gave him a quick nod.

"Good. Now go kiss and make up with your girlfriend already." Tony teased him, causing the teenager to blush beet red. Rhodey snickered at the look on Peter's face while Vision just seemed amused.

"She's not my girlfriend." Peter muttered as he got up from the couch and started to head for the stairs. The three Avengers watched the teenager disappear down the stairs, completely entertained by the thought of a romance going on between Peter and Emma of all people. It was nice for there to be something going on in the compound. Everything had been so quiet as of lately with everyone gone. Tony smirked at the other two on the couch.

"Things have just gotten very interesting." Tony remarked.

"God knows we need a little more drama around here." Rhodey said before glancing over at his friend. "The most interesting thing that happened recently was you proposing to Pepper and even that was kind of tacky." Tony glared at his friend.

"It was a perfect proposal. The press was there…Pepper _barely_ saw it coming." Tony defended.

"Exactly…tacky. Who proposes in front of a bunch of reporters?" Rhodey asked him and Vision decided to intervene to stop Tony and Rhodey from any further arguing. He wasn't human but that didn't mean that he couldn't be annoyed by the antics of his teammates from time to time.

"I also believe the interaction between Emma and Peter will be a lovely sight to see unfold." Vision added as he distracted the two from an impending argument. Tony momentarily forgot about Rhodey's insult as he heard Vision. The expression on the billionaire's face softened as a small smile formed.

"They do make a nice couple, don't they?"

* * *

Emma was in her room drawing in her sketchbook when she heard a quiet knock on her door. She was still a bit pissed off at Peter for treating her like she was delicate…like she was someone like Liz. Why wouldn't he just fight her? It would make everything increasingly more simple. Sometimes she would never understand that boy. Emma was annoyed by how much she thought about him these days. Her sketchbook even seemed to be filled with drawings she had drawn of Peter. Emma still didn't quite understand how she could feel the way she did about him but at them same time be incredibly angry with him.

"What?" Emma snapped, barely looking at the door. If that was Tony deciding to give her a lecture about hurting Peter's feelings than she didn't want to hear it.

"Um…hi. It-It's me, Peter." Peter stammered from the other side of the door. Emma rolled her eyes at the way he said that as though she couldn't tell who he was by his voice.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice void of any emotions as she tried to focus on her sketchbook. Emma was drawing the view outside her old bedroom in Avenger's tower. She's drawn it so many times that it was ingrained inside her mind. Emma would never forget the way the city looked outside her bedroom. Never.

"Can I come in?" Peter asked hesitantly. He was hesitant because Emma never allowed him in her room. In all honesty, sometimes her feelings for Peter were so intense that she felt suffocated with being around him so much. They were around each other literally all of the time. As terrible as it sounded Emma was kind of glad that Liz was gone because she knew things would be even worse for her if the girl had stayed at Midtown. Peter and Liz would've probably gotten together and Emma didn't think she'd handle seeing Peter with someone else very well. She was starting to think she was slowly becoming a jealous person. However, Emma knew that she needed some space to herself and her room was the one place where she could relax from her inner turmoil.

"Fine." Emma found herself saying. She couldn't help but agree to his request because he sounded so sad. Emma wrinkled her nose in distaste. The blonde couldn't believe half the things she thought these days.

Peter slowly walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He looked around in awe at her room, for a moment, which looked very similar to her room at her townhouse except for it looked a lot more decorated. Peter could tell that Emma had been living longer at the compound than she had at the townhouse. The room displayed a lot more of her artwork than her other bedroom as well as some other artwork. They were signed with the name Steve at the bottom so Peter could only assume that it meant that Emma's grandfather had drawn them. Peter supposed there was a lot Emma had inherited from her grandfather. One thing in particular seemed to be her artistic ability. The teenage boy's eyes then fell onto Emma who was laying across her bed, looking quite relaxed except for the fact that her shoulders were tense. The blonde was furiously drawing in her sketchbook, seeming unaware of his presence but Peter knew her better than that. Peter also noticed how the room smelled strongly of her strawberry and coconut shampoo. He gathered by her wet hair that she must've just taken a shower.

"Are you mad at me?" Peter asked her nervously. He was afraid of what Emma might say to him. The blonde glanced at him from over her sketchbook briefly and was annoyed that he had the tenacity to look at her like that with those puppy dog eyes. Her eyes quickly darted back to her sketchbook.

"Mad? No. I am incredibly annoyed with you though." Emma replied and Peter took that as a good sign. Annoyed was slightly better than being mad. He was also thankful that she hadn't told him to get out of her room.

"I know why you're upset with me." Peter told her softly but Emma still didn't look back up at him from her sketchbook. It was obvious that she was pretending to ignore him. "Mr. Stark told me that you've been wanting to train with someone for a long time but everyone's gone…he's said that you've been feeling lonely." Emma immediately shut her sketchbook as she glared at him. It seemed like that had gotten her attention.

"Yeah, well, Stark should learn to keep his mouth shut. I don't feel lonely…only soft people feel lonely and I'm not soft." Emma said bitterly as she got up from the bed and walked across the room. She stopped in front of the large glass window looking out upon the grassy clearing outside. Emma leaned against the wall as she looked out the window with a bitter and annoyed look on her face. Peter followed her cautiously and stood next to her as she looked out the window but Peter knew it wasn't the forest beyond the clearing that had her attention. He desperately tried to get a good read on her but like always she was a puzzle he could never seem to solve.

"You don't have to lie to me, Emma." Peter told her, remembering what Mr. Stark told him before. Emma was forced to control and manipulate her emotions for so long that it was difficult for her to really convey how she felt. He didn't blame her for that at all. It was all Hydra's doing after all. Peter couldn't imagine being forced to act one way all your life and then to be taken away from that and given the chance of freedom. It had to be so confusing for her. "We're friends."

"So?" Emma retorted as she still stared out the window, not even sparing him a glance. She knew that if she looked him in the eyes she would feel tempted to tell him everything…to forget all her anger at him. It's what made Peter so dangerous to her. He already had her heart and he could make her do anything if he really tried.

"Friends don't have to lie to each other." Peter told her sincerely, hoping to get through to her. "We're friends and I hope that you know that I would never do anything to hurt you."

It was then that Emma looked over at him. Her blue eyes searched his to see if she could find the truth there but she already knew he was telling the truth. Peter blushed from being under her close scrutiny. It was clear Emma had no qualms about staring directly at someone. Emma sighed as she looked away from him again because she knew that she could trust him but that's what scared her. It would be so easy to tell him everything. Emma didn't want to tell him everything about herself. She was sure he wouldn't want to be her friend anymore if he knew everything about her.

"I know you _wouldn't_ but you still _could_." Emma said softly. Peter gave her a confused look, not understanding what she meant by that but Emma didn't let him interrupt. She quickly continued with what she was going to say. Her eyes rested on his face once again as she turned in his direction, leaning against the large glass window. "Why won't you fight me? What's the real reason?" Peter swallowed nervously, looking down at his shoes briefly before looking back up at her.

"We both know that I'm stronger than you, right?" Peter asked. Emma immediately glared at him and looked like she was about to protest when he stopped her. "I don't mean that in a offensive way but it's true. I'm stronger than you but I also don't completely know my own strength yet either. I don't know if I could control myself enough not to hurt you if we fought. I meant what I said when I said that I'd never do anything to hurt you." Emma processed what Peter was telling her but she wasn't angry with him. She could be mistaken but she swore she heard a small trace of affection in his voice. Well, Peter seemed to be an affectionate person…he'd probably say the same thing to Ned if he had the chance.

"I'm not fragile, Peter." Emma told him. "If I survived what Hydra did to me than I can survive a sparring session with you." Peter shook his head furiously.

"But that's the thing! You shouldn't have to survive anything and I don't want to risk hitting you too hard. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you because of me." Peter said passionately as he locked eyes with her. His brown eyes were filled with tears and Emma felt overcome with emotion as she stared at those scared and sad brown eyes. "Do you know how much it hurt seeing you trapped underneath all that rubble? You wouldn't wake up and I was so scared. I thought I lost you forever."

Emma took a step closer to Peter as a tear escaped his eyes. She didn't know what came over her as she moved towards him. Emma was never really good at comforting people or even being affectionate but it was like this overwhelming urge, to make the tears go away, came over her. She always had trouble in the past in dealing with people who were emotional but it was like Emma suddenly knew what she was doing…like it came almost naturally to her. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. He seemed surprised by her gesture but he wrapped his arms around her as well. He buried his face in her wet hair, letting the smell of strawberries and coconuts bring him some comfort. The two teenagers just stood there holding each other for an extended amount of time. Emma didn't even feel uncomfortable or revolted by their close proximity. Somehow it felt right to her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Peter." Emma whispered to him and Peter just held her tighter, unwilling to let her go. "You're not going to lose me. I know that you wouldn't hurt me either."

"I'm still scared. I…I really care about you, Emma." Peter murmured to her so softly that it made Emma slightly shiver. He was so close to her and she could hear his heart racing. Emma wondered if he could hear her heart racing too. Probably. She found that she really wanted to stay there in Peter's arms. Emma had never felt warmer and safer than in his arms. She felt slightly guilty in thinking that because of Steve and Bucky but this was different.

"I care about you too." Emma whispered so quietly that Peter wasn't completely sure that he had even heard her. However, Peter was sure that's what she said.

"You do?" He asked her hesitantly.

"Yes." She answered vaguely but that was enough for Peter. Emma was never the most affectionate person so he knew it took a lot for her to even admit to caring. "I'd hate it if anything happened to you too. You're my best friend." Emma couldn't see his face but Peter was slightly frowning. He was glad that Emma thought so much of him to consider him a best friend but the truth was that he didn't want to be _just_ her best friend. Peter wanted more.

"You're my best friend too." Peter told her despite wanting to be more. He wished that he could tell her how he really felt about her but he didn't want to scare her. Peter considered what Mr. Stark had told him about Emma. She needed time…Hydra had taken on a toll on her and she was still healing from what happened to her. Maybe if he was patient she might even love him back someday. Peter could at least hope. "Just don't tell Ned. He thinks he's the only one." Emma smiled at his last comment.

"I won't. I promise." Emma told him before pulling away so that she could look at him. She hadn't really wanted to pull away from his embrace but if she stayed wrapped in his arms any longer Emma wasn't so sure she'd find it in herself to pull away. She saw the tears that were still wet against his cheeks and gently wiped them away. Peter blushed at the feel of her fingers gently caressing his face with such care that it was like she was handling glass. Emma then took a step back.

"We can test your strength if you want…set up precautions even. Just some boundaries before we spar again. There's a gym Steve and I used to go to in Brooklyn." Emma told Peter as she moved onto a different matter. The moment was clearly over as she avoided looking directly into his eyes. "The guy who owns it said that I was welcomed there anytime. It's mostly empty so there's not a lot of onlookers. We could go there during the week between school and our do-gooder activities."

"I don't know how to box." Peter told Emma but she didn't seem fazed. She just gave him a small smile as she looked back at him.

"There's not much to it. I'll show you. It's not like I'm training you to be Rocky or anything." Emma told Peter before the teenage boy gave her a look of disbelief.

"You've seen Rocky but not Star Wars?" He asked her and Emma laughed that soft musical laughter that Peter always loved. Despite his disbelief he couldn't help but smile at the way her entire face lit up, her blue eyes gleaming with humor. He hoped that someday he might be able to make Emma that happy all the time.

"Rocky's a very inspirational movie. It's impossible not to love Rocky…he's the Italian Stallion after all." Emma defended, still smiling at Peter. Peter just shook his head at her but smiled nonetheless. Something the other Avengers suggested to him suddenly occurred to him as he looked at Emma.

"Do you think we could finally have that Star Wars marathon we were talking about?" Peter asked Emma shyly. Emma looked at him curiously as she considered what he just asked her. She always teased him about being a Star Wars nerd but in all honesty she was a bit interested in seeing Star Wars. Everyone always talked about it so much that Emma was dying to see what all the hype was about.

"Sure. I'd really like that." Emma told him before smirking at him. "I'll join in on your little nerd fest if you really want." Peter playfully glared at her.

"It's not a nerd fest. Lots of people love Star Wars…cool people even." Peter defended and Emma really loved how passionate he was about things. He was adorable when he'd launch into his little rambling about why Star Wars was the best. Emma was tempted to argue with him about how Harry Potter was the best but she never did. She enjoyed just listening to him talk about how much he loved Star Wars.

"Whatever you say, Parker." Emma told him and Peter instantly knew that Emma was only trying to rile him up. He wasn't mad at her for it because it was just like Emma to push his buttons. He smiled at her sheepishly before making a suggestion.

"Great…so if you're not doing anything maybe we can start the marathon in half an hour?" Peter suggested somewhat nervously. He was afraid she'd flat out refuse him but she did no such thing as she nodded.

"Sounds good." Emma agreed and Peter smiled happily, completely delighted that she had actually agreed. He nodded quickly as he gathered his bearings.

"Great…so I'll see you then?" Peter asked, almost stumbling over his words. Emma gave him an amused look.

"Well, there's minimal traffic on the stairs so… hopefully." Emma said playfully. It occurred to her that she may have even been slightly flirting with Peter. Peter blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"That's nice. So…I'll just leave you to it." Peter told her as he turned back around, starting to leave her room. Emma's smile then faded and was replaced with a frown as she remembered something.

"Peter?" Emma called out to him, causing Peter to turn back around to look at her. He gave her a curious look and Emma bit her lip nervously. "I'm sorry for being so rough with you before. Are you okay?" Peter didn't seem fazed as he nodded his head at her. He was a little sore but it was nothing a hot shower couldn't fix. His healing factor was fast so Peter was sure he'd be good to go in the morning.

"It's nothing, Emma." Peter told her seriously and Emma gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm really sorry for kicking you in between the legs too. That was a shitty thing to do." Emma told him sincerely and Peter blushed at her frankness. "I didn't kick you _too_ hard, did I? You'll be okay, right?" Peter's face became even redder as he stared at her wide eyed. He couldn't believe she asked him about _that_ as well. Usually he would believe it but he could tell Emma wasn't teasing him or being sarcastic. She was genuinely concerned. Peter quickly looked away from the concerned look on her face.

"It's um…well-well it's fine. I'll be okay a-after a shower." Peter stuttered and Emma nodded, still looking concerned.

"Are you sure? Do you need an ice pack or something?" Emma asked and Peter clenched his eyes shut as he continued to nod. He wanted to be anywhere but there in Emma's room right in that moment. Peter was incredibly uncomfortable with her constant questioning. He would rather not have the girl he was in love with asking him questions about his…member.

"No, I don't. I'm fine but can we just never talk about this again?" Peter asked her as he then opened his eyes. Emma realized then that she had probably questioned him too much. She blushed in realization as she nodded.

"No, I get it. We'll just forget that ever happened." Emma told him, still blushing, and Peter nodded.

"Thank you." Peter said gratefully, relieved that Emma was letting that particular topic go. His embarrassment could die right there in the moment.

"So see you in half an hour?" Emma asked as she changed the topic from that one. Peter smiled at her as he nodded once more.

"Yes." He confirmed. Emma gave him a short nod and Peter decided to take his leave then. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as Peter was out in the hallway he leaned back against the door for a moment as he exhaled. His mind was going over bits and pieces of their conversation as well as the time Emma wrapped her arms around him. His brain felt like it was going to explode from all the feelings and sensations he felt from his confrontation with Emma. A smile then formed on his face at the thought of having a Star Wars marathon with Emma. A Star Wars marathon meant several hours of having Emma all to himself. Peter quickly left Emma's bedroom door as he walked next door to his room with the same goofy smile on his face.

* * *

Emma and Peter were back on the third level of the compound where they had their argument earlier. As they both sat on the couch in the living room area their fight seemed to be long forgotten. Everyone else had cleared out of the third level to give the two some privacy. Unknown to both Emma and Peter, however, Tony Stark was watching the video feed from the third floor like he was watching an episode of the _Bachelorette._ The two teenagers had just gotten finished watching _Empire Strikes Back_ which Emma was more than impressed with. She thought _A New Hope_ was pretty good but the sequel was better than she imagined it would be. Emma really didn't know how to explain but it was just that good. She didn't really want to admit it but she may have even liked Star Wars. The credits of the movie started rolling and Peter turned to look at the blonde.

"So…what did you think?" He asked her, anticipating her reaction to the film. Emma tried to be nonchalant as she shrugged her shoulders.

"It was pretty good, I guess." She replied and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Pretty good?! Back to the Future is pretty good… Empire Strikes Back is one of the best movies of all time." Peter ranted to her and Emma fought the urge to smirk at him. She thought it was adorable and hilarious whenever he got all nerdy.

"I wouldn't go that far, Parker…Casablanca is _the_ best movie of all time." Emma corrected him and a look of distaste came over Peter's face. He wrinkled his nose in disgust which Emma found pretty cute despite his stance on _Casablanca._

"That's one of those boring old movies from like a hundred years ago." Peter complained and Emma glared at him because no one, not even Peter Parker, insulted the great Humphrey Bogart and got away with it.

"Firstly, it came out in 1942 so not a hundred years old and secondly…How do you know it's boring? Have ever seen Casablanca?" Emma asked him. Peter blushed as he reluctantly shook his head.

"Well, no." He admitted and Emma nodded. That's what I thought, Emma thought to herself.

"It's definitely not boring. One of these days I'm going to make you see for yourself." Emma told Peter as she hinted that she might want to continue this new tradition of movie marathons. Despite Peter's dislike of super old films, like _Casablanca_ , he was excited at the prospect of just spending time with Emma in a capacity that didn't involve training or crime fighting. "I like Harrison Ford but he doesn't hold a candle to Humphrey Bogart."

"How did you even become interested in those old movies anyways?" Peter asked her curiously. He didn't mean it in a mean way but he was honestly confused about how she became so interested in movies that were several decades older than either of them. A small smile made it's way onto Emma's face as her mind immediately went to Steve.

"Steve. He always showed me movies that he and my father went to go see back in the day." Emma answered softly and Peter admired the way her smile reached her eyes. "Apparently father was quite the Casanova back then. Steve said he was always the third wheel on my father's dates." Peter raised an eyebrow. He was more than a little curious about two of the most important people in Emma's life. She didn't talk about them that often and Peter figured that it was because she missed them so much.

"Why does that surprise you about your father?" Peter inquired and Emma just shook her head as her smile faded.

"He was never like that when I knew him. It's like Steve and I knew two completely different people." Emma replied honestly before the conversation took a darker turn. "My father was always quiet and calculating when I knew him. He never said much…only when we were alone. He wasn't the funny and charming Bucky Barnes that Steve always talks about."

"I wanted to be just like him when I younger, you know." Emma told Peter and the teenage boy was hanging onto every word she said. It rare that Emma would talked about her past. "The first time I ever saw him was when he killed a man. I was terrified of him at first but with time that fear faded. He taught me how fight, how to survive…he even taught me how to kill." Emma uttered the words so coldly that Peter thought he might shiver but he listened to Emma speak nonetheless.

"I learned to not be afraid of him because he never laid a hand on me. He never called me 'Stupid Girl' and he was never cruel." Emma continued to say and Peter clenched his jaw at the thought of anyone ever laying a hand on Emma or calling her names. "The others were afraid of him though…he terrified them. I wanted to be like that. I thought that I might be able to strike fear in them so that they would leave me alone. I only ever wanted to be like him." A far away look entered her eyes as she spoke more of her time in Hydra.

"He was my first and only friend…my friend, teacher, and father all wrapped up into one person. Sometimes I even wanted to go on Hydra's missions…to kill…because I thought it would make him more proud of me." Emma spoke so softly that Peter wasn't sure that he had even heard her but the remorseful look on her face spoke volumes. "I know not all of them were good people but I still see their faces sometimes when I close my eyes."

It was quiet for a moment as they sat in silence before Peter finally spoke. That was a lot to take in but Peter still wasn't scared of her. He didn't think he could ever be scared of Emma. Not after all they had been through together. Now that he had heard Emma's recollection of her father, he understood how someone could be completely different from what they once were. The Emma he knew was cynical, calculating, blunt, and even mean at times but she was also compassionate, funny, and an incredibly intense human being. The Emma from Hydra sounded like a lost little girl to Peter. It seemed like now, however, Emma had finally found her place. She was never a bad person to begin with.

"You're not a bad person for wanting to be like him. He's your father…of course you'd look up to him." Peter told her gently but Emma shook her head.

"It's not just that Peter. I became so immersed in Hydra that I hadn't even wanted to leave when the Avengers came for me." Emma confessed, sadness in her eyes. "They came to rescue me and I fought them. It wasn't just because of my father that I didn't want to leave either. Missions were my whole life then. There was nothing but the mission…there was no movies, school, or games. No fooling around. It was just the mission and then the one after that."

"You're not in Hydra anymore, Emma." Peter said quietly, observing the look of pure self loathing on her face. He realized, despite his own curiosity, that he should've never asked her about her father. It seemed to cause her a lot of pain and that wasn't something he wanted. "You'll never have to go back there either." Emma turned to look at him, unshed tears in her blue eyes.

"But I'll always be like this." Peter gave her a confused look and Emma smiled bitterly. "Don't look at me like that, Peter. I know that I'm not the friendliest person. I honestly don't even know why you want to be friends with me. You'll probably never be able to trust me." Peter was actually a little mad at her for even saying that. How could she question the way he felt about her? It was a moment like this that Peter wanted to tell her how he loved her. Maybe it would make her happier. He then decided against that because now was probably not the right time to tell her how he really felt about her. Not when she was in a state like this. He didn't want to confuse her.

"Don't say that." He told her determinedly. "I trust you more than you know." Emma looked like she was about to protest but Peter didn't give her the chance.

"You're one of the most intelligent, fearless, and intense human beings I've ever met. You're forgiving too…just like you forgave Mr. Stark. If I was in your position I'm not sure that I would've been able to forgive him." Peter told her because continuing. "You care about people more than anyone I've ever known. You're strong and determined."

"With a past like yours it should've been impossible for you to overcome everything and become the person that you are today but you still did it." Peter said as an unreadable look came over Emma's face. "Don't ever doubt yourself, Emma."

She really wanted to believe Peter but Emma didn't know if she could. Emma believed that Peter felt that way about her but Emma couldn't believe that about herself. The truth was that she wasn't this strong person that Peter claimed she was. If anything she was incredibly weak…if Peter knew everything that went down in that Hydra base than he'd be disgusted with her. If he knew what happened that night that Rumlow came into her room than he wouldn't want anything to do with her. Emma had let Rumlow do those things to her and she hadn't even stopped him. How was she all that Peter claimed her to be if she couldn't even stop an average strength man from taking what he thought was his? However, Emma didn't say any of this as she smiled at Peter softly and tried not to think about Rumlow. She wouldn't let Rumlow ruin this night she had with Peter.

"Thank you, Peter." She murmured and Peter just smiled back at her. He was so innocent, Emma thought to herself. He was also naïve but those were things she already knew about Peter. She suddenly wished that she could be innocent and naïve enough for him too. Maybe he'd even like her like he liked Liz.

"Let's get Return of the Jedi started." Peter said as he changed the subject from such a dark topic. She wondered if he could tell read her that well…to know when and if she needed a distraction. He was dangerously close to her but she didn't really care anymore. Emma was always careful but for once in her life she didn't want to be careful anymore. Peter Parker would probably break her heart but Emma loved him too much to just leave.

"Please tell me Han Solo's alright. He's not going to die, right?" Emma asked as she pushed aside those intense emotions. Peter just smirked at her, his brown eyes dazzling with mischief.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Emma rolled her eyes but smiled at him nonetheless.

The two teenagers then resumed their Star Wars marathon, putting aside their conversation but not really forgetting about it either. They had pushed boundaries more than ever that day. Both Emma and Peter loved each other but neither were brave enough to admit it aloud. Emma with all her self-loathing and Peter because he feared rejection. Emma realized then that being away from Steve and her father was hard but Peter made it easier. She didn't miss them as much as she had before because she didn't feel as lonely as she once did. Peter realized that he didn't need stupid things like being liked by people who didn't matter or dating the most popular girl in school. He realized what was important to him and that was because of Emma…because she was one of those things that was important to him. They both made the other a better person without even completely knowing it.


	53. Chapter Forty Nine

**Author's Note: Okay, so a little bit of a shorter chapter than the last. Sorry for taking a bit of time to write this but I was finishing the book I was reading.**

 **So this chapter I was listening to Bleachers and BORNS while writing. Just found out that BORNS has a new album coming out next week and I'm super excited. Hopefully it's as good or better than the last one because Dopamine has to be one of my favorite albums of all times. It's crazy how that guy's not more famous. Thanks to Duffie145 for recommending Bleachers. I listened to some of the Bleachers before but not a lot. You're totally right by the way. That guy is amazing and on some songs he even reminds me a bit of Bowie. I'm not really a fan of his girlfriend but I don't have to be because it's his music that I love.**

 **I can also say with almost full confidence that chapter fifty one will contain another look into the life of Emma's parents before she was born. I'm excited to write more about that.**

 **crazyman844:I think the only way Peter could kill him is if it was an accident when he beating the shit out of him or whatever. I'm interested in writing Peter as the one to do it because it would definitely be something complex for his character to deal with. I'm also interested in writing about how Emma would help him cope with that. It's still not a sure thing though and I'm continuing to work out all these scenarios.**

 **alleya02: Emma's definitely not going to kill Rumlow. The three people I'm mainly looking at is Steve, Bucky, and Peter. I'm currently trying to create three scenarios with them individually before picking the best one.**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2: I don't think I'll have Wanda kill him. Emma and Wanda will probably make amends when the others return from Wakanda. She's grown up a lot in the absence of Steve and Bucky. Forgiveness is a part of her now and if she's managed to forgive Tony than I think she can forgive Wanda too and let bygones be bygones.**

 **Spawn Hades: Peter and Emma might get together a little sooner than you think. It's so hard to decide which one will kill Rumlow though. I'm so conflicted and this is the most conflicted I've ever been about anything in writing this story. I'm not sure if I'll have Venom Peter in this fanfiction. If I did than it wouldn't happen for a long time. I've never read any of the comic books, at least not Spider-Man ones, so I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe once the Venom movie comes out I might have a better idea as to how to approach that but for now I don't think that will be in the story. Never say never though. Maybe someday.**

 **Radioactive88: I think Tony would probably laugh or be amused if she said something like that in front of him. I'm actually super excited for the others to return to the story in Part III because they're going to see a much different Emma. They're going to see a flirty and in love Emma Rogers which is probably going to shock the hell out of them. I'm dying to write a scene which Emma says something like that to Peter in front of Steve. It's gonna be so hilarious.**

 **Tony is definitely going to be the one to take credit when Emma and Peter finally get together. Emma will probably roll her eyes and tell him that he's full of shit. I also wanted to show that he is starting to see Peter as a sort of son so he's happy for him but at the same time he has to be protective of Emma because he does care about her but he also promised Steve. I think once Steve and Bucky come back he'll probably revert back to being the cool and laid back uncle. I never really indicated whether or not Tony continued to listen to Emma and Peter but I know he probably let them have their moment on their own. He probably turned away at that moment. Tony was only watching them out of curiosity rather than worry. He knows that Peter wouldn't do anything with Emma. He trusts him.**

 **Steve will grow to like Peter although it might take him some time to get over the fact that Emma will be in a relationship. He always wanted her to have that but he kind of thought it wouldn't happen until she was college age. Bucky on the other hand isn't going to be thrilled about it. He watched Emma grow up and isn't ready for her to be growing up so fast. Bucky had to miss a lot of Emma growing up at the same time too because of the cyro-chamber and being on the run.**

 **Emma-Jean02: Thank you for the kind review! I really wished Emma was in the movies too. Oh well...I'm sure Peter and Michelle will make a great couple someday too. Michelle's cool.**

 **Mika614: In regards to Uncle Ben I think you'll like this chapter. Thanks for the constructive criticism. I didn't really realize that I was even doing that but I'll try to keep that in mind for future chapters. Thanks.**

 **Mcduffie: Deep down Emma is a teenager so she does react to Peter in a somewhat normal way since she's in love with him but at the same time she's kind of afraid of how much she feels for him. It's definitely hard for her but it'll end up being good for her once Peter and her finally admit their feelings to each other.**

 **Well, technically you and I have a similar taste in music too.**

 **I'm in the pacific time zone I think but I update like at one in the morning because I can't sleep a lot of the times. I'm sort of weird because I can only really write at night. I don't know why. Daylight just doesn't really inspire me. I'm almost like a vampire. I go to bed at four in the morning and wake up at noon. That's probably bad for me but I'm still young so I guess I can handle it.**

 **Thank you for listening to Vera Blue by the way! I just found out about her a few days ago and I can't stop listening to her. She deserves to be way more famous.**

 **Hannah: Well, I might not completely check him off the list but I'm definitely checking Clint off the list. I'm still in the process of figuring out the who should kill Rumlow thing. So many decisions.**

 **Anna: You're so nice! Thank you! I definitely don't think I'm one of the best writers on fanfiction because I make a lot of grammar mistakes but thanks anyways. I needed an ego 's going to discuss what really happened to her within Part III. It's getting closer and closer. I think it'll show how far she's come along when she finally reveals what happened to her. It's just been bottled up inside her for too long. Emma and Peter will probably admit their feelings for each other within the next five chapters. Not sure what chapter that'll be yet but it's really not that far away. People are so frustrated with those two, myself included, but this is really hard on the both of them. Peter because he thinks Emma wouldn't feel the same way about him and Emma because she thinks Peter deserves someone way better than her. Anyway...people can calm down a bit because it's gonna happen soon and I'm so excited to write it.**

 **Sorry for not answering all the reviews but I really wanted to get this chapter out to you guys. Thank you and please let me know what you think.**

* * *

He'd never see them coming.

That's the first thing that slipped into Emma's mind as she and Peter stood on the roof of one of the many tall apartment buildings in Queens. It was a couple days after their Star Wars marathon and they were back home. Emma had taken Peter to the gym in Brooklyn the day before so he could test his strength. He wasn't the best boxer apparently but Emma had seen Maximoff box so she knew no one could be as bad as that.

Emma and Peter were currently tending to what Emma liked calling their neighborhood watch duties. Peter wasn't as fond of the term so of course Emma kept calling it that to annoy him. After Tony had given the both of them their suits back they had resumed their crime fighting status as the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. The two were currently investigating a series of recent robberies in the area. She had received a discreet tip from an informant about a couple of low level armed burglars that were planning to rob one of the upscale department stores in the neighborhood. Of course, there were much nicer department stores in Manhattan but it was clear to Emma that they weren't dealing with the best of the best here.

"They just entered the store, Emma. Should we go in?" Peter asked her but the blonde stood still and quiet as observed the scene below them. One of the men, Alan Fisher, had done around three years at Riker's for armed robbery. He's gotten out on parole early for good behavior and that was only a couple months ago. It didn't take him long to go back to work, now did it? Emma thought to herself, amused by the man's sloppiness. Well, this was what she signed up for after all. She knew that she was never going to be dealing with criminals that were Loki or Hydra level…not in Queens anyways. Toomes was a rarity.

"Not yet." Emma told him quietly and Peter raised an eyebrow at her from under the mask.

"We've got to act soon. They've got guns." Peter replied but Emma didn't seem bothered.

"No one's going to get hurt tonight." Emma said, sounding quite sure of herself and even Peter felt a bit more relaxed at her confidence. He felt so relaxed that he decided to listen to her and wait. Emma watched through her Viper Vision in her mask as the men casually walked through the store but she knew that they had guns they were hiding under their coats. Their thermal heat signatures showed cold spots where the guns were placed on their bodies. Emma didn't know who the other man was and her informant wasn't quite sure either. The other man was older than Fisher and evidently had no criminal record. That didn't mean that he was innocent either…he was just better at getting away with his crimes. Emma's informant had also told her that Fisher's partner was very mysterious as well as something of a quiet man. Her informant said something about how the man gave him the creeps. Good thing Emma never got creeped out.

"This will be simple, right?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged. The truth was that her and Peter had been tracking this string of burglaries since the beginning of the week. So far there had been three burglaries in the Queens area and all at department stores. Emma and Peter only recently made the connection to Fisher which hadn't taken them long. All they had to do was search for crimes similar to the current ones being committed before looking through the criminal database for perpetrators of those crimes that had recently be released. Fisher was the only one that meet the criteria and the information her informant gave her only confirmed hers and Peter's suspicions. Although...Emma never exactly told Peter about her informant. She didn't think he'd be comfortable with the kind of person her informant was.

"It could go either way." Emma told him. "Just don't underestimate these guys. Remember…we know next to nothing about the other one. Let's play this safe and not become too arrogant."

Peter nodded in agreement. He usually listened to Emma in these instances. They hadn't had much to deal with in the past couple weeks. A couple of car thefts every now and then. Someone had stolen someone's prized poodle the week before. To Peter's surprise Emma had even went so far as to go on a witch hunt for the missing poodle. They tracked down the poodle in about an hour. It wasn't incredibly hard to find the dog burglar since the person posted an ad on Craigslist for the dog. Peter had wanted to laugh at the look on the young college student's face when he walked into his dorm room and saw the Viper Assassin waiting there for him. He didn't even think the guy noticed him until much later. Peter then frowned as something else occurred to him.

Emma must've been very bored if she did something as trivial as tracking down some rich old lady's poodle. He never really pictured her as the kind of person to hunt down dog burglars. As far as he knew Emma hated dogs…well, she hated any kind of pet as it would seem. He remembered Cindy Moon showing Emma a picture of her puppy once and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. If anything Peter was amused by the sight because only Emma would be disgusted by something as cute as a puppy unlike most girls. This was why it bothered him that she would go out of her way to find the dog. Peter knew it wasn't because she felt bad for the old lady. He distinctly remembered hearing Emma call her a 'snobbish old bitch' under her breath. No, Emma did it for another reason and he didn't know why. He was still surprised that she had even decided to stay in Queens with him instead of living at the compound full time and being an Avenger. Crime fighting in Queens should've been boring and beneath her but Emma never complained about it…not even once.

Peter was snapped out of his thoughts as they heard one of the men, Fisher, start to shout at a loud volume. Emma narrowed her eyes. It appeared that Fisher and his partner had finally decided to make a move. She would need to think about this very carefully to ensure that no civilian lives got lost in the mix. Emma caressed her gun holster as she normally did before confrontations with targets…or criminals. She realized it was something like a good luck charm for her even if she didn't believe in luck. Tony didn't seem happy with the fact that she carried a gun but it wasn't like she ever used it these days anyways. Emma much preferred close quarters combat to a gun. There was also the fact that Emma was now using her grandfather's shield during these little missions or mini missions, as she liked to call them, her and Peter went on. The shield handled the situation more than well.

"We'll enter the store through the back door. It doesn't look like Fisher or his partner are making any move to barricade any of the other doors." Emma told Peter as she continued to look through the building with Viper vision.

"Isn't that odd? You'd think Fisher would've learned from his old mistakes." Peter replied and Emma just shook her head.

"He's had three successful robberies…he's gotten cocky. Fisher thinks this will be quick and easy." Emma said as both her and Peter walked closer to the edge of the roof.

"Well, let's show him otherwise." Peter quipped and she knew he had that cute little smirk on his face from under his mask. The teenage boy flung his wrist out and shot a rope of webbing over to the building across from them. He raised an arm out towards her and like she could read his mind, Emma immediately walked over to him. Peter carefully wrapped an arm around her with his other hand holding onto the rope of webbing. He then quickly propelled them down to the ground. This seemed to be a sort of normal occurrence between them now whenever they were doing their rounds in Queens. It was never talked about but then again it never needed to be talked about.

Once they reached the ground, Emma immediately stepped away from Peter and entered what she called her mission mode. Peter followed her as she silently walked up to the backdoor only to notice that it was already opened. A small object held the door open which Emma found suspicious so she took Steve's shield from her back, much like she had seen her grandfather do countless times before, and put her arm through the straps on the inside. This was the first time that she had really been able to use it in action. None of the other stuff that her and Peter had investigated had ever needed the shield. A part of her was excited but the more rational part of her was cautious. She made a motion for her hand for Peter to be as silent as possible. Peter didn't say anything but she knew he got the message. The signals with her hands were something that only her and her father had ever understood, something they only used on missions, but Peter was also becoming privy to their silent language as it would seem.

She tiptoed into the building through the backdoor and immediately knew why the backdoor was propped open. A middle aged woman, who looked to be an employee of the store, sat in a dark corner in the stock room as she trembled in fear, her eyes darting to another door. It was her who had propped the door open. Emma figured that the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man had become known guardians of Queens so it made sense why she knew they were coming. Peter glanced at the woman curiously but followed Emma. He wished that he could say something to make the woman feel better but the clock was ticking.

Emma and Peter carefully crept through the stockroom and finally made their way towards the entrance into the main part of the store. They could both hear a man, Fisher more than likely, yelling as he made his demands. They reached the door and Emma made a signal for Peter to stop moving. He did as requested and Emma looked through the door using her Viper Vision. She could see the thermal heat signatures of Fisher, Mystery Man, and five other individuals. At least three of them had to be employees while the other two were customers. It was almost closing time for most stores in the area which explained the lack of customers. Emma and Peter then listened to what was going on outside the door.

"Give us the fucking money! Everything in the cash register and the safe!" Fisher shouted at the cashier.

"We don't have a safe." The scared cashier uttered. Emma could practically hear the tremor in the man's voice.

"Do you think we're stupid?! Of course, you've gotta safe." Fisher said aggressively. "Now give us the money and I won't blow this lady's brains out." Emma decided that now was probably the appropriate time to make their entrance. Peter gave her a slow nod and Emma did the same in response. Then, as if they were truly in sync, the pair pushed open the door with such force that it nearly fell of it's hinges when it swung open.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as they stared at the two crime fighters…all except for one man. Mystery man. The customers and employees looked slightly relieved to see them there but still in fear for their lives. Fisher had a gun pointed at them after all. Fisher then pointed his gun at the both of them, his remarkably calm and quiet partner also pulled out and pointed his gun at them.

"What the fuck are you two freaks doing here?!" Fisher yelled at them. His voice was aggressive but Emma could tell that he was nervous and frightened from his trembling stance as well as the scared look in his eyes. Fisher realized he wasn't getting out of this one. Emma briefly assessed Fisher's partner but saw that the man didn't appear to be frightened in the least. He was older than Fisher, most likely in his forties, but the look on his face was emotionless. His eyes were a haunting gray and Emma felt like she might've seen him before…once maybe. Her mind, however, was otherwise occupied by the current situation as she refused to dwell on the odd man.

"Hey, Mr. Burglar, that's no language for this kind of establishment." Peter quipped as he gestured to the nice store they were currently in. Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was always like Peter to joke around with these assholes. She preferred tactics that were far more terrifying than that.

"It's nice to finally be acquainted Mr. Alan Fisher." Emma saw the surprised look on the idiot's face and smirked. It was obvious that he didn't expect them to know who he was. "Oh, were you not expecting us to know your name? Well, I guess you're not as smart as you thought you were. It was quite easy to track you down."

"Shut up, you fucking bitch!" He shouted at her but Emma wasn't fazed. Peter, however, was very offended as he glared at the man.

"That's not how a gentlemen talks to a lady. Apologize." Peter told the man, his voice was dark which actually kind of surprised Emma. Normally she would've been very excited to see him force the man to apologize but she wanted to cut this short. Darcy had dinner waiting at the townhouse and Emma was starving. The super soldier hunger was relentless.

"That's alright, Spider-Twerp. I don't mind." Emma said coldly as she stared back at Fisher. "Listen here, Fisher, Spider-Twerp and I have things to do so if you'll kindly put down the weapon we'll restrain you and leave you for the cops to deal with." Fisher just scoffed at her…as if _she_ was the stupid one.

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" He asked Emma.

"Do you really want us to answer that?" Peter asked him which caused Fisher to glare angrily at the both of them. Emma wanted to smack Peter upside the head for that one. She thought he told her that they needed to diffuse the tension in situations like this to avoid casualties on both ends. Now here he was going on his merry way provoking someone like Fisher who obviously had a short temper. Emma had provoked him a bit before but she knew that it wouldn't take much to set him off.

"You have a really big mouth, you know that?" Fisher sneered as he kept the gun pointed at them. Emma spared a glance at the other man but his demeanor was still the same. Cold and calculating.

"He does actually." Emma answered as she eyed the gun in her hand. She knew if worse came to worse she could throw the shield up in front of her and Peter but Emma didn't want to risk him shooting any of the other people in the store. "He actually has a really terrible habit of running his mouth all the time. It's kind of annoying at times but what can you do?"

"I'm not annoying." Peter defended as he crossed his arms and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"You kind of are." Emma retorted.

"Am not." Peter shot back. Fisher looked at the two heroes in disbelief, not understanding what their problem was.

"Are you two gonna fuck or what?" Fisher asked sarcastically, causing Emma to look back at him and Peter to blush.

"Fisher, you and your partner put down the weapon and we can all walk away from this." Emma told him, a serious expression on her face. She tried to exhibit the same calmness and determination that Natasha maintained in situations like these. It was something Emma remembered Natasha saying to her all those years ago after all.

"What? So I can go back to prison?" Fisher mocked. "I thought the Viper Assassin would be smarter than that but you are a blonde after all." Okay…Emma's patience was wearing very thin with this idiot. Sometimes she missed the days were she just ended the whole thing with a pull of her trigger. It was so easier back then. Oh, well…Emma would just have to deal with it.

"Last warning, asshole. You can make this very easy on all of us or we can do this the hard way." Emma told him, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the trembling man. "It doesn't make a difference to us either way."

"Yeah, just put the gun down so no one gets hurt." Peter told Fisher as well as he tried to be as intimidating as the blonde standing next to him. Emma honestly thought it was adorable when he tried to be scary. "And I mean that in a totally scary and intimidating way like Viper."

"I have an idea." Fisher proposed sarcastically. "How about you two go fuck yourselves?" Emma sighed as she noticed his finger begin to pull back the trigger. It seemed like this guy wasn't the type you could talk down. Fisher realized that he was in a situation that he couldn't simply get out of so he had decided to take everyone down with him. It was just so strange that his partner still remained remarkably calm. The older man still hadn't said anything.

"Everyone get down!" Peter yelled at the other people in the store right before Emma dragged him behind the shield as Fisher fired off a couple shots in their direction. Emma and Peter were huddled behind the shield as the bullets hit the shield. She quickly lifted her head to peek above the shield. Her plan was to run towards Fisher with the Shield and take him down while Peter made sure the occupants of the store remained unharmed. She'd deal with Fisher's partner when she had the first chance.

As Emma prepared herself to charge towards Fisher, both her and Peter were surprised at what happened next. Fisher's partner, who had been aiming the gun at the both of them, then pointed the gun at Fisher. Emma and Peter's eyes widened in bewilderment and before any of them could react, Fisher's partner pulled the trigger. Not even Emma, with all her experience in the field, could predict that this would happen. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the building as Fisher was hit point blank in the head. A couple screams from the people inside the store soon followed after that as they saw Fisher's brains get splattered all across the wall and his body dropped lifelessly to the floor. Emma froze as a memory she thought she had long forgotten came back to her. Her father, Steven Rogers, coming down the stairs just as three gunshots sounded through the air. His brain matter coating the white walls and framed photographs. _Emma! Run! Get out of here!_

Emma was then snapped out of her memory as Fisher's familiar partner turned to look back at her. She didn't fail to notice how he looked at her and not Peter. Like her reaction was the only one that was important to him. He grinned at her as he still held onto his gun. Emma didn't like the way he was looking at her…like he knew her. Peter still stood in shock, not believing what just happened. His eyes were glued to the lifeless body of Alan Fisher. Emma clenched her jaw as she stared coldly at Fisher's lunatic of a partner. Her hand was on her gun and Emma knew that she was probably going to have to use it today. She always knew she'd use it if she had to but lately she had been hoping that she wouldn't. Emma never wanted to disappoint Peter but if his life was on the line she wouldn't have a choice.

"Spider-Man, get the others out of here." Emma told Peter, snapping him out of his shocked state. Peter was briefly surprised at the fact that Emma had called him Spider-Man. It was the first time she had ever called him something other than Spider-Twerp. Even so, it was enough to snap him out of his shocked state.

"But Viper-" He started to say but she interrupted him.

"Get them out." She repeated, her tone demanding and Peter knew better than to stand there and argue with her. He didn't want to leave her alone with the man but the other people in the store were in grave danger. Someone had already been killed as it was and Peter was still trying to process what had happened. He gave the blonde a quick nod before he started gathering the people in the store and rush them out the back door. Peter spared Emma one last worried look before he decided that she would be just fine. Emma had been in these situations before.

"You don't remember me, do you?" The man asked her once Peter and the others left. She couldn't help but notice that he had a distinctly Russian accent. Stalingrad if she wasn't mistaken. She knew that because Natasha had a very similar Russian accent to the one this man had. Emma's eyes glanced over his face and she was strongly convinced that she had met him before but she still couldn't figure out where. Those stormy gray eyes and Russian accent were incredibly familiar.

"Put down the gun or I'll be forced to use lethal force." Emma said coldly and the man only chuckled at her.

"Look at what the Avengers did to you." The man said as if he were disappointed. Emma was confused but she maintained her composure as she stared him down. "You're a killing machine yet they've resorted you to handcuffing common thieves."

"I'm not going to repeat myself again." Emma told him as she tried ignore what he was saying. The man spoke about her like he was familiar with her and that bothered Emma. Where had she seen him before?

"Your memory doesn't appear to serve you well, _Asset_." Emma's eyes widened at that name. No one had called her that name since Hydra. Emma hadn't answered to that name in years. Everything then came back to her as she remembered where she knew that man from. It wasn't from one of many of her missions. No, it was from within the base. Images of those stormy gray eyes came back to her. Images of her being strapped down to a gurney by the very man in front of her…of being held down after the injections. He was there. He was part of Hydra.

"You!" Emma snarled as she glared at him, immediately pulling out her gun and aiming it at him faster than he could comprehend. The man barely looked fazed as she drew her gun. It was as if he had planned on her doing that. Peter rushed back into the building in that moment but paused when he saw the scene before him. He tried to find a way to best approach the situation.

"What's going on?" He asked hesitantly as he eyed the gun in Emma's hand…the gun pointed at the man who shot Fisher. The gleeful look on the man's face didn't make Peter feel better either.

"This man's an agent of Hydra." Emma told him without looking away from her target. "He was there in the base with me. I didn't recognize him at first but now I do." The man continued to smirk at Emma, looking positively delighted from Emma remembering him. Peter was surprised at this information but tried to remain calm. He knew that Emma might possibly kill this man and Peter didn't want that for her. Who knows what that would do to her?

"You're so grown up now." The man told her. It was almost as if he was an old relative that hadn't seen Emma in a number of years. "Although Karpov would be disappointed to you wasting your potential with the Avengers. The Viper Assassin who was trained to kill and conquer." The man then turned to Peter with a knowing smile on his face…a smile that made Peter feel uneasy. Peter had never met a Hydra agent before but he could already tell that most of them must have been lunatics. Emma wasn't lying when she told him that.

"Did you know that this girl, who stands next to you, has the power to take over a nation with just a simple pocket knife?" He said in amusement before shaking his head. "Yet she wastes her potential on thieves and weapon dealers. How sad." Emma gritted her teeth as this man kept talking. He was telling Peter things about herself that she never wanted him to know. Emma only hoped that he didn't continue that strategy.

"What do you want?" Emma asked him shortly. The man grinned at her which only served to piss off Emma even more.

"This isn't about what _I_ want." He said almost teasingly which caused Emma's eyebrows to furrow in confusion. She didn't understand. "This is about what _he_ wants." Emma started to feel her heart race and not like the way it raced when she was around Peter. This was fear. She tried to deny who this man was talking about but deep down she already knew.

"He sent me to tell you a message, Asset." The man told Emma in a chilling voice. Peter glanced at Emma in confusion, not having any idea who this man was talking about, but was surprised see the pale look on Emma's face. Her eyes were wide with…fear? Could she really be fearful? Peter didn't think he had ever seen Emma look fearful before but there was a first time for everything. "He says that it won't be long before you'll be together again. He's a man of his word after all. Rumlow will come for you soon so you can be in your rightful place…with Hydra."

Emma didn't know why she froze the moment he told her that. She thought of Rumlow quite often. Mostly she thought of different ways to kill him but this was different. This wasn't just a nightmare…this was reality. Rumlow had sent this man for her and it occurred to Emma that he obviously knew where she was. How could he not? The Avengers were on the news all the time. Emma hated herself for being reduced to her own fear. She felt weak, damaged, and pathetic all wrapped into one. She didn't know how hard she was breathing…how hard her heart was pounding against her chest as she stared at the man, no longer feeling confident as she always did. Her hand even shook as she fought to keep a tight grip on the gun.

"Hail Hydra." The man smirked at Emma one last time and before anyone could anticipate it, he quickly brought his gun and pointed it at his temple. He pulled the trigger without hesitation, shocking Peter further as the man blew his own brains out. The blood splattered against Emma's face, coating her pale skin and blonde hair in blood and brain matter but the blonde still didn't move. She didn't even move when his body fell limply to the floor much like Fisher had.

"Oh my god." Peter whispered, his eyes wide with horror. Tonight was the first time he had seen anyone die in front of him. Not even Uncle Ben had died in front of him. Peter had seen not only one person die but two. It was more than he could comprehend and he still didn't understand it. He could've prevented it with a simple flip of his wrist but what the man had been talking about made him pause. The man obviously knew a lot about Emma and Peter didn't understand any of it. Peter quickly tore his gaze away from all the blood and dead bodies to look at Emma. Surprisingly the blonde was still in the same position as she stood there staring into space. Her face was dripping with the man's blood as her gun was still pointed in the same direction it was before, only now her hand was trembling. Peter was frightened at the state of her. He had never seen her like that before.

"Emma?" He asked cautiously but she still didn't seem to snap out of her trance like state. Peter waved a hand over her face and still nothing. He was quickly growing very worried for his partner. This wasn't like her at all The teenage boy quickly took off his mask and searched her face to try to find any sign of her in there. It was almost like Emma was in shock.

"Emma, what's going on?" Peter asked her, becoming more and more worried by the second. Still nothing. He swallowed nervously as he eyed the gun in her shaking hand. Peter didn't know whether or not to try and pull the gun out of her hand. In this state, it could be dangerous even trying to do that.

"Emma, please…" He pleaded with her and that seemed to be enough to get her out of whatever trance she was in. Emma blinked her eyes several times before she came back into reality. She eyed her shaking hand in surprise before immediately putting her gun back in the holster. Emma could taste the copper taste of blood in her mouth but it wasn't her own. She immediately glanced over at Peter who was looking at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked her and Emma nodded, her eyes still wide with fear. He could even see the unshed tears in her blue eyes. Whatever that man told her really seemed to spook her.

"I-I'm...well, I-I'm not. I'm fine." Emma stammered as she tried to gather her bearings. Her heart rate started to climb down from it's rapidness and she finally started feeling more calm. Not completely but still calmer than before.

"Are you sure?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded before glancing at the bloody scene before them. Out of all the outcomes that Emma had predicted none of them quite looked like this one. Blood all over the walls and floors. Two dead bodies. How did everything go so wrong?

"This is a mess." Emma said quietly as she eyed the two lifeless bodies on the floor. Peter forced himself not to look at them. It was easier if he didn't.

"I don't understand any of it." He whispered softly to her, still horrified by what had happened. "Why would he do that? Kill Fisher and himself?"

"No one understands why Hydra does the things they do." Emma said with a faraway look in her eyes. Peter just shook his head.

"All of this just to get to you? It doesn't make any sense." Peter stated and Emma didn't feel like talking about it anymore. In all honesty she just wanted to forget anything ever happened.

"We need to call Tony. This went south very fast and the police will be here soon." She said as she changed the subject but Peter was still worried. Everything that happened tonight kept replaying in his mind over and over again.

"He knew where you were, Emma...where you were _going_ to be. How?" Peter said softly and Emma locked eyes with him.

"I don't know." She uttered even though she knew that was a lie. Hydra was never going to let her go, were they? Emma was foolish to think otherwise. All these years she had felt safe in that tower with Steve but she had been living in a fantasy world. It was only a matter of time before Hydra felt safe enough to come looking for her. It seemed like that day was coming faster than she ever could've imagined.

* * *

 _"_ _So beautiful…just like your mother."_ Emma heard him whisper into her ear just like he had that night. She shuddered as she could practically feel his hot breath against her face. She turned the faucet on and immediately began washing her face of all the blood. Her and Peter just arrived at the compound a few minutes ago. Emma excused herself to go wash up but in reality she just wanted a couple minutes to herself. Now was not the time to get emotionally compromised and she needed to collect her thoughts before going back out there to face everyone.

 _"_ _We'll be together again, Margot."_ She started scrubbing her face harshly as she tried to drown out the sound of his voice with the sound of running water. Her heart was pounding against her chest and Emma felt like she could barely breathe.

 _"_ _Don't cry. The pain won't last long…I promise."_ Emma scrubbed so hard that the bar of soap was crushed in her hand and her nails dug into the palm of her hand, drawing blood. The soap was a mushy mess in her hand but Emma barely noticed as she held onto the edge of the sink for dear life. Her breathing was heavy and Emma felt like he was right there in the room with her. She could practically smell the sweat and musk…his hands all over her as he groped every part of her body. Emma could almost feel the humiliation that she had felt that night as well.

She suddenly felt sick as she looked at herself in the mirror. Tears were streaming down her face and her face was red from the fierce scrubbing. Is this what she had been reduced to? Letting Rumlow have all this power over her? She didn't know why she always let him do this to her. Every time something like this happened she was reduced to the same sniveling, stupid thirteen year old girl she used to be.

When would this ever end?

* * *

"So who's the guy?" Tony asked, sounding relaxed but anyone who knew him knew he really wasn't. All the Avengers plus Emma, Peter, and Maria Hill were all seated in the meeting room of the compound. It was a debriefing of Emma and Peter's mission gone south. Emma pretended to ignore it but she knew everyone was casting glances at her when they thought she wasn't looking. Especially Peter and Tony.

"Ivan Volkov. Age forty four. Born in Stalingrad, Russia." Maria reported as one of the holographic screens came up, showing a picture of the Hydra agent dressed in uniform. "KGB agent and also apparent Hydra agent."

"And you knew him?" Rhodey asked Emma as he gave her a curious look. Emma maintained her composure as she hesitantly nodded.

"I didn't realize it until I saw him. He was never one of the ones who trained me. I just saw him a few times around the base." Emma answered as the others listened to her intently. Peter watched the blonde carefully. There was something not right with Emma. Usually the blonde was so calm and collected but now she just seemed tense. It was something that man said to her. The name that man said to her perhaps…Rumlow? Who was Rumlow?

"What did he say he wanted?" Tony questioned and Emma looked up at him, a conflicted look in her eyes, before she finally exhaled and answered Tony.

"Something about the Avengers wasting my true potential and Hydra being my rightful place." Emma answered as she brushed off Volkov's message with a mere shrug and unimpressed look. "The usual Hydra bullshit."

Peter stared at Emma as he waited for her to mention the name Volkov said. He waited for her to mention the fact that someone by the name of Rumlow was looking for her. Yet she never did. Emma just stared back at him as if she were daring him to mention the name. Peter wanted to tell the truth but he was torn. The way Emma was staring at him indicated that she didn't want him to tell the others. The only question was why. Peter swallowed as he kept his mouth shut and stared at the holographic screen.

"So he partners up with some random burglar so he can get your attention?" Rhodey asked although it sounded like he was actually trying to try to make sense of the situation. "All of that trouble just so he could give you a message before killing Fisher and himself? This is insane."

"This is Hydra." Emma replied shortly. What she was saying was true. Hydra didn't work like any other organization they had experience with. The people sitting around her in that meeting room had no idea how Hydra truly worked. Not even Steve really knew. The only people who understood the way Hydra worked was her father and herself. Maria eyed the blonde briefly before bringing the attention back to the screen.

"NYPD just sent us the ME report. No drugs in his system or anything." Maria told them and Tony scoffed.

"So that was him on a good day? Hydra's all kinds of crazy." Tony quipped.

"NYPD's ruling this as a murder suicide." Maria said, ignoring Tony's snarky comment. "Our only question is what does this mean for the future? How quickly is Hydra picking up the pieces from Sokovia? How many people are in their ranks? Who's in charge?"

"We all know Karpov, Strucker, and Pierce are long gone so who's left?" Rhodey said as he looked around the table.

"The doctor is currently in prison, is he not?" Vision inquired and Maria nodded.

"Dr. List is currently imprisoned at Raft." She answered.

"So that just leaves Rumlow." Tony uttered and everyone turned to look at Emma. Peter's ears perked up at the name. Rumlow…Everyone else seemed to know whoever that was. It seemed like Peter was the only one who was currently out of the loop.

"Last time Rumlow was seen was in Lagos. He was working with a bunch of mercenaries then." Maria said before continuing. "Rumlow might not even be working for Hydra anymore. The last time we encountered him he sought revenge against Cap, Wilson, and Romanoff for D.C. None of that was really political in the least. It was all revenge to him." Emma knew that Maria could be right about that. Rumlow was always in it for himself but she also knew if Rumlow really wanted he would use Hydra as a means to get to her.

"Mini Cap, you're being awfully quiet during all this. What's your take on it?" Tony asked her, genuinely curious to know her opinion. Emma realized that she had been staring into space for a couple of minutes before lifting her head up to look at everyone. They were all staring at her expectantly and suddenly the room felt very hot. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she forced herself to come up with an answer.

"Hydra always lands on their feet. Don't underestimate them." Emma said vaguely.

"Did Volkov not mention anything else?" Maria asked her. "He didn't say anything about Rumlow?" Peter waited yet again for Emma to tell them about the person Volkov mentioned. Especially since the Avengers seemed to be very aware of who this person was. However, Emma didn't say anything and Peter wanted to know why that was.

"No. He just told me Hydra wanted me back and then blew his brains out." Emma answered confidently, forcing herself not to look at Peter. She really hoped he wouldn't sell her out. "Like I said before…it's the usual Hydra bullshit."

"You know you're safe here, right?" Tony asked her softly as he stared at her. Emma suddenly wished that she was anywhere else but the meeting room. She felt suffocated in that room as everyone worried over her well being. It made her feel even worse about the situation. "Hydra's not going to get you."

"I know." Emma said shortly. Thankfully Tony didn't seem to find her behavior that out of character. Maybe it was because he was distracted by this new development or maybe he just didn't know her as well as he thought he did. Tony's attention then went back to Maria as the former Shield agent started talking about potential Hydra bases around the world. The blonde returned her gaze to the center of the table as she drifted between thoughts. What was this going to mean for her? How far was Rumlow going to go? Emma honestly didn't want to know and she didn't even want to think about it. She felt Peter's gaze on her and she knew he had a million questions. Emma just didn't know if she was ready to answer those questions yet.

* * *

The meeting ended only a short time later. It was a school night so Happy was going to drive Peter and Emma back to the city fairly soon. They were waiting for Happy to bring the car around towards the front of the compound as they sat on the front steps. It must've been just past midnight by now. The two teenagers were sitting outside in the dark, staring up at the night sky. Like always, it was never the same as the sky in Russia. The night air was cold and brisk since it was November now but somehow the cold didn't bother Emma. Both of them were staring at the stars but their minds were on different matters. Emma looked away from the sky and looked at Peter. She knew tonight had been a blood bath and a lot more than what he was used to seeing. This was the first chance she had to actually dwell on the traumatizing experience Peter was facing.

"How are you doing?" Emma asked him softly, her blue eyes full of concern. Peter had a troubled look on his face as he looked back at her. She suddenly wished she could make him forget everything he had seen.

"I think I'm fine considering everything." Peter admitted before looking down at his hands. "I just can't…well, I can't process what I saw. It doesn't make any sense."

"It never does." She said as she tried to comfort him. Peter locked eyes with her as he tried to understand something about the blonde girl sitting next to him.

"How do you do it? How do you handle seeing stuff like that?" Peter asked her and Emma's mouth suddenly felt very dry. She tried to come up with an answer but it was harder than she thought. In all honesty Emma hadn't really thought about how she dealt with stuff like that. She dealt with it because she had to.

"I didn't at first but Hydra didn't tolerate anything else so I just learned to deal with it." Emma told him honestly. It was the first honest answer she had given anyone that night. "It's called compartmentalization. I just push it to the back of my mind and move on."

"That sounds hard." Peter whispered and Emma smiled sympathetically at him.

"It's not for everyone. I didn't have any other way to deal with it so I was forced to find a way." Emma explained and Peter understood her somewhat. Hydra forced her to kill people and there wasn't any way out for Emma. A part of him wished that he could go back in time and save her from the clutches of Hydra…save her from everything she had to do there but it was just wishful thinking.

"I wish you hadn't seen it." Emma told him honestly and Peter looked back at her. The look on her face was genuine and full of sympathy. "You didn't deserve to see that."

"Well, we all knew that I'd have to see it eventually anyways. This is what the job is, right? Lots of death and people getting hurt. It was inevitable." Emma knew that was just Peter trying to look tough. What he had seen really bothered him.

"Sometimes missions just go wrong. Volkov wanted to die and there was nothing we could do about it." Emma said as she tried to comfort him. "If we had been smarter we could've tackled Fisher and maybe tonight would have had a different outcome." Something occurred to Peter in that moment and he suddenly felt the need to share a part of himself with Emma that he had never shared with anyone before.

"Did I ever tell you how my Uncle Ben died?" Peter said suddenly and Emma gave him a curious look. She didn't know much about Peter's deceased uncle. All she really knew was that his uncle had died about a year ago. He was a victim of a mugging gone wrong.

"A mugging, right?" Emma answered and Peter scoffed.

"Something like that." Peter whispered to himself before continuing. "It was about a couple weeks after I'd gotten my powers. I was so arrogant…I could suddenly do all these things that I couldn't do before." Emma listened to Peter intently as he shared a more tragic part of his life with her.

"I was going to use my powers to join the football team. Impress Liz among other things…just the typical stupid teenage stuff." Peter admitted, seeming a tad bit embarrassed. He wasn't sure what Emma would think of him once he was finished. "I thought I was invincible and could do whatever I wanted. Uncle Ben noticed that I was acting differently and he tried to get me to see how stupid I was being." Tears welled up in Peter's eyes as he remembered his late uncle.

"I just laughed at him and snuck out of the house. Eventually I came across this man…he robbed a couple bodegas." Peter told her as he continued. Emma could tell that this was something that haunted him and she wanted more than anything to comfort him in some way but she knew Peter needed to finish his story. "I just watched him run past me even though I could stop him…I told myself that it wasn't my job." Peter sniffled a bit as a tear escaped his eye.

"That man, the one I let get away, would also be the man who killed my uncle." Peter confessed sadly. "My uncle who was just trying to do the right thing by stopping him." Emma, felt tears in her own eyes, as she stared back at the devastated looking teenage boy. She immediately reached over and placed her hand in his, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. It was something Peter had done with her weeks ago when she was also sad.

"What did you do?" Emma asked him softly. Peter shook his head as he wiped the tears from his face with his other hand. He knew Emma was trying to comfort him but he just wasn't sure if he deserved it.

"I wanted to kill him…to avenge my uncle. Make him pay for what he did." Peter told her, sounding ashamed of himself. "When I finally found him I realized that it wasn't what Uncle Ben would've wanted. The man was pathetic…miserable. He begged for his life and I remembered what Uncle Ben used to say."

"What was that?" Emma inquired curiously and Peter swallowed as a small sad smile came over his face.

"He used to say 'with great power comes great responsibility'." Peter answered before he further explained. "I have the power to do good and killing that man wasn't going to bring my uncle back. So I turned him over to the police instead."

It was quiet for a moment after Peter finished telling her about his uncle. She went over everything he told her and realized that he was a far better person than she could ever be. The thing was that Emma never knew if she could ever let go of what Rumlow did to her parents and not to mention what he did to her. Peter had become the bigger person and let the man who murdered his uncle live. Was there a person who was as full of light as Peter? Emma wasn't sure. He was the best person she knew and Emma never wanted that to change. She never wanted him to know the horror that came with taking lives. Emma wanted him to stay innocent forever.

"The man that Volkov mentioned…the one the others were talking about…" Emma trailed off hesitantly as she prepared herself to tell Peter about Rumlow. "He's the man who murdered my parents." Peter stared at her in shock. Questions about the mysterious person named Rumlow had been going through his mind all night. Their hands were still entwined as Emma practically clutched his hand for dear life in order to tell him this. She was going to need all the support she could get even if Emma wasn't going to tell him the whole story. No one knew the whole story and Emma didn't want anyone to know the whole story. Not even Peter.

"He came to our house…blew my father's brains out on the stairwell." Emma said, her voice monotone as she recalled the memory. It was a memory she had hoped to forget but she knew the most distinct memory of her parents would always be the one of their death. She couldn't remember her mother's perfume or her father's smile but she could remember what their dead bodies looked like. "My mother screamed at me to run but I was stupid. I hid under the kitchen table."

"My mother and him fought for a while. She almost killed him too but at the last minute he took a broken piece of glass and slit her throat." Emma said as she remembered all the blood as well as the smirk on Rumlow's face...that very same wolf like smile. Peter stared at her, horrified by Emma's recollection of her parent's death. It was such a gruesome sight to see for a four year old…for anyone of any age. "I watched as all the blood pooled out of her. He took me from the house and I saw them lying there. Four year old me begged them to wake up and save me from this horrible man but they never woke up. In the first few weeks that I lived at the base I cried for them at night but no one ever came."

"You see, I don't think I can let that go, Peter." Emma confessed as she looked back at him. He held her gaze, not saying anything at first. "He took them away from me. I was forced to see him at the base…forced to be trained by him, knowing what he did to them." Emma didn't mention what else Rumlow had done to her but that was really for the best.

"That's okay, Emma. I understand." Peter said softly but Emma shook her head.

"It's not okay. I just…I want to be a better person, Peter, I really do but it's hard." Emma told him and Peter just listened to her. He knew that he'd never completely understand just how hard it was for her but he could try to understand. "He took everything away from me and I know I might not feel better when he's gone but it's not fair that he gets to live and they don't. He took them from me. I could've been normal if they lived…I could've had parents who loved me if they lived."

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Emma." Peter replied, trying to get her to see that he didn't mind her point of view…that he understood that she had been through a lot. "You went through a lot and I don't judge you for feeling that way. How could I?"

"You'd be okay with me killing him?" Emma asked doubtfully, not believing him. Peter sighed.

"I don't believe in killing people but I'd understand it if you did…I wouldn't think any less of you for it." Peter said honestly and Emma stared at him. She didn't understand him sometimes. How could he be okay with that? How could he accept that about her? Emma didn't get it. All those questions threatened to leave her lips but Emma didn't fell up to asking them. She was tired and all she wanted was to sleep but at the same time she was terrified to sleep. Emma knew that after tonight she'd definitely be seeing Rumlow in her nightmares again. The blonde finally forced herself away from those thoughts as she tried to think of literally anything else.

"Thank you." Emma murmured and she slowly leaned her head against his shoulder as they sat there in the darkness. Peter leaned his face against the top of her head and wished that they could stay like that forever. After the long night they had this was just what he needed. Suddenly everything he saw wasn't as terrifying as it had been before. He even felt hopeful with Emma there next to him.

"I'm sorry about your uncle." Emma whispered a moment later. "It wasn't your fault. I like to think we live in a Godless world. Only good people like your uncle die and the rest are allowed to live without consequences. It's senseless and cruel." Peter listened to her and felt comforted by her words. Ned always said that he didn't understand Emma and thought her to be cold and unfeeling at times. Peter's best friend never meant it in a mean way but in an observational way. However, Peter knew none of those things were true about Emma. She hid it well but she was a kind and compassionate person deep down. Peter thought he was lucky that she showed that side of herself to him.

"I'm sorry about your parents." Peter whispered back to her. "I wish you didn't have to live without them. You deserve happiness, Emma…all the happiness in the world." Emma wanted to say that he was wrong about that…that she didn't deserve any of that but she just kept quiet. They sat there in a comfortable silence as they waited for Happy to return. He never even asked why she lied to the others about Rumlow and Emma was thankful for that. Someday he might ask her but he cared enough to let that topic go to rest for now. Emma just didn't know what she'd say to him when he finally asked her why she lied. In any capacity, however, she knew that she couldn't tell him the complete truth.


	54. Chapter Fifty

**Author's Note: Sorry that it's taken me a little while to update but I just went back to school and I've also been binge watching this new netflix show called _End of the Fucking World._ That show has to be my new favorite show. It's so hilarious if you like dark comedies. The two main characters in it reminded me of Emma and Peter. Not in a personality sense but just in the way of how they interacted with each other sometimes. It was so weird because it looked like a romance at times but at other times it felt like watching an episode of a murder show on the Investigation Discovery channel. It's super good so I highly recommend it. **

**ilypopxtart333: It's not foreshadowing. That was just a conversation between Peter and Emma. He didn't give Emma the thumbs up to kill but in a way he was still saying that he'd kind of understand if she did it and he'd still be her friend no matter what.**

 **Spawn Hades: Yeah, I still don't know whether or not I'll include a Venom storyline in the story but I'll see. It would definitely not happen anytime soon though.**

 **MusicLover315: Thank you so much! I'm glad you love the story so much. I mean it's at over 450,000 words and they're still not together but somehow when I write it, it doesn't feel like I'm dragging it out. There are going to get together soon(maybe really soon) but it's definitely going to be because I feel like it's the right timing. It's always been like that with writing this story.**

 **bonitalito: Emma and Peter's relationship will be probably be the center of a lot of teasing. It's going to be a lot of fun to write. Especially when the others return. I think Tony, Sam, and Clint will give Emma and Peter the hardest time. Bucky probably won't find it as amusing.**

 **Radioactive88: Rumlow's not going to think rationally about anything. If he thought like a sane person than he wouldn't even think about going head to head against the Avengers. A normal person wouldn't think Emma would be worth it and they'd straighten out their priorities. However, Rumlow is so obsessed with Emma that he'd do anything to get her back. I don't think he realizes that he could die. He's just completely delusional.**

 **Mcduffie145: I knew that he was the guitarist for Fun but I just never listened to the Bleachers before. I think just one song. He's also worked on Taylor Swift's albums which is cool I guess but I don't really like her anymore. She has one or two good songs on every album but I'm just not that big of a fan of hers anymore.**

 **The only song I ever heard from the lead singer of Fun was the one he did with P!NK and I think that was it. It kind of sucks that he hasn't done anything else because he's a really good singer. I always wondered why Fun never put out another album.**

 **Emma's definitely not the same as she was when she first started living with the Avengers. I mean...Emma's fallen in love, made friends, started to somewhat enjoy school, and she's even been acting pretty amicable with Tony. Who would've predicted any of that at the beginning of the story?**

 **Sherlockreader: Thank you! It's certainly a process to write this story but I love writing it.**

 **Guest: It's going to be a while before _everyone_ finds out but Emma's definitely going to tell someone soon about what Rumlow did to her.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews and I'm sorry for not answering all of them but it's been like a week since I updated and I just wanted to get this chapter out to you guys.**

* * *

Next week came and with it came Peter's sixteenth birthday. As soon as Peter found out that he was two months older than Emma he never stopped teasing her about it. She pretended to be annoyed when in all honesty she was amused. Emma was thankful for Peter's birthday because she knew it would be a distraction for the both of them. After everything with Fisher and Volkov, a party would give them a much needed distraction which is something they both needed right now.

May decided to host the birthday party in their small apartment. It was just supposed to be a small gathering of Peter's closest friends with the exception of the Avengers. They didn't think the decathlon team would be totally cool with the presence of the Avengers. It would probably be a shocking sight to most although Ned seemed to think it would be cool if the Avengers actually showed up.

Emma knocked on the door to Peter's apartment, somehow feeling a bit nervous. She wasn't sure why…well, she actually knew why but pretending to not know was better than admitting that she was no different than any other teenage girl out there. The former assassin had probably checked her make-up three times in the mirror before leaving the townhouse. Emma was currently wearing a pleated knee length teal skirt with a pair of sheer black tights underneath. She was also wearing a cap sleeved black heart patterned blouse with a scoop neckline and neckline tie over it. Emma paired the outfit off with a pair of black velvet ankle boots that had a flower pattern on them. Currently she was feeling pretty good about her outfit and deep down she hoped Peter liked it. The more rational, logical part of her resented herself for actually thinking that but what was she going to do? This was probably a weird side effect of being in love.

She carried Peter's birthday present under her arm and it was all so strange to her. Usually Steve was the only person she got a birthday present for. Steve would usually buy gifts for the others and let it be a shared gift from the both of them. Still…Emma found herself both excited and worried for Peter's reaction to the gift. She really hoped he liked it. Emma never had much experience with gift giving.

Peter Parker opened the door and immediately smiled at the sight before him. He glanced over Emma quickly before his gaze returned to her face. Peter was nervous as Emma looked at him with those ocean blue eyes of hers. Under the light in the hallway he could even see the green in them. She was dressed fashionably as always in her usual skirt and blouse combo. He was embarrassed to think so but he loved it when she wore those cute skirts that showed off her long legs. Peter immediately blushed from the thought and he knew May would smack upside the head if she ever knew he had those kinds of thoughts.

"You're here." Peter said softly and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Did you think I wouldn't be?" She questioned and Peter just shook his head. Emma glanced over him and noticed he was wearing one of his usual t-shirts with a lame pun on it. It reminded her of those stupid shirts that Stark always wore but on Peter it looked adorable. She noticed how a goofy smile had appeared on his face the moment he saw her. His brown eyes gleamed with happiness as well and Emma felt her heart skip a beat at the sight. Whenever he looked at her like that she felt weird. Not in a bad way but in a good way…a different way. Emma didn't think anyone had ever looked at her quite that way before.

"Well, I know you're busy and all so you didn't have to come out of-" Peter said nervously as he blushed but Emma didn't give him the chance to finish.

"It's your birthday, Parker. I wouldn't miss it for the world…I'm not a _total_ bitch." Emma told him as she smirked at him. "Now are you going to let me in or what?" Peter faced reddened even more as he quickly stepped aside and let the blonde in the apartment. It was when she walked past him into the apartment that he saw the present under her arms. The gift looked to be very flat which didn't seem to give Peter any clue as to what it might be. It was wrapped very carefully and intricately but Emma always seemed to do everything to near perfection.

"Here, take this." Emma said as she practically shoved the gift in his arms before glancing around the apartment. She noticed that Peter's aunt had decorated the living room with birthday directions. A happy birthday banner hung from the wall as well as Star Wars party decorations littered around the apartment. Emma raised an eyebrow at the Star Wars themed birthday cake. It was all very cute. She was even reminded of the past couple birthdays she had when Steve tried to go all out for her birthday.

For her fourteenth birthday Steve, Sam, Pepper, and Clint had all decorated the penthouse of Avenger's tower. Steve had ordered her a huge birthday cake with a strawberry filling which was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. The last birthday she had before was the one with her parents and that was a decade prior. Emma hadn't really expected anything for her birthday because Hydra was never one for festivities. The Avengers had showered her with gifts and Emma hadn't known what to say. The only bad thing was when Tony hired a clown for the occasion like she was an infant. The billionaire learned never to do that again after the clown was found three days later in the closet of Tony's bedroom. He was perfectly alive but quite traumatized from being tied up in a closet for three days. Emma never really handled birthday party celebrations very well but she was willing to make an effort for Peter.

"Emma!" May called out, a delighted look on her face, as she set out some snacks for Peter's birthday celebration. "So glad to see that you've made it." Emma still didn't quite understand what May's deal was. A normal, sane person wouldn't let their nephew be in the company of a trained killer but strangely May seemed to think Peter was safe with her. Emma just decided that May Parker had to be a bit crazy but she seemed nice and maternal anyways so she couldn't be completely deranged.

"You didn't have to get me anything." Peter said quietly as he walked up to her and Emma looked at him a certain way. The usual way she did whenever she thought he was being stupid.

"Don't make such a big deal about it, Parker." Emma told him as she tried to remain nonchalant about the ordeal. Inside, however, she was constantly worrying about what he'd think of the present. Would he like it? Would he hate it? Peter set the present next to the presents his aunt had gotten him before blushing once more as he followed Emma's gaze as she looked around the apartment curiously.

"I know it's a little much." Peter said in embarrassment at the childish decorations. "Aunt May seems to think I'm still five." Emma immediately shook her head.

"No, it's nice…I like it." Emma told him with a small smile on her face. Peter felt a bit less embarrassed about the party decorations but he still wished that he could prove to Emma that he wasn't some immature little kid. Emma always acted so mature and grown up that he just wanted to show her that he could be like that too. Peter just didn't know how to show her that when his aunt still treated him like a little kid.

"Emma, you're here!" Ned exclaimed as he stepped out of the kitchen, a plate full of snacks in his hands. He grinned at the blonde as he moved closer to them. Emma gave the dark haired boy an amused smile.

"Hey, Ned." Emma said politely and Peter glanced between his two friends. He had been relatively hurt when the two of them attended the dance together but after everything that happened with Liz's dad Peter couldn't really hold on to any of that. Besides…Ned explained to him that he and Emma only went to the dance as friends.

"Did you not bring a coat with you?" Ned asked in disbelief as he noticed that Emma was wearing a short sleeved blouse. "Are you crazy?! It's so cold outside." Peter was also very concerned for the blonde. He hoped that she wasn't too cold but Emma didn't seem bothered in the least. She just shrugged.

"Siberia's much colder this time of year." Emma said vaguely and Peter took that to mean that she didn't mind the cold.

"Well, tell me if it gets too cold in here for you." Peter said to her, his brown eyes still laced with concern. Usually that's when Emma would tell someone to fuck off. She didn't like being coddled like a child but it was just different with Peter. Emma didn't mind his concern and she actually felt flattered.

"I will." She promised before Emma averted his gaze. His brown eyes were just too overwhelming to her sometimes. Emma always felt she was going to lose control over her emotions and that scared her. Luckily Ned seemed to swoop in and save the day, although he didn't exactly know that, and changed the subject to that of Star Wars. Now that Emma had seen all the movies they included her in on the discussion although she mostly just teased them about being nerds. Despite all of Emma's teasing, she did enjoy conversations like these. Conversations that didn't consist of the impending threat of Hydra or Volkov's death. Emma actually cherished moments like these where everything was so normal and simple. If only it could stay that way forever.

* * *

"I can't believe you're at this lame party." Michelle deadpanned as she gave the blonde a bored look. Emma smirked, her eyes gleaming with amusement, at her friend. It was about a half an hour later and everyone from the decathlon team was showing up to Peter's apartment. Well…everyone except for Flash and Charles but that was no great loss. Cindy and Sally were in one corner of the living room giggling about something. Emma didn't mind the two girls that much but she still found them annoying like she found most teenage girls annoying. Abe was telling a joke to Peter, Tiny McKeever, and Ned, causing the three young boys to laugh. Emma didn't know Tiny that well but from what she could tell he was nice enough. He had somehow gotten a hold of Toomes' goon's weapon a few weeks before after the whole incident went down. Tiny had gotten into a ton of trouble over that one so he had been spending quite a lot of time in detention with Emma and Peter. Fortunately Emma and Peter's required detention had ended last week much to their relief as well as Coach Wilson's.

"You're at this lame party too." Emma retorted as she raised an eyebrow.

"You've just never struck me as the partying type. You didn't even show up to Liz's party." Michelle told her and Emma shrugged.

"Well, I don't know if Peter's Star Wars party is quite at the level of Liz's alcohol infused hipster party." Emma said sarcastically before looking around the room. "Parker doesn't appear to have any joints or LSD laying around either. Doesn't seem to be that fun of a party." Michelle gave her an odd look.

"Liz didn't have any drugs or alcohol at her party." Michelle replied and now it was Emma's turn to give her the odd look.

"Then what the hell were all those stupid idiots doing there if not for drugs or booze?" Emma asked pessimistically and Michelle gave her a suspicious look.

"How would you know there was a ton of stupid idiots there if you weren't there yourself?" Michelle asked her. Emma could've come up with an excuse to Michelle's question but she was almost sure Michelle knew about her anyways. What was the point in making shit up anymore? Emma instead gave Michelle another smirk as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Touche." Before Michelle could respond, however, there was a knock at the door. Emma curiously glanced at the door since she was sure Peter had told her that there wouldn't be anymore people attending the party. She sincerely hoped that Tony didn't decide to crash a party in an attempt to make Peter look cool. That would be embarrassing.

The blonde watched intently as Peter went to answer the door. May had returned to her bedroom to give the kids some privacy although she peeked into the living room every once and a while to probably make sure they weren't having an orgy or snorting cocaine. Just normal teenage stuff like that. Emma honestly didn't know what May expected a group of nerds to do at a party. The worst they could probably do is get into a fist fight over the topic of Star Wars vs. Star Trek.

Peter opened the door only to reveal none other than Betty Brant. Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sight. The petite teenage girl with hair that was such a pale blonde color that it almost reminded Emma of the Malfoys hair color. The short blonde had taken her best friend's place in the social hierarchy of the school, becoming the most popular student at Midtown. How could she not? Betty with her wealthy background, big blue eyes, and honor student roll. The girl participated in almost every school activity, making her the model student at Midtown. The fact that Betty was now at Peter's apartment kind of seemed odd to Emma. What reason would the small girl have to be there? It seemed like Emma wasn't the only one surprised to see Betty there either because Peter sure seemed shocked to see the teenage girl at his door.

"Betty?" Peter asked in surprise. The small blonde smiled at him with a smile that looked something similar to a politician's smile. Emma never really minded Betty that much but mostly because she never talked to her. Betty gossiped a lot and giggled with her band of dimwitted cheerleader friends but she never annoyed Emma enough to make the blonde despise her.

"Hi, Peter." Betty said almost shyly but there was something off about her tone. It was as if the shyness was full of purpose and intent. Emma furrowed her eyebrows as she watched the interaction with interest. Michelle also seemed quite interested as she too watched Peter and Betty. Emma noticed that Betty seemed to have brought a couple of her friends with her. There was the cheerleader friends, that Emma had always found annoying and unnecessary, Carlie Cooper and Lily Hollister but there was also Seymour O'Reilly. Great…it was a group full of gossiping nuisances.

"Um…hi. What are you doing here?" Peter asked nervously, clearing not sure what Betty and her friends were doing there. Betty only smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear as if she were nervous or shy as well. Emma narrowed her eyes. She had the feeling that she wasn't going to like this one bit.

"Well, I knew it was your birthday so we were hoping to drop by. I hope we're not intruding." Betty said and there was something almost…flirtatious about her tone. Peter shook his head furiously.

"Of course not." Peter said before stepping aside to let Betty and her friends in. The group of friends hurriedly made their way into the small apartment. Emma watched the short blonde closely as Betty looked around in distaste before looking back at Peter with another politician's smile.

"You have a nice home." Betty said politely as she looked at Peter from underneath her eyelashes. Emma wanted to scoff because that sounded like bullshit to her. She had seen the way Betty had looked around the apartment.

"Thank you." Peter replied as Betty then handed him a square shaped present. The weird interaction between the two seemed to be over as Betty and her friends then moved to a different area of the room. All of them were giggling amongst each other before glancing over in Peter's direction every now and then.

"What the fuck's their problem?" Emma muttered under her breath but Michelle heard her anyways. The frizzy haired girl raised an eyebrow at her.

"You mean you don't know?" Michelle questioned with an amused smile on her face. Emma gave Michelle a questioning look although it wouldn't surprise her if Michelle knew more than what she was letting on. The girl seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere around the school. Michelle was almost like that creepy guy on _Game of Thrones_ who knew everything about everyone. Not that Emma liked _Game of Thrones_ or anything but it just another show Darcy forced her to watch.

"Know what?" Emma asked and Michelle almost seemed delighted to tell Emma about the current school gossip.

"It seems like Betty's set her eyes on a favorite nerd of yours. I've heard that she's so infatuated with Peter that she's planning to ask him to tutor her in chemistry." Michelle told her and Emma didn't like the sound of that at all. To others it might've sounded like the two were gossiping like most teenage girls but it was more like an exchange of intel between an informant and a superior. She clenched her fist but gave no other indication of caring as she maintained a calm and collected expression on her face. Emma scoffed.

"Well, that's nice…what a loyal friend. Now that Liz is gone she decides to go and sink her claws into Parker?" Emma shook her head, feigning amusement. "Isn't there some kind of girl code against that? You know…the usual teenage girl nonsense?" Michelle eyed the blonde curiously, not sure if she could really buy the amused expression on her face.

"I don't know. It seems like Betty's taken over everything Liz-oriented at school." Michelle replied and Emma narrowed her eyes at the short blonde who was at the other side of the room. What? So this girl suddenly decided that she was interested in Peter? That didn't really make sense to Emma. Why now? Why would she find Peter so interesting all of a sudden? The question seemed to bother Emma so much that she couldn't help but utter it aloud.

"Why now? Why the interest in Parker all of a sudden?" Emma questioned and Michelle gave her an odd look before reluctantly answering.

"Peter works out, doesn't he?" Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the odd question.

"What?" Michelle just shrugged before elaborating further.

"Some girls seemed to have noticed that Peter's been maturing quite nicely. He can wear all those nerdy shirts he wants but girls notice things like that." Michelle then glared at the smug look on Emma's face. "Don't be disgusting. I don't notice things like that. I've just heard a lot of gossip in the girl's bathroom. Besides…Peter's not my type. I'm not into annoying little pests like you." It was now Emma's turn to glare at her friend. Emma liked to believe that she wasn't obvious in her feelings for Peter but clearly Michelle was even more observant than she originally thought.

"I'm _not_ into Parker." Emma snapped although it was more in a hushed whisper so no one else would hear them. Michelle just smirked at her.

"Yeah, sure." Michelle said, not sounding like she believed Emma. "Look, if I were you I'd stake my claim over Parker pretty fast before you and Betty get into a cat fight over him…although that would be highly entertaining to watch." Sometimes Emma really disliked her suspicious and bluntly honest friend. Michelle was a little too honest sometimes for Emma's liking. If there was one thing that blonde didn't like it was being called out on her own bullshit.

"Parker can date whoever he wants." Emma spoke in a low and dangerous tone, her eyes glinting with anger and denial. However, the blonde didn't frighten Michelle in the least. "It's none of my business…even if he wants to lower his standards by dating an annoying and bratty bimbo." Emma then clenched her jaw before subsequently turning in the opposite direction to go talk to someone who wasn't going to piss her off…probably Abe more than likely. Michelle snickered as the blonde stormed off.

"Green's not a good color on you, Lewis!" Michelle called out and Emma gritted her teeth as she tried to ignore her friend. Everyone's eyes, including Peter's, were glued to her but she didn't care in the least. If she were somewhere without so many people she probably would've flipped Michelle off but she supposed she'd just have to ignore her for the time being. Was Michelle actually suggesting that she was somehow jealous of Betty Brant? Well…Emma had been jealous of Liz but that was different. Still…Emma really needed to regain control over these feelings for Peter or they were going to consume her. That frightened her above everything else.

* * *

It was after everyone had a slice of birthday cake that Peter finally started opening his presents. So far he had received a Star Wars collectable Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure from Ned which must've been really important because it seemed to make Peter ecstatic. May had gotten Peter a few video games for his Xbox, Michelle had gotten him a few Star Wars novels, and the others had given Peter additional presents. Peter finally reached the present Betty had gotten him and the short blonde had an excited look on her face. Emma wanted to roll her eyes at the short girl. Betty looked like she was about to piss herself with excitement. Seriously…she should really get a hold of herself.

"I hope you like it." Betty said shyly as Peter began to open the present.

"I'm sure I will." Peter said politely before finally opening the present. The look of surprise on his face was priceless as he pulled out a bottle of designer cologne. Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the dumbfounded expression on Peter's face. He looked at the present like it was something he had never seen before. Seymour immediately glared at her as he spotted her and Michelle trying to stifle their laughter.

"Oh…um…it's very nice Betty. You didn't have to get me anything." Peter said unsurely, clearly embarrassed as most of the girls in the room seemed to giggle at him. Betty batted her eyelashes in a way that made Emma want to vomit.

"It's Calvin Klein." Betty said flirtatiously. "I got it with you in mind." Emma wondered where the hell this girl learned how to flirt? Probably from something lame like _Gossip Girl._ Peter blushed at the attention and Emma wanted to roll her eyes.

Peter swallowed before setting the cologne aside and reaching for the last present in the pile…Emma's present. He was honestly incredibly curious as to what Emma had gotten him. He wondered what a gift from Emma Rogers looked like. A part of him thought it would be something scary like a gun or some sort of weapon. The teenage boy eagerly tore away the gift wrap, more excited about this present than any of the others. It was Emma he was talking about after all. The blonde nervously chewed the inside of her cheek as she anticipated his reaction, unsure if he'd like it or not. Peter finally tore away all the gift wrap and was left with an astounding sight.

The present wasn't what he had been expecting at all. No, it was beyond anything he had expected to receive. From what Peter could tell it was a canvas painting of the night sky but it was unlike any night sky Peter had ever seen before. Dark blue covered the majority of the painting with gold painted stars sprinkling the night sky. Beautiful colors of green, purple, and light blue swirled together across the night sky, displaying the northern lights. The bottom of the painting showed the snow covered ground that outlined what looked to be a forest full of green pine trees. A polar bear walked alongside the edge of the forest in the painting as it stared up at the night sky. Peter was never one for art but this was by far the most beautiful piece of art he had ever seen. His hand gently traced the swirl of colors that displayed the northern lights. To Peter this painting looked like it belonged in an art museum or a gallery with other talented artists. Peter looked up at the anxious looking blonde and she swallowed nervously before speaking up.

"You said you've never really seen any other night sky aside from New York so I thought I'd show you another night sky." Emma said quietly and Peter stared at her. He wanted more than anything to kiss her or at least hold her. Emma had painted this painting just for him? Peter could hardly believe it.

"It's beautiful, Emma…I love it." _I love you,_ Peter wanted to say. He really wanted to say that the moment she looked at him like that with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers.

"Oh my god, Emma. You're, like, a really talented artist." Cindy said in awe as she looked at the painting. That seemed to finally snap Emma and Peter out of the little world they always seemed to share. The world that made them forget about everyone else around them.

"You should enter that in a contest or something." Sally added. The rest of the others then peered over Peter's shoulder to look at the painting. Michelle raised an eyebrow as she gave the blonde a knowing look which Emma pointedly ignored. The only person who didn't seemed impressed with Emma's painting was Betty Brant. The small blonde crossed her arms as a look of disdain came over her face when she looked at Emma. It seemed like someone was a little pissed off.

"That's really nice, Emma. You're super talented." Betty managed to say but Emma detected the fake politeness in her voice. Emma returned the petite blonde's fake smile.

"Thank you, Betty." Emma told her although she had the same fake politeness in her voice.

The former assassin then decided to pull a move just because she could. Emma really wanted to piss off goody two shoes Betty Brant. The small blonde was really getting on her nerves tonight with all her little flirtatious comments towards Peter. Even if Emma didn't have any right to Peter, she still felt possessive over him. Which was why she wanted to send a message to Betty.

Emma quickly surprised Peter by wrapping her arms around him and enveloping him in a hug. Peter stumbled back a bit from the sudden action but he soon returned the gesture, wrapping an arm around his friend. He was surprised by the gesture since Emma never seemed to be fond of displaying any sort of affection in public. Peter really wished that things could be more than they were between himself and Emma in times like these. Little did he know that Emma actually felt the same way and despite wanting to piss Betty off she enjoyed being in Peter's arms. She wondered if in a different world that they could be like this in public all the time…that they could be more than just friends.

Emma tried to ignore those thoughts as she opened her eyes and locked eyes with Betty from over Peter's shoulder. Midtown's favorite student was glaring at Emma as she clenched her jaw at the sight of the taller blonde in Peter Parker's arms. Emma smirked at the girl which only seemed to piss off Betty more. She then held onto Peter a bit tighter, closing her eyes in content just to add icing to cake before stepping back out of Peter's arms. Peter seemed confused by Emma's sudden behavior but appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He was slightly disappointed that Emma had pulled away so quickly. Peter felt like the hug ended too soon for his liking but he didn't indicate that he felt that way to Emma.

She smiled at him softly before walking off to go talk to Michelle. Peter watched her go, his heart beating a little too fast, but was immediately snapped out of his thoughts by Betty. The small blonde started to strike up a conversation with him but Peter found himself barely paying attention to her as his eyes remained glued to Emma. He knew for certain he'd never figure Emma Rogers out but that didn't mean he didn't like trying.

* * *

The party had cleared out not longer after Peter had opened his presents. The last to leave was Ned who said his mother wanted him back home since it was a school night. Emma was the only person to remain in the apartment as Peter inspected all the new gifts he had gotten from inside his bedroom. Emma walked around and observed the Star Wars action figures he had resting on a shelf. The blonde then looked down at the desk where Peter had abandoned the bottle of cologne that Betty had given him. She smirked as she picked the bottle up before glancing over at Peter.

"Wow…Parker. This is some pretty expensive cologne." Emma commented, her tone teasing. "I mean, it's not Tony Stark expensive but it's still pretty expensive."

"It was nice of Betty to give me that." Peter said shyly as he blushed. Emma scoffed.

"Yeah right. Brant only gave you this because she wants to get in your pants." Emma said bluntly. "Looks like you've got yourself a sugar mama." Peter immediately glared at her.

"Don't be disgusting. She was just being nice." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes. Sometimes Peter could really be naïve about things.

"You know, when _I'm_ being nice I don't tell people that I think they're annoying assholes but I certainly don't go out and buy people Calvin Klein cologne." Emma said snarkily. "I mean, who does she think you are? Justin Bieber?" Peter immediately snatched the bottle of cologne from the blonde's hands and shoved it inside the desk drawer. Emma smirked at his reaction.

"We could just re-gift it if you really want. I'm sure Tony would appreciate some new cologne for Christmas." Emma continued to say but Peter just shook his head.

"Can we please talk about something else." Peter said before deciding to change the subject as he glanced over at one of his favorite presents of the night. Emma's painting. "Can we maybe talk about this amazing painting? Seriously, Emma, I've never seen anything this amazing." Emma rolled her eyes at him once more, thinking he was over reacting about the painting. She didn't think it was that great and besides…it's not like it was the only birthday present she was going to give him.

"It's just a painting, Peter. Nothing special." Emma said dismissively. "I'm not much of a painter." Peter locked eyes with her and Emma's mouth suddenly felt very dry. He had a way of making her feel important whenever he looked at her with those warm brown eyes of his…like she really mattered.

"Emma, this belongs in an art gallery or something. It doesn't belong in my boring and bland room." Peter told her and Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Maybe I painted it with your boring and bland room in mind." She retorted before deciding to show him the other present she had gotten him. "Which reminds me…I also got you something else."

"You didn't have to get me anything else, Emma." Peter said, looking very red in the face but Emma was already reaching inside the purse she had brought with her.

"Don't worry, Parker. It's not another bottle of Calvin Klein cologne." Emma quipped and Peter wondered if this was going be one of those things she never let him forget.

However, once Emma pulled out what she was looking for, it was clearly nothing anyone would expect a fifteen year old girl to have hidden in her purse. The gift Emma had was a large and scary looking knife that's only protection was the small leather case that covered the blade of the knife. Peter's eyes widened in surprise as the blonde smiled at him before pulling the knife out of the cover. It looked like one of the scary looking knives that Rambo had and Peter found that he was speechless. In all honesty he probably shouldn't have been surprised by Emma's gift. It was the exact sort of gift that Emma Rogers would give someone.

"Here, it is! Isn't it beautiful?" Emma said cheerfully. Peter eyed the sharp blade and looked at the blonde like she was insane.

"Is that a knife?" He asked her hesitantly and Emma's cheerful expression faded as she looked at him like he was stupid.

"No, it's a lollipop." Emma said sarcastically. "Of course it's a knife. A Ka-Bar knife to be exact. It's the standard Marine issued knife so I figure what was good for our nation's bravest is probably good enough for you too."

"You got me a knife?" He questioned in surprise but at the same time Peter didn't think he was that surprised by Emma.

"Yes. It's much more useful than some stupid painting although I didn't think our classmates would understand the sentiment behind a knife." Emma explained but Peter glanced at the beautiful painting Emma had painted.

"I don't think it's stupid, Emma. I love the painting." He told her and Emma wasn't sure how to feel about his statement. She was flattered that he liked the painting so much because, although she acted like it was nothing for her to paint, the truth was that Emma had worked very hard on the painting.

"The painting isn't going to save your life like a knife can. I carry a knife with me everywhere I go because you never know when you're going to need it." Emma told him and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"You can't carry a knife with you _all_ the time. Where would you put it?" He asked her and without warning Emma immediately hitched her skirt up a bit to show him. She was obviously just showing him the thigh holster that carried her knife but Peter blushed anyways. The room suddenly felt very hot before Peter tore his eyes away from her exposed thighs. Well, not completely exposed but her sheer tights provided a very thin barrier between her skin and the tights themselves.

"W-what are y-you d-doing?" Peter stammered nervously as he looked anywhere other than her lifted up skirt. Emma scoffed.

"Don't be such a baby, Parker. It's not like I was showing you my boobs or anything." Emma told him and Peter flushed an even deeper shade of red as he tried to not picture the time where he had seen the edge of her bra. It was in the hotel room back in D.C. and Peter had never really seen the entirety of her bra but that didn't stop him from picturing it every now and then.

"It's not appropriate." Peter said as he stared at the floor and avoided her gaze. Emma rolled her eyes at him before letting her skirt fall back down.

"Fine…you can relax now. I'm not flashing you anymore, Parker." Emma said in a bored tone and Peter finally returned his gaze to her. "I was just showing you my thigh holster. It's where I keep my knife with me at all times." Peter seemed to finally calm down a bit from the incident of Emma lifting up her skirt. His face was still red but he managed to put the less than decent thoughts about Emma aside as he changed the subject.

"Where did you even get a knife like that? Don't people think it's weird for a fifteen year old girl to buy a huge knife?" Peter asked her curiously and Emma shrugged.

"It's not like I do my shopping at Cabelas. I actually do my shopping at a much less discreet place." Emma said calmly and Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What does that mean?" Peter questioned.

"I know a guy." Emma finally admitted and somehow that didn't make Peter feel better about the situation.

"You know a guy? Wait…are you buying weapons from criminals?" Peter finally asked with wide eyes. Emma didn't seem at all bothered by what he was accusing her of.

"A criminal, Peter… _A_ criminal. Just one." Emma answered calmly but Peter was freaking out.

"Emma! You can't buy weapons from criminals! That's not right…we can't consort with those kinds of people. You're buying weapons from the same people we throw in prison." Peter ranted as he started panicking about what this could mean for them…for Emma. He knew Mr. Stark would be quite pissed if he knew that Emma was buying weapons from common criminals. Emma just waved her hand dismissively.

"Calm down, Parker. He's an informant…it's okay." Emma told him reassuringly but Peter didn't feel reassured by her statement. "He gives me weapons and information and I don't tell the cops where he's at."

"That's bribery, Emma!" Peter accused but Emma just smirked at him deviously.

"Don't worry. _I_ might not tell the cops where he's at but that doesn't mean that the devil of Hell's Kitchen will let him walk free either." Emma said smugly before continuing. "I have his trust while the devil of Hell's Kitchen does all the dirty work."

Peter immediately knew who Emma was talking about. He'd have to be stupid not to. Everyone knew about the costumed vigilante who made life a living hell for criminals in Hell's Kitchen. The mysterious hero was like Peter in the sense that he didn't kill anyone but in some ways he was worse than Peter. Daredevil was more skilled in hand to hand combat so he always gave his opponents a brutal beating. Emma had never personally met the Daredevil but she knew he was a formidable force from her informant's constant complaining about the guy. She didn't think she'd care much for him anyways. The guy sounded too self-righteous to her. The Punisher was someone Emma had much more respect for.

"I don't like you talking to criminals. It's dangerous." Peter said stubbornly and Emma just scoffed while she crossed her arms.

"This guy's a slimy little weasel. I doubt he's much of a threat to me." Emma retorted. "Besides…I made it clear to him to never cross me. He knows what will happen if he does." Peter didn't really feel the need to ask her what exactly _would_ happen if this man crossed her because he had an idea. Emma seemed like the kind of person you didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

"Wait…you said you've been getting information from him? What kind of information?" Peter asked and Emma just stared at him.

"Remember Fisher?" Emma inquired and Peter frowned. Of course he remembered Fisher…How could he ever forget about Fisher and what happened to him?

"Yes."

"Well, we were able to find Fisher because my informant once sold a gun to Fisher. He gave me a tip and we followed up on that tip." Emma told him and Peter's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. Is this how Emma always knew about the criminals that didn't happen to be in the criminal database? He supposed so. The blonde was always resourceful so he should've expected her to find other ways to find information.

"Emma, you need to stop buying weapons from criminals. It's not right…you're only encouraging his criminal activities instead of stopping them." Peter told her as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde. Sometimes he really didn't understand Emma but he also felt sympathetic towards her. It was clear to him that Emma didn't really know that what she was doing was wrong.

"He always gives me intel about the whereabouts of his customers. If we throw him in prison he won't tell me anything else ever again." Emma tried to explain to Peter but Peter didn't really care. He didn't want her engaging in conversations with criminals like that alone. Peter knew more than well that Emma could more than handle herself but he still didn't like to imagine her talking to people like that without him by her side. Peter clenched his jaw.

"You still need to stop putting money into the pockets of people like that." Peter told her sternly, almost in a tone that reminded her of Steve. Emma wanted to argue with Peter but she was slowly starting to see his point. They throw some people in prison for one crime and then give money to another criminal for doing the same crime.

"What if I stopped buying weapons from him but let Daredevil take care of him?" Emma said, willing to compromise. She really didn't want to lose the one contact she had in the criminal underworld. Peter chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously as he considered that option.

"I don't know, Emma. We shouldn't be consorting with criminals." Peter said quietly.

"I know but what's one low life moron compared to several really evil criminal masterminds?" Emma inquired. "I know him. He'll never stop selling weapons…the second he's out of Riker's he'll be back on the streets selling weapons again. He's the greediest man I know. What's the point in trying to help him when he'll just do it again?" Peter considered what Emma was saying and realized that she had a point. This man was a person who was minuscule on the spectrum of criminals that could actually help them capture real criminals. Peter then shook his head as he couldn't believe he had actually been considering what Emma was saying. Sometimes his feelings towards her made him a little biased but he needed to think about this rationally. He couldn't let his feelings for Emma cloud his judgement.

"No more talking to your informant, Emma. He's still a criminal that belongs in a cell." Peter finally said stubbornly. Emma would usually snap at a person who thought they could tell her what to do but deep down she knew Peter was being the moral, upstanding person she loved. She wouldn't be in love with him if he wasn't like that. Also…Emma wasn't going to lie. Peter was really hot what he tried to tell her what to do.

"I guess you're right." Emma admitted. "Maybe I'll just leave him for Daredevil to deal with." The truth was that Emma didn't know if she was ready to cut off ties with her informant but she knew it was what Peter wanted to hear and she didn't feel like arguing with him. Emma would promise to not buy anymore weapons from him and that was sort of like a compromise. Right?

"Does this mean you don't like the present?" Emma asked quietly as she glanced down at the knife she had presented him with. Peter chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously because he knew that he couldn't tell her that he didn't like it. Mr. Stark said something about women always being right so Peter knew better than to say that he didn't like it. It was a knife that Emma had bought off a hardened criminal so usually he'd throw it away and track down the criminal she had bought it from but Peter couldn't find it in himself to do that to her. She obviously really wanted him to have the knife. Peter took the knife from her, a small smile on his face as he did so.

"No, it's fine. I like it." He told her and the truth was that he did like it in a way. Peter wasn't sure when he would have to resort to using a knife but deep down he knew a knife from Emma meant a lot more than her just wanting him to protect himself. It was a sentimental gift. Just like the painting in a way. Emma's spirits were lifted by the softened expression on his face. "Just don't buy anything else from that man." Emma nodded.

"I promise." Emma said and she knew she should've sworn off even talking to her informant but she couldn't do that. How would they ever find the criminals they needed to find if she didn't gather information from her informant? The blonde just decided not to tell Peter about the informant ever again. What Peter didn't know wouldn't hurt him. It's not like her informant was a dangerous person or anything. He was just a low life moron on the bottom of the food chain…he just happened to have connections to big time criminals.

"Where is it?" Peter asked softly, breaking Emma out of her train of thought. She glanced over at the brown eyed boy who had started staring at the painting once again. He had set the knife on the desk, the knife momentarily forgotten as he studied the painting. Emma realized that he must've been referring to the landscape of the painting.

"Siberia." Emma answered and Peter glanced back at her curiously. She knew that he was curious about why she would paint a place that brought her so much terror in her life. Emma would've been curious if she was in his position too. She sighed softly before elaborating. "I know that place gave me a lot of grief in my life. It's full of horrible memories for me but there's some good ones there too."

"Like what?" Peter asked her quietly and Emma smiled as she stared at the northern lights displayed in the work of art.

"Sometimes they would send my father and I to the forest alone so that he could train me in isolation." Emma answered before continuing. "He taught me how to hunt and how to survive out there. I know how it sounds but I really loved it there…it was so peaceful with just my father and I. There was no one else but us and I used to wish that we could stay out there forever. No more Hydra and no more missions."

As Peter listened to her he could hear how much she missed her father. Even if she didn't out rightly admit it he could hear it in the tone of her voice. Peter wished that he could somehow bring her father and grandfather back to her just so he could make the ache in her voice go away.

"It looks so beautiful there." Peter murmured as he looked back to the picture, admiring the Siberian night sky. Emma nodded.

"It is beautiful. My father and I used to lay there at night and count the stars as a way to pass time." Emma said softly as she remembered the few happy memories she had from that time of her life. "The sky was large and open...so much that it was like looking into space. There was no buildings or skyscrapers to block our view. The sky will never look as big and beautiful here as it does there." Peter frowned when he heard her say that.

"Do you wish you didn't live here?" Peter asked her hesitantly and the smile faded from her face. Emma shrugged as she considered the question.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't. There's just so many people here and it can feel suffocating." Emma said honestly before she continued. "But a lot's changed since my father and I trained out in the forest. I don't think I can live in silence again like that. The noise in the city is calming and I don't have to be alone with my thoughts anymore."

Peter eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her last statement. What she said didn't seem to make much sense to him. Alone with her thoughts? Emma realized that she had already said too much so she figured it was probably time to go anyways. She didn't know why she said all that to him. Usually she was way more guarded than that but Peter was just too easy to talk to. If she wasn't careful she might spill all her secrets to him.

"I should actually get going." Emma said suddenly as she pretended to glance at the time on her phone. "It's getting late." Peter was disappointed to see her go but he understood that she'd have to leave eventually. He'd see her tomorrow in Spanish class anyways.

"Yeah…of course." Peter mumbled as he nodded understandingly. Emma gave him a small smile but it didn't reach her eyes like the last couple of times.

"See you later then." Emma said as a fond look came over her face. "Happy Birthday, Peter."

"Thanks." Peter said quietly as his face flushed. Emma gave him one last quick smile before leaving his room and Peter watched her go, feeling confused as he always did from what Emma said and did. Sometimes he wished there was some kind of guideline book that translated her words and actions but he was sure there no such thing in existence. He supposed mulling over Emma's behavior was a good way to pass time anyways. Peter could actually pass a lot of time that way.

* * *

Peter was sound asleep when he was suddenly woken up by a faint breeze in his room followed by the feeling that he was being watched. He slowly opened his eyes which were still heavy from sleep. His vision was still blurry as he looked through the darkness of his bedroom, his eyes catching sight of a blurry figure next to his bed. His vision subsequently focused as he sat up in bed, alarmed by the figure. It was only then that he relaxed since he realized that it wasn't an intruder…no, it was Emma Rogers. He felt both elated and confused to see her. Elated because he was always happy to see her but confused because he didn't know what she was doing in his room in the middle of the night.

The blonde didn't smile at him as she knelt down at his bedside. Her ocean blue eyes shone under the moonlight streaming in through the window. She didn't frown at him either…she just simply stared at him with such intensity that Peter's mouth suddenly felt dry. Emma always made him feel nervous whenever she stared at him like that. It was like she could see right through him or something.

"Emma?" He asked once he felt confident enough to do so. "What are you doing here?" The blonde tilted her head to the side as if she didn't understand his meaning. Peter glanced down at her and noticed that she was wearing the same stunning green dress she had been wearing the night of Homecoming. He blushed at the way the bodice of the dress seemed to cling to her. Peter would be lying if he said that he hadn't stared at her chest either. He knew it was really wrong for him to do so but he couldn't help it…he was incredibly attracted to her and the fact that he was in love with her didn't help in that department either. He also knew, however, if he kept staring at her like that Emma would probably kill him.

"I came to see you." Emma finally said as if it were obvious. Peter swallowed nervously as he could practically smell the sweet familiar scent of strawberries and coconut.

"Really?" A dreamy look came over his face as he stared at her. She looked like an angel underneath the moonlight. A small smile came over her face as she reached over and gently ran her fingers through his hair. Peter leaned into her hand, her touch causing his breathing to hitch.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" Emma said, her voice a mere whisper as her eyes rested on his face. There was a kindness displayed on her face that made her look like the teenager she actually was.

"Emma, it's the middle of the night." He told her, still not quite understanding what she was doing there at that time of night…not that he wasn't glad that she was there. Her fingers then moved down to his face as she gently caressed his cheek. Peter could feel his heart racing as he looked at her and marveled at the gentleness of her touch.

"Don't be silly, Peter." Emma said as she gave him an amused smile, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "Besides…I came here to give you your birthday present." Peter raised his eyebrows.

"You've already given me a birthday present…two actually." Peter replied and Emma cupped his face with her hand, her fingers resting along his jawline.

"This will be the last one. I promise." Emma whispered and Peter didn't know when her face came so close to his. She was merely inches away from him. He swallowed nervously as he spotted her rosy pink lips which looked so tempting to him.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, his eyes wide and voice higher than usual. Emma didn't say anything as she leaned in and Peter was sure his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Instead of questioning Emma, his eyes fluttered shut as he too leaned in to meet her half way. The second their lips met Peter felt hooked. Her lips tasted sweet, probably reminiscent of the birthday cake from earlier, and it was like he couldn't get enough. Emma's hand moved from his face and her fingers tangled themselves in his hair. Peter felt the sudden need to be closer to her. The feel of her soft lips against his was incredibly intoxicating and he found that he never wanted it to end. However, Emma suddenly pulled away and Peter felt disappointed from the loss of contact. There was something about the way she stared at him, an unreadable emotion in her eyes. Peter couldn't help but admit to the very feelings he had been keeping bottled up inside all this time.

"I love you." Peter said suddenly and for some strange reason Emma didn't look surprised. She looked she might have even been expecting him to say that. The blonde only smiled at him softly as she grasped one of his hands in hers.

"I love you too, Peter." Emma whispered to him. Peter's eyes widened in surprise because he could hardly believe what she just said. Emma didn't give him enough time to react to that new piece of information as she leaned in to kiss him again. Her face was inches away from his when Peter felt a strange sensation come over him and was whisked away from the scene with Emma.

* * *

Peter Parker woke up suddenly and found himself be in the very same room as before except there was no sign of Emma. It was dark like before but the window wasn't opened and Emma wasn't anywhere to be seen. His heart was pounding against his chest as he searched the room desperately for any sign that it hadn't all been a dream. To his disappointment it became very obvious to him that none of it had been real at all. Peter was left all alone in his room with no Emma and a wave of sadness came over him.

His dream had been everything he ever wanted. Emma had kissed him…she had loved him in that dream but it wasn't real. Peter had felt Emma within his grasp and he had felt her soft lips against his. In his dream they had finally gotten together and it had felt so real to him but the truth was that it was all just a dream. His eyes watered as he rested his head back against his pillow, feeling more and more disappointed by reality. The dream had given him everything he ever desired but Peter knew it could never be true. Emma always made it clear that she didn't believe in love.

A part of him hoped that she might eventually fall in love with him but Peter didn't know if she could. He wanted more than anything to be able to call her his girlfriend…to take her out on dates and to hold her hand through the halls of Midtown. Peter dreamed of kissing her and holding her. He even wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her on a daily basis without the fear of rejection. Peter just didn't believe that Emma would ever feel the same. There was moments between them that he thought she might feel something but then she said or did something to convince him otherwise.

Peter buried himself underneath the blankets as he longed for something he wasn't sure he could ever have. The dream felt so real to him which was why it devastated him to know that it was just a fantasy. He wished it was real but Peter honestly didn't know if Emma could ever feel the same way that he did about her. Peter supposed being around Emma was better than nothing but he still yearned for more.

He didn't think he would ever stop yearning for more.


	55. Chapter Fifty One

**Author's Note: So here's another chapter about Emma's parents. I don't know whether or not I should put a warning for sexual situations because it's not like it's a rated M chapter but there's still more than what I've written in the past.**

 **I also want to disclose that I don't own the song 'Today'. That amazing song belongs entirely to Jefferson Airplane. You guys should definitely check out 'Today' by Jefferson Airplane. It's one of my favorite songs of all time and quite possibly the most beautiful love song you'll ever hear.**

 **I was also listening to the new album BORNS put out while writing this chapter. It's really good but it's not as good as _Dopamine_ is to me. _Dopamine_ is one of my favorite albums ever so it's a tough thing to beat but _Blue Madonna_ is good too. **

**Angel Wings00: I know the dream sequence at the end of the last chapter was kind of cruel but I felt like it was necessary. The dream sequence displayed how difficult it is for Peter to control his feelings for Emma. It's just another thing that's going to push him to finally tell her how he feels.**

 **Spawn Hades: I really love writing a jealous Emma which is why I thought it was important to write another female character trying to hit on Peter. She's definitely going to feel feelings like love more intensely than most people. Because Emma loves Peter her jealousy is probably going to be that much more intensified. She'll go to great lengths to make sure Betty stays away from Peter which is going to be something more comedic than scary to the readers.  
**

 **Radioactive88: Honestly, I think Emma will probably throw that cologne in the trash which probably means giving it to Tony.**

 **LovingBOBThePacific: I've been thinking of maybe one or two scenarios which involves Emma meeting Frank Castle. I feel like she'd really admire him in a lot of ways. I'm not sure about Daredevil though. Not yet at least.**

 **HanzSolo: It'll still be a long while before everyone finds out about Rumlow but it's definitely something Emma's going to work up to talking about.**

 **Mcduffie145: Emma and Peter will get together real soon. Just hang tight.**

 **sleepingAsAsheep: Yay, a long review! Thanks for the enormous amount of feedback and I'm glad you gave the story another try. I know it was a long time in the story before Emma and Peter met but it was necessary for me to build up her character. I felt like it would mean that much more to the readers to watch a character, who they got to know so well, fall in love and even become a better person somewhat. I'm kind of sad that Emma isn't really in the movies either because I think it would be cool if she really was. Peter with someone like Emma is a really interesting concept. I actually hope that if he does get together with someone that it's Michelle. Michelle's pretty cool and I like her a lot better than Liz. I'm not planning to stop writing this fanfic anytime soon.**

 **Kittyjune26: I haven't heard that song before but I'll be sure to check it out.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and be sure to let me know what you think of this chapter!**

* * *

Juarez, Mexico

1998

Mexico was incredibly hot which was something that Margot always knew but never really considered until she arrived there. It's not like Margot was unused to the heat after attending college in Florida but it had been a while. The redheaded Shield agent and her new partner had been living in Juarez for the past two weeks as the all American couple Ethan and Julia Leigh. Spending time with such a notorious drug dealer like Salazar was enough to make Margot's skin crawl but she knew she'd do it if it meant finding out where Salazar was getting those weapons. Although, no one said it would ever be easy. Salazar wasn't someone who trusted easily so she had a strong feeling that it would be a while before he divulged any information to Steven.

Margot was slowly making progress with Salazar's wife Rosa but she found that she didn't like the Latina very much. Rosa Salazar was a former beauty queen and the very girl Margot had both envied and hated in high school. The only plus side in spending time with the former beauty queen was that it was very easy to manipulate information about Santiago out of her. However, most days Margot just stayed at the house they were renting while Steven did business with Salazar. In some ways it was almost like the two were actually married. Margot would tend to trophy wife duties while Steven would go to work. Undercover work was always a long and sometimes uneventful process…especially if you were a woman.

Margot wasn't entirely sure how to feel about her newly assigned partner. Most of the time she really missed the playful banter between her and Clint. Clint was just an easy person to talk to but she could tell Steven was a little more guarded. There was also the fact that she didn't really know how to talk to Steven. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her and Margot would flush red which was pretty embarrassing for a woman her age. It wasn't like she was in high school anymore but sometimes she just couldn't help it. For someone almost two decades older than her, Steven was definitely a sight to look at. Why did Fury have to pair her up with someone that annoyingly good looking? It didn't help that she was almost positive that Steven found her to be annoying either. Well, he wouldn't be the first one to find her annoying. Pretty much every agent found her to be fairly ditzy and talkative. The only one that didn't was probably Clint. Even Phil had remarked about how annoying he thought she was.

"Lucy, I'm home!" Margot suddenly called out as she stepped through the front door of the house. She had just returned from a long day of shopping with Rosa and she was feeling cheerful from some of the intel she had received from the air headed Latina. Steven Rogers raised an eyebrow as he eyed the peculiar redhead as she entered the living room with the most cheerful smile on her face. The smile faded from Margot's face and she suddenly felt stupid as she normally did whenever she was around Steven Rogers.

"Sorry…it was just a reference. You know, from I-" Margot started to say but was interrupted by Steven.

"I Love Lucy." He finished with an unreadable look on his face. "I know…I was around when the show was airing." Margot even more stupid now as she shyly looked down at the floor. Of course, he was old enough to remember the show. She was the one who wasn't born when the show started airing. God…she always said the wrong thing around him.

"Right." Margot said before awkwardly clearing her throat. The older man curiously glanced at the shopping bags she had around her arms.

"I take it today was a successful day in yours and Rosa's blossoming friendship?" Steven asked and that was the weird thing about him. Margot could never tell if he was being sarcastic or serious. He was hard to read which made him a little like a puzzle to her. The redhead sighed as she practically dumped the shopping bags on the floor before taking a seat on the couch across from Steven's armchair. Margot always felt exhausted after spending an entire day listening to Rosa's constant yapping. And people thought _she_ talked too much? No way. Rosa was even worse than her.

"Don't remind me. That woman is the most fake and shallow person I've ever met." Margot complained as she rested her cheek in her hand, not looking anything like a calm and collected Shield agent. This was something that mystified Steven about the woman sitting before him. He had heard numerous great things about Margot Pierce in the past but none of things he had heard explained the odd behavior of the Shield agent. Margot seemed to act more like a grade school teacher with her cheerful and happy demeanor. She definitely talked way more than what he was used to and sometimes he didn't even understand her rambling. Steven wasn't going to lie and say that he hadn't been warned about the notorious ditziness and chattiness of Agent Pierce but trusted that Fury had assigned her to him for a reason.

The accomplished Shield agent then sat back and assessed the redhead's appearance. She was a lot younger than him but somehow Margot seemed even younger than what she was. He was sure it had something to do with her kind nature and ever present youthfulness whenever she laughed or smiled. The thirty five year old had an incredibly infectious and kind smile. Steven could definitely see why she was known as one of the most approachable and friendly Shield agents at Headquarters. Her skin was pale and creamy looking, making her look rather cute especially with the small smattering of freckles across her face. Margot's flaming red locks really seemed to pop against her emerald green eyes. Steven had to be an idiot not to find the short redhead attractive which in his mind made her even more dangerous to him. He didn't need to start feeling attracted to his partner because from past experience that never ended well and Agent Pierce was way too young for his liking.

Steven was a bachelor. He was fifty two years old and had never married…a fact that his mother never let him forget. The truth was that Steven had never really felt the need to settle down and start a family. His work kept him pretty busy and fatherhood actually terrified him a bit if he was being honest. The decorated Shield agent knew that his work was something he would never give up and having a family would only make them targets just like his father made Steven and his mother targets. Steven had decided early on to just be married to his work. Sure there had been women along the way but none of them stuck around too much. They wanted marriage and children which was something that Steven was never very interested in.

"Did she give anything up?" Steven asked Margot suddenly. He found that it was time that he stopped reminiscing over his failed relationships as well as how attractive he found his very young partner to be. Margot then smiled at him, feeling delighted to tell him the good news.

"Well, she actually did happen to mention that her lovely husband is considering letting you in on the big business deal he's got coming along." Margot informed him and Steven just stared at her. He had a feeling what that meant but he wanted to hear it from Margot.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Steven inquired and Margot just grinned at him.

"Rosa says that Santiago's going to be testing you next week so keep up the act. Earn his trust and hopefully we'll be able to find out who he's getting the weapons from soon." Margot told him and Steven nodded, feeling slightly relieved that they were finally getting somewhere in their undercover work.

"Great." Steven answered as he became lost in his thoughts again only this time he was mentally preparing himself for anything Salazar might ask him to do. Salazar was a ruthless and cruel drug dealer after all and there was no telling what kind of tests he would come up with. Steven had done some pretty nasty undercover work before but a part of him feared the length that Salazar would go. He wished that he could say that all the work he had done for his country had been done with a clean conscience but he'd be lying. Sometimes Steven wondered whether or not his father would be disappointed in him. Probably. Captain America probably wouldn't go to the lengths that Steven went to to serve his country. His father was famous for being the fine example of a moral and upstanding man.

"Are you alright?" Margot asked her partner softly. She started feeling concerned for him the moment she saw him start to stare off into space. Margot didn't know Steven that well but she could tell that something was troubling him. She could only assume it was about the mission. Steven blinked as he was snapped out his thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine." Steven said shortly and he suddenly felt incredibly silly for letting his emotions get the best of him. He didn't know why he had thought of his father in a time like this. It had been a while since he'd last thought of his father. Sometimes several months would go by without Steven thinking about his father and that had never bothered him. Steven actually preferred not to give his father much thought but somehow he always remembered his father in the weirdest of times. He just didn't understand how someone he had never met before could have that much hold over him and his decisions in life.

"If it's about the mission than you shouldn't be worried." Margot said as she tried to reassure him. She never really had to reassure anyone on a mission before and she wasn't going to lie…it was scary to have to reassure someone and especially since he was her partner. Their lives kind of depended on each other. However, Margot knew it was the right thing to do. It was always like her to want to help people. "You're like a Shield legend…one of the best Shield agents ever."

Steven's eyes darted towards the redhead and analyzed the concerned look on her face. It was clear to him that she was trying to be the kind person she was and comfort him. A small smile graced her face as she attempted to make him feel better. However, Steven didn't feel like he deserved her kindness. Not with everything he had done in his life. He suddenly wondered who exactly Margot Pierce was. How could she smile at someone like that when she was in this line of work? Well, she hadn't been in Shield nearly as long as he had been which probably explained it. Steven knew if she spent enough time in Shield that smile would cease to exist. The thought of that made Steven feel miserable.

"I need to take a shower." Steven said gruffly before abruptly getting up from his chair and quickly leaving the room. Margot watched him leave in confusion, not understanding what was going on with him.

"What about dinner? I was going to make a casserole from that recipe I told you about!" Margot called out to him but her only answer was the opening and closing of the bathroom door. The redhead then frowned as she leaned back into her seat. She tried understanding Steven's actions but figured it was a lost cause anyways. Something told her trying to understand Steven Rogers would inevitably give her a headache. Margot sighed tiredly as she leaned her head back against the couch.

"I miss Clint."

* * *

It was week three of their mission in Mexico when Salazar invited him to his mansion of a house right outside Juarez. The mansion was incredibly lavish with fountains, Spanish tile, and beautiful gardens that Margot doubted Rosa even tended to. Salazar clearly seemed to be a lover of the arts as she spotted several paintings by famous painters. The mansion seemed to be like a museum in itself and Margot was sure that Salazar was even more rich than Pablo Escobar was. Probably because Pablo Escobar hadn't been dealing advanced weaponry given to him by unknown parties. This was why Margot and Steven were there...they had to find out who was supplying this idiot with the weapons.

"How are you liking our home?" Rosa asked Margot as the younger woman showed her around the large mansion. Margot faked a convincing smile as she portrayed the friendly gal pal she was told to be. The redhead was usually a very friendly person but not around people like Rosa and her husband. Salazar and his wife were exactly what was wrong with the world.

"It's wonderful, Rosa." Margot told her as she looked around the mansion in awe. It was true…the mansion was very beautiful. Margot hadn't exactly grown up poor or anything. With her father's job she had grown up quite wealthy but she knew better than anyone that wealth didn't ensure happiness. She had grown up having everything she ever wanted but she still had a very miserable childhood. Materialism meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"I'm thinking of having a wine cellar put in but Santiago still needs convincing." Rosa informed her, an excited smile on her face. "He said he's more of a tequila man but I'll convince him somehow. It's what we wives have to do, right?" Margot gave the Latina a confused look.

"What?" She asked but Rosa just smirked at her.

"Wives…we have our husbands wrapped around our fingers so we can get them to do what we want." Rosa explained with a suggestive look on her face. "How do you think I got Santiago to marry me? Santiago was never the marrying sort but I managed to convince him that he couldn't live without me."

"How lovely." Margot's tone was slightly sarcastic but her sarcasm seemed to go over Rosa's head. The redhead decided right then that she really hated this woman. She was exactly the same as Melanie Bingley. Melanie Bingley was the head cheerleader at Margot's high school who made Margot's life, as well as many other girl's lives, a living hell. Melanie manipulated boys to do her bidding and Margot was fairly sure that she was the one who Rumlow cheated on her with. It was all in the past now but that didn't mean Margot wanted to be best friends with another Melanie Bingley.

"What about you? How did you get Ethan to marry you?" Rosa inquired and Margot wanted to snap at her that she didn't _get_ anyone to marry her. That's not how proposals were supposed to be. You didn't manipulate your significant other to marry you. Instead, however, Margot just laughed the question off.

"Oh, I don't know. Ethan and I had been dating for a short time when he just popped the question out of the blue." Margot explained with a tone of nonchalance. "He said something along the lines of that he wasn't getting any younger."

Margot was sure that Steven wasn't going to like that answer. During their time together Margot had been teasing him about his age which she was almost positive that the legendary Shield agent didn't like. He never said anything but instead gave her a dark look before leaving the room. Steven kind of reminded her of Sam Elliot in that way. He was incredibly gruff and silent but not because he was shy… it was just because he was Steven Rogers she supposed.

"You're lucky. I bet Ethan would do anything for you." Rosa told her and Margot smiled. It was kind of nice pretending to be married and settled down. Sometimes Margot actually wished that she did have a family to go home to. A lot of Shield agents were like Margot…married to their work but she had to admit it would be nice to go home to something other than an empty apartment.

"Of course." Margot finally managed to say as Rosa and her walked towards the dining room of the mansion. It was an expansive dining room with a beautiful, colorful mural painted on the walls. The dining table was long and a little gaudy looking to Margot. Probably something Rosa had more than likely picked out. Steven and Salazar were standing off in one corner of the dining room while several of Salazar's bodyguards stood in front of every doorway, keeping guard over their employer. The men were chatting quite amicably amongst themselves and Steven even seemed to laugh at a joke Salazar had told him. Margot, however, knew it was all an act.

"Santiago!" Rosa said scoldingly as she eyed the cigar hanging out of her husband's mouth. "What have I told you about smoking your cigars in the dining room?!" Salazar just smiled at his beautiful wife before taking the cigar out of his mouth and exhaling a cloud of sweetly scented smoke.

"Mi amor, do you have to embarrass me in front of my friend?" Salazar said jokingly as he walked over to his wife. He kissed her on the cheek while Rosa grimaced from the smell of cigar smoke.

"Put that thing out! It's disgusting!" Rosa complained and Salazar chuckled.

"Of course. Anything for my beautiful wife." Salazar said before nodding at one his bodyguards who took the cigar away from him. Probably to dispose of it. The Latin man then grinned at Steven. "The things we do for our wives. Am I right, Ethan?"

"I know what you mean." Steven said as he feigned an amused smile before wrapping an arm around Margot. Margot smiled at Salazar and Rosa as she leaned into Steven's touch. It was important that they pretended to be the perfect couple in every way. Salazar then gave the couple a curious look.

"I don't think I've ever seen you kiss your wife. Isn't that strange?" Salazar questioned and Steven cleared his throat awkwardly. Margot tried to hide the blush on her face and somehow prayed to God that Salazar would let this one go.

"Really?" Steven replied and Salazar nodded.

"Come on, why don't you show your wife how much you adore her? You've barely seen her all day." Salazar practically ordered before giving his own wife an affectionate look. "I make sure to let Rosa know how much she means to me every day."

Margot wanted to snort at that line of bullshit. She knew for a fact that Salazar cheated on his wife almost every night. The man really seemed to love spending his evenings with the highest class prostitutes that Juarez had to offer. Steven just smiled at Salazar before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss against Margot's cheek. She blushed vibrantly from the feel of his lips against her cheek before mentally scolding herself for acting like a school girl with a crush on her teacher. Margot was thirty five for Christ's sake.

"Don't be such a prude, Ethan." Salazar said as both he and his wife laughed at them. "I know white people are weird about these things but you're amongst friends. Go on, kiss your wife just like you do at home. We don't mind."

Margot knew that this was another test Salazar had set out for them. Steven looked into her eyes, trying see if she was okay with this but it wasn't an case of whether or not she was alright with kissing Steven. No, this could be life or death for the both of them. Salazar was stilling testing them and besides…Margot wasn't unused to having to kiss her male counterparts on undercover missions. She had made out with Clint on occasion even though it probably the equivalent of making out with a little brother. Margot always felt the desire to wash her mouth out after kissing him.

With that Steven slowly leaned down towards Margot's face and her eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his lips to hers. Margot could feel her heart racing and it was like she was sixteen all over again kissing the boy she had a huge crush on. Steven kissed her with even more confidence than she was used to. Margot usually dated men who were roughly the same age as her but most of them were never as assertive or confident as Steven seemed to be. She could smell the faint smell of cigars and after shave on him. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but Margot wished it had lasted longer. Steven pulled away way too soon for her liking and Margot watched him, secretly remarking about how gorgeous looking he was. Great…this was why it wasn't good to kiss your very attractive and older partner, Margot thought to herself.

Steven stared at Margot Pierce for a long moment after the kiss and it was almost they were the only two people in the world. He never cared for chattiness but somehow Margot seemed to be the exception to that rule. She had a way of making him feel oddly comforted by all her talking of nonsense and trivial things. This actually seemed to be one of the rare occasions where she didn't immediately start rambling. Steven had done a lot of things while undercover which included sleeping with the wives of mob bosses and drug lords on occasion but he never quite felt troubled afterwards like he did right in that moment. His attraction to his much younger partner seemed to only be increasing. Steven immediately tore his gaze away from Margot and looked back at a grinning Santiago Salazar. God, he really hated that little bastard.

"See! That wasn't so difficult now, was it?" Salazar asked them teasingly. He waved them over to take a seat at the dining room table. "Take a seat while we wait for our Japanese friends to arrive. I'm sure they'll be hungry after their long plane ride."

Margot knew better than anyone that Salazar was of course referring to the two members from the Yakuza mob. Okada and Tanaka. Margot was confident that they wouldn't recognize her since they had never actually met face to face. That didn't stop the unease from coming over her but that was why Fury sent her there anyways…because of her familiarity with the Yakuza. Steven pulled out her seat for her and Margot sat down at the long table.

She took a good look at Salazar as her and Steven sat across from him. He was younger than she would've imagined him to be. Forty years old with a twenty three year old wife although Margot couldn't be one to judge. Her and Steven were posing as a married couple and they were seventeen years apart. Salazar was a short man, probably only standing at around 5'7, but was rather slender. Having such a young wife probably encouraged him to work out on a daily basis at the gym just so he could keep up. His hair was thick and dark but what was really disgusting was that weird goatee he had on his face. It was even worse than that stupid goatee Tony Stark had started grooming in the latest issue of GQ. The Latin man even had a style that was also grossly reminiscent of Tony Stark's weird sense of style. He wore bright colored button down shirts that threatened to blind Margot. From what she could tell Salazar was someone she would never associate with in real life. She internally winced at the smug smirk on his face as he glanced at both her and Steven.

"We'll discuss more business after dinner." Salazar promised as he winked at them. "It's no talk for beautiful women like our wives after all." Rosa didn't seem to mind her husband's words but Margot wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and slap the stupid goatee off his face. Margot instead smiled at him politely.

"Of course." Steven said he too smiled at the Latin man. One of Salazar's men soon came into the room to inform them that Okada and Tanaka were there. After a couple of weeks of trying to earn Salazar's trust it seemed like things were finally falling into place for them. Margot just wished she had a better idea as to whether or not this would work in their favor.

* * *

Margot and Steven didn't really talk about the kiss after that. There wasn't anything that needed to be said abut the kiss anyways… it was merely work to the two trained Shield agents. Three months into the mission and they were slowly making progress with Salazar, Okada, and Tanaka. So much progress that they were able to eliminate Okada and Tanaka as people who knew the identity behind Salazar's weapon suppliers. Okada and Tanaka were as clueless about the weapon supplier as Steven and Margot. It became clear to Margot that the two didn't care where the weapons came as long as they were able to buy the weapons off of Salazar.

Steven was actually quickly becoming a trusted business partner to Salazar although the Latin man still hadn't informed Steven who the weapon supplier was. Margot knew that information wasn't going to come easy. It was going to take some time and all the while Margot was also doing her own undercover work. Rosa Salazar didn't seem as oblivious to her husband's antics as Margot originally thought. She found that the woman was just uncaring about what went on behind closed doors as long as she got to live in her big mansion and go on her shopping sprees. However, Rosa seemed to have a big mouth and had given Margot a few pieces of key information.

"Anything from Rosa?" Steven asked Margot as they were eating dinner in the kitchen while Margot's music played in the background. It was almost like they were a real married couple, asking each other about their day at work. Margot had even made a home cooked meal to top it all off. Margot shrugged as she cut into the sweet potato glazed pork chop.

"She just mentioned that her husband's been visiting less brothels these days." Margot answered and Steven raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What did she mean by that?" He inquired and Margot looked back up at him.

"Rosa said that her husband's usually happy when he comes back from his little business trips which I took to mean that she's very aware of her husband's love for high class prostitutes." Margot elaborated before continuing. "However, she says that the last couple business trips he took he seemed very stressed out and quieter than usual. Rosa thinks that it's not the prostitutes that have him all stressed out." Steven processed that information as he analyzed what it could mean. There was several different meanings that could be taken from that but only one stood out to Steven.

"He's been meeting with a client…perhaps the one that's giving him the weapons." Steven said quietly as he tried to decide what the next step would be for them. "Do you think Rosa knows who it is?" Margot immediately shook her head.

"No. She mentioned earlier that he's been keeping a lot from her lately…I think this is one of the things he's been keeping from her." Margot informed him and Steven nodded solemnly. "I think there's a lot that Salazar's not telling her. Maybe to protect her." Steven gave Margot an odd look as he scoffed.

"You think he actually cares about her?" Steven asked in disbelief. "He cheats on her and beats her."

"Steven, I've seen a lot of couples like Salazar and his wife on the missions I've been assigned." Margot told him seriously and the older agent listened to her intently. "These men hurt their wives over and over again but at the end of the day they always come running home and the wives always take them back. It's fucked up but it's true. I've seen it time after time." Steven reached for his bottle of beer before taking a long sip from the bottle. He then set the beer bottle back on the table and sighed tiredly.

"The world's seriously a fucked up place." Steven finally said as he locked eyes with Margot. The redhead felt slightly bashful under the direct gaze of her very attractive partner that she may or may not have been developing a small crush on. Crush? Margot could hardly believe herself. She was too old to have crushes. "The older you get, the more fucked up it becomes. Trust me."

"It's not completely bad." Margot argued weakly.

"No, it's worse." Steven deadpanned. However, before Margot could respond to Steven's pessimistic remark a song, that Steven hated with a passion, could be heard from all the way in the living room. He had been listening to Margot's God awful music all night but he could no longer stand it. He wrinkled his nose in distaste, an action that Margot immediately found somewhat cute on the hardened Shield agent.

"God, what is this awful music?" Steven loudly complained and Margot blushed before glaring at him playfully.

"Hey, Bonnie Tyler is not awful! She's amazing!" Margot protested, defending one of her favorite singers. Steven raised his eyebrows at her.

"You think this is what good music sounds like?" Steven asked her.

"I had sex with my college boyfriend in his car to this song. Total Eclipse of the Heart is one of the best songs of all times." Margot said as if that bit of information would convince Steven otherwise. The serious Shield agent just shook his head at her in disbelief.

"How can anyone have sex with this song playing in the background?" Steven said and Margot didn't look troubled by his question.

"Well, we did and the sex was amazing." Margot told him seriously but in all honesty the sex wasn't that good. Her college boyfriend's name was Thomas Grant, a British exchange student and philosophy major, who finished in probably two minutes. Margot didn't even think she had orgasmed at all that night although she was sure Bonnie Tyler didn't have anything to do with that.

"I'm sure it was." Steven said in amusement. Margot was even surprised with his nonchalance over the turn their conversation had made. She thought someone as old as him would be offended by any suggestive remark in the least. Steven then abruptly got up from his seat and walked away from the kitchen table. Margot stared after him in confusion.

"Where are you going?" Margot asked, perplexed by his sudden absence. Sometimes she didn't think she'd ever understand Steven Rogers. He was a mystery to most but he was certainly a mystery to her above all things.

"Come here!" He called back to her. Margot could've just stayed in the kitchen and finished her dinner like a normal adult but her curiosity was too much for her to handle. The redhead got up from her seat and followed Steven into the living room. She saw him flipping through her CD wallet holder, looking through all her music. Margot was very bewildered by what he was doing.

"What's going on?" She asked him hesitantly. For the first time in a while she saw Steven give her genuine smile. He seemed to be excited about something as he pulled out a CD. She eyed the pink colored CD curiously.

"I managed to find one actual good piece of music in this heap of trash." Steven said and Margot wanted to glare at him but she couldn't. She laughed at Steven's wording and couldn't help but admire this new laid back side of him. Every day she seemed to learn something new about her partner.

"It's not trash." She mumbled but Steve only smirked at her before taking out the Bonnie Tyler CD from the CD player and replacing it with the one in his hand.

"Jefferson Airplane…Surrealistic Pillow. One of the best albums of all time." Steven explained as the first song came on. It sounded vaguely familiar to her but Margot wasn't sure. She probably heard it on the radio or something once upon a time.

"Jefferson Airplane? What, like Jefferson Starship?" Margot questioned and Steven had a look of distaste on his face.

"Jefferson Airplane was way better but yes…Jefferson Starship was evolved out of Jefferson Airplane." Steven told her and Margot smirked at him as a curious look came over her face.

"Wasn't Jefferson Airplane one of those Summer of Love bands? Wait…were you a hippie?" Margot asked in amusement and Steven glared at her.

"No, I wasn't." He denied weakly. However, Steven's denial only seemed to amuse Margot further as she laughed at him.

"So you _were_ a hippie. Did you have the long hair? What about the flower crowns?" Margot teased. "I bet you smoked a ton of pot…Acid trips too?"

"I never took drugs." Steven told her, looking quite serious but Margot felt like he was probably lying. He wouldn't be so defensive if he wasn't lying.

"I wouldn't judge you if you did." She said nonchalantly. "I did go to college after all. I mean…I never took LSD but I may have smoked a joint or two which I never did again. I'm not sure if you can tell but I'm the kind of person who gets super paranoid while high." Steven scoffed.

"Really? I never would've guessed." Steven said sarcastically and Margot glared at him.

"Right…well, my point is that I tried pot in college and then never again." Margot said but before Steven could respond 'Today' started playing. Margot had to admit it was a pretty sounding song. The song reminded her of meadows and cute little doves flying through the sky on a bright and warm sunny day. She also didn't fail to notice the softened look that came over Steven's face when the song started playing.

"I love this song." He murmured so softly that Margot wasn't entirely sure whether or not she had heard him right. She smiled softly at him and she could tell this song held a lot of good memories for him.

"Why don't we dance?" She asked him suddenly and he gave her a surprised look.

"What?" He asked in disbelief but Margot just shook her head.

"We should dance." She repeated and Steven laughed, not believing what Margot had actually suggested.

"I'm too old to dance, Pierce." Steven told her and Margot rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't be silly. No one's too old to dance." Margot replied. "My grandpa used to dance all the time. Even when he was seventy five."

"Thanks for comparing me to your grandfather." Steven deadpanned but Margot just laughed at him.

"Come on, Steven, please…it could be like a present." She suggested and he raised an eyebrow.

"A present for what?"

"My birthday."

"It's your birthday?" Steven inquired curiously.

"Well, no…but it can be an early birthday present." Margot retorted and Steven couldn't believe how crazy this woman was. Steven was sure there was not another woman in the world that was quite like Margot Pierce.

"If I say yes will you stop pestering me?" Steven asked her and Margot smiled excitedly at him.

"Of course." Margot said and Steven reluctantly rested his hands on either side of her hips. There was quite a difference in height between the two of them so she opted for placing her hands as far up his arms as she could reach. Margot was surprised that she could actually almost reach his shoulders but she supposed she had her heels to thanks for that. The distance between them was quite close as they started to sway to the soft beat of the song. The lyrics were enchanting to Margot as she quietly listened to the song. She could see why Steven seemed to love this song so much.

 _'_ _Today, you'll make me say'  
'That I somehow have changed'  
'Today, you'll look into my eyes'  
'I'm just not the same'  
'To be any more than all I am'  
'Would be a lie'  
'I'm so full of love'  
'I could burst apart'  
'And start to cry'_

"You're not so bad at this, Steven." Margot told him honestly as she rested her face against his chest. Steven just smiled down at the redhead.

"Well, there's not much to it, is there?" Steven said and Margot smiled softly.

"Still..." She trailed off. Margot found that she was increasingly becoming more and more attracted to her partner. There was something about the mysterious Steven Rogers that seemed to draw her in. They hadn't known each other that long but Margot couldn't help but enjoy their fake marriage a little too much.

 _'_ _Today, everything you want'  
'I swear it all will come true'  
'Today, I realize how much'  
'I'm in love with you'  
'With you standing here'  
'I could tell the world'  
'What it means to love'  
'To go on from here'  
'I can't use words'  
'They don't say enough'_

"I went to Woodstock, you know." Steve said suddenly and Margot looked up at him curiously.

"Really?" Margot inquired and he nodded, a small smile on his face as he remembered old times. He missed how simpler everything was back then…back when he was younger. There wasn't any Shield or missions. All Steven had been concerned with back then was girls and music. Steven had gone through a lengthy rebellious phase back in the sixties which may or may not have had something to do with his father. He held a lot of resentment towards his father during that time of his life... Captain America was an impossible person to ever live up to and Steven had taken his anger out on a lot of people around him. He had done a lot of things he wasn't proud of and that had a lot to do with the absence of his dead father. Everything in his life was linked back to his father in one way or another.

"Yeah…my girlfriend at the time went with me. We saw Jefferson Airplane perform live along with Hendrix, Joplin, and the Grateful Dead." Steven recollected and Margot listened to him intently. She was glad he was sharing this small piece of his life with her. Steven remained so guarded sometimes but she was happy that he trusted her enough to even tell her something as small as this.

"That must've been amazing." Margot told him. "Woodstock was pretty legendary after all."

"It was. I think it's one of the few times I've ever been truly happy." Steven said softly.

"I'm sure that's not true." Margot said as she tried to reassure him but Steven just smiled at her before returning his attention to the song. She then got the idea in her head to cheer him up. Something was obviously getting him down.

"Well, if you're so well versed in the sixties than why don't you show me how the kids did it back then." Margot said teasingly as she changed the subject. "Come on, grandpa, show me your moves." Steven didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused by the redhead's antics so he just opted to laugh at her. He knew what she was trying to do and he appreciated it. He could really use a distraction right about now.

"Who are you calling grandpa? I may be old but I'm not _that_ old, sweetheart…I'm no one's grandpa." Steven retorted before he abruptly twirled her around much to the short woman's surprise. Margot giggled as she blushed, feeling something like a teenager. She hadn't felt this free or happy in years. It was almost like she was flying and Margot loved the feeling.

 _'_ _Please'_

 _'_ _Please'_

 _'_ _Listen to me'  
'It's taken so long to come true'_

It was when Steven pulled her back to him that the smile slowly faded from her face. Things started to feel very serious as they locked eyes with each other. Green meeting blue although at this distance Margot was almost positive that she could see trace amounts of green in Steven's otherwise blue eyes. She always knew he had such pretty eyes but she had never seen his eyes this close before. Margot could feel her heart pounding against her chest, reminding her yet again of what it felt like to be a teenager. Her and Steven remained there, for what felt like minutes, just staring at each other.

 _'_ _It's all for you'_

 _'_ _It's all for you…'_

And just like that the song ended and they were left in complete silence. The two of them barely even noticed the song had ended as they tried to find the right words to say. Margot swallowed nervously as she felt Steven's intense gaze on her. He always seemed to make her nervous and even more scatter brained than usual. Steven had some kind of hold over her which was different from anyone she ever knew before. She had yet to discover why exactly that was although she may have had a slight suspicious.

"It was a really good song…really beautiful and everything." Margot finally managed to say although she immediately regretted speaking. She thought she sounded kind of stupid. Why couldn't she ever say the right thing?

"It is." Steven silently agreed but his mind really wasn't on the song as he stared down at the small redhead, a look akin to adoration on his face.

"So I think Jefferson Airplane's pretty good but I still stand by my previous words that Bonnie Tyler is one of the best-" Margot didn't get to finish her sentence as Steven's lips collided against Margot's lips abruptly, completely taking her by surprise.

Her eyes widened for a brief moment but it wasn't like Steven's actions were unwanted. Her eyes soon fluttered shut as she relaxed into the kiss and eagerly returned the kiss. The kiss wasn't sweet and innocent like it been before when Salazar made them kiss. No, it was more desperate than that…as if they couldn't get enough of each other. He kissed her like how no one had ever kiss her before and it was true. She had never been kissed that passionately before. It was like she could practically feel every emotion Steven was pouring into the kiss. She tangled her fingers in his hair and Steven reacted by slipping his tongue in her mouth. Margot moaned softly in response as she tried to pull him down closer to her.

In the back of Margot's mind she knew that she should've probably pulled away at some point. They were probably breaking about a dozen Shield regulations and the truth was that the both of them knew better. They were decorated Shield agents after all. It wasn't like they were rookie agents that didn't know any better. One of Shield's number one rules was that there was no fraternizing between coworkers in the workplace. Margot was pretty sure Steven's tongue down her throat classified as fraternizing. She told herself that she would pull away within the next couple seconds but she never did. It seemed like all the rules flew out of her head the moment Steven pressed his lips against hers.

Eventually, however, Steven did pull away but it was only so the both of them could come up for air. He pulled away with a satisfied smirk on his face that Margot was torn between slapping off his face or finding attractive. She desperately tried to catch her breath and she was pretty sure her lips were swollen at this point. The fact that Steven looked pretty cocky surprisingly didn't annoy her as much as she thought it would. Damn his pretty blue eyes and charming smile! Damn that mouth of his too, Margot thought to herself.

"You talk to much, you know that?" Steven asked rhetorically and Margot tried to act like none of what happened impacted her even slightly. Deep down she knew she was miserably failing. Clint always wondered how she managed to be a Shield agent given the fact that she was a terrible liar.

"Well, I think you don't talk enough." Margot argued weakly but Steven just smiled at her. She bit her lip nervously as she thought about the repercussions of their actions.

"We just broke a ton of rules." She stared but Steven didn't seem bothered as he casually reached over and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Margot blushed from the gesture.

"I know." Steven replied. He knew better than anyone else that this was a bad idea. Not only was Margot his partner but she was also seventeen years his junior. It wasn't like she was a teenager or anything. They were consenting adults after all but it still wasn't a good idea to get involved with her. If his mother was here she'd probably smack him upside the head and tell him to get out of there while he still could before he messed up the mission anymore than he already had.

"It probably shouldn't ever happen again." Margot told him softly and Steven knew that Margot was right but that didn't mean that Steven wanted to listen. Wasn't it funny how he was the older one in this scenario yet Margot was trying to be the voice of reason? The truth was that Steven wanted to be selfish in that instant and finally be with the woman he hadn't been able to get out of his head for the past couple months. It was true that he was Captain America's son but that didn't mean he was a saint by any means.

"Probably not." Steven said, sounding agreeable somewhat. Margot almost thought he was being serious until she saw his smirk. "Or…we could just play the part we were assigned to play." Margot raised her eyebrows. She knew where this was going and she should probably be angry with him but Margot couldn't help but feel amused.

"Really? And what part's that?" Margot inquired flirtatiously. The rational part of her brain was screaming at her not to flirt with him but Margot was currently paying no attention to that part of her brain.

"The part of a married couple." Steven told her and Margot smiled at him.

"Well…it's probably for the best that we try a little harder at this being married thing." Margot said as she continued to flirt. "We wouldn't want Salazar to suspect that there's anything amiss."

"Yes, it's completely for the mission." Steven said as he flirted back. Margot still couldn't tell if she found that smug look on his face annoying or attractive. Before Margot could give his smug smirk anymore thought he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers again. This time it seemed even more passionate and intense than before. Their lips moved hungrily against each other and Margot wondered what sex was like with him if kissing him was this good. Margot shivered when he slipped his hand under her shirt and caressed her skin with a surprising amount of tenderness.

They made out for a few minutes before Margot had to come up for air. She was sure with him being the son a super soldier that he didn't have as much of a need to catch his breath as she did. As Margot pulled back to look at him she noticed his pupils were dilated so much that his eyes were incredibly dark. Margot was fairly sure that her face was nearly as red as her hair at this point but she didn't have time to feel bashful or embarrassed. No…she already knew she wanted more. So mustering all the confidence that she could, Margot looked Steven directly in the eyes.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" Margot asked him confidently. Steven swallowed hard as he looked down at the beautiful redhead.

"Are you sure?" He asked her hesitantly and Margot nodded, feeling very sure of her decision. Steven them suddenly picked her up off the ground and held her in his arms bridal style. Margot yelped from the surprising action before playfully glaring at the smirking older man. She swatted him on the arm but deep down felt enthralled by how easy he had picked her up…it was almost like she weighed nothing in his arms.

"What the hell, Rogers?!" She exclaimed but Steven only gave the redhead in his arms an amused look before he started walking up the stairs, carrying Margot all the way up. She couldn't help but giggle a bit at the absurdity of everything.

"I'm going to get you back for this." She told him and Steven waggled his eyebrows playfully.

"I'm sure you will, Pierce." They were probably about to make a huge mistake but for the first time in forever neither of them cared. This would probably come back to bite them in the ass someday but they were completely fine with that. Margot didn't think she was in love with Steven but tonight was surely not going to help her do away with her developing feelings for him. She wasn't that concerned. What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

"For an old man you aren't that bad." Margot told Steven teasingly. They laid there in bed under the sheets after their lovemaking. Despite being the younger one Margot actually felt pretty much exhausted after the surprisingly hot and passionate sex that her and Steven just had. She was fairly sure that Steven probably still could've gone for another couple rounds and she could only assume that it was because of the super soldier serum his father had passed down to him. Margot didn't think she'd ever be as grateful to Captain America as she was in that moment.

"Gee, thanks." Steven said sarcastically before smirking at her knowingly. "I wouldn't be talking, Pierce…from what I heard I'm pretty sure you enjoyed yourself." Margot immediately blushed and looked away from him.

"Shut up." She said childishly and Steven only shook his head in amusement. A part of Margot still couldn't believe she had actually just slept with her partner. That was something that certainly hadn't happened before. Margot loved Clint but she never dared cross that line with the archer. He was like a little brother to her after all. Margot wondered what she was supposed to do now that she had actually slept with her partner. There wasn't actually a rule book for situations like these. That and Margot was one hundred percent positive that they had broken a ton of rules tonight anyways. God, she couldn't imagine what Fury would do if he found out about this. He'd probably skin the both of them alive.

"You're okay with what happened, aren't you?" Steven then asked as his gaze suddenly softened, a more serious tone in his voice taking over. Margot was touched by his concern.

"I'm more than okay, Steven." Margot told him and he nodded. She remained there with her head resting on Steven's chest, feeling very content. In another world she could even imagine them in a relationship. "What should we do now?"

"I can think of something." Steven said jokingly and Margot just laughed at him.

"Stop it." Margot said before a more serious look came over her face as she pulled away to look back at him. "Tell me more about you." Steven raised an eyebrow.

"Like that?" He asked.

"Like your childhood…high school…stuff like that." Margot elaborated and Steven sighed. Usually he wouldn't discuss his past but Margot was different. She was perhaps one of the easiest people to talk to despite being very chatty and scatter brained. The truth was that she was actually a very kind and understanding person. Margot Pierce was a rare sort.

"I grew up with a single mother. There's not much to tell." Steven said and Margot felt the desire to know more about him.

"What is she like?" Margot asked him. Steven smiled as he thought about his mother who was strongest and bravest person he knew.

"Kind, strong, brave, intelligent…there's no one quite like her." Steven said before sighing as he remembered his early childhood memories. "It was tough on her. Raising me on her own and without my father. My father died before he even knew she was pregnant."

"She had some help from friends like Howard and Jarvis. They were sort of like uncles to me…well, Howard was actually something like a father to me." Steven explained as Margot listened intently to him. Margot could only assume that Steven was referring to Howard Stark, the late billionaire who was famously good friends with Peggy Carter. Those two founded Shield together after all. "We were pretty close actually. His son hates me though." Margot raised her eyebrows in surprise at that.

"Hates you? Why?" Margot questioned and Steven shrugged nonchalantly as if it didn't bother him but Margot knew that it did.

"He thought his father cared more for me than him. He's a good kid but I just wish he didn't feel that way sometimes. None of it's true…his father loved him more than anything. He was lucky to even have a father." Steven said softly before he started to change the subject from Howard and Tony Stark. "Anyways…my mother married a few years later and they had a couple kids. We moved around quite a bit when I was a kid. Mom always had to divide her work between Los Angeles, New York, and D.C."

"All that moving around must've been hard." Margot remarked, thinking about her own childhood. She had always remained in one place for the majority of her childhood. Margot had always wanted to go places and see things but her father was always too busy with work.

"What about you? How was your childhood?" Steven asked her abruptly. Margot smiled but shook her head.

"Probably really uninteresting compared to yours." Margot replied.

"I'm sure that's not true."

"It is true." Margot told him. "My dad was a workaholic. A politician's work always takes priority of everything else." Steven listened to her curiously as she started to talk about her own childhood. He remembered meeting Alexander Pierce maybe once or twice but he had never really liked the man. Steven was actually surprised when he discovered Alexander Pierce had a daughter working at Shield. Although after spending some time with Margot he didn't really see how the two were related.

"It was really just my mom and I but it was nice. We had a lot of fun." Margot said, a small smile on her face.

"I'm sure your dad wanted to spend time with you." Steven said reassuringly but Margot scoffed.

"You don't know my dad. He's a total asshole." Margot replied before realizing who she was talking to. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Steven…here I am complaining about my dad and-"

"No, it's fine. I understand." Steven said, interrupting her. "I'm a fifty two year old man. I've long since learned how to function without a father." Margot still didn't feel better about complaining about her father to someone who never had one.

"Go on." Steven encouraged as he smirked at her. "You were talking about how much of an asshole your father is." Margot just laughed before continuing her recollection of her childhood.

"Yes. For so long I tried to impress him but nothing I ever did warranted anything more than a fake smile. It was just never enough for him." Margot said, her tone becoming more somber. "It took me eighteen years to realize that I could never impress a man who always longed for a son but got a daughter instead."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Steven said, feeling sympathy for the redheaded woman. He could never understand how men could think so little of women sometimes. He was raised by a strong and powerful woman after all so he couldn't understand the point of view of some men.

"My mother was always the mediator between us. She always tried to bring us together but it was just a waste of time and effort." A sad look then came over Margot's face as she thought of her mother. "Then she passed away. It was like she was the only thing my dad and I had in common but after she died we became strangers. I hardly see him anymore."

"He doesn't know what he's missing out on." Steven told her comfortingly. He meant it too. During the past couple months he had spent with Margot he found that he really enjoyed her company. "If it's any consolation I think everyone has daddy issues. Look at me…I've spent my whole life trying to impress a father that never even knew I existed. Just try living up to the reputation of Captain America...It's a real chore."

Margot wasn't really sure what to say to him after that but she imagined that his childhood had been incredibly hard. Hearing all these stories about this legend of a man who you were directly related to? That couldn't have been easy or given Steven high self-esteem. Captain America's reputation had to be a lot to live up to but Margot felt like Steven had a reputation of his own. He was a highly accomplished Shield agent that had taken down the worst of the worst bad guys that posed a great threat not only to this country but to the world. Steven didn't need to live up to Captain America because he had already become something of a legend himself.

Margot and Steven fell into short bit of silence after that as they thought about what this could mean for the two of them. She couldn't help but get the feeling that this was going to come back to bite the both of them in the ass…especially if Fury found out. Margot didn't want to think of Fury now of all times. This wasn't going to end well. It was then that Margot turned to look at Steven, keeping the blankets wrapped tightly around her.

"You do know this is just a one time thing, right?" Margot asked Steven and the older man raised an eyebrow as he gave her an amused look.

"Oh, really?" He asked her and Margot nodded furiously.

"Yes. Once the mission's over and we go back to New York that's the end of it." Margot told him seriously. "This can never happen again."

"Okay." He said simply and Margot glared at him.

"Stop smirking at me like that! I'm being serious." Margot said, growing tired of the condescending smirk on Steven's face. "This is a really serious situation. No can can find out this happened and especially not Fury."

"I am taking you seriously, Pierce." Steven told her but she still didn't believe him.

"This is both of our jobs on the line. In case you didn't know I don't sleep with my coworkers often…well, I've never slept with a coworker before." Margot said as she tried not to panic over what her and Steven had done. Steven rubbed her shoulder soothingly so that he could try and make her understand that everything was going to be okay. He gave her a comforting smile and Margot practically melted at the sight of his smile. Stupid Rogers.

"It's going to be alright, Margot. I won't say anything…I promise." Steven said reassuringly.

"I am being serious though. What just happened can never happen again." Margot said with a serious look on her face. She was still annoyed to see the amusement gleaming in Steven's blue eyes.

"Of course."

Margot couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. It was almost like he was teasing her or something…like he didn't really believe her when she said this would never happen again. Margot was being serious. This couldn't happen again…not with their careers on the line. Even so, Margot wasn't so sure she wanted this to end anyways. For now, however, she was just going to have to try to ignore the pull she felt towards Steven Rogers. Maybe sleeping with him wasn't a good way to try to ignore that pull but Margot didn't regret it. She didn't think she ever would.


	56. Chapter Fifty Two

**Author's Note: So sorry that it took me so long to update. I've just been really lazy this week. For whatever reason I haven't been able to fall asleep at night so I've been sleeping during the day which takes away time I could be writing. I've just been on a weird sleeping schedule. I wanted to let you guys know that I'm officially going to be bumping up the rating to M. There's a sort of graphic rape scene in the beginning of this chapter so I think an M rating is fair. Also considering future chapters. I probably should've bumped it up to an M rating a long time ago given the language and violence in this story.**

 **So I'm really excited to say but I'm going to finally see HAIM in concert this April. They're finally coming over here and I don't think the tickets are that expensive. I kind of want to get the meet and greet VIP package but tickets don't go on sale until tomorrow so I'll just have to wait and see how expensive those are. I can't wait to see them! One of my favorite bands of all time if you couldn't tell before since I named Part III after one of their songs.**

 **bonnieandjangolove: Glad you love the story but I'm going to keep putting in the chapters about Emma's parents because the chapters do have a connection to Emma's present. The thing with Santiago and the mysterious weapon supplier do link into what's going to happen in Part III. So I get that it might be boring when you just want to focus on Emma and Peter but I'm still going to write it because it's important for the story.**

 **sleepingAsAsheep: Steve and Steven Jr. aren't completely alike but as the story goes on you'll see that there are a couple similarities. I think Steven also doesn't want a family because he's afraid that any offspring he had would be targeted which he's kind of right to feel that way. I also wanted to make the beginning of Margot and Steven's relationship funny. She's convinced that she can be professional and stay away from Steven but that's obviously not going to happen. Steven doesn't really believe her and he's kind of amused by her. If you look at it one way it's kind of like how Emma's sometimes amused by Peter's antics. I still haven't made a complete decision over what will happen with Rumlow but we'll get there when we get there.**

 **cabrera1234: It's funny you should ask that because I was just reading up on Peter's parents and they might make an appearance in one of chapters about Emma's parents...but I actually read that they were in the CIA. I'll double check just in case.**

 **AppropriateLlama: I actually haven't read any fanfictions in a while. I've just been really hung up on writing this story that nothing else really appeals to me. I've read a few Spider-Man fanfictions but haven't found too many that I like. The ones I do like are actually really short and the author kind of stopped writing it. I wish there was more but at the same time I'm kind of afraid to read them in case they influence my story in any way.**

 **Radioactive88: There will be more chapters of Margot and Steven to come. I'm not sure when the next one will come but not for a few chapters.**

 **Mcduffie145: Good question! Emma actually can have children and Hydra wanted it that way which I'll explain more in upcoming chapters. It's something that will probably come up when Rumlow and the rest of Hydra makes a more consistent reappearance.**

 **I know last chapter wasn't really an M rated chapter but maybe it is in another country? I don't know. I'm still bumping it up for violence for now but for future chapters as well...just to be safe.**

 **Roxy: It's taking so long because Emma's just a really closed off person but the time when she finally divulges that secret is sooner than you think. It's gonna happen soon. I just wanted Emma and Peter to already be in a relationship when that happens. So just hang on a little longer.**

 **ImsebastianstanButter: I'm still making the who should kill Rumlow decision. I haven't made it yet but I will when the time comes. Glad that you're all caught up.**

 **artemis7448: I actually loved writing that dream sequence. It was so weird and also just fun to write. The dream sequence reminded of this Casablanca spoof that SNL did a couple years ago which is one of my favorite skits. I think JK Simmons played Rick and Kate McKinnon played Ilsa. Now whenever I see that scene in the movie my mind always goes to that Casablanca spoof. I actually recommend that everyone see that spoof. Well, if you've seen the movie then see the spoof otherwise you probably won't get it.**

 **bonitalito: I'm bumping this story up to an M. I'm not sure if this chapter completely qualifies as a M rating or even the last chapter but I'm bumping it up for future chapters.**

 **Tusia0095: What's funny is I actually started writing an Amazing Spider-Man fanfiction with a character that was basically Emma but she had a different name and I think she was a lot nicer than Emma which wasn't really realistic considering the past she had. I eventually scrapped it but I kind of brought it back when I saw the Homecoming movie come out and I really loved Tom Holland's Spider-Man. The character in the Amazing Spider-Man fanfiction was also Captain America's granddaughter but I actually like this version way better. I think I only wrote like 14,000 words of the original story. I still haven't made any final decisions about the who should kill Rumlow thing but I'm down to Peter, Steve, and Bucky. So many decisions. I don't think Emma's going to do it but maybe I'll somehow incorporate the idea of her just watching him die in silence. Someone else proposed that idea and I really liked it so we'll see. The chapters with Emma's parents aren't just fillers. They kind of tie into what's going to happen later in the story. The thing with Santiago and mysterious weapon supplier is actually somewhat important and I just included the side dialogue between Emma's parents because I actually enjoy writing it. A lot of people like it so I'll keep writing but I'm not writing it for no reason. It is kind of important to the story. I get that it might be boring if you really just want to focus on Emma and Peter. If it wasn't my story I'd probably be a little bored too...it really just depends, I guess. You can't please everyone.**

 **DeityOfDeadlyRose: Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. I don't like slow burns either but with a character like Emma it was just necessary. Trust me...I can't wait to write when they finally get together either which is basically going to happen really soon...like really, really soon. By the end of this chapter I think you can pretty much guess when. I'm not planning on ending this story anytime soon. There might be times where I take a month long break but that's only happened twice so far. I'm just more inspired to write this story than any of my others.**

 **Panda Blitz: Thank you!**

 **Keystone: I don't think the Defenders are going to be central to this story. There might be a chapter or two with one of them but not for a while. There's not a lot of the Defenders that I like except for maybe Jessica Jones. The only other ones that I like are Elektra and the Punisher but they're not Defenders. I think I would be interested in writing a chapter in which Emma and Frank meet or even Emma and Jessica meet. That's really interesting to me but we'll see. I know it's been a huge slow burn even though it doesn't really feel that way to me but I promise that Emma and Peter getting together is super close. You'll see by the end of the chapter that it's really close. I know I'm kind of evil for making everyone wait so long because we're like at about 500,000 words but it was never going to come easy for a character like Emma. It'll be worth it though...I promise. There's still no final decisions about the Rumlow thing but once I get closer to writing that part I'm sure it'll just come to me. I know that I can't please everyone and I just hope that people understand that.**

* * *

 _She felt trapped under his weight as she froze in his clutches. He loomed over her and forced her to look him in the eyes. Emma remembered something she read in a biology book that Hydra assigned her once. She remembered reading that a rabbit or prey like animal would freeze in the jaws of a predator. Emma always wondered why the rabbit wouldn't try to escape or fight back but now she understood. She was just too scared to move._

 _"_ _Margot." He grunted in her ear as he moved. It was almost like the beach…like the waves were moving back and forth but during a storm. Everything felt violent and dark, making Emma feel like she really was in the middle of a storm._

 _Tears streamed down from Emma's face as she felt his hands all over her…as she felt him inside of her. She just laid there and stared up at the ceiling, praying that it would be over soon. It was all she could hope to do while in his grasp._

 _She clenched her eyes close for a moment and soon enough the sounds of his heavy panting and the pain vanished. She was confused but was too scared to look. The blonde was terrified that she would open her eyes again and see him staring down at her with those nearly black eyes of his. Still...Emma eventually decided that there would be no harm from opening her eyes. When Emma opened her eyes she no longer saw Rumlow looming over her which gave her some relief but her relief didn't last long. Her vision was replaced with something just as dark and eerie looking. She saw dated carpeting, floral wallpaper, and framed family photographs on the walls. Emma realized exactly where she was._

 _The farm house._

 _She stood up from the carpet that she had been laying on and realized that she was in the living room of her old house. Her toy horses lay scattered across the floor as if she had abandoned them there like she used to whenever her mother fixed her lunch. The television was on but there was only white noise. She swallowed as she took in her surroundings, realizing everything seemed a little too still. There was nothing that felt out of place and that made her uneasy. Emma could even hear the familiar sound of wind chimes on the front porch and the faint creaking of the wind mill behind the farm house. Something inside her told her that something was very wrong.  
_

 _"_ _Mom?" She called out hesitantly as she looked around the house but there was no answer. Emma for some reason felt like her mother was there…like she might've been trying to tell her something. Emma walked towards the kitchen and that's when she finally saw her mother. The beautiful red headed woman looked exactly like she had looked the last time Emma saw her._

 _Laying across the floor, with her red hair pooled out across the carpet, was Margot Rogers. Emma's mother was far paler than Emma ever remembered her being. There was dark purple circles under her eyes and her lips were blue instead of their usual natural pinkness. Emma felt sick as she looked at the large cut across her mother's throat. The blood was still pouring out of the wound and Emma tried not to cry at the sight. It was like it was all the those years ago when Rumlow carried her away from the scene, not bothering to shield her innocent eyes from the horror he inflicted upon her parents._

 _Steven Rogers was sprawled out on the stairs just like Emma remembered. Emma couldn't even see his face anymore. There was just a gaping hole where his face used to be. He looked like some kind of creature that came out of a Guillermo Del Toro movie. He wasn't the man who used to read her bedtime stories anymore. He wasn't the man who used to take her to the county fair either. Emma glanced at the wall and saw the way his brains were splattered everywhere. She never forgot the way the blood and brain matter dripped down from the framed photograph of the three of them at the Watermelon Festival in town._

 _"_ _Emma…" Someone whispered and Emma glanced back over to where her mother was. This time her mother's eyes were wide open as she stared at her. Emma looked at her mother in horror as the redhead seemed to be talking to her._

 _"_ _Did let us die in vain…kill him." Margot Rogers told her. Her mother's voice sounded horse and it scared Emma. She didn't sound like the sweet and bright sounding woman that used to sing while she cooked in the kitchen. "You have to kill him, Emma. For us."_

 _"_ _I don't know if I can kill him." Emma told her mother, tears flooding her eyes. "I want to but I'm not that person anymore. I don't want to disappoint Peter."_

 _"_ _We're your parents. Is Peter more important than us?" Her mother asked her, more blood gushing out her wound. "You have to avenge us."_

 _"_ _I don't know." Emma said as she wiped the tears from her face._

 _"_ _Look at what he did to us, Emma." Her mother rasped before she weakly pointed in the opposite direction. "Look at what he did to your father."_

 _Emma turned around to look at what her mother was pointing at when she nearly screamed at the sight before her. Emma's father stood in front of her as he clasped his hands around her forearms. Her eyes became fixated at the large hole in the middle of what used to be his face. Blood oozed down from the top of the hole and slowly dripped down. Some of the blood even landed on her arms. Emma watched as a snake began to slither out of the gaping hole in his face. She could only watch in fright as it sounded like he mumbled something but she couldn't understand what he said due to his lack of a mouth. How could this be her father? How could he have turned into this?  
_

 _"_ _Look what he did!"_

Emma woke up screaming from her nightmare and flinched when she felt arms on her. She struggled in the person's arms for what felt like an eternity as she thought of the gaping hole in her father's face. It was all she could see through the darkness of her room. She cried as someone wrapped her so tight in their arms that Emma didn't know what to do with herself.

"Emma, shhhh…It's me." He whispered softly and Emma immediately knew it was Peter. "It's okay…it was just a nightmare." Emma started to feel herself come out of the terrifying nightmare as she focused on Peter's face. His kind brown eyes were looking at her in concern and Emma's breathing immediately started to calm down. He pulled her closer to him and Emma rested her cheek against his as he rubbed her back soothingly. She was surprised she was letting him be this close but she desperately needed him more than she ever had before.

"Emma, you're fine. Nothing can hurt you." Peter continued to whisper to her and Emma might've even believed that.

"W-what are you doing here?" Emma asked him nervously as she started realizing that she was back in her bedroom in the compound. Peter pulled away to look at her. He hated how frightened she looked in that moment. This reminded him of the look on her face when Volkov mentioned Rumlow. She had that same terrified look on her face and it even scared Peter to see her like that.

"I went to get a drink of water and on my way back I heard you screaming." Peter told her honestly and Emma nodded before biting her lip nervously.

"Do you think the others heard?" She asked and Peter shook his head.

"You weren't that loud. I only heard you because of my enhanced hearing." Peter explained. Emma felt a bit relieved to know that no one else had heard her. Usually her nightmares weren't that bad but occasionally she had a really bad one.

"Do you want some water?" Peter asked her as he brought out the glass of water he had placed on her nightstand. Emma nodded silently and didn't say another word. She took the glass from his hands and took a long sip of water. Emma even felt a little bit better afterwards. Once she finished taking a sip of water she just stared at the glass of water in her hands, watching as the water splashed back and forth against the glass as her hands shook. Emma gritted her teeth as it only reminded her of the nightmare about Rumlow and her parents. Back and forth. Again and again.

"Are you okay now, Emma?" Peter asked her hesitantly. He knew better than to assume she was alright. The haunted look on her face spoke volumes.

"Yeah." Emma said one moment but shook her head the next moment as she furrowed her eyebrows. "No, actually. I'm not."

"What was the nightmare about?" Peter asked her curiously. "I mean, you don't have to tell me or anything…only if you're comfortable." Emma glanced down at the glass of water before looking back up at Peter.

"It's fine." Emma assured him. "It was just about my parents." Well, that wasn't a complete lie. The nightmare had mostly been about her parents and Peter didn't need to know about Rumlow anyways. That was her business and no one else's.

"Oh…" Peter trailed off as he tried to think of something appropriate to say. He never had nightmares of his parents but of course he didn't remember his parents enough to have nightmares about them. "It wasn't real, Emma. None of it was real."

"I know. It just felt very real." Emma said in response as she tried not to think about the images of her dead parents.

"Do you have nightmares often?" Peter asked her, feeling worried for her. He recalled the time she had a nightmare in the vault in D.C. Peter had never seen anyone wake up from a nightmare like that. He didn't think anyone could have a nightmare that was that bad. Emma sighed.

"Yes." She answered shortly without looking at him. "When Steve was here he'd help me with the nightmares. We'd talk about irrelevant things but also about what we thought our nightmares meant. It sounds stupid but somehow it really helped me get over them." Peter looked at the lost and sad expression on her face and wished that he could do something about it. He wished that he could somehow bring Captain America back just so he could make Emma happy again.

"I know it's not the same but maybe you could talk to me about the nightmare?" Peter suggested nervously. He didn't know how she would respond to something like that. Emma glanced back at Peter, her eyes resting on his face as she thought about his suggestion. It wasn't that she didn't trust Peter but it was just that she was afraid to let him know the horrors inside her mind. Even without Rumlow her mind was a pretty terrifying place. However, Emma quickly decided that she didn't need to tell him every single little detail…just a brief summary. Maybe it would even help her to tell him.

"They were already dead in the nightmare." Emma said suddenly much to Peter's surprise. Peter quickly put his surprise aside and listened to her intently. "But at the same time it was like they weren't dead."

"I don't understand." Peter said in confusion.

"They were dead but they were speaking to me." Emma further explained as she continued. "It was pretty messed up actually. They looked just as I last remembered…my mother's throat slit and my father's face blown off with his brains splattered everywhere. That's why it was so creepy when he tried talking to me."

Peter tried to imagine the image of Emma's parents but then realized he'd probably get nightmares just from trying to imagine them. He still couldn't comprehend the gruesome things that Emma saw when she was so young. Peter wished that she hadn't seen her parents like that. No one deserved that and especially not Emma.

"What did they say?" Peter asked her quietly. He didn't want to talk too much about seeing the gruesome blood bath scene of her dead parents…it was better that she forget about that. Emma shrugged as she tried to appear uncaring about the nightmare.

"They said they wanted me to avenge them." Emma told him and Peter tried to read the expression on her face but like always it was an impossible task to try and read the mind of Emma Rogers. What went on inside her mind was anyone's guess.

"Do you think they'd really want that?" Peter questioned and Emma shook her head.

"I don't know, Peter. I didn't really know them that well." Emma told him but he could tell this was something that was really troubling her.

"I don't think your parents would want that for you, Emma. The nightmare version of them wasn't really them." Peter said reassuringly as he locked eyes with her. Emma felt a hundred times better as he looked at her with those kind brown eyes. He made her feel like everything might be alright.

"Do you have nightmares too?" Emma asked him as she decided that she wanted to change the subject. Peter shrugged.

"Sometimes." Peter admitted before continuing. "I used to have them about Uncle Ben but now I've been having them over what happened with Fisher and Volkov." A look of concern came over Emma's face as she stared at him.

"You've been having nightmares about Fisher and Volkov?" Emma asked him in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to bother you with it. You're always so tough that I didn't think you'd care." Peter told her quietly and Emma didn't know how to feel about that. Was she really so cold that Peter would think she didn't care?

"Of course I care, Peter." Emma said as Peter stared at her in surprise and she suddenly felt very self conscious. "I mean, we're friends so it's fine if you want to talk about those sort of things."

"Fine. As long as you talk about your nightmares with me." Peter told her and Emma nodded in agreement.

"Sure." She said in agreement before something occurred to her. "Is that why you went to go get a glass of water? Is it because you had a nightmare about Fisher and Volkov?" Peter sighed before he reluctantly nodded.

"Yes. I can't sleep sometimes." Peter admitted. "I just…Well, I picture Volkov and what he did to Fisher and himself. It was all so terrible." Emma took his hand in hers and gave his hand a small comforting squeeze.

"I can't promise that you'll ever be able to completely forget but with time those memories will fade. Other things will take priority." Emma said truthfully and Peter just looked at her. It was times like these that Peter really thought she might feel something for him other than friendship. He just didn't want to risk anything by confronting her about that.

"I…uh…I should probably go back to my room." Peter said as his feelings for Emma started to feel a bit overwhelming all of a sudden. He started to leave but Emma grabbed his wrist, stopping him from leaving. He gave her a confused look as Emma started to feel somewhat embarrassed. She wasn't even sure why she stopped him but it was like a reflex or impulse. Emma just didn't want Peter to leave...she needed him.

"You don't have to leave." Emma told him hesitantly. "You could stay if you wanted." Peter's eyes widened because he couldn't believe what Emma was saying. Maybe he'd heard her wrong.

"What?" Peter asked in bewilderment and Emma blushed.

"I mean, since you're having nightmares and trouble sleeping you could sleep here if you want." Emma elaborated. "I don't mind." Somehow Peter knew what Emma was really trying to say. She wanted him to stay because she didn't want to be alone. Peter found that he really didn't want to leave her alone either. The look in her usually bright ocean blue eyes was slightly dimmed by the sadness on her face. She still looked haunted from her nightmare and Peter wanted to make her feel better.

"I'll stay if you're okay with it." Peter said as he swallowed nervously. Emma gave him a small smile before she scooted over in her bed, patting the space next to her. She lifted the covers, inviting him into the warm bed. Peter suddenly felt shy as he blushed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to sleep on the floor or something?" Peter asked her nervously and Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Peter, I trust that you'll keep your hands to yourself. I'm not worried." Emma told him. "It's completely fine. Just keep to your side." It was true…Emma really did trust Peter. She trusted him entirely so she knew he'd never hurt her. It didn't matter if he was a guy and she was a girl. Emma used to believe that she'd never trust a man enough to let him in her bed but everything was different with Peter. _He_ was different.

Peter chewed on his bottom lip nervously before he decided that if it was okay with Emma than it was probably okay to sleep in the same bed as her. He had slept in the same bed with her before that time she stayed over at his and May's apartment but that was different. Ned was in the room and Peter hadn't quite developed the feelings he had for Emma then. He slowly slid into Emma's bed while Emma watched him silently. His face reddened even more under her intense gaze.

"Is this okay?" Peter asked her softly and Emma nodded.

"Yes…if you feel comfortable?" Emma replied and Peter laughed nervously.

"I am. Your…um…bed is really nice." Peter said awkwardly as he tried to think of something to say. He winced because he realized how stupid that sounded. Emma just smiled at him in amusement.

"You know, it's probably the same exact bed that you have in your room." She told him and Peter nodded.

"Probably." Emma didn't know how long they laid there in silence within the darkness of her bedroom. They were quite a ways away from each other in bed but it still felt like the most intimate either one of them had been with each other. A couple minutes had passed before Emma decided to finally call it a night.

"Goodnight, Peter." Emma whispered to him and Peter smiled.

"Goodnight, Emma." Peter replied and Emma's eyes fluttered shut eventually as she began to sleep again. Peter didn't fall asleep for a good half an hour after that as he watched her sleep. He knew it was probably creepy but he couldn't help it. Emma looked so peaceful when she slept…a lot different than how she seemed when she was awake. He thought she looked a lot like an angel even. It was times like this that Peter wished that Emma could be his. At least he could pretend even if he couldn't be with her in real life.

* * *

In the later hours of the morning Tony Stark found himself looking for the two youngest inhabitants of the compound. Usually Emma and Peter got up fairly early for training but Maria said that they hadn't showed up. He became somewhat worried for them when they didn't show up for breakfast either although Tony would never admit to being worried. Tony thought that Peter might've been too hung up on the new gaming system that he'd gotten him for his birthday. May told him not to get the kid the gaming system because it would be a distraction but like always Tony didn't listen. Without even knocking, Tony swung open Peter's bedroom door expecting to find the teenager in his room but he was surprised to just see Peter's empty, unmade bed instead. The billionaire furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"McConaughey, where the hell are the kids?" Tony asked the AI system in desperation. "I didn't lose Peter, did I? God, May is going to kill me."

"Not to worry, Mr. Stark." The AI system replied. "Mr. Parker is located in Miss Rogers' room." Tony's eyes widened in surprise as he took in that bit of information.

"He's in Mini Cap's room?!" Tony exclaimed before he groaned. "Please tell me they aren't having sex or anything? Cap's gonna murder me and put my head on a stick."

Tony took a deep breath before he finally opened Emma's bedroom door, not knowing what he was going to find. However, he was relieved to find that nothing of the sort was going on. Tony didn't really know why he thought that Mini Cap and Peter would be engaged in those kinds of activities. He didn't think the kid had it in him to seduce Mini Cap. In all honesty it would probably be the other way around.

Tony was actually quite delighted by what he saw in Emma's bedroom. The two teenagers were fast asleep in Emma's bed but not only were they asleep but they were also cuddled up together. Emma's head rested against Peter's chest as Peter had his arms wrapped tightly around the blonde. They seemed to be at peace as they rested there in each other's arms. Tony even thought they looked cute and he never thought anything was cute.

"What are you doing?" Pepper asked her fiancee as she walked up behind him. Tony gestured for her to be quiet before he pointed inside the room.

"Look at them, Pepper." Tony whispered and Pepper peeked inside the bedroom curiously. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the two cuddling teenagers. Emma Rogers cuddling? Pepper didn't think that was possible. Still…Pepper wondered if it was alright to leave the two of them like that. Was it appropriate?

"Is this okay? Should we let them sleep together like that?" Pepper asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked in confusion and Pepper looked between him and the two teenagers as if it were obvious.

"Tony, they're teenagers. I know my dad would've flipped out if he ever caught me sharing a bed with a boy at that age." Pepper elaborated and Tony shrugged.

"Well, they're not normal teenagers, are they?" Tony responded before he rolled his eyes. "They're fine, Pepper. Besides…we shouldn't wake them up. I'm pretty sure Mini Cap would murder me and throw my body in the Hudson if she ever knew I saw her like this."

Pepper sighed as she decided to accept Tony's answer. It's not like she wanted to wake up Emma and Peter and feel the blonde's wrath either. Tony was right about Emma. Something told her that the blonde wouldn't be okay with them seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

"Fine. We should leave them be then." Pepper finally said as she looked away from the two sleeping teenagers. "I read somewhere that teenagers need all the sleep they can get." Tony smirked as he softly closed the door, making sure not to wake them.

"Something tells me that there's more than just sleep on their minds." He told Pepper suggestively as they started to walked back down the hallway. Pepper glared at him.

"Well, something tells me that Steve's going to kill you the second he finds out about this." Pepper retorted and Tony waved his hand dismissively.

"Capsicle needs to learn how to loosen up. I know sleeping in the same bed was considered sinning back then but it's not the 40s anymore." Tony said, not sounding worried at all. "Besides… he's one to talk. How did Steven Jr. and Mini Cap get here again? Oh, that's right…because Cap had premarital sex with lovely Aunt Peggy and knocked her up."

"Okay, I'm sure reminding Steve of that will definitely make the situation better." Pepper said sarcastically and Tony shrugged.

"Maybe Mini Cap will protect me." Tony said and Pepper gave him a doubtful look. Out of everything that could happen, Emma defending Tony was still the least likely. It didn't matter if she and Tony had made amends. Pepper was almost positive that Emma would even make the situation worse for Tony before sitting back and watching him get into even deeper trouble. Watching Tony in peril was one of Emma's favorite past times. Pepper had to admit Steve and the others coming back to see Emma in this new time in her life would definitely be interesting. She just hoped that none of them would kill Tony once they saw what was going on between Emma and Peter.

* * *

"How can you spend hours playing that stupid game?" Emma drawled boredly as she laid across Peter's bed, watching him play a video game on his new gaming system. She had spent the past couple hours in Peter's bedroom reading one of her books while Peter played his stupid video game. As boring as she found it, she couldn't help but find it adorable when Peter was so concentrated that his tongue poked out his mouth and a crease formed between his eyebrows.

The two had silently agreed not to bring up the night before as they went about their day. Emma was kind of glad to not have an awkward conversation like that especially with the way she felt about Peter. When she woke up in Peter's arms that morning Emma actually felt safe and content in his arms. She was surprised, of course, to find that they were so close together but Emma didn't really mind it. At one point she had even closed her eyes and fell back asleep. It was so easy to fall asleep in Peter's arms and Emma hadn't even wanted to part from him that morning…but she knew she had to.

"It's fun. You should try it." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes. A part of Emma wanted to go over there and beat the gaming system with a baseball bat but she knew Peter would be hurt if she did that. As much as it annoyed her that he was paying more attention to his video games than he was to her, Emma understood that his video games were important to him.

"I don't play games, Parker. Games are for children." Emma told him before a mischievous smirk came over her face. "Of course we could always play a different kind of game." Peter paused his game as he turned back to look at her curiously.

"What kind of game?" Peter asked her innocently and he could see the amusement in the blonde's eyes.

"An adult game." Emma said suggestively. "A kind of game that Pepper and Tony play." Peter blushed once he realized what she meant.

"S-stop talking l-like that. It's not a-appropriate." Peter stammered as he averted his eyes. Emma only rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't be silly, Parker. I was only kidding." Emma told him but Peter couldn't help but frown. After his dream the other night the longing for Emma to be something more than just a friend only seemed to be intensified. When she flirted it bothered him because he knew that she wasn't being serious. Sometimes Peter wished that she was being serious. He wished that she was actually interested in him being more than a friend to her.

"Come on, haven't you ever played video games before…or even toys? Something remotely childish?" Peter said as he pointedly changed the subject. He didn't want to think about the longing he felt for Emma to return his feelings. Emma shrugged.

"Hydra's idea of toys were sniper rifles and combat knives. Not the kind of stuff that was sold at any ordinary toy store." She said sarcastically and Peter frowned. He didn't like how she casually joked about her traumatic past sometimes...as if it was something to be taken lightly.

"What about before Hydra? When you lived with your parents?" Peter asked her and Emma tensed. It was rare that she talked about her parents. Peter sort of understood why she never talked about her them. She actually happened to remember her parents unlike Peter who didn't remember his parents at all. He was only two when his own parents died so it wasn't likely that he would remember them. She talked about her parents dying like she had last night and a couple weeks ago but she hadn't really shared much personal information about them...like about what they were like. Peter couldn't help but be curious about her parents.

"I used to have these toy horses that I played with." Emma said quietly. "I always wanted a horse ever since I could remember. All the older girls in Oklahoma were barrel racers so naturally I wanted to be like them."

"What's a barrel racer?" Peter asked curiously and Emma smiled as she recollected her dad taking her to the county fair. She remembered watching in wonder as one teenage girl in particular raced around the barrel on her beloved horse in only a couple of seconds. Her dad laughed at the bewildered look on her face and promised to get her a horse someday when she was old enough. Emma wasn't sure why she thought of that memory. She hadn't thought about that memory in years.

"A barrel racer is someone who competes in this sort of rodeo event in which people ride their horses around obstacles like barrels in a certain time frame." Emma explained and Peter was bewildered that Emma had ever been interested in something so…normal. Emma sighed before she continued talking about the toys she remembered playing. "I used to have this plush horse. Um…it was the from that movie…Spirit." Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You watched that movie?" Emma nodded.

"Yes, I watched it like a hundred times. It was my favorite movie." Emma admitted and Peter couldn't help but notice that there wasn't a day that went by that Emma didn't say or do something that surprised him.

"I'm sorry that you had your childhood taken from you. I wished that you could've been a barrel racer like you wanted to." Peter told her honestly and Emma stared back at him, blue eyes meeting brown. It was times like these that Emma felt the overwhelming urge to kiss Peter. She wanted to more than anything but that would only confuse the both of them.

"Things change. If Hydra hadn't taken me I'd probably want to do something else." Emma said but in all honesty sometimes she did wonder what her life would've been like if her parents had lived…if Hydra had never gotten a hold of her. She knew, however, that she shouldn't think like that. Having those kinds of thoughts would only depress her.

"Here." Peter said as he grabbed a spare controller and handed it to Emma. He could tell the memory of her life before Hydra made her sad and he desperately wanted to make her feel better. "Give it a shot." Emma took the controller hesitantly from his hand as she gave him an unsure look. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with it. Guns and knives she knew more than well but a video game controller? Emma wasn't so sure.

"I don't know what to do with it." Emma said as she stared at the controller with a mystified look on her face. Peter smiled at her before he placed his hands over hers. Emma's breathing hitched at his sudden closeness as she fought to keep the blush off her face.

"It's easy." Peter said softly as he started to explain what each button did. Emma listened to him but she wasn't paying so much attention to his words but rather the look on his face as he explained everything to her. He looked so happy and excited. Emma wished that he could be like that forever. She hoped that he would never change.

* * *

"Good God, Mini Cap, how much can you eat?" Tony asked as he watched Emma pile away a ton of food. If he didn't know about Emma's abilities than he probably wouldn't believe a girl like Emma could stuff her face with that much food. The Avengers and their associates were currently eating dinner in the recreational area of the compound. Emma didn't seem as offended as she should've been by Tony's comment as she smirked at him.

"You're just jealous that you can't eat this much without getting fat." Emma remarked and Tony glared at her. Everyone else at the table watched in amusement as Emma and Tony started to embark on their usual banter. No one else would talk to Tony like how Emma talked to him which only entertained everyone at the compound.

"I don't get fat." Tony retorted and Emma raised an eyebrow as she gave him a teasing smile.

"I don't know, Tony, you look you've been putting on some pounds in your old age." Emma told him before glancing down at his stomach area as if to emphasize her point. Tony shook his head before looking at her in disbelief.

"My old age?" He asked her. "How old do you think I am?" Emma feigned a thoughtful look before answering.

"You're about to celebrate your sixtieth birthday soon, aren't you? You'll be able to get the senior citizen special at that diner by the townhouse." Emma quipped and Tony glared at her again. Rhodey disguised his laugh as a cough while Peter tried not to laugh at Mr. Stark. He really admired Tony but Emma seemed to know just how to push Tony's buttons sometimes.

"Sixty?! You think I'm sixty?!" Tony exclaimed in disbelief. "And seriously?! Senior citizen special? You're making fun of my age when Steve and daddy dearest are like a hundred years old?"

"Yeah but they don't look old like you do." Emma retorted and Tony clenched his jaw. It always seemed like that girl had an answer for everything. She was just like father in that way…her real one.

"Listen here, you little-" Tony started to say but Pepper intervened before their bickering went on anymore. Emma was only finishing what Tony had started after all.

"Calm down, children. Okay? We're all friends here." Pepper said diplomatically as she smiled at the two. The strawberry blonde then turned to look at both Emma and Peter. "So how's school going for you guys?" Peter laughed nervously.

"School's good…we're actually starting to get ready for that decathlon trip next year. Mr. Harrington's still setting everything up." Peter said cheerfully and Emma knew how much he was looking forward to the trip. He had been talking about it all the time now. Peter would actually tell anyone who would listen about the trip. It was all he rambled on about when they were on missions and if Emma didn't secretly enjoy his rambling than she'd probably duck tape his mouth shut.

"London, right?" Darcy inquired and Peter nodded enthusiastically as Emma cut up her food as if the trip meant nothing to her. Emma honestly didn't care much about the trip since London was filled with some bad memories for her. London was where her grandmother's funeral took place and it was the place she had been right when everything seemed to go wrong with the Avengers...one of the last places she had been with Steve before he disappeared after the airport fight in Germany.

"Yeah, it's going to be so cool." Peter said excitedly. "We'll be there for a week and we'll see all kinds of things like the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and maybe even that wax museum that has all those celebrities in it." It should've annoyed her about how much Peter blabbed but she was surprisingly calm about his talkativeness. That's just how her and Peter were now a days.

"They have my wax figure in there, you know." Tony said as he butted into the conversation. Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Why would we care about some stupid wax figure of you? You're annoying enough in person. The only reason that I'm going on this trip is to get away from you." Emma told him and Tony smirked at her.

"You love me, Mini Cap. Everyone knows it." Tony said smugly as he grinned at her. Emma glowered at him but didn't say anything. She knew Pepper wasn't going to take kindly to anymore bickering from her and Tony.

"Aren't you excited to go to London, Emma?" Jane asked her curiously and Emma didn't look very excited at the prospect of going to London.

"Did you know they used to throw their waste into the River Thames? That's centuries worth of human waste piled up in one river." Emma deadpanned and everyone knew it was typical of Emma to be so cynical. "I've been there before. It's nothing impressive…I've seen nicer cities."

"Your grandmother was from England though, Em. It could be exciting to go there." Darcy told her as she tried to get the blonde to see the bright side of things.

"And she never went back. Gee, I wonder why?" Emma said sarcastically and Darcy gave up. Emma was so blatantly pessimistic sometimes. Peter, however, didn't look dismayed as he looked over at her.

"It won't be so bad, Emma. Besides…they've got a ton of art museums there that you'd like." Peter said as he tried to cheer her up. "I heard the National Gallery has Da Vinci, Monet, and even Van Gogh. Not to mention there's also the Tate Modern."

Emma realized that Peter was right. Maybe the trip wouldn't be so bad given the fact that there was a lot of art and history in the city. She had always wanted to go to the Tate Modern anyways. It was on her list of top art museums she wanted to visit someday. Steve and Sam were supposed to take her to the Tate Modern after her grandmother's funeral as a distraction but everything with her father and the accords started happening so they never got the chance.

"I guess you're right. The Tate Modern has these sound sculptures that I've been interested to see in person." Emma admitted reluctantly and the others seated at the table were surprised. It was seldom that the blonde was ever agreeable...but maybe that was just the charm of Peter Parker. Maybe Peter could get Emma to do things she'd never consider otherwise.

Peter just smiled at her as he went back to eating his dinner. Little did the teenagers know that they had the complete and undivided attention of a certain billionaire sitting at the table. Tony watched them curiously and wondered when those two would finally get together. A part of Tony really wished that Cap could come back to see all this. Boy, he'd love to see the look on Steve's face when he learned that Mini Cap and Spiderling we're crazy about each other. Hell, Tony would even like to see the look on daddy dearest's face when he found out.

* * *

It was a couple hours later when Emma and Peter were watching a movie in the recreational area of the compound. The others had left them to their own devices. Emma and Peter usually had their movie nights every weekend at the compound but this time it was Emma's pick. Much to Peter's dismay she had picked one of her boring old movies…Casablanca. However, as the movie went on he quickly became enthralled as he recognized a line that the character Rick repeatedly told Ilsa, the other character in the movie.

"Here's to looking at you, kid." Peter said quietly although it sounded more like a question on his lips. Emma tore her gaze away from the screen to look at Peter. She noticed how there was a confused look on his face as he locked eyes with her. "You said that to me before." If Emma appeared to be bothered by his statement she didn't show it.

"So?" She retorted in a bored tone but Peter was sure it meant something.

"Before I went after Liz's dad you said that same line to me. Why?" Peter questioned and Emma just stared at him. Could she tell him the truth? Could she just tell him she said that line to him because she loved him…because she saw Humphrey Bogart say it to his loved one so she decided to do the same? Emma didn't think she could tell Peter because she was scared of losing him. So she lied instead so he wouldn't leave her. Emma shrugged nonchalantly as if none of it meant anything to her.

"I was out of it, Peter. A building fell on top of me so I barely remember much after that." Emma lied and she sincerely hoped that Peter wouldn't be able to see through her lies. Sometimes he had a talent for detecting her lies. However, tonight didn't seem to be one of those nights as he seemingly bought it.

"I don't really like this movie, Emma." Peter said honestly after staring at her for a moment. He decided to change the subject after it became obvious that he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of her. "It's depressing. They go through all this trouble and they don't even end up together?"

"Life doesn't always have a happy ending like Star Wars." Emma retorted.

"Star Wars doesn't always have a happy ending. Was Kylo Ren murdering his own father a happy ending? I don't think so. What about Anakin turning to the dark side and Padme dying of a broken heart? Those don't sound like happy endings to me either." Peter quipped and Emma rolled her eyes. He was such a dork sometimes.

"It was happy for Darth Vader, wasn't it? He got do whatever he wanted without Obi-Wan or a wife nagging him. He sounded like he got what he wanted…although if I were him I would've killed that wrinkled up old man years before. No old man would get to tell me what to do." Emma told Peter smugly, fully aware of how much that sentence would infuriate Peter. She watched in amusement as his face got all red as he huffed. It took him a few seconds before he realized that Emma was only trying to rile him up. He glared at the smug looking blonde and wondered how on Earth he could love her…well, he supposed she wouldn't be the Emma he loved if she didn't try to rile him up.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Peter told her before bringing the conversation back to the movie that had just ended. "Back to Rick and Ilsa…Why couldn't he have just fought for her harder? How could he just let her go like that if he really loved her?"

"Don't you see, Peter…the whole thing was a lot bigger than the two of them." Emma said as she locked eyes once again with him. "There was a war going on which left them with no time to be selfish. She would've died or been imprisoned had she stayed there with him. That's why Rick let her go…because he loved her that much." Peter analyzed the expression on Emma's face as he tried to determine what was going on in her mind which was a nearly impossible task in itself.

"I thought you didn't believe in love." He said to her and Emma swallowed nervously before answering.

"I said love was a weakness not that I didn't believe it was real. I stand by that belief." Emma told Peter which was the truth. Sometimes she really thought her love for Peter would be the death of her.

"I don't think it's a weakness. I believe it's a strength." Peter told Emma honestly. He really believed that too because he found that his feelings for Emma only made him want to be a better person…more understanding and more motivated even. Despite the fact that he didn't think Emma reciprocated his feelings he was sure that loving her made him stronger.

"It ruins people." Emma said bitterly. "My grandparents got their hearts broken by time and they were never the same again…my grandfather might never recover. My parents fell in love and got themselves killed. If they hadn't fallen in love than they might both be alive and well today." Peter shook his head furiously.

"If your parents hadn't fallen in love than you wouldn't be here, Emma." Peter didn't like some of the things Emma said sometimes. Mostly because he hated the way she talked about herself…as if everyone else was better off without her there. Peter knew he wouldn't be better off without her.

"At least they'd still be alive." Emma retorted and Peter glared at the stubborn blonde. He suddenly grasped her wrists in his hands, immediately grabbing her attention. She gave him a surprised look at his sudden forcefulness. Peter always had a way of surprising her in the strangest of times.

"Don't say things like that about yourself." He told her seriously and Emma was slightly stunned by the emotion in his eyes. It was that same surprising dominance he showed whenever he tried to take control over a situation. He reminded her of Steve in that way…Steve would usually tell her the same thing. "Promise me that you'll stop talking like that, Emma. Please?" Emma was left breathless by the look in his eyes. She wasn't sure why he seemed so demanding but she felt inclined to take his request to heart.

"Fine. I will." Peter seemed satisfied by her answer and returned his attention to the screen. Emma gave him a curious look as something about Peter began to bother her.

"Have you ever been in love?" Emma asked him randomly, causing Peter to look back at her in shock.

She didn't blame him for being so shocked since Emma wasn't completely sure why she had asked him that question. Well, Emma kind of knew why. She had always wondered if Peter had real feelings for Liz. Emma wasn't as accustomed to social norms as most people but she knew enough to know it was probably bad that she was glad Liz was gone. She was glad the pretty older girl moved but she still wondered from time to time if Peter might've cared deeply for Liz. She joked around a lot about him being in love with Liz but Emma was kind of scared that he might've actually been in love with her.

"What?" He questioned and Emma shrugged.

"Well, you seem so pro-love that I'm just curious." Emma told him and Peter gave her an odd look, scrunching his nose up in a way that Emma found adorable.

"Pro-love? I don't think you can be pro-love…love isn't a thing that you can just be for or against. Everyone's felt love for someone or something." Peter said.

"Yeah, except for serial killers." Emma told Peter with a teasing smirk on her face. "I don't think Ted Bundy loved people…well, maybe he loved _killing_ people so that counts for something." Peter really couldn't believe Emma's weird humor sometimes. Her kind of humor was something that made you laugh but feel bad for laughing afterwards.

"Do you think I'm a serial killer?" Emma asked once again but this time more bluntly. Peter was snapped out of his thoughts about Emma's humor to give her another surprised look. This time he couldn't tell whether or not Emma was kidding. She had a complete straight face.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

"I've killed a lot of people so does that make me a serial killer? That question never occurred to me before now." Emma muttered but Peter didn't think she was upset by any means…just curious. How many girls in the world asked someone whether or not they were a serial killer? Not many…probably only Emma.

"I don't think you're a serial killer…I mean, serial killers enjoy killing people. You didn't enjoy killing people so that makes it different." Peter told her and Emma was somehow doubtful.

"I wished I had been a serial killer instead of an assassin because at least it would've been my own choice. It could've been like a fun game with a cool serial killer name and everything…I'd probably have a menacing name like the Zodiac did. I wonder what kind of serial killer I would've been? The kind who chops people into little pieces and eats them or maybe the kind that has sex with their dead victims?" Peter stared incredulously at her before Emma started laughing at him. The look on Peter's face was too priceless to Emma. It was times like this that Peter wondered why he was attracted to Emma when she said the weirdest things. He supposed it was because it was just Emma being Emma.

"That's not…uh…very funny. You can't just joke about serial killers like that." Peter told her and Emma just looked at him as she calmed down from her fit of laughter.

"Why not, Parker? I think it's hilarious." Emma said teasingly before a more serious look came over face. "Don't think I didn't notice how you deflected that question about love. So what is it? Have you ever been in love…in love with Liz maybe?" Peter ran a hand over his face out of frustration because the last thing he needed was for the girl he was in love with to be asking him whether or not he was in love with a different girl. How could Peter get himself out of this one without revealing his true feelings for her?

"I was never in love with Liz, Emma." Peter said tiredly and Emma analyzed the expression on his face. As far as she was aware she could tell that he was telling the truth. Peter was a terrible liar so there was no way he could fool her there. Emma then pretended to examine her nails as she tried to remain uncaring about the whole thing.

"Really? Not even a little? You sure drooled over her a lot." Emma remarked and Peter groaned.

"God, no. Okay? I just…well, how do I say this without sounding like a jerk?" Peter said before he finally confessed the truth. "Fine! I liked her because she was Liz Allan, the prettiest and most popular girl at Midtown." Emma gave Peter a bored look.

"You're right. You can't say that without sounding like an asshole." Emma deadpanned and Peter rolled his eyes at her.

"Yes, yes. I know how it sounds and I'm sorry for sounding like an asshole." Peter said and Emma smirked at him.

"Well, if Liz Allan was smart she should've used her good looks for manipulation." Emma said vaguely and Peter looked at her questioningly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was taught, for example, that if I needed to then I could use my good looks to get morons like you to do whatever I wanted." Emma told him and once again Peter had to question whether or not Emma was being serious. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He probably should've been offended that Emma just called him a moron but at this point he was used to her name calling. She called everyone names. Peter was just glad he wasn't a narcissistic asshole like Mr. Stark used to be to Emma.

"Wouldn't that be like using men for your own gain?" He questioned and Emma looked at him like the answer was actually quite obvious.

"Well, they shouldn't be stupid enough to fall for that shit. Anyways…men use women all the time and then women use men just as often. It's a never ending cycle. Look at Pepper and Tony. He'll never admit it but Tony will do anything for Pepper. It's actually pretty sad to watch." Emma said cynically which only seemed to confuse Peter even more.

"What are you talking about? Don't girls like it when a guy does stuff for them? " Peter asked her before his eyes widened in realization about what he just said. "Wait…I didn't mean it like that. I-I actually meant-" Emma just rolled her eyes at him as she interrupted him.

"I don't care about your accidental sexism." Emma told him before continuing. "It's a power trip, Peter. Some women think it's fun and it probably is."

"That's kind of messed up." Peter told her and Emma shrugged.

"I guess so but don't worry…I'd never manipulate you." Emma said to him and Peter's eyes scanned her face as if he were trying to decide whether or not she was telling the truth.

"Really? How would I know if you were manipulating me or not?" Peter asked her but she could tell by the smile on his face that he wasn't being serious. Emma gave him a mischievous look as she leaned in a bit closer to him.

"That's easy." Emma started to say and Peter was suddenly very tempted by her close proximity. He tried not to let his eyes drift down towards her lips. She always made him incredibly nervous when she was this close to him. "First, I'd tell you that I thought your dorky Star Wars shirt looked good on you." Emma whispered and Peter swallowed nervously.

"Then I'd say that how hot I think it is that you're into Star Wars." Emma told him flirtatiously and Peter could feel his heart pounding against his chest. She was so close to him that Peter could practically feel her warmth. The overwhelming urge to kiss her became almost unbearable to him. That dream he had of her made him yearn for Emma even more. He hadn't been able to get that dream of her out of his head. Emma put her hand over his as she locked eyes with him. Everything suddenly became way too much for Peter between Emma's closeness and her flirtatious tone. He just couldn't handle it anymore.

"Finally, I'd tell you how much I want you to-" However, Peter didn't let her finish as he threw her hand off his and stood up from the couch abruptly, his heart racing and his face an embarrassing shade of red. Emma laughed at the look on his face but Peter didn't weakly scold her like he had the last few times she teasingly flirted with him. He sent her an angry and frustrated glare.

"What's wrong with you?!" Peter said angrily and Emma immediately stopped laughing, becoming curious at his angry reaction. Most of the time when she teased him like that he got all bashful but never angry.

"Relax, Parker, I wasn't being serious or anything." Emma told him, not understanding why Peter seemed angry. Peter huffed as he continued to glare at her.

"No, of course not. You're never serious." Peter spat as he clenched his jaw in anger. Emma glared right back him as she tried to determine what had Peter in this particular mood all of a sudden. He was fine a couple minutes ago. What caused him to be in such an abrupt and sudden pissy mood?

"I don't know what your problem is! It's not like I was actually hitting on you." Emma said as she defended herself.

"You don't get it, do you? You always do this…you always make fun of me and tease me." Peter shot back at her. "I'm sick and tired of it."

"You're being too sensitive, Peter. You know that I didn't mean any of it." Peter scoffed.

"That's the problem! You never mean it." Peter shook his head furiously as he was overwhelmed by so many feelings. Confusion, anger, love, and frustration. There was only so much that he could take. "I don't understand you! I don't know why you do this to me!" Emma just glared at Peter.

"Well, I don't understand you either! I don't get why you're so angry!?" Emma argued as she tried think about whether or not she did something wrong. She always teased Peter but he had never lashed out like this before. "It's almost like you wanted me flirt with you for real."

"Don't you get it?! You taunt me all the time and it's so frustrating because I know you can never really feel that way about me. You're showing me something I can never have. I'm angry because I love you!" Peter blurted suddenly, unable to to help himself as the words seemed to tumble out of his mouth. "I'm in love with you, Emma."

Emma stared wide eyed at Peter for what felt like hours. She had never been more shocked in her life than she had in that moment. Peter stood there heavily breathing as he calmed down from his fit of anger. His heart was pounding against his chest and the shock took over as he realized what he just said in the midst of all his anger. Peter prided himself on controlling his feelings for Emma but he seemingly let the one secret he had been holding in to come out. He was never good at keeping secrets but this secret had been an exception for a while…until now.

Emma froze as she tried to process what Peter had just told her. Had she heard him wrong maybe? Had she imagined what he said…that he loved her? It couldn't have been something he actually said. Emma had secretly wanted Peter to feel that way but she hadn't really thought he ever would. She stared at him, probably looking like an idiot, as she tried think of something to say. What Peter told her didn't really seem to compute for her as she sat there staring at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. The blonde was completely speechless.

Peter was embarrassed at what he just said especially as Emma stared back at him in shock…almost as if she were horrified by what he just blurted out. Peter blushed again but not in anger. He was completely humiliated by his own big mouth. Whatever friendship Emma and him had was now ruined by his declaration of love. Everything had been going so well between them but he just had to ruin it, didn't he? Tears of embarrassment welled up in his eyes as he looked away from her. He was unable to look her in the eyes any longer.

"I need to be alone." Peter told her quietly before turning back around and heading for the stairs. Emma watched him leave with the same shocked expression on her face. She could've called after him to stop or wait but she didn't. Emma couldn't bring herself to tell him that she loved him back.

What was wrong with her?

* * *

Sunday was the day they returned to the city as usual but the car ride back home wasn't filled with chatter like it normally was. Things were horribly awkward as Peter and Emma sat in the backseat of the car while Happy drove them home. Emma couldn't catch any sleep the night before as her mind went back over what Peter said. He loved her…that's what he said to her the night before after all. Could it really be true? Could Peter Parker actually be in love with her? It seemed like it might've all been a part of Emma's imagination but she could tell it wasn't. The way Peter avoided her company Sunday morning proved to her that she hadn't imagined it. This was certainly something she never expected to have to deal with and she was more scared than ever before.

It had been terrifying admitting to herself that she loved Peter but that was when she thought he didn't feel the same way. Now that she knew he was in love with her that changed things. She knew that she could've told him that she felt the same but what would that mean? Where would they go from there? Did that mean that Peter wanted a romantic sort of relationship with Emma? More than likely. Did that mean things would be far more complicated than they already were? Probably. Emma just didn't know what to do.

She could tell him the truth but that was more terrifying than anything. Emma loved Peter but she didn't know if she could have any sort of relationship with him. How could she when she knew she could never be the kind of girlfriend that he imagined for himself? Maybe Peter was just disillusioned by the idea of loving her. Maybe he only thought he loved her because they spent so much time together. Peter was gravely mistaken if he thought she was anything like Liz or Betty. Emma couldn't be like that…not even for him.

It just wasn't in her nature.

"Tony's been acting weird lately…at least towards me." Emma said as she tried to make small talk with Peter. He looked to be entirely focused on his phone and didn't even look up at her when she spoke. "I guess it might be because of the wedding. There's apparently a lot of planning to be done even if Tony and Pepper haven't set a date yet." There was still no answer.

"Have you finished your history homework yet?" Emma inquired as she continued to try and get his attention. "If you need any help you only need to ask. I know how boring history is for you." Emma realized then that Peter probably wasn't going to respond to her small talk. She was going to have to stop beating around the bush and confront him about this. Emma leaned in closer to him so that Happy wouldn't overhear her from the front seat. Peter stiffened from her close proximity.

"Maybe we should talk about what happened last night?" Emma suggested and Peter swallowed, still not meeting her gaze. "Peter, I don't want things to be weird-"

"They're already weird, Emma." Peter told her scathingly as he interrupted her. "I don't want to talk about this. Just forget it." Peter then pointedly ignored her as he plugged in his earbuds to listen to music. He obviously didn't want to talk anymore and Emma couldn't even pretend that she wasn't hurt. Peter turned to face the other direction and Emma was forced to look out the window on her side so Peter wouldn't be able to see the expression on her face.

She wanted to say she loved him but she just didn't know how. When she told Steve she loved him it was easier. There was no complications from it and Emma didn't have to worry about what it mean later on down the road. Steve and her were family so it was quite easy to tell him that she loved him. Peter, however, was much different. Emma didn't know what telling him would mean for the both of them. She was scared. It was times like these that Emma wished that Steve was here to tell her what to do. He'd know what to do in a situation like this. She tried to think about what he would tell her to do but Emma wasn't sure. She didn't think he would tell her what she wanted to hear. Emma continued to stare out the window as she wondered where her grandfather was...if only he was there with her. He'd know exactly what to say.

Emma never needed Steve more than she did in that moment right then and there.


	57. Chapter Fifty Three: Part I

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a week but I've been trying to put Some Things Never Sleep on another website but it's taking forever to catch it up to this one. I think about half way through. I just want to say that this chapter ended up being super long so I've split it up into two parts. Part II will come maybe tomorrow or the day after.**

 **In this chapter we see a very jealous Emma. I'd like to remind everyone that while she's spent her whole life trying to think and act like an adult Emma's still a teenager underneath all that. She can be jealous and petty when the occasion calls for it. She loves Peter but she doesn't deal with it the way normal people would. I think that's been painfully obvious so far. lol.**

 **By the way...I went to see _I, Tonya_ last weekend and I have to say it was surprisingly funny. I kind of knew that it was a comedy but I just didn't expect a biopic to be one of the funniest movies I'd seen a while. The only reason I went to go see it in the first place was probably because of Sebastian Stan but I walked away from that movie loving it for reasons other than just Sebastian Stan. I highly recommend it. **

**I've also been sort of binge watching Black Mirror and Gilmore Girls. Odd combination but I think I'll just stick with Black Mirror. Gilmore Girls has too much drama for my liking. I just can't believe I've never seen Black Mirror before! It's so good. I saw the episode with Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson and I cried so hard. It was just so heartbreaking and sad to watch. The episode with Wyatt Russell was also really good and it made me smile at how much he sounded like his dad. Those Russell genes! I'm still not finished with Black Mirror but hopefully soon.**

 **Also got those HAIM concert tickets! I can't express how I excited I am. I wanted to get backstage passes but it was a little out of my budget. I'm still incredibly excited to go see them and April could not come faster for me.**

 **Glaga60800: Well, I cruelly figured that the MCU could use a little darkness and gloom. Also, I think you'll like this chapter because there's a lot of Emma and Michelle in it. I kind of feel like I should've bumped up the rating a while ago but I wasn't totally sure but it's done now so...**

 **You totally can translate it in French if you want. I actually took French in high school for two years but I was really bad at it. I was bad at writing it and I was bad at coherently speaking it. I mean, I wasn't completely bad at understanding it but everything else I was terrible at. I forgot literally everything I learned in those two years as soon as I graduated. The only thing I remember from French is probably 'Je ne sais pas' and that's because I used that phrase so often. lol.**

 **Balah-Fangirl: I honestly don't know when exactly Steve and the others will return but I know that it's definitely within Part III. My reasoning on holding off on that is because I thought it would be entertaining if everyone came back and found out that not only that Emma had started to make this somewhat normal kind of life for herself, but she also has a boyfriend. So I kind of wanted Emma and Peter to already be dating by the time everyone comes back and Emma and Peter finally getting together is actually right around the corner. It takes Emma almost two parts of a whole chapter to finally come to terms with the fact that not telling Peter how she feels isn't going to solve anything. Someone might have to actually step in and talk some sense into Emma but that won't happen until Part II of Chapter Fifty Three.**

 **Spawn Hades: I'm so excited to write Emma and Peter actually being a couple and doing normal things like going out on dates. It's going to be so entertaining to see Emma in that position.**

 **Radioactive88: Emma is definitely starting to become conflicted over whether or not she should kill Rumlow. She's always wanted to kill him but now she's starting to become afraid that it's something she won't be able to come back from. Luckily, she has Peter who keeps her very grounded.**

 **I love writing Emma and Tony's interactions. She doesn't resent him anymore but she still loves messing with him and pushing his buttons. The others love it because it's entertaining to watch. I'm not sure if you remember this because it was from a while back in the story but there was a chapter of Emma coming home from the police station after faking a damsel in distress act to get Spider-Man's attention. Anyways, she comes home and her and Darcy find Tony waiting for them. Tony complains about how stressed she makes him and how she's giving him gray hair while Emma just smiles innocently at him and tells him handsome she thinks he looks. Tony knows she's making fun of him which just pisses him off more. Anyways...super long and boring explanation but that's my favorite Emma and Tony moment. The fight they had after the ferry is another favorite moment of mine but only because I felt Emma was finally able to get everything off her chest. The part where they made amends was really sweet too...Okay, I'm slowly realizing that I probably have like ten favorite Emma and Tony moments. Lol. I'll just stop now.**

 **Rogueantihero: Thanks for the comment about Emma's parents. Some people aren't fans of the flashback scenes but I feel like it's really important to write those scenes for the story because Part III is all about Emma's past. It's about her parents, Rumlow, and it's about her finally opening up and becoming more vulnerable when she finally sits down and talks about everything that happened to her in Hydra. Emma's parents will be making a return but not for a few chapters. When there's a story as long as this one I think it's important to make people even more connected to Emma in discovering every part of her origins. I just love Emma so much so as the writer of this story I always thought about what her parents were like.**

 **nvnightrider9: No worries. There probably won't be a flashback for another few chapters. I'm not that cruel. lol.**

 **ilypopxtart333: You and me both. Don't worry...Emma won't be stubborn for long so she'll come around soon.**

 **sleepingAsAsheep: Emma's kind of in a state of shock right now after hearing Peter's confession. She never thought Peter could ever love her and now that he does she doesn't really know what to do with herself. Being in love with him before was easier because she thought it was just one sided but now that her love is actually reciprocated she's terrified.**

 **I wanted to write the nightmare scene and make it somewhat vivid but not too detailed. I don't think explicit details are needed and I don't think I could ever write a detailed scene like that with a character as young as Emma. Going into writing this story, I was a little hesitant in writing a story around a character that young being raped but then I realized that it sadly occurs more often than we'd like to admit. A lot of terrible things happened to Emma in Hydra but I wanted to show that, with a ton of work and the support of people who love and care about her, she could still move on with her life and even be happy. She's still copping with what happened and it's still a long road but I think in Part III there will be a lot of healing for her.**

 **ImsebastianstanButter: No worries. I'm not abandoning this story anytime soon.**

 **bonitalito: I honestly think the next time we see the other Avengers will be when they return which won't happen for a while but still within Part III. Rumlow, however, will probably get another creepy cameo in the near future although I can't exactly say when. Rumlow definitely sees what he did to Emma differently than how she sees it. He thinks that he can actually turn her into her mother and that just shows how insane he is.**

 **Mcduffie145: So glad that I can introduce people to amazing movies and music through my writing. Thank you for checking out one of the best movies of all time. Humphrey Bogart is still one of the greatest actors of all time in my opinion. I honestly didn't like Casablanca the first time I saw it but I think it was because I was too young to understand it. I just didn't get why they couldn't be together but I rewatched it last year and fully fell in love with it. I finally understood it and admired it even more for the message it has. So glad you loved the movie.**

 **AppropriateLlama: I have to admit that I don't actually play video games so I'm like Emma in that sense. I play Robot Unicorn Attack 2 on my iPhone but that's only to kill time. My parents got me a Nintendo DS and PS2 when I was younger but I got bored of them because I could never pass certain levels on video games and I'd get frustrated. The only game I was successful at was Lego Star Wars and I think I was twelve. I just don't have the right temperament for video games. I wrote Peter playing a video game because it just seemed like something he would do and I thought the part where he showed Emma how to use the controller would be cute. The reason I didn't have him explain every little button on the controller is because I'd honestly have no idea what I would be talking about. So you're welcome for not having to read through my bullshit. lol.**

 **Sorry for the super long Author's Note! Also, thanks for the swarm of reviews last chapter. There was literally three pages worth and I'm sorry for not answering every single one but I'm sure you guys would just rather have the new chapter at this point. Thanks and let me know what you think.**

* * *

It had been about a week and half since the argument between Emma and Peter. During that time they hadn't spoken much which absolutely killed Emma. It's not like she didn't try to talk to Peter but he seemed to avoid her at all costs. He only talked to her when he had to which was mostly in history class at school but even then he was short and to the point. Peter didn't seem to be his talkative self as usual. During weekends at the compound he mostly stayed cooped up in his bedroom and made it clear that he only wished to train with Maria.

The others knew something was going on with them but when Tony tried to get her to open up to him Emma told him to fuck off. She didn't need his insight and she most certainly didn't need his teasing and annoying comments if she told him what really happened. Emma was just trying to pretend like nothing happened and hoping that things could go back to the way they were but it wasn't working. Peter wasn't talking to her and he even suggested that they spend some time apart. Emma still remembered the conversation the following Monday after their fight.

 _"_ _We should keep watch over the area where all those grocery store hold ups are happening. Hopefully we'll get lucky." Emma told Peter as they did their usual rounds around Queens. Instead of happily responding to Emma's suggestion, like he normally would, Peter remained silent. The tension between them was still thick and Emma wasn't sure what to do about it aside from ignore it._

 _"_ _Maybe you should keep watch over that area and I'll keep watch over the area where all the car jackings are occurring." Peter suggested quietly and Emma stared at him incredulously._

 _"_ _What?" She asked in confusion. "Are you saying we should split up?" Peter shrugged._

 _"_ _I just think we'll cover more ground that way." Peter told her. "I'm thinking about this from a logical perspective, of course."_

 _It sounded something more like what Emma would say. She couldn't help but be annoyed at him in that moment because she knew this wasn't about covering more ground. Of course, Emma knew it was more rational to split up but she never voiced that opinion. Why? Well, that was because she actually enjoyed spending time with Peter on missions. Emma sighed._

 _"_ _Peter, is this still about the other night?" Emma asked him bluntly and Peter turned away from her._

 _"_ _No." He said childishly. Emma was still undecided over whether or not she should tell him. She knew he felt the same so why was she so scared? Maybe it was because Emma was afraid of change. She liked the way things were with Peter and she didn't want things to get weird with them if she told him she reciprocated his feelings. Emma knew that he'd probably want an actual relationship with her and he'd probably try to date her because dating was something kids their age did. Eventually he'd grow tired of her and realize how much baggage she had…trying to fix her wouldn't be enough for him anymore and he'd inevitably dump her for someone normal and undamaged like Betty Brant. Emma was sure they wouldn't be friends after that and she didn't want that. She considered Peter her best friend, maybe even more so than Steve or her father, and nothing terrified her more than losing him._

 _"_ _I don't want things to change." Emma told him, hoping to get her point across. She could see from the white lenses in his mask that his eyes were narrowed into a glare as he looked down at the ground._

 _"_ _It's too late, Emma. Things have already changed." Peter said bitterly, still not looking at her. Emma wished he'd stop avoiding her gaze. Why couldn't he just look at her?_

 _"_ _They don't have to. I can just forget what happened and we can put it behind us." Emma said as she tried to be reasonable. It was then that Peter finally looked back up at her, his white lenses widened in disbelief._

 _"_ _Don't you know anything, Emma?!" Peter said angrily. "I can't forget it. You can't just forget stuff like that! The more time I spend with you the worse it gets." Peter sighed tiredly and Emma wondered how sad he looked under his mask…if his usually kind brown eyes were dull with that sadness that Emma hated seeing in his eyes._

 _"_ _Every time you smile at me or even look at me I have this overwhelming urge to kiss you. You're completely infuriating at times and not to mention terrifying but that makes me love you even more." Peter told her, desperation in his voice. "I know it doesn't make any sense but it's true. I also know that you're kind and compassionate too." Emma looked like she was about to protest but Peter didn't let her._

 _"_ _Don't deny it because I know you are…no matter how tough you act. I love that you show that side to me even though you hate being vulnerable. It makes me happy that you trust me that much but the truth is that I want more. I want to be more than friends but I know you don't want that." Peter said before he looked back down at the ground. Emma was just glad Peter couldn't see the blush on her face as she tried to process what Peter was telling her. "I just don't think I can handle it anymore…especially since I know you don't feel the same."_

 _Emma started panicking as she fretted over his words. What did that mean? What did he mean that he couldn't handle it anymore? She was scared to know the answer to that question. Emma was floored by his confession of love. No one had ever said those things to her before…no one had ever made her feel so loved before. Of course she knew Steve and her father loved her but, like she said many times before, that was different. Emma wanted to tell Peter that she felt the same about him…that she was completely in love with him too but she couldn't. She didn't know how or if she should. Emma wasn't just afraid of herself getting hurt but she was afraid of somehow hurting Peter. She knew she wasn't an easy person to be friends with so she imagined she'd be even more difficult as a girlfriend._

 _Emma almost wrinkled her nose in disgust. Girlfriend? Ugh…she couldn't believe she even thought that. Her as someone's girlfriend was a ridiculous thought. Who would want her to be their girlfriend? Well, Peter supposedly did but Emma knew she wasn't girlfriend material. This was why she didn't want to tell him the truth about how she felt. Emma was just saving him from the trouble of having to deal with her. She knew eventually she'd say or do something to hurt him so why put him through something like that? Peter didn't deserve that._

 _"_ _Peter…" Emma trailed off not knowing what else to say to that. What could she possibly say to him to make him understand that they couldn't be together? If she told him why then he'd know that she loved him. Emma knew Peter couldn't just let that go if he knew she felt the same._

 _"_ _I think it's best if we spend some time apart, Emma." Peter told her when she didn't say anything else. It seemed like he was going back to avoiding her gaze. "We just spend so much time together that I think we need a break."_

 _Emma tried to keep the tears from flooding her eyes as she realized what Peter was saying. He didn't want to spend anymore time with her. Why would he? She had basically rejected him…just not with actual words but with her lack of words. Emma thought that they could just pretend like nothing happened and go back to the way things were but it didn't seem like Peter wanted to do that. He seemed so sad and Emma wanted more than anything to tell him that he didn't need to worry…that she felt the same but she just couldn't do that. It wasn't right._

 _"_ _A break? For how long?" Emma asked him and Peter just shook his head._

 _"_ _I don't know, Emma…just for a while." Peter said and Emma tried not to feel hurt by his words but it was inevitable. She could feel the tears start to escape her eyes as she stood there staring at him and he stood there not even looking at her. It occurred to Emma then that she was actually crying. Emma was no stranger to crying but it wasn't often that she actually did so. She wasn't the kind of person who cried on a regular basis and she also berated herself whenever she did cry for being so weak._

 _"_ _How long is a while?" Emma questioned and Peter groaned in exasperation._

 _"_ _I don't know." He said in an annoyed tone before completely turning away from her, his back facing her. "I need to get going in case the perp shows up at one of the grocery stores."_

 _Peter didn't even wait for Emma to respond as he held his wrist out and shot a rope of webbing to the building across from them. He then quickly propelled himself off the top of the building, they were standing on, before swinging to the other building. Emma watched him leave silently, a million thoughts in her mind. What was happening to them? Emma didn't know and she was even more at a loss over what to do._

 _She furiously wiped the tears from her eyes in an effort to stop them but even she knew that wasn't going to help. Emma glared at the ground as her mind went over the conversation she just had with Peter…if you could even call it a conversation. Stupid Peter. Why couldn't he pretend like she pretended? Why couldn't he act like nothing ever happened? Well, she supposed that was because he was Peter Parker after all. It just wasn't in Peter's nature to lie or pretend. He was one of the most truly genuine and honest human beings she had ever met who completely wore his heart on his sleeve._

 _That's what Emma loved about Peter._

Emma snapped out of her recollection from that night from almost two weeks ago. Peter barely spoke more than a sentence to her at times and never even looked at her. Whenever he actually did speak to her he avoided eye contact at all costs. He either spoke to the ceiling or to a wall whenever he addressed her. Emma hated it.

Never before did Emma realize what an annoyingly normal teenage girl Peter had turned her into. During Thanksgiving break Emma, Darcy, and Jane visited the Bartons at their little farm in the country. Laura had actually invited Emma via text message although she had no idea how Laura had gotten her phone number. Laura had even told Emma that she could invite anyone she wanted but also made it clear that Tony Stark was definitely not invited. Emma hadn't minded because she understood Laura's anger. Emma herself had resented Tony for quite some time because she felt that he ripped Steve, her father, and her friends away from her. Laura probably had it much worse because Tony ripped her husband and the father of her children away from her. Emma instead extended the invitation to Peter and May but Peter said they usually had Thanksgiving at the apartment. Emma, however, was furious to find out that he had lied and actually spent Thanksgiving at the compound with Tony and the others.

Now this was the part where Emma turned into a complete petty and insufferable teenage girl. She must've glanced at her phone a hundred times during Thanksgiving dinner and wasn't even discreet about it. Everyone happened to notice. She wrote and rewrote different text messages, trying to figure out a way to get him to talk to her but never deciding on anything anyways. Emma sunk to an all new low when she obsessively looked at any new posts he made on Instagram which only turned out to be a picture of a plate of food with some stupid hashtag attached to it. She remembered snapping the fork in her hand when Darcy showed her a picture Peter sent her from the compound. Emma had apologized to Laura for the fork before excusing herself from dinner all the while she was secretly fuming. He had actually sent Darcy pictures and not her? Who did Peter think he was?

"So who's the victim?" Michelle asked from her right. Emma was once again snapped out of her thoughts as she glanced at the frizzy haired girl next to her. It seemed like she was trapped in a sort of spiral of Peter consumed memories…well, the memories she had of him that pissed her off anyways. The two teenage girls were currently sitting at their usual lunch table in the cafeteria but this time Peter and Ned were both noticeably missing from the lunch table.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked her as she suddenly felt a bit shaken by being whisked back into reality. Michelle shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, I just noticed how you're glaring at your lunch like you want to murder it." Michelle replied. "So what is it? Did that savory looking ham sandwich do you wrong or is it the sunchips? I bet it was the sunchips…you can just never trust those sunchips."

In all honesty Emma wasn't even touching her lunch. For the first time in a while she wasn't hungry and that was probably because she was too busy brooding or thinking about what to do about Peter. What the hell did he expect her to do anyways? If she told him she loved him then he'd want a relationship but if she didn't say anything he didn't want to be around her. Why was he so confusing? Why did he have to make things so difficult for her? God! As much as she loved that boy sometimes she really wanted to strangle him at the same time. He drove her completely insane.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Emma said coldly as she shoved her lunch away and brought her sketchbook closer to her. She furiously began working on a sketch she had been working on since the night before. Emma hoped that Michelle got the message that she didn't want to talk anymore. Even if Michelle got the message, she ignored it as the teenage girl peeked over at what Emma was sketching. Most people would be horrified at the drawing since it was something more akin to what a future serial killer would draw but not Michelle.

"That's a very nice depiction of Betty Brant you're drawing. I'm sure she'd be pleased with it." Michelle said sarcastically as she looked at the drawing of a very large viper looking snake, constricting around a terrified looking Betty Brant, squeezing the life out of the small blonde in the picture. Michelle didn't think she had ever seen a more detailed drawing of a constriction. She didn't think a viper was capable of constricting around a human being but the one in the drawing clearly made it possible since Michelle could practically hear the bones crushing just by looking at the detailed drawing.

"How do you know it's Betty Brant? It could be some other blonde munchkin bimbo for all you know." Emma replied which might've been a sarcastic remark were it not for the bitterness in Emma's voice.

"Oh, so it's not actually Betty Brant?" Michelle questioned doubtfully. "The same Betty Brant that Peter's been spending all his time with…the same Betty Brant that he's ditched us to have lunch with?"

Emma clenched her jaw as she looked up from her sketchbook and stared across the cafeteria at the lunch table Peter was sitting at…the lunch table which contained Betty Brant and her gang of giggling morons. Poor Ned also sat there too but looked quite miserable to be there. Emma, however, was more focused on Peter who looked to be smiling at Little Miss Perfect much to Emma's fury. It was so strange to Emma. She never hated anyone as much as she hated Betty Brant except for Rumlow maybe. Emma wasn't stupid either. She wasn't completely oblivious to her feelings to actually think she was anything but jealous. Emma knew that she was extremely jealous of Betty.

Since Emma and Peter stopped speaking Peter had spent an increasing amount of time with Betty. Michelle, the eyes and ears of Midtown High, informed her that Peter was tutoring Betty in chemistry. The two apparently went to the library after school multiple times and had even studied at a coffee shop a couple blocks away. The thought of Peter and Betty alone together infuriated Emma. Mostly because she and Peter had never gone to a coffee shop or the library together. What made Betty so special that Peter would actually take her to a coffee shop?

A part of Emma had wanted to follow them after school and see what they were up to but she knew that would be taking it too far. Maybe Peter was right that time he made that _Basic Instinct_ movie reference about her. Maybe she really was like the crazy blonde in literally any Michael Douglas movie. Still…Emma hated to think of Peter and Betty together. What did they do when they were alone together? Did they kiss? Did he touch or hold Betty like he did with her? Emma was even more panicked as she wondered whether or not Peter had invited her over to his apartment. Were they sleeping together? What if it was even worse than sex? What if Peter realized that he didn't actually love her and he was now in love with Betty instead? It would make more sense if that was the outcome. Peter being in love with someone like Betty made much more sense than him being in love with someone like her.

"What makes you think that I even care?" Emma sneered and Michelle just smirked at her.

"Oh, come on, Emma. It's obvious that you and Peter have the hots for each other." Michelle then made a disgusted face. "Although…I have no idea what you see in him. He's the most annoying person in the world. He never knows when to shut up." Emma faintly smiled because that was another reason she loved Peter. He talked too much which she found adorable.

"I know. He really is annoying, isn't he?" Emma said before she remembered herself and replaced the smile with a frown, her eyes hurriedly darting back to her sketchbook. Michelle rolled her eyes at the blonde. Her friend really was acting weird these days. She was almost as skittish as Peter and that was saying a lot.

"Have you drawn any other Betty Brant death scenes?" Michelle asked Emma curiously as she changed the subject. It was clear to Michelle that Emma didn't want to talk about Peter. Something was definitely going on between the two but Michelle wasn't the kind of person to push her into talking about it. If Emma didn't want to talk about it than Michelle wasn't going to force her. Emma shrugged at Michelle's question.

"A few." She said shortly before glancing back up at her friend. "Aren't you scared? You know, normal teenage girls don't fantasize about killing their classmates." Michelle smirked at the blonde again as her dark eyes glinted with humor.

"Well, you're not normal, are you?" Michelle said while Emma gave her a curious look. The frizzy haired girl's voice then dropped to a low volume as she leaned in closer to Emma. "I know who you are. I know who you _really_ are…Viper."

To Michelle's surprise, however, Emma didn't look surprised at all. Emma looked like she was almost expecting Michelle to say that.

"Oh, really?" Emma said in a bored tone. "And how did you come to that conclusion?" Michelle was a bit dismayed in not causing Emma to be shocked but she answered her nonetheless.

"You showed up this year out of nowhere basked in mysteriousness. You never talked about your past much…you're very closed off." Michelle told her honestly as she started divulging all the clues she had found. Emma watched her silently, relieved to be distracted from her Peter Parker issue. "When you sat next to me that first day of school I thought you'd be annoying and stupid like Betty and her friends. I thought you'd be the cheerleader type with the way you look but you weren't. You were the exact opposite…you didn't even care about making friends."

"And that makes me some kind of assassin?" Emma inquired as she raised an eyebrow but Michelle shook her head.

"No but it's weird…really weird." Michelle remarked before moving on. "You're intelligent but not in a way like anyone on the decathlon team is. You're more observant and sharp…rational even."

"Like you?" Emma questioned as she smirked at her. "Maybe you're the assassin, MJ."

"No, not like me. You're better at observing people than I am and don't act like it's a compliment…you know you're better." Michelle said as she gave Emma a serious look. "I didn't think there was anything totally strange going on with you at first. But then you started spending all this time with Peter all of a sudden."

"So?" Emma said and Michelle searched the blonde's eyes, wondering if maybe she made this all up on her own and Emma was only humoring her. No. Michelle didn't actually think that. This was just some psychological bullshit that Emma was using to mess with her. She was pretending to not to know what Michelle was talking about while acting nonchalant about the whole thing. Michelle knew better than that.

"You were always disappearing to God knows where with him. We both know that all those excuses were lies." Michelle told her and Emma shrugged.

"I didn't know I was such a bad liar." Emma retorted and Michelle scoffed.

"You're not but you were lying badly on purpose to throw me off." Michelle accused and Emma feigned a shocked look.

"But Michelle…I'd have to be absolutely crazy to even think of doing something like that." Emma told her mockingly and Michelle snorted before ignoring her comment, continuing to explain her revelation.

"Then it was like Peter and you were attached at the hip. Ned too so I'm sure he's in on it in some way." Michelle said before continuing. "You and Peter also disappeared for all that time and I know you two weren't fucking. Suddenly the whole decathlon team was in peril and for some weird reason the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man just so happened to be in D.C. to save everyone's life."

"Most would call it a miracle…a gift from God." Emma suggested as she looked at Michelle in amusement.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm an atheist then." Michelle quipped. "You mentioned all that stuff about science experiments so I did some deep thinking. Some _Fire Starter_ and _Species_ type thinking."

"I thought that maybe one of your parents took experimental drugs in college during a lab experiment and you have some kind of super power now." Michelle informed her before telling her another theory. "Or maybe your mom was a slutty alien so you're half alien."

"Am I half slutty too or did I not inherit that gene as well?" Emma asked her as she smirked smugly at her friend. Michelle glared briefly at the blonde, a bit annoyed that Emma wasn't taking her more seriously. She decided to ignore her snide comments and continued to explain her theory.

"Then I scrapped those theories because they were stupid and I knew I had to start fresh." Michelle explained. "I had no idea where to start until you and Peter ditched detention. Funnily enough, just a short time after that the ferry incident happened and once again the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man showed up while you and Peter were no where to be found."

"So? We could just be sleeping together…it could really be that simple." Emma said, seemingly unbothered by what Michelle was insinuating.

"I still wasn't sure after that. The Viper Assassin and Spider-Man going to high school? Why would they waste their time with high school?" Michelle asked sarcastically as she once again ignored Emma's comments. "Then there was the school dance. Peter and you both ditched the dance then Tiny found that one guy glued to the side of a school bus with Spider-Man's webbing."

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" Emma suggested and Michelle shook her head as she narrowed her eyes at her.

"I don't believe in coincidences." Michelle retorted before continuing. "The Viper Assassin and Spider-Man have this huge fight with Liz's dad of all people…The Vulture. Then for some weird reason you don't show up to school for a week and Peter has all these cuts and bruises on his face."

"I had the flu." Emma told her, looking quite delighted by Michelle's observations.

"Then I realized it…I was right before." Michelle finally confessed. "It all made sense suddenly. Peter acting so weird during the past several months…why he dropped all those extracurricular activities. He doesn't even exert himself in PE anymore. You should've seen him during middle school. He was pathetic…he couldn't even do a push up the girly way." Emma wanted to smile at the thought of a pre-spider bite Peter Parker. He had lean muscles now but she wondered just how scrawny he used to be. Emma bet that he must've still been cute either way.

"Then you show up at school and suddenly Spider-Man has a partner?" Michelle questioned before scoffing. "Not to mention you're the most mysterious person I've ever met. You're even more mysterious than my father who said he was going out to pick up some milk and has yet to return. Trust me, I know mysteriousness."

"Is that all?" Emma asked and Michelle shrugged.

"You're also really blonde like the Viper Assassin. Same height and stature too. The conversation we had about the Viper Assassin that one time actually really stuck out to me. That's what got me thinking that maybe there was more to you than meets the eye." Michelle commented. "Not to mention you don't talk like the kids here at school. You talk like an adult and I can tell that you've seen a lot in your life…I can see it in your eyes." Emma stared unblinkingly at her friend.

"If you were right about me…if all of your observations were actually true then shouldn't you be scared? The Viper Assassin is no Captain America." Emma told her darkly to try and see if she could break Michelle and scare her. Michelle, much to Emma's surprise, didn't seem disturbed at all by Emma's question.

"Not really." Michelle said coolly. "I mean, I probably don't have anything to worry about unless I go after Peter. Gross…even saying that causes the bile to rise in my throat." Emma glared at her.

"The Viper Assassin was trained by Hydra…her head trainer was the Winter Soldier." Emma said as she continued to try and scare Michelle. "She's credited with twenty six assassinations officially but she's uncredited with at least six more. The Viper Assassin was injected with a super soldier serum that makes her over ten times stronger than the average man. That's pretty scary."

"I don't know, Emma. I think the Hulk and Thor might be stronger than that." Michelle quipped and Emma narrowed her eyes at her.

"Yeah, well, Thor's an idiot and the Hulk's not as smart as his fidgety doctor counterpart." Emma said defensively and now it was Michelle's turn to be amused. It seemed like someone had a huge ego for an assassin.

"Well, the Viper Assassin seems pretty lame and boring now that she's hanging out with the Avengers." Emma glared at her because she knew Michelle was only trying to piss her off.

"Fine then. If you want to be stupid and hang out with the Viper Assassin then that's on you." Emma said bitterly and Michelle smiled at her. It was one of the few genuine smiles that Michelle had given her. Maybe that's why her and Michelle had gotten along so well. They had almost the same temperament. Emma knew that she acted the way she did because of everything that happened to her but sometimes she wondered what happened to Michelle to make her that way. She wouldn't push Michelle to tell her because Emma wasn't that type of person. If Michelle didn't want her to know then that was it.

"I think it's kind of cool to be friends with a former assassin." Michelle told her. "Honestly I think the Viper Assassin is more badass than the other Avengers."

"Really?" Emma asked her quietly. She was glad that at least someone thought she was somewhat intimidating since no one seemed to be scared of her anymore. Ned didn't even seem scared of her these days. If she couldn't even scare Ned then what was the point of anything?

"Yeah. The Viper Assassin is one of the most notorious assassins in the world." Michelle told her. "She's up there with the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. Everyone knows about the Viper Assassin. I was just reading this Buzzfeed article the other day that listed the Viper Assassin as the second greatest female assassin and third greatest assassin over all."

"The Viper Assassin should be the number one assassin in all categories." Emma said but Michelle could tell she was joking. She supposed it was because Emma and her had almost the same kind of humor.

"Maybe so." Michelle said before changing the subject as something occurred to her. "Did you really know that I knew?"

"You're smart. You're not like all the kids that go here." Emma told her without missing a beat. "When I was forced to attend this school I thought I would be surrounded by insufferable morons but you surprised me. You actually knew what you were talking about. You're probably the only person here that doesn't make me want to jump off a building or something."

"What a kind compliment." Michelle said sarcastically and Emma shrugged.

"Take it or leave it." She retorted and Michelle gave her a curious look.

"What about Peter? You hang out with him all the time...well, at least you used to. He can't make you want to jump off a building, right?" Michelle questioned and Emma looked back at her.

"He does sometimes." Emma admitted. "Not because he's stupid but because he drives me insane. I just don't understand him half the time and the other half of the time I wished I didn't."

"Okay…I hope you know that makes absolutely no sense at all." Michelle told her after failing to piece together what Emma meant. Emma snapped out of her contemplative thinking about Peter, giving Michelle a calm look.

"Whatever. Peter Parker is a mystery I'll never solve. Sometimes I don't know if I want to kill him or…" Emma trailed off when she realized what she was going to say.

"Or what?" Michelle asked as she raised an eyebrow. Kiss him, Emma wanted to say. She didn't know if she wanted to strangle the life out of him or kiss him.

"Nothing. It's stupid." Emma glanced at the clock and noticed that lunch was almost over. "I've gotta go. Lunch is almost over and I wanted to drop off a book at the library."

"Okay, sure. I'll see you in PE." Michelle told her after giving the blonde a weird look. Emma nodded and was about to get up from her seat when she suddenly stopped, turning to look at Michelle one last time.

"I just want you to know that you're the most mysterious person I've ever met too. Natasha Romanoff doesn't have anything on you." Emma told her truthfully much to Michelle's surprise. The teen gave her a bewildered look as Emma looked back at her.

"Um…thanks?" Michelle said, sounding unsure. Emma just smiled at her before leaving the table and heading towards the cafeteria's exit. She could feel her friend's eyes on her as she walked away but didn't turn back around to look at her. Emma had almost reached the exit of the cafeteria too when her enhanced hearing picked up on something from one of the lunch tables a distance away.

"You're so funny, Peter. Oh my god!" Betty Brant said in an annoying voice as she giggled like an idiot at something Peter said. Emma's mood suddenly darkened again as she was reminded of all the time Peter was spending with Betty again. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she struggled not to go over there and rip that annoying little brat's tongue out of her mouth.

Emma was having a difficult time containing her anger when today of all days became the day that Flash Thompson decided to annoy her. Usually Emma liked messing with his head and turning him down in clever ways but today was not the day for Emma to be playing games with anyone much less Flash. The nuisance of a teenage boy stepped out in front of her with a stupid grin on his face. No, Emma most certainly had no tolerance for any of this today. Her blood was practically boiling with anger and jealousy.

"Hey, princess." Flash said teasingly. There it was. Now why did he have use _that_ nickname over all others? If there was a God up there he must really have out for her. "So we haven't talked much lately but that's because Penis Parker's practically latched himself onto you. Now I see that he's even more stupid than I thought since he's going after goody two shoes Betty Brant. Not my type at all."

Flash's eyes shamelessly glanced over Emma's figure as he smirked smugly while Emma stood there, struggling not to lash out and throw this stupid kid across the cafeteria. That would make quite the scene, wouldn't it? If Peter was standing there in Flash's place he'd know better than to annoy her like what Flash was doing right now. Of course, Flash was no Peter. That much was obvious to Emma.

"No, I'm much more interested in you. Betty's got nothing on you, Lewis." Flash told her and Emma was envisioning ways of somehow murdering both him and Betty at the same time. "So I was thinking…my parents are going to be out of town this weekend so I'll have the house all to myself. You're more than welcomed to come by. My parents have this amazing Jacuzzi in their bathroom so if you want to bring a bikini or maybe _no_ bikini. I'm sure we can have a lot of fun."

It was when Flash waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Emma that she lost her temper. Little did Emma know that a fuming Peter Parker sat at his lunch table completely ignoring what Betty Brant was telling him. He glared at Flash Thompson with such anger and resentment that he was about two seconds from going over there and telling Flash to keep his hands off Emma. _His_ Emma more importantly. However, Peter didn't need to do anything as Emma abruptly reached over and grabbed Flash by the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards her until he was only a couple inches from her face. Peter almost thought that Emma was going to kiss Flash until he saw the livid glare on her face. Maybe she'd kill him instead...hopefully.

"Don't fuck with me today, Thompson. I'm not in the mood." Emma hissed venomously as Flash could only watch her with wide eyes. She then looked at him in disgust as she roughly shoved him away from her before storming off through the exit. Most of the kids in the cafeteria stared at Flash in surprise, not believing what they had just seen. Emma Lewis usually acted very quiet and reserved, never displaying that same kind of behavior beforehand but there was something different about her today.

"Oh my god, Flash! Are you okay?" Lily Hollister, one of Betty's friends, asked Flash as she ran over to him. The shocked looked on Flash's face then morphed into his usual smug looking one.

"She's feisty, isn't she?" Nearly everyone rolled their eyes in unison at that. Yeah, Flash was definitely alright. He was back to his usual annoying and insufferable self. Peter continued to stare at the door where Emma had just walked through and a concerned look came briefly over his face. He knew something was wrong with her but he didn't know what. A part of him wanted to go after her and to demand to know what was wrong but he knew if he did that he'd just be reminded of how much he loved her and how much she didn't want him.

"Is everything alright, Peter?" Betty asked politely and Peter was snapped out of his thoughts. He gave her a small smile as he looked back at her.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Peter told her but it was a lie. He was most certainly not fine and he wasn't going to be fine as long as he spent time with Emma or spent time apart from her. It seemed like he couldn't take it either way. Peter wondered if maybe he could do what Emma said and put his feelings for her behind him...Then he realized who he was. No, he couldn't. At the end of the day he'd still love Emma no matter what.

* * *

Emma eventually realized that eating lunch in the cafeteria everyday wasn't going to be an option for her. Not if she had to see Peter and Betty look so happy together as they giggled and flirted with each other. Every time Emma saw that short, goody two shoes she was overcome with the urge to murder her. Betty Brant was testing her self-control in more ways than Flash ever had. A part of Emma wished that somehow Flash and Betty could date because that would literally solve all her problems. Flash would stop hitting on her and Betty would stop hitting on Peter.

She knew that she didn't have any claim to Peter and that was entirely her fault. Emma had a choice and she knew by now that she could have him if she really wanted. Now that she knew Peter's true feelings for her she knew that all she would have to do is say the words and Peter would be hers. However, Emma's self-loathing was never going to allow for that happen. Not when she was so stuck in her own mind without any of Steve's guidance over what to do. This whole being in love thing was really hard. No John Hughes movie could have ever prepared Emma for this part of high school.

This was why Emma was spending lunch the next day locked inside one of the stalls in the girl's bathroom. She considered it a way to avoid her homicidal thoughts so that she wouldn't kill Betty because that little spoiled brat was really starting to tempt her. At least in the girl's bathroom she didn't have to see Peter and Betty looking all happy together. She could just be alone with her thoughts and think of all the reasons that it was a good thing that Peter and her weren't together. Emma was so caught up in trying to come up with reasons why her and Peter's separation was a good thing that she barely noticed when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Oh my God, Carlie." Emma heard a very distinct sounding high pitch voice say from outside the stall she was currently standing in. "I love your lip gloss. Where did you get it?"

"Ulta Beauty, of course. Duh…you know that, Lily." Carlie Cooper said and Emma rolled her eyes. Great, it sounded like Betty Brant's crew of annoying and giggling cheerleaders decided to pop into the one bathroom Emma had been hiding in just to get away from Betty. She definitely wasn't very lucky as it would turn out.

"Guys, can we not talk about some stupid lip gloss?!" Betty Brant said in an annoyed voice and Emma immediately clenched her jaw. Even the sound of that little brat's voice pissed Emma off. "We have a seriously important matter to discuss."

"What's that?" Lily asked her friend.

"Peter Parker! Don't you know anything, Lily?" Carlie said, talking to her best friend as if the girl was stupid. "Betty's seriously been crushing hard on Peter lately. Why do you think he and his lame friend have been sitting at our table every day?"

"Oh…I guess I never really thought about it." Lily replied dumbly.

"God, you two are so stupid!" Betty exclaimed as Emma could practically hear the anger and frustration in her voice.

Emma didn't really know why she was actually listening in on them. She could've stormed out of the bathroom at any second but something held her there. As soon as they mentioned Peter's name Emma suddenly wanted to know more. Maybe this way she could find out all the things she had been dying to know about Peter and Betty. Something in Emma's mind told her that she probably didn't want to know but Emma couldn't help it. She wanted to know whether or not Peter had already moved on from her.

"We need to go over what's going to happen next." Betty continued and Emma was sure that the small blonde was probably glaring at the two. "I think he might be interested but I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Carlie asked her and Betty sighed.

"I don't know. We've been having a lot of study dates lately but he won't discuss anything that doesn't have to do with school." Betty replied, trying to figure out Peter Parker. Good luck with that, Emma thought to herself. She considered herself to be very close with Peter until recently and she still hadn't really figured him out. "I've asked him once or twice whether or not he wanted to see a movie over the weekend but he always says that he's too busy."

Emma practically fumed at Betty's admission. That annoying little brat actually had the nerve to ask Peter out on a date? Emma was completely furious with the notion that Betty had asked him out. She was jealous and she knew it so just thinking of Peter and Betty being romantic with each other was enough to make her more than angry. Emma felt so many different emotions and all at most. It wasn't even that she felt those emotions either but she felt them more intensely than she ever had before and Emma kind of understood why.

Bruce had once informed Emma that she was more prone to having emotions that were a lot stronger than that of a normal human. The serum supposedly intensified everything for her including her emotions which was probably why Hydra had taken so much care in getting her to suppress all her emotions. Emma thought she had them under control until now. Peter seemed to bring these emotions back to the surface for her. She now understood why all the super soldiers before her had gone insane because this was just too powerful and intense for Emma.

"Maybe he's more interested in Emma." Lily suggested. Emma snapped out of her thoughts at Lily's statements.

"What?" Carlie asked in confusion.

"You know…Emma Lewis. Everyone's heard the rumors about her and Peter." Lily said before further explaining. "I heard they ditched decathlon Nationals so that they could spend the day in a hotel room together. They even ditched their dates at Homecoming to run off together. There's definitely something going on between those two."

"Why would Peter be interested in Lewis?" Betty said bitterly. "She seems like a cold bitch to me. You saw what she did to Flash in the cafeteria yesterday. Peter wouldn't like a girl like that." Emma glared at the door of the stall. She wasn't very angry at what Betty had called her so much as angry with the way Betty talked about Peter. Emma hated how Betty dared to think that she knew Peter at all. What? So hanging out with Peter for half an hour a few times a week suddenly made her an expert? God, how did Peter actually manage to spend time with this girl without wanting to murder her like Emma did?

"Still…Peter spends a ton of time with her. He's a guy and she's hot. You can't believe that nothing's happened between them." Carlie added and Emma could tell that Betty wasn't going to like that answer.

"So she's a slut who throws herself at him. Guys don't stay committed to those kinds of girls." Betty told her friends heatedly and Emma narrowed her eyes. "Peter's a gentlemen and a gentlemen doesn't date a slut."

Emma glared at the stall door because she couldn't believe Betty was actually calling _her_ the slut who threw herself at Peter. Emma wasn't the one who giggled at every little thing Peter said and gave him a fucking bottle of cologne for his birthday. She didn't put her hands all over him and tell him how funny he was. That little brat thought she was the perfect girl for Peter, didn't she? Maybe she was but that didn't mean that Emma liked the thought of those two together. Emma knew that a normal person probably would want Peter to be with anyone that made him happy but unfortunately she wasn't a normal person. Besides…people who thought like that were only lying to themselves. Everyone was selfish and no one wanted to see the person they were in love with in a relationship with another person. Emma was entirely selfish and she wasn't delusional enough to deny that. She was so conflicted over all her intense emotions. Emma didn't want to date Peter but at the same time she didn't want him to date someone else either. It was really a no win situation.

At this point in time Emma could no longer keep herself hidden in the stall of the bathroom. She wasn't about to stand in there like an idiot and let Betty Brant talk about her like that as if she wasn't there. Emma was no coward and she wasn't going to stand by, letting that little brat run her mouth like that. She was going to hold her head up high and be the person her father raised her to be. Not some silly spineless little girl who was afraid of a pipsqueak like Betty Brant. So Emma maintained a stoic expression on her face and without another thought she unlocked the stall door before pushing it open.

The three teenage girls watched in shock as the same girl they were gossiping about came out of the stall. The blonde had a completely calm look on her face as she walked to one of the sinks like she hadn't heard anything of what the three of them were saying. Betty stared at Emma as she tried to determine whether or not the taller girl had heard anything they might've said. However, Emma Lewis seemed completely oblivious as she washed her hands in the sink. Betty was so lost in the emotionless look on Emma's face that it took her by surprise when Emma finally looked at her.

"Hello, Betty." Emma suddenly said cheerfully with a polite smile on her face. "Freshening up a bit before fourth period?" Betty, Carlie, and Lily just stared at the blonde, not knowing what to say to her. Betty, however, was oddly disturbed by the smile on Emma's face. She knew that Emma must've overheard what they said since she had been in the bathroom the whole entire time. So why did the taller blonde seem so calm?

"Hi…Emma." Betty said awkwardly as Emma continued to wash her hands. Carlie and Lily exchanged odd looks as Emma finally shut off the sink, leaning over to get a paper towel to dry off her hands. The blonde dried off her hands slowly while she smiled at Betty in that same polite way.

"Are you looking forward to the Roman Empire?" Emma said randomly as Betty and the others continued staring at her in bewilderment. Betty eventually snapped out of her dazed state as she blinked. For a moment she thought she had heard Emma wrong but by the looks on Lily and Carlie's face she could tell she hadn't.

"What?" Betty questioned in confusion but Emma just continued to smile at her.

"The Roman Empire. That's what we're studying in history, right?" Emma said as if Betty and the other two girls should've immediately known what she was talking about. Betty furrowed eyebrows but managed to slowly nod.

"Yeah…right. The Roman Empire." Betty mumbled. At this distance Betty was able to see just how much taller Emma was than her. There was actually quite a bit of a height difference between the two. Betty noticed that Emma was a few inches taller than her and the taller girl made it painfully obvious as she looked down at her.

"I'm quite interested in the Roman Empire myself although that's only because of Julius Caesar." Emma said which didn't stop Betty's overwhelming confusion about the mysteriousness of Emma Lewis.

"Julius Caesar?" Betty questioned and Emma just smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. The smaller blonde couldn't help but get a sinking feeling from Emma's smile. There was just something not right about her.

"Yeah…you know, the one who was literally stabbed in the back by the people he called friends?" Emma said in a voice that might've even had a darker undertone to it were it not for the pleasant smile on her face.

"Et tu, Brute?" Betty quoted quietly and Emma's smile widened.

"Exactly. God, you've gotta just love that play." Emma told her. "Julius Caesar and Macbeth have to be my favorite Shakespearean plays."

"Why? They're both tragedies." Betty said to her but Emma didn't seem bothered.

"I don't know. There's just something very poetic about a man being betrayed by those he trusted most." Emma said nonchalantly and Betty just stared at her.

"And Macbeth?" Betty questioned.

"There's something even more poetic about a man being betrayed by words." Emma answered. "The power of man, for none of woman born. Shall harm Macbeth."

Betty favored English literature above all over subjects except maybe journalism. She always prided herself on being more cultured and educated than any of her classmates at school. Betty was something of a know-it-all which was something she was proud of until Emma Lewis came into the picture. It annoyed Betty whenever the tall blonde flawlessly answered every question in history class. It was almost like Emma knew everything and Betty had even heard Mrs. Beringer, their English teacher, praise Emma's literary knowledge. The thought of someone being better at her favorite subject than she was…well, that was completely infuriating to her. Still…Betty suspected that maybe her and Emma might've even been friends in a different situation. None of her friends could quote Shakespeare right back to her after all. However, that was never going to happen as long as Emma had Peter Parker wrapped around her little finger.

"Shakespeare's a genius." Betty told her and Emma just continued to smile. There was something about the way the blonde looked down at her. Although her smile seemed kind there was something cold looking about her eyes.

"Well, it was nice having this conversation with you, Betty." Emma said politely, making it clear that she was about to leave. The taller girl gave her one last smile before she started to move towards the door. However, before Emma could reach the door Betty's voice stopped her in her steps.

"You're not his type, you know." Betty called after her. The fake smile fell off Emma's face as she stood there, her back facing Betty and Betty's dim witted friends. Emma could've pretended not to know what Betty was talking about. She could've been so good at pretending that she would've made Betty second guess herself about whatever relationship there was between Emma and Peter. Instead, she did none of that. Emma slowly turned around to face the small blonde who had her arms crossed. Carlie and Lily stood at Betty's side with smug looks on their faces, looking very interested in watching all this go down.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked her but they both knew what Betty meant. The small blonde just smiled at her, a smile that was almost as convincing as Emma's had been. That's what Betty was good at…smiling. She was probably one of those girls that had been groomed and primped to smile. Whatever made an ivy league college turn their head when they looked at a picture of her.

"You've only been going to school here for a couple months. I've been going to school here since kindergarten which means that I've known Peter since then." Betty told her, practically sneering at her. "What makes you so special? You've barely even been here yet he follows you around like a lost puppy."

"Betty, you sound crazy." Emma said as she played it off but Betty glared at her.

"Don't play games, Lewis." Betty told her before continuing. "Everyone knows that there's something going on between you two although I don't know why. Peter's type was always Liz and you're not Liz." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, I'm surprised. I had no idea that I wasn't Liz." Emma said sarcastically. "You know, you don't really look like Liz either."

"There's something wrong with you. I don't know what it is and I don't want to know but there's something really wrong with you." Betty said scathingly to Emma as the taller girl just watched her with an unreadable look on her face.

"It's really funny how you claim to know Parker so well." Emma said quietly as she looked at the shorter girl coldly. "It's funny because until a couple weeks ago Parker didn't even exist to you. It was only recently that you started coming around. Now…why is that?"

"I don't know what you mean." Betty said stubbornly and Emma just narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"If you've gone to school with him for as long as you say you have then why wait all this time?" Emma asked her even though she already knew the answer. "No, you've just noticed that Parker's been working out more than the average sixteen year old. Those thin shirts he wears in gym class do nothing to conceal those so called changes. He's hot now, right? That's why you're all over him." Betty glared at her as she looked up at the taller blonde. Emma thought she was almost like a little Chihuahua. It was quite pathetic actually.

"Whatever's going on between you and Peter is about to end. You're not going to be his girlfriend…I am." Betty said, sounding very sure of herself. "He's a scientist and I'm a journalist. You're just a silly little artist. What kind of career could you ever have from art anyways? Artists don't make any money and they're lucky to find a job drawing an advertisement for cereal. I saw the painting you painted…it wasn't even that good." Emma didn't know if she wanted to punch the girl or laugh at her. Was she actually being serious? Who did this girl think she was…Regina George?

"Um…okay. That doesn't sound petty at all." Emma said sarcastically but Betty didn't respond to her sarcasm. She gave Emma a heated look.

"You made the mistake of putting out for him too soon. He knows you're a little slut and he'll never want anything more from you." Betty said smugly. "Why do you think he's not talking to you anymore? He already got what he wanted."

Emma just watched the small blonde, feeling so many emotions all it once. She was furious and annoyed of course, thoughts of murder continuously going through her head, but she was also a little bewildered and mystified. Emma never thought this was something people actually did in real life. She never thought people were bullies anymore. The blonde knew bullies had existed in one point in time from Steve's recollections from his childhood but she didn't think it was still a thing. It only happened in movies, right? There was no such thing as Regina George, Tracy Flick, or Heather Chandler in real life…well, at least that's what Emma used to think. Emma always thought her grandfather might've been exaggerating about bullies but she realized that she was wrong. This even made her sympathize more with him. If Emma hadn't been the person she was then she might've even cried at Betty's words…if she was a normal girl.

"Just back off." Betty sneered as Emma looked back down at her. "I can ruin you, Lewis. That's how many people like me at this school…that's how connected I am. Maybe if you had thought about making more friends than Michelle then you'd be okay but you're just a nobody."

So this was really happening, huh? Emma had only spent a couple months going to high school and she was already fighting over a boy. If this what Steve wanted when he told her he wanted her to have a normal life? Had he wanted her to get into fights over boys because Emma felt a little ridiculous at this point. Betty was kind of setting feminism back a couple decades.

If this was a different situation then Emma might've even admired Betty a bit for her threats in all honesty. It was clear to Emma that Betty had the true makings of a villain or at least a corrupt politician. Someone who was able to forge connections and to then use those connections against other people. Emma thought Betty was an interesting person because she wasn't just any sort of villain…no, she was a high school villain. The blonde had never dealt with such an opponent. Not even in Hydra. Of course Hydra had never sent her a target of a girl that used her resources to win the heart of a boy. She supposed that's what made Betty fascinating to her. That she had all that power within the high school yet she chose to use it on a boy. Emma knew better than anyone that Peter wasn't just _any_ boy but Betty didn't know Peter like Emma did. Yes, Betty's motivations were entirely interesting to Emma.

"Next time I'd keep my legs shut if I were you." Carlie told Emma as Lily snickered and with that the three teenage girls left the bathroom, leaving Emma by herself. She watched as the door shut behind them and was unsure how to feel. Emma was furious, of course, that Betty thought she could tell her what to do…that she could tell Emma to stay away from Peter. Emma didn't take well to anyone trying to tell her what to do. Then again, Emma was also a bit amused.

Betty Brant thought she could toss orders right and left and everyone would listen to her. She thought that she could get whatever she wanted no matter the cost…Betty was greedy. Most of all, Betty actually believed that she had won whatever little game they had started. She had called Emma a slut and threatened her with isolation, probably thinking that she would drive Emma to tears. A normal girl probably would've bawled her eyes out and eaten a tub of ice cream. A normal girl would've been devastated and cried to her mommy. Well, Emma didn't have a mommy now, did she? Emma was stronger than that although she didn't take too kindly to the spoiled little brat thinking she could tell Emma what to do.

No one told Emma what to do and she wasn't about to let Betty think she could boss her around. Emma also hated how the arrogant girl thought she had some kind of claim to Peter. Peter wasn't some object for Betty or her to win. Emma knew she was jealous of the time Betty was spending with Peter but it wasn't like she could actually tell him who or who not to date. If Peter actually wanted to be stupid enough to date some bimbo then fine. However, Emma wasn't going to let Peter be with someone like Betty…someone who wanted to control him and was only attracted to him for superficial reasons. Peter didn't need to be fucked with like that…he didn't deserve it. So Emma was going to make damn well sure that he didn't date Betty of all people.

Emma thought she making a noble sacrifice in not telling Peter how she truly felt and she wasn't going to let all that go to waste just so Betty Brant could go fuck everything up and use him. Did Emma want Peter to date other girl? Well, no…but she definitely didn't want him dating Betty. Betty was a million times worse than other girl Peter could date even though Emma was pretty sure she'd hate any girl Peter dated. This Betty thing was going to end right then and now. Emma would sure of it. Not by murder because Peter wouldn't like that but Emma had other methods.

Betty was used to winning games. High school was a mere chess game to her. Emma was even a little thrilled by the prospect of playing a game. She smirked at the thought. If anyone saw her now they probably would've thought it was a Loki worthy evil grin. So Betty wanted to play? Well, fine. Emma would play Betty's little game and she would win. The greatest part was that Emma didn't even need to be popular to win her game. No, she was just going to win the old fashioned way…the way she always won the games she played with her targets back in Hydra.

By instilling fear.


	58. Chapter Fifty Three: Part II

**Author's Note: I kind of thought I'd have this chapter done by Saturday but I actually didn't start writing it until Saturday. It's just one of those chapters that's so exciting to write that it's a little hard to start writing. I don't know if that makes any sense. So, I'm just going to say that you guys are hopefully going to love me after this chapter because it's what you've all been waiting for. I'm super happy for you guys to finally read this. I know I made you wait so long but it definitely felt needed.**

 **glagla60800: I'm not sure if I'll do that but thank you for the input. I just feel like people wouldn't be cool with their kids going to school with the Viper Assassin. It'd be kind of like in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when everyone found out Professor Lupin was a werewolf and didn't want their kids going to Hogwarts if he was a teacher there. I might definitely take you up on that Black Widow move against Flash someday though. That could be really story is actually going to have a version of infinity wars eventually but I might make changes to make it fit in with what happens in Part III more.**

 **OgFrosty: Thank you! You're so nice!**

 **Radioactive88: Emma really likes playing games with people so as much as hates Betty she's really going to enjoy messing with her. It's why I think Emma would get along with Loki really well. I kind of hope that I can write Loki into the story eventually because I feel like they'd get along really well and might even be friends. In a morbid way Emma kind of admires him. I feel like it would also be interesting to write because I could totally see Peter being jealous of Loki.**

 **Just Lindsey: I'm so happy you brought up Neopets because it totally took me back. When I was a kid I used to collect them and I must've collected like almost one hundred and fifty of them. I had the account and the trading cards and everything. I hadn't thought about Neopets in forever until you mentioned your neopets account.**

 **Anna: All I'm going to say about that is that it'll probably happen within the next five or so chapters. Emma's almost to the point of telling someone.**

 **Mcduffie145: Trust me if I could've made Emma and Peter get together sooner then I would've made that happen. However, Emma was never just going to jump into a relationship. She's super stubborn.**

 **Helenabelle2: I've finally made a decision on who to kill Rumlow after having a long debate with a friend. I'm not going to say who until the time comes so I'll just let you read it when it happens. I know I can't please everyone so I hope everyone keeps that in mind.**

 **Doom13: Thank you! I'm not a slow burn person either but with a character like Emma it kind of had to be a slow burn. There's just no other way to do a story like this.**

 **Spawn Hades: I just wanted to say that Emma's not perfect. She has major flaws. She's very jealous and will at times be somewhat possessive over Peter and she's also selfish. I think it's really fun to write a female character who's jealous and kind of owns up to being jealous.  
**

 **Sorry for not answering all the reviews but I'm really excited to just get this chapter out to you guys. Thanks for all reviews!**

* * *

It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon during forth period when a loud scream erupted from outside the classroom. At first all the students in Mr. Harington's fourth period history class only barely looked up from their history books to give each other bewildered and mystified looks. The only student that remained focused on their studies seemed to be Emma Rogers who seemed quite unbothered by the loud and random scream. It was almost as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

A few seconds later another scream rang out through the hallways followed by a series of loud sobs which caused Mr. Harington to get up from his desk in concern. All the students murmured amongst each other as they tried to figure out what was going on. Mr. Harington soon exited the classroom to see what was going on and told everyone to stay seated but of course no one did as they were told. They followed Mr. Harington out to the hallway more with curiosity than concern because teenagers could really be morbid when they wanted to be.

"Aren't you coming?" Ned asked the blonde who was still sitting at her desk. Peter had been one of the first to leave the classroom after Mr. Harington but he was perhaps the only one who was honestly concerned. Emma wouldn't put it past him to try and save whoever was screaming. Emma lazily glanced up from her book to look at Ned.

"Why?" She asked him and Ned looked at her as if it were obvious.

"Because there's someone crying for help out there and maybe you and Peter could help." Ned suggested and Emma just stared at him before finally rolling her eyes while getting up from her seat.

"Fine. Whatever." Emma mumbled as she followed Ned out of the classroom. Truthfully she knew exactly what was going on and she wasn't very concerned to help the person in trouble. They stepped out into the hall and heard the continuing sobs as a great majority of students stood circled around the lockers. Ned watched in confusion as Emma just tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Someone's locked inside one of the lockers." Emma heard Sally say from in front of them. Ned turned to look at Emma with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, Emma! Did you heard that? Someone's locked inside the locker!" Ned exclaimed in shock and Emma scoffed.

"I'm not deaf, Ned." She snapped in an annoyed tone. Emma was just surprised that Ned was even speaking to her at all. She was pretty sure he was trying to stay loyal to Peter and not have it end up like last time when Ned violated whatever stupid guy code there was and took her to the school dance.

Emma watched curiously as the teachers rushed around, trying to figure out how to get the person out. She saw Peter standing towards the front of the crowd, looking very much like he wanted to save the day. Emma could roll her eyes. How absolutely chivalrous of him. Luckily, Peter seemed to be smart enough to know not to show off his powers in public. It seemed like the thought of the entire school knowing who he really was, suppressed any urges to be the hero in this situation. Emma was glad he was finally thinking after all this time.

"Harington, grab the fire extinguisher!" Emma heard Coach Wilson call out before the nervous looking man went scrambling for the fire extinguisher. The older man almost tripped over his feet as he went back to Coach Wilson. The gym teacher glared at the man before snatching the fire extinguisher out of his hands.

"Guess I have to do everything around here." Coach Wilson muttered before he started hitting the lock with the fire extinguisher. Emma watched boredly as it must've taken about five minutes for him to break the lock. The person inside the locker kept crying and Emma wanted to roll her eyes at how pathetic the person sounded. It was just a locker. Hydra would lock her inside a dark room with no windows for a week but you never saw her crying about it.

The lock finally broke free and Coach Wilson hurriedly open the locker door, causing the person to stumble out and fall to the ground. Much to everyone's surprise it was Betty Brant who was on the floor, her eyes wildly searching the room. Betty gasped as she spotted something and immediately starting scooting away. A couple of girls screamed once they saw what caused Betty to move away. About three or four snakes came slithering out of the locker and even Mr. Harington let out a surprised yelp, practically clinging to Coach Wilson's side. Coach Wilson gave the man an annoyed look before shoving him away, giving the snakes a bewildered look, before moving over to Betty.

"Are you alright, Brant?" Coach Wilson asked her softly. Betty's eyes were glued to the snakes but she managed to nod slowly.

"Okay, can you tell me who did this to you?" Coach Wilson continued to ask and Betty's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I-I don't k-know. T-they snuck u-up b-behind m-me…it w-was s-so dark." Betty said as she stuttered, her eyes remaining glued to the snakes. Coach Wilson sighed.

"Can someone get those snakes out of here?" Coach Wilson demanded. Emma hid her smirk as she stepped out of the crowd, an innocent look on her face.

"I can help, Coach Wilson. I'm not afraid of snakes." Emma said and everyone looked at the blonde in surprise. It was no secret that Emma Lewis was a very quiet and reserved person but most of them figured it was because she was shy. Those that knew her actually seemed to know better than that however.

"I can help too." Michelle volunteered after giving Emma a slightly suspicious look. People almost gasped at that too because Michelle was quiet like Emma. Both girls were never very outspoken and they surely never volunteered for things.

"You've both handled snakes before?" Coach Wilson asked and Emma just smiled politely at him.

"Yes." Emma and Michelle replied in unison. He nodded to himself.

"Good. Take them down to Larson's classroom. Maybe a biology teacher will know what to do with them until further notice." Coach Wilson told Emma and Michelle. Emma only nodded before carefully picking up two snakes while Michelle picked up the other two. Emma smiled at the two snakes she was holding up before looking back at Betty.

"See, Betty…there's nothing to be afraid of. They're harmless." Emma told the small girl who was still a hysterical mess on the floor. Most people might've thought Emma was only trying to comfort Betty but Betty could see that the look in her eyes was definitely not kind. There was something menacing about her. Something seemed to click for Betty as she continued to stare up at the taller blonde.

It was Emma.

Emma just gave Betty one last smile before she started heading off to Mr. Larson's biology classroom, Michelle following her lead. Everyone looked away from the two girls as they focused once again on Betty, curious as to how Betty ended up in that locker. However, the only person who wasn't staring at Betty was Peter. Peter who was staring at Emma Rogers' back, her long blonde hair swishing back and forth as she walked off with the snakes. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he continued to assess her odd behavior. He knew her very well so he also knew that Emma was somehow involved in this. No, she was _very_ involved in this.

* * *

"I can't say it's a pleasure see you again in my office, Miss Lewis." Principal Morita said with a dull look on his face. Emma and Darcy sat in front of the principal's desk while Betty and Betty's parents sat off to the side of the office. Emma had been called into the principal's at the beginning of fifth period before she even had a chance to change into her clothes for gym. They had even called Darcy down to the school which told Emma that Betty was probably sure she was the one who did it. Good. Everything was going according to plan then. Now it was time for Emma's performance.

"Well, that depends…I don't exactly know why I'm here." Emma said, playing dumb as she looked around at everyone with a mystified look on her face. Principal Morita gave the blonde a serious look.

"You seriously don't know? Miss Brant over here claims that you're the one who shoved her inside the locker." Emma's eyes widened in surprised.

"What?" She then gave Betty a shocked look and the small blonde seemed to shrink back into herself, fearful of Emma. "No. No that's…that's crazy. You can't think that I did something like that. No way."

"Miss Brant says that she believes that it was you because she described an encounter the two of you shared in the bathroom the day before…a fight over a boy." Principal Morita told her solemnly and Emma immediately shook her head, giving him a look of disbelief.

"That? That was nothing." Emma told him while Darcy watched the blonde curiously. She had been told on the phone what Emma had been accused of and Darcy wouldn't put it past Emma to do something like this but none of it was right. The Emma she knew wouldn't get caught. This made Darcy wonder what was going on with Emma these days. "I mean, Betty seemed a little…aggravated, I guess you could say, but I wasn't offended. I wasn't even mad. It was just some petty cat fight in the girl's bathroom that I took no part in."

"Look, Principal Morita, I don't participate in those kinds of fights. I believe this is a time where women need to stick together rather than fight over some boy." Emma told Principal Morita in an honest tone. "There's more important issues we have to deal with like the wage gap, sexual harassment, and gender equality. Some random high school boy is the least of my problems."

"Thank you for informing us about your politics, Miss Lewis." Principal Morita said in a bored tone and Emma smiled at him.

"You're welcome. I'm happy to enlighten everyone. These are important issues, after all." Emma told him and Darcy gave her a look of disbelief. She knew that Emma didn't give a shit about any of that stuff if it didn't impact the way Emma lived her life. All that bullshit Emma was spewing out was just stuff she probably heard Darcy rant about on occasion.

"So you're denying that you had anything to do with the locker or the snakes?" Principal Morita asked her and Emma frowned before shaking her head.

"Yes. I didn't do this." Emma then turned to look at Betty who gave her a somewhat frightened look. Emma just smiled at her, giving her look that was a cross between kind and apologetic. "I just can't believe you think I'd do something like that to you, Betty. I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression. I truly am." Emma then turned back to look at Principal Morita with an innocent look on her face.

"Principal Morita, I know that I've been in trouble in the past but ditching decathlon Nationals and detention is one thing but violence…that's something else." Emma said, seemingly appalled by being accused of anything. "I'm not a violent person. I've never caused harm to another person in my life. I strongly consider myself to be a pacifist." Darcy tried to disguise her laughter as a cough and Principal Morita glared at the brunette woman.

"Is something funny, Miss Lewis?" He asked her and Darcy calmed herself down before shaking her head furiously. It had been a long time since she had been in the principal's office but something about Principal Morita's stern demeanor made her feel like a kid all over again.

"No. Of course not." Darcy said seriously and Principal Morita returned his attention back to Emma.

"No violence? Because I was made aware of a certain altercation between yourself and Mr. Thompson the other day." Principal Morita said and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Who? Me and Flash?" She asked in disbelief. "Oh…the thing in the cafeteria. I completely forgot about that. Unfortunately, sometimes saying no doesn't actually mean no to a boy. Sometimes you have to be a little aggressive to get the message across. There's no hard feelings between us…I like Flash. We're on the decathlon team together."

"So you didn't shove him on purpose?" Principal Morita inquired and Emma shook her head.

"No, I was just turning him down. As much as I like Flash, there's a real sexual harassment problem at this school." Emma told him in an honest tone. "You might want to fix that. Boys need to understand that no means no."

"So you deny all of Betty's claims?" Principal Morita asked her once again and Emma sighed sadly.

"I'm afraid so. Look, I'd like to find out who did this to Betty as much as anyone. Betty's a good person…she totally didn't deserve that." Emma said, sounding very compelling in her sympathy for Betty. "What kind of person locks a girl in a locker with a bunch of snakes? That's sick…that's borderline psychopathic. Whoever did that needs to be punished for what they did. This just cannot go on. I'm just sorry that Betty had to go through all that. It's so terrible."

"Do you have anything to say to this, Miss Brant?" Principal Morita asked the small blonde. Betty looked very confused as she tried to come up with something to say. Emma fought the urge to smirk because this was going exactly how she wanted it to go. She had been so convincing that even Betty was starting to second guess her own accusation. Perfect.

"Um…I-I just thought…" Betty trailed off before looking down at the floor, seemingly ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry, Emma. I guess I just thought it might've been you. I can see now that I was wrong." Emma gave her a sympathetic look.

"That's okay, Betty. I understand." Emma told her before looking away from her and returning her attention to Principal Morita."You have to look at everyone in this kind of circumstance. I get it."

"Well, I'm just sorry for taking up all your time. You can head back to class." Principal Morita told them before glancing at Darcy more exclusively. "Sorry for making you come all the way down here, Miss Lewis."

"It's no problem." Darcy said politely. "I'm just glad that we've gotten this all cleared up." Darcy then gave Emma a pointed look, making it clear to the blonde that they'd talk about this once they got home. Emma didn't mind. She was sure Darcy would enjoy the story well enough. It was definitely an interesting story after all.

* * *

"Wait…Emma!" Betty called out as soon as Emma walked back out into the hallway. Darcy had already left and Betty's parents were still in the principal's office, discussing what happened to Betty. Emma observed the guilty look on the small blonde's face. It was interesting how the blonde appeared to be truly sorry for accusing Emma of the locker incident. Emma didn't know how someone could go from spoiled brat to apologetic brat. It was interesting to her.

"Look, I'm sorry for accusing you of those things. I just thought it might've been you since we sort of had that fight in the bathroom the other day." Betty said nervously as she apologized to her. "All that stuff about feminism that you were saying back there made sense too. I mean, was I really fighting with you over a guy? A guy that I don't think you even really like." A cold look then came over Emma's face, taking Betty completely by surprise.

"Do you honestly think I give a shit about feminism?" Emma asked coldly, her face void of all emotion. Betty gave the taller blonde a surprised look.

"Excuse me?" She questioned in disbelief but Emma ignored her question as she continued speaking.

"You saw what I did in there so you also know that there's nothing that I can't talk my way out of." Emma said as Betty watched her in shock. Betty shook her head, not understanding what was going on.

"What do you want?" Betty asked her.

"You know what I want." Emma sneered. "I've won your stupid game. Don't you dare ever assume that you can tell me what to do again. I'm not someone to mess with, Brant." Betty gulped because something in Emma's voice made Betty believe that Emma was a lot more capable of a locker filled with snakes. Betty even thought she might've been scared of Emma.

"Is this about Peter?" Betty asked in a quiet voice and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" Betty averted her eyes, too scared to actually look at her. If Emma was capable of stuffing her inside a locker filled with snakes and then getting away with it then what else was she capable of?

"T-that maybe P-Peter's not my t-type." Betty said in a shaky voice and Emma smiled at her, gently patting the small girl on the shoulder. Betty flinched at her touch.

"Good. I'm glad we're on the same page." Emma told her. "Now I think it's best if we head to sixth period. I think fifth period's almost over anyways." Betty nodded furiously as she continued to avoid Emma's cold gaze.

"O-Of course." Betty said meekly and Emma grinned at her.

"I'm glad we could have this talk, Betty. It was a pleasure." Emma said mockingly as Betty barely glanced at her before turning in the opposite direction. Excitement came over Emma as she watched the small blonde hurry down the hallway. She was elated because the feeling of winning was a feeling that Emma really cherished. It had been a while that Emma had this much fun and she honestly missed the feeling of knowing when someone was so scared of her that they'd do whatever she told them to. Now that was true power. Emma was just happy that this meant that Betty wouldn't be clinging to Peter's side any longer. No, she didn't think Betty would come anywhere near Peter again. That made Emma more happy than she could possibly explain.

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" Peter asked suddenly. Emma was walking to sixth period when Peter abruptly appeared next to her. She was still reeling from the enjoyment she felt when she saw the look of fear in that spoiled little brat's eyes. Nothing gave Emma more satisfaction…well, maybe the fact that Betty wouldn't be hanging around Peter anymore gave her some satisfaction too but Emma wasn't really focusing on her feelings for Peter at the moment. She thought about him enough as it was.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, not even looking at Peter. Peter glared at the blonde before roughly pulling her aside to a more secluded corner of the hallway. Emma was amused and even a little attracted to Peter's more demanding and dominant side like she always was when he was like this. Her heart raced as she looked into the depths of his brown eyes which were hardened with anger.

"You know exactly what I mean." Peter hissed. "I know it was you who locked Betty inside the locker with all those snakes."

"Who? Me?" Emma questioned as she feigned a look of innocence. Peter continued to glare at her as his face reddened with anger. Emma wasn't going to lie. Peter was always really hot when he was angry.

"Can't you ever stop playing games, Emma?!" Peter asked furiously. "I know it was you so stop messing around. I just don't know why."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Parker." Emma replied stubbornly and Peter groaned in frustration. Why did she always act like this? She always drove him up the wall with her antics and Peter never knew what to do with himself in these situations with her. As angry as he was with her, he really just wanted to grab her and kiss her. Emma Rogers always seemed to give him that reaction. They were so close right now that Peter was sure that he could just lean down and press his lips against hers but he knew she'd probably punch him if he did that. Emma didn't like him that way after all.

"Damn it, Emma. Why do you do these things?!" Peter questioned, beyond tired of her puzzling actions. He then swallowed before he spoke in a lower tone of voice. "This isn't you. This isn't the Emma I fell in love with." Emma immediately glared at him.

"Don't put that on me. It's not my fault you're so stupid that you'd go and fall in love with me." Emma told him in an annoyed tone. "Wake up, Peter, because this is who I am. If you don't like that then you obviously didn't fall in love with the real me. You're in love with Liz Allan or Betty Brant but not me. I'm not a nice person and if you believe that I am then you're more stupid than I thought."

Peter gave her a hurt look. Her words were cold and cruel. He suddenly felt as if everything he told her meant nothing. She seemed so uncaring about his feelings that Peter kind of believed that maybe she didn't really care about him at all. Peter had practically poured his heart out to her on several occasions and she never said anything. She just stood there and watched him. Peter thought she could say literally anything to him even if she told him that she just liked him as a friend but she wouldn't even say that.

The cruelness of Emma's words didn't dawn on her until she saw the tears flood Peter's brown eyes. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach because she knew that she had hurt him. Emma had never really cared in the past whether or not she hurt someone but Peter was definitely the first person that she felt bothered about hurting. It was different than when she said something to hurt Steve. Steve always knew that she didn't really mean it so he didn't take her seriously. However, Peter was different. He didn't seem to know that Emma didn't mean it. Peter's sad looking eyes even broke Emma's heart a little and especially because she knew it was all her fault.

"We're going to be late for class." Peter mumbled as he looked away from her. Emma was at a loss for words as she tried to come up with something smart to say.

"Peter…" Emma trailed off. So definitely nothing smart. Peter just turned away from her and stormed down the hall. Emma watched him leave, an immense feeling of guilt coming over her because she knew she had hurt him. Emma had never meant to hurt him. She groaned in frustration as she ran a hand through her long blonde hair. God, why was she such an asshole sometimes?!

* * *

Emma spent the entirety of sixth period staring at Peter's back as she tried to think of some kind of way to make the whole situation better. By the time chemistry ended Emma still didn't have a clue as to how make things better. Peter was one of the first people to leave the classroom and he didn't even glance in her direction as he left. Not that Emma was really surprised. She really screwed up this time. Emma never had this hard of a time with figuring out how to take out her targets in Hydra but somehow when it came to this being in love thing…she was completely clueless. Emma was a little jealous of the way Peter wore his heart on his sleeve. It was so easy for him but Emma couldn't be like that.

She walked back home without even listening to her music. Emma knew that not even Haim's music, that was usually very comforting to Emma whenever she was sad, would be able to take her mind off Peter. She thought she'd feel a lot better after terrifying Betty and she had for a while but after her argument with Peter Emma suddenly didn't feel all that great. Now she even wished that she had never locked Betty in that stupid locker. It had been fun while she was planning the whole thing out and actually executing the plan now not so much. Only Peter could suck all the fun out of making bratty teenagers miserable.

Emma opened the door to the townhouse wordlessly as she tried to be trapped in her state of sadness. She barely noticed Darcy sitting on the couch in the living room when she walked in. The brunette woman gave the blonde a curious look, noticing that the teenager looked particularly more sad than from her earlier more jovial mode. Darcy honestly didn't know what was going on with Emma lately. She seemed to be doing better than fine since the whole thing with the Vulture went down but over the past couple weeks she had been acting stranger than usual. Emma was more quiet and more bitter.

"Where are you going?" Darcy asked the blonde as she began to move towards the staircase. Emma looked back at her with an unreadable look on her face. "I thought we were going to discuss that little performance back in the principal's office. Damn, Emma, I sure wish I had your gift of talking myself out of trouble. That would've gotten me out a suspension or two." Emma just stared at Darcy and the brunette woman was starting to feel uncomfortable…almost as if she was missing something.

"I don't want to talk about it." Emma said coldly but Darcy wasn't put off by her tone. She was more than used to Emma's erratic behavior. Darcy had known this girl for almost three years by now and she certainly wasn't intimidated by her anymore. Badass assassin or not, this girl was still like a little sister to her.

"Listen, Emma, I know I tease you a lot but I'm not Tony. I'm not going to mock you if you want to talk about high school problems." Darcy told her sincerely, sounding serious for the first time in a while. "You can talk to me. I'd like to think that we're friends so why don't you come over here and tell me what happened."

Darcy patted the seat next to her and Emma tried to decide if she wanted to talk. She trusted Darcy and knew that she thought of the crazy brunette woman as a friend but Emma didn't know if she was ready to talk about this with someone who wasn't Steve. Well, it seemed like Steve wasn't here anyways and he wasn't likely to come back anytime soon. Emma didn't really have anything to lose at this point so she went over to the living room and sat on the couch, looking very troubled. It was a long moment before Emma spoke but Darcy was ready for whatever Emma had to tell her.

"I was the one who locked her in the locker." Emma said quietly and Darcy scoffed.

"Yeah, no shit. I pretty much figured that out back in the principal's office." Darcy replied. "I mean, I know you probably did it for a good reason. That Tracy Flick looking girl looked like one of those snobby bitches that went to my high school so I know she probably pissed you off. The snakes were a nice touch by the way." Emma shook her head.

"That's not why I did it." Emma told her. "I mean, to be fair she really pissed me off but that's not why I did that to her." Darcy gave her a confused look.

"So why did you do it? Come on, Em, you're acting really weird." Darcy said to her and Emma locked eyes with the brunette.

"I was jealous." Emma admitted, looking a little embarrassed to even admit it. Darcy just shook her head.

"Jealous? Why would you be jealous of her? If this is about teenage insecurities then you have nothing to worry about, Emma. Most girls would kill for legs like yours." Darcy told her and Emma gave her a look of disbelief, suddenly a little annoyed that Darcy actually thought she cared about that kind of stuff.

"I don't give a shit about that." Emma said in an annoyed tone of voice before controlling her anger and calming herself down. She sighed tiredly, reverting to how embarrassed she had looked before. "Peter was spending all his time with her. He's been ignoring me lately."

"Okay…" Darcy trailed off, trying to understand the situation. So Emma was jealous that Peter was spending all his time with another girl. That wasn't very odd considering everyone knew that Emma Rogers clearly had a thing for Peter Parker and probably vice versa too. "So why has he been ignoring you then? Why would he do that?" Emma almost didn't want to tell Darcy the real reason why but she desperately needed help. She needed to know how to make the situation better…how to make Peter forgive her so that they could be friends again.

"He told me he loves me." Emma finally confessed and Darcy was a little surprised to hear that. Well, not completely surprised. That kid practically stared at Emma all the time and he always had that goofy smile on his face whenever Emma said something blunt and sarcastic. Emma said the most terrifying things sometimes so the kid probably had to be in love with her in order not to run in the opposite direction. Still...this was all happening a lot sooner than she had imagined.

"Oh…well, that's interesting." Darcy said as she tried to come up with something to say. "Well, the thing to do, Em, is just to tell him to give you some time. Okay? I'm sure he'll understand why. I know you like him but these things can be tricky-"

"I love him too." Emma said abruptly as she interrupted Darcy. Darcy's eyes widened because she was really shocked now.

"Wait…what?" Darcy asked in surprise and Emma swallowed nervously as started to explain herself.

"I love him, Darcy. Don't ask me how or why but I just do." Emma told her as she avoided her gaze. "I've felt this way for about two months now. I didn't think I could fall in love but I can, I guess. Maybe Steve was more right about me than I thought. He said that you knew when you knew and I just…well, I know that I love Peter. I haven't known him that long but it doesn't feel that way." Darcy just stared at the blonde in astonishment. She didn't know whether or not to feel surprised or happy. Maybe a bit of both. This was really amazing. Darcy couldn't help it as a huge grin came over her face.

"Well, congratulations, Em. This is good news." Darcy told her before looking confused again. "I still don't get why Peter's ignoring you though." Emma ran a hand over her face as she started looking very troubled.

"It's because I didn't tell him that I loved him too." Emma said, her blue eyes suddenly flooding with unshed tears. Darcy felt a little bit frightened at the sight of Emma becoming emotional over a boy. Mostly because she looked like a normal teenage girl with boy problems. "He told me and I just froze. We haven't really been speaking since. He said that he wanted time apart and that he couldn't be around me then he started spending all this time with Betty. She was all over him and I just…I don't know, I just lost it. I locked her in the locker so she'd get the message but Peter knew it was me. He confronted me about it and I said some really terrible things to him. I really hurt him, Darcy."

Emma was breathing heavily from her long rant, looking very unsure of what to do so Darcy did the one thing she could do to comfort her. She leaned in and hugged the emotional looking blonde. Emma stiffened at first but relaxed as the brunette hugged her. It was a nice hug but in all honestly she preferred Peter's hugs. He'd hold her and suddenly her spirits would be lifted. Darcy finally pulled back from the blonde to look at Emma.

"Emma, it's fine. Just calm down." Darcy told her comfortingly and Emma shook her head.

"It's not fine. I really messed up and he probably thinks I'm this sadistic, evil person." Emma said as she wiped a fallen tear from her face. "I'm the villain of my own story, aren't I?"

"No, you're not. Look, when I was your age there was this boy I really liked. Brandon Greene." Darcy told her. "Anyways, this girl…Sadie Moore…kissed him so at a sleepover I cut a chunk of her hair off. We all do crazy things, especially when we're teenagers, so it doesn't make you a bad person. Believe me, if I had the ability to shove Sadie Moore into a locker filled with snakes and get away with it…I would've done it."

"Well, Peter seems to think she's Little Miss Perfect. Betty Brant can do no wrong apparently." Emma said bitterly and Darcy gave her a suspicious look.

"Wait…why is Betty Brant even an issue?" Darcy asked her curiously. "Why haven't you told Peter you love him? Why aren't you two making out under the bleachers by now?" Emma stared down at the ground, sadness coming over her.

"He deserves me better than me. If I tell him how I feel then he'll want a relationship and eventually he'll realize that I have too much baggage. He'll leave me and then we won't be friends anymore." Emma said honestly and instead of Darcy having a sympathetic reaction, the brunette rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Are you honestly still going on about that shit." Darcy said in disbelief. "This whole self-loathing, brooding bullshit act is getting a little old, Emma." Emma gave her a confused look.

"What?" Darcy just shook her head at her.

"Obviously Peter knows that you have a past and despite that he's still fallen in love with you. I'm a little surprised myself because you're the most stubborn, distrusting, cynical, and manipulative human being that I know." Darcy said before continuing, the expression on her face softening. "That being said I know you've had a hard life. That's why you're like this but I know there's a different side to you as well. You don't show it to the rest of us but you show it to him and that's why he's fallen in love with you."

Darcy felt a little overcome with emotion which wasn't usual for her. She usually avoided being serious and having heart to heart conversations with people. A lot of people didn't know this about her but her childhood growing up was immensely tough. Her sense of humor had always been a defense mechanism. However, Darcy knew that she needed to have this kind of conversation with Emma. Emma needed to hear this.

"You deserve to be happy, Emma. You deserve that more than anyone." Darcy told her. "Steve would want that." It was then that Darcy saw the crestfallen expression on Emma's face. She suddenly understood Emma a little better. "You feel guilty, don't you?"

"I should be out there looking for him and my father." Emma admitted quietly. "I shouldn't be here falling in love with some boy." Darcy just shook her head at the teenage girl.

"Emma, don't you get it? This is exactly what Steve wanted…it's what he's always wanted." Darcy told her, trying to get Emma to see the bigger picture. "He never wanted you to go looking for him. He just wanted you stay here and have a normal life. This is you living that normal life." Emma didn't answer her but Darcy knew that she understood what she was telling her. Darcy took a deep breath before she told Emma what else she had to say.

"You're going to over to that boy's apartment right now and tell him how you feel." Darcy said in a tone that was more authoritative than it had ever been before. Emma looked up at her in surprise.

"What?" She asked, not sure she had heard the woman right.

"That's right. You heard me." Darcy said stubbornly. "Go over there right now and tell him how you feel." Emma furiously shook her head.

"No, I can't do that." Emma said and Darcy crossed her arms.

"Well, fine then. I guess you're just a coward." Emma immediately glared at the brunette woman, a furious look on her face.

"I am _not_ a coward." Emma snarled but Darcy didn't look frightened.

"Yes, you are. You're supposedly this big, bad assassin yet you can't even tell a boy how you feel about him? It's kind of pathetic, Emma." Darcy told her unblinkingly and Emma realized that she was right. It _was_ kind of pathetic. "No, you go over there right now."

"I can't go over there now. I don't even know what to say…I just need to think about this." Emma said as she started stressing out over the situation and Darcy furiously shook her head.

"No. No more thinking." Darcy told her sternly. "Thinking is what got you into this mess in the first place. Okay? What's your so called thinking actually gotten you? All that it's done is made both you and Peter miserable. No good has come from you thinking about this."

"It's more complicated than that." Emma defended but Darcy just scoffed.

"No, it's not. This is so stupid and it makes absolutely no sense." Darcy told her honestly. "You both love each other but you can't be together? This is bullshit. And then you don't want to be in a relationship with Peter but at the same time you don't want him to be with anyone else? Come on, Emma. Get over yourself."

"What if he doesn't feel the same anymore? What if he hates me? I really hurt him." Emma whispered and Darcy just stared at her in disbelief.

"For someone who claims to hate kids your own age you sure act melodramatic like them." Darcy said before sighing as she continued. "I know it's scary to be vulnerable like that but you'll only be hurting yourself by not saying anything. Not just yourself either but you'll also be hurting Peter."

"I don't know." Emma murmured and Darcy rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how stubborn this girl was. Emma was impossible. Sometimes Darcy thought Steve was some sort of angel for putting up with this girl's shit for so long. Emma had a way of testing a person's patience.

"Emma Margaret Rogers," Darcy suddenly said sternly as she glared at the blonde who only looked at her in surprise. "You're going to tell that boy you love him or I swear to God that I'll tell everyone you know that you fell in love. Tony's going to have a field day with this news." Emma gave her a horrified look.

"You can't do that! No one will ever take me seriously again." Emma told her and Darcy just smirked as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Tough shit because if you don't go over there and tell that boy you love him then everyone will know that the Viper Assassin fell in love. It's kind of funny actually." Darcy taunted and Emma glared at her, clenching her jaw.

"Fine. I'll go to tell him. You're really annoying, you know that?" Emma sneered but Darcy just grinned at her.

"Atta girl! Now go over there and pour your heart out to Romeo." Darcy said teasingly. "And when you come back you two have better already of kissed and made up. I don't want to hear anymore whining about how Peter's hanging out with some other girl." Emma just nodded, pouting before she started walking towards the front door. Darcy decided to call after the teenager one last time.

"Emma?" Darcy said to her and Emma turned back around with a questioning look on her face. "Steve would be proud of you." Emma didn't really say anything as she looked at the brunette woman. She just gave her a small smile before nodding and walking out the door. The sentiment was understood. Now it just seemed like Emma was going to finally tell Peter about how she felt. She didn't think she had been more scared in her life.

* * *

Emma wasn't sure how long she had waited in Peter's bedroom for him to return to the apartment. She assumed that he was probably doing some crime fighting before coming home and tending to his homework. Emma kind of missed when they'd work together as the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. They hadn't teamed up together in over two weeks. Emma had gone out a couple nights a week but it just wasn't the same without Peter. Somehow kicking some local idiot's ass wasn't as fun without Peter watching. She missed hearing Peter practically beg her not to kill the guy. Good times.

Emma didn't like just sitting in Peter's room waiting. Time seemed to go by slow and she was practically having a panic attack. She knew Darcy was right about her telling Peter the truth because it wasn't fair to Peter for her to let him think that she didn't reciprocate his feelings. He deserved to know the truth. Emma was just terrified at the aspect of actually telling him. Mostly because she was afraid that he hated her after what she said to him earlier. Emma always had a way of self sabotage and saying those things to Peter didn't help.

Emma was brought out of her thoughts when Peter's bedroom door opened, revealing the very person she had been hoping and dreading to see. She had kind of been secretly hoping that Peter wouldn't show up so she would at least have an excuse for Darcy about why she hadn't told him. Unfortunately, luck was never truly on her side. Peter walked into his bedroom, seemingly without a care in the world but flinched when he saw Emma sitting there on the edge of the bed. When he realized that it was just her he calmed himself down before glaring at her.

"God, why do you always have to do that?! I could've had a heart attack, you know." Peter told her, momentarily forgetting that he was angry with her. Emma slowly stood up from his bed and Peter was confused by the strange look on her face. It was seldom that Emma displayed any true genuine emotions other than boredom but it was even more rare for her to show such an assortment of emotions on her face. Peter couldn't even distinguish what emotions he was seeing.

"Peter." Emma said softly and Peter narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't care if she was looking at him with those sad blue eyes. He was still mad at her and he wasn't going to fall for it like he normally did.

"What do you want, Emma? In case you haven't noticed I don't really feel like seeing you right now." Peter said bitterly and Emma frowned. She wasn't really surprised at his reaction to seeing her. Emma knew that Peter was really pissed off at her.

"I just want to talk, Peter." Emma told him but Peter just childishly looked away from her.

"I think you said everything you needed to say." Peter remarked and a guilty look came over Emma's face.

"I didn't mean any of it." Emma said and Peter scoffed, shaking his head.

"Well, you never mean it, do you?" Peter threw back at her and Emma flinched.

"I don't know why I said it, Peter. You can ask me why I say or do half the things I do and I won't ever have an answer for you." Emma told him and Peter just stared at her.

"If that's all you have to say then you can just leave." Peter said quietly, not quite looking at her. "I know that you don't feel the same way about me and that's fine but I would've just appreciated it if you would've said something instead of just pretending it never happened. Do you know what that feels like, Emma? For the person you're in love with to not even acknowledge your feelings?"

Emma stared at him sadly because she hadn't realized she had been hurting him this badly for not saying anything. This wasn't what Emma wanted. She'd do anything to wipe that sad look off his face. It's why Emma didn't even hesitate as she stepped forward, resting a hand on the back of his neck and pulling his face down to hers. She gently pressed her lips against his, kissing him without further thought. Peter's eyes had widened from her abrupt action but his eyes soon fluttered shut as he melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Emma instantly and holding her closer to him. It was almost like the dream he had when Emma kissed him. Her lips had felt impossibly soft against his in the dream which was something he probably took from that time she kissed him in the stairwell of the art classroom. Peter had never been able to get that kiss out of his head but there was something about kissing her in person that was just better than some memory. Right now she was real and warm under his touch.

Peter was so wrapped up in the kiss that he almost forgot he was mad at her…almost. He immediately pulled away from her, his eyes wide and his face red from what he and Emma just did. Emma just stared back at him, her face also a bit flushed from kissing Peter. She knew she always favored the kiss they shared all that time ago but she hadn't realized just how much she enjoyed kissing him. Her heart was racing as she remembered what it had felt like just a moment ago when Peter had wrapped his arms around her, pulling her more into the kiss. She snapped out of her dazed state when Peter shook his head at her, a glare on his face.

"What are you doing?!" Peter exclaimed. "You can't do that!" Emma gave him a confused look.

"Do what?" She asked him and Peter just shook his head.

"You can't just kiss me and expect everything to be fixed. It doesn't work like that." Peter told her pointedly.

"I wasn't expecting everything to be fixed." Emma defended weakly, not sure how she could get Peter to see how she truly felt about him. Why was this so hard? Why were the words so hard to get out?

"You did something really terrible today, Emma. You locked Betty in a locker with a bunch of snakes!" Peter told her, clearly pissed off at her. "Who even does that?! You can't just kiss me and expect me to forgot something like that." Emma glared at the teenage boy. She was really tired of hearing about Betty all the time. He was talking about Betty like she was some poor girl that Emma liked to torture. Betty was lucky that being locked in a locker with snakes was all that happened to her.

"You want to know why I locked that little brat inside the locker?" Emma said in a heated voice and Peter just shook his head, still looking to be quite angry with Emma. In all honesty he was really curious to know why Emma would do something like that. He had spent the past few hours trying to decide what would make her do that to Betty. Peter, of course, couldn't figure her out…like always. "Because I didn't want her to be with you."

"What?" Peter questioned, a confused look on his face. He didn't really understand what Emma meant by that. "What do you mean you didn't want her to be with me? Like you were jealous or something?"

"Yes. I was jealous." Emma admitted, staring back at him unblinkingly. Peter just looked at Emma in shock.

"I-I don't understand. It's not even like that with Betty and I." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You're so oblivious, Peter. Do you really think Betty needed help in chemistry?" Emma said and Peter shrugged.

"I don't know…that's what she told me at least." Peter replied weakly and Emma scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous. Betty was all over you. She even confronted me and told me to stay away from you." Emma informed Peter who was surprised by what she was telling him. "Do you really think that if she wasn't attracted to you she'd be making threats?"

"She threatened you?" Peter asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion but Emma didn't seem bothered.

"Yes but that's not why I did it." Emma told him as she locked eyes with him. Ocean blue meeting warm brown. "I did it because I didn't want you to be with her."

"Why would you care?" Peter asked her and Emma wanted to groan. She had hoped that Peter would instantly get what she meant and she wouldn't actually have to say the words. It seemed like Peter wasn't able to read her mind, however.

"Don't make me say it, Peter." Emma said, almost whining, and Peter just gave her a confused look.

"Don't make you say what? Emma, I have no idea what you're talking about." Peter told her, starting to get a little annoyed with her again. "I don't understand you. First you tell me I'm stupid for falling in love with you then you kiss me for no apparent reason and now you're just not making any sense." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fine! You want to know why I care…why I do half the crazy shit I do whenever it comes to you?" Emma questioned before swallowing, taking a deep breath before she answered him. She was giving him the one answer that she had been terrified to give him from the start. Emma was scared but she knew that she needed to tell him…he had to know the truth. He deserved that much.

"I love you, Peter Parker." The room was completely silent after Emma uttered the words. Peter stared at the blonde, his eyes wide with shock. He thought he might've misheard her because there was no way Emma Rogers could love him. There was no way she could actually feel the way about him. Peter, however, soon realized that Emma really had said those words as she continued to stare at him waiting for an answer. Peter shook his head in disbelief.

"No, I don't believe you." Peter told her. "You're just saying that to make me feel better…so that things can go back to the way they were. You don't actually mean it." Emma glared at the stubborn boy, completely frustrated by his denial.

"What's wrong with you?!" Emma argued angrily. "I don't tell you I love you and you're pissed but when I actually do say it you're still pissed. What do you want?"

"I don't want you to lie to me…I don't want you mess around with my feelings anymore." Peter argued back and Emma had enough of all this denial and fighting between them. Emma grabbed his hand abruptly and placed it over her heart. Peter's eyes widened in shock at the sudden action and he failed to understand what Emma was doing.

"This is what you do to me." Emma told him quietly and Peter instantly knew what she meant. He could feel her heart racing under his touch. Peter understood what she meant because his heart often raced whenever he was around Emma as well. He then blushed when he realized that his hand was resting on her breast. Peter immediately pulled his hand away but never once looked away from Emma's face. Could this be true? Could Emma actually love him? Peter couldn't believe it but somehow the way she was staring at him told him everything he needed to know.

"You love me?" Peter asked with a dreamy look on his face and Emma nodded slowly, trying to become accustomed to hearing the words aloud. It was new and different but Emma didn't think that meant it was necessarily a bad thing.

"Yes." She said shortly before Peter reached over and gently cupped her face with his hands as if she were fragile. Emma watched him silently as he caressed a loose strand of her hair and gently moved it out of her face. There was something in the way he touched her that made Emma feel happy and free…that made her feel loved. It was unlike anything she had felt before. Peter then slid his hands from her face and reached down to place her hands in his. He hesitantly looked her in the eyes, a clear question resting there on his face.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked her and Emma felt the need to stop her lies and give him the honest truth.

"I was scared." Emma confessed before continuing. "It was so much easier when I thought you didn't feel the same way but when you told me you loved that night, it just became all too real to me. Peter, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to deal with feelings like this. I'm just sorry that I let you believe that I didn't feel the same way because I did." Peter didn't look upset but actually a little understanding.

"It's okay. I know I haven't exactly made it easy for you either." Peter told her sincerely. "I didn't really think how difficult this could be for you. I'm sorry." Emma shrugged.

"You're not the one who shoved a girl in a locker because you were feeling jealous." Emma retorted. "I should feel bad about that but I don't. Does that scare you?" Peter just stared at her before slowly shaking his head.

"I'm not one to judge, Emma. I get jealous too." Peter admitted and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?" Peter just scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know how many guys look at you?" Peter questioned. "Sometimes they say really disrespectful things about you in the locker room. I can't stand it when they talk about you like that…when they look at you like that." Peter blushed, embarrassed of his own jealousy but Emma just smiled softly at him.

"I'm not interested in those other boys, Peter." She told him sincerely and Peter swallowed as he gazed into her eyes.

"Well, that's…um…good." Peter said nervously. "I'm not interested in any of those girls either."

"Good." The smile on Emma's face then faded as she remembered something. "I am sorry that I said those things earlier. I never meant to hurt you."

"It's okay, Emma." Peter replied before making his own apology. "I'm sorry for ignoring you. That was really stupid and childish." Emma nodded.

"It's fine, Peter...we were both being stupid." Emma told him, a small smile on her face. "Well, I guess everything's okay between us then?" Emma said and Peter nodded before a goofy smile graced his face. Emma was just glad to see Peter smiling at her for once. It warmed her heart to see him smiling at her like that.

"Yes." Peter then paused before he mustered up the courage to ask Emma something he had been wanting to ask her for a while. "Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?"

It was an innocent enough question but Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she backed away from him a little bit, taking her hands out of his. Girlfriend? There it was again…that term she had always found repulsive. Emma had always wrinkled her nose in disgust whenever she watched one of Darcy's stupid movies and the lead character was hellbent on being some guy's girlfriend. She had laughed at those kinds of girls at the time but now it was different. Did she want to be Peter's girlfriend? Emma wasn't sure. She didn't like the idea of being labeled as someone's girlfriend but at the same time she kind of liked the idea of being _Peter's_ girlfriend.

"Girlfriend?" Emma questioned, seeming a bit bewildered by the term. "I don't know, Peter." The teenage boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at the blonde.

"What do you mean you don't know? You love me, don't you?" Peter asked her, worried that maybe Emma was second guessing herself about whether or not she loved him. Emma nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I do love you but why do things have to change?" Emma asked him, honestly wanting to know why things had to be different between them. "Can't we still be friends?"

"But we're in love with each other." Peter said as it were obvious that indicated that they had to now date. Emma blushed at his words. It was still so weird to her to hear that aloud. "We're supposed to date. That's just what people do when they're in love."

"Says who?" Emma questioned. "Can't we just be friends who love each other and kiss on occasion?" Peter shook his head furiously. He really wasn't understanding Emma's logic here.

"No, that's ridiculous. I don't just want to be friends…I want us to be more than that." Peter told her, sounding very sure of himself. The expression on Emma's face softened as she prepared herself to tell him all her fears…why she had been hesitant in telling him that she loved him in the first place.

"I'm not going to be a perfect girlfriend, Peter. I have a ton of baggage and there's so much that's wrong with me." Emma told him truthfully as he listened intently to her. "I'm the definition of high maintenance. I'll never be like Liz or Betty. I'll never gush to my friends about how amazing of a kisser you are and I'm not going to buy you a bottle of cologne. I'm very likely to say something that'll hurt you and I don't want that. I'll be the worst girlfriend that you'll ever have."

"You think I'm an amazing kisser?" Peter said teasingly with a boyish grin on his face. Emma glared at him.

"Is that all you got from that?" She said in an annoyed tone but Peter just shook his head, becoming serious again. His kind brown eyes looked down at her and Emma suddenly felt that feeling of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. He always made her feel that way whenever he looked at her like that.

"Emma, I don't want Liz or Betty. I'm in love with you. Not them." Peter told her sincerely as he moved closer to her. "I don't want a perfect girlfriend…I just want you."

Emma felt a bit dazed as she stared at Peter. She warned him several times about what he was about to sign up for yet he still seemed to want her. Maybe Darcy was right about Steve. This was what Steve wanted for her and for the longest time she had argued with him because it didn't use to be what she wanted. However, now that she was standing there gazing into Peter's warm brown eyes she realized that this was something she wanted. Maybe it wasn't what she wanted then but it was definitely what she wanted now. Of course, Emma hadn't known Peter back then after all.

"Okay, fine." Emma finally relented as she crossed her arms. "I'll be your girlfriend but only on one condition." A happy, bright smile came over Peter's face as he looked positively delighted that Emma was finally agreeing to be his girlfriend. He had always dreamed of this happening but he never thought it actually would. Peter felt like he was floating on cloud nine.

"What condition?" Peter asked, just happy that Emma was being agreeable. The blonde looked at him seriously.

"You can't talk to Betty Brant ever again." Emma told him and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"I don't want you spending time with any girl who's attracted to you." Emma said in a demanding tone and Peter was taken back by the jealousy clearly conveyed on her face. Peter knew he should probably be angry or weirded out by Emma's jealousy but he wasn't. He was actually flattered by Emma's jealousy. "I don't share."

"I don't think you have a lot to worry about, Emma. Girls don't really look at me that way." Peter told her, laughing nervously. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't be naïve, Peter. If I look at you that way then there's plenty of other girls that look at you that way too." Emma told him bluntly which caused Peter to blush.

"You find me attractive?" Peter asked her shyly and Emma scoffed.

"No, I just kissed you because I felt sorry for you. What do you think?" Emma said in her usual sarcastic tone but Peter couldn't stop smiling. Emma found him attractive! _His_ Emma found him attractive. "So do we have a deal?" Peter nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I won't spend time with Betty or any other interested girls. I'm still going to spend time with Michelle, Cindy, and Sally though…they're my friends too." Peter told Emma and the blonde just shrugged.

"I don't care about them. I know for a fact that none of them are attracted to you." Emma told Peter honestly and he just shook his head at her.

"Gee, thanks." Peter said sarcastically before moving on, deciding to try something on Emma. Just to test her boundaries. "If I can't spend time with girls that are attracted to me then you can't spend time with guys that are attracted to you." Peter kind of thought Emma would slap him for trying to tell her what to do. He knew for a fact that Emma didn't like being told what to do despite being quite bossy herself. However, Emma seemed uncaring as she shrugged.

"Whatever. I don't want anything to do with those morons anyways." Emma retorted and Peter was relieved to hear that.

"Wait…what if Betty tries to talk to me? What do I do then?" Peter questioned and Emma gave him a mischievous smile, mischief twinkling in those blue eyes of hers.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her. I don't think Betty's going to be talking to you anytime soon." Emma said, sounding quite smug and proud of herself. Peter gave her a suspicious look but found that he was actually a bit attracted to Emma's dark side. Maybe that was part of the pull to Emma as well. He knew he loved her because of all the good she had inside her but he was also attracted to the darker side of Emma as well.

"Sometimes I love how evil you can be." Peter told her and Emma was almost completely sure that he was flirting with her. Well, this was certainly new. Emma just smiled at him before moving to the other side of his room. Peter gave her a confused look as he saw her going throw his desk drawers. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for this." Emma replied before she found what she was looking for. In Emma's hand was the expensive cologne that Betty had gotten Peter for his birthday. This didn't help ease Peter's confusion. Well, not until Emma walked towards the window of his small bedroom. She subsequently opened the window and without any hesitance chucked the bottle of cologne outside. Peter stared at the blonde in disbelief as she then closed the window back up as if nothing had happened.

"That cologne was expensive. Betty probably paid a lot for it." Peter said, feeling a little guilty but Emma didn't seem to care.

"Screw Betty." Emma said bluntly but Peter wasn't mad at her. This was just Emma being Emma. Peter slowly walked over to Emma, feeling more happy than he had felt in a long time, and Emma just watched him silently. She watched as Peter's eyes practically seemed to be sparkling with happiness and Emma couldn't help but feel quite elated herself with the way things turned out.

"So this means you're my girlfriend?" Peter asked her, his heart pounding against his chest. Emma tried to downplay it but even she had a hint of a smile.

"I guess."

"And I'm your boyfriend?" Peter pressed and Emma just laughed.

"Yes." Peter swallowed as he tried to gather up some courage to ask her something else.

"That kiss from before…was that for a mission like last time?" Peter asked her somewhat shyly and Emma smirked as she slowly shook her head.

"No. That was purely for my own selfish desire." Emma said flirtatiously and Peter blushed.

"Well, do you mind if I kiss you again?" Peter asked her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to ask me. Just kiss me." Peter smiled before he leaned down and kissed Emma gently on the lips. He cradled her face in his hands as he pulled her closer to him. Emma's eyes fluttered shut from the sensation as she melted into the kiss. Emma initially hadn't wanted their relationship to change into a romantic one because of reasons that just seemed stupid now. However, Emma could definitely see now why everyone else always seemed invested in a love life. If this was what being Peter's girlfriend was like then Emma wasn't going to complain.


	59. Chapter Fifty Four

**Author's Note: So I originally planned on updating sooner after the amazing thing that was last chapter but I've had a weird sleeping schedule for the past couple days. I've kind of been living life as a vampire. Anyways, I just want to express how happy I am now that Emma and Peter are finally together. This has been my dream since the moment I started writing this story so I'm just sorry it took this long but I feel like the slow burn was much needed considering who Emma is. Now that Emma and Peter are finally together, things are only going to keep getting better. They still have a lot to talk about and a lot of issues to get through but that will all happen in due time. I also just want to say that I've recently been inspired by watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. I hadn't seen it in so long so don't be surprised if there's a couple references made through out the next few chapters although there isn't any in this chapter.**

 **Avalongirl55: Don't worry. Plenty of more kisses to come. I haven't exactly planned on how Steve and Bucky find out yet but I promise you that it's going to be hilarious and worth your while. Tony's reaction will be pretty priceless too but he's not going to find out for a couple of chapters and you'll find out why that is at the end of this chapter. Literally everyone except for Tony will find out about probably before he does. Lol. Thanks!**

 **Spawn Hades: Yeah, I know it took them forever but to be fair they're both exceptionally stubborn people. Especially Emma. There's definitely going to be some intimacy issues even though Emma and Peter will inevitably become interested in sex. I mean, they are hormonal teenagers after all and Emma also feels everything way more intensely than normal people so that will definitely be a contributing factor. Peter will help her get through her issues along the way so he'll be that kind of support she so desperately needs.**

 **sleepingAsAsheep: I don't know who's more excited me or you that Emma and Peter are finally together. I felt so giddy writing this chapter and last chapter. When I was writing this chapter I literally had the stupidest smile on my face as I wrote each and every moment between them. My dad was asking what the hell I looked so happy about and I gave him the creepiest smile known to man and told him that Emma and Peter were finally together. He just gave me an odd look before continuing to watch his movie because he had no idea what I was talking about. It honestly just felt good to say it aloud. I don't care how crazy I sounded.**

 **ilypopxtart333: Actually one of the readers of this story came up with Spider Viper as Emma and Peter's ship name. I can't remember who so I'm sorry. I feel like I know who it was but I don't want to say because I'm also not sure if I'm right.**

 **amendes2017: Thanks so much! You're too kind.**

 **Doom13: I actually don't think I've heard of that game since I don't play video games(I've tried and failed again because I have no patience) but it's certainly a weird coincidence. Emma's possessiveness will probably be touched upon occasionally in the story. I think it's incredibly funny to write a jealous Emma.**

 **Radioactive88: I was actually going to write last chapter where you could actually see Emma shoving Betty into the locker as well as showing how and where she acquired the snakes but last minute I decided it'd be cooler just to leave it up to the reader's imagination. I wanted to keep the reader guessing whether or not Emma actually did it which you quickly realized she did because she's Emma and why wouldn't she? Another thing about the informant's name. I kind of hinted at him a few chapters ago in the one about Peter's birthday party but if you've seen Daredevil, Luke Cage, Punisher, and etc. you probably know who he is. I'm not sure if I completely want to give it away quite yet but he's an actual character from the Netflix series of Marvel shows. So if you guys want you can picture that guy bending over backwards to get Emma her snakes because I think it would be pretty hilarious for a guy who used to work for Wilson Fisk to spend his time hurriedly gathering a bunch of snakes for a teenage assassin. But everyone's got to make a living. Desperate times call for desperate measures.**

 **HwGenius: Sometimes I wonder whether or not I should've waited that long before I put Peter in the story but I actually don't regret it. I'm glad I did because everyone got to see Emma as her own person instead of just Peter's love interest. Sometimes I wish I made it longer before I included Peter funnily enough. I wish I showed more scenes with Emma and Bucky when they were in Hydra and more scenes between her and Steve. I know there's a lot of grammar mistakes but it's a learning process and I've gotten reasonably better over time. I'm currently trying to go back and edit a lot of it. I sometimes mistakenly miss words when I write because I type too fast and then I miss the words again even when I edit because apparently I'm blind. So I'll probably eventually go back and edit everything but not until I have writer's block or I'm finished with the story. I'm super into updating right now with new chapters.**

 **Reallygonegirl: Yeah, Bucky's definitely going to have an interesting reaction to her and Peter. Probably the most interesting out of all the Avengers. She did feel lonely while her and Peter were separated but she was also consumed a lot by jealousy so that distracted her from her loneliness.**

 **knarl: No, I loved your review. Thanks for noticing that. Emma does the craziest things sometimes but it's not because she doesn't care but because she cares a little too much. I think Peter came to realize that last chapter. Darcy wasn't kidding when she told her that Emma has another side to her that she doesn't really show to anyone except for Peter. Darcy doesn't know the extent of that side herself but she understands that whatever Emma shows to Peter is probably the reason he loves her.**

 **Holly: I apologized last chapter for that. I honestly really meant to update when I said I would but the chapter became longer than I thought. That always seems to happen to me. Whenever I think the chapters are gonna be a short one, it turns out to be extremely long. So sorry.**

 **Unknown: Emma and Peter are going to have some much needed time together for the next couple chapters but another chapter with Emma's parents is probably coming up in three or so chapters but definitely don't quote me on that.**

 **Ya boy da guest: Lol. Glad you love the story.**

 **Guest: Steve will get used to it but Bucky on the other hand...well, I just feel bad for the shit Bucky's gonna put Peter through.**

 **Guest: That's such a nice review! Thank you! Yes, I didn't want Emma to be a Mary-Sue. I mean, I wanted her to be very beautiful in a way but that's only because that's what makes her the perfect assassin. Hydra had high hopes for her to be their very own Black Widow and to use her looks to manipulate people. However, just because she's pretty doesn't mean that I wanted her to somehow come out of Hydra completely fine and be a nice and kind teenage girl. Hydra made her an incredibly bitter person with a cynical outlook on the world and it was important to me for her to be like that but at the same time have character growth within the story. So thanks for taking note of that. I truly appreciate it. Also I honestly don't think I'd write this fanfiction if it was with any other version of Spider-Man but Tom Holland's version. I kind of liked Andrew Garfield's version but not that much and I didn't like Tobey Maguire's version at all because Tobey Maguire creeps me out. Anyways, I just personally think Tom Holland's is the best one because he just made Peter seem more youthful and cute. I actually liked how his version of Spider-Man was immature because it was more realistic that way. Peter is fifteen after all. I'm excited to write the Infinity War storyline into this as well but it's going to be a while. Hopefully when the movie comes out I'll get more of an idea on how to go about that.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for not answering all them because I normally would but I'm just so impatient to put out these new chapters with Emma and Peter so hopefully that will make up for it. Please let me know what you think.**

* * *

Emma didn't really know if she was supposed to feel different now that she and Peter were in a relationship. It was the next day but Emma kind of figured that her world might suddenly start to revolve completely around Peter. That's how it was for Mindy Lahiri in _The Mindy Project_ , a show Darcy made her watch and a show that Emma would never admit to sort of enjoying. Those kinds of women were always a bit boy crazy so Emma became afraid that some kind of magical spell would come over her and she'd suddenly be super obsessed with Peter. However, the truth was that Emma didn't feel much different than she had yesterday. Emma was still in love with Peter but she didn't think she was going to be one of those girls that texted their boyfriends a hundred times a day.

Boyfriend.

Emma was still trying to get used to the new terminology that was being used in this situation. She still couldn't believe she agreed to be someone's girlfriend even if that person was Peter. She supposed Peter was just an exception to the promise she made to herself that she'd never get involved with someone. Emma knew she could've said no to their relationship becoming more than it was but she found that she didn't want that. She even discovered that a part of her might've even liked the idea of Peter being her boyfriend and no one else's. Emma supposed deep down she was a teenage girl after all. I hope you're happy Steve, Emma thought to herself bitterly.

The blonde hadn't seen Peter since she left his apartment the night before. They shared a kiss or two before filling each other in on what they had missed out on in each other's lives while they were separated. Emma hadn't wanted to leave him but she knew that she'd see him at school the next day anyway. She had given him one last kiss goodbye before subsequently leaving his apartment and heading home, a giddy feeling overcoming her as she walked home in silence.

"Well, look at that." Darcy announced smugly as she and Jane walked into the kitchen. "Juliet's eating breakfast." Emma had gotten up early for the school day which may or may not have had something to do with her being more excited to see Peter than usual. Instead of glaring at Darcy like she normally would for that stupid comment, Emma just shrugged.

"I actually resent that comment. Romeo and Juliet is one of my least favorite Shakespeare plays. It's very senseless and just plain stupid. Not to mention completely superficial." Emma remarked as she went back to eating her breakfast. Darcy just exchanged a look with Jane before smirking at the blonde.

"Well, aren't you bright and shining this morning." Darcy said teasingly. "Look, Jane, being in love is a good look on her. She's practically glowing with happiness." This time Emma did glare at Darcy.

"You told her?" Emma asked in annoyance, referring to Jane. "God, can't you ever keep anything to yourself?"

"Nope." Darcy retorted before she sat down at the kitchen table, Jane following suit.

"Emma, it's perfectly fine that you're in love. Everyone falls in love." Jane told Emma in an attempt to put the blonde at ease. "I'm happy that you have a boyfriend. It's totally normal to be dating at your age…I started becoming interested in boys when I was your age too. Of course, my education always took priority but…" Emma then tuned Jane out as she soon became bored with the older woman's consistent rambling. Jane would make a really good college professor someday because she sure knew how to drone on and on. Emma even thought she was more boring to listen to than Mr. Harrington.

"Did you tell her everything?" Emma questioned and Darcy shrugged nonchalantly.

"Pretty much." Emma just shook her head in disbelief but didn't bother responding. Darcy glanced over at Emma curiously, a question in her mind. "You know what I can't get over?" Jane was pouring cereal into a bowl as she gave her friend a questioning look. Emma just continued to eat her own cereal, trying to not to be too annoyed at the brunette. Darcy had helped her a lot through her issues the day before after all.

"What's that?" Jane asked her and Darcy leaned forward, staring at Emma.

"That Miss Cynical and Unpleasant Assassin over here managed to snag herself a boyfriend when I'm super nice and fun to be around and I haven't been laid in like a year." Darcy said bluntly, causing Emma to smirk and Jane to widen her eyes in disbelief. You'd think after being friends with Darcy Lewis that long that she'd be used to the brunette's crudeness but apparently not.

"Darcy! Don't say that in front of Emma." Jane hissed as she glared at her friend. Emma wanted to roll her eyes. It was silly to her that the people who knew her past still thought she was this innocent little girl. Emma was certainly no innocent little girl. The former assassin's smirk widened as she leaned over a bit, ignoring Jane's previous comment.

"Maybe if you didn't run your mouth so much you could actually get a boyfriend." Emma told her snarkily. "It's probably a turn off for them when you ramble on about gender equality and the wage gap. That's actually a good way to make a penis go limp so congrats on figuring that out." Jane just stared at Emma in shock, not believing what had just come out of her mouth. She should really be used to Emma and Darcy's behavior but Emma and Darcy were perhaps the strangest people she had ever met and Jane's boyfriend was the God of Thunder so that was saying a lot. A comment like that would've insulted most people but not Darcy as the older woman leaned back in her seat, scoffing and rolling her eyes at the blonde.

"So now that you've gotten yourself a boyfriend you're suddenly an expert on men?" Darcy questioned sarcastically and Emma glared at her. That woman really liked pushing her buttons sometimes. "What else are you going give me advice on? How _not_ to tell a guy you love him and literally drive him insane? Because if that's your advice than I'm sure I'll be waiting another five years before getting laid." This time Emma didn't bother with a response as she rolled her eyes before getting up from her table to put her empty bowl in the sink.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth." Emma announced as she started to leave the kitchen for upstairs.

"Oh yeah, gotta make sure your breath is nice and minty for your _boyfriend_." Darcy practically sang teasingly. "Better hurry. You've got a full day of playing tonsil tennis with Romeo ahead of you. You wouldn't to miss out on that now, would you?" The only response Darcy got from that comment was Emma flipping her off. Yeah, she definitely pissed her off this time. There wasn't a doubt in Darcy's mind about that.

* * *

Emma had just finished brushing her teeth when she heard the distinct sound of chatter coming from downstairs. She immediately set her toothbrush down to go have a look. The teenage girl stood at the top of the stairs and looked down but was surprised to see who was there. Emma stared down the staircase as she watched Peter happily chatting with Darcy and Jane near the front door. He looked completely ready for school with his backpack and everything but that wasn't what had Emma confused. She was confused because she didn't think he had ever shown up to the townhouse before school before. With a bewildered look on her face, Emma immediately started walking back down the stairs. Darcy and Jane didn't miss the way the teenage boy's whole face lit up the moment he saw her. The look on his face made the two older women swoon at the young couple.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" Emma asked him as she reached the bottom of the stairs before walking over to him. Peter blushed, suddenly feeling a bit nervous to be in the same room as her again. The same room as his girlfriend, he thought to himself.

"Well, I thought I'd walk you to school today. You don't live that far way from me anyways." Peter told her honestly and Emma gave him a slightly odd look but chose not to question him anymore. She had a feeling that she'd probably embarrass him.

"Oh my god. You two are so cute!" Darcy gushed and Jane nodded in agreement. Peter blushed a more vibrant shade of red while Emma just glared at them. Was there ever a moment that those two didn't get on her nerves? She got why Darcy still didn't have a boyfriend but how in the hell did Thor put up with Jane? She'd probably never know.

"Come on, Peter, let's go. I don't think I can stay here any longer without breaking my murder promise." Emma said as she pointedly looked at the two older women. Peter only nodded awkwardly as Emma grabbed her backpack that was resting against the wall in the hallway. She slipped it on with minimal effort and she could feel the eyes of those two nosy women on them. Emma knew she was going to regret telling Darcy how she felt about Peter. She just never thought she'd regret it this soon.

"Have a good day, you two love birds." Darcy called out after them and Emma slammed the door behind them as soon as they stepped outside the townhouse. Peter just looked at Emma who shrugged.

"Sorry about her. She doesn't have a life so she likes poking her nose into mine." Emma said darkly and Peter just smiled.

"I don't mind." Peter told her as they began to walk down the front steps before stepping out onto the sidewalk and beginning their journey to school. They walked in silence only for a moment but Emma knew Peter had something on his mind. He kept looking over at her.

"You look really pretty today." Peter finally said before blushing once more. "Well, you look pretty everyday but I just thought you should know." Emma's heart raced as she tried not to blush. She certainly hadn't expected those exact words to come out of Peter's mouth.

"You don't have to say that just because we're…well, you know." Emma told him honestly but Peter just shook his head.

"I always think you look pretty. I just never said it before because I thought you'd get mad at me." Peter confessed and Emma smiled softly at him.

"Well, I think you look good too, Parker." Emma replied and Peter looked shyly away from her. It was silent for a moment but it was a nice kind of silence. Emma felt at peace just as she normally did with Steve. She supposed that she was just that comfortable around Peter but it struck her as odd that she could feel just as nervous and giddy at the same time. Especially when Peter tried slipping his hand into hers. Emma flinched and immediately jerked her hand away from him, giving the teenage boy a suspicious look.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked him demandingly and Peter gave her a nervous look.

"I was trying to hold your hand." Peter replied and Emma narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Why?" She questioned and Peter shrugged.

"That's what couples do. They hold hands." Peter explained. Emma relaxed a bit when she heard his explanation. Of course couples held hands…she knew that. Emma had seen it before but she had just never experienced it firsthand.

"Oh…" Emma trailed off, unsure of how else to respond to his answer. She wondered if Peter was already having regrets about this relationship. Emma wasn't as versed in what normal couples. Her only experience probably came from watching all those sappy movies that Darcy always made her watch.

"Is it okay with you if we hold hands?" Peter asked her softly and Emma blushed as her heart skipped a beat.

"If you want to." Emma said quietly and Peter grinned at her excitedly, happily slipping his hand into hers. She couldn't help but notice how how warm his hand felt around hers. Emma briefly glanced down at their interlocked hands before looking away.

"So…you told Darcy and Jane about us?" Peter asked Emma shyly and she looked back at him.

"I told Darcy but she has a big mouth so of course she blabbed off to Jane the first chance she got." Emma said bluntly but Peter was used to her bluntness. It was something he loved about Emma. Leave it to Emma to never to sugar coat anything.

"I told May." Peter confessed and Emma gave him a curious look.

"Really?" She questioned and he nodded.

"Yes, the minute she got home from work." Peter said cheerfully. "She wants you to come over for dinner tonight. Well…we're actually going to go out to eat since May's not that great of a cook." Emma wasn't sure why but she suddenly felt a bit terrified when Peter told her that. He really told May? May who was the maternal figure in Peter's life. Emma knew that no maternal figure would be okay with their kid dating someone like her. The fact that May actually knew who she was made her more nervous than anything.

"She didn't seem upset to you?" Emma inquired and Peter gave her an odd look.

"No…she was actually really happy. Why would she be upset?" Peter questioned and Emma shrugged.

"I don't know, Peter. I'm probably not the ideal girlfriend for someone's nephew." Emma told him and Peter frowned.

"Don't talk about yourself like that, Emma. May loves you. She doesn't hold your past against you and she's really excited for dinner tonight." Peter told Emma reassuringly but he was also being honest. May had been incredibly happy that he had a girlfriend and happy that his girlfriend was Emma. Although Peter didn't think May's happiness could top his own. "Besides…I don't think May's the one we should be worried about." Emma gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked him and Peter shrugged.

"I'm just a little worried for when your grandfather comes back." Peter admitted and Emma raised an eyebrow, not really believing what Peter was saying.

"Who? Steve?" Emma asked in disbelief, a little bit amused at the worried look on Peter's face. "You're actually scared of Steve?"

"He's Captain America!" Peter argued, trying to defend his anxiety and Emma just laughed at him. Despite Peter's fears, he was a bit elated to hear Emma's musical laughter. Hearing her laugh was so rare that Peter always felt elated whenever he heard it.

"Steve's the least terrifying person I know. He's about as scary as you are." Emma told him, trying to reassure the teenage boy. "Besides…I think he'd like you."

"What about your father then? He's pretty scary…especially considering the last time I saw him he threw a giant piece of metal debris at me." Peter told her and Emma just smirked at him.

"We both threw that at you. I was the one who suggested it actually." Emma told him and Peter playfully glared at her.

"That's nice to know." Peter said sarcastically before moving on. "He's probably not going to like me."

"Yeah, he probably won't." Emma agreed and Peter's widened his eyes in disbelief.

"What?!" Peter exclaimed and Emma gave him a confused look.

"I said he's probably not going to like you…just like what you just said." Emma repeated and Peter shook his head furiously.

"Yeah but you're not supposed to agree with me. You're supposed to tell me I'm wrong and that he'll like me once he gets to know me." Peter informed her while Emma just have him an amused look.

"I'm just being honest. He probably won't like you but don't get offended. He doesn't like anyone except for Steve and I so it's not personal or anything." Emma said as she tried explaining the complexities of her father. "He doesn't even like Sam and Sam's one of my most likable guys in the world. Even I like Sam."

"But I want him to like me." Peter protested. "That'll probably be hard for him to do if he's choking me with his insanely cool metal hand."

"Why do you seem so scared?" Emma questioned, not understanding Peter's way of thinking. "You're obviously stronger than him. You could probably take him if you had to."

"I don't want to hurt him. You love him so how could I?" Peter said shyly and Emma smiled at him. Peter marveled at the way her blue eyes lit up in happiness, the green in her eyes glimmering under the daylight. She looked so beautiful whenever she smiled like that…whenever she truly looked happy.

"You're really sweet, Peter." Emma told him softly before quickly changing the subject. "Don't worry. If worse comes to worse than I'll protect you from him. The big, bad Winter Soldier won't get his hands on you."

"Thanks for that." Peter muttered sarcastically at Emma's teasing tone but in all honesty he was glad that the usual banter between them hadn't ended with the beginning of this new sort of relationship. While Peter had obviously wanted their relationship to shift into a more romantic one, he still didn't want things to change between them completely. It was then that the young couple finally arrived at the high school.

In all honesty Emma was a bit nervous to walk into that school holding Peter's hand. Not because she was embarrassed of him or anything but because she usually kept to herself and hated drawing attention. She feared that she would be the target of much gossip if people saw her and Peter holding hands. Emma then momentarily glanced at her and Peter's interlocked hands and thought that it might not be a bad thing if people knew that her and Peter were now a couple. It especially wouldn't be a bad thing if girls like Betty learned to stay away from Peter. Maybe this holding hand thing wouldn't be so terrible after all. It let girls know that Peter was hers and hers alone. The more selfish side of Emma liked the fact that she had Peter all to herself.

Peter and Emma didn't speak as they entered the school and walked down the hall. They drew some attention from their unusual closeness. It was no secret that Peter Parker and Emma Lewis were close friends as they seemed to be attached at the hip but they weren't so close that they were ever seen holding hands. Their hand holding was the center of attention for wandering eyes but the young couple wasn't very bothered. Peter was even a bit excited at the fact that people would know Emma was his girlfriend. He was proud even.

Peter wordlessly walked Emma to her locker, closely watching as she dug through the contents of her locker. Emma felt his eyes on her and felt slightly apprehensive over being watched so closely. He was making her nervous in more ways than one. The blonde neatly stacked her books in her arms before closing the locker door and giving Peter a questioning look.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that for?" Emma questioned but the dreamy look on his face was unwavering.

"I just can't believe you're my girlfriend now." Peter told her softly and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes although deep down she felt giddy at the way he kept referring to her as his girlfriend. Sometimes she really hated these teenage girl hormones that always surfaced whenever Peter flashed her an adoring smile. These feelings she had for him literally went against everything she had ever been taught by Hydra. Oh, well. Hydra could go fuck themselves. If Peter smiled at her like that every day Emma would gladly try to forget everything Hydra taught her. Peter's smile and touch was much more worth while.

"Well, I am." Emma said quietly, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole thing…like it was no big deal when in all honesty it kind of was. "And you're my boyfriend, I guess." Peter's smile widened when she said that.

"I just never thought this would happen. It's like a dream." Peter said but frowned when he realized that they would have to leave each other soon. They both had different first period classes after all. "I guess this means we'll have to go our own separate ways." Emma gave her boyfriend an amused look. She thought he was incredibly adorable for being so dramatic.

"You're real cute, Parker." Emma teased. "It's just first period. I'll see you in Spanish." Peter nodded understandingly as he walked her to the door of her English class. Other students walked past them into the classroom, not paying the two any attention.

"Okay, so I'll see you in an hour then." Peter told her, looking very serious much to Emma's further amusement. "I'll be right here waiting for you after class is over."

"Okay." Emma said simply and Peter nodded as if he was trying to prepare himself to say goodbye to her. He wasn't really sure how to part ways with Emma because things were different now. When they were just friends he'd simply tell her bye but she wasn't just his friend anymore. No, she was his girlfriend.

"I love you." He said quickly much to Emma's surprise. Emma didn't think she'd ever get used to hearing those words and especially coming from Peter's mouth. Peter didn't give Emma any time to respond as he leaned down and gently pressed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. He quickly moved back, smiling at her in a way that told her that he understood why she didn't say anything back. Peter knew that it was going to be difficult for Emma to express how she truly felt in public but it was enough for him that he knew that she loved him deep down. She had said what she needed to say the night before.

"Emma, stop sucking face with Peter. Class is about to start." Michelle said loudly, breaking Emma and Peter's intense gazing. Emma turned to look at her friend who was looking between her and Peter curiously. Peter blushed before mumbling goodbye once more to Emma and subsequently heading for his own first period class. Emma watched him leave silently, a small hint of a smile on her face before turning back around. She silently followed Michelle into the classroom.

"So…I see you and Peter made up." Michelle said sarcastically as they both took seats towards the front of the classroom. Emma glared at her. She knew Michelle wasn't going to let her live this one down. Emma knew that if she was in Michelle's position she'd give her friend a hard time about it too.

"I'm not talking about this." Emma snapped and Michelle just shrugged.

"Don't worry. I don't want to hear how good of a kisser Peter is. That's just gross." Michelle replied and the annoyed look fell off Emma's face as a more mischievous look took it's place. Emma's eyes practically sparkled with mischievousness as she smirked at her friend.

"Are you sure? Because you'd be surprised just how skilled Peter is at it for someone that hasn't had much practice." Emma said teasingly and Michelle glared at the smug looking blonde, giving her a disgusted look.

"Don't make me puke." Michelle retorted and Emma just shrugged, still looking very proud of herself.

"You're the one who brought it up." Emma reminded her and Michelle glowered.

"I wish I hadn't."

* * *

"So…this is really happening." Ned said as he looked at Emma and Peter in awe. Emma, Peter, Ned, and Michelle were sitting at their usual lunch table in the lunch room but there was something different this time. It mostly had something to do with the fact that Emma and Peter were sitting closer together than usual. It was no secret that Emma didn't like being touched by others so it was odd that she sat remarkably close to Peter. "You guys are a thing now?"

"Pretty much." Emma answered, looking quite bored with Ned's questioning as she sipped on her Arizona tea. Peter, however, seemed much more happy and ecstatic to answer his best friend's question.

"Yes. We're in love now." Peter told Ned and Michelle excitedly. Ned looked bewildered at the news while Emma blushed at Peter's blunt honesty.

"Ew, Gross." Michelle replied, looking quite disgusted.

"Are you going to tell everyone about that?" Emma asked him in annoyance but Peter wasn't dismayed by her response. That was just how Emma was. He knew she felt the same exact way about him.

"Of course I am. You're my girlfriend." Peter told her as if that explained everything. Emma kind of thought that Peter just liked calling her his girlfriend. He looked at Emma adoringly and Emma couldn't help but look back at him with a similar expression on her face.

"Excuse me while I go puke." Michelle said in a disgusted tone as she looked in between the young couple. Ned, however, seemed happy for the two.

"This is so cool!" Ned exclaimed before speaking in a more hushed tone. "You two realize that you're totally making history, right? You're the first Avengers to actually date." Peter then gave Ned a pointed look as Ned's eyes widened in realization when he remembered that Michelle wasn't privy to Emma and Peter's secret. He fearfully glanced over at Emma who he was sure was finally going to kill him for real this time. He was instead surprised to find that Emma didn't look at all bothered by what he just said and funnily enough neither did Michelle. The two girls actually looked quite bored.

"Is there a reason why you haven't killed me yet?" Ned asked hesitantly but Emma just shrugged.

"Lucky for you, Michelle already knew everything before you two were able to screw everything up by blabbing." Emma told him truthfully. Both Peter and Ned looked at Michelle in surprise.

"You mean you told her?" Peter questioned, surprised by that the fact that Michelle knew about them but also surprised that Emma hadn't managed to bring that up. The fact that Michelle was now aware of them seemed kind of like something she should've brought up after all. Emma scoffed.

"No, I actually didn't. Michelle figured it out all on her own, using detective skills that would make Sherlock jealous." Emma answered him. Peter nodded, trying to take in that information and come to terms with the fact that Michelle knew about him.

"In all honesty I was able to figure out you were Spider-Man long before I figured out Emma was the Viper Assassin." Michelle deadpanned as she munched on a baby carrot. "You're really bad at keeping secrets. You're so obvious." Peter laughed nervously.

"No, I'm not." He protested weakly and Michelle just raised her eyebrows at him.

"So you know everything then?" Ned asked her as he changed the subject from Michelle teasing Peter.

"Pretty much." Michelle replied calmly which was true. Emma and Michelle had a long chat about everything after school a couple days ago. They took a walk around the city as Emma explained the rest of everything to her. She seemed pretty surprised to learn that Emma was directly related to Captain America and even a little in awe of the fact that Emma was also related to Peggy Carter but that was pretty much the extent of everything. Emma only informed her that she was raised in a Hydra base but didn't explain anything beyond that and Emma was grateful Michelle didn't push for information.

In some ways Emma was glad she had a friend like Michelle that didn't push for information but in other ways she was glad she had Peter who actually did push her. He challenged her in ways that were different from anyone she knew and he wasn't so scared of her that he walked on eggshells around her either. She supposed that's what made him like Steve and that's what made Emma fall in love with him in the first place amongst other reasons. Those warm brown eyes and that goofy smile were also among the many reasons she had fallen in love with him.

"Just so you know I'm already the guy in the chair. You can't be the guy in the chair too." Ned informed Michelle who only scoffed.

"Good. I don't want to be the guy in the chair anyways. That sounds lame." Michelle retorted.

"Michelle's just going to back me up whenever you two have a stupid idea." Emma deadpanned and Peter looked at her in disbelief.

"Since when have I ever had a stupid idea?" Peter asked her and Emma just stared at him.

"Um...where do I even begin? Changing into your suit in broad daylight, deciding to trust me, letting us be dragged down a filthy street by a couple of idiots in a van, letting Ned babysit a Chitauri energy core, getting us locked inside a deep security vault, ditching detention, deciding to go after Birdman on your own-" Peter then interrupted Emma after he realized she wasn't going to stop listing off stuff anytime soon.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Peter said as he then gave her a questioning look. "What about you? You were there for all those things too. If you didn't agree with it then why did you go along with all that." Emma just smiled innocently.

"Because it was fun to watch it all go up in flames. It was even a bit exciting." Emma explained calmly and Peter just shook his head at her in amusement. Ned just stared at the blonde in disbelief.

"Peter, I hope you realize that you're dating a prequel version of Catherine Tramell from _Basic Instinct_." Ned said jokingly. "If you see an ice pick under her bed you better run." Emma just rolled her eyes playfully.

"Please…I'd never use an ice pick. I prefer knives much more. An ice pick would take too long to get the job done." Emma retorted and Peter laughed, not taking Emma seriously just like he always didn't even though Ned wasn't sure whether or not he should laugh or be concerned for Peter's life. Michelle only smirked, totally understanding Emma's dark sense of humor. Her own sense of her humor was very similar to Emma's after all.

"I still can't believe I know the first Avenger couple." Ned said as he decided to ignore Emma's creepy joke. Emma scoffed.

"I told you, Ned, we're not Avengers. The day I become an Avenger is the day the world ends." Emma said bluntly. "The Avengers would truly have to be desperate to come to me for help."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Emma." Peter told her as he smiled at her excitedly. "We'll be great Avengers someday. It's gonna be so cool."

"Honestly, I picture you more with Loki than Peter." Michelle told them nonchalantly and Peter gave her an odd look.

"Loki's an intergalactic war criminal. He tried to take over this city, remember?" Peter argued, not liking what Michelle was insinuating. "It doesn't matter anyways. Everyone knows that Loki's dead."

"I don't know about that, Peter." Emma said as she smirked. "I wouldn't put it past Loki to fake his own death and make his brother think he died a hero. In fact I'm kind of hoping he did because I'd love to see the look on Thor's face if he found that out."

"You have a weird fascination with Loki." Peter assessed as he gave her a suspicious look. "I don't think I like it."

"Well, he's a very fascinating person." Emma told him. Peter then made a promise to himself that if Loki ever did happen to be alive, and showed up anywhere near Emma, that he would keep them far apart for the sake of humanity as well as his own sanity. Peter didn't know if he could compete with a God and one that Emma happened to be slightly fascinated by. Emma continued her bickering with Peter as she glared at him playfully. "Besides…you have a weird fascination with the witch but you don't see me complaining about it. I really don't get why you're so fascinated with her. She's literally the worst person you'll ever meet…not to mention very boring."

In all honesty Emma had been annoyed with Peter's interest in the witch in the past but she never made any sort of remark about it. Maybe it was because she was letting the whole mind violation thing go after everything that happened between her and Tony. Emma was slowly learning to forgive and forget. She knew that Wanda was only trying to avenge her dead parents at the time and Emma just got in the way. Wanda never used that information against her and never even told Steve even though she should've. It was clear to Emma that Wanda never had ill intentions and she was even sorry for what had happened. Maybe when she saw her again Emma would let the past stay in the past.

"She can shoot cool red energy blasts out of her hand, lift cars with her mind, and read other people's minds. I think that warrants some interest." Peter rambled on and Emma smiled somewhat sadly. In all honesty Emma had secretly been afraid of Wanda despite her anger at the woman. After what Wanda made her see she was terrified that Wanda could somehow make her relive that time with Rumlow over and over again for eternity. She supposed Wanda could if she really wanted but deep down Emma knew she wouldn't. Wanda was actually quite kind and never grew frustrated with Emma's resentment towards her. Still…Emma couldn't help but now sympathize with Wanda after hearing what they did to her in Raft Prison. She didn't deserve that.

"Can we just talk about whether or not this is going to be weird?" Michelle asked as she interrupted Peter's musings about the Scarlet Witch. Both Emma and Peter turned to look at the frizzy haired girl.

"What do you mean weird?" Peter asked her and Michelle sighed.

"What I mean is are Ned and I going to become third and fourth wheels while you two stare at each with those stupid love struck looks on your faces?" Michelle questioned, causing Peter to blush but for Emma to just look unbothered. "Also, are you two going to be making out all the time? Because I don't think my stomach could handle that amount of nastiness."

"Don't worry, MJ, I'm not a fan of PDA. I'm like Steve in that way." Emma told her before becoming more serious. "Nothing will be too different. We'll still be like friends who just do all the mushy stuff that Parker's interested in doing." Peter glared at the blonde.

"Except we're not like friends and we're actually in a very committed relationship." Peter argued and Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Whatever. My point is that we're not going to be quoting Jane Austen lines to each other and frenching all day." Emma said crudely and Peter covered his face with his hands out of sheer embarrassment. He didn't know why Emma talked like that sometimes especially to their friends. She certainly had a way with words. Michelle appeared unaffected by Emma's words and Ned just cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, okay then…" He trailed off before managing to smile at them. "I'm so happy for you guys. This is seriously the coolest thing ever. Even more cool than that time I shot that one bad guy with the webbing in the school parking lot."

"Thanks, Ned." Peter said as he smiled back at his best friend. It seemed like this went better than Peter originally thought. Well…that was until Ned started his persistent questioning like he always did in these kinds of circumstances.

"Oh my god. Now that you two are together can we just talk about how cool it would be if you guys got married because Captain America could be Peter's grandpa too if that happened." Ned started rambling, his face lit up in excitement but Peter just wanted to crawl into a hole in die. Why were people so happy to embarrass him today?

"Wait…if you two had kids they'd probably be stronger than the both of you combined."

"They'd have Peter's strength but Emma's flying abilities and scientifically inclined like Peter but also with Emma's good looks."

"I hope they're pretty like Emma and not you, Peter…Wait, this just came to me. What if Thor has kids and one of your kids married Thor's kid?"

"No, I have a better idea. Since Thor's practically immortal he could probably marry your daughter if you had one and then your daughter could become a queen and then _their_ kids would be Asgardian so you two would be grandparents to a half alien and half human baby."

"On the other hand, if Loki's really alive and marries one of your kids do you think if they had children that the kids would have frost giant powers mixed with the powers they would've inherited from you? Maybe they'd just have frost giant powers instead which is still pretty cool."

At this point Emma was beyond annoyed with the teenager while Peter pressed his face against Emma's shoulder as if he was trying to hide from the embarrassment. Michelle looked amused while Emma was just trying to decide if today was going to be the day she broke her murder promise.

"I swear to God, Leeds, if you talk about Peter and I's fictitious children fucking Thor and Loki one more time I'm going to take this lunch tray and murder you with it." Ned paled as he saw her fingers caress the lunch tray as well as the dangerous look in her eyes. He wouldn't put it past her to actually do it. He then apologized because by the glare on Peter's face he didn't think Peter would stop her. Nope, he definitely went too far this time. His questions about Emma and Peter's children would just have to wait for another day when Emma was feeling less homicidal. Which would be never.

* * *

"So…Emma. You getting along with Tony better? Peter told me that you two had a few rows not so long ago." May said as they ate dinner at a Thai restaurant not too far from Peter and May's apartment. Emma and Peter had finished their Spider Viper duties a bit earlier after rekindling their notorious superhero partnership again. However, the two had joined May for dinner at her and Peter's favorite restaurant. Thai food was still really new to Emma. She, of course, had only tried it once before when she was on a mission in Thailand with her father. Emma shrugged at May's question.

"Yeah, we're sort of getting along now. I hated him and pondered killing him for a short period of time but then again I never really cared for the moron much to begin with." Emma said with her usual dry sense of humor. May just smiled in amusement at the blonde's sense of humor. It was the kind of humor that May favored. "I guess we're okay now. I still don't really like him or anything but I don't want to kill him anymore so there's that."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Although sometimes I wonder about killing that man myself." May retorted and Emma smiled at Peter's aunt. Peter was just happy that the two women in his life were seemingly getting along. He knew May adored Emma but he wasn't sure how Emma would react to having dinner with them. "He's very insufferable, isn't he?"

"There's no man more insufferable than Tony Stark." Emma agreed and May laughed before becoming more serious although there was still a hint of a smile on her face.

"I have to admit I was a little surprised when I came home yesterday and Peter told me what happened but I'm happy…for the both of you. I'm happy that my handsome little man finally got himself a girlfriend." May then playfully ruffled Peter's hair which caused the teenage boy to blush in embarrassment. Emma just smiled in amusement at the two.

"May! Don't embarrass me in front of my girlfriend." Peter complained and Emma was sure now. She was sure that Peter just loved referring to her as his girlfriend. That was literally the thirtieth time he had called her his girlfriend that day.

"He is very handsome, isn't he?" Emma said with a small hint of a smile on her face as she gazed at Peter. Peter wasn't sure if she was messing with him or not. She had a teasing smile on her face but there was a certain glimmer in her blue eyes that told him otherwise.

"Okay, you two. Cool it." May told them although her brown eyes were sparkling in amusement. Peter looked away from Emma, nervously looking down at his hands. May couldn't help but marvel at the young couple. There was something that was so sweet and heart warming about teenagers that were young and in love. May couldn't describe it. May then focused her gaze back on Emma, trying to appear stern yet somewhat friendly with her."So you do know that if you ever hurt my nephew I'll have to hurt you, Emma."

Emma looked back at her not feeling threatened in the least but somehow still understanding. She understood what it was like to feel protective over someone. Emma kind of felt that way over Steve and she knew, even as much as she loved Susan, that she would end the sweet natured dark haired woman's life if Susan ever broke Steve's heart. Emma was just glad that someone loved Peter that much. It appeared to her that May was more of a mother to Peter than an aunt. Emma felt that way about her father. He was always more of a father to Emma than a trainer or predecessor.

"May!" Peter exclaimed in disbelief. "Don't say that to Emma." Emma just smiled at Peter before glancing back at his aunt.

"It's fine, Peter. I get it." Emma told him before focusing her attention on May. "I understand, May. Don't worry, I don't plan on hurting him."

"Good." May said, grinning at the blonde. "Because Viper Assassin or not I will find a way to hurt you right back."

"I don't doubt it, May." Emma replied, smiling.

"Glad we've gotten that cleared up. Now tell me more about what you two are planning for that school trip to London." May said as the conversation then shifted into a new direction. Peter took the lead over the discussion as Emma just happily watched him excitedly talk about all the things they were going to do in London. For some reason it made her beyond happy that he didn't talk about all the things _he_ was going to do. No, he just told May all the things _they_ were going to do. It made Emma immensely happy to feel so included.

* * *

Peter walked Emma back to her townhouse after dinner just as any gentlemen would but it wasn't unusual. After they did they rounds in Queens Peter always walked her home but they both knew it was more for company than it was for protection. Emma wondered if Steve ever walked her grandmother home like Peter was walking her home. Maybe not since they were always on the front lines back then but Emma liked to imagine a world in which her grandparents were free from war. A world in which her grandfather would walk her grandmother home and tell her that he loved her before kissing her goodnight. It was a happy thought.

"So that was a nice dinner." Peter said, breaking their comfortable silence. Emma looked up at him and smiled softly, the green in her blue eyes practically glittering under the street lights.

"Yes, it was." Emma responded quietly.

"I told you she'd love you." Peter reminded her and she nodded. A happier look then came over Peter's face as he gazed at the beautiful blonde. "I'm taking you out on a date tomorrow." He announced abruptly causing Emma to stare at him in surprise. Did he say what she just thought he said?

"A date?" Emma asked in disbelief and Peter nodded confidently.

"Yeah, you know…a date. A romantic outing between two couples." Peter elaborated teasingly and Emma just shook her head.

"You don't need to do that, Peter." Emma told him and he gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean I don't need to do that? I'm your boyfriend so of course I'm going to take you out on a date." Peter said and Emma suddenly felt her heart race. This whole being in a relationship thing was new to her so she was still trying to become accustomed to even the littlest things he said. Like asking her out and calling himself her boyfriend.

"Technically we've already been out on dates. A lot of dates actually." Emma replied and Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Emma just shrugged.

"When we go on missions…those are kind of like dates." Emma replied nonchalantly and Peter scoffed, giving her a look of disbelief.

"You mean when we're working? No, no…that's not a date, Emma." Peter told her and Emma just smiled at him teasingly.

"I don't know, Peter. There's something incredibly romantic about beating the shit out of a bunch of assholes. To me that's better than a bouquet of flowers." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head.

"No, those were not dates." Peter said pointedly before moving on. "We're going to go on a _real_ date, a romantic one, like a normal couple. A date that doesn't involve beating up bad guys." Emma sighed even though she secretly like this idea of a romantic date. It was something new and exciting to her.

"Fine. I guess I'll let you take me out on a boring, lame date." Emma said casually but Peter knew that was just Emma's way of saying she'd be happy to go on a date with him. Peter knew Emma well enough to know that if Emma didn't want to go on a date with him then she wouldn't. Emma wouldn't agree to go out with him just out of the kindness of her heart. No, this meant that Emma _did_ want to go out with him. Peter gave her that goofy smile that always seemed to make Emma's heart skip a beat.

"Okay so tomorrow night then?" Peter said, confirming their date. A frown came over Emma's face as she remembered something.

"Wait…tomorrow." She said slowly before locking eyes with Peter. "Tomorrow's Friday. We head up to the compound after school on Fridays." Peter just nodded.

"I know but I was thinking we could just tell Happy to pick us up after the date. I'm sure no one will miss us too much." Peter told her and Emma had to agree with that plan. Spending a Friday evening alone with Peter without the others didn't sound terrible at all to her. No, it actually sounded quite nice.

"Okay, it sounds like a plan." Emma said, being agreeable for once and Peter was just glad that she said yes. He knew they were technically dating now but a part of him still feared that she'd say no. He could now see that he was just being silly. A thought crossed Emma's mind as she nervously bit her lip. Peter looked at her in concern since it wasn't often that Emma was nervous.

"What's the matter?" Peter asked her and Emma looked back up at him, a worried look in those blue eyes of hers.

"I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind holding off on telling everyone at the compound about us." Emma suggested and Peter gave her a confused look.

"Why?" Peter asked her. "We've already told everyone else." Emma sighed.

"Okay by everyone at the compound I mainly mean Tony." Emma finally admitted and now Peter understood what she was trying to tell him more than he had before. "It's not that I'm embarrassed or anything because I'm definitely not. Believe me, when I say that I'm not. However, I'd just like us to have some time alone together before the whole world finds out. Do you understand?" Peter gave her a small smile as he nodded his head.

"Completely. I'd like us to have time alone together too." Peter told her, warmed by the idea that Emma could be really romantic and sweet when she wanted to be. He knew she wasn't trying to be which made all the more difference to Peter. She really was perfect to him in every way and just by being herself...by being Emma Rogers. Emma returned his smile, happy that he wasn't offended by her request.

"That and I'm afraid that Tony might ruin everything by being his annoying self." Emma added jokingly but at the same time she didn't think she was joking either. Leave it to Tony to ruin all the romance in a new relationship without even being directly involved in that relationship. "I have the strongest feeling that he's going to try and take credit for all of this." Peter shrugged.

"Well, he technically did have some involvement in us getting together." Peter informed her. "If he hadn't recruited me than we probably wouldn't have ever met." Emma smirked at him.

"Oh, are you referring to the first time we met when I kicked your ass all over that airport." Emma teased and Peter glared at her playfully.

"Hey, I apprehended you. Remember?" Peter retorted but it was clear that the two were just resuming their usual bickering as they always did. In all honesty their bickering was really just their form of flirting. "You were stuck to the side of the plane with _my_ webbing."

"Please, Parker, I wanted to get caught. If I wanted to get out of that webbing I would've done it." Emma threw back at him but Peter just smirked at her.

"Really? Because you looked pretty hellbent on getting out of that webbing and boy did you struggle." Peter told her and instead of glaring at him like Peter thought she would, the blonde surprise him by smiling at him and moving closer. His smugness faded away the moment she took a step closer to him. She had a certain mischievous look in her eyes that made Peter nervous. Emma was definitely up to something.

"I suppose I was just a snake caught in a spider's web." Emma said in a flirtatious tone and Peter swallowed nervously. "I guess some things never change."

Peter felt his heart beat at an incredibly rapid pace and his breathing hitched as Emma leaned in, pressing her lips against the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes at the sensation as Emma brushed her lips against his, so close but at the same time not quite kissing him. Peter felt himself shiver at the incredible close distance between the two of them. He felt his mouth water a bit at the intoxicating nature of Emma's close proximity as well as the scent of her strawberry and coconut scented shampoo. Peter cupped her face with his hand as he rested his other hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him. Emma's eyelids fluttered shut as Peter closed the distance between them by pressing his lips against hers. She felt the sensation of a bunch of butterflies fluttering around her stomach as she placed her hands against his chest.

The kiss was a closed mouth one at first as it normally was between them whenever they kissed. Each kiss never lasting more than a few seconds but this kiss was a bit longer. Emma suddenly desired more than just his lips on hers as she decided to try something different. She experimentally ran the tip of her tongue against the center of Peter's slightly parted lips. Emma was delighted to find that his lips tasted a bit like the Jasmine rice they had previously eaten at the Thai place. In other words he tasted incredibly sweet. Peter felt his heart race at the intoxicating feeling of Emma's tongue and even fought the urge to gasp. He quickly struggled to recover before he pulled her closer to him and decided to mimic her move. Emma felt quite flushed as she felt Peter's tongue experimentally move against the center of her own parted lips. The sensation was more than what she could describe but before she could make another quick response, their short kissing session was interrupted.

"Get a room!" Some guy on a bike yelled at the teenagers in disgust as he rode past them. Emma and Peter immediately jumped away from each other, completely surprised by the loud interruption. Peter immediately glared at the man for interrupting his kiss with Emma. They had been so wrapped up in each other that for a moment it was like there was no one else in the world but them. Peter felt like the kiss ended way too soon for his liking.

"Get a life!" Peter yelled back to which the bike rider gave him the response of flipping them both off. Emma laughed at the way Peter's nose scrunched up in anger as he glared at the man. His angry look then faded as he looked back at her with a more sheepish expression on his face.

"What?" He questioned and Emma just shook her head at him as she smiled, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"You're adorable." Emma told him as she placed a chaste kiss against the tip of his nose. Peter blushed while trying and miserably failing to look annoyed at her declaration.

"I'm not adorable. That kiss was not an adorable guy kiss." He argued and Emma just shrugged.

"Well, you have me there." Emma said sincerely as she smiled at him. "That was a pretty hot kiss as far as kisses go although to be fair that was only the seventh time we kissed."

"The eighth time actually…we kissed this morning before first period, remember?" Peter corrected before a shy look came over his face. "Do you think we can kiss like that again soon?" Emma smirked at him.

"That depends…" She trailed off.

"Depends on what?" He asked in confusion and Emma locked eyes with his.

"If you're a nice boyfriend." Emma told him, her tone teasing yet flirtatious. Peter grinned at her, delighted to hear her refer to him as her boyfriend. He then placed her hand in his, their fingers interlacing as they began walking again in the direction of her house.

"I'll be a _really_ nice boyfriend then. The nicest one you'll ever have." Peter flirted back and Emma was thrilled to see a more flirtatious side of Peter. He was usually so shy and bashful that it deeply interested her in seeing a more confident and flirty side of him.

"Good to know." Emma said, sounding satisfied as they continued to walk off into the night. The both of them, unbeknownst to the other, were currently replaying the kiss over and over again in their head. Emma already knew that kiss was going to be the last thing she thought of before she fell asleep tonight and little did she know that Peter was having the same exact thought. Emma had only been dating Peter for a day but she already knew she wasn't going to regret this change in their relationship. No, Emma had a feeling she was going to enjoy this a lot. More than a lot.


	60. Chapter Fifty Five

**Author's Note: I just want to say that fanfiction was acting really weird for the past couple days. It would tell me that I was getting reviews but it wouldn't show me the new reviews I was apparently getting. I had to go on my email to look at them which I don't typically do but my email was really lagging. Luckily, fanfiction fixed the issue because several hours ago all the reviews starting popping up on the review page so yay! Yeah, it was kind of weird though.**

 **Also I just want to warn you guys because the chapter with Emma and Peter(the non parent chapters) are going to be super fluffy for a while. I think it's well deserved fluff. They definitely deserve this much fluff after such a long slow burn. I'm always so excited to write these chapters now because they're finally together. I was afraid it would get kind of boring for me to write now that they're together but it's not. It's really fun. There will also be some cheesiness here and there but Emma and Peter are teenagers so of course it's going to be cheesy. They're each other's first love and only love because come on. We all know Emma and Peter are going to be together forever. I'm not one of those writers that will completely make everyone hate me by making them break up with each other at the end of the story and end up with someone else. Peter's not going to end up with Liz, Betty, Michelle, Gwen, or Mary Jane(For such a cute nerd Peter really got around in the comic books) and Emma's not going to end up with Loki...because Loki is the only potential love interest Emma would have in another world that's not this one unlike Peter. Sorry that was a lot of rambling but I really needed to defend the amount of fluff that's coming up.**

 **I just want to express my excitement for Black Panther. I'm so excited for that movie! I'm hoping it answers some questions about Bucky. It might make my fanfiction more AU since I don't think any of the Avengers actually stayed in Wakanda but whatever. I'm fine with it.**

 **nvnightrider9: I can honestly say that Peter being suffocating isn't going to be a wrench in their relationship. I never intended for any of you to think that. Peter's a sixteen year old who's completely happy that the girl he's in love with loves him back so he's just really excited right now. Eventually he'll calm down a bit. Emma doesn't really feel suffocated either. She pretends that he's annoying but she actually likes how cheesy he can be although she'll never admit it. They are going to have some issues they're going to have to work through but this isn't one of them. The others will return soonish...I'm not totally sure when but I just want Emma and Peter to have some time together as a couple before they have to go down the road of overprotective family members and a slightly homicidal Bucky who may or may not try to kill Peter. lol.**

 **Sherlockreader: I love writing Emma and Peter's new relationship because they really are the cutest couple ever. I really wish Emma was real even if that meant I wasn't the one who created her. It would be worth it to know in some movie universe she and Peter ended up together. She's perfect for Peter in my opinion. My vampirism is going pretty well. It's almost five in the morning right now and I haven't slept since five in the afternoon yesterday.**

 **Imsebastianstanbutter: I like how strange Emma and Peter are now that they're together. It's totally new territory for them but they're like in the honeymoon period right now. It is weird to write them actually together now since it took over five hundred thousand words before they got together so it's a little weird for me too but a good weird.**

 **TooLazyToLogin: You're so nice! Thanks and I'm so glad you love the story. Love your name by the way. Genius name, I have to say.**

 **Radioactive88: I really want Emma and Loki to meet so bad. They'd be the best of friends. Yeah, Tony's definitely going to be conflicted. That's for sure.**

 **Mcduffie145: There will probably be two or three chapters before Emma's parents come back. It's tough to say.**

 **avatarroku: Yeah, it was never going to be that simple for them just to completely change into a perfect couple. They were strictly friends and partners for so long that Emma's kind of unsure of how to approach this new relationship although she's trying her hardest. She really dislikes change but she'll accept change for Peter.**

 **I just want to say that don't I own any rights to _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. Both the novel and the movie. I just happen to love Audrey Hepburn so I used the movie in the chapter. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and please let me know what you think think.**

* * *

Emma examined herself in the mirror in her bedroom, feeling a hundred different emotions but mostly just feeling nervous. Friday night was here but it wasn't just any Friday night…no, it was the night of Emma and Peter's first official date. Emma would've been happy going on another mission with Peter which would've been just as fun to her. She didn't get why they had to go out and do mushy things like Tony and Pepper. Emma hoped Peter didn't think she was the kind of girl that giggled at every joke he told or swooned over him. She also hoped Peter didn't show up to the house with a bouquet of flowers because if he did then she was going to slam the door in his face. Emma would make the compromise of going out with him on a date and she'd even hold hands with him but flowers is where she drew the line. Kissing Peter wasn't really a compromise for her since she actually really enjoyed that. She enjoyed that more than she'd ever admit.

"Aw…Em. Look at you, all dressed up and pretty for your boyfriend." Darcy teased and Emma turned to look at the brunette. Emma wanted to roll her eyes at the sight of Darcy who was holding up her Stark tablet, obviously filming this like she always did. Great…just what Steve needed to see. Emma heading out on a date. A part of Emma never wanted to tell Steve about her dating Peter because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Emma had told him once that she'd never date or fall in love and look where she was now. However, she knew he'd be happy for her. It's not like she'd really be able to hide it from him when he came back anyways. Especially if Darcy was filming everything.

"Leave me alone." Emma grumbled and Darcy just smirked.

"In case you weren't aware, Steve, Emma's finally gotten herself a boyfriend." Darcy said, talking to the tablet. "Believe it or not she finally confessed her undying love to Peter and it turns out he feels the same. They're dating for real this time and it seriously took them long enough."

"He's taking Emma out on their first date tonight so you know it's going to be really cute. That's why Emma's all dressed up." Darcy said before continuing to ramble and Emma tried not to be annoyed at the woman. She was about to go out with Peter and she didn't want Darcy to put her in a less than pleasant mood. "I just realized that this is going to be the first time you'll be seeing what Peter looks like. Well, you technically met him at the airport but I swear you'll like him way more this time. He's a cute kid…sort of dorky but in a hot way. Like he's super nerdy but really hot at the same time. Kind of like Bruce."

"Can you please refrain from telling my grandfather how hot my boyfriend is?" Emma deadpanned as she fought the urge to glare at the brunette. "It's also kind of creepy that a grown woman's talking about how hot a teenage boy is." Darcy just smirked at her.

"Relax, Emma. I'll keep my hands to myself." Darcy teased. "There's no need to lock me inside a locker with a bunch of snakes. Peter's safe from me. I'll just let Steve ask you about that one on his own. Trust me, Steve, it's a super funny story." Emma rolled her eyes before turning back to the mirror to apply some mascara to her eyelashes.

"You're hilarious, Darcy." Emma said sarcastically but Darcy ignored her.

"I'm just going to pan the camera down a bit so you can see Emma's outfit. I just can't believe she's going on her first date. Your little girl's growing up so fast, Steve." Darcy said as she then panned the camera up and down, showing off Emma's outfit.

Emma was wearing a red dress that had an a-line silhouette, the skirt falling a bit above her knees. Heart dotted sheer fabric extended from the cap sleeves to the sweetheart neckline of the dress, making it more modest than it would've been otherwise. A part of Emma felt self-conscious about her chest as she looked at the neckline, wondering if she should've not have worn the push-up bra Darcy had gotten her. When Darcy took Emma back to school shopping all those months ago she insisted they also go bra shopping as well and added to her collection of bras. Emma knew she wasn't as gifted in the chest area as someone like Darcy but it wasn't like she was completely flat chested either. Her boobs were noticeable, she thought, unlike all those years ago when there was barely anything there at all.

The push-up bra had remained at the bottom of her drawer for the longest time because why should she care whether or not her boobs were small or big? However, now that she was dating Peter she started wondering if maybe he cared about those things. Did he want a girlfriend with big boobs? Did he even care? Emma supposed that he might've cared because even though he was Peter, he was still a guy. Men cared about boobs, right? She spent a lot of time around men and especially with living in the tower and the compound so she sort of knew the way men thought.

Emma heard Tony make one or two passing comments to Bruce about Natasha's cleavage and she noticed Steve staring at Susan's chest when she wore that red dress at that party they went to before Ultron happened. Although Steve, being the bashful gentlemen he was, quickly averted his eyes.

Still…Emma figured that guys liked boobs and Emma didn't really have a lot of cleavage to show off. Emma didn't use to concern herself with that but now that she had a boyfriend, Peter specifically, she was starting to second guess herself a little. The push-up bra might've been a mistake because wasn't that like false advertising? Emma started worrying if Peter would notice that something looked different about her boobs tonight. What if he started thinking she had big boobs and then come to find out that she didn't at all and she had been lying to him the entire time?

God…What was wrong with her? Emma couldn't believe she just had a panic attack about her boobs. Who did that? Well, maybe normal teenage girls did but Emma always hated those kinds of girls. The kinds of girls who whined and complained about their boobs and how ugly they thought they were. Like, who gave a fuck? Well, apparently Emma did because she spent the entire past two minutes worrying about what Peter would think of her false advertising bra.

She was just lucky that she was smart enough to wear flats this time instead of heels. Imagine how awkward it would be if she were to kiss Peter and have to stoop down to do so. They were the same height, after all, so it would probably be weird. Her flats were a matching red color with a velvet fabric that Emma actually liked. Emma decided just to leave her hair down as she normally did. Her make-up was minimal with just some winged eyeliner and mascara as well as her favorite red lipstick. She favored the red lipstick because it reminded her of the cool lipstick her grandmother wore in all those old pictures she saw of her. The outfit was completed with a black velvet clutch purse that a had a gold chain for a strap. It was the perfect size for her phone, wallet, and not to mention her Peggy Carter approved lipstick.

"Doesn't she look beautiful, Steve?" Darcy said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. The blonde glared at Darcy before walking past her and out of her bedroom. She was starting to find Darcy's devotion to documenting each and every event in her life to be getting old really fast. She just hoped her father would never see these videos. Steve was one thing but there was no telling how her father was going to react to her and Peter. Emma didn't really want to think about a scenario in which her father and Peter ended up in the same room. She walked down the stairs and proceeded to try and push those thoughts out of her mind.

"What time is your boyfriend going to get here, Em?" Darcy asked, practically singing the word 'boyfriend'. Emma reached the living room and sat on the edge of the couch, trying to not be too nervous. _It's just Peter_ , she told herself. Right? There wasn't any real reason to be nervous. So why did she feel so overcome with nerves all of a sudden?

"Seven." Emma answered shortly. It was 6:55 so he should be there soon and Emma hoped he arrived on time because the anticipation was killing her.

"Let's see if Peter passes the tardy or not tardy test. We all know how you detest tardiness, Steve." Darcy said to the tablet and this time Emma was too preoccupied with her nerves to roll her eyes in response. It almost seemed like Peter must've heard her because it was exactly then that they both heard a knock at the door. A mischievous smile came over Darcy's face as she looked at Emma.

"Looks like this is a boy you'll approve of, Steve. He's four minutes early." Darcy said excitedly before she went over to answer the door. Emma stood up from the couch, trying to mentally prepare herself for the date although she wasn't sure how much someone could prepare themselves for a date. She heard the brunette open the door and greet Peter before letting him inside the townhouse. Emma felt her breathing hitch as he came into sight.

"You look like Ryan Gosling in _La La Land_!" Darcy exclaimed as she looked at Peter. "You're all dressed up." Emma supposed that Darcy was right. Peter looked very dapper in his outfit which consisted of a white dress shirt, a tie, tan blazer, black pants, and dressy shoes. He looked more dressed up than what Emma would've expected a teenage boy to dress up like on a first date but Peter was never an ordinary teenage boy, after all. His hair was neater than usual and she noticed how his hands were almost shaking as he held onto what looked to be a weird assortment of…bookmarks? Emma wasn't sure but she did know that he looked incredibly handsome tonight dressed up like Gene Kelly or Cary Grant in one of her favorite movies. He never looked better to her than he did in that moment.

Peter swallowed nervously as he looked over at Emma, carefully taking note of the beautiful red dress she was wearing. Something about the way the red dress matched her red lipstick seemed to send Peter over the edge as he felt giddier than he had ever felt before. The whole way to Emma's house he had chanted all the advice May had given him in his head. Tell her she looks beautiful, hold the door open for her, pull her chair out for her, ask her about her likes and dislikes, and make sure she's having a good time. However, now that Peter was standing in front of Emma who looked almost surreal in that beautiful red dress, he realized that he didn't have to remember any of those things. He certainly didn't have to remember to tell her she looked beautiful…that much was obvious to him.

"You look beautiful." Peter said breathlessly as he stared at her. Emma blushed from under his gaze because no one had ever quite looked at her the way Peter was looking at her right now.

"Thanks. You look great too." Emma murmured, almost shyly as she looked back at him. Darcy squealed in excitement, making Emma painfully aware of her presence. She had almost forgotten that Darcy was also there.

"You guys are so adorable! Steve, don't you think it's cute how they dressed up for their date?" Darcy asked the tablet while Peter just looked confused, not understanding who Darcy was talking to. "I, for one, think it's awesome that you two dressed up for your date. No one dresses up anymore. I once went out on a date with a guy who wore sweat pants. Sweat pants!"

"What's going on?" Peter asked in confusion and Emma just smiled before shaking her head.

"Darcy's been documenting everything that happens in my life so Steve won't miss out on anything." Emma informed him and Darcy smirked at the suddenly nervous looking teenage boy.

"So your grandfather's going to watch this?" Peter asked nervously and Emma gave him an amused look.

"Yeah, so you better smile and wave at the camera, Romeo. First impressions are the most important, after all." Darcy told him and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't let Darcy freak you out. She's got nothing better to do so that's why she's doing this." Emma said, trying to reassure Peter. Peter nodded but then looked down at his hands as though he forgot what he was holding.

"Here, I got these for you. I knew you'd probably kill me if I got you flowers so I got you a bouquet of bookmarks instead…you know, since you love books and everything." He then handed her the stack of bookmarks which had a pretty blue ribbon tied around them.

Emma just stared at the bookmarks with a mixed look of astonishment and delight on her face. There was a whole assortment of bookmarks which included ones of different sizes and colors. Emma was pretty sure she saw ones with the characters from Alice in Wonderland and other classic literature novel ones like Jane Eyre which happened to be her favorite book of all time if she had to pick one. Emma thought she might've told Peter that once but she never expected him to remember. Of course, there were some Star Wars character bookmarks but there was also some Harry Potter ones much to her amusement. Emma didn't know what to say as she looked at the wonderful gift Peter had brought her. It was times like these that made Emma realize how much Peter seemed to know her. He certainly knew her better than most other people.

"Peter, I love it. Thank you." She said softly as she looked up at him. He blushed, looking somewhat bashful under her gaze.

"It's nothing." Peter mumbled.

"Okay, that was the most romantic thing I've ever seen. Can I please come on your date with you guys?" Darcy pleaded, looking completely taken back by the cuteness of the two teens. "You're both so adorable. I just can't get enough of it." Emma glared at the brunette, annoyed at being continuously interrupted in her conversation with Peter.

"Come on, Peter, let's go." Emma told him. "Darcy's being weird again." Peter was in a bit of a dreamy state, from actually being there with Emma, so she just grabbed his hand instead of waiting for him to grab her hand himself and practically dragged him out of the townhouse.

"Fine, I get it. It's not fun hanging out with the boring adult." Darcy retorted as she smiled in amusement at Emma and Peter. "Say bye to Steve, young lady!"

"Bye Steve! We're going off to have unprotected sex! Don't worry about us." Emma called back to her as she dragged Peter out of the house and slammed the door behind them. Peter stared at Emma in bewilderment, completely lost for words. His face was slowly turning about as red as Emma's dress.

"W-why would y-you say t-those things?" Peter asked as he stared at Emma who didn't look the least bit fazed. "He'll k-kill me." Emma rolled her eyes before giving Peter a mischievous smile.

"No, he won't. Steve will think it's hilarious." Emma replied simply and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"I don't know your grandfather that well, Emma, but I know for sure that he's not going to find that hilarious." Peter told her and Emma just smirked at him as they began walking down the street.

"Okay, fine. Sam and I will think it's hilarious." Emma relented before playfully nudging Peter in the ribs. "Don't worry, Peter, I'll protect you from the terrifying and evil Captain America." Peter glowered.

"You're making me feel ridiculous for feeling scared but deep down I know that he would probably kill me if he had to." Peter muttered and Emma just laughed before linking her arm through his. Peter's heart raced at the closeness as well as the fact that he could practically feel her warmth against him. They laughed and chatted about non relevant things the rest of the way to their destination and all the while Peter couldn't help but think of how lucky he was that she was there with him. He desperately feared that this was a dream that he'd wake up from soon and Peter found that he never wanted to wake up from this. Little did he know that Emma felt similar to him except for the fact that she feared that a nightmare would soon ruin the dreamworld they were currently living in.

It was the nightmare she dreaded above all other nightmares.

* * *

"What are we supposed to do now?" Emma asked Peter bluntly after the waitress had taken their order. Peter had taken her to a cute diner a few blocks away and Emma was delighted to see that it reminded her of the diner that Steve used to take her to. It had a retro theme just like the other one did with old movie posters hanging on the walls. Emma particularly favored the _Casablanca_ one.

"Um…I don't know." Peter said as he looked back at her, slightly transfixed by her red lipstick. "I mean, talk about stuff, I guess."

"What kind of stuff?" Emma questioned and Peter shrugged.

"I don't know… _stuff_." He answered and Emma gave him an confused look.

"But we already talk about stuff all the time." Emma told him, noticing that he was shaking his leg from under the table. She gave him a slightly amused look. "Why are you so nervous?" Peter's face reddened as he averted his eyes.

"What are you talking about? I'm not nervous." Peter said as he nervously laughed. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you are. I can see your leg shaking, you know." Peter immediately stilled when she said that and he sighed.

"Fine…it's just…well, I really don't want to screw this date up." Peter admitted to her and Emma gave him a curious look.

"Why? It's just a date. It's not life or death." Emma told him honestly and Peter shook his head.

"I'm afraid that if I screw this date up that you won't want to be my girlfriend anymore." Peter said sadly and Emma stared at him in disbelief. She noticed the slightly deflated look on his face and she could tell this was something that was really bothering him.

"Peter, this date isn't going to dictate whether or not I'm still going to want to be with you." Emma said, still not understanding how Peter could be so stupid sometimes. Did he really think she was going dump him because one date didn't go well? Peter looked up at her with a hopeful look on his face.

"It's not?" He asked her and she shook her head.

"No. You could completely screw this date up and I'd still want to be with you." Emma said before hesitating as she decided to tell him something to make him feel better. "I'm nervous too, you know."

"No, you're not. You're never nervous about anything." Peter told her, not quite believing Emma but the blonde was adamant about what she was trying to tell him.

"It's true. You know, before the date I had a complete panic attack about my push-up bra." Emma said with her usual blunt honesty. Peter's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked back at her, not sure he heard her right.

"What?" He said breathlessly and Emma nodded.

"It's true. I was worried that I'd make you think I have big boobs which in all honesty I don't have. This push-up bra is false advertising because they're actually kind of small." Emma said and Peter couldn't help it as he glanced down at her chest before blushing and looking up at her face again. Emma just smirked at him.

"I-I think they're fine. There's nothing wrong with them at all…they're actually perfect." Peter then realized what he was saying and blushed an even deeper shade of red. "I-I mean not that I-I stare at them all the time. W-Well, I've looked at them occasionally but…It's n-not like-" Peter's nervous rambling was interrupted by Emma's soft musical laughter, a certain sparkle in her blue eyes. Somehow Peter's embarrassment faded as he witnessed her laugh. It seemed like she was laughing more and more these days and Peter loved it. She looked so beautiful when she smiled and laughed. It was like Peter could never get enough of her when she was like that. He sincerely hoped that he could continue making her smile and laugh like that…continue making her happy.

"It's fine, Peter. I'm not offended or anything." Emma told him honestly before giving him a nonchalant look. "It's not like I haven't checked you out too."

"You have?" Peter asked in surprise, feeling bewildered but at the same time flattered. Emma nodded, seemingly unashamed of her confession.

"On more than one occasion." Emma said, her eyes dazzling with mischief. "Your ass looks really nice in your Spider-Twerp suit. Do you think Tony's creepy for making your suit look so form fitting?" Peter blushed once again at Emma's blunt statement. It seemed like Emma was the only one who could make him blush that much. He actually got the impression that she liked making him blush.

"Oh um…well, I think you look really pretty in your Viper suit." Peter said politely, not wanting to tell her how hot she looked in it. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable or anything and May told him to act like the perfect gentlemen on his date with Emma. However, Emma just rolled her eyes at him playfully.

"You don't have to be so polite, Parker." Emma told him.

"May told me that I should be a complete and total gentlemen." Peter replied and Emma gave him an amused look.

"You don't have to be a gentlemen when it's just you and me alone." Emma flirted and Peter gulped at the flirtatious look on her face. Before Emma, Peter had never really been flirted with anyone before. He was never totally sure how to respond to her flirtatious comments. "No one's watching us."

"This is a really good song. What's it called?" Peter asked her suddenly whilst changing the subject. Emma wasn't offended by the abrupt change of subject. No, she was highly amused as she always was with Peter. Peter didn't amuse her because she looked down at him or anything. He was amusing to her because he was so adorable that it warmed her heart. Emma always used to think that she didn't have a heart or that she had a cold one, at least. Now, however, she was starting to think that wasn't the case at all.

"Time of the Season by the Zombies, released in 1968." Emma answered without any hesitation and Peter gave her a surprised look.

"Do you know every single song that's ever come out?" Peter asked sarcastically and Emma shook her head.

"No but that song just so happens to be one of Steve's all time favorites." Emma told him and Peter nodded, taking in that piece of information and deciding to save it for later.

"The Zombies…that's a really cool name for a rock band." Emma just shrugged.

"I suppose but if I had to pick a band from the British Invasion I'd probably pick the Kinks. They're the most underrated band of all time." Emma told him and Peter looked very interested as he always did when Emma talked about things that didn't have to do with missions or murder. It was seldom she ever discussed such things with him but he was glad she was telling him about her favorite kind of music...that she was able to share things about herself that was personal but at the same time wasn't personal. Peter wasn't sure if that made any sense but it kind of made sense to him in the moment.

"What about the Beatles? Aren't they supposed to be the best band ever?" Peter asked her and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew, no. The Beatles are the most _overrated_ band of all time. Fuck the Beatles." Emma told Peter truthfully and instead of blushing at her foul language, he laughed.

"I wouldn't say that too loud. A lot of people love the Beatles." Peter told Emma although he was only really teasing her. Emma scoffed.

"I'm not scared of those people. If they're really offended they can come over here and _try_ to beat me up. In fact, I dare them." Emma told him before continuing to tell Peter why she thought the Kinks were much better than the Beatles. "I guess the Beatles had, like, one album I liked. Abbey Road was pretty good but that's just one album. The Kinks had like, a ton of really good albums that no one even knows about. Besides…the Beatles only lasted ten years before they wanted to murder each other. The Kinks lasted over _thirty_ years before they wanted to murder each other."

"I'm going to be honest with you, Emma. I've never heard of the Kinks before." Peter told her, curious to see whether or not Emma would glare or laugh at him. However, she did neither as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"I know you haven't, Parker, and I never expected you to. You're not very cultured, are you?" Emma asked rhetorically which might've sounded like an insult to most but Peter knew she was only teasing him. "I mean, you think Star Wars is the best movie of all time." Peter glared playfully at her.

"Star Wars is a franchise, not a movie but yes. I do think _The Empire Strikes Back_ is the best movie of all time and it is." Peter defended and Emma smirked.

"You're such a little nerd, Parker." Emma told him and Peter looked down at the table in embarrassment.

"Sometimes I wonder why you agreed to be my girlfriend if you think I'm such a nerd." Peter said sadly and Emma gave him a small smile.

"Well, if it's any consolation I'm really into nerds…well, one nerd in particular actually." Peter swallowed nervously as Emma flirted with him once again. His heart raced as Emma rested her eyes on him. However, before Peter could respond the waitress came back with their orders. Peter thought their date was going amazing so far and he found that he wasn't even panicking over it like he was before. Emma had this way of making him nervous but she could also make him feel quite calm when she wanted too. This was one of the many things that confused him about her. Although...it was also something he loved about her.

* * *

"I know it wasn't a really fancy dinner." Peter told Emma as they left the restaurant and started walking down the street. "I hope that's okay." Emma just smiled at him before shaking her head.

"It was perfect." Emma told him reassuringly and the truth was that it really was perfect. She found that she even preferred it over anything else. It had been so long since she had eaten at a diner…so long since she had such a fun time with someone too. Well, she always had fun with Peter but tonight was different.

"I hope it's also okay that I used Tony's credit card." Peter said, referring to the credit card that Tony had given him in case of emergencies. He sort of considered taking his girlfriend out on a date as an emergency so that counted. Right?

" _Please_. Having fun at Tony's expense? This is already the best date ever." Emma retorted and Peter just smiled as he kept hold of her hand. He glanced at the other people walking on the street and thought that he used to be like them. Peter used to walk the streets alone and curiously glanced at other couples, wondering what it would be like to have a girlfriend of his own…to be in love. Now it was different. Now he was part of one of those couples with a girlfriend that was more than he could ever imagine. It was only a year ago that he was starting out his venture as an amateur hero, dressed up in pajamas, and trying to do his best to be the kind of hero his Uncle Ben would be proud of. Peter never would've imagined to have landed on Tony Stark's radar and to have ever dated the Viper Assassin. Well, in all honesty he had been deathly terrified of the Viper Assassin back then but once he got to know her he discovered that she was the single most strong, beautiful, and incredible person he had ever met. There was no one quite like Emma Rogers, after all.

"You know, before a couple years ago I had never eaten a hamburger before." Emma said suddenly, probably in reference to the hamburger feast they had back at the diner. Peter looked up at her in surprise, breaking out of his thoughts.

"What?" He questioned.

"There wasn't really any hamburgers in Siberia…well, not where I was at anyways." Emma confessed before continuing. "Steve took me to a diner to have one. He said something like it was the proper American experience." Peter just stared at her, trying to understand what she was telling him. It was beyond his comprehension.

"Wow…" He trailed off quietly. "You never had a hamburger?" Emma just laughed before shaking her head.

"No, never. I know it must sound odd considering my grandfather father is an American icon but it's true." Emma told him.

"I can't imagine never eating a hamburger. I mean, I don't even remember the first time I had one." Peter turned to look at her again. "I've never even thought about something like that. It seems so insignificant but at the same time I can't imagine it. What was it like?" Emma gave him a confused look.

"What was what like?" She questioned.

"Eating a hamburger for the first time." Peter elaborated and Emma smiled softly as she remembered that time she and Steve ate at the diner as she teased him about his newfound crush on Susan.

"It was amazing." Emma told him honestly. "Like, the best thing I had ever eaten in my life." Peter smiled back at her.

"I never realized what things I've taken for granted." He murmured as they continued to walk down the dark and quiet street. Emma didn't say anything more about Siberia or the hamburger as they walked alongside each other, holding hands.

"Anyways, enough about me. What about you? What's something you've never done but you've always wanted to do?" Emma asked him and Peter stared at her, a little taken back by the question. It was something he considered before but after everything with Spider-Man he hadn't really had the time to consider it lately. Peter shrugged.

"I don't know. Travel, I guess." Peter answered and Emma looked at him curiously.

"Really? Where to?" She asked him. Emma knew Peter hadn't really traveled anywhere outside of New York so it made sense that he wanted to travel. The blonde was completely comfortable staying in New York without ever leaving. She had seen too much of the world to ever want to leave the comfort of home.

"Well, I've already been to Germany but I didn't really get to go out much to have a look around." Peter told Emma. "I want to go to England but I'll be able to check that off the list really soon. Italy, France, and Spain look really nice. I wouldn't mind going to Japan either. Have you ever been to any of those countries?" Peter's eyes then widened in realization when he realized what he asked her. It was obvious she had been to those countries but only during her past with Hydra.

"God, I'm so stupid. I really have ruined this date." Peter said as he gave her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Emma." Emma, however, didn't look offended as she smiled at him before shaking her head.

"I'm fine, Peter. I have a thick skin so you know I'm not sensitive." Emma told Peter reassuringly before answering his question. "To answer your question…yes, I have been to those countries. Well, not Spain but I've been to France and Italy. They seemed nice enough but I much prefer Japan."

"Really?" Peter asked her curiously once he realized that he hadn't hurt her. Emma nodded.

"Yes. Tokyo was a nightmare but I went to a small little village by the sea." Emma told him as he listened to her with extreme interest. "It was cold there but it was also peaceful. You could smell the ocean and even feel the ocean mist on your face…it was all so tranquil. Life was very simple there. There was no traffic, buildings, or even many people. There was just a sea and a forest. Nothing else but in a way the village had more than I could ever possibly imagine."

Peter was quiet for a moment as he processed her recollection of the Japanese village. The way she described the village he could almost picture it in front of him. He pictured a cliff with a beautiful ocean that he could see out in front of him, the waves crashing down below against some rocks. Peter could even feel the coldness and taste the saltiness of the ocean as it splashed against his face. Most of all, he could picture Emma right there next to him, watching him experience it all for the first time.

"It sounds beautiful." Peter remarked and Emma smiled.

"It was." She replied.

"Maybe we could go there someday...together." Peter suggested quietly and Emma stared at him, an unreadable look in her blue eyes. She finally tore her gaze from him before reluctantly nodding.

"Yes…perhaps." Emma then felt that the conversation was becoming very serious so she took action to lighten the mood somewhat. "So…where are we going to now?" Peter smirked at her as they continued walking.

"I told you that it's a surprise." Peter answered and Emma rolled her eyes.

"And I told you that I hate surprises." Emma said but Peter didn't look alarmed. He then started grinning once he looked ahead of them, spotting something as if he had been looking for it all along. Emma wondered what had suddenly grabbed Peter's attention.

"Here we are." Peter told her and Emma looked up curiously, noticing an old looking theater. A movie theater…The Rialto Theater to be precise. It looked about as old as her grandfather was, more than likely. Emma actually wouldn't be surprised if Steve had been to that theater when he and her father were growing up although this theater was in Queens which was a ways away from Brooklyn. A marquee stood out against the other vintage looks of the theater with flashing lights that decorated it. Emma saw the title _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ emblazoned on the marquee.

"You said that you've never seen _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ before and neither have I so I thought we could come here to see it." Peter told her, a nervous look on his face. "We could go somewhere else if you want." Emma just shook her head, a happy smile on her face, before she looked back at him.

"It's perfect, Peter. I love it." Emma told him honestly and Peter smiled back, relieved that she was happy with the movie theater. He sighed in relief before guiding her over to the line in front of the ticket booth. There was one or two couples in line but they were mostly older couples save for a hipster or two. Emma and Peter didn't say anything while they waited in line to buy the tickets. Emma could feel Peter look at her every once in a while in that non-discreet way that always amused her and made her smile. She'd glanced at him in a much more discreet way from the corner of her eye. Her heart was racing because the date kept getting better and better for Emma. She kind of wished that it would never end because it had been so long since she had this much fun. Not to mention the fact that she was having fun with Peter of all people. The boy she was completely in love with. Emma was then snapped out of her thoughts when they reached the front of the line.

"Um…two for _Breakfast at Tiffany's_." Peter told the lady selling tickets. The woman looked to be in her mid twenties and a bit bored out of her mind. She raised an eyebrow at the two teenagers curiously.

"Of course." She said as she began to ring up the total. However, her curiosity began to become apparent as she looked back at them. "You two out on a date?"

"Our first date actually." Peter told her excitedly and Emma couldn't but smile at how cute he was. The woman rested her face against her palm as she sighed boredly.

"I wish my boyfriend would take me out to see an Audrey Hepburn movie." The woman told them, sounding very bored and tired. "His idea of a fun movie night is taking me to see a terrible Vin Diesel movie. Wait…who am I kidding? All Vin Diesel's movies are terrible." Emma cleared her throat awkwardly to get the woman's attention since she seemed to drift off. The woman sat back up in her seat, nice and straight as she then rounded up the total.

"Right, sorry. That will be fifteen dollars and seventy five cents." The woman told them and Peter smiled politely at her before handing her Tony's credit card. Emma wondered whether or not Tony would notice if she and Peter went out and bought a car tonight with his credit card. Probably not. They could probably buy a condo in the upper east side of Manhattan and he wouldn't even know the difference. It was a nice thought and Emma had half a mind to test that theory someday. The women then handed Peter the credit card back before handing them the movie tickets.

"Good luck on your date and enjoy the movie." The woman told them, looking quite bored once again. Emma faked a smile while Peter politely bid the woman goodbye.

"Well, she was a lot of fun." Emma said sarcastically as they entered the lobby of the movie theater. Peter shrugged.

"It's a real boring job probably." Peter defended and Emma looked back at him.

"Any job where you're not beating the shit out of someone's boring." Emma retorted and Peter playfully glared at her before nudging her with his elbow.

"Okay, no more talking about the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. In fact, let's make that a rule. Let's never discuss crime fighting on dates." Peter told her sternly. "Let's keep dating separate from all the other stuff." Emma rolled her eyes but Peter knew she was only messing around with him.

"Fine. If you want to be a really boring couple then I won't bring it up again." Emma's eyes then rested on the concession stand. "As long as you-I mean Tony-buys me popcorn, soda, and candy." Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"I can't believe you're still hungry. We literally just ate." Peter pointed out and Emma shrugged.

"You should probably know that I'm going to be a really expensive girlfriend, Peter. Fast metabolism, remember?" Emma told him and Peter just shook his head in amusement before they started walking over to the concession stand.

"Having regrets?" Emma asked him teasingly, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Peter just smiled softly at her as they stood in line.

"Never."

* * *

 _"_ _Don't you just love it?" Holly Golightly asked Paul Varjak as she looked around in wonder inside the famous jewelry store._

 _"_ _Love what?" Paul asked Holly, slightly bewildered._

" _Tiffany's." Holly told him as it were the most obvious thing in the world._

Emma and Peter were sitting in the theater in one of the middle rows of seats. Emma was completely in awe of the entire theater. The architecture, the quality of the film, and even the slightly worn seats. It really was like she and Peter were in a completely different time than the one they lived in. They were just over an hour into the movie and Emma already loved it. Truthfully, she had read the book the movie was based on written by the very clever Truman Capote but she found that she kind of liked the movie better. There was something about the movie that felt far more magical than the book had ever seemed. Although…that might've had something to do with the fact that Peter was sitting right next to her.

 _"_ _Isn't it wonderful?"_ _Holly asked dreamily as she glanced down at all the jewelry in the glass case._ _"See, what I mean? How nothing bad could happen to you in a place like this? It isn't that I give a hoot about jewelry, except diamonds of course…like that."_ _Holly then stared in astonishment at a rather expensive and beautiful looking diamond necklace._

Emma glanced over at Peter curiously and noticed how his eyes were fixated on the screen. She assumed he'd be bored with the movie but he actually seemed quite enthralled with it. Emma was glad. She'd hate for him to be bored on their date. Her eyes rested on his face as she thought about how handsome he looked tonight all dressed up. The only time she had ever seen him so dressed up was on the night of homecoming but that was different. She couldn't have exactly looked him over like she was doing now without raising any eyebrows. Emma was even amused to know that he was wearing cologne although she knew it wasn't that dreaded shitty cologne that Betty got him since she had thrown that out the window. No, this was something stronger. Maybe it was Axe. It smelled like the stuff Sam always wore and she knew for a fact that Sam wore Axe. Emma hated the smell but she found it endearing that Peter would put on the horrid stuff just for their date. She then turned her attention back to the movie.

 _"_ _What do you think?"_ _Holly asked Paul who actually looked quite bored._

 _"_ _Well…" Paul trailed off, not seeming very impressed._

 _"_ _Of course, personally, I think it would be tacky to wear diamonds before I'm forty."_ Holly said dismissively as they continued to walk alongside the glass case filled with beautiful jewelry.

Peter tore his gaze from the screen to glance at Emma, taking a moment to really admire how beautiful she looked tonight. She wasn't the kind of modern beautiful that most girls were. No, Peter thought she was the classic kind of beautiful like those actresses in all those films she loved so much. He felt like he could've been watching an old black and white movie and Emma could've easily show up in it all of a sudden. He'd immediately be lured into the movie like no other movie had lured him before. The teenage boy knew Emma was already beautiful but he secretly wondered if love made her even more beautiful to him. Peter returned his attention back to the screen even though it was hard to do so.

 _"_ _Well, you're right."_ _Paul agreed whole heartedly before continuing._ _"But in the meantime, you should have something."_

 _"_ _I'll wait."_ _Holly replied, shrugging._

 _"_ _No. I'm going to buy you a present_." _Paul said determinedly as he smiled at her. "You bought me a typewriter ribbon and it brought me luck."_

Emma smiled at the subtle hilariousness of the scene in the movie. She admired how both characters had little care of what others thought of them. They were just two people having fun in one of most expensive jewelry stores in New York. She then glanced down at Peter's arm which was laying against the armrest. His hand stood out to her as she stared at it, quickly making a decision which was all just a little too easy for her. She returned her gaze to Audrey Hepburn once more while wordlessly slipping her hand into his and resting her head against Peter's shoulder. Peter looked over at Emma in surprise at how close she was to him before glancing down at their interlocked hands. He then smiled, happy and content, before giving her hand a soft squeeze and subsequently resting his head against hers, her blonde hair feeling soft against his face.

 _"_ _But Tiffany's can be pretty expensive."_ _Holly informed him but Paul didn't seem bothered._

 _"_ _I've got my check and…ten dollars."_

 _"_ _Oh, I wouldn't let you cash a check."_ _Holly argued before relenting, a mischievous smile on her face. "But a present for ten dollars and under…that I'll accept_.

Emma and Peter watched the movie in complete silence, feeling perfectly content as they did so. The date was really like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie and Emma could practically hear 'Moon River' playing in the background…well, maybe that was because 'Moon River' was actually playing in the background. Everything was so perfect and Emma could never imagine being this completely happy with anyone else. She never wanted to be the kind of girl that needed a boy to make her happy but it wasn't like that at all because Peter wasn't just a boy to her…no, he was her best friend. Peter was her partner. She supposed in that instance it was okay to feel this way.

Emma realized then that you never really knew how important certain moments were in your life until you looked back on them later. However, this was an exception. Emma knew that moment in the movie theater with Peter when she rested her head on his shoulder and held his hand while they watched _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ was going to be one of the most important ones in her life. It would be right up there with watching the stars at night with her father, meeting Steve, the night her and Peter formed a truce, and when she realized she was in love with him. Even so, tonight was definitely going to be up there with all the others.

 _"_ _Of course, I don't exactly know what we'll find at Tiffany's for ten dollars."_

* * *

"So how did you like it?" Peter asked Emma as they entered the lobby of the theater. They still held hands as they walked into the lobby which still smelled strongly of popcorn. It was probably around ten thirty or so by now. Emma smiled as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"It was really good…a little racist with Mickey Rooney as the Japanese neighbor but other than that it was really good." Emma told Peter honestly and a sheepish look came over his face.

"Yeah, Mickey Rooney was kind of offensive in that movie." Peter agreed.

"In all fairness to Mickey Rooney, Hollywood was super racist back then. Can you believe that they got away with that and probably no one even thought it was offensive at all." Emma told Peter as they stopped by a regal looking staircase in the lobby. "It's really sad actually…but other than that I really loved the movie."

"Did you?" Peter asked and Emma nodded.

"It was a really beautiful film. The setting, the clothing, and the dialogue. That scene at the end with the pouring rain was really nice." Emma told Peter honestly. "And not to mention Audrey Hepburn was really pretty, wasn't she?" Peter smiled at her as he caressed the top of her hand.

"You're prettier." Peter told her as he locked eyes with her. Emma blushed before trying to brush off his compliment by rolling her eyes.

"God, you're so cheesy, Parker. I'm not prettier than Audrey Hepburn. No one's prettier than Audrey Hepburn...except for maybe Grace Kelly." Emma told Peter but Peter didn't look convinced.

"Well, you kind of look like Grace Kelly." Peter said to her and she just shook her head at him.

"No, I don't." Emma argued and Peter couldn't believe she was arguing with him about this. Who argued with someone when the other person was trying to give them a compliment? Only Emma.

"Emma, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Peter told her as he gazed down at her, making Emma's heart race from the intensity of it all. "I used to think movie actresses like Margot Robbie and Amanda Seyfried were the most beautiful girls I had ever seen but I also knew they weren't really real. Just in the movies. But you're real and you're more beautiful than they are. You almost seem surreal." Emma was silent as she stared at him for a moment before she took a step closer to Peter. She had an unreadable look on her face as Peter swallowed nervously.

"You know I think I might actually believe you." Emma told him, sounding very sincere. Well, until Emma suddenly stopped in front of him, a teasing smile suddenly coming over her face. "If it weren't for one simple fact." Emma only paused briefly before continuing.

"If you actually thought I was the most beautiful girl you've ever seen then why were you drooling all over Liz Allan when I was sitting right next to you?" She questioned and Peter flushed with embarrassment at her question. Emma just laughed at the look on his face.

"Not as smooth as you thought you were, huh, Parker?" Emma teased and Peter looked back at her sheepishly.

"I was really stupid." Peter admitted to her but Emma just shook her head.

"No, you were really smart then for liking Liz." Emma informed him. "But you're stupid now. I wasn't lying before when I said you were stupid for falling in love with me." Peter just smiled at her.

"Falling in love with you doesn't make me stupid." Peter said to her before he decided to tell her something he had been thinking about since watching the movie. "You know, she reminds me of you. Holly Golightly, I mean." Emma gave him a slightly offended look.

"I know I said I was a real mess, Peter, but I'd hate to think I'm _that_ much of a mess. Throwing myself at men for money is beneath me. I'd simply steal their money and kill them." Emma told him but Peter just shook his head at her, an amused smile on his face.

"No, I just meant that there's no one like you. You're unlike anyone I've ever met before." Peter told her sincerely as he gazed at her like she was a puzzle he was trying to solve. "I never know what you're thinking or what you're going to do. You're unpredictable…kind of like a Rubik's cube puzzle."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Emma questioned, looking very unsure but Peter laughed before furiously nodding.

"Yes, it is a compliment. I love that about you. You always say or do something to surprise me." Peter confessed and Emma just stared back at him, a small smile gracing her face.

"You remind me of Steve." Emma told him abruptly, causing the smile to fall off Peter's face. He stared at her, looking quite bewildered and unsure of whether or not he should be offended.

"I remind you of your grandpa?" Peter asked, sounding a little horrified and Emma didn't understand why he sounded so horrified. She thought it was a nice compliment.

"Yeah, you do." Emma confirmed and Peter gave her a doubtful look.

"Emma, I'm beginning to wonder if you really want to date me if I remind you of your grandpa." Peter told her and Emma gave him a confused look.

"Why? Steve's the best person I've ever known." Emma said as she started to explain to Peter why him being like Steve was a great thing. "You're nice like him, understanding, and you always know the right thing to do. You're also the only person to make me laugh and smile like he does. You're not scared of me just like he isn't and you never judge me. I don't think I could've ever fallen in love with you if you weren't like him."

Peter stared at Emma as he tried to understand her. He supposed he sort of did in a way. She admired and loved her grandfather because he was everything to her. It sort of made sense why Emma loved him if she thought he was anything like her grandfather. Peter always knew she was incredibly attached to her grandfather since she talked about him all the time but maybe this also meant she was incredibly attached to him as well. This told Peter that Emma must've really loved him…maybe more than he thought but he didn't think it was possible for her to love him more than he loved her.

"I guess I sort of see what you're saying." Peter told her and Emma nodded.

"It's not like I'm attracted to you physically because of my grandfather. It's not weird or anything." Emma informed him and Peter nodded understandingly.

"No, no. I get it."

"Because you look nothing like him." Emma told him and Peter just laughed at her.

"It's fine, Emma. I know you're not attracted to your grandfather." Peter reassured her teasingly.

"Shut up." Emma said before they smiled at each other. Peter gave her a curious look as he stared back at her. Something was suddenly occurring to him as his and Emma's date was slowly coming to an end.

"What about nicknames?" Peter asked her and Emma raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Nicknames?" Emma asked him.

"Yes, if we're going to be in a relationship together we're going to need to have nicknames for each other." Peter told her as if this was a fact. Emma scoffed.

"No, that sounds stupid." Emma told Peter.

"No, it doesn't." Peter threw back before he started listing off some possible nicknames for them. "What about sweetheart or angel?" Emma just stared at him.

"Parker, if you ever call me sweetheart or angel I'll slap you." Emma told Peter and he just smiled at her before shaking her head.

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Peter said to her before giving her an amused look. "I could just call you my Southern Belle though. Since you're from Oklahoma and all."

"Stop it with all the cheesiness. I'm serious." Emma said as she gave him a pointed look. "You just sound like an asshole at this point." Peter didn't seem to be paying much attention to her words at this point as he locked eyes with her. It was clear something else was on his mind now. Emma always knew he had the attention span of a dog. She stared back at him.

"I want to kiss you now." Peter told her seriously and Emma blushed. He was certainly becoming more confident, wasn't he? And what was with him tonight? First he wanted to discuss nicknames and now he wanted to kiss? He said that he'd never understand her but Emma was pretty sure she'd never understand him either.

"No, Peter. I already told you…no PDA." Emma said before she glanced around the movie theater lobby which was really starting to empty at this point. The only people that remained were the employees behind the concession stand and they weren't even paying any attention to them.

"There's no one around, Emma." Peter assured her as he gestured around them. "And it's not like I'm asking you to kiss me like you kissed me last night." Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, you better not. I hope you know I'm not going to kiss you like that every time, Parker." Emma told him as she crossed her arms. "I'd hate for you to get too cocky." It was then that he gave her that puppy dog look that she always dreaded seeing. The look that was so hard for her to resist.

"Please, Emma. I'm not going to be able to kiss you all weekend at the compound." Peter added and Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"Are you really begging?" Emma questioned but he just continued to pout. Ugh! He should've seemed annoying or needy to Emma but she really just found his pouting and begging to be really cute. Stupid Peter Parker. He always had a way of softening her up. "Fine."

Peter then smiled at her before closing the distance between them as he leaned down to kiss her. Emma's annoyance immediately melted the instant he rested his hands on either side of her face, pulling her close. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt his lips against hers and she gently placed her hands on his chest. The kiss didn't last for more than a few seconds but he lingered there for a moment after. Emma felt slightly intoxicated by their close distance and opened her eyes once the kiss ended. She looked up at him carefully and he smiled back at her, gently tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"That was nice." Emma said softly and Peter nodded wordlessly.

"Yeah." He whispered back, barely feeling able to speak.

They then heard a very sudden loud honking coming from outside and Emma figured that meant that Happy was there to pick them up. They stepped away from each other, both a little sad that they were going to have to keep this thing between them under wraps for a while longer. However, Emma knew it was the right thing to do. She so selfishly wanted Peter to herself and she wasn't quite ready to let the others in on them yet. As Emma looked back at Peter she had to bite down on the inside of her cheek once she saw his face. Even so, she still couldn't stop the wide smile that had come over her face when she saw her red lipstick smeared across Peter's lips. He gave her a confused look.

"What is it?" He asked her and Emma stifled a giggle. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion because he didn't think he had heard Emma ever do something so girlish as giggle. She then tried to swallow her laughter down and maintain a serious look on her face.

"It's just that…" Emma started to say when she suddenly had a brilliant idea. She then shook her head, a faint smile on her face as she looked back at him. "Actually, it's nothing. I don't know what's gotten into me." Peter just nodded with the red lipstick still smeared across his lips.

"Okay, we should go before Happy gets too impatient with us." Peter told her and Emma nodded in agreement, still trying not to laugh at Peter.

"Right. Of course." Emma agreed before Peter gave her a weird look. Deciding that Emma was just happy, Peter then began to lead her towards the front doors of the lobby. He didn't reach for her hand because he knew that she didn't want everyone to know about them. Emma followed behind him, a smug smirk on her face. This was going to be hilarious.

* * *

Emma and Peter walked onto the main floor of the compound where, as Emma had feared, Tony and Rhodey were currently hanging out on one of the couches. The smile on Emma's face faded the moment she saw Tony because she was worried over the fact that he would take one look at her and Peter before instantly figuring everything out. Emma wasn't sure if it was really something he could detect or not. She hoped not because Tony finding out would be completely annoying. Emma didn't think she was ready for Tony to find out about them…at least, not yet. The eccentric billionaire looked away from Rhodey and glanced at the two nicely dressed teenagers curiously.

"Well, look who finally showed up." Tony announced and Rhodey glanced over them as well. Tony had been fairly curious when Happy informed him that he wasn't going to pick up Peter and Emma until later that night. It was almost midnight now so Tony wondered why they held off so late on coming to the compound. He was even more curious now that he had gotten a glimpse of their outfits. What was going on with those two?

"Oh, it's you." Emma said, sounding like she was disappointed but Tony knew she was just messing with him like she always did. This love-hate sort of banter seemed to be their thing now.

"Of course, it's me. I do own this place so I don't know who else you were expecting see." Tony said sarcastically before giving them a slightly suspicious look.

"Why are you two dressed up so nice?" Tony asked them. "Mini Cap, I don't think I've ever seen you dressed up this nice. You too, kid."

"We went to the opera before going to a gallery opening." Emma deadpanned and Tony rolled his eyes. Leave it to that girl to never give anyone a straight answer.

"Really? It's a little cold for you to be wearing that dress. Don't you think?" Tony said because truthfully he was a little bothered by how womanly Mini Cap looked in that dress. Especially because he was aware that she had been out all night with a boy that was _very_ interested in her. Mini Cap was still a little young to be dressed like that, wasn't she? Tony then inwardly winced at his own thoughts. What was wrong with him? He was starting to turn into Capsicle. Gross.

"I grew up in Siberia, Tony. I think I'm fine." Emma told him shortly as she crossed her arms. "Don't think you can tell me how to dress either. I'm allowed to wear what I want when I want." Tony nodded quickly.

"Yeah, right. I get it." Tony told her before glancing over at Peter who had been weirdly quiet through this whole thing. Hmmm...the kid was certainly acting a little more quiet than usual. It was then that Tony noticed the slightly red tinge to his lips. Red that was smeared all across his lips, making him look kind of ridiculous. If Tony didn't know any better he would've thought that…

"What's all that red stuff on your lips, kid?" Tony asked him and Peter blushed, looking quite confused.

"What?" Peter asked in confusion.

"You've got red smeared all over your lips." Rhodey elaborated, looking slightly amused by the teenage boy. "What were you eating? A lollipop or something?" Peter turned to Emma, practically glaring at her as she gave him an innocent look. He then turned back to the two adults in the room as he struggled to explain himself.

"Oh…uh…well, y-you see I-I had a s-slushie. Yes! A slushie…a cherry flavored one." Peter lied horribly and Tony and Rhodey exchanged looks, not really sure what to make of all of this. They glanced at Emma to see if she would explain but the blonde looked uncaring about the whole thing.

"You had a slushie…" Tony trailed off, giving the teenage boy an odd look. "In December?" Peter gulped before nodding.

"Yes, I had a craving." Peter answered.

"I told him not to have that slushie in public but he wouldn't listen." Emma added, looking quite smug as she did so. Peter blushed as he looked at her and Emma gave him one last smirk before heading for the stairs, not even saying goodnight as she left.

"You know, I'm really tired too so I think I'm just gonna wash my face and hit the sack." Peter said nervously before quickly following after Emma, looking completely embarrassed as he left. Tony and Rhodey watched the two teenagers disappear up the stairs, never feeling more confused than they did in that moment. Tony scratched his goatee briefly before letting his hand fall back against his side. However, Rhodey was the first one to speak.

"Okay…what was that?" The decorated colonel asked his best friend. Tony just looked back at him before slowly shaking his head.

"I have no idea." Tony answered him quietly and for the first time in forever Tony Stark seemed to be almost completely speechless. An idea suddenly occurred to Rhodey as he looked at Tony. He laughed nervously because even he thought the idea might've been a little far fetched. This was Emma Rogers they were talking about, after all.

"You don't think they're…" Rhodey trailed off and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"They're what?" He questioned.

"You don't think they're…together?" Rhodey asked and Tony laughed at him. The billionaire shook his head in disbelief.

"No. No way in hell are those two dating." Tony told Rhodey, looking quite sure of himself. "If they were dating they would tell me. Come on, Rhodey, I'm the one who brought them together. I'd be the first one they'd tell."

"Okay, if you're sure." Rhodey told him, not seeming as sure as Tony felt. He honestly doubted that Emma would even tell Tony if she was dating. Tony would actually be the last person she'd tell but whatever made Tony feel better about himself. Rhodey didn't think he had the heart to tell him otherwise.

"I'm completely sure." Tony said arrogantly as he smirked at him. "Those two will probably throw a party in my honor because I was the genius that introduced them to each other." Rhodey actually felt really bad for Tony at this point because he was about ninety five percent that those two were already dating. Tony was about as clueless as they came because those two were definitely together. There was no doubt about it.


	61. Chapter Fifty Six

**Author's Note: So I guess I'm posting this chapter in celebration of _Black Panther_ which I'm going to see later on today. Super excited. I kind of wanted to post this chapter on Valentine's Day but like always the chapter ended up being longer than I thought. I know that some of you might miss some of the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man kicking ass together but I promise we'll see more action and adventure soon. We just need to get through the Holidays in the story and we'll get there. I think Emma and Peter are allowed to have a few chapters of worry free fluff. This chapter and the next one will contain major fluff but the one after that will be more action packed. There will still be fluff but some adventure mixed in there as well. **

**I also just wanted rave about this awesome new song I discovered on my alternative music playlist on apple music. 'Golden Dandelions' by Barns Courtney. The guy is a seriously good singer. He kind of reminds me of Tom Odell and Vance Joy.**

 **Spawn Hades: At first I just considered Tony finding out right away about the both of them but I thought it would be funnier this way. It's kind of ironic that he's the one who brought them together but he's also the last one to find out about them. I feel like him finding out he was the last one to know will kind of humble him and bring him back down to earth. It'll be good for Tony to be taken off his high horse.**

 **Kchev11: Thank you so much! I'm glad you love the story. There's so many different ideas I have for what's going down with Rumlow so I kind of know what's going to happen but I'm really just trying to take one chapter at a time. Rumlow is definitely going to take a toll on Emma in this story and she is scared of him despite acting tough. He scared her when she was little and he still scares her now. It's why Peter being around for Emma is really good for her at this point of the story.**

 **infinityneverlasts: I'm excited to write Steve and Bucky's reaction to them! It's going to be hilarious.**

 **Jesilea: I've noticed too that when Steve's not the main character/love interest in a story he's immensely uptight and judgy. I know he's from the forties but that doesn't make him judgemental. I mean, he just accepted what Bucky did and didn't judge him for killing loads of innocent people. He knew what Bucky did was wrong but he understood that Bucky wasn't in control of himself. It's kind of the same thing with Emma only except that she was kind of in control of herself but she was instead just a little kid who was forced into that kind of life.**

 **Mcduffie145: Okay, I'm just going to explain my dislike of the Beatles which doesn't have anything to do with their music...well, it kind of does, I guess. Anyways...so I won't say what my first name is because that's a line I won't cross on here but my name happens to be in one of the Beatles songs. My name's not really common either so for my entire life people assumed that I was named after a Beatles song because my parents were apparently big Beatles fans which is not true at all. They're actually big country music fans. I was actually named after my very Catholic and Mexican grandmother who was named after a saint. Every teacher I had from first grade to my senior year of high school would start singing that particular Beatles song when they did attendance...almost every day. Then the kids at school laughed at me and sang that song all the time. Not because they thought it was cool or anything but because they were making fun of me. So I can't like the Beatles because every time I listen to them I think of those kids singing that song and it drives me insane. Emma hating the Beatles is really just me speaking through her. It's not like it's traumatized me or anything but it's kind of an embarrassing thing I don't like being reminded of. The Beatles always remind me of that. Screw you, Paul McCartney! Lol.**

 **Harry Potter and the TARDIS: I really want to write Emma and Loki meeting! It would be so hilarious and I have a feeling Loki would really like her too. I really love making movie and music references in the story. Last chapter was heavily influenced by _La La Land_. I was inspired by _La La Land_ because I always loved how Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone's characters in the movie dressed up for their first date. People don't do that anymore so I thought it would be cute if Emma and Peter did. I even named the movie theater last chapter after the one in _La La Land._ This chapter is also heavily inspired by _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ which you'll see why soon. I know they saw the movie last chapter but that also plays into this one. Margot and Steven will be back in chapter fifty eight. I'm thinking about going back to writing Undisclosed Desires after I finish this one which won't be for a while. I've held off on writing Look at Them for so long too and I might someday go back to writing that as well. I used to have a bad habit of starting but not continuously writing fanfictions until this one. This is the first one that I've been super passionate about writing. **

**Radioactive88: I love just writing the cuteness of Peter and Emma. They're so young and in love. It's completely sweet. Also, Tony probably won't be mad at them but he might be a little annoyed that they didn't tell him.**

 **Sorry for not answering every review but I'm super eager to publish this new chapter. Anyways...thanks for all the reviews last chapter!**

* * *

"Guys, I know it's Christmas break and all of you can't wait to get home to head off on vacation but you need to remember to work on the study guide for the international competition." Mr. Harrington told everyone at the decathlon meeting. It was the last day of school before winter break so they were having one last decathlon meeting before the New Year. Emma and Peter were sitting next each other on the steps in the now empty cafeteria. The couple were sharing a textbook as they poured over the chapter they were currently reading.

Emma and Peter had been dating for about a week now but to them it felt like they had been dating all along. Well, it wasn't like they had completely become adjusted to this new turn in their relationship but they were becoming more accustomed to a more intimate and romantic side in their relationship at the same time. Emma still wasn't used to Peter holding her hand everywhere and telling her how beautiful he thought she looked nor was she used to the way he'd walk her home at night before telling her he loved her and kissing her goodnight. She didn't think she'd ever get used to it but Emma didn't mind that. This newfound intimacy of their relationship was both exciting and unpredictable to her.

Everyone at school seemed to be aware of Emma and Peter's new relationship which was icing on the cake to Emma because she knew it secretly pissed Betty off. Emma loved sneaking smirks at the bitter small blonde. While everyone at school seemed to know that Emma and Peter were official the same couldn't be said for the Avengers. It was ironic in the way that the Avengers were left in the dark when literally everyone else in the world knew everything. The weekend before Emma and Peter had to be very careful around each other at the compound. Emma thought Tony might've been suspicious after spotting her lipstick smeared across Peter's face but he seemed as oblivious as ever. Tony seemed to be way more stupid than she gave him credit for. Still…all this sneaking around together was fun to Emma.

"I just want you to know that we're not just going all the way to London for fun but we're going there for the international competition. Keep your head in the game." Mr. Harrington continued to lecture them. "The London trip is in February so we've got to be prepared. Okay…now that I've said that maybe we could have a few words from our captain?" Everyone stared at Michelle expectantly and the bored looking girl lazily looked up from her book.

"Right…study and don't mess this up or I'll make sure you'll regret it." Michelle said darkly and Emma smirked. Mr. Harrington laughed nervously.

"She's kidding, guys, but seriously…study." Mr. Harrington told the teenagers before he ended the decathlon meeting. The team members immediately began chatting among themselves as Mr. Harrington awkwardly went back to grading papers.

"Do you want to do something tomorrow?" Peter asked Emma softly as he glanced at her. Emma looked up from the textbook curiously.

"Like what?" Emma questioned and Peter shrugged.

"Well, we're going to spend the rest of Christmas break at the compound after Friday so I figured we could do some holiday stuff around the city before we leave." Peter elaborated and Emma raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What kind of holiday stuff?" Emma inquired and Peter shrugged.

"Well, I don't really know. Is there anything you want to do?" Peter asked her and Emma just looked back at him, not sure what to tell him. Holiday stuff? What kind of holiday stuff was there ever to do? Steve made her to do some Christmas type stuff when he was still around but Emma hadn't been very enthusiastic about it. She wasn't the most cheerful person around the holidays. Tony called her the Grinch.

"I don't know. Steve took me to see the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller center the past couple years." Emma told him and Peter nodded.

"Okay. What else did you do?" Emma just shrugged.

"We went Christmas shopping." Emma said shortly and Peter gave her a surprised look.

"Is that all?" He questioned in disbelief and Emma nodded.

"Yes." Peter shook his head, not believing that was only the two Christmas things Emma had ever done. Christmas tree lighting and shopping. The shopping thing didn't even really count because that was shopping for other people.

"That's unacceptable. I can't believe your grandfather wouldn't take you out to do more Christmas things." Peter said, expressing his disbelief.

"Well, it's not like he didn't want to but I told him I'd run away if he took me ice skating or to see the Nutcracker ballet so he settled for staying inside and we made Christmas cookies instead." Emma frowned after she gave the memory some thought. "Well, he made Christmas cookies while I watched Edward Scissorhands. I'm going to be honest with you, Peter, I'm not a very Christmas spirited person. I'm not a fan of Christmas." Peter's eyes widened in disbelief. No…he couldn't have heard Emma right.

"What? How can you not be a Christmas person? Everyone's a Christmas person." Peter said, not quite understanding Emma's logic but she didn't appear bothered by his disbelief.

"Well, I'm not very religious. Steve's the cross bearing one in the family. Not me." Emma told Peter honestly and Peter just shook his head.

"You don't have to be religious to like Christmas, Emma." Peter told her and Emma didn't look like she understood what Peter was telling her.

"It's literally celebrating the birth of Christ. How is that not religious?" She asked him and Peter laughed, amused by how literal she could be sometimes.

"I'm talking about the commercial side of it. Window shopping, Christmas movies, Christmas Music, ice skating, sledding, and Fifth Avenue. Snowball fights, hot chocolate, and Christmas carolers. Houses lit up with Christmas lights and decorations." Peter told Emma as he passionately listed off all the reasons he loved Christmas. Emma smiled as she watched his brown eyes light up with excitement. He was cute when he was all in the holiday spirit mood like that.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever love Christmas, Peter. I spent nine years without it so it became easy for me to distance myself from it." Emma told Peter honestly and he gave her a shocked look.

"Nine years without Christmas?!" Peter exclaimed but blushed when everyone turned to look at them, giving the couple a weird look. Emma gave Peter a pointed look once everyone turned back away from them.

"Sorry but the people that raised me weren't that festive." Emma said sarcastically but Peter just looked unbothered.

"Well, that settles it. We're going to do every Christmas sort of thing there is." He said with determination and Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"Parker, are you deaf? I just said I'm not a fan of Christmas." Emma told her stubborn boyfriend. "Besides…Steve already tried to get me into it without much luck."

"You're going to love Christmas as much as everyone else does. I'll make sure of it." Peter told her, sounding quite sure of himself but Emma rolled her eyes. She knew it was no use in arguing with him because he was just going to do it anyways. He was a little annoying in that way but Emma admired him for trying. Steve, Sam, and Darcy had all tried getting her in the Christmas spirit before with no success. They were lucky if Emma even put one ornament on the Christmas tree. Before Vision had come along Emma was the only one that was able to fly up to the top of the tree to add the star Christmas tree topper as the finishing touch. Yet even with the ability to fly up there and do it herself she still made Steve climb up the ladder to do it because she said decorating trees was beneath her. Yeah, Emma doubted Peter could make her love Christmas that much.

"You keep telling yourself that." Emma muttered before both her and Peter's attention was taken away from each other when Flash started talking loudly much to Emma's annoyance. God, she really hated that moron sometimes…well, not sometimes but pretty much all the time. Emma debated whether or not she should've stuffed Flash in a locker too but she didn't think she'd be able to get away with it again.

"My parents are taking my brother and I to Aspen for Christmas. We're staying at a ski lodge up there so it should be fun, I guess." Flash bragged to everyone that would listen. Charles seemed to be the only one excited by the story while everyone else rolled their eyes. Flash then rested his eyes on Emma but his face scrunched up in distaste when he saw Peter Parker sitting obnoxiously close to her.

"What about you, Lewis? You've got any plans for Christmas?" Flash asked her in what Emma was sure he considered to be a flirtatious tone. Peter glared at the bratty, arrogant teenage boy as he wrapped his arm around Emma, pulling her closer to him.

"Emma and I are actually going sightseeing around the city for Christmas. There's just a lot to do here so why even leave?" Peter told Flash, practically fuming and normally Emma would've shoved Peter's arm off of her for thinking he could speak for her but she didn't. She even smirked a little at the obvious jealousy displayed in Peter's demeanor. Okay, jealous Peter was really hot.

"I don't know why you're even wasting your time with Penis Parker, Lewis. You could do better." Flash told her heatedly but his eyes were still locked with Peter's. Emma scoffed.

"Like who? You, Flash?" Emma questioned before shaking her head. "No, thanks. I think I'll pass."

"Well, maybe if you were _my_ girlfriend I'd take you with me to Aspen instead of just taking you sightseeing around New York." Flash said smugly as Peter gave him the most heated glare she had ever seen. "Of course, Penis Parker probably couldn't afford to take you somewhere nice like Aspen." Peter was about to respond to Flash's taunt but Emma intervened before he could with a glare of her own.

"If you took me to Aspen I'd probably go Jack Nicholson on you with an axe." Emma told Flash darkly before continuing. "Besides…Peter has plenty of more things to offer than some stupid trip to Aspen."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Flash questioned, his eyes flashing with jealousy but Emma just smirked at him before looking back at Peter with a slightly more seductive look on her face.

"Things that an inexperienced boy like you wouldn't understand." Peter blushed at the suggestiveness of Emma's voice. The blonde then turned back to Flash, feigning an innocent look. "We won't give you the details. I wouldn't want to embarrass you, Flash." The Hispanic boy then flushed red with embarrassment as he quickly turned away without saying another word. Everyone else laughed at the embarrassed arrogant teen who quickly stormed out of the room. Emma just loved humiliating that spoiled rich brat and the idiot just made it way too easy for her. Darcy was right all those months ago when she told her that high school could be fun. High School was fun because Emma got to tell arrogant assholes, like Flash Thompson, where to get off.

"Did you see Flash's face?" Ned asked the couple as he walked over. "You guys sure told him."

"Well, Flash's a little dickhead that should learn his place anyways." Emma said shortly and Ned nodded, looking a bit taken back by Emma's language like he always did. Peter used to seem taken back too but now he just seemed almost charmed by some of the things Emma said. Ned supposed that was what happened when you were in love but he didn't really care to understand that too much either.

"So…Peter are we still up for that movie?" Ned asked Peter and the teenage boy immediately stopped gazing at his girlfriend to look at his friend. He gave Ned a slightly confused look.

"What movie?" Peter questioned and Ned just stared at him in disbelief.

"Dude, Star Wars: Rogue One? Remember? The same one that you ditched me for last week when you took Emma to see that boring old person movie." Ned said, sounding a little bit annoyed with Peter. Emma gave Peter a confused look.

"What's Ned talking about, Peter?" Emma asked him and Peter looked down at floor, suddenly embarrassed.

"He didn't tell you? Your boyfriend skipped going to see Rogue One opening day because he was too busy getting ready for his date with you." Ned said, even sounding somewhat angry at Peter.

"I'm sorry, Ned, but I'm going to take Emma into Manhattan to see all the Christmas decorations. I don't I think I can make the movie." Peter said quietly and Ned gave him a look of disbelief. Emma just watched the two best friends silently as she tried piece together what was going on with them.

"But this is Star Wars." Ned told Peter but the teenage boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"It's just a movie, Ned." Peter told him and Ned shook his head, not understanding Peter's actions. Ned was feeling slightly left out by his best friend. He had barely seen Peter since the teenage boy and Emma had gotten together. It felt like Peter was ditching him now that he finally had the girl of his dreams.

"Whatever." Ned mumbled. "I'll just go see if Abe wants to go." The dark haired boy then walked off, leaving Emma and Peter alone. Emma had a dumbfounded look on her face before turning back to Peter who seemed almost unaffected by Ned's sadness. Peter noticed Emma staring at him and gave her a confused look.

"What?" Emma then glared at her boyfriend before harshly smacking him upside the head. Peter winced at the impact, soothingly rubbing the spot where Emma smacked him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an asshole." Emma hissed as she continued to glare at him. "What the hell, Parker? You've been ditching Ned for me?" Peter gave Emma a sheepish look.

"Not really. I mean, we see each other at school." Peter told Emma but she gave him a doubtful look.

"What about all the times you do your little nerd things?" Emma asked and Peter shook his head.

"We haven't really been seeing each other outside of school that much. Well, we did when you and I weren't speaking but not since." He explained.

"And Star Wars?" Emma inquired and Peter actually managed to look a little shameful of how he had been ignoring his best friend.

"We were supposed to see it Friday but I wanted to go on the date with you instead." Peter told her and Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"But you love Star Wars." Emma said and Peter just gave her a love sick look.

"Yes but I love you more." Peter said with his usual amount of cheesiness. Emma glared at her thick headed boyfriend.

"Yes, I'm aware of that but you can't just drop everything for me, Peter. It doesn't work like that." Emma said before the expression on her face softened. "We can't just ignore everyone else in our lives to spend time with each other. We'll only end up resenting each other."

"I'll never resent you." Peter told Emma, looking at her almost adoringly. "I just love spending time with you, Emma. What's so wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with that Peter. I love spending time with you too but it's incredibly selfish of us." Emma said, almost wincing at her own words. Since when did she care about being selfish or not? Emma supposed since she fell in love and started caring about people other than her father, Steve, and herself. "Look, I'm one of the most selfish people out there but even I know that it's not fair to everyone else. When my father and Steve come back I'm not going to spend every waking moment of the day with you. I'm going to want to spend time with them too." Peter's gave her an understanding look.

"I know you'll want to spend time with them. I'd never stop you from doing that." Peter said sincerely.

"So you'll understand why I'm not going to keep you from spending time with Ned. He's your best friend and I don't want him resenting me for keeping you from him." Emma said to him as she locked eyes with his, trying to get him to understand her point. Peter sighed.

"I guess, I see what you mean." Peter finally said.

"Do you want to see Star Wars?" Emma asked him carefully.

"Well, yes. Of course, I do." Peter admitted and Emma smiled.

"Then go apologize to Ned for being an ass and go see it with him." She told him and Peter still seemed unsure.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you or anything." Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, get over yourself, Parker. I can survive a few hours without you." Emma retorted and Peter nodded, understanding that Emma would be okay without him. The only time they had recently spent apart was when they both went their separate ways at night to get some sleep.

"If you're sure." Peter responded before giving her a longing look. "I'll miss you." Emma smiled but shook her head at him.

"You'll be fine, Parker. Absence makes the heart grow fonder or so they say." She then leaned in and pressed her lips against his softly. Peter only barely had time to respond as he kissed her back before Emma pulled away. A mischievous smirk then came over her face before she leaned in real close, whispering something in Peter's ear that made him blush.

"If you prove that you can spend a couple hours without me maybe I'll kiss you like I kissed you the other night." Emma whispered suggestively and Peter knew exactly what she meant by the tone of her voice. She then pulled back and Peter felt his heart race at the mischief that was sparkling in those blue eyes of hers. Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I guess I'll get going then." Peter told her as he tried to remain calm and not think of the kiss Emma was talking about. If he thought too much about the kiss he knew he'd never be able to focus on the movie he was about to see. Emma just smirked at her boyfriend as he got up from the steps to go over to Ned.

"Have fun at the movies, Peter." Emma said with a teasing smirk. Peter, his face still red, barely nodded before he walked away, feeling slightly overwhelmed by Emma's teasing. She always teased him in the past but it was different now since she actually meant the things she teased him about. Unlike before, Peter actually liked it when Emma teased him or flirted with him. He knew she wasn't really making fun of him. Her intentions were sincere. Even so…Peter knew that girl was going to be the death of him.

* * *

Spending a couple hours away from Peter turned out not to be a big deal for Emma and she was glad for that. Her worst fear was relying too heavily on Peter. Ever since she admitted to herself that she loved him she was deeply scared of the power Peter held over her. However, he didn't seem to be taking advantage of that power even though knew he could if he really wanted. Emma, however, knew he never would because Peter wasn't that kind of person which was another reason why she loved him in the first place.

It was actually nice spending a bit of time away from Peter. She hadn't seen him since the day before. Time spent apart from him felt nice because it left her with more to tell him in his brief absence. Emma had gone to a coffee shop with Michelle after school where they studied a bit for the international competition and talked about books they had read lately. She had then gone home where she spent the rest of the night watching _New Girl_ with Darcy. Something she pretended to hate but actually kind of liked. Emma was slowly becoming the very kind of person she used to hate. A person who actually watched _New Girl_ and liked it.

"So what are you up to today?" Darcy asked her as she sat at the kitchen table, drinking her coffee and reading something off her Stark tablet. Emma had just come down the stairs, dressed casually but still nice despite it being the first day of Christmas vacation. She was wearing a maroon colored ribbed sweater, mid-rise skinny jeans, a belted black wrap coat, and faux black suede ankle boots. Darcy still remembered the days that Emma hated to go shopping and didn't care about clothes. She thought Emma was just playing a part when she started having a fashion sense after she started going to high school but Darcy was starting to think that Emma was just like other teenage girls deep down. She liked dressing up to impress the boy she liked…or in this case loved apparently. Darcy was still in shock over the fact that Emma could actually be so normal as to fall in love with a boy. It was kind of amusing and Darcy wondered what Steve would think of all this.

"Peter's taking me to do Christmas things." Emma told her and Darcy gave her a look of disbelief.

"You and Christmas things? You hate Christmas." Darcy replied, laughing as she did so. Emma shrugged.

"Well, I don't actually hate Christmas. I just find it pointless." Emma said, defending her dislike of the holidays. Darcy didn't look like she believed her.

"Yeah, right. You're the one who stole all of Tony's Christmas presents so that he'd think that everyone had forgotten to get him anything." Darcy told her pointedly. "You ruined Christmas for literally the richest guy in America. You're a total Grinch."

"I think I was instilling the true spirit of Christmas by making Tony appreciate Christmas again." Emma said smugly as she smirked at the brunette. Darcy gave her a doubtful look.

"I don't think I've seen Tony look so sad in my life." Darcy remarked but Emma just shrugged.

"He should thank me for giving him a new perspective on life. I made him a better person." Emma said casually before returning to the subject of Peter taking her out on another date. "Peter thinks that it'll be fun so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt." Darcy just smiled at the teenager.

"Look at you, Em. You're so in love." Darcy said almost teasingly. "It's so cute." Emma glared at her.

"If you tell anyone about that I'll kill you." Emma told her seriously. "Don't think I'm kidding because I'm not."

"I don't think I'll have to tell anyone when it's so clearly written all over your face."

"Can you ever shut up?" Emma questioned and Darcy just smirked at her.

"The big bad Viper Assassin and she's about to go out and have a romantic montage with the boy she's in love with." Darcy continued to tease.

"And you wonder why you don't have a boyfriend." Emma mumbled, thinking that Darcy had to be the third most annoying person she had ever met. Tony and Flash easily surpassed Darcy there. Fortunately before Darcy could respond they heard a knock on the door and Darcy admired the happy look that had come across Emma's face. Darcy was glad that Emma was finally happy again. It was almost like when Steve was still around but at the same time it felt different. Emma went over to the front door and opened it, revealing Peter whose face lit up the moment his eyes rested on Emma. Darcy smiled because young teenage love was so adorable.

"Hi." Peter said softly.

"Hi." Emma said back to him.

"You look really pretty." Peter told her and Emma blushed despite the cold winter air coming from outside.

"You don't have to say that every day, Parker. I'm already dating you…there's no need for flattery." Emma told him, ignoring how much she actually liked it when Peter complimented her like that. Peter just smiled at her.

"But you do look pretty every day so I won't stop saying it."

"You guys are so mushy. I love it!" Darcy exclaimed, interrupting Emma and Peter's moment. Emma fought the urge to glare at the brunette so she just stayed focused on Peter. Peter, however, flashed a quick smile in Darcy's direction.

"Hey, Darcy." Darcy gave the teenage boy an amused smile.

"Hey, Peter." She said in amusement. "Have her home at a reasonable time. Say…three in the morning."

"Um…I don't think we'll be out that long." Peter said nervously and Emma rolled her eyes.

"She's just messing with you." Emma told him and Peter nodded.

"Right." He responded before looking back at Emma. "Are you ready to go then?"

"Yes."

"Have fun, you two crazy kids!" Darcy called after them as Emma walked out the door and pointedly slammed it behind her. Emma was really making an effort to show Darcy how annoying she could be. Her annoyance was then forgotten the moment Peter slipped his hand into hers, giving her a smile that made her feel all warm inside despite the snowy weather. Emma didn't really care for Christmas but she didn't think she was going to mind Peter getting her into the Christmas spirit. This was going to be interesting…that was for sure.

* * *

Emma and Peter rode the subway to Manhattan and Emma was a bit frustrated that Peter wasn't telling her where they were going. He really seemed to like surprises she was soon finding out. The two had stopped at the newly reconstructed Delmar's Deli on the way to the subway station where Peter had enthusiastically introduced Emma as his girlfriend to Mr. Delmar. She could tell Peter enjoyed calling her his girlfriend since he basically told anyone who would listen. Emma also knew that Peter was really struggling not to tell Tony about them. She gave him props for actually keeping his mouth shut because she knew it wasn't in his nature to do so. Anyways…they made the stop at Delmar's Deli to grab a couple of sandwiches for lunch later on. Emma didn't know how a sandwich could make someone as happy as Peter was when his eyes landed on it. Emma loved food too but she didn't love food like that. She even wondered whether or not she should feel jealous of the sandwich.

"You've never been on the subway before, have you?" Peter asked Emma when he noticed the discomfort on Emma's face. She suspiciously eyed all the passengers on the subway and sent a scathing look to a six year old who drifted a little too close for her liking.

"No, not really." Emma told him as she remained glued to the subway pole, hating the way the train jerked whenever it made a sudden stop. She was definitely going to have to soak her hands in hand sanitize after this. Emma tried not to think about all the people that touched the pole who also hadn't washed their hands.

"How have you lived in New York for two years and never been on the subway?" Peter questioned, smiling in amusement at her. Emma shrugged.

"Happy drove us everywhere and I never left the tower or compound that much. We didn't really need to go anywhere that often." Emma told him truthfully. It was true. She had never needed to ride the subway because she never really had to leave the comfort of home. It's not like Emma ever felt trapped inside the tower or compound. She was perfectly fine with never leaving because the tower and compound felt safe to her. Emma didn't consider herself to be an overly curious person, never feeling the need to go out and explore the city.

"You really are a country girl." Peter teased and Emma playfully glared at him.

"Well, excuse me for never wanting to ride on a means of transportation invested with germs and bacteria." Emma retorted before looking in disgust at a man who was creepily staring at her. "Besides…isn't the subway notorious for creeps that masturbate in public? That doesn't sound exactly thrilling to me." Peter glared at the creepy guy who was staring at Emma before stepping in front of her, subsequently blocking her from view. Emma was a little amused at Peter's protectiveness considering that she was more than capable of protecting herself. It was kind of cute to see Peter be so protective over her.

"Okay…so there's a lot of creeps on the subway. I'll give you that." Peter admitted quietly to her but Emma just smirked at him.

"Don't worry, Peter, I brought my knife with me. That asshole makes one wrong move and he's gonna get a knife through the heart." Emma told Peter, looking like she was a bit excited at the prospect of the man attacking her so she could retaliate. Peter stared at her in disbelief even though he didn't know why he was surprised. Of course Emma would bring a knife with her. She brought a knife with her everywhere.

"You brought a knife on our date?" Peter asked in a hushed voice, seeming a little alarmed.

"Of course, I did. Knives are my preferred choice of weapon. You know that." Emma told Peter as if it were nothing. "Papa loves knives too. He actually made me the one I'm carrying…maybe he can make you one someday too? I'd make you one but he's way better at it than I am." Peter just shook his head at her but he was more amused with his girlfriend than anything else. He had to admit he was a little curious see how Emma interacted with her father. Peter knew that Emma and her father were probably not the most common example of a father and daughter. Most fathers and daughters didn't bond over knives after all.

"Um…no thanks. I think I'm fine with the one you gave me." Peter told Emma, not sure if it would be cool to have a knife made by the Winter Soldier or a little creepy. "Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly paranoid?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"Nope. Just you." Emma replied before smirking at him and Peter playfully rolled his eyes at her. " So where are we going anyways?"

"Macy's." Peter replied as the conversation shifted away from knives and subway creeps. Emma raised an eyebrow because she was actually surprised Peter had told her where they were going.

"Macy's? Like the department store?" Emma asked in confusion.

"Is there any other Macy's?" Peter threw back at her before smiling, looking very excited for some reason unknown to Emma. "Besides…this Macy's is the most famous Macy's in the world."

"Okay but why exactly are we going to Macy's?" Emma questioned but Peter didn't say anything. He just continued smiling at her with an excited gleam in his brown eyes. Somehow Emma didn't have a good feeling about this.

* * *

"This is so stupid." Emma muttered as they waited in a long line inside the famous department store. Peter just grinned at her. Macy's was fully decked out in Christmas decorations that even Emma had to admit looked quite amazing. Christmas displays were littered through out the store, proving that Christmas shopping was more fun than normal shopping. Well, Emma supposed that's what Macy's hoped for business wise. The line they were waiting in, however, was filled with kids and their parents. Emma glanced down in annoyance at a little boy who was talking about how he was going to ask Santa for a Kylo Ren lightsaber. The kid talked a mile a minute and Emma wondered if that's what Peter had been like when he was that young. If he was then Emma was sure that she wouldn't have been friends with him.

"Come on, it's going to be fun." Peter reassured her and Emma looked at him like he was stupid.

"It's going to be lame." Emma shot back as she looked in distaste at a middle aged man decked out in a Santa Clause suit, sitting in a chair and surrounded by bored looking college students dressed as elves. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

"Well, you did." Peter reminded her smugly and Emma glared at him.

"Only because it was either this or going to build-a-bear workshop. I'm not going to let you pay fifty dollars for some stupid stuffed bear that I have to make myself. That's like throwing money out the window." Emma told him. She still couldn't believe she had even agreed to do this Santa Clause thing but Peter has insisted after she admitted to never talking to a mall Santa. Emma was slowly starting to think she was better off letting Peter pay for an overpriced bear. She didn't even know why the store was letting her do this. Well, maybe it was because Peter gave them some sob story about how she was a military brat that spent years overseas and never gotten the chance to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. He was getting a little too good at lying. Emma was starting to think that she had finally corrupted him.

"Just relax, Emma. It's not a big deal." Peter told her, trying to calm her down but Emma ignored him.

"Don't you think it's a little strange that this old man has a job that requires little kids to sit on his lap? I question the parenting skills of these kids' parents who'd let their kids sit on some weird old man's lap." Emma said casually and Peter looked around fearfully, worried that one of the parents standing in line might've heard her.

"Emma, don't say that so loudly." Peter whispered loudly to her but Emma just continued like she didn't hear him.

"I'm just saying that it sounds like a pedophile's dream job." Emma remarked as she continued talking about her opinion of Santa Clause. "I just wonder if Macy checks these guys out to make sure they don't hire pedophiles. I mean, who else would want to dress up in that ridiculous looking red suit all day and listen to a bunch of spoiled brats ask for stupid junk?"

"I don't know…maybe someone who enjoys the spirit of Christmas." Peter suggested and Emma just scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure he totally enjoys getting paid minimum wage at his age too." Emma said cynically before glancing back at Peter. "You know, I also find it weird how much my boyfriend wants me to sit on some other guy's lap."

"Stop making a big deal out of this." Peter told the blonde. "All you have to do is tell him what you want for Christmas and we can leave." Emma then smirked at Peter as she suddenly leaned in closer to him and he knew she was definitely up to something. It seemed like Emma always had a few tricks up her sleeves to get out of things. Peter blushed as he swallowed nervously.

"Of course, I could always just sit on _your_ lap and tell you what I want for Christmas instead." Emma flirted as she looked at him from under her lashes. Peter nodded slowly, a little caught off guard by her bold and flirtatious statement. Whenever Emma flirted with him like that she really seemed to get his heart racing and his mind just went blank.

"Okay." He said without thinking. Peter's eyes then widened in realization when he realized what she was trying to do. "Wait-No! You're not getting out of this one, Emma." Emma frowned when she realized that Peter wasn't going to give her what she wanted. She sighed.

"Fine. It was worth a shot, I guess." Emma muttered as she went back to glaring at Santa Clause.

"Just behave yourself and tell Santa what you want." Peter said as he bossed her around. Emma knew that Peter was probably the only one she let tell her what to do. Mostly because she found him attractive when he tried to boss her around.

"Yes, Dad." Emma said sarcastically before giving Peter a dark look. "But if Santa tries grabbing my boob or ass Santa's gonna die." Peter rolled his eyes.

"If Santa touches you inappropriately then _I'll_ kill him." Peter told her but it was clear he was only joking. Emma feigned a surprised look.

"Wow, Parker, death threats? Maybe I really have corrupted you." Emma teased and Peter just laughed.

"Next!" One of the elves called out and Emma realized it was her turn to go sit on the old man's lap. Gross. The idea of sitting on an old man's lap didn't really appeal to Emma for obvious reasons but she didn't want to explain to Peter why she wasn't comfortable. That and Emma didn't want to be weak. She already let enough of her past haunt her with the nightmares and flashbacks. That part of her past didn't control her. An idea then occurred to Emma as she stared at Santa who was smiling and waving at her. How the hell did someone smile that much? God, it was fucking depressing. She'd love more than anything to wipe that stupid jovial look off his face. A smirk slowly formed over her face as Emma came up with an idea.

"Wait…I know that look." Peter said as he noticed the evil look on his girlfriend's face. She was up to something…she was always up to something. Peter pretended like it bothered him when in reality it fascinated him. "Why do you look so evil? What are you up to?" Emma just gave him an innocent look as she began walking over to Santa.

"Nothing, Peter. I'm just going to go tell Santa what I want for Christmas." Emma said softly and Peter watched as she plastered a smile on her face to greet Santa. A part of Peter wondered if she really was going to murder Santa but he knew this was probably something far worse.

"Well, you're a little older than the other kids." Santa said to Emma as he smiled up at her and Emma raised an eyebrow at the old man.

"Are you disappointed?" Emma asked and Santa gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"Nothing." Emma said quickly before sitting on Santa's lap. Emma probably could've just stood there instead of sitting on Santa's lap if she wanted to but she had something completely genius in mind. Peter fidgeted with the sleeve of his coat nervously because he knew she was definitely up to something this time.

"So tell me, young lady, what is it that you want for Christmas?" Santa asked her and Emma just smiled innocently before leaning in to whisper what she wanted in his ear. Peter watched curiously as the happy and jolly expression on Santa's face quickly morphed into one of shock and horror. When Emma finished she happily hopped off the old man's lap without a care in the world.

"Security!" Santa called as he stared at the young girl with wide eyes. Peter stared in confusion at a gleeful looking Emma and a disgusted looking Santa Clause. What did she tell him? Before Peter could give anymore thought to it, two burly looking security guards came up to Emma and Santa. The other parents in line also looked at the scene with confusion.

"Have this girl and that young man over there escorted out of the store." Santa told the security guards as Emma looked at them with an innocent expression on her face. "They're causing trouble."

The security guards leaned in so that Santa could them more details privately. When Santa told them whatever it was that Emma said, the security guards' eyes widened briefly before they nodded. They waved Peter over and Peter had no choice but to go over to where his girlfriend and the security guards were standing. He couldn't help but notice how Santa gave him the dirtiest look he had ever seen.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to escort you and your friend out of the store, sir." One of the security guards told him and Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why? What did we do?" Peter questioned. The security guard gave him a disgusted look.

"I think you know what you did, young man." The burly looking man told him coldly. Peter looked at Emma for clarification but she just continued doing that thing she did whenever she pretended like she was completely innocent. Santa shook his head at Peter and never did Peter feel more like a criminal than he did in that moment.

"You're a terrible influence on that young girl." Santa told him in a disappointed voice. "This is not a place for that kind of filth, young man. This is Macy's…a national treasure of this great nation." The security guards then placed a hand on his back and began to escort Peter away from Santa. Peter threw a bewildered look in Emma's direction and noticed that she was quite calm despite the security guard escorting her away. What the hell did she say? The security guards finally escorted them outside the store and gave the two teenagers stern looks.

"This a store for families. There's kids here, guys. They don't need to be hearing that kind of nastiness." One of the security guards told them, sounding tired and exhausted. They probably worked long hours during the holiday season. "This is a place of moral integrity and class."

"My boyfriend and I are truly sorry." Emma said softly, looking apologetic but the security guards still had grim looks on their faces.

"Even so, Miss, I'm afraid that we can't have you in here again. Macy's doesn't tolerate that kind of lewd behavior and we certainly don't tolerate that kind of language." The security guard told her and the other one looked at Peter suspiciously.

"I don't know why you did it or if… _someone_ put you up to it but we just can't have that kind of stuff in the store." The other one said as he basically accused Peter of being behind all of this. Peter was bewildered and clueless as to why the security guards and even Santa had looked at him like that. No one had ever looked at Peter like that…the kind of look that told Peter that they clearly thought he was a troublemaker. No one thought that about him before but of course that before he met Emma.

"If we ever see you in the store again we'll have to call your parents and I'm pretty sure neither of you want that to happen." His partner told them sternly and Emma nodded.

"Of course." Emma said shortly and the two men nodded in response, moving to go back into the store but not because giving Peter one last judgemental look. Peter then turned to Emma with a questioning look on his face. What just happened?

"What the hell was that?" Peter questioned and Emma just shrugged as she began walking down the street as if nothing had happened.

"It was nothing really." Emma said nonchalantly.

"That was not just nothing!" Peter exclaimed. "We just got kicked out of a department store and probably banned for life."

"Don't be so dramatic, Parker." Emma remarked but Peter was still more confused than ever.

"What did you say to Santa, Emma? Why was Santa looking at me like I was the devil?" Peter questioned and Emma smirked, a mischievous look in her eyes. Well, that was never a good sign.

"I don't know why they were so upset. I just told Santa what I wanted for Christmas." Emma said innocently but Peter knew her better than that. She was fully aware of what she did wrong but it was Peter that didn't really know what.

"Well, what did you tell him you wanted?" Peter asked her in confusion, clearly perplexed by Emma's antics. She then stopped him in the middle of the street with that same evil look on her face. Why was she so pretty when she looked like that? Emma leaned in close and whispered into Peter's ear.

"I told him that I wanted my boyfriend to eat me out." Emma whispered suggestively and Peter stumbled back away from her, his face a vibrant shade of red. He stared at her wide eyed as she started laughing at the look on his face.

"W-what are y-you even t-talking about?!" Peter stuttered as he looked at her in shock. Out of everything that Emma could've possibly said that was the last thing he expected to hear. Emma thought the look on Peter's face was priceless.

"Come on, Parker, don't be like that. I was only kidding." Emma told Peter, rolling her eyes at him like _he_ was the one being ridiculous. "It's not my fault they can't take a joke."

"Emma, you mean to say that you actually said that to Santa?!" Peter said as he started panicking. "Oh my god and they thought I told you to say that, didn't they? That's why Santa looked at me like I was a disgusting person."

"I thought perverted Santa would get off on hearing that. How was I supposed to know he'd get pissed?" Emma told him. "I think Santa should encourage a guy to take care of his girlfriend. That's the jolly thing to do." Peter glared at her.

"You're a terrible person. Now everyone in Macy thinks I'm the disgusting pervert that told my girlfriend to say sexually explicit things to Santa." Peter complained, looking quite embarrassed. "I'm definitely going to get a sack of coal this year…a really, really big sack of coal." Emma gave him an amused look.

"You know Santa's not real, right? May filled you in on that fact, didn't she?" Emma teased and Peter continued to glare at her although this time it was much more playful. He couldn't stay mad at Emma. It was just all too impossible to stay mad at her especially when she was just being her evil and trouble making self. Peter was fully aware of the fact that his girlfriend was a little evil but he loved that about her.

"You're going to be on the naughty list." Peter told her and by the smirk on his face she thought he might've even been flirting with her. She gave him a slightly surprised look.

"Are you actually flirting with me, Peter Parker?" Emma asked, humor gleaming in her blue eyes. "What would Santa say?" Peter just wrapped an arm around her as they continued to walk down the street.

"Santa's not here." Emma just smiled, delighted that Peter had a very flirtatious side to him when he was provoked. She leaned into his side comfortably as they resumed walking. Peter just kept surprising her every day and Emma loved it.

* * *

"Huh…it doesn't look like it did in the movie." Peter said as he looked around the famous jewelry store. It was after lunch that Emma and Peter wandered over to Tiffany's out of curiosity. So far they had taken a walk down fifth avenue and Peter had even taken her ice skating which was something Steve had never gotten her to do. Emma thought Peter should consider himself special because of that. Peter also managed to convince Emma to never tell anyone what she told Santa. Emma promised him that she wouldn't tell the others but she knew when the rest of the Avengers came back she would definitely tell Steve. Steve getting all red faced and uptight was a sight Emma found absolutely hilarious.

"No, it doesn't." Emma agreed as she frowned looking over all the cases of jewelry. "It actually looks too modern for me. This is kind of disappointing…I thought it would look like it did in the sixties. I mean, they had an entire movie centered around this store so you'd think they would milk that for all it's worth by having the same decorum as back then."

"Yeah, I don't really picture Audrey Hepburn in this place." Peter said as the two teenagers began walking around the store. "You know, I thought there would be way more people wearing fur shawls and fancy hats."

"And not middle aged guys wearing Nike sneakers and khakis?" Emma commented as she looked at a couple guys that strongly reminded her of Scott Lang for some reason. Maybe that was because she imagined both Lang and these men to be the type to tell lame dad jokes. In all honesty sometimes Steve told lame dad jokes too.

"Yeah, it's kind of disappointing in comparison." Peter said as they glanced down at an assortment of beautiful jewelry in one of the glass cases. Emma stared at the necklace and felt a bit disappointed that she wasn't more impressed. She didn't know what she thought would happen when walked into Tiffany's. Emma just assumed that she would naturally become transfixed with that one special necklace like Audrey Hepburn did in the movie. Maybe it was because Emma didn't really have an interest in jewelry. That was probably it.

"Anything stand out to you?" Peter said jokingly as they walked along all the glass cases much like Holly and Paul had done in the movie.

"Not really…so many diamonds though." Emma said before a teasing smile came across her face as she glanced back at Peter. "Of course personally, I think it would be tacky to wear diamonds before I'm forty." Peter laughed at her perfect impression of Audrey Hepburn.

"Are you actually being funny?" Peter questioned as he smiled at how carefree she looked when she was being lighthearted and happy. Emma scoffed.

"I can be funny…just like when I told Santa what I wanted for Christmas. That was funny." Emma retorted and Peter shook his head in amusement.

"That's only funny to you because you like causing trouble. You're like a female Loki." Peter told Emma and the blonde smirked at him.

"Does that mean you're physically attracted to Loki as well since I'm apparently the female version of him?" She teased and Peter just playfully glared at her.

"No, because for one he's a guy and two he's like an intergalactic terrorist." Peter then had a look of nonchalance on his face as he started to discreetly, or as discreetly as he could, pry for answers. "Are _you_ physically attracted to Loki?" Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew, no. He's like a million years old and not to mention he looks like a young Severus Snape." Emma told Peter. "Seriously, Thor should tell his brother to wash his hair once in a while. If you're going to take over the world you need to keep up appearances. Gross looking hair and a pasty complexion won't make people worship you."

"Only you can criticize an evil villain's appearance." Peter joked before giving her a curious look. "So you don't think he's attractive or anything?" Emma gave Peter an amused smile, suddenly very interested in Peter's current behavior.

"Are you jealous, Parker?" Emma asked him and he blushed, suddenly looking very shy. "Because you're way hotter than Loki." Peter looked up at her hopefully.

"Really?" He asked her and Emma nodded.

"It's no contest. Loki doesn't even come close to you. " Emma reassured him and she was being completely honest. She found it to be even a little silly for Peter to think she found Loki more attractive than him. Gross. The guy was super old and not even half as attractive to Emma as Peter was. Emma even inwardly shuddered at the thought.

"Thanks." Peter murmured shyly as he avoided her gaze. Her eyes gleamed with amusement as a small smile came over her face at how adorable he was. Yeah, Loki definitely had nothing on him.

They were quiet for a moment as they silently explored the jewelry store. Emma thought that the employees might've been more snobbish about a couple of teenagers in the store but apparently Tiffany's seemed to be a popular tourist stop so it was like they were expecting all kinds of people to drop in. No one seemed to mind the fact that two teenagers were aimlessly wandering around the store. Emma felt Peter's gaze on her but didn't say anything until she started feeling like he had something to say.

"What is it?" Emma said without looking up.

"I want to get you something from here." Peter said suddenly and Emma looked up at him in surprise. It was seldom that anything surprised her but Emma was genuinely surprised in that moment.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked him, a look of confusion on her face. Peter just smiled at her.

"I want to get you something from Tiffany's." Peter told her as if it were that obvious. Emma just shook her in disbelief.

"Are you high, Parker? Tiffany's is like the most expensive jewelry store in the world." Emma said before a mischievous look came over her face. "Of course we could always use Tony's credit card and see how long it takes him before he notices a five thousand dollar charge." Peter shook his head, seeming very determined as he looked at her.

"No, I want to buy you something with my money." Peter said and the smile fell off Emma's face.

"Don't be crazy, Peter. I'm not letting you spend money on me and besides…I doubt there's anything that a fifteen year old could afford at Tiffany's." Emma pointedly told her very defiant looking boyfriend. Peter smirked at her.

"You're always saying how you'd use men for their money if you had to so just this once use me for my money." Peter threw back at her and Emma glared at him.

"Yeah, I'd use Tony for his money but I wouldn't use you. We both know that I'm not with you because of your money." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head in amusement at her.

"Well, I've saved some money up from tutoring and I want to get you something." Emma couldn't believe how stubborn Peter was being. It was odd because a few months ago she wouldn't have cared whether or not he wasted his money on her but now it suddenly seemed to bother her. She guessed that's what love did to people. It made them care about other people instead of just themselves.

"Then let Tony pay for it. We've been having a lot of fun throwing his money away on junk food and other ridiculous stuff." Emma said as she tried to appeal to his more humorous side. She didn't think it would work that well seeing as she was the only one who thought it was fun making fun of Tony and spending his money. "Tiffany's would be the icing on the cake and if you want we can even see how much money we can spend before we max out his credit card."

"But I don't want Tony to pay for it, Emma. I want to buy you something with my own money so it's from me and me alone." Peter told her sincerely with that puppy dog look in his eyes that always drove Emma insane. She could tell he wasn't going to give this up. Emma sighed tiredly before eventually relenting.

"Fine, fine. You can buy me something although I don't know what you'd be able to buy from Tiffany's with a job as a tutor." It sounded like something a snob might've said but Peter knew it was just Emma being her usual blunt and honest self. "Unless you're a secret app developer you're definitely not going to be able to afford anything in here." Peter didn't seem bothered by her remark as he smiled at her, a confident look on his face.

"Ten dollars and under, remember?" Peter told her smugly and Emma gave him a look of disbelief. Oh my god…he was such a dork.

"Are you seriously trying to copy Breakfast at Tiffany's?" Emma questioned. God, it even sounded ridiculous when she said it aloud. Peter just continued to smile at her.

"Yup." Emma shook her head at him.

"You're ridiculous." Emma told him but also smiling at the same time because she couldn't help but be amused by the whole thing. "I hate to break it to you, Parker, but I don't think Tiffany's has anything for under ten dollars. It's not 1961 anymore."

"Well, I'm willing to go up. I have fifty dollars saved." Peter informed her and Emma scoffed.

"You said you've been saving money for a while but you only have fifty dollars saved? I've been pick pocketing the other Avengers and I have five hundred dollars saved." Emma said and for a moment Peter thought she was joking but he could tell she wasn't. Oh, Emma…

"You've been stealing money from the Avengers?" Peter questioned and Emma rolled her eyes.

"It's not like Sam, Rhodey, or Jane actually have any kids or anything. They're rich enough that they don't even notice when they're missing money. It's not like it's my fault if they leave their wallets lying around." Emma defended but Peter just gave her a stern look. Emma groaned. "Fine, _Steve._ I'll give the money to Barton's kids or something equally as charitable."

"Or you could just give it back to them." Peter told her and Emma smirked at him.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Peter shook his head at her before he grabbed her hand and began to lead her over to the counter where one of the employees was standing. It was an older man that didn't look too different from the guy in the movie. He looked like he had been working at Tiffany's a little too long judging by the look of disdain that came over his face when he saw two teenagers walk up to him. Maybe she was wrong before about Tiffany's not seeming that snobbish.

"May I help you?" The older man asked them once they finally reached the counter. He didn't look like he really wanted to help him but Emma supposed it was his job to ask anyways. Peter flashed the man a friendly smile.

"I was actually hoping to purchase something from here today for my girlfriend." Peter said as he looked over at Emma, adoration in his eyes. The older man looked between the two teenagers, seeming like he wanted to roll his eyes at them.

"Yes and what exactly are you hoping to buy?" The man asked them, causing Peter to turn back to him.

"Something that symbolizes our love for each other." Peter said seriously and the man looked slightly revolted. Emma wondered why the man was working there if he was revolted by couples being affectionate. This was a jewelry store after all. It was filled with mushy couples looking to buy jewelry.

"So a necklace or earrings?" The man drawled in a bored tone.

"Nothing with diamonds." Emma told the man just as serious as Peter had been. "Only snobby assholes wear diamonds." The man raised an eyebrow at Emma and Peter stifled a laugh. Yeah, it was clear to Peter that Emma was no Audrey Hepburn but he was completely fine with that.

"So what are you interested in then? Pearls? Rubies? Sapphire?" He questioned and Emma leaned forward against the counter with an interested look on her face.

"You wouldn't happen to sell knives here, would you?" Emma asked him and the man gave the teenager an odd look. Peter laughed nervously.

"She's just kidding." Peter reassured him before bringing the topic back to jewelry. "We were just hoping for something romantic."

"Well, what's your budget?" The man asked them and Peter blushed while Emma just smirked. Oh, this was going to be good. She now understood the humor and amusement behind Holly and Paul's antics in Tiffany's.

"Fifty dollars." Peter admitted and the man's eyes widened in disbelief. His surprised look then quickly morphed into one of anger and annoyance.

"Fifty dollars?!" He questioned, glaring at the two teenagers. "This isn't Breakfast at Tiffany's! What?! You think you two brats are the first ones to come in here and ask me what you can buy for ten dollars?" Emma was amused at how the man became so angry that has face turned from red to purple. He sort of reminded her of Ross in that way.

"I've worked here for fifteen years and frankly I'm tired of condescending little brats like you who come in here and think you can make some grand romantic gesture-" The man continued to rant until he was interrupted by a younger woman who looked to be in her early thirties. She had a kind face and looked genuinely amused by her coworker's outburst.

"Okay, Kyle, you can stop scaring these poor kids now." The woman told her coworker before smiling at Emma and Peter. The man seemed exasperated as he looked between the two teenagers and his coworker.

"But Monica they want to-" He started to say but Monica held a hand up to silence him.

"It's fine, Kyle, I can handle the kids while you go help that elderly couple over there. The husband wants to buy a very expensive diamond necklace for his wife." Monica informed him and Emma glanced over at Peter.

"Audrey Hepburn was right. Only old people wear diamonds." Emma whispered to him and Peter chuckled.

"Fine, I'll go assist the couple." Kyle said heatedly before glaring at the two teenagers. "But I'll have you know that I really hate children." The older man then stormed off in a huff. Emma just watched him in amusement before her eyes returned to the lady behind the counter. Monica, wasn't it?

"Sorry about Kyle. He's a little tightly wound." Monica said, apologizing for her coworker's behavior.

"No kidding." Emma said sarcastically and the older woman smiled at the both of them.

"So you two are looking to buy something for under fifty dollars? Like Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard?" Monica inquired and Peter nodded furiously.

"Yes, something hopefully romantic." Peter replied.

"Well, we don't have a lot for under fifty dollars." Monica told them.

"So what do you have then?" Peter asked her and Monica looked amused at the two kids as she brought out a wine glass from inside the glass display case. A lot of the time the work at Tiffany's was fairly boring with the same average wealthy couples looking for jewelry to show off but every now and then there was some highlights. Monica knew this cute teenage couple was definitely going to be a highlight of her day.

"We have a wine glass for twenty five dollars. A really nice wine glass I might add." Monica said as both Emma and Peter observed the rather plain looking wine glass. Emma wondered what the difference was between this wine glass and one purchased at Target. Probably just the name. You were always paying for the name with Tiffany's.

"We don't drink." Peter told her.

"We could always steal from Uncle Tony's liquor cabinet." Emma joked although to those who didn't know her it was difficult to tell that she was, in fact, joking.

"She's joking. We're underage." Peter said as he reassured Monica. The older women smiled faintly before pulling out what looked to be a pad of paper.

"So there's also this nice, quality notepad for thirty five dollars." Monica informed them and Emma inspected the notepad carefully.

"It could be a thoughtful gift. I like sketching after all." Emma remarked but Peter didn't seem convinced.

"It's still not what we're looking." Peter told Monica and the older woman nodded before pulling out yet another object. This time it was a key chain with a gold colored charm on it that said Tiffany and Co.

"Lastly, our signature key chain for forty five dollars." Monica said and Peter frowned at the sight of the small key chain. This definitely hadn't been what he had in mind although he didn't why he was surprised everything was so expensive at Tiffany's. It was Tiffany's after all.

"Not that all these aren't great or anything but there not really romantic either. They don't really express my love for her." Peter told Monica as politely as he could. More than anything Emma was just amused by how cheesy Peter could be whenever he told people how much he loved her. He certainly didn't seem shy when it came to talking about his love for her. Not that Emma minded. No, for once she didn't think she minded a public declaration of love.

"It's honestly all we have available in your price range." An idea then popped inside Peter's head and an excited look came over his face. Emma narrowed her eyes. She knew that look. Peter only got that excited when he'd finally gotten his way or when he was well on his way to getting his way.

"What about an engraving? Like the one Holly and Paul got in the movie." Peter suggested and Monica looked mildly amused. Emma gave her boyfriend a curious look. Just where was he going with this?

"An engraving costs fifty dollars for the first ten letters and then ten dollars for every letter after." Monica informed them. "Although you kind of need something to have engraved. And Kid? I hate to break it to you but they don't really give prizes away in Cracker Jack boxes unless you want a pencil topper engraved."

Peter blushed because he realized Monica was right. He didn't actually have anything to be engraved. Paul in the movie had a ring from a Cracker Jack box but Peter didn't even have that. A confident look came over Emma's face as she wordlessly set an object down on the counter. Peter glanced down in surprise because he knew what that object was. It was her grandfather's compass.

"What about this? Can we have this engraved?" Emma asked Monica and the older woman curiously glanced at the compass before picking it up and inspecting it.

"It shouldn't be a problem. I've engraved a couple compasses before although it's not a very common thing to have engraved." Monica told her and Emma gave her a serious look.

"Well, it's special." Emma replied and Peter just widened his eyes at Emma, not believing that she was actually asking to have her grandfather's compass engraved. Peter knew how special that compass was to her. He just couldn't comprehend what she was getting at by suggesting that they have it engraved.

"We can't have that engraved, Emma. It's too important to you." Peter told her nervously as she just stared back at him with those pretty ocean blue eyes of hers. "I mean, it's your grandfather's compass after all."

"You're important to me too." She told him quietly, even seeming a bit shy. A smile came across Peter's face because he knew how hard it was for her to express her affection. This told him that she really did love him. Monica sighed happily as she watched the two teenagers who were obviously in love. They were so cute.

"So a ten letter engraving?" Monica inquired, getting their attention. Peter looked back at Monica before glancing back at Emma.

"If you're okay with it?" He asked her, wanting to make sure that she was okay with having the compass engraved. An engraving was pretty permanent. In all honesty Emma knew she was sure about the engraving because she knew she could never love another person like she loved Peter. It was all so fast and overwhelming but she was sure of that. Emma didn't think she was even capable of falling in love in the first place so she sincerely doubted she could ever love anyone other than Peter. The feeling both terrified and thrilled her at the same time.

"I'm sure, Peter." Emma told him and Peter looked back at Monica, a goofy smile on his face.

"Ten letter engraving it is then."

* * *

It took Peter about fifteen minutes before he decided on what he wanted the engraving to say. Emma was a little annoyed that Peter didn't let her see what it was but he said it was going to be a surprise that would have to wait until Christmas. He seemed to love ignoring the fact that she hated surprises. Emma just hoped that he didn't have something stupid engraved like a quote from Star Wars. She'd probably kill him if he did that. Peter had just finished paying for the engraving and Emma felt weird about that. She never felt weird about people spending money on her before but with Peter it felt weird. Of course, how many girls her age could say that their boyfriend had gotten them something from Tiffany's. Probably none.

"It'll be ready by Friday, guys." Monica told them and Peter smiled back at her.

"Thanks." The older woman just winked at the young couple.

"Not a problem. Stay cute, you guys." Monica told them and Peter linked his arm through Emma's as they began to walk towards the exit of the store. Emma gave him a look that was a combination of annoyance and frustration.

"If it'll be ready by Friday then why can't I see what the engraving is on Friday?" Emma asked her boyfriend and the teenage boy gave her a slightly teasing look, seeming very pleased with himself.

"Because it's part of your Christmas present." Peter informed her and Emma groaned before giving him a look of disbelief.

"Part of my Christmas present? Really?" Emma questioned but Peter didn't seem fazed by her disbelief. He gave her that same adoring look that always caused Emma's heart to race while he smiled softly at her at the same time.

"You deserve everything, Emma, and I'm going to spoil you." Peter told her determinedly and Emma blushed at the determination in his brown eyes.

"You don't need to buy my love, Peter. You already have it." Emma told him softly and Peter also blushed, swallowing nervously.

"You're my girlfriend and I love you. If I want to buy you things then I can." Peter said as they passed a glass case containing a beautiful necklace that probably weighed a ton given all the diamonds that encompassed it. The necklace looked quite similar to the one Audrey Hepburn had eyed in the movie.

"Someday I'm going to buy you a necklace like that." Peter promised his girlfriend as he pointed out the necklace in the glass case. Emma felt incredibly warm inside from Peter's promise because he sounded so sure of himself. Like he thought he'd stick around long enough to buy her something ridiculous like that. Emma tried to gather her bearings as she thought about how to respond to something like that.

"Just because I'm a girl it doesn't mean that I want my boyfriend to buy me jewelry." Emma told Peter, pretending as though she hadn't been affected by his promise but Peter knew better. He could see how beautiful she looked when she blushed. It was nice to know that he could actually make her blush like she made him blush. "It's also a little sexist to assume that. Maybe I'll buy you a pretty necklace instead. What do you think, Parker? Are you a diamond kind of boy or an afternoon pearls one?"

"Whatever but I'm going to buy you things whether you like it or not, Rogers." Peter told her firmly and Emma gave him a slightly impressed look.

"You're resorting to using my last name now?" Emma questioned jokingly and Peter scoffed.

"Why do you seem so bothered? You always call me by my last name." Peter retorted but Emma just shook her head and smiled. Peter leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against the top of her head. Despite Emma saying that she didn't care for jewelry or for Peter to buy her things, she did actually feel giddy about his promise. Not because she wanted anything materialistic from him but because he obviously thought they were going to be together for a long time if he was promising to buy her expensive things. Peter obviously saw a future with Emma and that made her more than happy.


	62. Chapter Fifty Seven

**Author's Note: So I saw Black Panther last Friday and I was blown away about how beautiful it was. I also loved how many amazing characters were in that movie. Most marvel movies come out and you only walk away liking one or two new characters but I loved every character in that movie. Especially Shuri and M'Baku. Michael B. Jordan was also a brilliant villain and one of the best villains in the MCU since Loki I think. Most MCU villains are forgettable at times but I don't see myself forgetting Killmonger anytime soon.**

 **Wild Birdie: I did really love Shuri. I feel like she and M'Baku totally stole the movie. It's weird because I didn't really care for M'Baku when I first saw him but by the end of the movie I found that I wanted him to have a bigger part. I totally get what you mean about being in a weird mood because the other day I was in a really bad mood so I held off on finishing the chapter even though I was almost finished. I was afraid that my terrible mood would ruin it so I just went to bed early and finished everything today. Spider Viper is apparently a real thing which I didn't even know until someone else mentioned it. It's literally the creepiest snake because of it's tail but it's real. Yes, I kind of have a better idea as to how to go about writing future chapters because of Black Panther and especially because of the end credits scene.**

 **nvnightrider9: Okay, so I really don't want people thinking I'm super old because I'm writing a love story about two teenagers so it would be kind of weird for a really old person to be writing that but I just want to clarify that I'm nineteen. These movies are before my time too. I mean, I'm nineteen and I love classic movies. To be honest there's not a ton of good movies around today. Mostly independent movies although I do think this day and age has way better tv shows. Honestly though, these movies came around in my parents time and my parents have never seen a lot of these movies. I just watched 'Rebel Without a Cause' the other day and my dad said that he had never seen it. My mom had never even seen 'The Big Sleep' or 'An Affair to Remember' even though she claims to apparently love Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. My brother and sister-in-law hate old movies because they think the acting's terrible. Coming from my sister-in-law who's a huge fan of the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Lol. Sorry, I just wanted to vent about how much it annoys me that my sister-in-law loves Fifty Shades of Grey. This is a woman who never reads a book but somehow she's read every Fifty Shades of Grey book like three times.**

 **Spawn Hades: After this chapter there won't be such an abundance of fluff in every chapter but there's still going to be fluff. I just don't want people thinking it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows.**

 **Mcduffie145: Yes so that's why I don't like the Beatles. I'm always afraid to say that because everyone loves the Beatles but I just can't get into them without awkward and weird childhood memories coming up. My mom's side is super Catholic but funny enough my dad hates the Catholic religion because he said that it's a pagan religion which makes no sense but whatever. I just ignore him usually because it's just my dad being my dad.** ** **I understood what everyone in the review section was saying about the end credits. Also, I haven't missed the end credit scenes since 2012. I think all Marvel people know to stick around for the credits. I was still laughing at how everyone was leaving because come on, people, it's 2018 and we all should know by now. There was even a message before the movie that said leaving before the credits was a rookie mistake so I don't get why people still leave. Maybe they didn't care but even if they didn't you'd think they would want their money's worth and stay. I saw the movie with my mom and I always remind her that we need to stay for the credits but this time she was like 'I know, I know. Just relax. I get it.'  
****

 ** **avatarroku: There's hopefully some funny moments in this chapter too because if I'm being honest I was binge watching New Girl again this week while I wrote this chapter. You know, sometimes you just want to watch something funny and not serious. Well, this week was definitely one of those weeks. I forgot how funny Winston Bishop was.****

 ** **Radioactive88: There was so many great characters in Black Panther. Every character in there was amazing. I already can't wait for Infinity War because I think Shuri and M'Baku are going to be in it too and I want to see more of them. I'm hoping that Marvel will have more movies with characters of different races in the lead roles. As someone of Mexican descent it would be super cool to see a Latino superhero in future MCU movies. I think Shuri would eventually become friends with Emma but I also think Emma would be kind of distant at first as she determined whether or not Shuri would be interested in Peter which she wouldn't be. I think I'll introduce T'Challa and Shuri to the story within Part III and maybe other Black Panther characters so that's definitely going to be fun to write.****

 ** **I was a little hesitant about writing that part of the story with Santa because I'm always afraid of going to far and offending someone because for some reason I think everyone else is a prude but there's been no complaints yet so that's good. I feel like Emma will offhandedly mention that her and Peter are banned from Macy's and Steve, Tony, and everyone else will be super confused. Peter will be signaling to Emma not to say anything but she'll tell them anyways because she doesn't care and everyone will be mad at Peter even though he wasn't the one at fault. Just an idea for the future.****

 ** **I wanted to somehow incorporate something from Breakfast at Tiffany's into the chapter and that scene from the movie was one of the my favorites so... I also thought Emma handing the compass over to be engraved would be meaningful since the compass is really important to her.****

 ** **Anyways...Thanks for all the reviews and let me know what you think of the chapter. Also, next chapter is another flashback chapter to Emma's parents just so you're aware. Thanks.****

 ** **A short disclosure...I don't own the song lyrics to both 'I Feel it Coming' by the Weeknd and 'Tomorrow Never Came' by Lana Del Rey (feat. Sean Lennon).****

* * *

The compound hadn't been very decorated for Christmas initially but Pepper and Darcy wanted to do something special for Emma and Peter so they went all out with the leftover Christmas decorations from when Steve used to decorate. Pepper and Darcy had never bothered decorating for Christmas after all. Steve and Sam were always the ones who tried to make the compound more festive for the holidays. Sometimes it was hard for Emma to believe that it had just been a year ago that everyone was at the compound together…a year since Steve had forced her to watch a bunch of crappy Hallmark Christmas movies. It felt so much longer than a year to Emma. To Emma it felt like it had been years upon years since she had seen him. She supposed that's what it felt like when you went from spending every day with someone to spending several months apart.

"Didn't you like the movie?" Peter asked Emma, snapping her out of her thoughts. She immediately glanced over at him while trying to forget the memory of last Christmas. It was no use in dwelling on things that would only make her miserable. Besides…she was there with Peter. Peter always had a way of lifting her spirits.

"I guess." Emma replied as she stared at the TV screen as the credits rolled for _Home Alone_. "Personally if it was me I wouldn't waste my time setting up booby traps for a couple of low level thugs. The second they'd come through that door they'd be dead." Peter laughed at her.

"I don't think Kevin would've killed them. That's not what Christmas is all about." Peter told her jokingly and he completely understood that she was also just kidding. There used to be a time that Peter took her death threats more seriously but now he knew she was all talk. Emma was different than before and though her humor was the darkest sort of humor he ever heard he still adored it.

"Anyways, so how many more of these ridiculous movies are we going to see?" Emma asked him. "If I have to see one more movie that has some kind of heartfelt ending than I'm going to drown myself in the pool. It would probably take me three hours to drown myself but I think it can be done." Peter rolled his eyes at her.

"Very funny." Peter commented before giving her a serious look. "So we've already seen Elf, A Christmas Story, The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, and the Holiday. It only makes sense if we see Home Alone 2 now." Emma gave Peter a look of disbelief.

"There's a sequel to this movie?" Emma questioned as she felt slightly overwhelmed from all the holiday themed movies. "When is this ever going to end?"

"Well, we still have the Grinch, Christmas Vacation, and Love Actually to watch. I've marked It's a Wonderful Life off the list since you said you've already seen it." Peter told Emma and she glared at him.

"You're lucky I love you, Parker." Emma grumbled and Peter gave her that goofy smile that always seemed to melt her heart.

"I love you too, Emma." Peter told her softly as he took her hands into his. Emma curiously watched the smile on his face fade and his eyebrows furrow, making him seem like he was incredibly troubled by something. She frowned, immediately wanting to know what was wrong with him.

"What's wrong?" She asked him and he shook his head seeming almost sad as he did so. He looked back up at her, his brown eyes filled with so many emotions that Emma felt at a loss as to what he was feeling. Peter was always such an emotional human being that Emma sometimes was unsure of how to approach him.

"I was just thinking about something you told me on our first date." Peter said quietly and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Emma questioned and Peter swallowed nervously before answering.

"When you said that if I really found you to be the most beautiful girl I've ever seen then I wouldn't have been staring at Liz Allan." Peter told her and Emma still didn't really understand what he was saying. Sometimes Peter was the most difficult person to understand.

"Peter, I was just kidding. I didn't actually mean that." Emma said, still trying to understand her boyfriend. Peter sighed.

"No, but you were right. Why was I so interested in Liz when you were right there in front of me? All those years and Liz never looked in my direction until those first few weeks of school but you…" Peter trailed off momentarily. "We've haven't known each other that long but you've never ignored me. You've always liked me even if it wasn't as my girlfriend." Emma stared at him, starting to feel like Peter must've been losing his mind. Well, Emma figured that he had to be kind of crazy from the beginning to want anything to do with her.

"You're starting to scare me, Parker. You sound crazy." Emma told him but Peter shook his head.

"I just meant that I was really stupid. I just wish that I could've seen it all sooner and we wouldn't have wasted so much time." Peter told her and Emma smiled at him.

"We've only known each other for close to four months. So I don't think we've wasted that much time." Emma replied as she tried to make light of the situation.

"I should've asked you out that first week we met." Peter said, sounding regretful that he hadn't. Emma squeezed his hand comfortingly, trying to make him feel better about the whole thing.

"In all honesty I probably would've told you to fuck off. I didn't like you at all then." Emma said bluntly and Peter gave her a surprised look.

"Wait…What? You didn't like me?" Peter asked in disbelief and Emma nodded.

"I thought you were up to something. You acted really nervous and you rubbed me the wrong way." Emma informed him and Peter still seemed surprised that his girlfriend hadn't initially liked him at all. "I only joined the decathlon team because I thought you were up to something, you know. You acted incredibly suspicious."

"So you were stalking me?" Peter questioned. "You were stalking me because you thought I was up to something? You weren't attracted to me at all? You didn't even like me?" Emma shook her head, seemingly nonchalant about the whole thing.

"I actually thought you were kind of nosy and I don't like nosy people." Emma told him honestly. "If it helps I still thought you were cute. Besides…you shouldn't be offended because I'm not attracted to a lot of people. I hate most people." Peter processed all that information because he felt like he had severely misjudged when Emma and him had first met.

"I'm not nosy and I'm also not cute. I can't believe you thought I was cute." Peter said as he pouted, playfully glaring at his girlfriend. "What do you mean you're not attracted to a lot of people? You have a really weird thing for that Bogart guy and he's dead. How can you think a dead guy's hot?" Emma smiled in amusement at Peter.

"Who? Bogie? Well, Bogie's way different. Hollywood has complete lame excuses for leading men these days and Bogie was a real leading man." Emma told Peter before she smirked at him, leaning in closer. Peter's heart always raced when she did that because he knew she was going to tease him in that way that made him want to kiss her just to shut her up. "That day I saw you taking off your clothes in the alley kind of made me stop seeing you as just cute. You're really hot, Parker. You should know that."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Peter said as he blushed, looking anywhere other than Emma's eyes.

"I swear I'm not." Emma promised before a more mischievous smile came over her face. "You know, if you want we can make it more even." Peter gave her a confused look.

"Make what even?" Peter said in confusion.

"Well since I saw you without your clothes so maybe you can see me without mine." Emma flirted and Peter's mind went completely blank. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about Emma that way and he'd be lying even more if he said that he hadn't thought about her that way when he was very alone with himself.

"Don't say those things, Emma. If the others heard what you were saying they'd kill me." Peter told her quietly as he thought about ways to fight off the blush. Great, now he was thinking about that hotel room in D.C. and the edge of Emma's bra again. It had been a very dark shade of purple and that was a well known fact to him because Peter didn't think he'd ever forget the color of her bra. He thought about the edge of her bra quite often…a little too much if he was being perfectly honest.

"I'm just messing with you, Parker." Emma told him, laughing at how adorable he was when his face was all flushed red like that. Peter tried to wish the blush away as he began to change the subject.

"Well, I was just saying that it was you I should've asked to the Homecoming dance." Peter told her, bringing it back to the point he was trying to make. Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Are you still on about that? It happened like two months and it's not like I was perfect date material. I was being a huge bitch to you." Emma told him but Peter shook his head.

"No, I wish asked you instead. You looked so beautiful that night and I think I realized what an idiot I was the moment Ned posted the picture of the two of you." Peter told her and Emma just shrugged.

"I hate dances anyways." Emma said shortly but a sudden smile came over Peter's face as something suddenly occurred to him. It might've been a couple months late but that didn't mean anything was too impossible.

"Why don't we have our dance now?" Peter suggested all of a sudden and Emma gave him an odd look.

"What?" Emma felt slightly taken back by the excited look on Peter's face. She knew better than anyone that an excited Peter didn't mean anything good.

"We can have our dance right now. This is the perfect place for a dance and McConaughey can play us some songs and everything." Peter informed her and Emma looked really disturbed by what he was suggesting.

"I'm not dancing with you. I use to be an assassin. What makes you think that I dance?" Emma asked him rhetorically and Peter gave her that stupid annoying puppy dog look. God, why was he so annoying like that sometimes?! There was no way she was going to refuse him now.

"Well, I know how to dance. Aunt May taught me a little so I could show you." Peter said, seeming very sure that she was going to agree to dance with him. It's like he was so sure that she was going to say yes to him. Well, how could she not say yes to him? She always caved into him when he acted so cute about the most stupid things. Emma sighed and told herself that she was only going to say yes to him because she didn't feel like arguing. However, she was fully aware that was a lie.

"Fine." Emma relented and Peter grinned excitedly at her. "But only one song and no more."

"Okay, okay. One song is good enough." Peter said before looking up at the ceiling. "McConaughey, play that song by the Weeknd that I really like!"

"Of course, Mr. Parker." McConaughey said and immediately started playing a rather popular song by the Weeknd. Emma thought the song sounded semi familiar and she briefly wondered where it came from. It wasn't until she heard the first line that she knew what song it was and a part of her couldn't really believe that's the song Peter had in mind when he asked her to dance with him.

 _'_ _Tell me what you really like'_

 _'_ _Baby, I can take my time'_

 _'We don't ever have to fight'_

 _'Just take it step-by-step'_

 _'I can see it in your eyes'_

 _'Cause they never tell me lies'_

"Is this seriously the song you want to dance to?" Emma asked her boyfriend in disbelief. "Because it's not a very romantic song, not that I'm a huge fan of romance or anything. It's just that a song about a one night stand isn't really what I had in mind." Peter gave her a confused look.

"What are you talking about? This song's really romantic." Peter argued and Emma scoffed.

"Peter, do you even know what this song's about?" Emma asked him, starting to think that Peter really might not have any clue as to what 'I Feel it Coming' was really about. The thought that Peter was that oblivious was kind of cute to Emma. He really was innocent after all.

"It's about dancing." Peter told Emma confidently as she tried not to laugh at him. God, he was adorable.

"Peter, it's not about dancing. I can promise you that." Emma assured him and Peter gave her a doubtful look.

"Well, if it's not about dancing then what is it about?" Peter asked her, thinking that Emma's answer wasn't going to be better than his. Emma gave him an amused look.

"It's about fucking, Peter." Emma said bluntly and Peter gave her a wide eyed look. A million thoughts raced through Peter's head as he thought about Emma's words. Wait…what?

"No, it's not." Peter protested weakly. "It's not about…that." Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you really so immature that you can't even say the word sex aloud?" Emma asked him before rolling her eyes at him once again. "Come on, I know you have this whole polite, gentlemen thing going on but I know you're still a teenage boy, Peter. I'm not stupid enough to believe that you don't think about sex constantly." Peter blushed at her words, swallowing hard as he forced himself to look at her.

"I don't think about it constantly." Peter mumbled quietly. Well, that wasn't completely true. It was true that Peter hadn't really thought about sex that often but that was before he and Emma started dating. It's not like Peter started having those thoughts the second they started dating but it all started with a dream he had the other night that he couldn't really get out of his head. A dream in which Emma snuck into his room just like the dream he had the night of his birthday. Only this dream went further than the other dream had gone. Peter blamed it on stupidly daydreaming about the edge of Emma's bra and how her long legs looked in that pretty skirt she had been wearing that day. Of course he would never admit that to Emma. He used to talk about his problems a lot with Emma but that was before they started dating. Peter knew there was some things he definitely couldn't talk to Emma about and this was one of them.

"Well, face it. Your favorite song is about the Weeknd fucking some girl during a one night stand and giving her multiple orgasms." Emma told him while Peter suddenly looked very shy.

"No, it's not." Peter argued but Emma just smirked.

"He says 'I can feel that body shake and the heat between your legs'." Emma informed Peter as she continued giving him an amused look. Peter kept feeling more and more flustered by Emma's nonchalance over this very intimate topic. "Did you really think he meant dancing?"

"Y-yes." Peter stuttered adorably or adorably in Emma's eyes at least.

"The song is literally called 'I Feel it Coming'. He's obviously talking about making her orgasm." Emma said, sounding very amused with her embarrassed boyfriend. She loved embarrassing him because he got all flushed and shy when he was flustered like that. Peter's throat felt impossibly dry as he looked away from Emma shyly, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Fine, let's just agree to disagree and forget the song." Peter said nervously, willing to forget that any of this happened. "Just pick another song." Emma smiled, satisfied that Peter was letting her pick the song. She'd never admit it but she liked 'I Feel it Coming' too even though she was fully aware of what it was about. The Weeknd had a nice voice so it didn't even matter but Emma thought it was funny that she kind of ruined the song for Peter. He really was naïve and innocent.

"McConaughey, play 'Tomorrow Never Came' by Lana Del Rey." Emma told the AI system and the song immediately switched over to a softer, more gentle sounding song with guitar and bass playing in the background.

 _'_ _Hey, what you doing'_

 _'_ _Not a lot'_

 _'_ _Shaking and moving'_

 _'_ _At my local spot'_

 _'_ _Baby don't ask me why'_

 _'_ _Don't ask me why'_

 _'_ _(Why, why, why, why, why, why, why)'_

"This is a really nice song." Peter told her as he laughed nervously. He then immediately stood up from the couch before offering her his hand. Emma stared at his hand for a moment, not really wanting to dance with him. She told herself that she really must love him to even dance at all with him. Emma wasn't really a dancing sort of person. She took his hand and got off the couch.

"Peter, I don't know how to dance." Emma told him and she thought he might make fun of her or even laugh but he didn't. He just smiled at her and placed his hands on either side of her waist.

"There's really not much to it, Emma." Peter told her but Emma still seemed unsure.

"Where do I even put my hands?" Emma questioned.

"On my shoulders." Peter answered and Emma hesitantly rested her hands on his shoulders. He smiled happily at her and she wondered how someone could look so happy.

"I feel really stupid." Emma muttered before Peter started to gentle sway them to the Lana Del Rey song. She always liked this song but it was actually an even better song in this context. Despite always thinking that dancing was stupid Emma actually didn't mind when Peter held her this close to him.

 _'_ _Lay, Lady, lay'_

 _'_ _On the side of paradise'_

 _'_ _In the Tropic of Cancer'_

 _'_ _Cause if I had my way'_

 _'_ _You would always stay'_

 _'_ _And I'd be your tiny dancer, Honey'_

"So you really like Lana Del Rey, huh?" Peter asked her, sounding a bit nervous. Emma just shrugged.

"Kind of. I mean her music makes you miserable but this definitely is one of her happier songs." Emma told him and Peter looked at her curiously.

"If most of her music makes you feel miserable then why do you listen to it?" Peter questioned.

"I know it sounds kind of ridiculous but it's nice to know you're not the only miserable person in the universe." Emma said honestly as Peter listened to her intently. "I mean, the last thing I need is to listen to someone like Taylor Swift. How is that girl happy about everything? If anyone wanted to torture information out of me then that's the way to do it."

"You're miserable?" Peter asked her softly and Emma just smiled before shaking her head.

"I was before. I felt so lost without Steve and the others." Emma admitted before locking eyes with him. "But you make me happy." Peter seemed really surprised as he looked at her.

"I do?" Emma nodded.

"Yes, very happy." Peter smiled, satisfied that he was able to make Emma happy. He never liked it when she seemed sad. Peter promised himself that he was always going to make her happy because she deserved nothing more than being happy.

 _'_ _I waited for you'_

 _'_ _In the spot you said to wait'_

 _'_ _In the city, on a park bench'_

 _'_ _In the middle of the pouring rain'_

 _'_ _Cause I adored you'_

 _'_ _I just wanted things to be the same'_

 _'_ _You said to meet me out there tomorrow'_

 _'_ _But tomorrow never came'_

 _'_ _Tomorrow never came'_

"I'll always make you happy." Peter promised his girlfriend. "Like, we can see all the old movies you want and listen to all the weird music you like listening to. And when we go to London we'll go to see a ton of art museums. I don't even care about how creepy I think the sound sculpture you want to see is. I'll still see it with you." Emma laughed at Peter and he smiled at her.

"You're such a dork." Emma told him but Peter was too busy admiring the green in her blue eyes.

"I love it when you laugh." Peter told Emma suddenly, causing her to calm down from her laughter and stare at him curiously. "You look so happy and carefree. The green in your eyes also looks really pretty."

"I didn't really even know I had green in my eyes until you mentioned it all those months ago." Emma confessed, referring to that time they fought at the airport.

"Well, you do. You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes at him before laughing again.

"You've become very charming, Parker. I think you've become even a little arrogant." Emma told him but Peter just look very pleased with himself as they continued to dance.

 _'_ _Hey, what you thinking'_

 _'_ _Penny for your thoughts'_

 _'_ _Those lights are blinking'_

 _'_ _On that old jukebox'_

 _'_ _But don't ask me why'_

 _'_ _Just swallow some wine'_

 _'_ _(Wi-wi-wi-wi-wi-wi-wine)'_

 _'_ _Stay, baby, stay'_

 _'_ _On the side of paradise'_

 _'_ _In the Tropic of Cancer'_

 _'_ _Cause if I had my way'_

 _'_ _You would always stay'_

 _'_ _And you'd be my tiny dancer, baby'_

"I want to make you happy too, you know." Emma said quietly to Peter.

"But you already make me happy, Emma." Peter told her, sounding very confused with her. Emma just didn't want to make him regret being with her. He was too important to her to lose.

"I'm just worried that I'll hurt you." Emma admitted and Peter looked down at her as he tried to understand what went on inside her mind sometimes. How could Emma think she would hurt him? He knew she wouldn't.

"You won't hurt me." Peter reassured her. "And I promise that I'll never hurt you either." Emma didn't say anything as they continued to gently sway to the song. She really hoped that he was right because hurting Peter was what she feared most of all. She loved him too much to want to hurt him but sometimes she said really mean things and she couldn't help it.

 _'_ _Roses out in your country house'_

 _'_ _We played guitar in your barn'_

 _'_ _And every day felt like some day and I'_

 _'_ _I wish we had stayed home'_

 _'_ _And I could put on the radio'_

 _'_ _To our favorite song'_

 _'_ _Lennon and Yoko'_

 _'_ _We could play all day long'_

 _'_ _Isn't life crazy, I said'_

 _'_ _Now that I'm singing with Sean'_

Emma felt Peter softly caress her blonde hair and she rested her face against his shoulder, taking comfort in their close embrace as they listened to the rest of the song. She knew there was very few things that she loved in this world but Peter was definitely one of those things. He had the ability to hurt her but Emma trusted him not to. She realized what trusting people meant. It meant trusting them enough not to hurt you. Emma also realized that Peter trusted her enough to not hurt him either and she didn't think anyone had ever trusted her that way. It was a good feeling and an even better feeling because Peter did make her happy. More happy than she'd ever admit.

* * *

"Why are we doing this? I feel ridiculous." Emma muttered as she and Peter stood out in the snow outside the compound. Not that she minded the cold or anything but she'd rather not go out in the snow unless she had to. She spent enough time in Siberia to satisfy her curiosity of snow.

"Because you said you've never played in the snow which I find odd since you grew up in Siberia." Peter told her as he started rolling a huge snowball in order to make the base of the snowman he was planning on making.

"I had more important things to do than playing with snow. The thought actually never occurred to me." Emma replied and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"You saw a bunch of snow lying around and you never thought to make a snowball to throw at someone?" Peter questioned and Emma scoffed.

"Who was I going to throw it at? My father? I'm sure he would've loved that." Emma said sarcastically.

"Come on, Emma. Help me make this snowman. It's supposed to be fun." Peter said as he tried to get her into helping him build the snowman. Emma looked around at all the snow in distaste and seriously wondered how on Earth kids thought playing in snow was fun. Snow was always a pain in her ass back in Siberia because it wasn't easy to cover her tracks in snow. Emma groaned in annoyance as she began to roll the middle part of the snowman.

"I hope you know that this is beneath me." Emma mumbled as she glared at the giant snowball she was attempting to make.

"But you're still doing it because you love me." Peter teased, looking annoyingly smug. He just thought he was so perfect, didn't he? Emma thought to herself bitterly. Well, she was going to have to fix that. Emma smirked evilly as she noticed the largish snowball she had made which was supposed to be the mid section of the snowman. It looked like that snowman wasn't about to be made anytime soon. She then picked up the giant snowball with ease and subsequently threw the snowball at her boyfriend with as much force as she could muster. The force of the impact knocked Peter off his feet and sent him face first into the snow. Emma laughed at him as he laid there in the snow.

"You're right, Peter. This _is_ fun." Emma teased and Peter immediately got up from the snow, his face pink and flushed from the snow. He glared at her.

"You're in a lot of trouble." Peter muttered and Emma just continued laughing at him as he tried to look angry. In all honesty he was just kind of cute when he stood there and glared at her like that. Snow was in his slightly ruffled looking brown hair and Emma thought he looked like what a melted snowman was supposed to look like.

"Don't be so mad. I thought you wanted me to get into the Christmas spirit." Emma remarked as she gave Peter that smug look that both frustrated him and made him want to kiss her at the same time.

"I'm going to get you back for this." Peter said and Emma gave him a doubtful look as she crossed her arms.

"What are you going to do, Parker? Chase me down and make me pay for it?" Emma shot back, not looking like she was taking him seriously. Peter smirked at the blonde.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do." Peter replied and Emma laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not scared of you." Emma told him, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at him. She noticed the humor dancing in his brown eyes as he gave her that mischievous little grin. Emma was starting to think that he was definitely up to something.

"You're not really going chase me are you?" Emma asked him and Peter just continued to smirk at her.

"Yes, I am."

"What? Are you going to spank me too?" Emma said sarcastically. "I didn't realize you were into the kinky stuff, Parker."

"Okay, that's it. You're going to pay, Rogers." Peter said before he broke off into a sprint in her direction. Emma felt torn whether or not she should really even participate in this childishness but for some reason she did. She ran away from him, wondering why she was even playing this game with him.

"I can't believe I'm even doing this. This is so stupid." Emma muttered to herself as Peter chased her around in the snow. The snow slowed her down somewhat but Emma still managed to evade Peter's speed. She was a little annoyed to see that he was apparently faster than her since he was easily catching up to her. And to think she prided herself on being faster than both Steve and her father. She trained for years to ensure that she was this fast and this little idiot just showed up and easily caught up to her. Emma knew that she was going to have to pull her famous damsel in distress act if she was going to get herself out of this one. She then pretended to trip on some unknown object before falling in the snow. Emma clutched her arm to her chest, pretending to be in pain as tears filled her eyes.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Peter said, suddenly concerned when he saw his girlfriend in pain with obvious tears in her eyes as she laid there in the snow. All playfulness was gone from his face as he knelt down next to her. Emma sniffled.

"I think I broke my wrist." Emma told him and Peter felt guilty as he stared at her, trying to see what he could possibly do to make her feel better.

"Let me take a look." Peter said softly as he leaned in closer to see her injured wrist. The second Peter gently touched her wrist, Emma immediately flipped them over so he was on the ground and she was on top. She trapped him there as she pinned his wrists to the ground. Peter gave his girlfriend a look of disbelief as she smirked at him.

"I can't believe you fell for that again." Emma teased. "You should really know by now that I'm not exactly breakable." Peter glared at her.

"When you say you're hurt I believe you. Sorry if I'm that gullible." Peter grumbled and Emma just smiled at him because he was so cute. She also noticed that he didn't even make an attempt to break out of her hold even though she was fully aware that he was more than strong enough to do that. Although this time Emma had a feeling that he wasn't fighting because he was afraid of hurting her. No, this was different.

"Well, you shouldn't fall for that. This is the second time I've tricked you this way, Peter." Emma told him in an almost flirtatious tone. "Now you're in a rather compromising position…again. For someone that says he doesn't like being taken advantage of, you don't really seem to mind being in this position." Peter shifted uncomfortably because everything was all so overwhelming with Emma sitting on him while pinning his wrists to the ground as well as her flirting with him. He was just thankful he was really cold given the fact that they were outside in the snow.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that." Peter mumbled as his face flushed for reasons other than the coldness of the snow. "Especially suggestive stuff." Emma raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Suggestive stuff? I wasn't saying suggestive stuff." Emma denied with an innocent expression on her face and Peter glared at her again.

"You know exactly how suggestive some of the stuff you say is. You're a huge flirt." Peter accused but Emma didn't look offended.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I only flirt with you, Parker." Emma told him and sometimes Peter wondered why she had picked him of all people. Not to flirt with or anything but to be with. She told him it was because he was kind, honest, and understanding…like her grandfather but Peter didn't think he'd ever understand why exactly it was that she loved him. He was just happy that she did.

"Good." Peter said, sounding satisfied with her answer. Emma had let go of Peter wrists by then and began to fiddle with one of the buttons on his coat but Peter didn't make any move to push her off of him. He just laid there underneath her, watching as her eyes focused on the buttons of his coat.

"You can't flirt with other girls either, you know." Emma suddenly said quietly. Peter just smiled softly at her.

"I know." Peter told her. "I only want to flirt with you too." Emma looked back up at him, humor gleaming in her ocean blue eyes.

"You're not really good at it anyways." Emma told him and Peter gave her an offended look.

"I'm good at flirting. What are you even talking about?" Peter said and Emma knew that she had bruised his ego. Emma knew more than well that a man's ego was very important to him. She liked to think she knew men fairly well since she grew up around men. "I've managed to snag you, haven't I?" Emma feigned a pitiful face as she gently caressed his cheek.

"Oh, Peter." Emma said with a hint of a teasing tone in her voice. "We both know I'm only with you because of your looks." Peter smiled at her and watched wide eyed as she leaned over him. He completely thought she was going to kiss and his eyes shut as he waited for her press her lips to his. He was, however, surprised to never feel that particular sensation because she quickly kissed the tip of his nose. Peter's eyes shot back open as she hopped off of him and briskly walked away from him, laughing as she did so. He watched her leave quietly before groaning as he rested his head back against the snow. Yeah, he was definitely going to need to stay in the snow a bit longer.

* * *

"Here's to a nice and quiet Christmas. Well, a nice and quiet Christmas because everyone else left and it's only us." Tony toasted as he held up his glass of champagne. Everyone was seated around the dining room table at the compound.

"Don't you mean you drove everyone else away which is why it's just us for Christmas?" Emma questioned jokingly, giving Tony a smug look as he glared at her. It was Christmas Eve and Emma was feeling slightly lonely without Steve and the others around for Christmas despite her good humor. Ever since she was rescued from Hydra she had spent every Christmas with Steve and even though she always said she hated Christmas, Emma knew that she was going to miss Christmas without him.

"I'm just going to ignore Mini Cap's rude interruption and go on to say that I'm glad you've guys have stuck with me-"

"Wasn't my choice." Emma said, interrupting once more and others watched in amusement as Emma and Tony bickered like they always did. Tony sighed tiredly.

"Look, you little brat, if you interrupt me again you'll get a stocking full of coal for Christmas." Tony told the teenager but Emma just smirked at him, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I don't care." Emma said snidely and Tony had to take a deep breath before he started speaking again.

"Anyways, I just wanted to say something completely revolting and mushy like how I'm glad we're here together now despite everything that's happened in the past year." Tony said as he finally finished the speech in what should've been a very heart felt moment. However, Emma couldn't help but ruin Tony's speech. Darcy had made sure that Emma wouldn't sabotage Tony's Christmas again so this was Emma's only chance to mess with Tony. Emma considered messing with Tony to be an early Christmas present. He was just so easy to make fun of.

"Well, you were right. That was revolting." Emma deadpanned and Tony glared at her again.

"Listen up, you little-" Tony started to say but Susan intervened before things got too out of hand between them.

"Okay, guys. Let's get going with dinner." Susan said as she laughed nervously. Susan had actually come to visit the compound for Christmas. It was nice for Emma to see a familiar friendly face and Emma had been in a very different place in her life since she had last seen her. Emma didn't like a lot of people but she never minded Susan. She even thought she'd be mostly okay with it if Steve and her started dating when Steve returned. Although in this current circumstance Susan seemed to be taking on the job as mediator. Usually it was Steve that was the mediator between Emma and Tony but Susan seemed to have taken up that job. The others didn't hesitate as they started digging into their dinner.

Emma casually glanced around the table as she noticed that the table was full despite everyone not being there. Rhodey, Erik Selvig, and Vision sat at the end of the table as they chatted amongst each other. Jane, Maria, and Helen Cho sat at the other side of the table while Tony and Pepper both sat at the head of the table at opposite sides. Darcy, Susan, and May sat further down Emma's side of the table but sitting right next to her was, of course, Peter. Peter who was happily stuffing his face with the meal Darcy and Susan had gotten together. She had laughed earlier when Peter told her how happy he was that May hadn't helped with the dinner. Peter was always telling her that May wasn't the best cook. It's not like Emma could really laugh because she was sure she wasn't a good cook either. Emma had never really had the chance to cook anything after all. She suddenly started worrying whether or not that was something that was going to bother Peter. Emma then scolded herself for even caring such a thing. Great, Peter really seemed to mix up all her priorities.

Other curious parties would occasionally glance at the two teenagers and especially Susan who was curious about them since she had only been at the compound for a couple days. It seemed to be a known fact that something was definitely going on between those two. Most of everyone was positive that the two were dating. Even Susan who had only just met Peter not that long ago. Even she could tell that there was something between Emma and the adorable looking teenage boy. The only person that was currently denying that there was anything going on between Emma and Peter was Tony. And that was because Tony was still holding onto the belief that he would be the first to know if Emma and Peter were dating. The others sort of pitied Tony for still holding onto that belief.

"So how's work with Pym, Susan?" Pepper politely asked Susan and Emma curiously looked up from her meal. There was a time a short while ago that Emma had nearly been at the point of begging Susan to let her live with her in San Francisco. Now the idea seemed completely insane to her. There was no Peter in San Francisco after all.

"Oh, well things have been a bit tough with Scott gone so we've been insanely bored without someone to test our inventions on. Hope's not as gullible as Scott as it turns out." Susan said jokingly before turning more serious as she decided to bring up some good news. "Actually Hank and I were talking and we decided that it was better that I put my skills to good use. Since Pym Technologies is gone, Hank thought it might be best if I came to work somewhere that I could actually make some progress. So with that being said, Tony thought it would be good if I came to work here so I am…working here that is. Hank jokingly called me a traitor but it really is for the best, I think."

"That's great news, Susan." Emma said, genuinely looking happy for the raven haired woman. Everyone else congratulated Susan and Tony looked immensely happy that his surrogate little sister would finally be working with him at the compound. Despite the hard time Emma gave Tony she was sort of glad that he would have someone else at the compound and someone that even cared about him. She knew he felt loneliness just like she did and he wouldn't admit it just like she wouldn't. This would be good for him.

* * *

After dinner Peter wordlessly convinced her into going to the conference room of the compound with him. Emma had no idea what he had planned and like always she tried to tell him that she didn't like surprises. And just like always he never listened to her so they snuck away from the others. Everyone else was too busy watching _Love Actually_ in the recreational room anyways to notice them leave. The conference room was sparely decorated with just some Christmas lights and a small Christmas tree sitting at the end of the conference table.

"Why did you bring me here, Peter?" Emma asked as he had that same excited look on his face he always had whenever he was about to push Emma's boundaries.

"I'm going to give you part of your Christmas present." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Are you still going on about the Christmas present, Peter? I know I like buying things but that's only because I'm spending Tony's money." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head. Despite her disdain for Christmas she had also spent a ton of time Christmas shopping for Peter as she tried to find him the perfect gift. She ended up buying this collectible vintage Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure Peter always went on and on about. Even though Emma thought a sixteen year old boy wanting a doll was kind of ridiculous she still wanted to get it for him because it was something he wanted. Emma wouldn't say how she bought it exactly but let's just say that she was still talking to her informant. That man had multiple connections even though he thought it was weird that Emma was buying snakes and Star Wars collectibles from him instead of guns and knives but he wasn't exactly complaining either. Emma just hoped Peter liked the present. She didn't really think she was good at buying presents for people so Emma just hoped he didn't completely hate it.

"I told you that I was going to spoil you so just let me." Peter replied, still looking very excited as he anticipated her reaction to the present.

"Fine." Emma relented and he immediately set a Christmas themed gift bag on the table next to them. She gave the gift a curious look.

"Go ahead, open it up." Peter said and normally Emma would tell him that he looked like he was about to piss himself with excitement but she didn't want to ruin the moment when he looked so happy like that. Emma kind of had an idea what it was and her suspicions were confirmed as she pulled out a bright blue box out of the bag. She silently admired how pretty the color turquoise was on Tiffany's signature box.

"Never tell anyone I said this but even the box looks really pretty." Emma whispered and Peter couldn't believe she already liked the present even though it was just the box but still. "I can't believe they put the compass in a box for you."

"Well, Monica seems to be a big fan of us." Peter said before frowning once he realized how that sounded. "I meant of us as a couple and not Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin." Emma gave him an amused smile.

"Okay, I know you can't keep your mouth shut around a lot of people but I trust you enough to not tell random strangers." Emma said bluntly and Peter laughed before shaking his head.

"Just open the present, Emma." Peter told her and Emma opened the box only to see the familiar looking compass perched within it. She was always filled with a bitter sweet sort of feeling whenever she saw it but she felt something different now when she noticed the engraving etched along the surface. Emma took the compass out of the box to observe it further, abandoning the box on the table. She eagerly read the engraving that she had been trying to guess all week but nothing came close to the engraving she now saw.

 _'_ _Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same – To E from P'_

"Wuthering Heights?" Emma said quietly as she continued to stare at the engraving, not having any idea as to how to feel. Peter nodded. "I love that book. How did you know that quote? I don't think I've ever really mentioned it or anything."

"Well, I heard you and Michelle talking about the book a while back so I decided to read it myself." Peter admitted, blushing a little bit as he did so. Emma gave him a slightly impressed look.

"You read Wuthering Heights?" Emma asked him in disbelief. Peter feigned an offended look.

"Why do you say it like that? I can read. I'm not stupid." Peter said defensively and Emma just smiled at him.

"I know you're not stupid. You're like a science-y person. Don't question me about what field you're into because I can't tell the difference between one and the other. You're supposed to be like a young Bruce Banner, right?" Emma said, honestly having no idea what kind of science Peter was into. It was all the same to her really.

"Well, I think Bruce Banner's work is actually really interesting but I think I'm more into-" Peter started to say but Emma interrupted him.

"And that's okay that I don't know the difference because I love you no matter what science field you're into." Emma quickly said before she brought the conversation back to the Wuthering Heights quote. She also didn't feel like spending two hours listening to Peter drone on about stuff she really didn't understand. Emma loved him but sometimes he was really boring when he talked about that Science stuff. It's not like he was super interested in her when she talked about her love of the Bronte sisters either. "Anyways…I was just surprised because you've always said how boring English class is. And I also know that you hate reading fictional books because you said that you can't learn anything from them." Peter awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to read it because I wanted to know why you love it so much." Peter told her and Emma gave him a curious look.

"And what did you think of it?" Emma asked him.

"It was one of the most depressing books I've ever read." Peter said almost bluntly and Emma laughed. "I never knew a book could be sad at both the beginning and the end. I'm sure it all meant something in some symbolic way but it was really boring and depressing."

"In all honesty you probably should've read Jane Eyre if you wanted a Bronte sister novel with a happier ending." Emma informed him and Peter nodded.

"Okay but one thing that did stick out to me in that novel was that quote." Peter said as he continued to explain to Emma why he chose the quote. "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. I changed it a little for the compass but that quote really stuck with me." Emma remained quiet as she began to understand the sentiment behind Peter's gesture and she remembered a time when she denied ever understanding the sentiment behind romance. Now it was so much different.

"Well, I know that Catherine and Heathcliff don't resemble us in any way, thank God, but I like to think that maybe that quote does." Peter told her honestly as he locked eyes with her, his hands holding hers as she still had the compass tightly grasped in her hands. "Emma, I know it sounds cheesy but I think that maybe our souls _are_ the same. Like that maybe we're meant to be together, given everything. I mean, there's a whole lot of coincidences in our relationship and some of which have nothing to do with Tony."

"There is a lot of coincidences even though I don't like to believe in coincidences." Emma admitted and Peter smiled, glad that Emma didn't call him cheesy or stupid for saying all of that.

"I was just thinking the other day that if I had never gotten my powers then I never would've met you and that scares me." Peter told her, looking worried by the thought but Emma just wrapped her arms around him in a hug and held him close.

"Don't think about things like that, Peter." Emma told him and in all honesty she didn't want to think about things like that either. In reality she hadn't exactly known Peter for that long but she also couldn't really remember what everything was like before him.

"Do you think you'd still love me if I didn't have my powers?" Peter asked her. He wasn't accusing her of anything but he just seemed a little curious to know and Emma pulled back from him so that she could look at him.

"Peter, that's a ridiculous question. Of course I'd still love you." Emma told him and Peter felt his heart warm from her confession. He wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy hearing Emma tell him how much she loved him. "Even if you were more of a weak and scrawny nerd than you are right now I'd still want you.

"Would you still love me if you didn't have your powers?" Emma then asked him, shyly looking at him from under her eyelashes. Peter gave her a confused look.

"What does me having or not having powers have to do with that?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"Would you be more scared of me if you didn't have powers?" Emma clarified and Peter just laughed at her because he thought she was being ridiculous. She glared at him for laughing.

"Emma, I'm sorry but you're being silly. Of course, I'd be scared of you…at first." Peter told her truthfully and Emma just stared at him, trying to understand why this was a good thing. "I was scared of you even with my powers because you're a scary person. But then I got to know you and I fell in love."

"Are we always going to be this cheesy because everyone's going to make fun of us if we are." Emma told him seriously and Peter just smiled at her.

"Well, we're teenagers. We're supposed to be cheesy." Peter told her and Emma just shook her head in amusement. Peter sighed as he thought back to the quote they were originally talking about.

"All of this is why I picked the quote. Look, the story obviously wasn't a happy one but I know ours will be." Peter said honestly as he looked at the girl he was in love with. "So I think we can adopt the quote for ourselves since our story's way better than Catherine and Heathcliff's story. I believe that we're meant for each other." Emma smiled at her boyfriend.

"I believe that too, Peter." Emma told him before she became more serious as she felt she had to address something else. "But Wuthering Heights is technically a classic novel in English Literature so I don't know if we can be better than one of the best novels of all time." Peter rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm trying to be romantic here, Emma." Peter told her pointedly. "And our story is definitely better than Wuthering Heights because we end up together. You don't marry some other guy and I don't marry that guy's sister so our story is definitely better than that book." Emma could've argued with him about the longing conveyed in the novel and how it was important to the story that Catherine and Heathcliff didn't end up together but she didn't argue. She was actually just happy that Peter had read the book even though he didn't understand it. Emma immediately embraced him, wanting to show how appreciative she was of the compass.

"Thank you, Peter…thank you for everything. The compass and reading Wuthering Heights." Emma said, laughing as she tried to picture Peter reading a novel. It had to of been a funny sight. "I still can't believe you actually read Wuthering Heights for me." Peter smiled softly as he rested a hand on her back, holding her closer to him.

"Well, I did. I'd do anything for you." Peter said and Emma smiled even though he couldn't see her.

"This doesn't mean I have to read one of your boring science textbooks, does it?" Emma questioned as she pulled away from him but Peter only chuckled.

"If I promise to never make you read anything science related can I never read another one of your boring old novels?" Peter asked, his suggestion greatly amusing her.

"Deal." Emma promised before frowning as she looked down at the compass again, noticing that there was quite a lot of letters there.

"Peter, how come there's more than ten letters on here? I thought we were only allowed ten." Emma inquired and Peter grinned at her.

"It turns out Monica is a _really_ big fan of our relationship." Peter explained. "She called it a Christmas discount."

Emma found that she couldn't stop staring at the compass that contained a quote from one of the best novels ever and a quote her boyfriend had picked because he had apparently read that novel even though he hated it. Emma couldn't begin to describe all the emotions she was feeling as she stared at the compass. Suddenly it didn't remind her of how much she missed her grandfather or even the tragic relationship her grandparents had been doomed to. No, it filled her with happiness and the feeling of love because it reminded her of the boy she loved. She thought of her grandfather a bit too but not in a sad way. No, it was in a more hopeful way.

"Thank you so much, Peter. I really love it." She told him, being completely sincere as she held the compass in her hand. Peter was just happy that Emma liked the engraving.

"I'm glad." Emma locked eyes with him, ocean blue meeting warm brown. Peter felt his heart race as it always did whenever Emma looked at him like that. Emma also felt a little nervous as she stared at Peter. She found that he was probably the only person that could make her feel nervous. She didn't know whether or not that was good but it was definitely true.

"I do love you, you know." Emma said quietly, even seeming a little embarrassed as she said it. Not because she was embarrassed of him because sometimes it was still hard for her to utter those words aloud in a more serious context. Peter smiled at her.

"I know, Emma, and I love you too."

"I just feel like I don't say it enough but I want you to know that I love you…even if I hardly ever say it." Emma told Peter seriously but Peter still smiled at her like he completely understood what she was trying to say.

"I know that you love me. I'll never doubt that." Peter promised before smirking at her. "Hey, I thought you always used to say that love is for children." Emma laughed softly.

"Well, we're technically children after all." Emma retorted and Peter just continued to smile before he sat down in one of the conference chairs. The blonde gently set the compass down on the table before she looked around the conference room curiously because she had only been in it a couple times. Steve had never really let her in there when he was still around so the conference room was still new to her.

"I like this." Peter said quietly as he stared at her, watching the way she curiously looked around the room. She seemed both calculating and fascinated at the same time. Emma turned back around to look at him. "I like being here at the compound with you. It's like we have a chance to get away from the city and be alone."

"We're not truly alone." Emma told him, wondering what he meant when he said that. "The others are here too." Peter shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. When we're here we don't have to hide who we are…we don't have to pretend to not be Spider-Man and Viper." Peter elaborated. "Here we can be both."

"Pretending is the easy part. I've done it for so long now that it feels almost natural." Emma said sadly before looking back up at him. "But I can still tell the difference. The only relief from pretending is when I'm with you. I don't have to pretend anymore." Peter smiled softly at her.

"I don't have to pretend when I'm with you either." Peter told her and Emma noticed how close she was to the chair he was sitting in. He was right there and Emma knew that she just wanted to be close to him. Maybe it was because of the compass and the fact that it was Christmas Eve or maybe it was because she was feeling lonely without Steve around but Emma definitely knew that she loved him. Without saying anything, she quietly sat down on his lap and Peter's eyes widened in surprise. Emma watched the expression on his face curiously as she tried to guess if he was fine with her sitting on his lap.

"W-what are y-you doing?" Peter stuttered nervously as his heart raced. He was a little worried about how fast his heart was beating because he was sure it was going to explode. Peter was just taken back by how Emma was sitting on his lap. Not that he didn't like it or anything because he did. It was actually nice having her this close to him but it was just a little difficult to keep his cool.

"I'm not doing anything." Emma said innocently but Peter knew she was teasing him given the humor in her eyes.

"You're sitting on my lap." Peter said shyly, blushing as Emma sat on his lap like it was a usual occurrence.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Emma asked him flirtatiously and Peter swallowed hard as he stared back at her.

"No."

"Because I can get off your lap if I'm too heavy or anything." Emma said teasingly.

"No, that's fine." Peter said quickly, his voice sounding a little higher in that usual way it did whenever he was nervous. Emma just smiled, satisfied with his answer and rested her hands on his shoulders. He averted her gaze, too shy to look in her eyes and Emma felt the sudden urge to kiss him.

"Merry Christmas, Peter." Emma told him softly and Peter looked back at her, blushing even more as he saw her blue eyes fixated on him. Her gaze was so intense sometimes that Peter felt like Emma could even read his mind.

"Merry Christmas." Peter mumbled as he started staring at her lips which were entirely tempting to him in that moment. Well, in all honesty her lips were always tempting to Peter. He watched quietly as Emma began to lean in closer to him. It was quiet between them for a long moment, the distance between them feeling like it was closing in. That was probably because it was. Emma's eyes fluttered shut as Peter placed his hands on either side of her waist, just like when they were dancing the other night, before he closed the distance and kissed her. Emma instinctively removed her hands from his shoulders and cupped his face. Her heart raced as she felt Peter's lips against hers.

Since this was the first real time her and Peter were completely alone together in a long time Emma decided to try something new. She wasn't sure how long it had been since they had started kissing when she hesitantly brushed her tongue against his lip causing Peter to stiffen in surprise. Emma had only done this once before when they first started dating but that had been a couple weeks ago. It didn't take Peter long before he parted his lips and Emma slipped her tongue into his mouth. She lightly brushed her tongue against his and Peter tried to keep his cool as he mimicked her action. Emma tangled her fingers in his hair and Peter moaned from the sensation, pulling her closer to him. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest when she heard Peter moan and she even felt warmth low in her stomach which made her curious because she had never felt that feeling before. However, all good things came to an end and Emma and Peter's make out session soon ended when they received an unexpected interruption.

"Well, well, well." A familiar annoying voice said and Emma immediately pulled away from Peter. "What do we have here?" Emma and Peter both stared at the doorway of the conference room only to see Tony Stark standing there with a huge grin on his face.

"Mr. Stark?!" Peter exclaimed in surprise, his face flushed with embarrassment. "W-what are y-you doing h-here?" Tony just moved further into the room, smirking at the young couple. He glanced at the shy and embarrassed look on Peter's face but also noticed that Emma didn't look embarrassed or surprised in the least. She stared at him boredly as though she half expected him to show up. Did nothing surprise that girl?

"I came in here to check out then discard a boring file Ross sent to me but I think I've found a lot more." Tony said smugly as he observed the predicament Mini Cap and Peter were in. He had actually wondered where the two had disappeared off to after dinner but he never expected to find Mini Cap sitting on the kid's lap. "Are you two kids getting frisky in the conference room? Because this is a place for group meetings and not for you kids to play tonsil tennis in." Peter laughed nervously as he tried to pretend like nothing happened.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Peter said, stumbling over his words. Tony just raised his eyebrows at the young couple, giving them a doubtful look.

"Really? Because you have Mini Cap in your lap and I just saw the two of you swapping spit." Tony told them and Emma rolled her eyes, already beyond bored with this conversation. This was exactly why she didn't want Tony finding out about them. She knew he'd make a big deal out of it while trying to make it about him too.

"Fine, Tony. If you must know we're together." Emma finally said because she knew Peter wouldn't say anything. He respected her too much to say anything about them and she loved him for that but it was obvious the charade was over now. Tony knew.

"What?" Tony asked in confusion. "What do you mean you're together?" Emma looked at him like he was stupid.

"I mean that we're together. You just caught us kissing so I figured you'd naturally assume that." Emma explained but Tony still looked bewildered.

"Well, I thought this was like a heat in a moment thing where you two both come to the realization that you like each other more than friends." Tony elaborated and Emma couldn't believe Pepper was actually marrying this dork. As cool as Tony acted Emma knew deep down he was just a little dork that secretly liked rom-coms even though he would never admit it.

"What? No." Emma said, giving him a disgusted look. "What's wrong with you? This isn't New Girl. I just shoved a girl inside a locker filled with snakes and that was it." Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Emma just sighed and Peter took it upon himself to explain more.

"The truth is that we've been dating for a short while. Almost three weeks now." Peter told Tony honestly, causing the billionaire to frown.

"That long, huh? And you kept it secret all this time?" Tony questioned and Peter nodded.

"We just wanted to keep things between us before we let everyone else know." Peter said and Tony nodded.

"You guys wanted to keep a low profile. I can respect that." Tony replied and Emma wanted this conversation to end right now. Tony glanced over at the blonde with a serious look on his face. "Is he treating you good, Mini Cap?" Tony asked her and Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"No, he's been a total asshole to me." Emma said sarcastically. Seriously, it was like Tony thought she wasn't capable of taking care of herself. She knew Tony was aware of the fact that she hated feeling smothered which was probably why he liked pretending that he was Steve. Tony rolled his eyes at the teenage girl.

"I see having a boyfriend's made you no more pleasant than usual." Tony remarked before glancing back at Peter. "You take good care of her, kid. Respect her body and mind. Remember what I said about not doing anything I would do? Well, that heavily applies to this situation." This time Emma did roll her eyes as she hopped off Peter's lap, beyond tired of dealing with Tony at this point. She picked up the compass from off the table along with the box it came in.

"Come on, Parker, let's go to my room and forget this whole conversation happened." Emma said tiredly and Peter immediately got up, beginning to follow his girlfriend out of the room. Tony watched Peter wordlessly listening to his girlfriend and thought about how whipped that boy was. He wanted to laugh but knew he shouldn't because he was honestly the same way with Pepper although he always denied that.

"Wait." Tony said, stopping the two teenagers in their tracks. They both turned around to look at him, Peter looking nervous and Emma looking bored as always. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he prepared himself to ask them a question he had been wondering about since he walked in on them. "I'm the first one you've told, right? No one else knows about you two?" Peter opened his mouth to answer but was stopped as Emma smiled at the billionaire. Peter immediately knew she was going to mess with Tony because her smile was more mischievous and evil than sweet and nice.

"Of course, Tony. You're the first one we've ever told." Emma told him and Tony smiled in satisfaction, seemingly very pleased with himself. She then grabbed her boyfriend's hand and practically dragged him out of the room. Tony watched the teenagers leave the room, feeling happy for them. They really did make a good couple and Tony was going to completely take credit for their relationship. He knew Cap and the others were probably going to kill him for this but at least he could enjoy this while it lasted. Tony then called after the two kids as they disappeared down the hall.

"Doors open, you two lovebirds! The door must always be open."


	63. Chapter Fifty Eight

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. Well, I feel like it took me forever but I always find writing chapters about Emma's parents to be hard because I'm so used to writing the relationship between Emma and Peter instead.**

 **Also I just want to inform you guys of the correct pronunciation of one of the names in this chapter since the character's going to be coming up a lot more. Ugalde(Ooh-gull-day).**

 **xForeverInspiredx: I wasn't sure what the engraving would be at first. I read Wuthering Heights a long time ago and didn't even remember that quote when I came across the quote online. I thought it would be perfect for Emma and Peter so I'm glad I remembered.**

 **peoplers: It was so hard picking the song they dance to because it's actually something I've been thinking about since I started writing the story. I originally wanted it to be 'Today' by Jefferson Airplane but it made more sense for that to be Emma's parent's song. 'Tomorrow Never Came' ended up being a better choice. I can listen to that song a million times and it never becomes boring. It's such an incredibly beautiful song. It makes me think of the Summer of Love...not that I was around back then but it makes me imagine what it was like. It's just such a timeless song.**

 **artemis7448: Technically Emma and Peter as a couple told Ned and Michelle. They separately told Darcy and May while all the others just kind of figured they were together. I thought it would be ironic for Tony to be the last to know.**

 **Shuri and M'Baku were definitely my favorites although I loved basically every character. There was definitely a lot of good characters in that movie. I'm so proud of Marvel. Black Panther was also different because it almost didn't feel like a Marvel movie...I don't know. It was different but I loved it because it was different. I really want to go see it again. I might go see it again tomorrow.**

 **roxasduelwielder: I'm not that familiar with Black Cat but from what I've read she sounds really cool and bad ass. I don't think I'll have her be in this fanfiction because I feel like one more potential love interest for Peter would drive Emma crazy. I don't know. I just feel like I wouldn't really have a part for her in 'Some Things Never Sleep'. There's going to be other girls that will make Emma jealous over Peter but I don't think Felicia will be one of those girls. There's also a lot of similarities between Emma and Felicia so I don't see the point in bringing her into the story.**

 **Winchestergirl123: I love 'Neon Demon'. A lot of people hate it but I think it's awesome because it's a horror movie about the modeling industry. It's really weird but all the best things are. I'm just a fan of the color used in the film. I think the director who directed it is the same one who directed 'Drive' but don't quote me on that. I'm glad you're loving the story and thank you because I think you're the first person who reviewed it. I also can't wait for you to update your Spider-Man fanfic but no rush or anything.**

 **nvnightrider9: I hate fifty shades of grey so much. It's not just what's in the movie either because I might've even been able to bear it if it had been different actors because the guy in it played this serial killer in this one show I watched so he really creeps me out. In fifty shades of grey he seems almost the same as he was when he was the serial killer. The serial killer he played would draw pictures of murdering and chopping up his victims and he'd break into women's houses and steal their panties. So creepy. I also don't like the actress in the movie because her voice is really high pitched. I don't know...I think I saw the first movie with my mom which sounds weird but we just made fun of it the whole time and questioned everything. We had a long debate over who Christian Grey got to build his play room.**

 **I just love movies in general. I used to not like old movies but now that I'm older I kind of see how magical and beautiful they are. There's no CGI and everything was way more romantic back then. To me there's just something more special about old movies.**

 **Spawn Hades: I think it's good for him to get off his high horse. I just wanted it to be ironic that he was the last one to know since he introduced them and everything.**

 **Mcduffie145: Wow...even my mom knows the difference between the Winter Soldier and Captain America. Lol. I would go see Marvel movies with my friends but none of them really like Marvel. One of my friends was really into Pitch Perfect which is fine because I like Pitch Perfect too but she was super obsessed with it. One of them texted through the entirety of Iron Man 3 and I know not a lot of people like Iron Man 3 but it was my first time seeing it and I actually liked it although not as much anymore. After that I never went to another Marvel movie with a friend because I knew they'd only ruin it. I consider myself a lapsed Catholic. I was baptized Catholic but never received Holy Communion and I don't go to church anymore but I still believe in everything I guess. I don't know...religion's confusing but I just like believing in something and having faith. My dad hates the idea of belonging to any kind of church but I like identifying as something at least. Emma and Peter will never break up but they will have some fights every now and then as most couples do. Emma's not the most open person and Peter wears his heart on his sleeve. Emma's also really mature for her age and Peter's still has some growing up to do. Those are definitely some obstacles that are going to come up eventually.**

 **Unknown: Wakanda is definitely going to come up soon. There's going to be a small cliffhanger at the end of the chapter that will indicate that. I'm already pretty sure that I'll be introducing T'Challa and Shuri to the story but I really want to find a way to introduce other Black Panther characters like M'Baku because I love M'Baku. We'll see though. It depends on where the story goes.**

 **Radioactive88: I actually thought of a scenario with Bucky walking in on them. Not Steve because I feel like Steve would just be awkward about it but I think Bucky's reaction would be the funniest.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and let me know what you think of the chapter. I know some of you hate these flashback chapters but they do have relevance into what's going on in current times with Emma and Peter. I wasn't just randomly making chapters about Emma's parents for no reason. As we see more of the flashback chapters you'll see how everything connects.**

* * *

Juarez, Mexico

1998

Margot never imagined herself ever liking Mexico. It was just so much different from home and she immensely missed the others at headquarters but it was a place that Margot could pretend to at least have a somewhat normal life. And by a somewhat normal life she meant the being married to Steven thing. Things had been nice between them lately after spending the past six months on their mission together. Definitely not as weird as Margot originally thought it would be. Margot even considered them to be friends rather than just being partners.

At times it felt odd not being in contact with the outside world but in all honesty this wasn't the longest she had been undercover. Margot had been undercover once for over a year so this should've been nothing. However, she knew it wasn't. She feared when she and Steven would be forced to go back home because it was going to be weird not spending every day with him. Although Margot was kind of sure that things were going to be weird between her and Steve when they did go back home anyways. Mostly because Margot had broken the promise she made to herself to never sleep with Steven again. Well, she had actually broken that promise so many times that she had lost count and it didn't help that the bastard with so smug about it anyways. Margot wished that she could start using her head around that man but it was impossible. She just couldn't seem to stay away from him. He was the single most intriguing person she had ever met.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Pierce." Steven told Margot as he drove them to Santiago Salazar's mansion. Margot was wearing a beautiful emerald green dress that matched the color of her eyes. It was definitely a tighter dress than she was used to wearing but if it made Santiago and his idiot friends think she was just another dumb trophy wife of a common criminal then so be it. There was a big gala that Santiago was hosting that night and both Steven and Margot were finally hoping to learn who Santiago's supplier was. Six months and Steven had worked his way into becoming Santiago's business partner who the Mexican drug dealer was only starting to trust but Margot was sure tonight was the night they accomplished the mission.

"You clean up well too, Rogers." Margot remarked shortly. It was true that Steven cleaned up well because he looked incredibly handsome in the suit he was wearing. He could've easily passed as the next James Bond. Pierce Brosnan be damned and Steven was half British anyways, wasn't he?

There was still something that bothered her about Steven and that was the fact that she didn't really know what they were. She supposed they were technically friends with benefits and that was weird to Margot because she never had to deal with that before. Usually she only slept with the men she was in a completely committed relationship with so she had no clue as to how to go about this weird relationship she shared with Steven. Did this mean that they were going to stop sleeping together the second they got back to New York? Would they continue to sleep together? Would Steven see other women at the same time as he was sleeping with her? Margot discovered that she really didn't like the thought of Steven seeing other women. God, she couldn't believe how much she sounded like a love struck teenage girl. This was exactly why there was a no dating policy at Shield. It just made everything so complicated and messy. Her mind should be on the mission and not on Steven dating other women. This thought shouldn't even concern her.

They arrived at the mansion in no time, Steven driving the car up to the wrap around driveway where the valet was waiting. He parked the car before getting out, not even allowing the valet the chance to open her door before he opened the door for her and helped her out. Margot smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her and walked towards the party. Even though she knew this whole being married thing was just an act she couldn't help but beam at his gentlemanly behavior. It didn't help that all the other men she had dated were borderline assholes. In all fairness none of them had ever even owned a car.

"Wow, it's super crowded here. I guess Santiago's a real popular guy, huh? He's even got himself a little fan club." Margot joked but her smile fell when she saw the serious look on Steven's face. Sometimes that guy took himself way too seriously. She knew they were entering a possibly life threatening situation here but that didn't mean they had to be grumpy the whole time. Clint totally would've laughed at her lame joke. Margot didn't know why Steven was so tightly wound especially considering all the sex they had the night before. She thought that would surely loosen him up.

"Just keep a look out for anyone we haven't yet identified." Steven said seriously and Margot nodded. She understood what he meant by that. They had both attended numerous networking events so they were fairly familiar with Santiago's associates. Anyone that they didn't recognize was immediately going to be a suspect as the possible supplier.

"Of course." Margot replied as he led her into the mansion that was already packed with people. She noticed prominent Mexican politicians, cops, judges, and even a few celebrities. There was a difference between America and Mexico and that was the fact that America was way less obvious about corruption while Mexico could care less.

Margot glanced around the mansion and observed how regal the place looked, even more so than usual. She knew this was Rosa's doing since all her and Rosa had been doing was talking about the party for the past month. Usually something like that would make her lose her mind but Margot had actually acquired a lot of useful information. Like the guest list which allowed her and Steven to have backgrounds check done on everyone who was going to be at the party. So Margot knew that anyone who crashed the party was definitely going to be the supplier. There was a good chance the supplier didn't even show up tonight but there was also just as good of a chance that the supplier would. Steven said that Santiago was having an important meeting with associates tonight behind close doors while the party was going on. Rosa's party was only a diversion while the men discussed business. Margot wondered when the day would come that there would be some badass female drug dealer also joining in on the meeting. Margot might even root for her in that case.

"Julia!" Rosa squealed as she saw her and Margot wanted to roll her eyes at the Latina. The way Rosa squealed like that reminded Margot of nails on a chalk board. Okay, so maybe she really was ready for this mission to end if she had to spend one more week pretending to be Rosa's best friend. Margot faked an excited smile as she left Steven's side and approached Rosa.

"Rosa!" Margot exclaimed. "The party looks so amazing! You've really outdone yourself."

"Oh please, Julia, I couldn't have done it without you." Rosa then glanced over at Steven, sending him a welcoming smile. "You have such a talented wife, Ethan. She's a keeper." Margot really didn't know if she was talented just because she gave the woman a couple of stupid ideas for a party. Then again Rosa's didn't have much else to do in her life anyways. Steven smiled at Rosa but Margot knew that he was dying to finally be finished with these people once and for all just like she was.

"Don't I know it." Steven told her and Rosa just nodded.

"Speaking of lucky men married to amazing women I believe my own husband would love it if you would join him in the dining room. I think a certain meeting is about to start." Rosa gave him a wink and it would take an absolute idiot to not know about the shady meeting that was about to take place.

"Of course. You two ladies have fun without me." Steven told them before looking at Margot with a hidden message in his eyes that she instantly recognized. In the time she spent with him she learned to recognize certain signals from him and this being one of many. This particular signal was telling her to be ready for anything and she was. She had a Glock pistol resting safely under her dress in her thigh holster. "I love you." Steven said to her before pressing a chaste kiss against her cheek.

"I love you too." Margot responded but she realized only a little too soon that she responded to that quickly…almost as if it were completely natural for her to do so. She swallowed those surprised feelings down and Steven didn't seem to notice anything amiss as he smiled at her one last time before walking away.

A question rested in Margot's mind as she watched him and that was the question of whether or not she loved him. Could she really love Steven Rogers? That thought seemed crazy to her because she barely knew him…well, that wasn't exactly true because they had been spending every waking moment of the day in each other's company for the past six months. When you lived with someone you definitely knew that person very well.

Margot knew all about Steven's mother who he talked about all the time. She normally distanced herself from guys that talked about their mothers that much but Steven wasn't creepy about it. He genuinely respected and admired his mother. He told her a lot about his childhood and described his fears of somehow dishonoring his father's memory. If Margot was being honest she also shared a lot of personal problems with Steven as well. He knew the extent of her relationship with her father and was so sympathetic that he actually tried to come up with ways that she could bond with her father. Margot knew none of those ideas would ever work but Margot loved him for it anyways. Loved? Margot knew it wasn't hard to love Steven. He was probably the first guy she could actually hold an intelligent conversation with. She loved Clint but that guy was an idiot sometimes. She was sure Steven was so easy to talk to because he was probably the most mature guy she had ever lived with. It was no secret that Margot usually had a terrible taste in men. Her last boyfriend dumped her because he thought she wanted a baby when they saw a baby at a restaurant and she called the baby cute. Well, she did want a baby but definitely not with him. Yeah, Margot was aware that she didn't have a great history with boyfriends.

Steven was way different and that was probably because he was considerably older than her. Margot didn't think their age difference was weird or anything because it wasn't like he was a college professor and she was his student. She was a grown ass woman and Margot didn't mind the fact that he was older. So now that she had gotten through the cons, which was really only the age thing which she turned out to not mind, she had to decide whether or not she loved him. If you had to question if you loved someone than you might not love that person but this was confusing to Margot. Margot had spent so long pretending to be in love with Steven that maybe she confused what was real with what wasn't real. They told one and other that they loved each other all the time but that was only because they had to because they were undercover. So did she love Steven because of the mission or because she really loved him?

Well, Steven was ridiculously good looking in that rugged, all American older guy way which turned out to be something Margot was really into. It was true that he was probably too serious for his own good sometimes but he amused her when he was like that and she liked trying to make him laugh when his jaw was clenched like that. She loved that he had gotten so comfortable around her that he acted arrogant and smug after they had sex and she told him it would never happen again. Margot also loved those pretty ocean blue eyes of his that also had green in them if you looked hard enough. She had never seen eyes like his and as corny as it sounded his eyes were the prettiest eyes in the world. Margot knew Steven would probably grumble uncomfortably if she ever made that remark aloud because he hated compliments. He rarely smiled genuinely but when he did he looked so youthful and Margot was glad she got to see a real smile from him when it was just him and her alone.

There was also the way he made her feel. She felt like a teenager again when she was with him and she forgot about her life back in New York. Margot knew she was going to be sad to return if tonight was the end of the mission because it meant having to not be married to him anymore. She liked being married to him. It wasn't just the sex either. No, it was all the late night conversations, making dinner and him giving her that charming appreciative smile, telling her that she looked beautiful in the dress she was wearing even though it was just them alone, and even the way they woke up together in the morning. Now Margot definitely knew. She was definitely in love with Steven Rogers.

She now knew why Fury made a policy about no dating in the workplace because this was a mess.

* * *

"We need to discuss the weapons, Santiago." Jorge Alvarez told the famous drug dealer in a serious tone. Alvarez was a prominent politician in Mexico and an old friend of Santiago's apparently. He was a rather balding, overweight man with a constant look of disdain on his face which Steven was slowly realizing was just his face. "Let's stop all this party nonsense and be serious. The president is wondering when the military will get the shipment of weapons you promised us." One of the other men, sitting at the table inside the dining room, rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Give us a break, Jorge. We all know you're the president's little lap dog which means that you don't need to name drop him every chance you get." Diego Ugalde added as he glanced around the room, waiting to hear words of agreement from the other men. However, he received none as all the other men within the room gave him similar looks of disdain. Steven noticed that Tanaka and Okada were missing but he hadn't expected them to be there anyways. They returned home months ago after working out a deal with Salazar.

"Why are you even here, Ugalde? You're a telenovela star. What's your purpose here exactly?" Jorge questioned bitterly and it was true. Diego was a very famous telenovela star who brought attention where ever he went. His telenovela had the highest ratings and not to mention the very handsome Mexican actor had a charming smile to go along with it. Diego just leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the table in a relaxed position. Steven raised his eyebrows because he also didn't really understand what an actor had to contribute to all of this. He honesty thought Santiago was talking about a different Diego Ugalde when he mentioned the meeting.

"If you're asking if I'm an artist who's also interested in a business proposition then I think your question is already answered." Diego said arrogantly while smirking at the politician who looked like he was struggling not to strangle the life out of Diego. Jorge instead took a puff from his cigar and sulked.

"Okay, gentlemen, we're all friends here so let's get back to business." Santiago said he went back to the task at hand. "Now, Jorge, I know I've been stalling but those weapons are on the way. I promise you. I'm a man of honor and I never break a promise. My supplier is finally coming through. There's been some minor set backs but they've assured me that we're back on track. You can tell President Estevez that we're back on track." Jorge seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Who exactly is this supplier that you seem so fond of, Santiago?" One of the other men asked. Steven recognized him as a colonel. "We must thank them for their generous contribution to the Mexican military."

"My friends…if I told you that then I'd have to kill you." Santiago joked and all the men erupted in laughter even though Steven could see the sincerity in Santiago's dark eyes. Diego then took his legs off the table before leaning forward in his seat, looking very interested all of a sudden.

"Seriously, Santiago, who's giving you these weapons?" Diego asked, a teasing smile on his face. "Is it that Gringo Stark? That other Gringo named Hammer? Pym? Wow…I only just realized that all of those men are white boys. It's 1998 and still no diversity. Well, I guess science is for nerdy white boys after all and we strong and good looking Latin men will profit off their success. Oh, how the tables have turned. But I still wouldn't say no to seeing a Gringo like Stark working the fields. That would be a sight to see."

"Can you ever stop talking?" Jorge asked in annoyance but Diego just smiled charmingly at the politician.

"I'm just making some conversation, Jorge. There's nothing wrong going here." Diego defended, obviously amused by Jorge's overreaction.

"Seriously, gentlemen, I can't say who the supplier is but I think we can all agree that we're all grateful for their generosity." Santiago said before turning to look at Steven. "Ethan, my friend, you've been awfully quiet. Don't you have anything to say?" Steven smiled softly.

"I'm just in awe of your group of friends, Santiago, but I'm also entirely grateful for the weapons. You have no idea how much this will change the face of my business. I can't express how thankful I am." Steven said and Santiago grinned at him.

"Don't mention it, Ethan, you're a friend and a partner. Name anything you want and you shall have it. Except my wife." All the men laughed at Santiago's lame joke again and even Steven faked a convincing laugh. "I'm just kidding you can have her if you want. Everyone else has." The men laughed again and Diego smirked at him.

"I'll have your wife if you're making an offer." Santiago laughed at his famous friend.

"Diego, you're such a comedian." The drug dealer then looked around at all the men in the dining room. "Well, men, I think this meeting has come to an end now that I've made my announcement about the impending shipments. I thank you for being patient and Ethan and I have a lot to do if we want to have those shipments ready by next week." All the men took that as their cue to leave the meeting and enjoy the rest of the party with their mistresses. Their wives were in bed at home after all. Jorge stopped by Santiago and firmly shook his hand.

"Thank you, Santiago. The Mexican government appreciates your contribution. We'll be able to do a great many things with this weapons shipment." Jorge said and Santiago grinned at him.

"Hey, I don't do charity cases. You're still paying me." He said, half joking but he must've forgot that Jorge wasn't the joking type. The older man just nodded before leaving the room with the other men but not before Diego came up to him. The actor smiled widely at the drug dealer and Steven noted that the man's teeth were an alarming shade of white. So white that it nearly blinded his eyes.

"I'm looking forward to hearing more about your business proposition." Diego said and Santiago patted his friend on the back.

"I guarantee you will be _very_ happy with my proposition." He promised and Diego nodded briefly before heading for the door. Steven curiously observed the way the man looked back at them one last time before leaving the room, his eyes narrowing when his eyes rested on Steven. Before Steven had time to think about the obvious change in demeanor of the actor, Diego was already gone and Santiago had his attention on him.

"Good, now that we're alone we can talk about the important stuff. Like how the hell we're supposed to get those weapons to the Mexican government." Santiago said and Steven gave him a confused look.

"I thought you just promised Jorge the weapons?" Steven questioned and Santiago laughed at him.

"Oh, Ethan, my very blonde friend. You really are naïve for an American." Santiago said as he patted his partner on the back. "We can't get the Mexican government those weapons. I'm just stalling them like before." Steven tried not to look too surprised or disappointed at this news.

"What's wrong then? Where are the weapons?" Steven questioned and Santiago sighed as he poured himself a drink.

"I have no idea. Those Gringos have been acting odd lately. They've been keeping an abnormally tight grip on their precious weapons. It's only been the past few months that they've started to become skimpy with the weapons." Santiago admitted as he took a sip of his drink. So the suppliers were white then? Steven decided to store that information for later and not bother questioning Santiago about it. There was no reason to raise suspicions.

"How do they expect us to sell their weapons if they don't actually give us their weapons to sell?" Steven asked him and Santiago shrugged.

"It's not like it matters to them anyways. They're not making any money out of this." The drug dealer said calmly and Steven stared at him in surprise, not expecting to hear that information.

"What do you mean they're not making money from this?" Steven questioned as discreetly as he could. Santiago seemed unbothered by Steven's question as if it never occurred to him how weird it was that his supplier just gave him weapons to sell without expecting any profits.

"They said they were very concerned with the state of the Mexican military and that they wanted to help." Santiago explained. "They said that they couldn't risk supplying another country with weapons because they're well-respected business men back in their country so they gave the weapons for me to sell. Hey, I thought it was too good to be true too but they kept the shipments coming and the money just keeps flowing into my back account so who am I to complain?"

"Santiago, do you even know who our suppliers are?" Steven asked as he stared at the man in disbelief. He was slowly realizing that Santiago wasn't a criminal mastermind after all. Santiago didn't care who's money it was as long as he got a lot of it. He probably didn't even know who the suppliers were which meant that Steven and Margot's mission was wasted.

"I know that they're very generous and very rich. Look, Ethan, it doesn't matter to me who my supplier is as long as they make me money." Santiago told his friend. "They've made me a lot of money but lately they've been very stingy with the shipments. It's funny because it wasn't until you showed up that…"

Santiago immediately trailed off as he looked back over at Steven. He looked incredibly confused and bewildered as he looked at the blonde man. Steven maintained a calm composure but knew he was close to being found out. He was really screwed now because his cover was about to be blown. Steven was currently facing one of the world's most dangerous and notorious drug dealers. Some said that Santiago Salazar was even more dangerous than Pablo Escobar or the Cali Cartel had been. Was Steven scared? Not really because he knew he could take Santiago and Santiago's lackeys but it was Margot that he was worried about. He was deathly scared of the fallout considering Margot was still upstairs. Steven wasn't up there to protect her or even give her a warning. Anything could happen between now and then.

"What is it?" Steven asked him, playing dumb. Santiago just stared at Steven wide eyed.

"It wasn't until you showed up that they started withholding shipments." Santiago finally uttered but before he could spend anymore time on the subject something even more puzzling happened. The glass of one of the dining room windows suddenly shattered and a second later the sound of two bullets slicing through flesh sounded through the air. One bullet coming after the other. The bullets zipped through the air so fast that when they finally hit Santiago Steven could only watch in surprise as the blood splattered everywhere including Steven's face.

Santiago grunted from the impact as he immediately dropped to the floor and Steven quickly ducked down, taking cover from behind the table. There was a sniper shooter out there, most likely with a silencer on his sniper rifle judging by how quiet those bullets had been, and there was no telling whether his actual target was Santiago or Steven. Steven immediately crawled over to where the Mexican drug dealer was lying on the ground, immediately checking his wounds. There was one bullet wound in Santiago's shoulder and one just above his heart. He noticed how the blood was rapidly pouring out of the wounds and immediately began to put some pressure on the wound to try and slow down some of the bleeding. Santiago coughed weakly, blood spilling out of his mouth and suddenly the man no longer looked like a fearsome drug dealer. He just looked incredibly weak.

"Stay with me, Salazar." Steven said as he tried to keep the man calm but he knew it was all pointless. Santiago wasn't going to last long with a wound like that. It was just a matter of seconds before Santiago's heart would give out. Steven's enhanced hearing then picked up on a gentle rustling coming from outside. Carefully, while still keeping his hand on Santiago's wound, he poked his head up from the table and looked out the broken glass window into the night sky. It was difficult for Steven to see through the darkness but he shockingly enough managed to catch a flash of something from under the bright moonlight.

It was a full moon that night and the light shone over what Steven could clearly see as mysterious figure standing on the roof of the pool house. The figure just stood there, seemingly staring in Steven's direction. Steven couldn't pick out any facial features since it was so dark but he could clearly see the mysterious figure's odd looking arm. It was a silver arm that glinted under the moonlight with a red star emblazoned near the shoulder of the figure. Steven's eyes widened because he recognized that arm. Not from his own memory but from a familiar story he had heard since he was a young Shield agent.

Steven's attention was then taken away from the figure as he heard Santiago gasp. The blonde man tore his gaze from the mysterious figure to look back at the drug dealer. He watched as the dying man took his last breath before then stilling as the life left his eyes. Steven reached over to check Santiago's pulse but his suspicion was already confirmed because there was no pulse left to be felt. The only emotion Steven felt was confusion as he stared at Santiago Salazar's dead body. Confusion because he didn't understand why this happened and why it happened now of all times. Steven then glanced back over to the window to get another glimpse at the mysterious figure only to find no one there. All that stared back at Steven was the moon that almost seemed to mock him.

What happened and what did it all mean?

* * *

"So you're telling me that we still know nothing of Salazar's weapon suppliers?" Fury questioned in annoyance. It was two days later and both Margot and Steven were already back in New York after leaving Mexico. Two days since Santiago's death and Steven was still at a lost over what he had seen that night. After Santiago's death Mexican authorities that had been at the party had taken over the investigation. They had ruled Steven out since the bullets obviously came from a vantage point outside the window. He had stayed tight lipped about Santiago's death even though he knew Margot wanted to know what was going on. He had been quiet on the plane ride back from Mexico and he could tell she had a million questions. Now the two were finally in Fury's office for the debriefing and Steven could finally get everything off his chest…well, mostly everything.

"Sir, I don't think Salazar even knew who his suppliers were." Steven told Fury and the director gave him a surprised look.

"You really expect me to believe that the most notorious drug dealer in the world didn't even know who was giving him weapons?" Fury questioned and Steven shook his head.

"He didn't know because he didn't care." Steven replied and Margot gave him a questioning look.

"Why wouldn't he care?" She asked him and Steven sighed before responding.

"Because they were giving him the weapons for free." Steven finally told them and both Margot and Fury looked shocked. Steven couldn't exactly blame them because he had been shocked when he found out too.

"You mean to say that Salazar's weapons supplier was giving him advanced weaponry free of charge?" Fury questioned in disbelief.

"I know. I was surprised too but I don't think Salazar was lying when he told me that. He was reckless at times and his only goal was making money. He didn't care where the weapons came from as long as he made money." Steven explained. Fury nodded as he took in this information and even Margot felt a bit stumped by what Steven was saying. None of it made sense. What kind of weapons supplier would supply someone with weapons and not expect anything in return? Margot had a feeling that this whole thing was a lot bigger than finding out who was making the weapons. The bigger question was finding out who was supplying these weapons for free and what did they want in return?

"I have a feeling this doesn't end with Salazar. We need to find out who these suppliers are more than ever." Fury said seriously. "Do either one of you have any other information on these mysterious suppliers?"

"I know Salazar's wife mentioned that he had been having these secretive meetings with a bunch of white men. He wouldn't tell her who they were so I'm assuming that they were probably the suppliers." Margot said, giving her input.

"Salazar also mentioned something about his suppliers being white." Steven added and Fury glanced back at Margot.

"Did Salazar's wife say anything else?" Fury asked and Margot nodded.

"She said that some of the men weren't Americans. Some were Russian and German." Margot told him which made Fury more infuriated because he knew this wasn't going to be any sort of intelligence agency like the CIA or NSA because then it would just be a case of corruption. It wasn't even likely the KGB either. Fury was guessing that this was probably a more private organization which would make them harder to track down.

"So we're dealing with Americans, Russians, and Germans." Steven said and tried to make sense of it all but there wasn't much information to go by.

"And that's all the intel we have on these suppliers?" Fury asked, sounding tired.

"I'm afraid so, Sir." Steven said but Fury didn't seem that annoyed.

"No, no. You two did a great job. This mission just got messier than we could've ever predicted." Fury said, referring to Salazar's death before looking at Steven. "And you have no idea who killed Salazar?" Steven stared back at the director, trying to decide whether or not to divulge his suspicion but ultimately deciding that it was better not to. Fury would just probably laugh in his face and it's not like Steven had any evidence to back up his theory anyways. Steven even thought he was kind of going crazy.

"No. Just those two Soviet slugs." Steven answered and Fury nodded. It would appear that the debriefing was about to end since they covered all the main points of Margot and Steven's mission.

"Well, if that's all then I guess you two are dismissed. Agent Rogers, we'll have a meeting in my office on Monday." Fury told Steven before glancing over at Margot. "Agent Barton's back in the field so I'll assign you back with him soon but I'm sure you'd appreciate a two week vacation beforehand." Margot smiled at the director.

"Of course, Sir." Margot said, trying to seem appreciative but in all honesty she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by how fast this was all ending. At first she had been hesitant in working with Steven because of how much she liked working with Clint. Clint was the partner to have on missions and he was one of the few people in Shield that actually liked her and took her seriously. However, these past few months with Steven had been different. She felt that Steven genuinely liked and respected her but at the same time he told her when she needed to step up and be serious. Margot liked that about him but she also hated thinking that she might never see him again after this. She doubted he felt the same way. It was all a mission to him probably. Margot didn't want to think everything on the mission meant nothing to him but that was just how it was. Clearly Steven was more of a professional than she was because Margot's feelings got in the way. They always seemed to get in the way.

As soon as Margot and Steven were outside Fury's office after he dismissed them, Steven turned to Margot. A million thoughts were racing through his mind but he knew one thing. He knew that he could absolutely trust Margot. She was someone that didn't hide who they were. There was probably no one he could trust more than Margot right now in Shield. Steven thought he even trusted her more than Fury. He had known Fury a lot longer but that man had quite a bit of secrets. Margot didn't really have secrets. She was an open book and Steven admired her for that. He was starting to think this might just be his heart talking rather than his brain but logic suddenly didn't matter when it came to Margot. Steven feared that he was even beginning to fall in love with Margot. He didn't want to because he knew she deserved a lot better than him but he couldn't help it.

It was true that she was ditzy and talked too much at times but she was also the kindest and most honest human being he had ever met. Maybe he even liked how scatter brained and talkative she was. Margot had a knack for filling up long and dreadful silences. She also never lied to him or pretended to be anything other than who she was. Steven knew she probably shouldn't be a Shield agent since she was a bit emotional at times but maybe that's what made her a better agent than others. She was able to emphasize with people. Not to mention Steven thought she was beautiful...too beautiful to want to be with him. All this fooling around was just a phase she was going through in her life and she probably wouldn't want anything to do with him now. Steven wouldn't blame her. She was too good for him. Still...Steven knew that he could absolutely trust her. She was the only person he knew that wore her heart on her sleeve. Steven stopped Margot outside Fury's office and the redhead gave him a confused look.

"Do you wanna go grab some coffee?" Steven asked her and Margot just stared at him, a bit dumbfounded. She wondered what this was about. A more wild and irrational part of her wanted to believe that this meant that Steven was about to declare his love for her but the more rational part of her knew that this was something else.

"Um…sure. I'm not doing anything." Margot told him and Steven just nodded before he began walking in the opposite direction. She took that as a signal that they were going to the coffee shop right this second. Margot just sighed as she followed him. She could already tell that it was going to be difficult to keep up with this man.

* * *

"Why are we here, Steven?" Margot asked him as they were seated in the small coffee shop. The barista had just dropped off their coffee at the table and the two were left in silence. Although Margot secretly wanted this to be the part where Steven was the man of her teenage dreams and declared his undying love her, she also didn't want that at the same time. She knew that both she and Steven could lose their jobs if that happened. Margot's career was her whole life as pathetic as that sounded. However, she soon grew concerned as she stared back at Steve. Steven was staring at the table top but his mind was elsewhere. He slowly glanced back up at Margot and she suddenly felt like this might have nothing to do with them. There was definitely something on his mind as he stared at her with those ocean blue eyes. Something was troubling him.

"Can I trust you, Margot?" Steven asked her. He already knew he could trust her but he wanted to hear it from her. Margot gave him a confused look. It wasn't often that he called her by her first name instead of just Pierce.

"What is this about, Steven?"

"Can I trust you?" He asked her again and she nodded, still unsure of why he was asking her that now of all times.

"Of course." Margot said sincerely, her green eyes filled with promise and Steven instantly believed her. "What is this all about?" Steven just sighed before answering.

"I didn't tell Fury something about the other night when Salazar was killed." Steven said, locking eyes with her. Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean? We were just at the debriefing." Steven could only marvel at how loyal and innocent she was. She truly was the best agent at Shield because she was the most trust worthy. Margot Pierce had the purest of souls which was a rarity in their line of work. It made him a bit hesitant in telling her any of this but ultimately he knew that there was no one else he could trust with this. Of course, he could always trust his mother but his mother had long since been retired from Shield and he didn't want to trouble her with any of this.

"I saw Salazar's killer." Steven finally admitted and Margot gave him a shocked look. "It was dark but I know I saw him on the roof of the pool house."

"Him?" Margot questioned before shaking her head furiously. "Wait…if you saw the killer then why didn't you tell Fury?"

"I didn't tell him because it sounds insane. I even think that I might be going crazy." Steven said before elaborating. "The other night I looked out the window after the shots had been fired and I saw someone standing on top of the pool house. He was just standing there staring back at me."

"You know it was a man?" Margot questioned and the look on Steven's face was very grave. He was frightening Margot because she had never seen him like that before. It almost seemed like he was very haunted by whoever Salazar's killer was.

"Tell me, Margot, what do you know about the Winter Soldier?" Steven asked her, uttering the name aloud for the first time. Margot gave the older man an odd look, not understanding where he was going with this. She laughed nervously.

"The Winter Soldier? He's just some legend amongst intelligence agencies...a ghost story." Margot told him as she recollected everything she had heard about the Winter Soldier. "Superior agents tell rookie agents about the big, bad Winter Soldier to scare them. Coulson told me about the Winter Soldier and I was so convinced that he was real that I couldn't sleep for a week. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that…that makes me sound kind of pathetic." Steven, however, ignored her last comment and moved on.

"He killed Salazar." Steven told Margot and she gave him a look of disbelief. "I know it sounds insane but it was him. Everything I've heard in the past about him...it's all true. I never thought any of it could've been anything more than a myth but he was right there staring back at me."

"Are you sure it was him? You said it was dark after all." Steven nodded.

"I'm sure. His arm was metal with a-"

"Red star on it." Margot finished, a distant look in her eyes. "I remember from the stories. I'm really starting to feel like a conspiracy theorist right now."

"The only thing is that I don't know why he stopped with Salazar. He knew I was alive yet he did nothing. I would've gone after the bastard but he was already gone." Steven said more to himself than Margot. He was beating himself up over everything and mostly because he didn't even try to chase after the Winter Soldier. He saw him there but he was in such a state of shock that he couldn't even move.

"Okay…hypothetically speaking, if this Winter Soldier guy is real then maybe he didn't kill you because he didn't want you dead." Margot told Steven, still not really sure if she could believe any of this. She knew Steven wasn't lying but she just wasn't positive if what he saw really was the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier was a legend that was decades upon decades old. How would it even be humanly possible for the Winter Soldier to exist?

"That doesn't make any sense." Steven said, sounding perplexed by everything.

"He's probably working for whoever the suppliers are. Maybe the suppliers don't want you dead." Margot said and Steven had to admit that she made a really good point. Of course the Winter Soldier and the suppliers were connected. It was just too much of a coincidence that Salazar would be killed the instant he started suspecting Steven was up to something. There was also too much of a coincidence that Salazar's supplier had been withholding their shipment of weapons ever since Steven and Margot arrived in Mexico. No, his suppliers definitely had something to do with it.

"Okay, if the suppliers sent the Winter Soldier then they must've wanted Salazar dead because of us. They knew who we were but for some reason they wanted Salazar dead instead of us." Steven said as he tried to get to the bottom of all of this.

"Well, two dead Shield agents would surely bring a lot of unwanted attention." Margot replied as she agreed with Steven. "What about those men in the meeting. You told Fury about Jorge Alvarez but you mentioned that some movie star was down there too."

"Diego Ugalde. Mexico's most famous telenovela star." He answered and Margot furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What was an actor doing in the meeting?" Margot questioned and Steven shrugged.

"He claimed to be some kind of entrepreneur." Steven informed her before moving on. "Fury said that the police let Ugalde and Alvarez go after questioning but even if they had something to do with all this the police would still let them go. We saw just about the entire police department at that party."

"So there's even more unanswered questions." Margot said as she seemed slightly overwhelmed by everything. "I don't want to believe that the Winter Soldier's real, Steven. That just makes the world an even more terrifying place."

"I know what I saw, Margot. It was him." Steven told her seriously. "I've heard stories about him for years but I never believed in them. I thought they were all just stories and nothing more."

"Do you understand what you're saying? If it's really him than everything we know is false. Not to mention the guy would have to be in his eighties by now. He's been assassinating people longer than I've been alive." Margot rambled on but stopped when she saw the sincere look in Steven's eyes.

"It was him. I'm sure." Steven said with a definite tone. There was something in those incredibly blue eyes of his that told Margot that he really did see the Winter Soldier. How could she not believe him when he looked so vulnerable and even a bit scared? Margot didn't want him to look like that.

"I believe you." Margot said after a moment of silence. Steven gave her a surprised look before Margot explained what she meant. "I don't want to believe you but I do. If you say you saw him then it means he's out there somewhere. The world just became a darker and scarier place."

"Thank you." Steven told her before a more grim look came over his face. "We know that the Winter Soldier is probably working for whoever the suppliers are so we're still left with the question of who the suppliers are." Margot nodded but had a thoughtful look on her face because she knew that wasn't going to be a question either of them would be able to answer anytime soon. Whoever the suppliers are, they were incredibly good at hiding their tracks. They weren't going to be the kind of people to be found unless they wanted to be found.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"

* * *

Two Months later…

"So you know that girl I told you about? Vera?" Clint asked Margot who was barely paying attention to what he was saying. Clint was currently at her apartment telling her the details of his dating life while Margot read a book on the couch. The infamous archer was nursing a beer as Margot occasionally took a sip from her glass of wine. She didn't really care for beer herself but always kept a six pack in the fridge for Clint who frequently barged into her apartment. Apparently he had a roommate who was also in a really bad rock band…a band that was always rehearsing in their apartment so sometimes Clint needed to get away.

"Mmmhmm…" Margot flipped a page in her book but in all honesty she wasn't really even paying attention to her book either. Her mind was on a certain blonde and blue eyed man. It had been two months since she had last heard from Steven. To be fair she had been assigned on a mission not long after they arrived home. Her and Clint had just gotten back from Shanghai but Margot had to admit that she had been really distracted on the mission. Steven Rogers had completely encompassed her thoughts since the mission in Mexico. Even more so considering that she was now worried about him after they discussed the Winter Soldier ordeal. She felt like they probably should've told Fury about the Winter Soldier but what good would that have done anyways? Fury would either tell that they were insane or he just wouldn't believe them. They didn't have any evidence to back up their theory and Steven was the only one to officially see the Winter Soldier.

"Well, I took Vera out for dinner the other night and she just sat there the entire evening completely ignoring me then she ordered the most expensive dinner on the menu. I tried to make conversation but she just sat there. Who even does that?" Clint told Margot but the redhead didn't answer as her eyes remained glued to the book. He noticed the troubled expression on her face and felt concerned. Margot was usually so bubbly and positive but lately she seemed kind of down. "Is that book really that interesting that you can't even listen to what I'm saying? That's one of those sappy English novels, isn't it? _Emma_? Sounds lame to me." Margot glared at her best friend before setting down her Jane Austen novel.

" _Emma_ is not lame. _Emma_ is one of Jane Austen's best works…aside from _Pride and Prejudice_ of course." Margot said, defending one of her favorite books of all time. Clint gave her a doubtful look.

"Isn't Emma a snobby bitch who does all that match making just to make herself feel better? That's kind of pathetic. It's like she got off from match making or something." Clint said insultingly but she knew deep down he was only teasing her. Margot huffed.

"Emma isn't perfect but who is? She doesn't start out as a great person but by the end of the book she overcomes her faults and becomes a better person. This book is about more than romance. It's about character development." Margot explained while Clint just watched the redhead in amusement. " _Emma_ is a great book, Clint. You don't know what you're missing out on even though I'm kind of impressed that you even know what _Emma's_ about." Clint shrugged as he took a seat next to her on the couch.

"I saw the movie." Clint told her before giving her a more serious look. "What's going on with you anyways?" Margot laughed nervously.

"What are you talking about?" Clint just raised his eyebrows at her.

"Come on, Go. You've been acting weird lately and I haven't pushed for answers but I'm starting to get a little worried." Clint said worriedly and Margot felt guilty for making him worried. "What is it? Was it Mexico? Did something happen there?" Margot sighed because she realized that she really needed to talk to someone about what was going on. Clint was the only one she could really do that with. They normally didn't get all heart felt with each other but Margot wasn't really good at keeping everything bottle up inside. She bit her lip nervously before replying.

"It's about Steven." Margot said quietly and Clint gave her a confused look.

"Who? Rogers?" Clint questioned. "Did that old man do something to you, Margot? Because I don't care if he's Captain America's son. I'll still kick that old man's ass." Margot smiled softly before the smile vanished as soon as it had come.

"No, things just got complicated down in Mexico. We got close…real close." Clint gave her a curious look.

"How close?" Clint asked her and Margot blushed almost as red as her hair.

"We slept together." Clint's eyes widened as his jaw dropped in shock. Margot quickly looked away from him, embarrassed from his staring.

"But he's so old." Clint said, still shocked by what Margot had just told him. Margot glared at her friend.

"He's seventeen years older than me but believe me he more than makes up for it." Margot said defensively and Clint gave her a disgusted look before calming down from his shocked state.

"Okay, so you two slept together once. It happens. You two probably wouldn't be the first two agents to ever sleep together." Clint said nonchalantly, trying to comfort his friend but the redhead gave him a somewhat guilty look.

"Well, it wasn't really a one time thing." Margot said nervously.

"What do you mean it wasn't a one time thing?" Clint questioned.

"I actually lost count of the times we-" Margot started to say but Clint immediately stopped her.

"Oh, gross. Don't tell me how many times you and Rogers Jr. boned. That's disgusting." Margot just ignored his immature statement as she moved the conversation along.

"I think I'm in love with him, Clint." Margot finally told Clint which caused the archer to really sit back and stare at his best friend. He could tell by the way she was staring at him that whatever feelings she had for Rogers Jr. were really troubling her. She seemed more torn than he had ever seen her be before.

"Oh…" Clint trailed off, not know what else to say to her.

"I know it's against all the rules at Shield and especially now that he's become deputy director. We'd probably both lose our jobs and not to mention Fury would murder us." Margot said as she looked unusually crestfallen. Clint frowned because she never looked that lost or sad before. "He probably doesn't even feel the same. Oh God…look at me. I sound like a teenage girl."

"Hey, it's going to be alright, Margot. These things happen." Clint said, trying to reassure her. "If Rogers doesn't feel the same way then he's an idiot. He'd be lucky to get a woman like you. You're the complete package." Margot scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Clint." Margot told him but Clint didn't stop there.

"No, it's true. You're funny, nice, and a complete bad ass. You can knit really nice hats too because that knitting class you took really paid off. That hat you knitted me is really warm." Clint said before smirking at her. "Not to mention you're hot. I'd marry you right now if you wanted me too but I guess you're not into younger guys…obviously." Margot shook her head in disbelief because she was slowly starting to believe that she was best friends with an insane person.

"You're not funny, Barton." Margot told him but Clint just continued to grin at her. "And you should be telling me how stupid I am for getting involved with a coworker. You shouldn't be encouraging me."

"If you wanted the kind of best friend that shames you for sleeping with a coworker then you should've become best friends with Coulson instead." Clint said smugly and sometimes Margot really wondered why she was friends with him. He was a real nuisance when he wanted to be. Margot always used to wonder what having a little brother would be like but now she knew it was probably a nightmare.

"You're an idiot." Margot muttered but a more sincere look came over Clint's face as he looked at her. She had never seen him look that serious before and that surprised her about him.

"No, Rogers is the idiot for not seeing how wonderful you are. Next time I see him, deputy director or not, I'll kick his ass. If he thinks he can just come along and use you for sex then he has another thing coming." Clint said bitterly as he ranted about Steven Rogers. "Just because he's Captain America's son he thinks he can just skate by and break your heart? Yeah, right. I'll teach daddy's boy a little lesson." Margot rolled her eyes. Sometimes she thought she'd never truly understand men.

"Of course, Clint. Thanks for being my knight shining armor." Margot said sarcastically but Clint smiled nonetheless. The amused look on her face then faded as she looked at her friend, a more troubled look returning to her face. "Clint?"

"What?" Margot sighed.

"Promise that if we're both old, lonely, and single people that we'll get married. Just to get everything over with and not die alone. I don't want to die alone." Margot said sadly and Clint gave her a look of disbelief.

"Margot, don't be so dramatic. You're only thirty five. You're not going to die alone." Clint told her but the redhead didn't look reassured.

"Come on, Clint. I'm thirty five without a boyfriend." Margot told him seriously as she started to ramble on about her future. "If I want to get married and have kids then I'm going to have to find some guy right this instant to completely make me forget about the fact that I'm in love with Steven. Then I'm going to have to fall in love with that man instead. He probably wouldn't propose for a couple years and then there's another year to actually plan the wedding. Not to mention another two years before he wants to start trying for kids and by then I'll probably be too old to have kids. My window will already be closed." Clint just stared at her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Who even thinks like that? You sound like a sociopath." Clint told her but Margot didn't even have it in her to glare at him.

"Women my age think like this, Clint. Dating around is really fun when you're in your twenties but when you're thirty five and still single you realize that you completely wasted ten years of your life. Ten years you'll never get back." Margot told him, tears brimming her eyes. Clint just snorted before shaking his head. He thought Margot was being utterly insane and ridiculous.

"Who says you even need to get married and have kids? That's something society tells you to do but there's already enough kids in the world. Does the world really need another snot nosed brat?" Clint questioned, trying to make her feel better but Margot sighed sadly.

"But I want a little snot nosed brat, Clint." Margot whined before elaborating. "I'm just like any other woman because all I want is a little snot nosed brat. I see all those diaper commercials on TV and I cry because I realize how much I want a baby. They're so cute, Clint, and I even debated over kidnapping a baby in the grocery store the other day before realizing how insane that is."

"That is kind of insane, Margot. I'm trying to decide whether or not I should suggest to Fury that you need a psychological evaluation." Clint said, half joking and half not. Margot just shook her head, clearly in despair over this.

"Ten years ago I used to pity those women with babies but now it's all I want. I'm scared because in a couple years my window will probably be closed and I won't ever have one." Margot said, sounding more scared than Clint had ever heard her be. "I'm not going to be a Shield agent forever, Clint. I don't want Shield to be the only legacy I leave behind." Clint grasped one of Margot's hands in his, giving her hand a firm squeeze.

"You're too young to be worrying about that, Margot. You're not going to die alone." Clint told her seriously before taking a deep breath. "Look, if you're that worried about it then you can have my kids. We can try for kids in a couple years if you're still single." Margot wrinkled her nose in disgust, not believing what he just said.

"Clint, I love you but not like that. I'm not attracted enough to you to want to have sex." Margot told him and Clint glared at her.

"Not like that. I meant that I could jack off into a vial or whatever at some clinic and you could have my kids." Clint told her and Margot seemed relieved.

"Oh, you mean artificial insemination!" Margot exclaimed brightly, sounding very relieved that Clint wasn't talking about them having sex. Margot didn't think she could ever do that with Clint. He was too much like a little brother to her. "Good. You really had me worried there for a second, Clint."

"Nice to know how repulsive you find me." Clint muttered but Margot shook her head.

"You know how much I love you." Margot told him before giving him a soft smile. "Thank you for that, Clint." Clint just shrugged.

"Sure…what are friends for anyways?" Clint said before giving Margot a teasing smile. "It's really not that big of a deal. I already do that once a day anyways. As long as they've got a couple Victoria Secret catalogues in that clinic I'll be good to go." Margot gave him a disgusted look before playfully shoving him away. Clint snickered.

"You're disgusting, Barton."

* * *

Margot had just gotten finished reading _Emma_ for the twelfth time. Margot had never been one for classic English literature but she had always loved Jane Austen. She liked to think that Jane Austen had written some of the first Rom-Coms. _Emma_ just so happened to be one of her favorite Jane Austen novels and even more so because her mother gave her the book for her sixteenth birthday. At the time Margot had been disappointed by the book for not being the pair of earrings she wanted, being the spoiled brat that she was, but when her mother started getting sick she realized how much more a book meant to her than some stupid pair of earrings. _Emma_ was the first Jane Austen book she had ever read and the last gift her mother had given her before she started getting sick and for that it would always have a special place in her heart.

Margot set down the book on her coffee table just when she heard a knock at the door. Clint had left her house not that long before so Margot wondered who it could be. There wasn't many other people who came to her apartment aside from her father and Margot wasn't prepared for that. She shuddered at the thought of her father showing up to her apartment. He was always the last person she ever wanted to see. Margot didn't feel like dealing with him tonight. Without thinking anymore of it, Margot peeked through the peephole in the door only to see a very familiar face outside her door. She pulled away from the peephole with an unsure look on her face because she wasn't sure what she was going to say. However, she still knew that he was most likely aware of the fact that she was home. He wasn't a super soldier for nothing now, was he? Margot finally opened the door and plastered a smile across her face.

"Hi, Steven." She politely greeted but frowned when she noticed how tired he looked. She supposed his new job as deputy director was more exhausting than she originally would've thought. He had shadows under his eyes and his hair looked slightly messy like he had spent hours running his fingers through it. "Steven what's wrong-" Margot started to say but never finished as Steven's lips descended onto hers.

He cupped her face with his hands and pulled her closer to him, causing her to moan in response. As their kiss become more passionate Steven lifted her up and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her back into the apartment and he closed the door behind them. However, after a couple minutes of making out like teenagers Margot pulled away from him and demanded to be put back down on the ground. Steven gave her a confused look as they parted and he was even more confused when Margot glared at him. She immediately slapped him across the face, not even caring how much it hurt her hand. Steven just stared at the redhead in bewilderment as he soothingly rubbed his cheek. He wasn't going to lie…there wasn't a lot that hurt him but that slap caused him a little pain.

"What the hell was that for?" Steven asked and Margot just continued to glare at him.

"That was for being an asshole, Rogers. Six months together in Mexico and you never even called?" Margot said, sounding pissed at him and Steven couldn't help but feel reverted back to being a small boy in trouble with his mother. "I know you're this big time legend at Shield but I'm not. Okay? You might be used to sleeping with your coworkers but I'm not. It's not something I can just be normal about so you can't just come over here and kiss me like it's nothing. This friends with benefits relationship isn't for me so if that's all you want then you can just leave. I'm too old for this." Steven stared at her wide eyed. He was left speechless for a moment or two as he stared at her. Margot was actually a little bit terrifying when she was pissed off.

"You think that I was just using you?" Steven asked her quietly and Margot nodded as she crossed her arms.

"Isn't that what you were doing?" Margot questioned and Steven sighed.

"Look, Margot, I don't have the best experience with these kinds of things. There's probably quite a few women out there that want me dead." Steven said and Margot raised an eyebrows.

"Are you going somewhere with this because if you are then you're miserably failing." Margot told him and Steven took a deep breath.

"I'm not good at talking about my feelings. I'm not good at relationships but I never for one second thought that this was just a casual thing…because it's not to me." Steven told her honestly and Margot looked back up at him with a more hopeful look in her emerald green eyes. "This is important to me. _You're_ important to me. I never wanted to hurt you and I'm sorry that you thought that I didn't care because damn it...you've been driving me crazy these past couple months. All I've been doing is thinking about you. What you're doing, how you are...whether or not you're seeing anyone. I can't even get any work done."

"Then why haven't you called or tried to see me?" Margot asked him, beyond confused by what went on in Steven's head. She supposed he was one of those complex kinds of people that you always tried to solve but never did. Like a never ending puzzle.

"Because I'm an old man and you deserve more. I'm a really cynical person and eventually you'll tire of me. You're young and you're full of life…I lost those things a long time ago. I'm worn down, Margot. You need someone with more life in them like Barton. Someone younger." Steven told her but Margot just shook her head.

"You don't get to tell me how I feel or what's good for me. I'm not so young either but I know what I want Steven and that's you." Margot told him and Steven gave her a surprised look.

"Are you sure?" He asked and Margot scoffed.

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't want someone younger like Clint. Clint's an amazing guy but he's just a friend." Margot said sincerely as she locked eyes with Steven. "I just want you. Even though we'll both probably get fired from this or something even worse…like being transferred to the CIA." Margot said but Steven only smirked at her.

"Well, I figure we'll both safe as long as we remain professional at work." Steven told her and Margot gave him a surprised look, hardly believing that Steven was actually agreeing to this. Steven was surprised himself but he was too selfish to reject Margot. He never wanted anything more than he wanted her and Steven had spent a long time on this planet. He still thought she was too good for him but he didn't want to walk away and wonder what would've happened had he stayed. No, he'd have her as long as she would have him...if that's what she really wanted.

"And outside work?" She inquired and Steven just continued to give her that smug smirk.

"I'll let you decide that for yourself." He said and Margot nodded before giving him a curious look.

"So it's official then. We're dating…or going steady as they called it in your time." Margot teased and Steven just shook his head at the small redhead.

"Pierce, you're a real piece of work, you know that?" Steven said jokingly before becoming more serious. "I guess I should go then." Margot gave him a confused look.

"What? Why?" She questioned and Steven shrugged.

"Well, we're dating now. I'm guessing you want to take it slow." Steven said and Margot rolled her eyes at him.

"Rogers, get your ass in that bedroom right now." Margot demanded and Steven started heading down the hallway but she could see the smug smirk on his face. That smug bastard, Margot thought to herself. "And stop smirking. I'm not at all turned on by that stupid little smirk of yours."

However, both Margot and Steven knew that was the furthest thing from the truth.

* * *

In Mexico City Diego Ugalde was returning home after a long day at set. Well, it wasn't particularly the work that was difficult but rather the fact that his costar's husband showed up and punched him in the face for no reason. He actually supposed that his costar's husband wasn't completely unjustified in punching him since Diego had been sleeping with his costar for the past three months. The Mexican actor had a massive headache and was nursing a black eye. All he wanted to do was finish off his bottle of tequila and sleep it off.

Diego's large mansion was completely dark and empty as he walked in and started heading straight for the kitchen. Wife number three left him six months before and took the kids with her. All his wives tended to leave and take the children with them since all three wives had at one point walked in on him with another woman. Funnily enough, wife number two actually walked in on him with wife number three. Diego couldn't really complain about how empty the mansion was because at least he had peace and quiet from a nagging wife and a bunch of screaming brats. Although, all that child support wasn't so great either.

"I see you've finally come home, Mr. Ugalde." Diego jumped a foot in the air in surprise at the voice and turned to look through the darkness of his own kitchen. The handsome actor saw that it was only Alexander Pierce and rested a hand against his heart, trying to calm himself down.

"Jesus Christ…don't you Hydra people wear a bell around your neck or something?" Diego asked sarcastically with his thick Mexican accent as he glared at Pierce before also noticing another figure leaning against the fridge. He groaned in frustration at the sight. "And you brought your creepy little pet too? Why'd you bring him? The guy sucks all the fun out of the room. So much doom and gloom."

"Relax, Diego, he's just here for my protection. Isn't that right, Asset?" Pierce inquired as he looked over at the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier only gave him a small nod before his eyes returned to Diego. The actor wrinkled his nose in disgust and fought the urge to shudder at how creepy the Winter Soldier was. Diego thought of him as a sort of grim reaper type figure.

"Well, he's fucking creepy. He's really killing my mood right now too." Diego said bitterly as he went around the Winter Soldier to grab his bottle of tequila off the counter. Pierce raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Your mood? What mood is that?" Pierce questioned. "You look like shit. I don't think that's a good look for an actor. Isn't all the money in your face anyways?"

"I slept with my costar…who may or may not have a husband who's also a heavy weight boxing champion." Diego admitted as he took a swig from the tequila bottle. "It wasn't my smartest move."

"No, it doesn't sound like it was." Pierce said in amusement before moving on. "I bet you're wondering why we're here."

"Not really. I kind of figured that it had something to do with Salazar and the weapons." Diego told him and Pierce just smiled.

"Well, you're right. So let's get down to business." A more serious expression then crossed Pierce's face. "Do you think Rogers knows?"

"About Hydra?" Diego questioned before scoffing. "No. He's fucking clueless. He was very quiet during the meeting but I don't think he knew. Salazar didn't even know about Hydra. The idiot."

"Good. Then our secret is safe and we all get to live another day." Pierce told him, seeming very happy with this news. Diego gave the older man a confused look.

"Why did you kill Salazar and not him? Salazar was a fool…he never would've figured out who we were." Pierce sighed.

"Salazar never asked any questions which made him useful but I couldn't risk Shield finding out and especially not Rogers. Rogers would've figured it out eventually." Pierce told the actor. "I have a feeling that Rogers is going to be very useful to us in the future and Hydra absolutely doesn't want him dead…not yet at least."

"And not the pretty redheaded one either?" Diego questioned which caused the look on Pierce's face to darken.

"Excuse me?" Pierce inquired.

"That sexy partner of Rogers. You know…the one with the nice tits." Diego said and Pierce glared at him. In all honesty he kept his daughter out of Hydra's agenda since she didn't know about Hydra. Pierce knew he couldn't tell her about Hydra either because she'd turn him in the first chance she got. She was too naive and innocent to want anything to do with Hydra...she was just like her mother. Margot was definitely another reason why he shut down Salazar's operation. His daughter was getting a little too close to the truth for his liking. For her own safety he wanted her to be as far away from what was really going on. If she didn't then she'd end up dead just like all the others that wanted to expose Hydra.

"You mind your own God damn business, Ugalde." Pierce told him and Diego felt that it would be wise to listen to Pierce. The dark look on his face was full of promise but not the kind of promise Diego would like. There was also the fact that the Winter Soldier was there with them. Diego knew that it would be stupid to make any smart ass comments with the Winter Soldier there.

"Okay. Fine." Diego relented before Pierce brought the conversation to a more important matter at hand.

"Unfortunately now that Salazar's been eliminated we've lost a lot of connections." Pierce said seriously as Diego listened to him intently. "We need Mexico to have these weapons but I've been made aware that you also have a lot of connections. Some that go beyond Mexico."

"That's all very true." Diego said hesitantly and Pierce grinned at him.

"Good. You can take over the deal we had with Salazar then." Pierce said and Diego gave him a surprised look. He knew almost better than anyone else how much money that deal Salazar had was. Diego would be making even more money than all the movie and television studios in Mexico could pay him. That was very appealing to Diego. He loved big mansions, fancy cars, and beautiful women more than anyone.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Diego said quickly and Pierce just smirked at the eager actor. He had to admit he was a bit hesitant over recruiting Diego into Hydra at first. The man was an actor after all but as he got to know he saw how valuable Diego could be to their cause. Diego was incredibly charming and nearly everyone that met him adored him. Maybe a charismatic actor could be one of Hydra's more valuable assets. With Diego on their side no one would even believe the weapons were being sold by him. Not like how Shield found out the weapons were being sold by Salazar. A drug dealer was suspicious but Mexico's favorite actor? No…Diego was hiding in plain sight and Pierce knew that's just where Hydra needed to be in this day and age.

"Good." Diego took another sip from his bottle of tequila before giving the older man a curious look.

"I've always wondered why you gave Salazar the weapons free of charge. That's a lot of money you're losing especially since you've been giving Salazar Stark Industries designed weapons." Diego said as he debated over the reasoning behind some of Hydra's decisions. "That bald Gringo must charge a lot for those weapons." Pierce only chuckled at the actor before answering.

"Let's just say Obadiah and I have a fair deal, Diego. We'll leave it at that." Pierce told him before he smiled at Diego. "Besides…giving these weapons away is just a means of Hydra getting to where we need to go and I believe Mexico having these weapons will get us there. Mexico's president has heard word of El Dorado and he wants El Dorado more than anyone. We have that in common. There's more valuable things than money, you know." Pierce then paused as he glanced back over to a very curious looking Diego Ugalde.

"Tell me, Diego…what do you know about Vibranium?"


	64. Chapter Fifty Nine

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been forever since I updated. It was just hard figuring out how exactly I wanted to go about writing the next few chapters in the story but after watching Jessica Jones season 2 it put me back in the Marvel state of mind. I didn't think season 2 was as good as the first season because you can't really top a villain like Kilgrave but it was still good. This chapter's a little weird but it's bringing things back to Rumlow and Emma's worsening PTSD. I also want to say that Diego Ugalde will be making a return to the story at some point. The flashback chapter was not the last time we'll be seeing him. There's not really a lot of Michelle, Ned, and the others at the compound in this chapter but everyone will be making more frequent appearances in the next chapter.**

 **Also, I've been listening to two newer artists I've been kind of obsessed with while writing this new chapter. I started listening to Jade Bird several months ago but I've only recently listened to her new song 'Lottery'. She's perfect if you like classic country, Americana, or folk music. I just can't get over how amazing her voice is. I also started listening to this new indie rock band called the Tracks. I saw them in this commercial with SZA and I fell in love with their style. The lead singer has this real fifties classic rock vibe about him that I love. It's also really cool to see Latinos in indie rock and as a Latina myself it's just amazing to see more diversity in the indie rock genre since there's not that much diversity. The Tracks only have a couple songs out so I'm eagerly anticipating when they put out their first album.**

 **Fluid Desert: I'm glad you loved the flashback chapters with Margot and Steven. I know people think they might be irrelevant but they're not. As Part III progresses everyone will see just how much the flashbacks connect to the story's present.**

 **nvnightrider9: I'll definitely be adding some stuff from Black Panther into this story. I know that T'Challa and Shuri will definitely be making an appearance at some point in Part III but I'm not too sure about the other Black Panther characters yet. I want to find a way to add in M'Baku but I don't think it would make sense for the story. Maybe later. I hinted last chapter that Hydra was interested in Vibranium so that's definitely going to be coming up again.**

 **gossamermouse101: Natasha's not going to be showing up in Margot and Steven's flashbacks because she never met them. She didn't join Shield until after Margot and Steven retired. Probably close to the time they died so they never met. Maria Hill might be making an appearance in one of flashbacks but not Natasha. Tony will probably show up in one of the flashbacks too.**

 **glagla60800: Emma and Peter won't show up during the Black Panther storyline but there will mentions of the events of Black Panther within the next couple chapters. I love Martin Freeman in everything! I know what you mean about Shuri. I was kind of shipping her with Bucky too until I found out she's supposed to be a teenager. I think that she, Peter, and Emma could become great friends. Emma would probably be cautious of her being around Peter until she realizes that Shuri isn't a threat. I'm also trying to come up with a scenario in which Clint somehow tells Emma about that conversation he had with her mother. I don't know how she'd react to something like that. She'd probably be disgusted most likely.**

 **artemis7448: There's definitely some differences between Emma and Peter versus Emma's parents but Emma and her father also share a lot of similarities. I think they share a lot of the same fears when it comes to relationships.**

 **Mcduffie145: I thought it would be cute to put in the thing in about how Emma got her name. I also really miss writing Bucky and the others into this story. It's been so long. There's probably still several chapters to go before they can come back but I'm as eager for their return as everyone else is.**

 **Unknown: Glad you liked the last chapter. The chapters are still going to contain fluff but the chapters aren't going to be as focused on fluff as the past few ones have been. This new chapter kind of reintroduces Rumlow back into the story in a more horrifying way. Emma's clearly not coping well with what happened in the past and the future plot of the story is going to be a great test of her strength. More mentally than physically.**

 **MisforMikaelson: A flirty Peter is always fun to write. There's a little bit of a flirty Peter in this chapter so I think you'll like the chapter.**

 **Radioactive88: I really love Margot and Steven too and it kinds of makes me sad to write about them sometimes. The prologue in the story wasn't difficult to write because that was my first time writing them so it didn't bother me kill them off but now it kind of makes me sad. Emma will probably find out some stuff about them through Clint and Tony. Maybe even Fury will fill her in on some stuff. Emma also likes all kinds of classic literature although she favors the Bronte sisters more than Jane Austen. Jane Austen is a little sappy for her but she appreciates the ingeniousness of Jane Austen all the same. Margot and Steven probably won't ever find out that Hydra still exists because they probably would've let Fury in on that if they did but they do come close to finding out which we'll see in future chapters. Tony also wasn't aware of Obadiah giving weapons to Hydra. Pre-Cave Tony always seemed like couldn't be bothered to know a lot about the business dealings of Stark Industries which was why he wasn't aware of a lot of what Obadiah was doing. He was more concerned with drinking, partying, and women back then so he'd be pretty clueless about Obadiah and Hydra. The Vibranium mention was definitely a hint at what's to come concerning Hydra and Wakanda. Hydra's still very interested in Vibranium in the present time of the story which we'll be seeing more of in upcoming chapters. The other clue was the El Dorado mention because I remember Klaw calling Wakanda the real El Dorado and I thought it would be a subtle hint. Everything will begin to piece together in future chapters so just hang tight.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and I can't believe there's almost 600 favorites on the story. Just to let you know I also posted a poll on who should kill Rumlow on my profile page so if you want to vote on it you can. I know I've discussed the topic before but just in case you didn't leave a review at the time about it.**

 **Thanks and let me know what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

Emma's line of vision was encompassed by darkness as she walked aimlessly around familiar surroundings. Deep down she knew exactly where she was. The concrete and blood strained floors. The darkness and coldness contained inside the room. No, she knew what this room was to her. The Cold Room. She knew it was the Cold Room because of the chilling temperature and the eerie feeling she got just from being in the room. She swallowed hard because she knew she was back at the Hydra base in Siberia. The smell of death hung in the air and the coldness chilled her right to the bone. The room was only lit by the moonlight streaming in from a small window. She could see the familiar blood stains in the floor wiped clean by some of Hydra's low level agents but no amount of soap or water could wash away all the blood that had been spilled.

A rustling noise coming from the other side of the room immediately got Emma's attention as she looked over in the direction the noise was coming from. Her eyes fell on a door that hadn't been there before. The door was just like all the other doors she remembered being at Hydra. Reinforced steel with a small sliding window at the top and it only locked from the outside. Emma spotted the door handle slowly moving as if someone was trying to get in from the other side. Her eyes widened in fright as her heart pounded against her chest, her chest heaving with fear. Somehow Emma was reverted back to being the scared little girl she used to be as she pressed herself against the wall, trying and failing to get as far away from the door as she could because she knew who was behind it. There was only one person it could be.

The door handle moving then suddenly stopped as the door slowly swung open almost as if it were doing so on it's own. The creaking sent Emma into a panic and she never felt more frightened in her life. She squeezed her eyes closed as she tried to will it all away but even she knew that would never happen. When she didn't hear anything, Emma opened her eyes to see who was standing at the door. There was no one there. An empty doorway was staring back at her as Emma stared at it in bewilderment. It was so odd. She could've sworn someone was trying to get into the room. She stood there for the longest time, beginning to feel relief as she realized that no one was there.

That's when she heard it.

Her relief was short lived when she heard a distinct growling coming from the right of her. Emma breathing became almost labored as she slowly turned her head to the side. Her worst fear came alive as she spotted a dark figure in one corner of the room and she immediately knew who it was. The shadowy figure moved through the darkness and Emma wanted so badly to look away from him. Maybe if she didn't look he'd just go away. It was only when she saw those dark eyes glinting in the moonlight that she realized that she was trembling. She clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly as she remained frozen with fear. As the creature moved away from the corner and walked through the moonlight streaming in from the window, she could see it's unsettling smile. The wolf grinned at her maliciously, his teeth sharp and menacing as saliva pooled down from his mouth. His black fur shone under the moonlight and he might've even looked to be a beautiful animal if Emma didn't know his true form…what lurked behind those dark eyes.

"Princess, you've come." He announced gleefully as if he were happy to see her. His voice was distorted and sinister and Emma moved away from the wall, backing away into another corner of the room so that she could get as far away from him as she could. "I almost thought you wouldn't but here you are."

"G-get away from me." Emma said, stumbling over her words as she continued to try and get away from him. If anything he seemed amused by her actions as he stalked towards her like a predator would stalk it's prey.

"Don't be afraid…it's only me." The wolf said, his tone teasing. Emma backed into a corner harshly, her legs feeling like jelly and she couldn't find the strength in herself to stand up anymore. She slowly slid down the wall as she realized there was no way out.

"I'll k-kill you." Emma said weakly as she attempted to be intimidating. She had always had this ability to intimidate and instill fear in others. It was an ability Emma had always prided herself on. However, now she seemed to forget everything about herself as he stood there grinning at her. He chuckled darkly at her failed attempt to stand up to him.

"No, you won't." He replied and Emma could feel the tears silently streaming down her face. She didn't make any move to run away or escape…she was entirely paralyzed with fear. "Face it, Princess, when it comes down to it you wouldn't kill me. If you killed me you wouldn't have a reason to live anymore. You and I can't survive without each other."

"That's not true." Emma told him, her mouth feeling unusually dry. "The day I kill you will be the best day of my life." He just shook his head at her in amusement and Emma felt angry that he wasn't taking her seriously. It was just like the old days.

"You're not going to kill me. Think about it…all that hate and resentment that boils inside of you is because of me. Everything you are is because of me." The wolf told her and Emma hated the way his lip curled up in amusement when he said that. It was almost like he was mocking her. "If I'm gone you're nothing. You can't survive without hate. You're a cruel and evil girl…the worse of the worst. No one will ever accept you."

"No." Emma said shortly, her voice overcome with emotion but the wolf didn't seem bothered by what she said. He laughed at her.

"You think that boy accepts you?" The wolf questioned, his voice laced with doubt. "You think he'd still love you if he saw your good work up close? No…he'd fear you just like all the others. He'll never understand you like I do." Emma shook her head furiously.

"That's a lie." Emma said in a small voice and felt herself becoming weaker and weaker by the moment. He had her right where he wanted her. Weak and pathetic just like he always knew how to make her. "I'm going to kill you one day and make you pay for everything you've done because you need to die. You need to be gone and you need to cease to exist. I want to kill you and I want to see the look of fear in your eyes when you realize that I won."

Emma thought that she had finally pissed him off…that she had finally gotten a reaction from him. If she had said that back in the day Rumlow would've strapped her to a chair and beat her with a desk lamp until she was unconscious. She expected a similar reaction but was confused when she saw no such thing on his face. He just continued to grin at her in that wolfish way that he always used to. The same grin that terrified her and the same one that still did.

"You don't scare me, Princess." He told her smugly and Emma flinched as he stepped closer to her. "No, I think you're scared of me instead." She could feel his hot breath against her face and it was then that she realized that nothing had changed. She was still the scared, pathetic little girl that she was that day her parents were murdered. He showed up and suddenly all the years she spent practicing intimidation and being without fear vanished. Emma knew that after all this time she wasn't brave…no, she was just arrogant. She was arrogant enough to think that he didn't have any sort of power over her anymore but he did. If he didn't hold anything over her anymore than she wouldn't be this scared. Emma wouldn't be reduced to a sniveling, weak child if she wasn't scared.

"Fuck you. I'm not scared." Emma told him scathingly as she tried to remain calm and collected. However, they both knew that it was all just a façade. He just smirked at her as he chuckled darkly.

"Are you sure about that?" He questioned, seeming very sure of himself and Emma felt sick. She felt like she was going to throw up or cry. Emma didn't want to do that. She didn't want to be vulnerable in front of him of all people. "Why don't you put your new found heroism to the test then if you're not afraid of me?" Emma gave him a slightly bewildered look but he just continued to smirk.

"Kill me." He stated simply and Emma just stared at him.

"What? You're crazy." Emma said and he just continued to smirk at her in that condescending way.

"You already knew that." He said smugly before continuing. "So why don't you do it then? Kill me? It's what you've always wanted, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Emma said rhetorically. "I've been waiting to kill you my whole life."

"Then do it." He pressed and Emma looked into his dark eyes to try and get a read on him. Like usual she couldn't find anything in those empty, evil eyes of his. Just darkness.

"I will." Emma promised but he didn't look like he believed her.

"I don't think so, Princess." He said doubtfully before his smirk widened. "But I think I know a way I can motivate you." Emma glared at him.

"I'll kill you and I will damn well enjoy every single second of it." Emma hissed as she felt her blood practically boiling in anger. "What will it be, huh? Shall I snap your neck? I could do to you what Reagan did in _the Exorcist_. I wonder how many times your head could go around like that before it would fall off? How about I stab you one hundred and seventeen times…one for every beating you ever gave me. There's always a good old fashioned decapitating. I've never decapitated anyone before but I'm all for trying new things." He still didn't look scared by Emma's long list of threats. That frustrated Emma more than anything because she felt utterly powerless and Emma hated feeling powerless. It looked like nothing she ever did could make him fear her the way she always wanted him to fear her. Her life long dream had been to see him at her feet begging for mercy but it was clear to her that he wasn't likely to ever do that.

"Fine. If you're so hell bent on killing me then just do it. Stop talking about it." He told her, his smirk unwavering. It was then something changed in the atmosphere of the room. A bright light appeared at the other side of the room, coming from behind the now closed door. Emma's eyes were drawn to the sight as the light appeared to have an almost orange glow. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What is that?" She asked, seeming unsure and a bit cautious at the sight.

"Well, you haven't killed me yet so I figure I could speed things up a little bit." He told her before pointedly looking at the door again. Emma noticed that smoke had begun to waft through the room, coming from underneath the door. It was then that she realized what it was.

A fire.

"A fire?" Emma questioned sarcastically. "You think I'm afraid of a fire?" The wolf didn't look dismayed by her sarcasm as he grinned at her.

"No but I think you might be more concerned for your little friends." He said tauntingly and it was then that she started hearing voices coming from the other side of the door. A horrified look entered her eyes as she stared at the door. It wasn't the smoke and fiery glow that haunted her either. It was the people who were speaking.

"Emma!" Rhodey.

"Emma, please!" Bruce.

"There's no plausible way for us to vanquish the fire. You must hurry." Vision.

"Help us!" Wanda.

"We're trapped and there's no way out. He set the whole base on fire! Come on, Em!" Sam.

Emma just stared wide eyed at the door where all the voices were coming from…the voices of her friends. It was them as clear as day. There was no mistaking their voices as they screamed in terror at her to help them.

"Emma! Hurry!" Natasha.

"If you don't hurry up we're all going to die!" Clint.

"Mini Cap, this guy's closed off the exit real tight. It doesn't look like we're going to be getting out of here on our own. It sure would be nice if you could speed things along and get us the hell out of this dump." Tony.

"Lady Emma, the fire is growing! We need your help!" Thor.

Emma continued to stare at the door as she listened to their cries for help. They sounded so real and they sounded so frightened. She just had to help them. If she waited any longer they'd all die in the fire. Emma had let her family die once before but she couldn't let this family die too. She'd never forgive herself if she did. So Emma mustered up all the courage she could before getting herself up from the ground. She could no longer see the wolf that had just been in front of her. He must've ventured off in her distracted state but Emma had no time to worry about a stupid wolf. The blonde quickly began to walk off into the direction of the door but she barely made it half way across the room when she was stopped. The wolf jumped out in front of her causing Emma to flinch in surprise. His dark eyes were narrowed into a glare as he growled at her, snapping his teeth at the same time. Emma watched him in fright as he slowly began to smirk at her.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" The wolf questioned and Emma forced herself to remain calm as she looked at him. Deep breaths, she told herself, deep breaths.

"To save my friends." Emma told him confidently but deep down they both knew that she was terrified. Her heart pounding against her chest was evidence enough of that. It didn't matter how steady she kept her voice…she was still scared of him at the end of the day. The wolf only chuckled at Emma, practically mocking her.

"Are you now?" He asked her, his tone laced with doubt. "Do you really think you can save your friends? You can't even save yourself."

"I don't give a fuck what you think. Now get out of my way." Emma hissed at him but the wolf made no indication that he was going to move.

"If you're going to save your friends then you'll have to get through me." He told her suddenly and Emma just stared at him in shock. The wolf continued to smirk when he saw her reaction. "Yes, that's right. You're going to have to kill me if your friends ever want to live to see another day." Emma glared at him.

"You think it won't be easy killing you? Trust me, it will." Emma told him, sounding very sure of herself but like always he never seemed to believe her.

"Then do it." The wolf told her. "If your friends are so important to you than kill me. Kill me, Emma. Kill me. Snap my neck, rip my head off, shoot me…stab me until I'm so disfigured they'll never be able to identify the body. You know you want to." Emma swallowed hard as she stared at him.

"Emma, just kill him!" A voice screamed out from behind the door. Emma whipped her head around to stare at the door in surprise. She recognized the voice. Steve. "You'll be saving so many lives including ours. It's the right thing to do. Think of your parents…think of all the things he took from you."

"Steve?" Emma questioned as she stared at the door.

"Yes, Emma. It's me." He confirmed as he continued to talk to her from behind the fiery door. "You have to kill him. It's either us or him. You always try to do what I would do…this is something I would do."

"He's right, Emma. You've gotta listen to him." This time, however, it wasn't Steve that spoke…it was her father. Emma's expression softened at the sound of his voice.

"Papa?" Emma called out to him as she stared at the door longingly.

"Emma, you've done it before. You can do it again." Her father told her almost reassuringly. "Think of everything he did to us. He deserves to die. You and I both know it." Emma glanced away from the door and stared back at the wolf who was still growling at her, daring her to kill him. She wanted to kill him so badly. She wanted to kill him so she could finally move on with her life…so that she could be happy with Peter. Emma knew what she had to do. She took a step towards the wolf threateningly but when she made the move he immediately snarled at her and snapped his teeth. Her short display of bravery ended the moment he glared at her in that way that always told her that she was about to get a beating. The look of confidence faded off her face and she stumbled back.

"Emma, you need to hurry up and kill him!" Steve called out to her.

"Just end it, Emma. End it once and for all!" Her father added.

"Mini Cap, make him pay!" Tony yelled.

Emma looked between the door and the wolf with a frightened look on her face. She tried to move towards him again but he kept growling at her, looking furious with her. It was just like that night she tried to move or cry in the darkness of her room but he glared at her and threatened to hurt her father if she did. Emma moved back in fear. He slowly began to stalk towards her, looking every bit of the monster that she knew he was. Emma began to back away from him again unable to bring herself to kill him or to even run away.

"Help us! The fire's getting worse!" Sam called out from behind the door.

"We don't have much time!" Natasha shouted.

Emma flinched when they started banging the door with their hands. They all screamed out in fear and pain. They screamed for her to help them but Emma felt paralyzed with fear. The wolf had her backed up against the wall again, a challenging look on his face. They both knew that she wasn't going to be able to move. She whimpered as she pressed herself against the wall.

"Emma! Please! Think of my kids! They'll grow up without a father if you don't save me!" Clint shouted desperately at her.

"I'm sorry." Emma said sadly as she locked eyes with the wolf. It was then that the screaming and pounding against the door grew louder. Emma stared at the door in shock and fear as the small window in the door opened and she saw a couple of their arms shoot through the window. They reached out through the window as if they were desperately reaching for her, attempting to get her to save them. Emma's breathing became labored as she saw their hands also reach out from under the door.

"Emma!"

"Please save us!"

"We're dying! Save us!"

"Please, Emma, please!" The voice cried out to her and Emma knew that voice from anywhere. It was the first time she had heard the voice since she became trapped within the room but she knew who it was. There was so mistaking who it was. Peter. Emma stared desperately at the door as she heard his voice come from the other side.

"Peter!" Emma exclaimed.

"Please, Emma. Don't let me die…I don't want to die." He said, sounding like he was almost crying. She knew what he sounded like when he was scared and this was definitely one of those instances. Emma's heart nearly broke at the sound of his voice. He sounded so scared and Emma didn't want him to be.

"I won't, Peter. I promise I won't." Emma stated and she tried to move around the wolf but this time he was even more unrelenting as the wolf stood up and pressed her even more against the wall. He hovered over her, growling as she felt his hot breath against her face. Emma squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to wish him away but she knew he wasn't going away anytime soon.

"You love me, don't you?!" Peter questioned and Emma's eyes shot open.

"Of course, I do." She answered.

"Then why won't you save me!?" Peter cried and it was then that she saw his Spider-Man clad arm reach out to her through the window in the door. Emma felt a tear fall from her eye as he reached out to her. "Please, Emma! I'm dying!"

"No!" Emma said as she shook her head. She tried to move towards him but the wolf growled once and continued to keep her trapped against the wall.

"Emma!" He cried out again and Emma tried to move but every time she did the wolf snapped his teeth and glared at her. Emma shrank back against the wall. She knew that she had to kill him to get to Peter and the others but every time she gained the courage, he would glare at her and she'd shrink back. Why couldn't she kill him? Everyone was dying out there and she just shrank back in fear.

"Think about it, Emma." The wolf told her smugly as if he could read her thoughts. "What's the real reason you can't kill me?" Emma didn't answer as she just looked down at the floor, feeling both fear and shame.

"It's because you know it won't change anything." The wolf informed her as he grinned at her. "Killing me won't make me go away. I'll always be here, Emma." Emma furiously shook her head, denying everything he said.

"No, you won't." She argued but the wolf still didn't look worried.

"Yes, I will. I'll always be here with you, Emma. A part of me will always live inside of you." The wolf said and Emma could feel more tears fall down her face as she stared at him.

"No." She said weakly but he continued to grin at her.

"Even if I'm not alive you'll still see me for the rest of your existence. Whether it's somewhere in a crowd of people, your subconscious, or even in your dreams. I'll always be with you." He told her and Emma sniffled because a part of her knew that was true. He wasn't ever going to go away, was he? The voices behind the door started to grow louder again. They screamed and cried for her to save them but Emma knew that it was no use. She was his prisoner and nothing would ever change that.

"Emma! What are you doing?!"

"Emma! Please! You have to save us!"

"Please!"

"Just shut up! I can't take it anymore!" Emma screamed at them as she sank to the floor, attempting to cover her ears from their screams. Tears streamed down her face and Emma didn't think she had ever cried this hard before. Emma saw Peter's arm still reaching out through the window.

"Emma, I need you! Please!" Peter cried and Emma slowly shook her head, her heart breaking in half because she knew she couldn't save him. She was just too weak.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I'm so sorry." Emma said softly, looking regretful and disgusted at herself. She watched in horror as the fire encompassed his arm, his flesh burning. His screams of terror turned into screams of pain as he was being burned alive. He cried for her and all Emma could do was cover her face with her hands so that she wouldn't see. His desperate screams and the wolf's sinister laughter filled her ears as she tried to drown out the sounds but it was no use. Emma knew that she was weaker than she ever thought. She always thought she was the strongest of them all but the truth was that she was the weakest.

Emma was the weakest of all the Avengers.

* * *

Emma gasped for air as she woke up from her nightmare. She struggled to catch her breath as her heart pounded against her chest. Her eyes wildly searched the room for any sign of the wolf but she couldn't see him through the darkness of her room. She brought her knees to her chest as she curled up into a ball, looking almost hysterical...as if she expected the wolf to jump out at her. The lights automatically turned on as Emma started to come back into reality. It was only when the lights turned on that she realized that she was completely alone in her bedroom. There wasn't anything in her room other than herself. It had a been a dream…a very bad dream but a dream nonetheless.

"Miss Rogers, are you alright?" McConaughey politely asked her. "Your heart rate has alarmingly elevated. Shall I call for Mr. Stark or Miss Potts?" Emma's breathing was still labored as she started to calm down from the nightmare. It wasn't real, she told herself. None of it was real. It was all just a part of her vivid imagination…it just happened to feel very real.

"No, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream." Emma said, trying to reassure the AI system. An unsure look then came across her face as she remembered the dream again. The screaming. The fire. The wolf. "Where are all the others?"

"Miss Potts, Mr. Rhodes, and Miss Hill are asleep in their bedrooms. Vision is hibernating in his own room. Mr. Stark and Dr. Winters are in the lab." McConaughey informed her. "Mr. Parker is also asleep in his bedroom." Emma let out a sigh of relief at that.

"So they're all okay?" She asked once more.

"Yes." The AI system confirmed. So everyone was alright…everyone was safe and sound inside the compound and no one was being burned alive. It was just a terrifying nightmare that was all over now. Nothing was amiss and all was well at the compound. Emma nestled into the covers and rested her head back against her pillow. The lights automatically turned off and Emma was left alone in the darkness of her bedroom once more. She laid there in bed as she tried to fall back asleep, attempting to think of more pleasant thoughts so she wouldn't have another nightmare again. However, the darkness set her on edge because all she could think about was whether or not he was there in the room with her…hiding in the shadows. He always seemed to come out in the dark after all.

She swallowed hard as she forced herself to think of literally anything other than her nightmare but it was no use. This nightmare was different than the others. All the other nightmares she had of him were just flashbacks to that night almost three years ago. This nightmare was about something else. This was him taunting her…reminding her that she wasn't as strong as she liked to believe she was. He was making her question whether or not she could really kill him if it came down to it. Emma wasn't so sure that she could. It wasn't a question of whether or not she wanted to but rather that she was just too scared to do it. He scared her beyond belief and she knew deep down that he really did hold some power over her. If he didn't then she wouldn't be having these nightmares about him.

Emma tried to close her eyes and forget the nightmare but all she saw was his face grinning at her in that wolfish way and the screams of her friends…of her family. Steve and her father's pleads for help entered her mind but it wasn't just their desperate voices that stuck out in her mind. It was Peter too. Emma couldn't get his screams for help out of her mind as he burned alive right before her very eyes. It was all so vivid and Emma hated herself for not being able to save him. Granted it was all a dream but she still felt like a terrible human being for being such a coward that couldn't even find it in herself to kill Rumlow and save them all. She really was weak and pathetic. Just like what Rumlow and Karkov always said. Pierce always used to tell her that she had too soft of a heart…just like her mother. Maybe he was right.

Emma opened her eyes again because she knew that she couldn't sleep like this. Usually at times like these Emma liked being alone because there was no one to ask questions or judge her but she couldn't take it. She couldn't stand being alone in the darkness of her own room when she was also forced to be alone with her own thoughts. Emma didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. Her mind was already a terrifying place when she wasn't thinking about Rumlow so she certainly didn't want to think about him right now. She'd just have another nightmare about him like she just did. No, Emma most certainly couldn't be alone.

Without another thought the blonde got up from her bed and then proceeded to leave her bedroom. She didn't travel far down the hallway as she quietly entered the bedroom right next to hers. His room was just as it always was. Messy and cluttered. Peter Parker seemed to be the exact opposite of her with clothing carelessly strewn about the room and textbooks stacked up against each other. It was a quirk about him that was quite endearing to her. It was dark in his room too but it didn't feel the way it did like when she was alone in her own room. Maybe it was because he was there.

She quietly watched him sleep in his bed as he rested peacefully without a care in the world. He looked so peaceful as he rested there and after the nightmare she just had this was just what she needed to see. It was more reassuring to her because she knew he was safe. None of it was real and he was safely asleep in his own bed. Emma watched his chest rise and fall as he slept. She wondered what he was dreaming about. Hopefully something beautiful and nice. Emma was sure that there was only beauty and kindness that existed in his mind unlike her own mind which only contained darkness and horror.

Emma was careful not to wake him as she quietly slipped into his bed but he wasn't a terribly heavy sleeper. His eyes slowly opened and he looked tiredly in her direction. She really wished that he'd be more cautious and alert than that but she couldn't help but find his sleepiness to be adorable. Peter looked incredibly confused to see Emma in his bed. Mr. Stark had made a rule against them being in a room alone together with the door closed. It was something Emma found insulting but Peter respected Mr. Stark's rule all the same. He understood that Mr. Stark was very protective over Emma, especially with her grandfather being gone. Peter felt inclined to follow Mr. Stark's rules without any objections.

"Emma?" Peter asked in confusion as he started to become more awake. "What are you doing here? You know about the rule Tony gave us. He doesn't want us alone together in a room if the door's not open." Emma would usually scoff at Tony's ridiculous rule but she didn't feel up to it right now. A concerned look then came over Peter's face as he saw a haunted look in her eyes. There was obviously something troubling her. He then moved closer to her before placing his hands on her forearms in an attempt to bring her back down to earth. She always grew distant when something was troubling her like that.

"What's the matter? Is everything alright?" Peter questioned. Emma looked back up at him and Peter could clearly see fear in her eyes but he knew the fear wasn't directed at him. No, this was something else.

"I had a nightmare." Emma admitted to him and Peter became more concerned. It was no secret that Emma had some really bad nightmares from time to time. He had heard the way she woke up screaming from them sometimes. She never went into vivid details but he knew the nightmares were about her time at Hydra. He wished she'd tell him more but he knew it was best not to push her.

"Really? What about?" He asked her, hoping that she'd want to talk about it this time but Emma soon grew uncomfortable.

"I don't remember." She lied, not wanting to trouble him with what had been in her mind. He didn't need to know about stuff like that. Peter would only become more worried about her if she told him what had happened in the nightmare. "I just remember that it was terrifying…whatever it was, I mean." Peter nodded slowly, wanting nothing more than to make her feel better.

"Well, do you need anything?" Peter asked her carefully. "Do you want me to get Tony or Susan? I think they're still awake." He only asked about Susan because he knew that out of everyone at the compound Emma liked Susan the most. Emma just shook her head.

"No, I don't want to bother them. I'll be fine." Emma reassured him but Peter still felt concerned. She seemed really shaken up and Peter knew that she wasn't fine. Even if she didn't remember what the nightmare had been about, he knew that it had really taken a toll on her.

"Are you sure? Because I don't think they'd mind." Peter continued to say and Emma locked eyes with him, a vulnerable look in her eyes. Peter's mouth felt suddenly dry as she looked at him in that way.

"I just want you, Peter." She told him softly and the expression on Peter's face softened. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Emma melted in his embrace and buried her face in the crook of his neck. It was so odd that this was the only way she could ever feel safe. When Peter held her this close she felt as if nothing could ever harm her. He soothingly rubbed circles on her back and Emma felt herself relax.

"You can stay here tonight. I'll just sleep on the floor." Peter told her but that wasn't what Emma wanted. She pulled away from him and instantly shook her head.

"I don't want you to sleep on the floor…I want you to sleep with me in the same bed." Emma told him unabashedly and Peter blushed. He knew she didn't mean anything sexual but sleeping in the same bed as a girl still seemed scandalous. They had slept together in the same bed once before but that was before they were dating. Now that Emma was his girlfriend he knew that everything was different. People wanted doors to remain open and for him to have Emma back home at a reasonable time. They hadn't had those kinds of rules before but now that they were dating, everything changed.

"Tony wouldn't like that, Emma. He'd probably kill me if he found me in the same bed as you." Peter weakly argued and Emma looked at him with those sad blue eyes of hers. Peter felt himself swallow hard at the sight.

"Please, Peter. I don't want to be alone." Emma told him in a small voice and he knew how hard it was for her to admit that. It also didn't help that she was looking at him with those beautiful blue eyes. He couldn't resist her when she looked at him like that. Peter sighed as he gave in and nodded.

"Okay. I just hope Tony doesn't kill me for this." Peter said, finally relenting although he was kind of serious when he mentioned Tony killing him. The eccentric billionaire had been very clear about what he'd do to him if he ever caught Peter doing less than innocent things with Emma. It was a little unnerving being targeted like that by Tony who was almost like a father to him but Peter understood why Tony was being like that. The older man had known Emma for a lot longer and she was something like a niece to him. He had a right to be protective but Peter didn't think Emma was that appreciative about it.

"Don't worry about Tony. I'll tell him that I was the one who seduced you. You're a guy after all and everyone knows that men can't control themselves." Emma said almost jokingly as she relaxed from her previous frightened state. She gave him an amused look as they both settled back into bed. Peter glared at her although he really wasn't that pissed off. He was sort of used to the disturbing humor Emma had.

"Don't joke about sexism." Peter told her but Emma just continued to give him an almost playful look.

"My apologies." Emma said sarcastically before moving over in the bed to be closer to Peter. He gave her an alarmed look as she rested her head against his chest and tangled her legs through his. His heart raced as he stared at her head of blonde hair that was pooled against his chest.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, his throat feeling thick at how close Emma was to him. He was finding it very hard to think around her these days when she pulled stunts like this one.

"I believe the kids call it cuddling." Emma said casually and Peter just stared in bewilderment at her as she rested her face against his chest as if she did this loads of times before.

"I know what it is but why? If Tony finds us in the same bed together he'll kill me but if he finds us like this then he'll probably torture me in some inhumane way before slowly murdering me and sending my ashes to your grandfather." Peter rambled but Emma didn't seem bothered by the threat of Tony finding them. Maybe it was because her fear of being alone was greater than Tony walking in on them.

"I just want to be close to you, Peter. What's so wrong with that?" Emma questioned and Peter sighed heavily as he heard the longing in her voice. He immediately wrapped an arm around her and Emma smiled in satisfaction because she knew she had gotten what she wanted. Peter pressed a chaste kiss against the top of her head before relaxing. It wasn't that he didn't want to be this close to Emma but he just wanted her to know that he respected her and he also wanted Mr. Stark to trust him with her. Somehow he didn't think Mr. Stark finding them in bed together was going to make the billionaire trust him.

"You're a spoiled little brat, you know that?" Peter whispered to her almost flirtatiously and Emma just smiled. She liked it when Peter got confident enough that he would flirt with her. Maybe it was because it was so unlike the shy and nerdy Peter Parker that everyone thought he was. Shy and nerdy Peter Parker supposedly didn't know the first thing about flirting but when he was alone with her, it was a different story. "I'm always giving you everything you want. You're just a spoiled little rich girl."

"And you're a dork. A really handsome and cute dork but still a dork nonetheless." Emma flirted back and Peter smiled before growing more serious, causing his smile to fade.

"You know you're safe here with me, right?" Peter asked her softly. "I'll never let anyone hurt you. I know you can take care of yourself and all but I still want you to know that." Emma nodded as she laid there against his chest.

"I know." It was true that Emma did know that but that didn't mean that she still wasn't scared. She was scared but she was more scared of what would happen to Peter rather than herself. He'd probably save her in a heartbeat if he had to but would she? Emma wanted to believe she would but after the dream she had, she wasn't so sure. She couldn't even kill the man she hated more than anything to save the boy she loved. She couldn't do it because she had been too scared. Emma was deathly scared the same thing would happen in real life too and there would be nothing she could do to stop it.

"I love you." Peter whispered to her through the darkness of his bedroom. Emma wasn't scared of the darkness like she had been before. She knew it was because she had Peter there with her.

"I love you too." Emma replied and she meant it. Peter smiled softly and pressed another kiss to the top of her head before deciding to call it a night. Emma closed her eyes and began to feel herself drift off, feeling warm and safe in the embrace of her boyfriend. She fell asleep, having a dreamless and peaceful sleep instead of a horror infested one like before. She wondered if it was like that because Peter was with her.

Probably.

* * *

As the week went by Emma liked to think that the nightmare from before hadn't impacted her but she was soon proven wrong. This nightmare seemed to be worse than the others that she had, seeing as she couldn't seem to get it out of her head. The screaming and the crying of her family and friends stuck with her. As much as she liked to pretend that she was okay, deep down she knew that she wasn't. A part of her had hoped that all would be forgotten but that didn't seem very likely.

It was two weeks after Christmas and it was a pretty uneventful but equally nice Christmas. Emma had given Peter his weird Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure which he absolutely loved for some reason. She wasn't going to judge him or anything since he called her the best girlfriend ever for getting it for him. He had also given her the novel _Franny and Zooey_ which she had always wanted to read. It warmed her heart to receive the gift from him since she didn't think he had been listening that one time she told him she wanted to read the book a couple months before. As nice as the book was it still couldn't compare to the engraving on the compass he presented her with. Emma still liked taking the compass out of her pocket and admiring the beautiful engraving.

Now that Emma and Peter's relationship was out in the open she thought things would be changed. She thought everyone would always stare at them and analyze every little part of their relationship but she had been wrong. People were curious at first but after a couple days they lost interest. The only person who had been interested in the relationship was Tony who even surprisingly set up some rules and boundaries for them much to Emma's surprise. Although most of the rules were directed at Peter rather than her. Emma thought Tony was being strange since she never took him for the protective type. As annoying as she found an overprotective Tony Stark, the time when Tony found out he wasn't the first to find out about them after all surely made up for everything else. Emma would treasure the look on his face for the rest of time.

 _"_ _Guess what I walked in on last night?" Tony said smugly Christmas morning after they opened all the presents. Everyone at the compound gave him curious looks while Peter blushed and Emma just looked bored. "It was a nice little Christmas Eve surprise I will admit. It seems like Mini Cap and the Spiderling are more than just friends. I walked in on them swapping spit last night and there wasn't any mistletoe in sight." Tony was grinning at everyone who just looked unaffected by this news. His grin faded a little as he wondered why no one appeared to be shocked by his gossip._

 _"_ _Which means that Mini Cap and the kid are a thing now." Tony continued but still no one appeared to look surprised. "And that means they're in a relationship…they're dating…they're boyfriend and girlfriend…they're going steady. God! What's wrong with you people?! Why don't you look surprised?!" Tony exclaimed, infuriated that no one was gasping in surprise at the news. Everyone suddenly had uncomfortable looks on their faces, none of them wanting to let Tony in on the bad news. However, it seemed to be Rhodey's turn to be the bearer of bad news as he decided to tell Tony the truth. The older man cleared his throat awkwardly as he looked at his friend._

 _"_ _Well, that's because we kind of…um…already knew, Tony." Rhodey told him and Tony stared at him blankly._

 _"_ _What?" He questioned in surprise and Pepper stepped in from there._

 _"_ _We all knew they were dating. They never said anything but we kind of figured." Pepper explained with a sympathetic look on her face. "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen."_

 _"_ _Emma actually did tell me though. I didn't really have to guess it." Darcy admitted from one corner of the room._

 _"_ _Peter told me." May added and Tony looked around the room in disbelief. Peter was avoiding eye contact while Emma was just smirking at him…as if she was amused by this whole predicament. He glared at the young couple._

 _"_ _So I'm the one you apparently told first, huh?" Tony asked sarcastically but Emma didn't appear bothered._

 _"_ _Well, we told you as a couple first. I thought that's what you meant."Emma said tauntingly and Tony narrowed his eyes at her. Peter nudged her gently._

 _"_ _That's actually not true. We told Michelle and Ned as a couple first." Peter mentioned and Emma nodded instantly._

 _"_ _Yes, I forgot about Michelle and Ned." Emma replied and Tony scoffed._

 _"_ _Is there anyone that didn't know?" Tony questioned and everyone looked at him blankly. He supposed that answered his question enough. Great…that was just great. He could tell how much he was appreciated since he was apparently the last person in the world to know about this new relationship. God, that girl drove him crazy sometimes. The kid really had a long road ahead of himself if he was going to put up with her long term wise._

 _"_ _Fine. If that's how it is then I suppose you won't mind if I make a couple rules." Tony said bitterly but Emma could tell by the mischievous look in his eyes that Tony was only teasing them. She supposed whatever he had planned was his way of getting them back. "First off, doors will be open at all times. I don't want you two in a room alone together without adult supervision." Emma rolled her eyes at him._

 _"_ _Okay, Steve. We'll have chaperones like it's 1865." Emma said sarcastically and Tony glared at her, becoming more serious. Okay...so maybe he was going to be taking this more seriously than she thought._

 _"_ _Teenagers are notoriously horny and there will not be any sex happening under this roof. I don't want any little Spider Viper babies crawling around the compound anytime soon." Tony told them with a serious look on his face. Emma gave him a disgusted look while Peter just blushed uncontrollably and looked like wanted to sink into a hole in the ground, never coming back out. "Two teenagers are tough enough to deal with. I don't need an unplanned teen pregnancy to be thrown into the mix. Not to mention Steve would probably skin me alive and kill me if that kid knocks you up." Peter swallowed hard as he looked up at Tony._

 _"_ _Mr. Stark, I just want you to know that I respect Emma and I'd never do anything to disrespect her." Peter told the billionaire and Emma rolled her eyes once more._

 _"_ _It's not like it's any of your business anyways." Emma said snarkily causing everyone to stare at Emma in surprise. Tony raised his eyebrows at her and Emma elaborated. "I just mean that it's not up to you to decide when or if I'm ready for sex. It's my body and I can do whatever I want with it."_

 _Darcy snickered as she watched the confrontation between Emma and Tony because she knew this was going to be good. Everyone else watched the teenager and billionaire argue with interest and even Rhodey looked amused to see his best friend being challenged by a fifteen year old girl. It sure was interesting watching Tony be the fish out of water during this very peculiar conversation._

 _"_ _It's damn right my business!" Tony argued as he almost stumbled over his words. What was this? Was Mini Cap actually saying that she was ready for sex? No, she couldn't be saying that. It didn't feel like that long ago when Steven sent him that picture of a newborn baby Emma. Now that cute little baby was telling him that she was interested in having sex with her boyfriend? No, this couldn't be happening. "You're living in my house and under my rules. God, I sound so much like my father. You know what? No…no sex under my roof. I promised your grandfather I'd take care of you so that includes making sure that some horny teenage boy keeps his hands to himself." Peter had his face in his hands while he wished he was anywhere but there and Emma just looked at Tony defiantly._

 _"_ _You're being ridiculous. My father would let me do what I want." Emma muttered and Tony scoffed, giving her a look of disbelief._

 _"_ _You think your daddy would be fine with it? Okay, fine. How about whenever Mr. Brooding Assassin comes back he can have his own little talk with you and Peter about sex." Tony said sarcastically and Peter didn't look too excited at the idea of having that kind of conversation with Emma's father. He was probably having it easy with Tony but he couldn't even imagine what Emma's father would ever do to him if he thought Peter was trying to seduce his daughter. "Yeah, I'm sure Daddy Dearest will be happy for the both of you. He'll even congratulate Peter and give him a few tips." Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _You never know." Emma quipped and Tony glared at the infuriating blonde. Steve totally owed him one whenever he came back because this was going to give him so many gray hairs. Tony wasn't sure if there was enough hair dye in the world to get out all the grays this girl was giving him._

 _"_ _No, you both listen to me." Tony told them seriously as he looked in between the two teenagers. "Doors always open, adult supervision, hands above the clothes…" He briefly paused before he looked Peter straight in the eyes, giving the teenage boy a threatening look. "And if I ever catch you in bed with her you're dead meat, Parker. That's okay with you, right, May?" Tony glanced over at May who looked very amused by everything. She smiled at her terrified looking nephew before giving Tony a brief nod._

 _"_ _Yes, of course." May told him and Tony glanced back at Peter._

 _"_ _You get the big picture, don't you, kid? You in the same bed as Mini Cap equals something very bad. Rhodey and Vision will back me up, right?" Tony asked as he looked in Rhodey and Vision's direction who both nodded._

 _"_ _Yeah, one wrong move and your ass is grass, Parker." Rhodey told him seriously and Peter shrank back against the couch in fear as he quickly nodded._

 _"_ _Understood." Peter replied. Tony smiled at him, happy that he seemed somewhat scared of them. While Tony knew that Peter was a lot more of the respectful and gentlemanly type than Tony had been at that age, he still knew that Peter was a teenage boy underneath all that. Teenage boys still had urges and Tony remembered enough about being Peter's age that he was even hesitant about letting Emma go anywhere alone with the kid._

 _"_ _Good. I'm glad we have an understanding." Tony told him and Emma rolled her eyes before getting up from the couch. She was more than done with this conversation at this point._

 _"_ _Come on, Peter, I'm tired of listening to these old women gossiping. Let's go do something boring like homework. Anything's better than this." Emma deadpanned and Peter immediately got up from the couch, happy to follow his girlfriend but Tony couldn't help but tease the teenage boy._

 _"_ _Looks like someone's on a tight leash." Tony quipped, causing Peter to blush and Emma to turn around and glare at the billionaire._

 _"_ _You know what, Tony? Fuck your rules. I'll be having sex when I'm good and ready and I don't give a damn if you say otherwise. You can't order me around and tell me what I can and can't do. If Peter and I want to have sex then that's our business and not yours. You're not some kind of sex police here to dictate when or if I can have sex. My body, my rules." Emma told him confidently before grabbing an embarrassed looking Peter's hand and practically dragging him out of the room. Tony stood there staring at the empty space where the teenage couple had been a second earlier, a shocked look on his face. It was like nothing he had said had even mattered to her. She just completely ignored every rule he put out and basically told him to fuck off. God…how did Steve even deal with this shit? It was then that Susan gave Tony an amused look. She was amused because in all the time she had known Tony, she had never seem him look this lost before.  
_

 _"_ _You really don't know how to talk to teenage girls, do you?"_

In all honesty Emma didn't think she was anywhere near ready for sex but she still didn't like Tony thinking he could tell her what to do. Besides…one of her favorite past times was arguing with Tony. He'd just got so red faced and pissed off that Emma couldn't resist pushing his buttons. Tony really made it too easy for her.

The two weeks following Christmas break had been fairly uneventful. During her missions with Peter at night there hadn't been many threatening individuals. None that really posed a threat to her anyways. Mostly just low level scumbags who were trying their hand at robbing bodegas or stealing cars. Very unoriginal but incredibly boring to Emma. The nightmares were the only things that really mixed things up for her but Emma found that she much preferred the boring criminals to the nightmares. The nightmares had gotten so bad that Emma didn't even want to sleep. She'd stay up most of the night drawing or reading and only sleeping during one of the classes she deemed unimportant.

Chemistry.

"Emma." She heard someone whisper to her and Emma lazily lifted her head up from the lab table. Emma had finally been having a dreamless sleep. Power naps never seemed to contain dreams for her which Emma was grateful for. Her gaze met a pair of warm brown eyes and she immediately knew who it was that was calling her name. Of course it was going to be Peter who sat in front of her.

"What?" She said tiredly and it was clear to her that Peter was concerned. His brown eyes were widened in that cute way that he did whenever he was worried about her. However, Emma didn't really feel to be in the mood to talk. She much preferred to sleep while the teacher droned on and on about one of her least favorite subjects.

"You can't sleep here. You'll get in trouble." He told her and for a moment she thought it was Steve talking to her. Did Peter sound that much like Steve when she was a hundred percent awake? She hoped not. It would be creepy otherwise. Emma just scrunched her face up in annoyance and rested her face against her arms.

"I don't care." Emma mumbled as she closed her eyes again.

"If you don't pay attention now, you'll regret it come test day." Peter scolded and Emma sighed heavily.

"I'll just get the answers from McConaughey. Don't worry about it." Emma told him, her voice sounding very tired and annoyed. Peter's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But, Emma, that's cheating. You can't do that." He said in surprise, his voice quiet but she knew by his tone that he was appalled by what she suggested. She supposed that meant whatever she suggested was morally wrong by his standards.

"Whatever." Emma told him shortly before tuning him out as he rambled on about how wrong it was to cheat. It was actually nice to listen to because he actually put her to sleep. Peter could be like a nice lullaby even when he wasn't holding her in his arms.

It was nice.

* * *

"I just don't understand why you'd think _La La Land_ is a lame sappy movie when you like all those other old sappy movies so much." Peter told Emma as they argued about a movie he had taken her to see the night before. They were currently studying in a library a couple blocks away from Emma's house. Peter thought it was important to make sure that Emma understood the lesson she had slept through in chemistry. She was bored out of her mind but she humored him nonetheless. In all honesty the only reason she brought up _La La Land_ was so that she could distract Peter from something as boring as chemistry.

"Those movies are different. Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were professionally trained dancers and Ryan Gosling is definitely not a professionally trained dancer." Emma told him, amused by how worked up he'd get over something as trivial as a movie. Peter just huffed.

"Well, Ryan Gosling learned piano from scratch just for this movie. How many actors can do that?" Peter argued and Emma just smirked at him before shrugging nonchalantly.

"I guess I'll give him that one." Emma said, finally relenting and Peter gave her a satisfied look. Emma just thought he was cute when he thought he had won an argument.

"Well, I'm glad you can see it my way." Peter said before scooting his chair back. "Hey, I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Peter told her before getting up from the table they were sitting at. "Keep studying while I'm gone." Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, okay, dad." Emma said sarcastically and Peter just glared at her playfully before walking down one of the book aisles and disappearing amongst all the books. Instead of studying like her boyfriend told her to do, Emma took out her book(the fun kind and not the boring chemistry kind) and started reading it. What Peter didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? Well, Emma liked to think so anyways.

Emma had finished reading _Franny and Zooey_ the day after Peter gave it to her so now she had moved onto a different book. _The American Night_ which was the second volume of poetry by Jim Morrison. Emma had to admit the guy was an amazing poet and he was way more than just a rock star to her. It was just too bad he died young. The world could've benefited from more of his poetry. Emma was then snapped out of her contemplative musings about Jim Morrison as something drew her attention away from the book.

" _Emma._ " A voice whispered and Emma looked away from her book. For a moment Emma thought it may have been Peter before deciding that was ridiculous. Why the hell would Peter be whispering to her? He knew better than to play weird pranks on her. She didn't really take well to being pranked. Clint had learned that the hard way.

Emma looked around her surroundings curiously as she tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. It was nearing night by now so Emma knew that the library was starting to empty at this point. There wasn't anyone left in the area that Peter and her had been occupying. All that Emma could see was an empty book aisle…the same one Peter had disappeared into just a couple minutes before. The Emma from a year or so ago would've been very suspicious but Peter was always telling her how paranoid she was so she decided to go back to reading her book. She decided to blame it on her imagination since she hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Emma could function without sleep longer than a normal human could but at this point she was starting to feel very drained. Her mind always played tricks on her whenever she was this tired.

" _Emma._ " The voice whispered again and Emma quickly looked up from her book again. She scanned the area but she still didn't see anything. Her fingers clenched the edge of the table as she forced herself not get up and investigate. Don't be paranoid, she told herself. Not everything's out to get you.

" _Emma._ " The voice whispered once more and Emma instantly stood up from the table, blaming it on her natural instinct. There was no way she could ignore the voice a third time. Three times? Someone was definitely trying to get her attention. Something was messing with Emma and she was determined to find out just what that something was.

"This better not be you, Parker." Emma said sharply as she cautiously began to make her way down the long aisle of books. "If this is your idea of a kinky couple's game then you're going to be severely disappointed." She slowly walked down the aisle looking around the open spaces in between the books on the shelf to try and see if she could see anyone. Emma was sure that if Peter really was messing with her he wasn't going to be able to hide long. He'd probably giggle so much that he'd give himself away. Peter was bad at that kind of stuff.

"I'm not into pranks, Parker. Keep playing this game and there won't be a make out session tonight." Emma threatened and waited for Peter to step out from where ever he was hiding with a shy look on his face. She knew he'd definitely come out if she made a threat like that. However, no one, not even Peter, came out to surprise her. Emma started having an uneasy feeling about the whole thing. She swallowed hard before continuing to walk down the aisle.

" _Emma._ " The voice whispered again and it sounded like it was coming right from behind her. She immediately turned around to see who it was but was met with the sight of an empty book aisle. There was no one there.

"Who's there?" Emma demanded to know but there was no answer. "Who are you and what do you want?"

" _I just want you and only you, Princess_." The voice whispered and it chilled her right to the bone because she knew that voice better than anyone. Emma's eyes widened in both fear and surprise and she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. The voice sounded like it was coming from right behind her again…like he was breathing down her neck. Emma turned around again but there was still nothing there.

"You're not really here. You're not real." Emma said, sounding more like she was trying to reassure herself rather than him.

" _You know that I'm real. Even if you can't see me, I'm still here…whether it's inside your mind or right in front of you, I'm here. I'll always be with you."_ He told her in a sinister tone and Emma backed herself up against one of the shelves as she spotted a flash of black fur that could be seen in between some of the books as if he were walking through the other aisle.

"Get out of my head." Emma told him forcibly as she tried to calm down but it was no use. He was already in her head and he wasn't likely to get out anytime soon.

" _It's too late. You can't get rid of me now_." He told her tauntingly and Emma swallowed hard.

"Go away." She told him as she struggled to stay calm. Emma tried seeing if she could spot him but there was nothing there. It had to be all in her head. He couldn't really be here…could he?

" _Don't worry, Princess. We'll be together again."_ He promised, his voice sending chills down her spine. " _When we reunite I promise that I'll never let you go again. Never."_ Emma struggled to catch her breath as she waited for him to come jumping out at her. He was going to get her and he was going to stop at nothing until he had her. He had always made it that much clear in the past. Emma turned around and gasped when she felt someone grabbed onto her arms.

"Emma? Are you okay?" Peter asked her and Emma stared into the depths of his worried brown eyes. She had a wide eyed look on her face and she seemed terrified as she stood there in front of him. Emma quickly looked around the library but noticed that it was empty except for the two of them. There was no flash of black fur and Emma didn't even feel the eeriness she previously felt. It became clear to her that it had all been inside her head. Rumlow wasn't there. She quickly glanced back at a concerned looking Peter. He looked so worried about her and Emma didn't know what was wrong with her. Was she finally going crazy?

"Yes." She said hesitantly before biting her lip. Peter furrowed his eyebrows at the sight. It wasn't like her to act this skittish and nervous. Something was really bothering her but he just didn't know what it was. "I just thought I heard something."

"Heard what?" Peter questioned, truly wanting to know what was going on with her. Emma just shrugged as if none of it mattered.

"Nothing. I guess I'm just tired." Emma told him dismissively and Peter glanced over her appearance. He supposed she did seem more tired than usual. The dark shadows under her eyes were evidence enough of that as well as her sleeping through chemistry class. Emma never slept through class no matter how boring she thought it was. There was also the fact that she had been acting odd ever since her nightmare from the other night.

"Have you been getting any sleep?" He asked her worriedly and an uncomfortable look came over her face.

"Not really." Emma admitted and Peter shook his head.

"You need to sleep, Emma. It's not healthy for you to deprave yourself of sleep." He told her and Emma felt guilty for making him feel so worried about her. That's not what she wanted. It was just that she was scared to go to sleep. She was scared because she knew she was going to see Rumlow again in her dreams. Emma was just tired of feeling that scared.

"I know." Emma said quietly but even she knew that it wasn't likely that she was going to be getting any sleep tonight.

"You promise to at least try to get some sleep?" Peter asked her and Emma looked back up at him. He was giving her that cute puppy dog look that always seemed to make her cave into him. How could she resist him when he looked at her like that? She sighed tiredly before nodding.

"Fine. I'll try." Emma finally relented. "You shouldn't get so worried about me." Peter just looked at her like she was being silly.

"Of course I'm going to worry about you. I love you." He told her softly and Emma just looked at him, not believing that she completely deserved him. She always thought he was too good for her. She remembered how she used to tell Steve that any guy who wanted to be with her had to be insane. Well, she was starting to think that Peter really was insane to want anything to do with her. Still…Emma was glad that Peter was stupid enough to fall in love with her. She was entirely too selfish to push him away for his own good.

"I know." Emma replied smugly and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Did you seriously just quote Star Wars to me?!" Peter exclaimed excitedly. He couldn't believe Emma had actually quoted Han Solo. This was definitely some progress being made. The blonde just rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a nerd about it." Emma said bluntly before raising an eyebrow at the goofy smile on his face. "It doesn't turn you on, does it? God, you're such a weirdo, Parker." Peter blushed, ignoring Emma's suggestive remark just like he usually did. At this point he figured that Emma just liked messing with him.

"I just thought you hated Star Wars." Peter replied and Emma shrugged.

"I don't hate it. I'm just not obsessed with it like you are." Emma explained and Peter nodded before giving her a more serious look.

"Just so you know, I'm the Han Solo in this relationship. Just remember that next time you quote him." Peter told her and Emma knew this was his male ego speaking. Emma just smirked at him.

"No, I think we both know who the Han Solo is in this relationship, Parker. Let's face it…you're a total Princess Leia." Emma told him, knowing full well that she was going to bruise his ego. That's why she was doing this after all. She loved pushing his buttons. Peter would get all red faced and annoyed with her. She thought he was pretty cute when he was all flustered like that.

"I'm not Princess Leia!" Peter argued defensively and Emma didn't look like she believed him.

"Of course you're not, Parker." Emma told him before moving away from him. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm done with studying chemistry."

The young couple then proceeded to leave the library. Peter seemed to be in a bit of a mood after Emma's comments but she knew he was only pretending to be annoyed with her. He enjoyed their bickering as much as she did. As they left the library Emma knew this fleeting moment of happiness wouldn't last because as soon as she returned home then she was going to be faced with the overwhelming task of sleep. She'd have to sleep tonight if not for her own health then to at least stop Peter from worrying about her. The only thing was that she knew Rumlow would be in her dreams tonight. Maybe things would be different if Peter could hold her through out the night like he did at the compound but it was during the week and he couldn't spend the night with her since they lived separately. Emma also didn't want to rely on her boyfriend to make the nightmares go away but she never felt quite safe unless she was with him. She knew that made her needy but she couldn't help it. Emma just didn't think she was strong enough on her own…and somehow Rumlow knew that.


	65. Chapter Sixty

**Author's Note: Just want to apologize for the super long wait since I know it's been two weeks. I just found it really hard to keep writing this story without it feeling like a chore so I created a fanfic in the Harry Potter category to give me a vacation from all things Marvel. I plan to transition between this story and that one continuously. I'm glad I created that story because after working on it, I found that I really missed writing 'Some Things Never Sleep' so I was really enthusiastic about coming to back to write this new chapter. I worked on it all day yesterday and I even stayed up until four in the morning until I finished it. Thank god it's Spring Break but I'm super happy to update. There's some sad and dark stuff within this chapter but I'm hoping the large amount of fluff at the end will make up for it. There's also going to be a big surprise next chapter involving one of the Defenders. I won't say which one but I think I kind of hint at it in this chapter so hopefully that'll make up for not updating for two weeks.**

 **Let's see... playlist for this chapter. I listened to a lot of the Wombats who I never really listened to before even though I knew who they were but I'm glad I finally sat down and listened to them because they're amazing. I love their music video for 'Lemon to a Knife Fight'. It's one of the best music videos I've seen in a while. I've also been listening to The XX, Bleachers, and Lord Huron while writing the new chapter.**

 **I'm also going to quickly plug in my Harry Potter fanfic because I can. So for all of those of you who love the Harry Potter world, it's a Draco Malfoy/OC story entitled 'Rose Garden Dreams'. The story's basically about an American girl who discovers she's a witch but is unable to attend Ilvermorny under odd circumstances but gets accepted into Hogwarts where she makes lifelong friends but also enemies which she finds in Draco Malfoy. I promise it's not the regular American goes to Hogwarts story. The main character is also Latina because there's not much diversity in fanfics as I've noticed and as a Latina myself, it's something I want to see. There seriously needs to be more diversity. I'm not asking for a huge amount but an OC every once and a while who isn't white would be nice. Nothing against white people since I'm half white after all. So anyways...read the story if you're interested.**

 **ImsebastianstanButter: It's going to come up within the next few chapters but Emma just needs the right person to give her the final push into telling someone about what happened with Rumlow and that person is going to show up next chapter.**

 **ItsJustMe-94: Love how you created a hashtag. When I first wrote this story, I never imagined how popular the topic of killing Rumlow would be. Lol.**

 **artemis7448: I think everyone just figures that she has PTSD because of Hydra which is reasonable. I don't think they ever imagined that it wasn't all the beatings and torturing but sexual abuse instead. Emma's really good at compartmentalizing things. The others will find out soon and they'll be making a return to the story in about ten chapters. I don't want to make promises that I can't keep so I'm just going to say ten chapters because that's the most amount of chapters that it's going to be. I don't think it'll be that many but I'm just saying that it will so I don't disappoint anyone.**

 **TheUltimateBibliophile: I know I have issues with grammar and I'm currently re-editing the story but it's just super time consuming with working on other stories. I probably won't get a Beta reader until I repost the edited chapters but who knows how long that could take. This story isn't actually short after all.**

 **OgFrosty: I actually didn't really get that until you just mentioned it but yeah...it makes a ton of sense now.**

 **Connie Hooper: Glad you love the story. I love writing Peter and Emma because they're honestly the most adorable couple ever. It makes me so jealous of them. Emma and Tony were definitely both in the wrong and I wanted to convey that. I didn't want it to be all Tony's fault which I feel like some people might do but I also wanted to show that Emma could've handled everything better and actually have given Tony a chance. They're still going to bicker all the time because they wouldn't be Tony and Emma if they didn't.**

 **Snapplecrackles: Yes, I wanted to show Emma being vulnerable. She's not completely fearless and Rumlow is her weak spot because he can hold something over her head.**

 **bonitalito: I just want to make it clear that Rumlow wasn't really there. He's just all inside her head now and she can't get him out. The PTSD is definitely getting much worse. Rumlow will look just how he did in Civil War.**

 **Unknown: The hallucinations with Rumlow are actually inspired by that episode in Jessica Jones and we'll see more of that in this chapter.**

 **Lil: We'll see her be more happy after everything with Rumlow is finished. She'll finally have time to be a happier version of herself when he's dead and buried or maybe just dead and dumped in a ditch somewhere like garbage.**

 **Helenabelle2: I do have the whole reunion planned with Steve and Bucky. It'll be several more chapters before they'll return but the wait will be worth it. Emma's probably not going to tell Steve and Bucky about Peter being her boyfriend right away because she doesn't want to overwhelm them. Can you imagine Steve coming back to see Emma after almost a year away only to find out that his cynical, anti-love, and brooding granddaughter has actually fallen in love when she said that she never would. He'd be pretty shocked.**

 **Radioactive88: Emma knows that a lot of people care about her but she just doesn't want to tell them because of her own pride. She doesn't want them acting differently around her or treating her like she's weak which is why she's been trying to hide it all. I think she doesn't want Peter to know because she's worried that he'll leave her which is crazy but as confident as Emma acts sometimes, she really does have a low self-esteem. I also love writing Tony and Emma bickering over nothing. She only does it because she likes pissing him off.**

 **Inheritance1990: Glad you like the story! I'm always happy to get new readers. I was impatient writing Emma's backstory but I found that it was worth it in the end and I'm glad I did. I just never planned on her backstory being as long as it was. I think there was over a 100,000 words before Peter even showed up in the story.**

 **That's a really interesting question. I don't think Emma would've fallen for Peter as fast as she did if he didn't have any superpowers because if he didn't have superpowers there wouldn't have been a reason for her to tell him that she was the Viper Assassin and they also wouldn't have spent as much time together. I think eventually she would've fallen in love with him but it would've taken a long time for that to happen and even when it did she'd push him away more than she did in the story because she'd want to protect him. She would've fallen in love with him for the same reasons she fell in love with him in the story...because he reminds her of Steve. It's not creepy or anything because lots of girls end up marrying men that remind them of their fathers because a girl's father is someone that a girl really admires because they can trust them. Sure, it was easier for Emma to trust Peter because she can relate to him on some level because of their superpowers but that's not why she fell in love with him. So to answer your question, yes, Emma would still fall in love with Peter if he didn't have his powers but it would just take a lot longer.**

 **JustJoyce: I'm not as strong as Emma either but I've discovered that writing her is like writing the person I wish I could be. She says what's on her mind and doesn't care what people think of her which is something I wish I could do. I'm also starting to realize that some of the stuff Emma says sometimes is actually stuff my dad says. I'm subconsciously writing my dad into the story which is kind of hilarious to me.**

 **Sorry for not answering every single review but I really just want to get this chapter out there to you guys. It's been so long. I'm also sorry for the long Author's Note but that's what happens when I have three pages of reviews that need to be answered. Thank you and please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

Emma watched the drop of rain fall down the surface of the window. It was pouring rain outside but Emma didn't mind. She actually preferred cloudy and rainy weather to sunshine and heat. Maybe it was because she grew up in Siberia and was used to the cold and dark weather. Emma didn't really know but she just knew that she didn't like the feeling she got whenever it was sunny. The blonde was currently sitting inside a coffee shop as she and Michelle studied for their English final. Peter wanted to come along but Emma told him no. As much as she loved Peter, she also didn't want to spend every waking moment of the day with him. If they spent a couple hours a day apart then it would probably do them both some good. All the couple stuff they did for the majority of the day was still overwhelming to her so some space might've been needed. Peter hadn't been eager to part ways with her but it was only for a couple hours. Besides…she was sure that she was long forgotten since he and Ned were building something out of Legos. Emma still couldn't believe she let someone who still played with Legos put his tongue in her mouth. What could she say? Peter was surprisingly a really good kisser as it would turn out.

"You seem awfully quiet." Michelle said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts.

"Is that odd?" Emma inquired. She never really thought that she was the talkative sort anyways. She mostly kept to herself but not out of shyness or awkwardness. It was mostly because she hated most people and liked to fly under the radar.

"No but you just seem like you have a lot on your mind." Michelle told her and Emma just looked at her, trying to decide what Michelle was getting at. Finally she decided not to make a big deal out of it so she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Everything's as perfect as ever." Emma said sarcastically and Michelle gave her a curious look.

"Nothing interesting going on then?" Michelle inquired and Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously. The dark haired girl seemed pretty nonchalant about it but Emma knew that she wasn't inquiring about what Emma's plans for the weekend were. No, she was inquiring about something a little more discreet.

"Are you asking about a certain snake and spider?" Emma threw back at her and Michelle shrugged.

"I guess." Michelle replied, seeming slightly, but not overly, interested in Emma's crime fighting life. Emma soon learned that Michelle was not like Ned who had been fascinated by Peter and Emma's powers and abilities. She wasn't even that interested in Emma's morbid past. In fact, Michelle hardly ever asked her questions about the Viper Assassin. Emma supposed it was because she had only been interested in finding out Emma's secret but now that she knew what it was, Michelle was satisfied. Good. Emma didn't like nosy people. Peter was the only exception to that rule but there wasn't room for any others. Why do you think Tony and Darcy annoyed the shit out of her? "Did you pick up any interesting individuals?"

"Oh, you mean those assholes that Parker and I hand over to the police?" Emma questioned sarcastically. "Nope. Not a single interesting one."

"No sadistic serial killers? Not even a Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer?" Michelle questioned and Emma sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"God, I wish. I'm looking forward to the day that Parker and I come across some sadistic serial killer who wears some poor woman's face as a mask." Emma said and Michelle wasn't completely sure if she was joking or not. Sometimes even Emma's humor was too dark for her to comprehend. "Nope. Just a bunch of lame and worthless morons who make everything too easy for us."

"Why do you do it then?" Michelle asked her curiously and Emma gave her a confused look.

"Do what?" The blonde questioned and Michelle just shook her head.

"This crime fighting crusade. Why do any of it if it's boring to you?" Emma had to admit that was a fair enough question. It was kind of messed up for someone as young as Michelle to ask but Michelle never ceased to surprise her. Emma just looked back at her calmly before answering her question.

"It's not so much of a crime fighting crusade as it's a crusade to becoming a semi-decent person." Emma admitted and Michelle analyzed the look on her face but came up empty. There was no telling what Emma was thinking. The girl had to be the most hard to reach person she had ever met but that's what made her so interesting.

"I didn't think you cared about that sort of thing." Michelle said quietly and Emma shrugged as she fiddled with one of the pages in her book.

"I didn't use to but a lot's changed since I re-entered society. Spending time around people who aren't homicidal maniacs will do that to you, I guess." Emma told her honestly. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not delusional. I know that nothing I ever do can erase my past but maybe those people I killed won't die in vain if I can actually make a difference somehow."

"So you don't do it for the fame then?" Michelle asked her and Emma gave her a look of disbelief.

"Do I seem like someone who would actually want save some stupid, hideous cat from a tree for the fame? Fuck, no. That's embarrassing." Emma said in disgust before shaking her head. "I seriously don't know how Parker puts himself through that without feeling like an idiot."

"Maybe he's naïve. He just doesn't know any better." Michelle told her and Emma smiled softly.

"He is naïve but I love that about him." Emma said sincerely and Michelle stared at her as she tried to figure the blonde out. She wondered what someone like Emma saw in someone like Peter. Michelle didn't mean that in a mean way, or maybe she did, but she was curious because Emma and Peter could not be any less alike. The two were polar opposites. She had known Peter since elementary school and the teenage boy had always been the kind, sensitive, and awkward type. Michelle hadn't known Emma as long but she did know that Emma was none of those things. It just made her curious as to how someone like Emma could be interested in someone like Peter. However, Michelle knew better than to question Emma about her interest in Peter. Emma made it clear that she didn't like nosiness. "Come on, let's finish going over the last chapter. We need to get a move on if the snake and spider are going to come out to play tonight." Michelle rose an eyebrow as she smirked at the blonde before feigning a disgusted look on her face.

"Ew! I don't want to hear about yours and Peter's sex life!" Michelle said jokingly. Emma looked up at her in surprise and to Michelle's astonishment the usually stoic and emotionless former assassin blushed. Woah…Michelle didn't think she had ever seen Emma blush before. Usually the blonde would glare and snap at her if she teased her about Peter but she never blushed or looked bashful. Gross…Emma really must be in love with Peter. As much as Michelle thought Emma liked Peter, she never thought she actually loved him. She supposed Emma wasn't as much of a badass as she thought. Deep down Emma was all mushy and lovesick inside. Emma didn't do it in real life but Michelle was willing to bet that the teenage girl mentally drew little hearts around Peter's name and scribbled Mrs. Peter Parker inside an imaginary notebook. Assassins had soft spots too and Emma's soft spot was Peter Benjamin Parker.

"I meant crime fighting. Not…sex. Don't be so immature." Emma said once her blush faded and she fixed Michelle with a glare. There was the Emma Rogers Michelle knew.

"I know. I'm just trying to get you to admit that you love the awkward little nerd." Michelle teased but a confused look came over her face as she heard Emma mumble something under her breath. "What was that?" Emma sighed heavily before looking at Michelle with a very pinched expression on her face.

"I said that I do love him." Emma said, sounding very pained to be admitting such a thing. Her voice had been barely more than a whisper but Michelle knew what she heard.

"Ew, gross." Michelle said in disgust and Emma scowled at her. It wasn't as if she was embarrassed to admit that she loved Peter but it was rather that she was embarrassed to admit that loved anyone. Emma had worked so hard to build up a cold and calculating demeanor that she didn't like the idea of people thinking she was some lovesick little girl. She also wasn't comfortable with talking about her feelings. Peter was her boyfriend and she was barely comfortable talking to him about her feelings. Emma didn't even like admitting that she had feelings.

"Whatever. Let's never discuss this again." Emma told her bitterly before returning her attention to their study guide.

"Agreed." Michelle said but deep down she was happy for Emma. The blonde had quickly became one of her best friends and was never put off by Michelle's attitude like most people were. Michelle also knew that Emma had a hard life that she couldn't even pretend to imagine. If a dork like Peter Parker could make Emma happy then Michelle could be happy for them. The two girls then focused on their studying as they drifted away from the topic of Emma and Peter's relationship. Emma felt a lot better after Michelle teased her about Peter because it was a distraction from the looming fear of Rumlow that seemed to hang over her head these days like some dark, stormy cloud. Peter always seemed to be a distraction from those thoughts and she knew it was because he made her happy. She might not say it enough but Emma really loved him. She just hoped that he knew that.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Peter asked Emma as they sat on top of a building, staking out the weapon dealers little operation. They had received intel from Emma's informant but she made the decision to not tell Peter where she had gotten the information from this time. He'd probably freak out again like last time. She made something up about overhearing a couple idiots talking about the deal and thankfully he believed her with not a lot of questions asked. They had been searching for the men with the Chitauri weaponry that robbed the ATM all those months ago and who had also gotten away. It felt like such a long time ago but in reality it was only a little over three months ago.

"They're just waiting for their buyers." Emma said as she used the Viper Vision in her mask. Her thermal heat vision proved to be extremely useful at night. She then smirked as she overheard what the men were talking about. "The guy in the Thor mask is telling the guy in the Captain America mask about some prostitute he fucked last night." Peter blushed under his mask as the white lenses in his mask widened comically.

"You're making that up! He's not really saying that." Peter said nervously and Emma's smirk widened as if she was pleased that Peter doubted her.

"I swear I'm not, Peter. Thor's telling Cap all about how tight the prostitute felt around his-" Emma started to say, knowing fully well that she was embarrassing him, when Peter interrupted her.

"Okay, Okay! I believe you! Just stop! T-that's just gross, Emma." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you're so shocked, Parker. We all know Thor's no saint. There's probably a ton of brothels on Asgard and I bet, since Thor's a prince, he gets an all season pass there." Emma teased and Peter frowned from under his mask.

"Except that's not actually Thor." He pointed out and Emma sighed.

"Yeah, you'd think those idiots would wear different masks than last time." Emma said and it was quiet between them for a moment as Emma watched the van the four criminals were stationed in. It didn't take long before Peter opened his mouth again. This wasn't very surprising to her since she knew how difficult it was for him to keep his trap shut for longer than two minutes.

"It's your birthday next week." Peter said quietly and Emma groaned, her face scrunching up in disgust as if the very thought of her birthday disgusted her.

"How the hell did you find out about that?" She asked, not liking that he knew about her birthday. Great, Peter was probably going to make some big deal out of it which was the last thing she wanted. She'd rather just act like it was no different than any other day before moving on with her life. Birthdays held little meaning for her. The parties Steve threw for her the past two years were great but unnecessary. She would've just liked to have been left alone then having to go to some stupid party while everyone congratulated her for being a year older. Like it was so hard to get older.

"Tony told me." Peter told her. "I wished that I hadn't had to find out from him. I should know when my girlfriend's birthday is." Emma huffed as she kept watch over the idiots in the van.

"It's not like it matters." Emma said cynically and Peter stared at her in disbelief, not understanding how Emma could say that.

"But it's your sixteenth birthday!" Peter exclaimed in a hushed tone so that no one would hear their usual bickering although anyone that knew them would probably be used to them. The criminals of Queens were very accustomed to the constant bickering that went on between Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin. Their bickering was almost famous around these parts. "It's one of the most important ones!" Emma scoffed.

"Big deal." She said sarcastically and Peter glared at his frustrating girlfriend.

"It is a big deal." Peter argued. "You only turn sixteen once."

"Stop being dramatic, Parker. You only turn sixteen once but you also only turn seventeen once…eighteen once…nineteen once although I doubt I'll actually live that long." Emma told him pessimistically and Peter couldn't believe that she actually thought that.

"Don't say things like that, Emma! You're not going to die." He told her in that authoritative tone of his that Emma found pleasing to the ear. That's mainly why she liked arguing with him so much. He was really hot when he thought he could tell her what to do.

"Whatever." Emma mumbled as she pretended like his angry state had no effect on her. "Look, the reason I don't like birthdays is because it's just another birthday I have to spend without my father. All my birthdays at Hydra had been shitty but at least I had him. This is just another birthday without him but now it's a birthday without Steve too."

The expression on Peter's face softened when he saw the sad look on Emma's face and he suddenly understood why she didn't like birthdays. It was because birthdays made her feel alone and this year was going to be worse because most of the people she actually liked weren't going to be there unless they could magically get immunity and not be thrown in prison the second they came back. Peter instantly wrapped his arms around Emma, not caring if they were supposed to be working right now. She relaxed into his embrace as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sure your dad wishes that he could be here with you." Peter told her in a comforting tone. Emma nodded but didn't speak so Peter continued to speak to her softly. "I'm sure your grandfather wishes that he could be here too. It's not like they'll forget. You'll still be on their minds and they'll still be on your mind."

"I know." Emma murmured softly. "I just wish that it didn't have to be this way." Peter just wrapped his arm around her tighter in response and Emma snuggled against his chest.

"I won't let you feel alone on your birthday, Emma." Peter whispered to her and Emma was grateful for him. Even though he didn't really understand why she needed some things, he still understood that she did, in fact, need some things that were a mystery to someone like him. "If it makes you feel any better then I'll tell Tony not to throw a big party."

"Thank you." Emma said quietly and lifted her head from his chest so that she could look at him. He watched her curiously as she then gently grabbed the bottom of his Spider-Man mask. His lenses widened at her actions.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, slightly alarmed but Emma didn't seem bothered.

"I just want to try something. You trust me, don't you?" Emma asked him and he nodded.

"Of course." Emma smiled softly before lifting the Spider-Man mask until she had pulled it up just above his lips. Peter felt his heart race in his chest and he found it curious that she could still make him feel that way even though they'd been dating for over a month now. No feeling ever seemed to fade when it came to them. She pressed her lips gently against his, kissing him softly. Sometimes their pattern of kissing differed. At times they kissed intensely and passionately which Emma blamed on their teenage hormones but other times they kissed like this. Peter kissed her back just as sweetly and softly as she had kissed him. He knew that she didn't need to tell him that she appreciated how much he cared about because everything was conveyed in the kiss. The way she kissed him was filled with so much emotion and Peter was soon disappointed when she pulled away from him. She rested her forehead against his and listened to the pattern of his breathing which sounded a bit labored after the kiss. Emma always figured being so vulnerable with someone would disgust her but she didn't feel disgusted at all. She felt loved and cared for. She loved Peter for making her feel that way.

"Not to interrupt, Miss Rogers, but it seems that your intended targets are getting out of the van." McConaughey said and Emma's eyes widened as she paid more attention to the scene in front of them. Peter quickly pulled his mask back over his face as he also focused on the scene in front of them. Emma watched as the four men, all wearing their Avengers' masks as disguise, got out of the van to meet two other, scruffy looking men who looked just as suspicious as they were shady. She narrowed her eyes and knew that this was her and Peter's last chance to retrieve the weapons that Toomes had sold them way back when. That way the weapons would safely be locked away and out of the hands of idiotic criminals like these ones.

"Great. I guess we'll just have to catch them red handed then, won't we?" Emma said and Peter nodded.

"Are these men armed, Karen?" Peter asked his own AI system even though he knew the men most likely were. He just wanted confirmation.

"I detect six loaded guns, all concealed under each individual's clothing. These men are armed and dangerous, Peter." Karen told him and Emma smirked as stood on the edge of the building.

"Dangerous is a very loose term." Emma said and Peter just shook his head before giving her a questioning look.

"So what's the plan here?" Peter asked her and she gave him a smug look.

"Shoot first, ask questions later." Emma told him and she could tell he wasn't very pleased with her answer. "Kidding. I say we leap down there and surprise them. They'll be surprised, giving us the advantage, and you shoot your disgusting webbing at the One Direction version of the Avengers while I beat the shit out of the other two assholes. We'll leave them to the police and we'll grab their weapons, bringing them back to Tony. Let him deal with that mess. That way we can have the night to ourselves and watch something on TV like _Downton Abbey_." Peter pulled a face.

"But I don't want to watch _Downton Abbey_. It's so boring." Peter whined and Emma had an almost flirtatious look on her face as she briefly drew closer to him. He swallowed hard because he knew that look in her eyes.

"Oh, we won't be watching it. Don't worry." Emma said suggestively and Peter blushed a vibrant shade of red from under his mask. He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Right, sounds like a great plan to me. The sooner we take these guys down, the better." Peter didn't think he was referring to it being better because they would be getting the weapons back to Tony either. No, Tony wasn't on his mind at all. Emma really drove him crazy sometimes but only in the best way.

"Peter, are you alright?" Karen asked him in concern. "Your heart rate has elevated and I detect that your breathing is rather labored. Shall you sit the mission out? Do you need medical attention?" Peter didn't think it was possible blush as much as he was and he was glad that Emma wasn't able to see how much he was blushing although by the look of her smugness, he knew she may have an idea.

"No, I'm fine." Peter said in an annoyed tone.

"Well, only if you're okay." Emma teased as she then brought her attention back to the task at hand. The six men looked to be in negotiations over prices and seemed fairly distracted so Emma thought this would be the best moment for her and Peter to make their entrance. She exchanged one look with Peter before nodding and the two of them both leapt off from the top of the building. They landed with a soft thud almost at the same and Emma didn't hesitate in grabbing her grandfather's shield from her back and getting into an almost defensive position as she waited for one of the men to react. Peter was also in a more defensive stance as he glared at the criminals.

"Well, well, well boys. What do we have here?" Emma said as she smirked at the men who were all watching her and Peter in shock. If any of the Avengers were there then they might've even thought she sounded a little like Natasha in that moment. "I hope this little get together isn't strictly no-girls allowed." It had taken Emma a while but she had grown more comfortable with sassing low-life criminals much like Peter did. The only difference was that Emma's humor was a lot darker than Peter's and she didn't hesitate in calling the criminals assholes right back to their faces.

"Because if it is then this is a classic case of workplace sexism." Peter added as he wagged his finger at the shocked criminals, almost like he was scolding them for their bad behavior like a teacher would. "And I just can't stand for sexism. I thought in the criminal underbelly, everyone would stick together no matter their race or gender. I guess that was just some hopeful thinking on my part." One of the men, the one with the Iron Man mask, huffed as he came out of his shocked state and became more agitated by the two heroes.

"Oh, great. It's you two." The man in the Iron Man mask complained.

"Yeah, it's me again, Iron Man." Peter said jokingly. "Still strapped for cash, huh? Never thought a billionaire would ever resort to selling weapons for a little extra money." Emma scoffed.

"It wouldn't exactly be his first time either." Emma retorted and she saw one of the men reach for his gun out of the corner of her eye. She narrowed her eyes at him as she threateningly took a step towards him. Her face was now void of all emotions and it was clear that she wasn't playing games anymore.

"One wrong move, asshole, and I'll show you why they call me the Viper Assassin." Emma threatened and the man paused briefly. Peter nodded.

"She means it too." Peter told them nonchalantly. "I'm the good cop but Viper over here's the bad cop. She's not one you want to mess with either and I know first hand. Never leave the toilet seat up with this one around." Emma wanted to roll her eyes at him because he was such a dork sometimes. A really hot and charming dork but still a dork. The man, however, decided not to listen to them as he reached for his gun anyways, thinking he could maybe kill Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin. Emma sighed because she knew these idiots weren't going to go down willingly. The street then turned into an all out war zone as the rest of the men soon followed the man's lead.

Emma immediately threw her shield like a Frisbee and it instantly hit the other man, roughly knocking him to the ground as well as knocking him out cold. She then quickly approached the man with the gun, taking him by surprise and she delivered a swift kick to his gut causing him to groan. The move caught him off guard and Emma took advantage of his moment of weakness. The shield came flying back into her grasp and she immediately hit the man's wrist with the shield, possibly fracturing it, but it knocked the gun out of his hand. She caught the man's gun mid-flight before it could hit the ground and possibly go off. Emma immediately unloaded the gun, letting the magazine fall to the ground before tossing the unloaded gun to the side. The man had already recovered from Emma's kick and made a move to punch her when she lifted her wrist up and easily dispensed her Viper Bite from the suit. He passed out the instant he inhaled the green gas, landing harshly on the ground next to his partner.

Emma gave the two men a disgusted look before looking over to see how Peter was doing. She had to give Peter credit, as new to this as he was, he was really getting the hang of everything. It seemed like their countless hours of training has really paid off because he already had all four of the masked men glued together with his webbing. The men struggled to get out of the webbing but it was no use. They were stuck. Peter glanced over at the men laying on the ground next to where Emma was standing. He winced.

"Remind me to never to get on your bad side." Peter told her as Emma walked over to him. She gave him a fond look as she patted his cheek.

"Oh, I could never hurt you, Spider-Twerp. Your face is too pretty for that." Emma said jokingly and Peter just shook his head at her. She then returned her attention back to the four men whose masks had been knocked off in the struggle. "Your faces on the other hand I could really care less about since you're not lookers like my dear Spider-Twerp over here is. So…tell us. Where are the weapons?" Emma asked them viciously, her eyes hardened like she was almost daring them to tell her to go fuck off. One of the men smirked at her, too idiotic to care who she was.

"What weapons?" He asked her and Emma sneered at him but didn't make any move to hit him or bash his face in like she had previously insinuated. The man looked on in confusion as the Viper Assassin stalked over to his car while Spider-Man stayed where he was, most likely to make sure that they didn't do anything. The man watched in alarm and horror as the Viper Assassin then ripped the trunk door of his expensive car off and threw it to the side. He watched the ripped off trunk door with wide eyes before glaring at the blonde who was rummaging through his trunk.

"That's my car! Do you know how much that cost me!?" He exclaimed angrily as he glared hatefully at her. "Ugh! You fucking bitch! You're going to pay!" Peter glared at the man, furious at what the man had called Emma even if his girlfriend didn't seem to care as she looked through the man's trunk.

"You watch your mouth!" Peter snapped at the man and the man gave Peter a smug look, feeling rather brave for someone all tied up.

"Oh, what? You don't like me insulting your little whore?" The man mocked crudely and Peter fumed, feeling his temper rise. "Tell me, Spider-Man, is she as good in the sack as she is at fighting? I bet she is. It's always the crazy ones that are wild in bed. Ha! Spider-Man's whore!"

Emma wasn't really offended by the man's words. Men had called her worse in the past and she was used to it. Truth be told, Emma was actually amused by the little nickname the man invented for her. That would be something new to tease Peter about. Spider-Man's whore. Yeah, that was definitely a new one. She knew the man was only trying to a get a reaction out of Peter and from Peter's tense stance she could tell it was working. Peter was absolutely furious and she kind of thought it was cute when he tried defending her honor like that. Please, like she had any honor left to defend.

"Spider-Twerp, calm down!" Emma shouted back to him from the car as she tried to calm him down. The last thing she needed right now was Peter losing his shit over some asshole's meaningless words. If worse came to worse, she'd probably try and tell him that stupid little poem that always seemed to calm the Hulk down. Natasha always did that with Bruce and it seemed to work with them. "He's just being an asshole because he probably hasn't ever been laid by someone who wasn't his cousin." The man's smug look fell off his face as he glared at Emma again.

"Why, you little-" But the man never finished because Peter finally shot his webbing at the man's mouth to shut him up. Thank god for Peter's webbing because that man was one of the most annoying dickheads that her and Peter beat up. Too bad that webbing dissolved in a couple hours. Those poor cops at the police station were going to have their hands full with this one.

Emma dug through the rest of the trunk almost desperately as she searched for the Chitauri weaponry but she couldn't find any. All that were there were grenades, guns, and a large collection ammo. The guns varied from pistols to rifles and even to very illegal military grade machine guns. The car trunk looked a lot like the trunk of Turk, her informant, but as far as she could tell there was no advanced weaponry. She had searched the trunk from top to bottom and not to mention the entirety of the car but there was nothing there. Emma growled in frustration before fixing the men with a glare as she stormed over to them. Peter gulped at the look on her face because he could tell Emma was furious. She had never been that furious with him and he hoped that he never did anything to piss her off that much in the future.

"Where are they?!" Emma snapped as she finally stopped in front of the four men who all glared up at her.

"Where's what?" One of the men questioned and Emma was very tempted to smack the stupid look off his face. Peter gave Emma a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" He asked her and Emma sighed before turning to him, a frustrated look on her face.

"The weapons aren't in the car." She briefly told him before turning back to the four idiots. "I know you had them two days ago so tell me who you sold them to."

"Just some guy." One of them said nonchalantly and Emma bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from ripping the guy's head off. How the hell did she end up with dealing with the most stupid people in the world? Oh, right…by agreeing to do this hero thing.

"Who. Was. He?" Emma hissed as she suddenly leaned down and grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket, getting right into his face. Peter stood there, not sure whether or not he should let Emma do that. On one hand it was probably bad to rough up the bad guys too badly but on the other hand they needed to find out who these guys sold the weapons to. The man's eyes were wide as he finally broke down, deciding that it was probably best to tell her the truth rather than piss her off.

"I-I don't k-know." The man said nervously. "He was an American like us and he paid a fuck ton of money for the weapons. We decided the weapons were too complicated for us and we wanted to get the weapons off our hands. What can I say?" Emma narrowed her eyes, looking very dangerous as she stared him down.

"What did he look like? Hair? Eye color? Skin? Did you catch a name?" Emma questioned and the man shook his head furiously.

"We didn't get a name but he had dark hair and dark eyes." The man told her and that pissed her off more than anything. Dark hair and dark eyes? Really? That was literally anyone in the whole world. The guy buying the weapons could easily be Tony based off that pathetic excuse for a description.

"You better do a lot better than that, asshole." She said threateningly and the man's eyes widened in realization as he suddenly remembered something.

"His face." The man remembered and Emma gave him a confused look. "He had some sort of mask or helmet on for the entire meeting but he took it off briefly when he was testing one of the weapons."

"What about his face? Did he look familiar?" She questioned and the man shook his head.

"No but he looked all burned up…like he had been in some kind of an accident. A fire, maybe." The man finally told Emma and she immediately stiffened. Her heart rate immediately elevated as she could feel herself begin to panic. She swallowed hard, hoping to whoever was listening up there in the sky that she was wrong about this. Although… her gut was rarely wrong about anything. Peter gave his girlfriend a confused look when he saw the haunted look on her face. She usually only looked that frightened after waking up from a nightmare. He didn't understand why she looked scared now of all times. "He had a lot of scarring on his face."

"Did he have a long scar across his face." Emma asked, her voice flat and the man gave her a bewildered look.

"Um…I don't know. He had a lot of scars." Emma gave him an impatient look before roughly grasping his face in her hand, causing him to yelp. She then sharpy traced her finger across his cheek, running her finger over the bridge of his nose and onto the other side of his face, bewildering both the man and everyone else, including Peter, even more.

"Was the scar like that?" She asked him and the man nodded.

"Y-yeah. I mean, I guess…he had a lot of scarring after all." The man told her and Emma immediately stood up, looking slightly horrified at this news. She had a wide eyed look on her face as she slowly turned away from the men. All her fears had been confirmed true. Peter immediately approached her, resting a hand on her shoulder which caused Emma to jump. She immediately relaxed when she realized it was only him.

"What is it?" He asked her in concern and Emma swallowed hard before answering. This was way worse than she could've ever imagined. Her nightmares would be nothing compared to what would happen to her and the other Avengers from the fallout of these weapons being in the wrong hands and especially in _his_ hands.

"It's Rumlow…he's got the weapons." Emma told him in a low voice and Peter's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Rumlow?!" He questioned before speaking in a more hushed voice. "You mean as in the man who killed…" Peter trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"My parents?" Emma said before nodding in confirmation. "Yes. The man he described is without a doubt Rumlow." Peter shook his head.

"It might not be." He suggested but Emma scoffed.

"That idiot back there described someone with a fucked up face but not just anyone with a fucked up face but someone with a distinctive scar across his face." Emma told Peter sharply. "I've seen the pictures of him after D.C. and not even the fire could get rid of that scar…the scar my mother gave him the day he murdered her. It's him. There's not a doubt in my mind that it's him."

"So Hydra has these weapons now?" Peter asked, not sure what they were going to do now. "What does this mean?"

"It means that we're going to be seeing these weapons again soon but not in the way we want." Emma said with a grim expression on her face and Peter really didn't like her answer. He was even more bothered because he knew this Rumlow guy for some reason wanted Emma. The incident with Volkov hadn't been forgotten. For some reason Rumlow really wanted Emma back in Hydra but Peter was starting to feel like it might've not been for strictly Hydra related purposes. If he wanted Emma back in Hydra then why was he running around playing all these games with them? No, there had to be more. He was really starting to wonder if there was something Emma wasn't telling him. Before he could ask her, however, one of the men from behind them spoke up. What he said next would horrify Emma but only serve to confuse Peter even more.

"You look so beautiful, Princess…just like your mother." One of the men called out to them and Emma tensed. Her eyes widened when she heard the words that always sent chills down her spine. She slowly turned around but all she could see was Rumlow sitting there, grinning at her in that wolfish way. Only this time it was actually him instead of the wolf she usually saw in her nightmares. The very real and human form of him terrified her because it made him a hundred times more real to her. His face was all burnt up just like it had been in the more recent pictures she had seen of him but the scar that stood out to her was the prominent one that went across his face…the one her mother gave him and the same one that stood out against all the other scars. Even with the severe scarring around his face, his eyes were just as dark and empty as she remembered which unnerved her.

 _"_ _Shhh…"_ Rumlow murmured as he sat there grinning at her, pressing a finger to his lips. _"Don't scream, Princess. Everything will be fine."_ Emma turned to see if Peter was seeing Rumlow like she was but he didn't look as concerned by the sight of Rumlow as she thought he'd be. He seemed concerned but only with her.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" He asked her worriedly and Emma turned back to Rumlow who was still sitting there.

" _Why don't you tell him about us, Princess?"_ Rumlow said as he then feigned a hurt look. Us? Emma thought to herself angrily. The very thought of there being an "Us" where Rumlow was concerned made her sick. _"Why do I have to be your dirty little secret?_ _I thought we had something special."_

"I'm fine." She said shortly to Peter, trying to ignore Rumlow and his disgusting behavior. She had to be imagining him, right? Peter obviously didn't see him there so he couldn't be there in real life. This was all inside her head because she was more fucked up than she thought.

" _But I am real. You know it's true…I might not be here physically but I'll always be with you. Where ever you're at, I'll follow."_ Rumlow told her tauntingly and Emma bit down on the inside of her cheek to try and contain her fear. She wanted so badly to look away from him but for some reason she just couldn't.

 _"_ _And remember, Emma…"_ He trailed off before smirking at her smugly _. "Don't cry. The pain won't last long…I promise."_ That was what made Emma finally snap as she growled before abruptly flying in the direction of Rumlow. All logic seemed to leave her mind the instant he said those words. The same words he said right before he stole her innocence…the only thing she had left after everything Hydra had done to her. She grabbed Rumlow by his throat, ripping him out of the webbing and instantly shoved him against the car. He was laughing hysterically the whole time which pissed her off even more.

"Viper, what are you doing?!" Peter exclaimed as he watched her but Emma was more focused on the man whose existence was a constant pain in her side. If it wasn't for him then Emma could probably have a somewhat normal life. She wouldn't be haunted by all these nightmares, she wouldn't be so closed off to everyone, and maybe she'd actually be comfortable with the idea of having sex. If it wasn't for this man in front of her then Emma could be the girl that Peter deserved.

"I'm teaching this asshole a lesson!" Emma snapped before focusing her heated glare at Rumlow who only smirked at her.

 _"_ _Always consumed by your anger. You always were an emotional girl, Princess."_ Rumlow said as if he were scolding her like he did back at the Hydra base. _"It didn't matter how many times I beat you, tortured you, and not even how many times I took you that night. Your emotions always got the best of you."_ Emma tightened her grip around his throat and he began to choke. She took great pleasure in watching him struggle for breath. It was almost like she was finally going to have her revenge.

"Emma, stop! You'll kill him!" Peter shouted at her and he tried pull her away from the man but she roughly shoved him aside with one hand, the force of her push taking him by surprise and causing him to fall to the ground. He stared at Emma in shock and wondered what had gotten into her. She had been fine a few seconds ago but when that man said those words…well, she seemed to lose it. Peter watched as Emma tightened her grip around the man's neck and he knew if she applied anymore pressure, she'd probably snap his neck. Something was wrong with Emma and he needed to stop her before she hurt herself or someone else.

Peter had a determined look on his face as he stood up from the ground and immediately flung himself at her. She stumbled to side from the force of his impact, immediately letting go of the man. The man wheezed as he fell to the ground, trying to catch his breath. Peter wasn't worried about him running since the man was in a very weakened state. He had come very close to dying after all. Emma looked up after being hit by something but all she saw staring back at her was Rumlow. He was grinning at her smugly, practically daring her to come and get him. Emma narrowed her eyes at him and immediately began stalking towards him. Peter gulped when he saw the deadly look on her face. He remembered hoping earlier that Emma would never get that pissed off at him but it looked like he wasn't that lucky.

"Hey, it's me!" Peter said to her but she didn't stop. "Remember, me? The boy you're in love with? We've been going out for a month and a half now…" Emma still didn't pause as she suddenly lunged at him, attempting to land a punch to his face which Peter fortunately dodged. His eyes widened in surprise because he couldn't believe Emma had actually tried to hit him. However, he decided to play it off as he kept dodging all her punches and kicks. He was grateful that Emma had showed him some of her fighting moves because it made her slightly more predictable.

"Hey! I thought you said my face was too pretty to hit!" Peter quipped as he dodged another punch. "Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry but I promise to buy you some pretty flowers and a box of chocolates when this is all over." Peter jumped to the side, narrowly missing one of her famous roundhouse kicks. God, Emma was sure giving him a work out. She always accused him of going easy on her during training but now he was starting to think she was the one who was going easy.

"Right. I forgot that you're a weirdo who doesn't like flowers and chocolates like most girls." He muttered and it was then that Peter briefly wondered if Emma was like her father. He knew that her father sometimes went a bit crazy when someone mentioned certain trigger words and he wondered if Emma was the same way. Peter dodged yet another punch from Emma. He had spent this whole time dodging her attacks because he hadn't wanted to hurt her but he knew that she wasn't just going to stop either. Peter then remembered something that Emma mentioned once…about how her grandfather and the Falcon had managed to snap her father out of his Winter Soldier state. She said something about him managing to hit his head real hard.

Peter winced because this was something he really didn't want to do. He had slapped her once before when she had woken up in a state much like this one back at the security vault in D.C. but she hadn't been this bad. He was definitely going to hell for this. Boyfriends weren't supposed to hurt their girlfriends but if he didn't then Emma might hurt herself or do something she regretted. Peter had a strong feeling that his webbing wouldn't hold up against her when she was in this state which was why that just wasn't an option. As she reared her fist back to send another punch in his direction, Peter once again dodged it which caught her by surprise and Peter reluctantly hit her. He tried not to use all his strength because he knew he could kill her if he did but instead used just enough strength for his punch to knock her out.

The blonde immediately passed out from the punch and Peter quickly shot out his webbing at her, before she could hit the ground, and used the webbing to pull her back to him. He quickly pulled Emma into his arms, making sure she was secure and couldn't help but feel guilty as he saw the peaceful look on her face as she rested. He really hoped that she didn't hate him when she woke up. He knew he did something really bad but he hadn't known what else to do that would've stopped her. First things first, he needed to figure out what was wrong with his Emma. Something was definitely not right and he needed to try and understand why she had even snapped the way she did in the first place.

Peter quickly shot his webbing at the man wheezing on the ground, making sure the man couldn't run away. The police should there soon anyways. The teenage boy then shot some more of his webbing in the direction of one of the buildings before propelling himself off the ground and using the webbing to lift himself and Emma off in that direction. Peter didn't bother making any smartass remarks to the criminals as he left, his concern over Emma taking priority of everything. Tonight had certainly been eventful but he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Mostly, he just wanted Emma to tell him why she had snapped like that. Somehow, he knew he was probably going to have to pull the answer from her. She wouldn't be Emma if he didn't have to do that.

* * *

"Wow, Mini Cap. You didn't tell me you were in an abusive relationship." Tony said as he tried to joke around with her. Emma glared at him as she held an ice pack against her face. She had woken up twenty minutes ago with a pounding headache, which she didn't know she could get, and throbbing in her face. There was already a large bruise there but Emma knew it would fade soon enough. They were in the living room of the townhouse and Emma felt slightly dazed. Her memories of the events leading up to the moment when Peter apparently hit her were very foggy. At least this explained what her boyfriend was doing sitting in the seat next to her, looking extremely guilty. Emma was impressed. She didn't think he had the balls to hit her. The blonde then winced as she pressed the ice pack tighter against her face. Okay, now she knew for sure that he was definitely holding back in training. That little asshole. And after all the time he spent convincing her that he wasn't holding back anymore, she knew that it had all been a lie. Well…she'd just have to get him back for it one of these days. "Should we get a restraining order? Want me to beat up the kid to teach him a lesson? Where are your manners, Mr. Parker? Didn't May ever teach you not to hit a woman? Maybe I should finally call up Cap to see what he thinks of this." Tony said but it was clear to Emma that he was only teasing Peter. However, his teasing only seemed to make Peter feel worse about what he'd done.

"Shut up, Stark. I'm tired of your insensitive jokes." Emma snapped and it was clear to Tony that she wasn't pleased with him because she only called him Stark when she was pissed at him. "In another hour this won't even hurt anymore. No one will know the difference."

"Okay, okay…don't get act like it's your time of the month." Tony said and Emma immediately threw her pack of ice at him, causing him to yelp as it hit him in the shoulder. He playfully glared at her before glancing at Peter. "Geez, you really need to control your woman, Parker. Maybe another punch will teach her a lesson?" Sometimes he really got on Emma's nerves. She really didn't feel like dealing with him tonight after what happened.

"Maybe another punch will teach _you_ a lesson." Emma threw back at him bitterly and Tony raised his hands up defensively.

"Okay then, I get it. Let's get down to business." Tony said as a more serious expression came across his face. He was honestly very worried about Emma and especially after Darcy called him an hour before, telling him that things had taken a dark turn during one of her and Peter's outings. Peter hadn't really gotten into details but he mentioned that Emma had snapped and attacked not only one of the criminals but him as well which explained the reason she was sporting a dark bruise on her face. "I know that Peter hit you to stop you from attacking him but I just want to understand why you were attacking him in the first place. I'm guessing it's not because you caught him making out with another girl under the bleachers?" Emma just shrugged, not really feeling like answering the question.

"I don't know." She said vaguely and Peter knew that she was lying although he didn't know why she was lying so badly. Usually she was a lot more smooth than that.

"That's not true!" Peter accused, suddenly angry with her for lying. "I know you know why. It was something that man said…the thing he said about your mother. You just snapped."

"Your mother?" Tony questioned as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Emma felt a bit bad for trying to lie to Peter. He looked very angry and frustrated with her. There was times that she liked it when he was angry at her but right now she just felt guilty.

"Please, Emma." Peter practically begged. "Please just tell me why. I just want to help you…Tony wants to helps you too." She glanced back at Tony who just nodded in agreement.

Emma sighed because she knew she was going to tell them more than what she was willing to admit. She didn't want to tell them why those exact words had an impact on her because she was still trying to learn how to deal with that part of her past. Emma had already decided that she was definitely going to eventually tell Peter about what Rumlow did to her. Maybe not right now but when the time came. He deserved to know and he deserved an explanation why sex wasn't something she was comfortable with at the moment. Emma just figured she'd tell him when he started becoming more interested in sex. A part of her was scared that he'd think she was damaged goods or that maybe he'd act differently around her but deep down she knew he needed to know. Emma had to admit there was a part of her that just wanted to give herself to him so that he wouldn't leave her because him leaving her was more unbearable to her than the fear she had of having sex with Peter and then something triggering a flashback of Rumlow. She knew that was some messed up thinking on her part but Emma didn't want to let something as simple as sex tear them apart. Peter wasn't just her boyfriend…he was also her best friend and she didn't want to lose him because she was too scared to have sex. Emma was then snapped out of her thinking as looked back at Peter and Tony.

"Okay, fine." She finally said before continuing, hesitantly look them in the eyes. "The truth of the matter is that the man said the same thing to me that Rumlow used to say."

"That's it?" Tony tactlessly questioned. He already knew about Rumlow and the weapons thanks to everything Peter told him but he still didn't know every single detail. Peter glared at him, wishing that his mentor could be more sympathetic or understanding. It was clear that Tony's blunt nature didn't contain any tact. Emma just shook her head.

"You don't get it. Those were the exact words that Rumlow used to say and…I don't know. I guess it just triggered some memories for me." Emma said quietly and Peter wanted more than anything to comfort her but knew he had to ask her something important. It was something they just needed to know.

"Emma, you don't think you're like you're father, do you?" Peter asked her and Emma stared at him. "You don't think that those words Rumlow used to say put you into some kind of a trance like the Winter Soldier?" She didn't answer for a moment which worried Peter but he instantly felt relieved when she finally shook her head. She swallowed hard.

"No. Hydra had other ways of controlling me. They didn't need to do to me what they did to my father." Emma said almost bitterly before continuing. "It's just that…a lot of bad things happened to me in that base. Rumlow knows that and he's using that against me. I bet Rumlow told that guy to say those words to me. He wanted to get a reaction out of me and I gave him everything he wanted." Peter reached over and gave Emma's hand a comforting squeeze. She softly smiled at him.

"PTSD." Tony said suddenly and both her and Peter looked up at him. "I had it after Loki's attempt at world domination here in New York. It took me a while to overcome it but I managed to do it. You can too." Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"You were in a wormhole in space for a few seconds, I was beaten and tortured in a Hydra base for nine years. I think our situations are slightly differently." Emma said sarcastically and Tony ignored her usual bitchiness seeing as he was used to her attitude. She really made Natasha look like a saint at times.

"What I'm trying to say is that maybe you should get some help." Tony said and the look on Emma's face told him that he better tread lightly or she was going to murder him. He coughed awkwardly before continuing. "I mean that Sam used to take you to the VA with him to speak with people who had PTSD but you stopped going."

"Well, you made damn sure of that when you sent him and everyone else packing, didn't you?" Emma snapped at him but instantly regretted it the moment she saw the hurt look on Tony's face. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't really mean it." Tony nodded, understanding that Emma was just being a bit defensive.

"I'm only trying to make some suggestions here because I want to help you. I promised-" Tony started to say but Emma rolled her eyes.

"I know, I know. Because you promised Steve you'd take care of me." Emma said tiredly but Tony shook his head as Peter watched the exchange between the billionaire and his girlfriend curiously.

"Yes, because I promised Steve I'd take care of you but also because I care about you too. Your father, your biological one, was like a brother to me so that makes you my niece." Tony told her honestly and Emma just stared silently at the expression on his face. It was rare that Tony was ever this sincere and she could count the times he was that sincere on one hand. She just didn't know how to feel about it. "Which is why I want you to see a therapist." Emma gaped at Tony, looking incredibly shocked which was rare for her and even Peter was a bit surprised to hear that. Emma's shock soon faded as she glared at Tony.

"To hell with that! I don't care about all the mushy crap you just said, I'm not seeing some quack that gets paid to BS me for an hour while I tell them all about my feelings. That's what Peter's for." Emma snapped at Tony and Peter playfully glared at the blonde.

"Hey!" He said, pretending to be offended but Emma didn't care either way. However, Tony didn't seem bothered by Emma's scathing remark. He just smiled somewhat fondly at her.

"You know, you sound just like your father when you talk like that." Tony observed and Emma had the feeling he wasn't talking about her father as in the one who raised her but rather the one whose sperm was the reason for her existence. "I know that you won't like it but I also know that it's what's best for you. You've dealt with these issues too long on your own. I should've done this a long time ago. Bruce used to be here to help you manage your anger issues but since none of us know where the hell he's at, there's not much he can do."

"I'm not going to therapy." Emma told him stubbornly as she glared at him and Tony sighed.

"Well, if you want you can go to one of the group therapy sessions instead but you need some kind of therapy, Emma. You can't keep going on like this. You're going to hurt or kill someone and as much as you act like you don't care, I know you do." Tony told her seriously, calling her out on something for the first time in a long time. Emma knew he was actually very serious about this. She was going have to go to one of these therapy session things whether she liked it or not.

"Please, Emma." Peter said to her softly, looking very concerned. Great, he was giving her that same puppy dog expression he did whenever he wanted something from her. Sometimes she hated him. Okay, that was a lie but sometimes he really annoyed her. "Tony's right. Maybe you should go to one of these therapy sessions and who knows…maybe it will help you in the end. I know you think Tony's punishing you but he's not. You need help, Emma, and that's okay. I love you and I'll be here for you no matter what. You know that, right?"

Tony watched the two teenagers in surprise because what Peter said had taken him by surprise. He knew the kid was crazy about Mini Cap but he hadn't thought he had fallen in love with her yet and by the expression on Emma's face he could tell that she knew the kid was in love with her. Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat because he wasn't sure how to feel about this development. He always rooted for the two to finally defeat the odds and get together but this was happening very fast. Tony thought it would at least be a few months before love would get involved but apparently he was wrong. He wondered if Mini Cap felt the same way? He stared at the softened expression on her face as she stared at the kid lovingly and he had his answer. Yep, Mini Cap was definitely head over heels for the kid which was a scary thought. It didn't feel like that long ago when he had held her in his arms as a cute little baby at her parent's farmhouse and now she was a young woman in love with her boyfriend. Wow, Tony really felt old.

One thing he knew for sure was that he was probably looking at Cap's future grandson-in-law right now. The kid who would probably inevitably be the father of Cap's great grandchildren and Tony wondered if Cap would be pleased with this news or if he'd finally finish Tony off like Tony thought he would back in Siberia. Tony remembered Cap during that fight at the old Hydra base so many months ago and remembered the cold and dark look in the super soldier's eyes as Steve brought his shield down that final time. He definitely thought he was a goner back then and Tony had only tried to kill Barnes. He couldn't imagine how furious Cap would be when he found out that Tony had unknowingly set his granddaughter up with a certain nerdy teenage boy. There would probably be a repeat of that last fight between them at the base. Hopefully Cap set his sights on the kid first and forgot all about him. Tony didn't even want to think of what Daddy Dearest would do if he found out. Probably nothing good.

"Fine." Emma finally said begrudgingly, acting like she wasn't just doing this because Peter wanted her to. "I'll go to a stupid group therapy session where a bunch of people whine and complain about their sad, pathetic lives. I'll go even though it's a complete waste of time." Tony smirked at her.

"Atta girl. That's the spirit." Tony told her before looking slightly apprehensive over what he was going to say next. "Oh and you're off field duty for the next couple weeks although I wouldn't really call it field duty since it's just you and the kid running around Queens, finding people's stolen bikes." Emma's eyes widened in surprise and even Peter looked surprised at Tony's decision.

"What?! You can't do that!" Emma exclaimed angrily and Tony nodded.

"Yes, I can. That's an ability I have since Steve left you in my care. You're lucky that I even let you go out and be the Viper Assassin. If I remember correctly Cap wasn't exactly too keen on you playing hero." Tony told her and Emma frowned.

"So you are punishing me." Emma stated and Tony shook his head before sighing.

"I'm not punishing you. I'm just trying to help you and I think it would do you some good to take a break from all the action." Tony said sincerely and Emma supposed he had a point even though she didn't like it. She wouldn't say it aloud but she knew she was compromised. Her flashbacks about Rumlow were clearly impacting her thinking. She could no longer think as logically as she could before and that wasn't good. "Don't worry. Peter can handle himself. Right, kid?"

Emma then glanced over at Peter as he nodded slowly, taken back by the thought of not working alongside Emma for the next couple weeks. The last time he had truly worked alone was before he knew Emma was the Viper Assassin. Sure, he had worked alone when they weren't speaking with each other all that time ago but that didn't count. He knew Emma was around somewhere, making sure he didn't get hurt because he did the same thing with her.

"Uh…yeah." Peter answered nervously before locking eyes with Emma. "I'll be fine on my own, Emma. You just take the time you need." Emma nodded, finally accepting that this was going to happen whether she liked it or not. It was going to be weird not hanging around Peter on those occasions because they spent a majority of their night crime fighting. A part of the reason Emma liked crime fighting was because she got to be with Peter…well, the helping people part was good too but Emma enjoyed Peter's company a lot more than some old lady's stupid cat.

"Glad we got that settled." Tony said casually as he got up from the couch. "Well, I should start heading out. Pepper says that we have to go meet our wedding planner in Malibu tomorrow to start picking out wedding venues. God, I hope it's somewhere fun like Miami or Vegas…" Emma was already bored with this part of the conversation. She hoped that she didn't actually have to go to that wedding to watch Pepper throw her life away for this idiot. As nice as Pepper was, Emma figured that there had to be something severely wrong with the woman to think Tony was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Ew, gross. Emma would sooner peel the skin off her face than be tied down to Tony for her entire life.

"So go to a couple of those group therapy sessions and you can go back to the Springsteen crime fighting thing you and Peter have going on." Tony told her and Emma nodded.

"Fine." She said shortly and he started heading for the door. The billionaire paused before walked out into the night, looking back at them but mostly focusing on Peter.

"And kid?" Tony said to him and Peter looked up at him curiously.

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked which annoyed Tony because he repeatedly had asked the teenage boy to call him Tony but the kid was relentless. So relentless that Tony understood how he'd probably gotten Mini Cap to fall in love with him. The kid just didn't give up.

"Take care of her." He told him softly, giving Peter a small smile and walking out into the night before Peter could respond. He just stared at the now closed door in confusion as Emma practically fumed next to him, glaring at the front door.

"That little goatee wearing asshole!" Emma said angrily as she crossed her arms. " _Take care of her_? Seriously?! I'm not some helpless little girl. I can take care of myself." Peter just smiled softly at Emma because he knew she was back to normal. This was regular pissed off Emma instead of the pissed off version of the Viper Assassin he had seen earlier.

"I think he means well, Emma." Peter told her and Emma huffed. He got up from his seat to pick up the ice pack she had thrown at Tony earlier before returning to his seat next to her. He gently pressed the ice pack against her cheek where he had hit her. The guilty expression returned to his face as he noticed the bruise that was already fading from her face.

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I know I shouldn't have done it and I hope you can forgive me." Peter said quietly as he looked down but Emma immediately grabbed his face and forced him to look back up at her.

"Don't apologize, Peter. You did what you had to do. I was attacking you." Emma said, defending his actions against her. "If I ever get like that again, you have to promise that you won't hesitate to do it again. Promise me." Peter suddenly looked unsure.

"Emma, I don't know if I can-" He started to say but she interrupted him.

"Please, just promise me." She insisted and Peter sighed before reluctantly nodding.

"Fine but only if all else fails." Peter replied and that was good enough for Emma. A troubled look then came over Emma's face as something occurred to her.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Emma asked, scared to know the answer but Peter shook his head.

"No, you tried hitting and kicking me but I dodged all your attacks." Peter reassured her before giving her a goofy smile. "I guess you're getting pretty predictable, Rogers." Emma gave him an amused look.

"Don't count on it, Parker." Emma told him before the smile once again faded and her expression softened. "I'm glad I didn't hurt you. I don't know what I would've done if I had." Peter then reached over and pulled Emma closer to him, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace as she relaxed against him and rested her head against his chest.

"I'm not exactly easy to hurt, Emma." Peter told her comfortingly as he gently nuzzled her hair, taking great comfort in the familiar scent of strawberries and coconut. "I am the stronger one, after all." Emma rolled her eyes at his male ego but smiled nonetheless.

"That's very modest of you." She said sarcastically but her heart wasn't really in it. Peter could tell that her heart wasn't in it as well as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"What do you want me to do?" Peter asked her softly, his voice a mere whisper. "Do you want me to make you laugh? Get you a glass of water or another ice pack? Do you want me to sing you to sleep?" Emma laughed at his last suggestion and the sound of her musical laughter made him smile. He was glad he could make her laugh even if it was only for a couple seconds.

"You're a terrible singer… literally the worst I've ever heard." Emma told him and Peter smiled, pressing a chaste kiss against the top of her head. His expression grew serious again as he looked down at her.

"What do you need, Emma?" He asked softly once more and Emma sighed as she snuggled against his chest, feeling safe in his arms as she listened to the soothing sound of his heart beat.

"I just want you to hold me, Peter." She told him quietly and Peter just stared down at her, partially wishing that she was facing him so that he could see the expression on her face but he knew she was tired. He knew she was having a tough time sleeping because of the nightmares and if she wanted to fall asleep willingly then Peter wasn't going to argue with her.

"As you wish." He said in a light hearted tone, quoting a movie he and Emma had watched together not that long ago. It was one of those rare movies that they both adored equally and Peter secretly claimed _The Princess Bride_ as "Their Movie" just like how he claimed 'Tomorrow Never Came' as "Their Song". He held her closer and Emma nestled against his chest, her eyes slowly fluttering close as the sound of Peter's heart beat lulled her to sleep. It took Peter a few minutes to follow as he happily watched her peaceful, resting form but he eventually fell asleep too.

Darcy would come downstairs around an hour later and find the two teenagers sleeping in each other's arms. She would throw a warm blanket over the pair before taking out her phone and taking a picture of the cute couple. Darcy would make sure to send the picture to May, letting Peter's aunt know that he was safe but wouldn't be coming home that night. May Parker would fondly admire the picture of the adorable couple while sipping her glass of wine. She would even tease her nephew about it for the next several days although the small smile that would grace his face, whenever she brought it up, told May that he didn't really mind the teasing at all. He'd even steal May's phone for a couple minutes and send the picture to himself. The picture would become his new wallpaper and lockscreen much to Emma's annoyance although he could tell she wasn't really annoyed. She was more than pleased.


	66. Chapter Sixty One

**Author's Note: So I just want to say that there's some Jessica Jones Season 2 SPOILERS in this chapter. Nothing major that would tell you anything important that happened in the season but this is just a scene that I put Emma in from the recent season. I know that this scene takes place in the summer but I really needed it for this story so just pretend that it doesn't take place in the summer. I also realize that this kind of gives away what Defender is coming up but I know I needed to warn you guys because of spoilers.**

 **Krakengirl: Thank you so much! I also hope to see more diversity in OCs so hopefully more people will come up with more diverse OCs. It would be a really nice thing to see. I don't know when the next update on Rose Garden Dreams is coming up since I think I might update this story again before going back to Rose Garden Dreams but hopefully I'll be able to update soon.**

 **Bridget619: I didn't really like how the review was trying to make me feel bad for taking a short break but I get that there's a lot of people who really love this story and wouldn't want me to abandon it. Don't worry. I won't be abandoning this story. I love Emma and Peter way too much for that but sometimes I might want to have a break which I hope people don't get upset over. Thanks for the supportive comment! I really appreciate it!**

 **Inheritance1990: Emma definitely wants to tell Peter what happened but she's still scared. She just needs a push from a certain person to finally take that final step and get everything off her chest. She needs that push from someone who's been in her shoes and I think you'll find that person in this chapter.**

 **jaclynencizo: Emma definitely needs someone who can push her and challenge her but that person's obviously Peter. She also needs someone who doesn't push her and allows her to just be comfortable like MJ. I'm happy you noticed that. Bucky and Steve are still going to be a little while since some more stuff with Rumlow will be happening and Emma finally needs to come clean to Peter. She comes close to telling him everything this chapter but like I said before, she still needs a little push.**

 **nvnightrider9: I'm not completely sure instant kill would work against Thanos. I mean, Thanos seems pretty much invincible and I seriously have no clue how the Avengers are going to beat him in the movie. Probably like Cap said before. Together. I'm so excited for the movie by the way. I wish it would come out sooner. Can't wait to see everyone interacting with each other. It's definitely going to be interesting.**

 **Mcduffie145: Glad you love Rose Garden Dreams! It's too bad about not going to the Bleachers concert. I wanted to go see Amy Shark in concert a few months ago but there was a 21 and over rule. My brother's friend actually went to a Bleachers concert before but he wasn't that impressed. He said the guy showed up really late and was kind of rude the whole time but maybe he was just having a bad night or something. People have those all the time. I'm actually super excited to be going to the HAIM concert on Wednesday. I've been waiting to see them in concert forever and I finally get to go. It's like two hours away since it's in the city and I live in a small town but it's going to be totally worth it. I don't really like their opening act that much but I'm really just going to be there for them. Anyways...super excited for their concert and I'm sure you'll get to see Bleachers someday.**

 **Viper8784: I'm glad you love the story! I thought the idea of a male character, as you said, breathing life into a female character was really interesting since it's usually the other way around. I just thought it would be cute but I'm glad it worked out the way it did.**

 **Unknown: It's only going to get worse for Emma because Rumlow isn't going away anytime soon. As terrible as it is for Emma, I do admit to liking writing a darker element to the story since I'm a huge fan of thriller and horror movies. Part III is definitely darker than the previous parts of the story but on the bright side at least this means that the other Avengers will be coming back soon.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and please let me know what you think of this chapter. I also can't believe there's 800 followers on this story already. It doesn't feel like it's been that long since I first published it. Seriously though...thank you.**

 **3/30/18 Update: I was re-editing this chapter after a heads up in the reviews but I've also decided to put a WARNING for mentions of suicide and a rather dark suicide related comment. After reading a review, I decided to put a trigger warning which I should've done from the beginning but I wasn't thinking earlier when I first updated the story. Thank you for the feedback.**

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When Emma decided to actually listen to Tony and attend some lame pathetic therapy session, she never thought she'd be as bored as this. The blonde was sitting in a filthy and probably Asbestos invested room in Hell's Kitchen, seated in a foldable chair in a circle as she listened to a bunch of idiots complain about their problems. She didn't care if that made her sound like a bitch although Emma should've expected this when she signed up for the anger management classes. At least Tony had given her a choice and didn't force her to attend some child therapy group. That would've been even worse. She might've poured some lighter fluid into her ears if it meant having to listen to a bunch of spoiled rich kids complain about their daddy not buying them the car they wanted. Yeah, Emma wasn't really into that so she chose a group therapy session that was far away from anyone she knew and far away from people like that. She already had to go to school with kids like that so having to sit in a therapy session with them would be even worse. Still…Emma wasn't really enjoying herself with these people either.

A loud slapping sound broke Emma out of her thoughts as she glanced over towards where the sound came from. Emma spotted a bored looking woman with raven black hair and pale skin sitting in one of the chairs across the room from her. The woman looked to be in her early to mid thirties and looked like she wanted to be there about as much as Emma did. The dark haired woman swept the now dead fly from her palm and onto the floor as everyone stared at her but the woman didn't look like she cared.

"Don't wanna be a fly around her." A guy, sitting next to Emma, said but the woman didn't looked amused by his remark. The woman then leaned forward in her seat as if she was daring any one of them to say anything to her. As the woman looked around the room, she gave Emma a look of disbelief as if she couldn't believe she was there. Probably because not many fifteen, almost sixteen, year olds went to anger management classes. Emma especially didn't look like she really belonged there with her stylish clothing that she had bought, using Tony's credit card. Emma didn't like the woman staring at her so she sneered at her and the woman looked away, not looking that bothered by Emma's attitude. Great, she couldn't scare people as the Viper Assassin and she still couldn't even scare people as Emma Rogers. At least Betty Brant was scared of her. That was something.

"As I was saying…." The leader of the group started to say. His name was apparently Richard and he had been very confused as to why Emma was there but hadn't said anything as he welcomed her into the group last week. Emma really didn't like him because he was a wife beater. She knew she wasn't supposed to judge her fellow support group members but she did. Emma knew she was going to hell someday but she also knew there was a special place in hell for men who beat their wives to feel superior.

"Anything could set me off." Richard said as he stood up from his seat with the small pink ball in his hands. Emma wanted to roll her eyes. Like bouncing a ball was supposed to make them feel better. This was why she thought therapy was a waste of time. He then began to bounce the ball and Emma wished that she was back to crime fighting with Peter. That's what he was doing right now while she was stuck here with these pathetic losers and Emma wanted so badly to be back with him, beating up losers like these. Losers who probably were in and out of prison.

"Her voice. Her blouse. My blood would boil. Things got blurry but not blurry enough to keep me from punching her over and over again." Richard told them as he continued to bounce the ball and Emma felt like it was hard to sit there and listen to this asshole talk about beating his wife…like they should feel bad for him and not her. Emma knew what it was like to get beaten every day for a large amount of time, simply because you were the weaker one so she found it very difficult to feel any sympathy for this man.

"I beat my wife for fifteen years…until she tried to kill herself." Emma raised an eyebrow at that. Kill herself? Why not kill him? If Emma was married to this asshole who beat her for fifteen years she'd make sure to kill him very slowly and very intimately. To make him feel every bit of pain that he ever caused her and when he begged for her to finally end his life, she'd continue torturing him until he gave up and let her do anything she wanted. Emma wasn't the sort of person you wanted to cross.

"That's when I finally reached out for help. I reached out for help every day of my life." Richard said as if he expected a round of applause for that story. God, Emma couldn't believe she had agreed to hang around people like this. However, before Emma could give anymore thought to the situation, the dark haired woman sighed heavily before speaking. Emma noticed that it was the first time the woman had spoken since arriving there that day. This was only Emma's second time at the therapy session but it must've been the woman's first time.

"Wow. Thanks for sharing." The woman said in a bored tone before pulling out a piece of paper from her back pocket. "Could you sign my court card?" Emma smirked in amusement. So she really didn't want to be there either. At least Emma wasn't the only one.

"At the end of the hour." Richard told her. The woman sighed again.

"It hasn't been an hour yet?" She questioned and Emma knew exactly how she felt. Listening to these people whine and complain was worse than going to high school with a bunch of idiots. The kids at school really annoyed Emma sometimes but at least she never fantasized about killing them like some of these people. Well, sometimes she fantasized about killing Flash and Betty but that was different.

"Try it, Jessica." Richard said as he held up the small little pink ball. "A benign external action to soothe internal strife." Emma wanted to snicker at the way the woman named Jessica rolled her eyes before leaning back in her seat. She seemed to be the only one that was as bored with this as Emma was. Emma kind of thought she might've even been okay with her. She thought a lot of adults were idiots but this one might've even been…cool.

"I'm just listening today." Jessica said sarcastically and the man then glanced at Emma who was another person that didn't say much during sessions. During their last session she had claimed to just be a listener but that wasn't going to pass for her second session too.

"How about you, Emma?" Richard asked her before tossing the ball to her. Emma didn't even try to catch it as she let it hit the wall behind her. She narrowed her eyes at the man who she nicknamed "Wife Beater".

"I don't play with toys. I'm not a child." Emma said coldly as everyone stared at her. Richard smiled at her, thinking that he had to be kinder and more approachable to her because she was a child who needed to be coddled. Emma hated people like that.

"Well, how about you just talk then. Tell me…when was the last time you got so angry that you did something you regretted?" Richard asked her softly and Emma crossed her arms. She just wanted to give this man something so he'd leave her alone and she could go back to sulking. She would've mentioned the incident where she had a Rumlow flashback and attacked her boyfriend who was also Spider-Man but there were some things that she just couldn't reveal about herself for obvious reasons. Emma sighed before responding.

"I threw my record player through the wall once." Emma finally said as some people watched her in surprise. Probably because she didn't look strong enough to throw a record player through a wall. "It went right through. I was really pissed at my…guardian at the time. He's a real pain in the ass."

"Yeah, right." Jessica said bluntly as she gave Emma another look of disbelief. "You don't look like you could pick up your own backpack, kid." Emma just smirked at her.

"I'm stronger than I look." Emma said vaguely and Richard gave Jessica a pointed look.

"Let's just _listen,_ shall we?" Richard said although it was clear he was talking to Jessica who just rolled her eyes again before relaxing in her seat. The tan skinned man then turned back to Emma. "And how did you feel after you did that?" He asked very sympathetically and Emma shrugged.

"Sad, I guess." She admitted and he nodded.

"Sad because you let yourself be so overcome with anger that you could've hurt someone…including yourself?" He suggested and Emma gave him a look of disbelief before scoffing.

"What? No!" She said in an annoyed tone. "I broke my record player and not to mention one of my favorite Alice Cooper records. I had to go out and buy a new one." Everyone just stared at the blonde in surprise except for Jessica who just looked amused by the teenager. Maybe everyone in this session wasn't completely hopeless, Jessica thought to herself.

"You were sad because you broke your record player?" Richard asked slowly and Emma nodded.

"Yeah and don't forget the Alice Cooper record. It was completely my guardian's fault. He was the one who pissed me off." Emma said accusingly and the man just shook his head at her.

"So you're blaming others for your problems?" Richard said, trying to make Emma see that she was in the wrong.

"Pretty much." Emma said, not sounding like she cared either way.

"You can't keep doing that, Emma, because then you'll never be able to fix yourself and all your problems. Blaming others is not the solution." Richard told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, this is who I am. My guardian and I have since made amends but we both know that I'm a selfish bitch and he's an annoying asshole so why we should we try to fix each other? He's always going to be an asshole and I've accepted that. I'm always going to be a bitch and he's accepted that too although I can't understand why he's making me go to something as stupid and useless as this support group." Emma ranted at Richard who stared at her in astonishment.

The other people shifted uncomfortably in their seats, not understanding how a teenage girl could be that bitter. Even Jessica was uncomfortable but not for the same reasons as the others. She was uncomfortable because Emma sounded like her when she was that age…or maybe she sounded like how Jessica was even now. Richard awkwardly cleared his throat before looking at the man, sitting next to Jessica, who was wearing a tank top that displayed all his tattoos.

"Gary?" Richard asked as he threw another pink ball, a different one than the one he had thrown at Emma, at Gary who got up from the seat with a sigh. Emma guessed that Richard probably had a few of those stupid bouncy balls in his pocket. Gary started to toss the ball at the wall as he began to tell them his life story.

"Every time my dad ran out of meth, he'd take it out on me." Emma rolled her eyes. Oh great, another story about how someone's dad was a meth head. That was a fairytale compared to her childhood. She was raised in a base by men who were basically Nazis and men who beat and tortured her on a daily basis. Emma would've loved to have a meth head dad if it meant not having to see Rumlow's ugly face every day. Sure, she had her father for all that time too but he was frozen in the Cyro-Chamber for a lot of her childhood. "I'd take it out on my brother."

Emma didn't know how long she had been sitting there but it felt like hours as she listened to everyone talk about their sob stories and how sad their lives were. Why couldn't they just get a grip? Everyone's life was sad and miserable but that didn't make them very special. It was only when the last guy passed the ball to Jessica that Emma became interested. The dark haired woman appeared as bored as Emma had been during all this which fascinated her. The mysteriousness of this Jessica woman was intriguing to Emma. She didn't know if it was because this whole meeting bored her to death or if it was because Jessica was truly interesting.

"Nothing will shock us here. We're all the same." Richard told Jessica as they all stared at her. Emma wanted to snort at that. Somehow she didn't think these people had a super soldier serum running through their veins which also probably heightened any emotions Emma had which, of course, included anger. Yeah, Emma didn't have anything in common with these people.

"I doubt that." Jessica said doubtfully and Emma couldn't help but agree with her.

"Does your anger alienate the people around you?" He said as he started rapidly shooting off questions. "Has it affected your work? Filled you with shame? Afraid you're not in control of her your life?" Emma didn't like how most of the those questions could be applied to her. She didn't like the feeling at all. Jessica looked around the room, not seeming like she really wanted to do this before finally getting up from her seat reluctantly. Emma watched as Jessica faced the wall, pink ball in hand, as she mentally prepared herself to start talking.

"My whole family was killed in a car accident." Jessica finally stated as she began bouncing the ball against the wall. Emma held little sympathy for the other people in the room but losing your family…well, Emma knew what that was like.

"Someone did horrific experiments on me." Jessica said and Emma looked up at her in surprise. Wait…what? Experiments? Suddenly Emma found Jessica even more interesting than before.

"I was abducted, raped, and forced to kill someone." Jessica said as she began to hit the ball harder against the wall. Emma flinched when she heard that word…Rape. She never liked the word because it only made her feel weaker…like she was a helpless victim. She still couldn't help but stare at Jessica in shock because it felt like Jessica was telling them Emma's life story instead of her own. Hydra had killed her parents and taken her from everything she ever knew. They tainted her innocence by forcing her to kill and by letting Rumlow take the little innocence she had left. Emma wanted to know just who this Jessica woman was. Could she be like her? Someone with enhanced abilities perhaps?

"And now some maniac says that I'm here for a reason…like some sick destiny." Jessica said bitterly and Emma recalled the things Volkov told her that night he killed himself. She remembered the things Rumlow and Pierce used to tell her too. How she was going to serve a greater purpose for Hydra…that she was going to be their champion. This was all becoming a little too real for Emma because she never imagined there could've been someone who was treated the same way she was. She then wondered if this woman might've been experimented on by Hydra. It was entirely possible. The twins had been experimented on by Hydra and Emma had never even crossed paths with them. Hydra had been very big and wide spreading back then.

"She's out killing people and I'm in here bouncing a goddamn ball!" Emma watched as Jessica began to bounce the ball even harder against the wall and it started cracking the surface of the wall. The others watched in horror as the ball finally broke into a hundred pieces but Emma only watched in awe, a delighted smirk on her face. Yes, this was very interesting.

Everyone was silent for a moment as Jessica slowly walked over to Richard who shrank back into his seat out of fright. Emma gave him a smug look. He wasn't so brave and angry when he was faced with someone who could beat the shit out of him just like he beat his wife. Served him right in Emma's opinion. Jessica handed the court paper to Richard who fumbled for a pen before quickly signing it. What a coward. Jessica then snatched the piece of paper from him and walked back to her seat to get her leather jacket. She spared them all one last look before putting her jacket back on and heading for the door.

"Sorry about the ball." Jessica said before leaving the room and Emma could only watch in wonder. So apparently Emma wasn't the only person who was stronger than they looked. Emma decided right then and there that she liked Jessica which was strange because Emma didn't like a lot of people. Richard awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, um…maybe we should-" Richard started to say but Emma interrupted him.

"Who was she?" Emma asked him with a stoic expression on her face. Richard and everyone else just stared at her.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Her name. What is it?" Emma asked him in a dull tone.

"Jessica Jones. I don't get what you're-" He started to say but stopped when Emma got up from her seat, her backpack in hand. She started to head for the door, knowing that she was never going to survive another session of sitting there for an hour and listening to these pathetic morons. Tony would just have to deal with it and besides…Emma just found something much more interesting to occupy her time with.

"Where are you going?" Richard demanded and Emma paused, looking back at all the others with a smirk on her face.

"I'm leaving." She told them, looking very smug as she did so. "I was right. This is a waste of time. None of you people are ever going to change no matter how many times you listen to each other's sob stories. You're all equally terrible." Richard laughed nervously.

"Emma, I don't understand-" Emma interrupted him again but she was no longer smirking at him. The blonde was coldly glaring at him.

"You're a wife beater, Richard, and wife beaters never change." Emma said angrily to him. "You can keep playing team leader to make yourself feel good about yourself. You can even try to be better for your wife too but in a few months time a guy will look at her the wrong way and you'll go right back to beating her. Once a wife beater, always a wife beater." Emma could tell she was really pushing his buttons but she didn't care. She didn't care that he proudly proclaimed himself as a changed man. Emma knew better and she knew that he was just as bad as Rumlow deep down. He preyed on the weak and vulnerable. Emma had very little sympathy for men like that. He might've said he felt bad but it was only because he almost lost his victim to suicide. Men like that couldn't live with themselves if they didn't have someone to control.

"Miss Lewis, calm down." Richard said as he gritted his teeth, looking like he was the one that needed to calm down instead of her. His face was starting to get red and Emma was beginning to think he might snap. She really hoped he did because Emma would love nothing more than to beat the shit out of him.

"You're pathetic. You think I'm going to let some wife beating asshole tell me how to live my life?" Emma said cruelly and the man gave her a scathing look.

"And if you're so smart, young lady, what would you have us do? Huh? How would you make my anger go away?" Richard questioned bitterly and Emma just looked at him coldly.

"Maybe _you_ should kill yourself." She said, her voice void of all emotion and the man stared up at her in surprise. Everyone else stared at the teenage girl too. That wasn't something a normal person said but the girl didn't look like she was sorry either way.

"What?" Richard questioned as if he misheard her.

"You heard me. Do your wife and the world a favor." Emma said before giving the group one last fake smile. "I guess this means I'm officially out of the group. I can't say it was nice knowing you." Everyone watched as the blonde finally left the room. All of them wondering if perhaps Emma Lewis and Jessica Jones were in some way related.

* * *

"I didn't know you had a laptop." Peter said as he plopped down on her bed, right next to Emma who was furiously typing away on her keyboard with a determined look on her face. Emma barely spared him a glance as she remained focused on the screen.

"I didn't." Emma answered as she continued to pay avid attention to the screen. "I bought it with Stark's credit card after the meeting." Peter raised an eyebrow, surprised that she was already typing away at a new laptop that she had probably bought less than two hours before.

"And you didn't need any help setting up? You know I'm good with computers, Emma. You could've asked me for help if you needed it." Peter told her, sounding like his ego was very bruised. Emma looked at him somewhat suspiciously because she wondered if this was going to be one of those times that Peter was annoyed with her for a reason that was beyond her understanding. Sometimes Peter really confused her.

"Why would I do that when I could do it myself?" Emma asked him as she returned her gaze back to the computer. Peter frowned.

"I don't know…" Peter trailed off but she could tell by his tone that he was bothered by this for some reason. She sighed before looking at him again. Something was definitely bothering him.

"Are you mad about something, Peter?" Emma asked him. "Because if you are then you're going to have to tell me. I don't know when I do things wrong."

"I know you think I can't do anything right." Peter said without looking her in the eyes and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What?" She questioned and Peter shrugged.

"You always do things yourself and you don't really let me help you sometimes so I-" Peter said nervously and Emma interrupted but she didn't look angry. She might've even been a bit amused.

"So this is about your male ego? You're annoyed because I don't let you act like a man and do things for me." Emma said, sounding a bit disbelieving and Peter blushed.

"It sounds stupid when you say it like that but I can help you. You don't have to do everything yourself all the time." Peter told her seriously and Emma just stared at him before smirking.

"You're real cute, Parker." Emma told him and Peter huffed, pretending to be angry with her.

"I'm not cute. I'm…I'm a man." Peter tried saying but he was still cute to her. He could act all tough and grown up but Peter was still the cute teenage boy that sat next to her in history class. Emma wouldn't have it any other way.

"Peter, if I wanted a man I would've gone after someone like Thor or someone as equally revolting. I'm not interested in men…I'm interested in you." Emma told him but Peter didn't feel that much better. Her telling him that she didn't see him as a man was disconcerting. He knew Emma didn't mean it in a bad way but his ego was still hurt. Emma just laughed as she set the laptop aside and immediately wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, hugging him from behind and nestling her face in his neck. Peter felt his heart race due to her closeness, forgetting about her previous comments about his masculinity.

"I'm sorry for making you feel so grumpy. My poor little Parker." Emma whispered in a flirtatious tone before she softly kissed his neck. Peter swallowed hard, not knowing what to do with himself. Her kisses were soft and gentle taking Peter by surprise since Emma had never done something like that before. She led a trail of kisses down his neck and Peter trembled under her touch.

"That's um…that's okay." Peter said and Emma smiled at the way his voice nearly broke as he spoke. She then pressed up against him more and Peter felt like his heart might pop out of his chest. The kissing became more intense when he felt her start to nip at a spot on his neck. He moaned at the sensation, instantly feeling the blood flowing…down there.

This wasn't the first time Peter had felt this way when he was with Emma but usually she never kissed him on his neck before. This was different. Peter felt incredibly flushed as she continued to nip at his neck and he knew that he had an erection. Between Emma kissing him and her pressing up against him, everything was just too much for him. Peter knew this time thinking about Tony naked or the plane crashing on Coney Island wasn't going to cut it. His mind was stuck on what Emma was doing to him.

"Emma…" Peter trailed off, trying to get her to stop but not really wanting her to stop at the same time. She just hummed as she continued to kiss his neck.

"Emma." He said again a little more strongly but she still didn't leave him be. It wasn't until he felt the tip of her tongue against that spot on his neck that Peter found enough strength within himself to push her away. He moved away from her, his breathing heavy and his heart pounding against his chest but he could still feel himself straining against his jeans. Emma laughed, her laughter sounding more girlish than usual and Peter tried to hide from her.

"Come on, Peter. It couldn't have been that bad. You seemed to like it." Emma said as she tried moving over to him but Peter scooted away, desperately wishing for a pillow or anything to hide it from her.

"Just don't, Emma." Peter told her firmly and the smile faded from her face. She frowned when she noticed that he seemed more tense than usual. Did she do something wrong? She thought Peter would enjoy the neck kissing but maybe she had been wrong. Maybe boys didn't like that kind of thing. It's not like Emma would know either way.

"Did you not like it?" Emma asked him, sounding a bit hurt but Peter shook hid head furiously with his back still turned to her.

"No, Emma. I enjoyed it but…" Peter tried to convince her, not wanting to hurt her feelings because truthfully he did enjoy it. Maybe he even enjoyed it a little too much.

"But what?" Emma asked in confusion but that was when she got close enough to see what was really bothering Peter. She noticed that Peter had seemed rather tense but she hadn't known why. Well, Emma supposed she knew why now. It was painfully obvious to her as she sat next to him.

"Oh…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He blushed in embarrassment and turned away from her again.

"Sorry." He apologized and Emma wasn't sure how she felt. She didn't really have much experience with this kind of thing since everything she knew about sex unfortunately came from Rumlow and Emma really didn't want to compare that to this right now. Emma knew that sometimes things between her and Peter got intense but never so much that he got that…well, that excited. She supposed she should've expected it sooner or later since Peter was a hormonal teenage boy. He wasn't alone with that kind of desire either because Emma knew she felt those kinds of feelings for him as well. A part of her felt sick or guilty for having those thoughts considering everything that happened to her. Sex should be the last thing on her mind but sometimes she couldn't help it.

"It's okay." Emma said quietly after a moment, sitting away from him so he could take some time to cool down.

"No, it's not." Peter told her as he avoided eye contact with her. "It's not…right."

"Peter, it's not exactly something you can control." Emma told him seriously. She wanted him to see that he didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. "I probably went further than I should've and you shouldn't be embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I totally get it." Peter gave her a hopeful look.

"You mean you're not grossed out or anything?" Peter asked her and Emma immediately shook her head.

"Of course not. I mean you just got…excited. That's all." Emma said, dismissing the entire thing but he still blushed from the way she worded it. He supposed there was no easy way to talk about what happened. As uncomfortable as he was about the conversation, he still couldn't prepare himself for what Emma said next. "You don't want…you don't want to do that any time soon, do you?" Peter gave her a confused look.

"Want what?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged, looking uncomfortable which wasn't a normal thing for her. She was never uncomfortable with anything.

"You know…sex." Emma clarified and Peter's eyes immediately widened as he blushed again. Truthfully, this was something Emma had been curious about for a while. She wanted to know when Peter wanted to have sex so she'd at least have some time to prepare herself for it. The idea of having sex and it triggering a flashback scared her but she knew that was just something she'd have to get over eventually. If Peter wanted to have sex then she was just going to have to find a way to be okay with it. Peter had done so much for her already and she wanted to give him everything he wanted because he deserved it.

Sex wasn't supposed to be that big of a deal anyways. The other people she knew never seemed to think it was a big deal. Tony, Thor, Sam, and Darcy talked about sex all the time even though Steve used to scold them for talking about that with her in the room. They made it seem like it was fun and enjoyable. They didn't talk about it like it was anything to be afraid of or like any part of it was disgusting. The way they described sex was completely different from what she remembered happening with Rumlow. Emma knew that she was probably making a bigger deal out of it than she should. She had already lost her virginity years ago and at least this way she'd be consenting for the first time in her life. It wasn't like Emma wasn't attracted to Peter or anything because she was. She knew she wanted him that way but she just needed to ignore the stupid irrational fear she had of sex. Emma was almost sixteen for crying aloud. She wasn't the weak, sniveling thirteen year old girl she used to be.

"W-why are y-you asking me t-that?" Peter stuttered as he looked at her in shock. Emma pretended like it wasn't a big deal but deep down she was curious to know what he wanted.

"I don't know. I figure that most couples usually have a three date rule before they have sex and we've been out on more than three dates so I just thought you might've been expecting something." Emma tried to tell him but he gave her an incredulous look.

"I don't expect anything." Peter told her firmly and Emma looked doubtful.

"Really? You're telling me you never think about sex?" Emma asked and Peter blushed again.

"I mean…I think about it sometimes but I don't think we're ready for it." Peter told her, still embarrassed to be talking about sex and especially with Emma. Sure, he thought about sex with Emma but that didn't mean he wanted to have it right now. They hadn't been dating that long and they were already moving so fast. Peter didn't think having sex right now was a good idea for them. Not to mention Tony would probably kill him.

"Why not?" Emma questioned, not understanding what he meant by that. He didn't want to have sex? Isn't that what all boys wanted?

"We haven't been dating that long, Emma, and that three date rule thing is for adults. We're only sixteen and I think we should wait." Peter told her and Emma just stared at him in astonishment.

"For how long?" Emma asked, her tone almost curious and Peter shrugged.

"I don't know…whenever we're both ready." He told her and Emma nodded slowly. She was starting to get what he was saying. He was saying that whenever he was ready that would be when they had sex. Emma just wondered how long that would be. She didn't know if she could be comfortable enough to have sex in one month. Maybe two months...or three. Emma wasn't sure but she didn't want to make Peter wait forever. He deserved better than that.

"Well, I'm ready whenever you're ready." Emma told him but that didn't seem to bode well for Peter. He looked slightly bewildered by what she just said as he stared at her for a moment. It took a while before he could find it in himself to speak. He had calmed down significantly from earlier, his thoughts on something else entirely. Peter reached over and placed his hands over Emma's hands.

"That's not how it works, Emma. You're not ready just because I am." He told her seriously and she looked at him in surprise. "You're ready when you say you're ready. Not a moment sooner."

"It'll be special too. Our first time, I mean…I promise." Peter said as he blushed, shyly looking away from her as she continued to stare at him. A million thoughts were racing through her mind as she looked at him. She was perplexed by the fact that he didn't want anything from her…that he didn't have any expectations. Emma practically told him that they could have sex whenever he wanted but he refused. She realized that she was right before. Emma would never understand him.

"Thank you." Emma said softly and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What for?" He asked her and Emma just shook her head as she grabbed her laptop and started typing away again.

"Nothing." Emma said quietly and Peter looked at her curiously, wondering why she had thanked him. It wasn't like he had done anything that warranted a thank you. He just told her that they should wait a while before they had sex. Peter cleared his throat as he scooted closer to where Emma was sitting.

"So uh…how did the meeting go today?" Peter asked her as he changed the subject. Emma shrugged as she continued to google something on her computer.

"It went fine, I guess. Boring as usual." Emma told him before mentioning something as nonchalantly as she could. "Oh and I also got kicked out." Peter's eyes widened in surprise.

"You what?!" He exclaimed. Their previous conversation was quickly forgotten as he stared at her in shock. "Emma, you've only been to two meetings. How do you get kicked out of an anger management support group after just two sessions?"

"It was stupid anyways. All that those idiots did for an hour was cry about their sad lives while bouncing a pink ball." Emma said bitterly before continuing. "Besides…the guy in charge was the worst person you'll ever meet. Did you know he beat his wife for fifteen years?"

"What?" Peter questioned as a horrified look came over his face and Emma nodded.

"Yeah. He only stopped when she tried killing herself." Emma elaborated before further defending her own actions. "And I'm supposed to take advice from a guy like that? A guy who belongs in a prison cell rather than sitting around in a circle and preaching about life. I know I'm not a saint but he's something different than me. Assassins are bad in their own right but preying on the defenseless…someone you're supposed to love…that's something else. That's something far more evil."

Peter just stared at Emma after her rant, analyzing the expression on her face to try and determine what was bothering her. He loved her but she had been acting weird lately. Weird even for Emma. He knew, despite his wishes, that she still wasn't getting much sleep and she had been very jumpy since the other night. There were even sometimes that he'd catching her staring off into space with a haunted look on her face. It was like she was seeing something that was there but something that Peter couldn't see. She would always tell him that she was fine but he knew her. Something was bothering her but he just wished that she would tell him…that she would confide in him.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe you shouldn't be going to meetings and especially with a guy like that." Peter finally relented before continuing. "I still think you should talk to someone though. Maybe Vision. Vision seems like a good listener." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Vision is an idiot. He'd probably tell me to go buy a stress ball or something." Emma said cynically.

"Tony said that you used to talk to Dr. Banner sometimes." Peter said but Emma just shook her head.

"That was different. Bruce talked to me about ways of suppressing anger. We didn't braid each other's hair or anything. He just taught me a bunch of breathing exercises he probably got from a book on Buddhism. That guy was a total hippie." Emma said but Peter didn't look like he understood.

"Suppressing anger? Emma, I know you're at times more cynical than other people but you're not an angry person." Peter told her, still sounding confused. Emma sighed.

"It's not just suppressing anger, Peter. It's suppressing a lot of emotions." Emma started to say but she still didn't ease Peter's confusion over the matter. "Bruce discovered, after I let him run a couple tests, that I had much more brain activity in my temporal lobe than the average human. My emotions run incredibly high which is one of the side effects of the serum, I guess. My father and I are more temperamental than most people."

"I don't understand." Peter told her and Emma just shrugged.

"I don't know. Bruce used a bunch of scientific terms but he said that I feel things more than regular people do and he was pretty positive my father's the same way. Steve was lucky, I guess, because his serum was much different than ours. Maybe the reason I didn't end up like the others was because I still had some of his serum left over in me." Emma explained but even she seemed like she didn't completely understand that part of herself.

"The others?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"The other assassins before me. They were part of the Winter Soldier program just like my father and I were although they happened years after my father. I wasn't even born yet when they were around." Emma told him as she relayed everything Steve, Sam, and her father had told her before the airport fight. "My father's serum was different than mine. His serum was created by some whackjob henchmen of the Red Skull during World War II. My serum came from the same place as the other assassins' serum did. Howard Stark."

"Howard Stark?" Peter asked in surprise. "Howard Stark as in Tony's father?"

"Why do you think Tony's parents died?" Emma asked him rhetorically before continuing. "My father had to retrieve it from them." Peter's eyes widened when he realized what that meant. He just couldn't believe that Emma's father had actually…done that but then again everything made so much sense now. Why Tony and Emma had been so mad at each other before. Why they fought all the time and why Tony might've even avoided her. This was what they had been angry over each other about. It had always gone back to Emma's father…The Winter Soldier.

"Your father killed his parents?" Peter asked her and Emma looked down at her laptop sadly but nodded.

"It was way before I was born but yes." Emma said and she did feel bad for Tony. She felt bad that he lost his parents but her father hadn't been himself. If people saw what Hydra had done to him then they'd be more understanding. At least her father had been brainwashed when he killed all those people. Emma hadn't needed to be brainwashed. "It seems like Tony's father was more like him than he's willing to admit. Always messing with things he didn't understand so he could make the world a better place. Someone ratted him out to Hydra and so Hydra took the serum to make their own squad of assassin super soldiers."

"That's why you and Tony were mad at each other." Peter murmured and Emma looked back at him.

"He tried to kill my father, Peter. I understood why but he's still my father. My father couldn't do anything that would make me hate him. We were all each other had in that base. He's killed for me and I've killed for him. There's nothing more sacred than that." Emma told Peter, her eyes filled with tears at the memories of her father and her when they were in Hydra together. "Tony and I didn't see eye to eye for a long time but we've made amends. After what happened with Toomes, he decided to forgive my father and I've decided to forgive him. It's all in the past now. I don't think my father and him are going to watch football games together but he doesn't blame him for what happened and that's enough for me."

"What happened to the other super soldiers?" Peter asked curiously since he knew from the look on her face that it was hard for her to talk about her father. He knew just how much she missed her father. Sometimes when she was asleep she would call out for him and Peter wished that he could somehow be able to give her what she wanted…to give her father and grandfather back to her.

"They were already Hydra's most elite team of assassins. They had killed more than my father and I put together. So Hydra decided to inject them with Howard Stark's serum." Emma explained to Peter as she recollected what her father had told her. "They were a lot stronger than my father but unfortunately they couldn't psychologically accept the serum very well."

"What does that mean?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed.

"It means that they went insane. Hydra couldn't control them and even my father was no match for them. Even just one of them was stronger than my father so how could he control all six of them?" Emma said as she continued to relay some of the events of what happened at Hydra to Peter. Peter listened to her closely because it wasn't often that she talked about what happened at Hydra. "Hydra put them all in the Cyro-Chamber until they could figure out how to control them better…to make them as obedient as my father. The only thing is...they never could figure out a way to control them so when I came around they injected me with the last serum they had."

"I think that's why they injected me with it when I was so young. They knew that my emotions were heightened so if they could start training me to suppress them while I was still young then I wouldn't go insane like the others did." Emma said quietly as she remembered her time in Hydra after the injections. "It was tough at first. I had the normal tantrums of a child but everything was heightened because of the serum including my anger. I stabbed Karpov once with a knife once and I also beat the shit out of Strucker. Not to mention the time I bit a chunk out of my father's arm…his real one. I think he still has the scar from that. I guess maybe there's some things we can't heal from." Emma only paused briefly before continuing.

"So that's why they beat me and tortured me so often. They were trying to get me to suppress the emotions until I didn't have any left…or until I found a way to pretend that I didn't." Emma confessed, looking troubled as she explained this. "Bruce tried pacifist methods because he's all love and no war but if anything it still stresses me out. He tried to help me because he thought we were alike on some level but we're not. He only gets that way when he's angry and truthfully I'm like this all the time. I'm just trying to focus on feeling everything like a regular person instead of like a crazy person."

"I had no idea, Emma. I'm so sorry." Peter told her with a sympathetic expression on his face. "Is it just anger?" Emma shook her head.

"No, it's sadness, fear, love, happiness…jealousy." Emma said, trying to avoid eye contact when she said the last one. Emma hadn't really felt jealousy before she met Peter. She never had anything to feel jealous over but she knew she felt it more intensely than a normal person so it could be dangerous to some extent. Steve and her father were always hers so she never had any reason to be jealous or have a fear of someone stealing them from her. Emma knew that she had grown attached to Peter just like she was attached to her father and Steve. The only difference was that Peter could walk away from her whenever he wanted to because the relationship they shared wasn't familial. If he really wanted, he could just leave and never look back which scared her.

"Well, some of those things can be good…like love and happiness, right?" Peter asked, trying to get her to see the bright side of all of this but Emma didn't seem reassured.

"No, it just makes me more attached to people. It's why it feels like I have this huge hole inside me since Steve and my father left." Emma then slowly looked up at him. "It's why you scare me."

"Why would I scare you, Emma?" Peter asked in confusion. "I love you." Emma just shook her head.

"I'm scared because I'm afraid that I love you more than you love me. It already hurts a lot now that Steve and my father are gone. I don't know how much it'll hurt when you leave too." Emma finally admitted and Peter determinedly set her laptop aside before putting his hands on either side of her, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not going to leave you, Emma. I wouldn't do that to you." He told her honestly, his warm brown eyes causing her to feel breathless as usual. "You're stuck with me." They fell into a short moment of silence after that, both of them relaxing somewhat, before Peter finally spoke again.

"It's actually funny that you say that you're afraid of me leaving." Peter confessed, a sad smile on his face. "I've actually always been afraid of _you_ leaving _me_." Emma stared at him, mystified by what he just told her.

"I was going to leave." Emma said quietly and Peter stared at her in shock before his expression morphed into one of hurt. Emma hurried to explain herself before she hurt him too much. "It was after we had that fight after the thing with the ferry. I realized that I had feelings for you and it scared me because I had never felt that way about anyone before. I was always taught that love was a weakness and I was afraid that if I stayed here with you, you'd make me weak."

"I was going to run away to find Steve and my father because I knew if I stayed here any longer then I'd inevitably fall in love with you." Emma said as she told him something she had never told anyone before. Not even Darcy knew that she had planned to run away all those months ago. "I was afraid that you'd hurt me if I stayed so that's why I wanted to run…so my feelings for you wouldn't consume me. In the end, I was just too selfish to stay away from you anyways. It was too late by then. I was already in love with you."

"I'd never hurt you, Emma." Peter told her and Emma sighed sadly.

"But you could if you wanted and sometimes that scares me." Emma said honestly and Peter leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. The kiss was lingering but he pulled away after a short moment. She could tell that it wasn't a passionate kiss but one full of promise. He looked her in the eyes, warm brown meeting ocean blue.

"I'll never hurt you. I promise." Peter said again and this time she believed him. The expression on his face then softened as he looked into those beautiful eyes of hers. "Just promise me that you'll never leave me either. I know what I'm asking of you. You could be out there looking for your father and grandfather and you could even be happy with them. I know that but you wouldn't be here with me. It's selfish, I know, but I need you, Emma." Emma just smiled softly at him because she knew that he really did love her the same way she loved him. They weren't unequal when it came to that. Emma immediately embraced Peter, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. She could feel him pull his arms just as tightly around her as they held each other.

"I love my father and Steve, Peter, but I wouldn't be happier with them either because you wouldn't be there. It's very selfish but I want all three of you with me." Emma told him quietly as she relaxed in his arms. "I won't ever leave you. Steve and my father will come back for me one day but I'll make them stay here somehow so that we can still be together. They'll understand."

"Okay." Peter said softly as he then pulled back, satisfied with the promise Emma had made him just like how Emma was satisfied with the promise he had made her. Today had been a day for them to talk through their feelings which made Peter feel like they had made a lot of progress. He wasn't blind. He knew Emma wasn't the easiest person to talk to about certain things but he was glad that she had revealed a lot to him…that she had even confided in him. "You don't have to go to those meetings anymore if you don't want to." Peter said suddenly and Emma looked at him, a bit surprised with his statement.

"What?" She questioned and Peter shrugged.

"I know it's hard for you to talk about yourself even with people you know so I don't think Tony's right in thinking you should be talking about yourself with strangers. They won't understand you and I don't want you around men like the one you told me about." Peter elaborated and Emma just sat there in silence. "I'll tell Tony that you're still going."

"You'd lie for me?" Emma asked him in bewilderment. The truth was that she really was bewildered because Peter never lied. It just wasn't in him to lie and to lie to Tony no less. She knew how much Peter looked up to Tony. She even thought that Peter looked at Tony like a father.

"He's wrong about you. Going to therapy sessions won't help you. You need to talk to people you can trust." Peter told her sincerely as his gaze softened. "You can talk to me, Emma. You know that, right? I'll never judge or think any differently of you."

Emma looked down at her lap. She had a lot to consider. Right then could've been the opportune time to tell him everything about Rumlow but she just couldn't. She just needed a little more time is all. She just needed to talk to someone who understood what it was like but that person wasn't Peter. Emma had to talk to someone who could maybe give her advice on how to tell Peter the things she needed to tell him. The only thing was that Emma was certain that she might've found that person today. She just needed to determine if that person could help her in the way she thought they could. Emma needed to know more about that person.

"I know." Emma said quietly and Peter smiled.

"Good." He said, grateful that she had agreed to talk to him if she needed to. Peter just wanted Emma to know that she didn't need to hide anything from him if she was scared of scaring him. In Peter's eyes, Emma could do no wrong. It was then that something suddenly occurred to him. Tomorrow was a very important day after all. "Oh, I almost forgot." Emma gave him a confused look as he picked up his backpack from the floor and brought it to the bed with them.

"It's your birthday tomorrow." Peter stated as he started to unzip his bag. Emma groaned in annoyance because she had honestly been hoping he'd forgotten about that.

"Are you still on about that?" Emma questioned bitterly but Peter just gave her a goofy smile. It was clear that their moment before had ended.

"Of course I am. I'm your boyfriend, after all." Peter told her right as he pulled some kind of stuffed animal out of his backpack. Emma stared at the thing in bewilderment until she got a better look at it. That's when she realized what it was. It was Spirit. The same stuffed horse she had when she was little. It looked just like the one her father, her biological one, had gotten her all those years ago. The same mane of black hair and the same tanned fur color.

"I remembered what you said that one time about the stuffed animal you had when you were little…the one from the movie you said you used to watch. It's probably not the same one but I thought you'd like it." Peter nervously explained but stopped when he saw the unreadable expression on her face. He frowned. "Oh no…this was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

Emma stopped staring at the horse as she looked back up at Peter who seemed worry. Truthfully, it wasn't a bad idea because she was reminded of all the good times before her parents died. She remembered taking the horse with her everywhere…to the county fair, to the grocery store, and to the playground. She even remembered her parents tucking her in every night with Spirit safely nestled beside her. For once, Emma wasn't reminded of all the bad things. She smiled at Peter as she shook her head, taking the horse from his hands.

"Not at all. I just wasn't expecting it…I also wasn't expecting you to remember." Emma said because she honestly hadn't expected him to of remembered any of that. She had remembered telling him about the horse and where she lived before Hydra but that was a while ago. Peter just smiled back at her.

"I remember everything you say." Peter told her, relieved that she didn't seem to hate the horse. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." Emma told him honestly and not just because she loved the present either. It was because he cared enough about her to listen. "Thank you."

The blonde then leaned down to kiss her boyfriend's cheek, causing him to blush a vibrant shade of red as he acted like it was nothing. Secretly he was very proud of how much Emma seemed to love his present. He had looked everywhere for the horse, after all, and only because he wanted to make her happy. Peter knew that she wanted her father and grandfather to be there for her birthday but he also knew that just wasn't possible so if he could make her happier then he would. Even though they wouldn't be here for her birthday, Peter was determined to make this birthday a happy one. She deserved that and more.

The young couple spent the rest of the time talking to each other as Emma affectionately ran her fingers through the stuffed horse's fake main of hair. They talked about things that held no important in superhero activities but rather held a lot of important in the teenage realm of things. They had an enthusiastic debate about Harry Potter and Star Wars. Emma claiming Harry Potter was a much better franchise than Star Wars and Peter who strongly disagreed. Still…Emma had more fun arguing with him about Harry Potter than she had fun doing anything else but it wasn't Harry Potter that made her feel that way. It was Peter.

Her laptop was left forgotten on the bed as she bickered with Peter. The information about a certain vigilante turned Defender left on the screen which Emma would resume researching a short time later. Jessica Jones would just have to wait…for now.

* * *

Emma's birthday was an interesting affair although she comforted herself by saying it wasn't as bad as she thought. Fortunately Peter had talked to Tony about keeping her birthday small so it was just a small gathering of people even though he was rather disappointed by that. The party was held at the compound and the only people Tony had invited to the compound that weren't occupants were Michelle, Ned, and May. Emma still had hoped that Steve and her father would appear magically but she knew it was impossible.

"Can I leave now?" Emma asked bitterly as she glared at the banner that read 'Sweet Sixteen' which Pepper and Susan had put up. Emma just couldn't believe Susan betrayed her. How dare she side with Tony on this stupid party? If Susan thought this was going to win her points with Steve then Emma was going to be sure to tell Steve how much his little girlfriend sucked when he came back.

"No, you can absolutely not. It's your birthday." Peter told her seriously and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I know. You never seem to let me forget that." Emma retorted as she then glared at the ugly looking birthday cake sitting on the table. It was disgusting because it was decorated with pink roses and pink frosting like everyone thought she was some frilly little five year old girl. At least Tony was playing one of the playlists from her iPod. She guessed that McConaughey was good for something, after all.

"Just try and be happy and I promise that we'll sneak away later when everyone's distracted." Peter promised and Emma smiled at him.

"You know me so well." She told him and he just kissed her on the forehead before pulling away. That's when they were approached by the most annoying person on the face of the planet. Tony Stark.

"I'm about to puke. You two are so sickeningly in love." Tony said jokingly as he smirked at the young couple. "Okay, I know all about the teenage hormones but can you guys just cool it? There's people here. Just keep your hands to yourself." Emma just sneered at him.

"Don't be a child, Tony." Emma told him but her bitter tone didn't seem to offend him. He just kept looking at them with that stupid look on his face.

"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you and Spiderling _should_ have a night of Spider Viper loving." Tony teased, causing Peter to blush and Emma to give him her famous death glare. "You might be less tense than you are now."

"I'm going to kill you, Stark." Emma hissed as she took a threatening step towards him but he just laughed as he backed away.

"Control your woman, kid. She's feisty." Tony told Peter, knowing fully well that he was pissing off Emma even more. He winced at the furious look on her face as he slowly started backing out of there. He knew he wouldn't live that much longer if he stayed. The billionaire then gave Peter a pointed look. "Just so you know, Parker, I was totally kidding about the sex thing. Any below the clothes touching is still off limits. I'll throw your skinny little ass off the roof of this place if I so much as see your hand anywhere near her boobs or ass." Tony then ran off quickly, not waiting around to face Emma's wrath. Emma glowered at the cowardly man who ran off to Vision for protection.

"I'm going to kill him one of these days. I really mean it." Emma grumbled and Peter just chuckled despite his embarrassment from Tony's earlier comment.

"No, you won't. Everyone knows you guys love each other." Peter said and Emma thought he was awfully confident to be saying that. He must've been confident that she loved him that much because if anyone else said that to her, she'd make them pay for it. She gave him a repulsed look.

"Don't be disgusting, Parker. The day I say I love Tony Stark is the day I start volunteering at an animal shelter." Emma told him but Peter didn't believe her.

"Come on, you like Tony. I know you do. If Loki was holding him captive in his evil lair I know you'd go and rescue him." Peter told her and Emma smirked almost evilly at him.

"Or maybe Loki and I would have some fun with him." Emma said in a mischievous tone but Peter just rolled his eyes. He knew her and he knew that she wouldn't let anything happen to Tony. She did love him in her own messed up way. Ned and Michelle then came running over, interrupting the couples' conversation about Tony Stark. Ned had a wide eyed look on his face while Michelle seemed just as bored as usual although she did seem to be vaguely curious about the compound.

"Peter, this place is so cool! I can't believe we just met Iron Man, War Machine, _and_ Vision." Ned said, completely in awe of everything and everyone at the facility. Emma just scoffed.

"So you've just met all the lame and boring Avengers. Big deal. It's like meeting the other band members in Fleetwood Mac when you really just wanted to meet Stevie and Lindsey." Emma said but Ned just ignored her.

"This is so cool! This is the place you and Emma go to every weekend?" Ned said excitedly as he continued to look around everywhere as if he had missed something the first time. "Tony Stark even congratulated me on hacking Stark Industries when I hacked in your guys' suits. What do you think that means? Do you think I might be his guy in the chair too?"

"He was just pretending to be nice to you, dumb ass." Michelle told him bluntly. "That's what rich people do."

"Well said." Emma said, deciding to put an end to that conversation before Michelle and Ned started arguing. Emma knew that her and Peter spent a lot of time together so now Ned and Michelle were spending more time together than usual. It soon became clear that sometimes Ned and Michelle's personalities clashed.

"Hey, Emma. Enjoying the party?" Said an amused sounding voice and Emma turned to look at the person who had approached them. She was surprised when she saw none other than Sharon Carter. Her cousin. The blonde smiled down at Emma.

"Sharon." Emma said in surprise and Sharon immediately embraced the teenage girl. They hadn't seen each other since October, after all. Emma stiffened but awkwardly patted her cousin's back. The other three watched them in confusion, not having any idea why Emma was actually letting this random woman hug her. They parted from each other with Emma still looking at Sharon in shock but Sharon just continued to smile at her.

"Tony flew me out here from London last night. You didn't think I'd miss your birthday, would you?" Sharon said before turning to look at the three other teenagers standing next to her baby cousin. "Who are your friends here?"

"Ned." Ned introduced as he smiled rather goofy at the attractive woman. Emma raised an eyebrow. Yeah right, Emma thought to herself. Keep dreaming, Ned.

"Michelle." The dark haired said begrudgingly and Emma didn't blame her. Her friend was very anti-social and hated meeting new people. Emma wasn't that different than her.

"I'm Emma's cousin…Sharon Carter." Sharon said as she politely introduced herself. Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he looked in between Emma and Sharon. Mostly because he hadn't had any idea that Emma had any family other than her father and grandfather. He supposed it made sense since her grandfather was only one part of the family. Her grandmother, according to Emma, had eventually moved on after her grandfather crashed that plane in World War II and had started a family of her own. It made complete sense that Emma must've had a lot of family but he just wished that she had told him.

"You're Emma's cousin?" Peter asked her incredulously and Sharon smiled at him but looked confused.

"Yes. Who are you?" She asked and Peter smiled at her. He was a bit annoyed that Emma never mentioned a cousin before but he was still excited to meet her family. Peter really wanted to meet her father and grandfather as well but meeting any part of her family would really be nice. He didn't think Emma and her cousin looked a lot alike. They both had blonde hair but Sharon's hair was more of a dirty blonde than Emma's hair which was a more golden shade of blonde. Emma's eyes were ocean blue while Sharon's were a kind brown. He couldn't see a lot of similarities between the two but they must've been distantly related, after all.

"I'm Peter…Emma's boyfriend." Peter told Sharon who smirked at him knowingly. She looked the teenage boy up and down, suddenly finding him interesting. He was really cute, she had to admit, but he wasn't really what Sharon pictured when she imagined Emma's boyfriend. Not that Sharon ever imagined that Emma would have a boyfriend in the first place. Emma had made it in clear in the past how much she thought boys were a waste of time. It was nice to see the teenage girl finally eating her own words.

"Right, I've heard about you. Susan mentioned that Emma had a boyfriend but I didn't believe her." Sharon told him, looking between him and Emma in amusement.

"Well, Emma hasn't mentioned much about you either." Peter said, giving Emma a pointed look but Emma didn't seem guilty. Sharon just didn't really come up in the conversation. Sharon didn't seem offended in the least as she laughed.

"I'm afraid Emma might be a little like Uncle Steven in that way." She admitted and Emma looked up at her with interest as did the others. She knew that Sharon mentioned staying with her and her parents when Emma was just a baby but she never mentioned anything else about Emma's mother or father. The blonde women then turned to her younger cousin, a soft smile on her face. "Whenever I badgered your father about his girlfriends, he'd always tell me to mind my own business. Something about private lives staying private. I don't think I met your mother until she and Uncle Steven were married and pregnant with you."

"Anyways…" Sharon trailed off as Emma processed that information about her parents. Peter also looked quite curious because this was Emma he was talking about. Emma who never liked sharing a ton of information but he could tell that she didn't know a whole lot about her parents. Emma didn't say anything even though she knew her cousin could probably tell her all about her parents. A part of Emma was scared to know…scared to feel their loss. It was better that Emma didn't know a lot about them. "I should probably go talk to Maria. We haven't seen each other in ages."

"See you around, kiddo." Sharon said teasingly as she ruffled Emma's hair and then left. The other stared in shock at Emma who didn't even glare after the tall blonde woman.

"You actually let her do that?" Ned asked in surprise and Emma shrugged.

"She's family. It's not like I can actually threaten her with death." Emma excused and Peter looked slightly annoyed with her.

"You never mentioned a cousin before." Peter accused and Emma sighed.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal. We only met a year ago so I don't even know her that well." Emma told him but Peter still looked disturbed at the thought that Emma had relatives running around the place that he didn't even know about. He wanted to know everything about her life including distant relatives.

"Well, do you have any other family members running around? Do you have a twin brother that I don't know about?" Peter questioned and Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Oh, no. Looks like it's another lover's quarrel. Prepare yourself, Ned." Michelle said sarcastically. Emma gave Michelle a scathing look before returning her gaze to Peter.

"Honestly…I have an aunt and uncle that live in England." Emma finally admitted and Peter looked at her in surprise. "They're my father's younger half siblings and they both have families of their own. I've never even met them and I'm pretty sure they think I'm dead so it's not like I'm ever going to see them." Peter looked immensely confused.

"Wait a minute…if the rest of your family thinks you're dead then why does Sharon know you're alive? Why is she even here at the compound?" Peter asked her and Emma sighed.

"Sharon's works for the CIA. She was around for the whole thing with my father and Zemo in Berlin." Emma told Peter as the rest of them looked at the blonde in surprise. "Before the CIA, she worked for Shield. That's how she knows Maria so well."

"Are you telling me that there's another badass in your family?" Ned asked in amazement. "Not only is there your grandparents, parents, you, and your adoptive father but there's also a badass cousin who works in the CIA?"

"How is she related you anyways? Is she one of your uncle or aunt's kids?" Michelle asked, ignoring Ned's weirdness. Emma shrugged.

"I think she's my great uncle Michael's granddaughter but I'm not sure." Emma said before giving them all an annoyed look. "I don't know. I'm not an expert on the Carter family tree. For all I know I might actually have a brother or sister running around. Tony said my biological father wasn't as saintly as my grandfather."

"Well, just tell me next time if I'm going to meet a family member of yours." Peter told her, not looking annoyed or mad anymore. "I'd like to be prepared if I'm about to meet your family."

"Why?" Emma asked, sounding confused and Peter blushed.

"I just want to make a good impression." Peter told her honestly and Emma just stared at him. "I want your family to like me." Michelle gave them both a disgusted look.

"You guys are so gross. Let's go, Ned…before I puke." Michelle told Ned as she dragged the teenage boy away, leaving Emma and Peter alone.

"I don't care if my family likes you or not. They don't decide who I date." Emma told him sincerely. "Besides…it's impossible to not like you, Peter. Steve will love you and I have to admit that was a little disconcerting to me at the beginning. Dating a guy Steve would like was the last thing I wanted to do." Peter gave her a touched look, knowing that she was joking about the last part.

"You really think your grandfather will like me?" Peter asked almost shyly and Emma smiled at him, nodding.

"I know he will." Peter returned her smile and was about to respond when Tony and the others called them over.

"Mini Cap!" Tony called. "Get over here! It's time to blow out the candles!" Emma sighed heavily because that was the last thing she wanted to do. Peter gave her a look and she knew that meant that there was no backing out of this. Not this time.

"Come on, Emma. It's not a huge deal." He told her and Emma just glowered.

"Why does it feel like it's more of their birthday than it is mine?" She questioned bitterly and Peter only chuckled before he led her over to the cake.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to-" They all began to sing but Emma silenced them all with a dirty look.

"The next person who sings will regret it." She said in a dark and dangerous tone.

"Just blow out the candles, Em. Stop being so grumpy." Darcy told her, looking very amused by the blonde. Emma was even more annoyed to see that the brunette was filming the whole thing. Why did Steve need to see this too? She was embarrassed enough as it is.

"Then can I leave?" She inquired and everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

"No. You have to open presents too." Rhodey informed her and Emma felt tempted to just bolt out of there regardless of what they said but she knew Peter would probably be mad at her if she did. God, when did she start caring about how people felt? Right…probably when she fell in love with the idiot.

"When will this night just end?" She grumbled to herself before preparing herself to blow out the candles like she was requested to do.

"Don't forget to make a wish." Susan reminded her and Emma sneered at her before closing her eyes and finally blowing out the candles. The smell of smoke and birthday cake filled her nose as she opened her eyes again. Peter smiled at her with that look that told her how much he adored her. His warm brown eyes stood out to her in the dim lighting and his smile made her feel like this whole birthday celebration wasn't completely stupid. They were all clapping like turning sixteen was some huge accomplishment but Emma's mind was still on the wish she made. She knew it was stupid actually making the wish but she also knew there was still one thing she still wanted. There was one thing that could make her happy and piece her whole life together.

The Avengers being a family again.

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 **Author's Note: Another quick author's note...I just want to say that Jessica will be back in the next chapter for sure. I'm also sorry about all the fluff in this chapter but next chapter will probably be a bit darker.**


	67. Chapter Sixty Two

**Author's Note: I feel like it took forever to write this chapter. I'm just happy that I finally finished this chapter because it was emotionally draining and maybe one of the most difficult chapters to write in this story. Anyways...so glad it's finished and I'll try updating soon. I also want to say how excited and scared I am for Infinity War. Especially because one of the directors said the reason they can't release the title of the fourth Avengers movie is because it'll spoil Infinity War and he said we should be scared. Who says that?! I'm worried that this means a lot of people will die in the movie. I'm confident that Peter, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, and Bucky are safe because I know they're signed on to do other movies. I mean, I remember reading that Sebastian Stan was signed on to do a ton of movies but I don't know. The others I'm not so sure about since I don't think there's anymore Iron Man movies coming out and Chris Evans said that he's kind of finished with Captain America. There's still not any word about a Doctor Strange sequel so I don't know. I swear I'll cry if Cap or Tony dies...maybe if any one of them dies. I just get the feeling that Infinity War isn't going to end well. If Steve dies in Infinity War I'm not sure if I'll write that into the storyline of my story because I just can't do that to Emma. I don't know if she'd ever be okay if Steve died.**

 **Avalongirl55: There might be some plot from Jessica Jones season 2 but Emma won't really be a major part of that plot. I'm not going to make it a major part of the storyline. There will probably be one part from one of the episodes in season 2 that Emma will be a part of but it won't happen for a while. I also know about the grammar and spelling mistakes which is why I went back to fix it. I was editing last chapter really late so I wasn't entirely alert when I was doing that. Thanks for the feedback.**

 **artemis7448: There wasn't really any way Steve could've come back for her birthday but he hasn't forgotten either. There might be a small, cute surprise in the next chapter to make up for this very sad and sort of depressing chapter. He's not coming back next chapter but there may be a Steve related surprise. Don't worry because Steve's coming back soon but just not that soon.**

 **nvnightrider9: I know everyone wants Peter and the others to meet but I'm trying to do this at my own pace because I have everything planned. I really don't want to rush through things just so everyone can finally meet each other. Believe me, I want to write the meeting between Peter and the others more than anything. It's been forever since I've written Steve into the story so I'm excited but there's just certain things that need to happen before that occurs. These next couple of chapters are kind of what needed to happen before Steve and the others could return. It was very important to me that Emma becomes completely open and honest with Peter which will happen in the next chapter. I might split the next chapter into two parts so that confrontation will probably happen in Part II because I know the next chapter is going to be super long. Anyways...you'll see what I mean at the end of this chapter.**

 **OgFrosty: Susan Winters is the granddaughter of Jarvis. She's the love interest of Steve who I introduced right before the Age of Ultron storyline. She's a scientist who used to work for Cross but after the events of Ant Man she began working closely with Hank Pym. Now, however, she works with Tony at the compound. She's also known Tony since she was really little so Tony's kind of like an older brother to her. I originally created her because I thought Sharon and Steve together was kind of creepy and even more so because in this story Sharon is Emma's cousin. It would be super creepy if Steve and Sharon got together even though it's not technically incest. I don't hate Sharon or anything but her and Steve is just creepy in my opinion.**

 **Inheritance1990: I think some people made the Chuck reference before but I've honestly never seen it. Since you mentioned it, I tried looking it up on Netflix and other places but I think I have to buy the seasons if I want to see them. Hopefully the show will be on Netflix someday because it sounds really interesting.**

 **Snapplecrackles: I was kind of hesitant about writing that line Emma said about suicide but I didn't want to hold back because I felt like it was within her character to say that. She was just really pissed that the guy had beaten his wife so much that she had been driven to suicide. She felt like he was no better than Rumlow.**

 **Sabrina Barnes: I'm glad you like the story! I know Emma deserves a ton of fluff but Part III of this story is like the darkest part of any of the parts so some darkness is inevitable. I really love Bucky too! I just wish that I could find a Bucky/OC fanfiction that I really like. I mean, I've found a couple that I love but most of them are just ones about Bucky paired off with another assassin/spy kind of character which is cool but I'm just looking for something different.**

 **Radioactive88: Not to worry. Junior year was super hard for me too. I shudder whenever I remember chemistry class. Emma's distaste for chemistry kind of comes from me. I can honestly say that Peter will find out about Rumlow within the next two chapters and Jessica's really going to be helping her along the way with that. Jessica is really going to be a godsend in this story. I think in the near future we'll be seeing just how much Emma and Tony care for each other. They love messing with each other but deep down they do love each other. Some of that might be revealed in future flashback chapters. Emma was never really going to do well in group therapy because she isn't one to share her feelings. I just can't imagine sharing deeply personal feelings and thoughts with strangers. I suppose knowing that there's other people who feel the same way might be comforting but that kind of thing was never going to work for Emma. I also think after the events of Rumlow Tony will probably hire a therapist for the compound for individual sessions. It's not really just Emma who might need help but probably Bucky and some of the others too. I'm deeply sorry about your father by the way.**

 **BabyPinkPuppy: I've thought of a ton of different ways to kill Rumlow. I've thought of so many different scenarios and each with a different killer in mind. I already decided on who's going to kill him but I'm still trying to decide how that person is going to kill him. I have a slight idea but I'm still working it out.**

 **Nira: Peter's not the one who got Emma to stop killing people. It was Steve who came along way before Peter did. Emma promised Steve that she'd leave her past in the past which is what she's been doing. It's kind of hard for her but she does want to be a better person. She kind of says sometimes that it would easier killing people but that's just her sense of humor. She doesn't really mean it. Emma and Natasha are similar in a lot of ways but they're also different. Emma doesn't want to kill people anymore if she doesn't have to. If it came down to it she would but she's really trying to be a better person. Not just for Steve and Peter but for herself too. She hardly ever talks about it but Emma didn't want to kill people. It was just survival to her but she's not in Hydra anymore. The Avengers don't want her to be a killer for them and Emma's fine with not killing people.**

 **Shelby Carrizales: I've listened to some AURORA while writing this but I haven't really sat down and really _listened_. I'll try to one of these days. She does have a really amazing and beautiful voice though. **

**Keystone: I just want to say that all the Defenders won't be making an appearance for some time in the story since this part of the story is focused on Rumlow and then the next part will be focused on Infinity War. I totally get what you mean about Peter's Spidey sense. I've been wanting to introduce it for some time but I wanted the moment to be super important. I have it planned for when more stuff with Rumlow happens which will be soon. Thank you for giving me more insight on the Spidey sense because I was very nervous about writing it but now I think I have a better idea how to go about that. To answer your second review, Emma and Peter won't be a huge part of Jessica Jones season 2. This part is focusing on the Rumlow problem but there will be some scenes and like you said I'll probably include chapters where Emma and Peter's views of the world are different. Peter is a very black and white kind of guy like Steve but Emma sees things in gray so that's definitely going to be seen within this story. Peter will be having really big Spider-Man moments within Part III but the action scenes have been kind of delayed because I've been focusing on Emma's flashbacks of Rumlow. They hit a rough patch in the next couple of chapters but they'll eventually make up and Rumlow will make a real return not too long after. Jessica and Emma are definitely going to be good for each other. Emma has some female figures to look up to like Darcy, Pepper, Susan, and Natasha but Jessica's really the only one who has been through the same exact things that Emma has. I think Jessica will kind of become a mentor to Emma like Tony's a mentor to Peter.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and sorry for not answering all of them but I just figured you'd want the new chapter. The next update might take a little longer than usual because I'm not going to be able to work on this at all tomorrow because of the HAIM concert which I'm excited for.  
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 **WARNING for some sexual situations and mentions of rape in this chapter. Just wanted to let you guys know just in case.**

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Emma stood outside the run down apartment building, looking between her phone and the building as she tried to make sure she had the right building. She was back in Hell's Kitchen this week but this time she wasn't going to that ridiculous therapy session. After meeting the mysterious Jessica Jones at last week's meeting, Emma had decided that she wanted to officially meet Jessica in a more private setting. The name Jessica Jones had sounded very familiar when Emma first heard the name but it wasn't until she looked her up online that she discovered why that was. Jessica Jones was a vigilante/private investigator that was quite famous in Hell's Kitchen after killing a sadistic, telepathic asshole who called himself Kilgrave. God, Emma really hated telepathy. Jessica was unofficially a Defender which seemed to be a team of people in Hell's Kitchen. Emma liked to think of them as a poor man's Avengers. She had also seen some video of the nature of Jessica's abilities and determined that the woman had super strength and flying capabilities although Emma was unsure if Jessica also had an enhanced healing factor like she did.

Jessica had been on her mind for a while but Emma had chosen not to tell Peter or anyone else about her. She was probably already on Tony's radar so Emma didn't really see the point and Peter would probably want to tag along so he could meet another enhanced individual but that's not the reason Emma wanted to meet Jessica. She wanted to meet Jessica so she could see whether or not the older woman could help her with her current dilemma. Emma couldn't do that with Peter there so the only way to do this was to do this alone. He was busy crime fighting anyways so he wasn't likely to ask questions about where she was going off to. Not that Emma answered to him. She was a sixteen year old girl perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

The blonde slipped into the apartment building and as soon as Emma stepped foot into it, she made a guess that the building was probably invested with rats. Not that she was judging but it had been a while since she was forced to live in these conditions. The last time was at the Hydra base in Argentina but that base had been in even worse condition than this. Emma stepped into the elevator and punched in one of the buttons for the floor that Jessica's apartment was on. She had to admit she was a bit interested in learning more about Jessica but not just her super powers but her career choice. Private Investigator? Emma would be the world's best PI if she chose that as an occupation. Tracking down assholes was one of Emma's many talents.

She got out of the elevator and looked down the hall, spotting the exact door she was looking for. The window of the door read 'Alias Investigations' so Emma knew she had the right place. She walked down the hall, hearing various conversations and other things from inside the other apartments. Emma scrunched her nose up in disgust when she heard a couple having sex in one of the apartments. That was one of the disadvantages of having enhanced hearing and especially when living with other people. Emma didn't want to count the times she had heard way too much going on in from inside Tony and Pepper's room or Jane and Thor's room. It was enough to make Emma want to throw up right here and now. She finally reached the door and didn't hesitate in knocking on it. Emma prayed for anything that would distract her from the thought of Tony having sex.

Old people having sex was so disgusting.

"What is it?" A disgruntled sounding voice, from inside, said. Emma smirked as she then prepared herself to answer.

"I'm here to talk to Jessica Jones…about an investigation?" Emma said, her voice full of obliviousness.

"Fine. Come in. Make it quick." Jessica Jones said and Emma smiled in satisfaction before she feigned an innocent look before opening the door and walking into the apartment. She closed the door behind her and smiled brightly at the dark haired woman sitting at her desk. Jessica looked at the blonde teenager for a moment, clearly confused, before rolling her eyes.

"Oh, God. Did they send you over here to make me go to another one of those stupid meetings?" Jessica asked flatly. "I thought the message was clear that I'm not interested in group therapy. I hope you know that you've just wasted a ton of time commuting from whatever rich kid neighborhood you live in." Jessica thought that her bitchy tone might've put the teenager off and sent her running but if anything the teenage girl just seemed delighted. Weird kid, Jessica thought to herself.

"Nope. I'm here of my own free will." Emma told Jessica as she approached the woman's desk while subtly observing the apartment. It certainly didn't seem any different from the hallway. The apartment was incredibly messy but also barren. There were no framed pictures decorating the walls and there was seemingly no other personal items either. All Emma saw was a ratty looking couch that was probably salvaged from the street, a smaller desk positioned off to the side, and Jessica's desk where she was sitting at. Various papers were scatted across the desk and there was even a half empty bottle of whiskey perched right in the middle of the desk. Emma saw what looked to be like notes and a picture hanging from a bulletin board behind Jessica. It was clear to Emma that the older woman was obsessing over something that was a little above normal. The medical records hanging from the wall told her that much.

"Why's that? You didn't lose your cat, did you?" Jessica as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She didn't know why but there was just something off about the girl. Jessica wasn't sure why because the girl looked like an ordinary teenager although she was sure that the girl was probably popular judging by her clothing and looks. She was the kind of pretty that turned heads just like Trish had been back in high school. Jessica knew that she was probably also the kind of girl she hated back then too. Still…there was something off about the girl's innocent smile. The smile didn't seem entirely innocent to Jessica. "I don't know if you realize this but I'm not a kitty tracker."

"I know. You investigate real cases…but you're also a vigilante by night. It doesn't really seem like you're following the Sokovia Accords by the way." Emma told her as she made herself at home and took the seat in front of Jessica's desk. "You're from that lame group of superheroes. _The Defenders_. That's a stupid name." Jessica sneered at her.

"No more stupid than the Avengers." Jessica retorted but she was still wondering what the hell this kid's problem was. She came into her apartment, talking about complete and utter nonsense for no particular reason, at all. Emma smirked. "It's Emma, right?"

"You're not wrong there." Emma quipped before leaning forward in her seat, growing serious again. Jessica noticed how she pointedly ignored the question about her name. "I quit the group too. It was a waste of time. Listening to some guy who beats his wife? Yeah, right. I'd rather take my chances."

"No kidding." Jessica said in a suspicious tone. She was suspicious because one moment the girl sounded completely innocent and almost oblivious but then the next minute, she sounded like the bitter girl she had been back in the meeting. "What was a kid your age doing there anyways? You don't seem old enough to have anger issues."

"I can be temperamental at times. My guardian made me go because he's rich and thinks everything can be cured with therapy. He's an idiot." Emma said as she shrugged but Jessica wasn't convinced. Maybe it was because she was suspicious of everyone or maybe it was because this girl was just weird. "What about you? You've been having problems with rage lately? You said you had a court card? I'm guessing you didn't want to be there either." Jessica scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"You can't bullshit me, kid. I'm a PI so I know what snooping around looks like." Jessica told her bluntly and Emma smiled at her bluntness. It seemed like she had been right. Jessica Jones really was interesting.

"Fine. I'm just curious." Emma said in a tone of nonchalance. Jessica clenched her jaw because she was honestly pissed off by this girl's official statement. She came here because she was curious? Jessica was under all this stress with getting to the bottom of this IGH thing and now there was also that crazy psycho who was out murdering people. So she was a little annoyed by the fact that this kid actually had the nerve to come around to her apartment because she was curious.

"Well, you better get a fucking move on then because I've got too much shit to do. The last thing on my mind is satisfying your stupid curiosity." Jessica snapped, feeling the anger boil inside her. The dark haired woman expected the blonde to flee out of the apartment in fear but the teenager looked impressed as she sat there, unmoving in her seat.

"So much anger." Emma commented, unfazed by Jessica's scary display. Jessica sighed as she tiredly ran her hand over her face.

"Look, I don't know what you want but I'm not in the mood to show you my little party tricks if that's what you're interested in." Jessica said, sounding exhausted as she then grabbed the large bottle of whiskey on her desk before unscrewing the lid. Emma watched curiously as the dark haired woman began almost chugging the bottle. Wow, Emma thought to herself, not even Tony was that heavy of a drink. He probably drank too much scotch but she had never seen him drink it out of the bottle like that. Bitter, cynical, _and_ an alcoholic? Emma already liked Jessica a whole lot better than most of the Avengers. At least she was a realist unlike some of them. She didn't pretend to be someone that she wasn't.

"That's not what I want." Emma told her and Jessica raised an eyebrow questioningly at her as she put her bottle back down on the table.

"Isn't it?" Jessica questioned and Emma sighed.

"I just liked a lot of the stuff you said at the meeting." Emma admitted even though it was hard for her to admit that. Usually Emma wouldn't admit to something like that but she had a feeling that Jessica was possibly someone who would understand. She could probably understand her better than the people that knew her best. Emma loved Peter but there was even some things that he couldn't understand about her.

"What? Are you the kind of fucked up person who gets off on terrible stuff happening to other people?" Jessica asked sarcastically but Emma wasn't offended.

"No. I just…sort of…related to some of it. Most of it actually." Emma tried to tell her but the words were tough to get out because she wasn't used to confiding in strangers. She wasn't even used to confiding in people she actually did know. "Look, I'm not good at this talking about trauma thing. God, I feel so stupid." Jessica gave her a disbelieving look.

"What? You're telling me that you've been experimented on too? Yeah, right." Jessica told her, not looking to believe her at all. Emma wasn't worried about whether or not the older woman believed her. She'd see for herself soon enough, Emma thought to herself.

"Fine. Don't believe me." Emma said shortly before grabbing the woman's beloved bottle of booze and standing up from her chair. Jessica narrowed her eyes at the girl, not liking whatever game this kid was playing. She really didn't have the temperament for this. This was why Jessica had sworn off ever having kids. They were way too much trouble and not to mention annoying.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jessica asked her, voice low and dangerous but Emma didn't feel threatened. She just smirked at the annoyed looking woman.

"You know...you shouldn't have addictions. You're just giving power to all your weaknesses." Emma told her smugly and Jessica glared at her.

"Don't think just because you're a kid that I won't hit you." Jessica hissed. "Now hand over that bottle now or I'm going to kick your ass. God…I sound like someone's alcoholic dad."

"Why don't you come over here and get it, Jessica." Emma said but her tone wasn't teasing…it was daring. It was like Emma was daring Jessica to reach over and take the bottle from her.

"What are you? Five?" Jessica said sarcastically, her glare cold and angry. "Now give me the damn bottle."

"I don't think I will." Emma said in that same smug tone as she did before which only pissed Jessica off more. "I've never had alcohol before and I'm very curious."

Jessica had finally had enough of this annoying kid's antics so with one last frustrated growl, she reached over and made a move to grab the bottle. The amount of alcohol she had already consumed was probably the reason she missed. Weirdly enough, the blonde didn't seem to move away from her as Jessica made another move to grab the bottle. This time, however, Jessica actually managed to grasp the neck of the bottle in her hands. Feeling victorious, Jessica tugged the bottle away from Emma. She was hoping to be able to finally snatch it away from her but was perplexed when the bottle didn't leave the teenager's grip. The blonde smirked at Jessica as she tugged it back, easily snatching it back from Jessica's grip. Jessica stared at the girl with a stunned look on her face. What the hell? How was this teenage girl stronger than her? Oh shit…did this mean that the girl was from IGH or something? Maybe that psycho sent her here in her place.

"What are you?" Jessica asked Emma breathlessly.

"What are _you_?" Emma shot back at her but Jessica just shook her head as she took a step back, completely forgetting about her prized bottle of booze.

"Are you from IGH? Did you know Robert Coleman? Did that psycho send you here?" Jessica asked her rapidly, her surprised look morphing back into one of suspicion. Emma gave her a confused look.

"IGH? What the hell's that?" Emma questioned and Jessica analyzed the look on Emma's face. She could see that the blonde clearly had no idea what IGH was. So if she wasn't from IGH then where was she from? How was she stronger than her?

"IGH is the reason I'm like this." Jessica told her quickly before moving on. "Who's to blame for the reason _you're_ like this? Super strength, I'm guessing?" Emma shrugged.

"Not to mention flying." Emma added before cutting to the chase. "I have to admit I've never heard of this IGH place. My experimentation was brought to you by Hydra." Jessica gave her a confused look.

"Hydra? You mean the weird Nazi organization?" Jessica questioned and Emma nodded.

"Pretty much." Emma answered and Jessica took another look at her because for some reason she felt like this girl was even more suspicious to her.

"Wait a second. Hydra…blonde hair…super strength...and flying?" Jessica said as everything began to click for her. "You're the Viper Assassin, aren't you?" Emma didn't look surprised by Jessica's inquiry. She was almost impressed.

"I'm impressed, Jessica. I had to practically spell it out for Spider-Twerp." Emma told her and Jessica seemed slightly on edge but she just stood there and silently watched the blonde. She wasn't sure what the girl wanted. Jessica didn't know if the Viper Assassin was there about the Accords or what. She was an Avenger after all, wasn't she? The Avengers probably weren't a big fan of hers since they didn't seem to like Vigilantes these days. Captain America's faction of Avengers were evidence of that since the faction were on the run somewhere.

"What do you want? Are you here about the Sokovia Accords?" Jessica questioned, not liking whatever game this girl was playing. She was sick and tired of games. "Because you don't have to worry. I only save the world when my own life is on the line." Emma just shook her head.

"I'm not here about the Accords. I don't care what Stark says. The Accords are a completely and utter waste of time and energy." Emma told her honestly. "I was being honest before when I said I was curious."

"Why are you so curious? You probably live in that facility with all those other Avengers. It's not like you've never met another "Gifted" person before." Jessica told her and Emma scrunched her nose up in disgust.

"Gifted? Are people seriously calling us that?" Emma questioned and Jessica shrugged.

"I could really give a shit less." The older woman deadpanned and Emma sighed before setting the bottle of booze back down on the desk.

"Look, that stuff you said in the meeting last week…it just felt like you were telling everyone my own story." Emma admitted quietly and Jessica watched the young girl. She wouldn't really admit it but the teenage girl was kind of pulling at her heartstrings. Jessica wasn't sure if it was because the girl kind of reminded her of Hope. Hope had been in dire need of help too and way too young to have been put through all the shit Kilgrave had put her through. Hope had a haunted look on her face just like this girl did. It rubbed Jessica the wrong way because she had failed Hope.

"I didn't realize anyone's life could be as fucked up as mine." Jessica said dryly and Emma laughed although there was no humor in her eyes.

"Well, I thought the same thing until you started talking at the meeting." Emma told her before a questioning look came over her face. Ever since she heard Jessica at that meeting, she couldn't get what the older woman said out of her head. "How did you say that in public? Why would you even say that? Why would you let everyone know what happened to you?" Jessica gave her a confused look.

"Are you talking about me saying that I was raped?" Jessica asked her in disbelief and Emma flinched at the word. The dark haired woman raised an eyebrow at her. It was almost like the word rape was like the name 'Voldemort' or something to her. Jessica instantly felt a bit sorry for the girl because she seemed very young. She was probably around fifteen or sixteen. Much younger than she would've imagined the Viper Assassin being but it also made Jessica think that the teenager must've been even younger when it happened to her.

"How can you just admit it to strangers? I can't even admit it to the people that I care about." Emma said quietly.

"You're admitting it to me and I'm a stranger." Jessica pointed out and Emma groaned in frustration, running a hand through her blonde hair.

"This is different. You've been…you know." Emma said, unable to bring herself to say the word. "Besides…I don't know you so it's not like I care if you judge me."

"Can you really not say the word rape?" Jessica questioned and Emma glared at her.

"It's not rape if I let it happen to me." Emma said bitterly and Jessica just stared at the young girl, not really believing what she was hearing. "I'm stronger than a normal human. I could've stopped it but I didn't."

"Okay. If it wasn't rape then how old were you when it happened? Did you even want to have sex?" Jessica asked her bluntly and Emma became uncomfortable.

"Thirteen and of course not. I didn't want to but I still let it happen." Emma admitted and an enraged look came over the older woman's face. Thirteen? Jessica suddenly felt sick although she knew this happened all the time, especially when young girls were growing up in places frequented by a lot of older men. She knew this because of Trish. Trish went through the same thing when she was still in the Hollywood scene. "I had all the power to stop it but I didn't."

"No, that's definitely rape. There's no way you could've possibly consented even if you wanted to. Whoever did this to you is a fucking pedophile." Jessica told her and Emma looked down. Jessica sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for being harsh but I'm assuming you came here because you want to know how to tell people and I don't have any answers for you. My life's too fucked up for me to be giving advice to anyone."

"Wow, that's a lot of help." Emma said sarcastically and Jessica glared at her.

"Look, you're the one that came here hunting me down so I can give you advice. It's not my fault you don't like like my rape advice…wait that sounds like a creepy thing to say to a teenager." Jessica said and Emma just rolled her eyes. Jessica realized that she might've been a little unnecessarily harsh on the girl. She knew that this wasn't a normal conversation for two strangers to have but obviously the girl must've been having a lot of issues if she forced herself to come down here to seek advice. Jessica sighed again. "The only thing I can tell you is to not let this asshole have control over your life."

Emma considered what Jessica just said. Not letting Rumlow having any control over her life seemed like a give in. That what she was trying to do but the question was how to to do that. How could she bring herself to stop seeing him wherever she turned? How was she supposed to stop having nightmares about him? Lately he had been inside her mind and Emma couldn't get him out. He was like a parasite that she couldn't get rid of. Emma suddenly felt like coming here had been a bad idea.

"I need to leave." Emma said after a moment of silence. She didn't know why she had come here in the first place. Emma revealed who she was to Jessica because she wanted to gain her trust but now Emma was starting to regret it. What if Jessica tried to use it against her to blackmail her? What if Jessica told people Emma knew about how she was raped? No, this was a big mistake. Jessica frowned at the anxious looking blonde.

"Wait, you don't have to go." Jessica said, wondering if she had said something really wrong. Hogarth was always telling her how she lacked people skills.

"Just forget I was ever here." Emma muttered before quickly leaving. Jessica called out the teenager's name but the blonde ignored her as she quickly left the apartment. Jessica's voice was a muffled echo as Emma ran down the hallway. She didn't even wait for the elevator, instead choosing to run down the stairs. Emma felt dizzy…like the whole world was spinning around her and she was the only one still standing up.

 _"_ _You know that she can't help you. No one can help you."_ Rumlow voice whispered in her ear the moment she stepped out of the building. Emma thought that the fresh air might make her feel better but she was wrong. She should've known that there wasn't any fresh air in New York and especially not in Hell's Kitchen.

 _Shut up!_ Emma thought as she struggled to get a grip on reality. It was tough to know what was and wasn't real anymore. He felt so real and Emma always felt like he was there watching her when she walked outside. She felt like he might've been somewhere behind her, following her. Logically she knew she was being paranoid but Emma couldn't help it. Volkov and other night with the weapons made everything so much worse. She knew he was getting closer and the others were naïve enough to think that she was safe. Emma knew better. She knew Rumlow would find a way to get to her if it was the last thing he did. She wasn't safe…she never was.

 _"_ _How do you think you're going to overcome me? You can't even admit what I did to you."_ He whispered in that same taunting tone and Emma whipped around. She tried to spot him in the crowd of people but she couldn't. She shook her head at her own stupidity. What was she thinking? He wasn't there. Emma was just imagining all of this because she was doing exactly what Jessica told her not to do. She was letting Rumlow have control over her. It was just so hard to let him not have control over her.

 _"_ _Why don't you tell him, Princess? Tell him all about what we did."_ Emma felt like she couldn't breath. Everything felt so overwhelming to her. She wondered why she couldn't just have one day without hearing his voice or thinking she had seen his face within the crowd.

 _"_ _Tell him about all the fun we had together. Tell him about the time I was inside of you."_ He said, his voice malicious and Emma tried taking deep breaths because she was not going to have a mental break down in the middle of the street. She could almost hear him chuckling.

 _"_ _You and I both know why you won't tell him. It's because you know that he won't want you anymore."_ Rumlow told her and Emma tried to ignore him but he was right. She knew this was only her fucked up mind talking but it was true. Her biggest fear in telling Peter was that he'd leave her. Emma wouldn't blame him. He was only a sixteen year old boy so how could he be expected to deal with something like this? There was no way Peter would be cool with it. He probably thought she was a virgin like him so how was he going to react to the news that she wasn't? She was going to make him regret not picking Betty Brant or Liz Allan over her.

Peter had so many better options than her and Emma felt like he was going to be disappointed when she told him the truth. He was going to feel like he got cheated out of having a normal nice girlfriend who wasn't the most fucked up person in the world. She knew he said he wanted to wait to have sex but men said a lot of things, didn't they? Emma was just scared that all the things he said to her about loving and never leaving her weren't going to matter anymore when she told him.

Emma couldn't bear to keep thinking about this or to hear his voice in her head so she chose the last possible option. She took her iPod out and put her ear buds into her ears. Emma chose one of the playlists she had made a long time ago, settling for the one devised of loud and upbeat music. Her iPod began playing 'Curveballs' by the Wombats and Emma turned up the volume until she couldn't even hear the loud traffic. Emma felt like she was already losing it and she didn't even know if Jessica Jones could help her. Why was she so messed up? Emma knew why but to prevent herself from thinking about it, she just kept turning the volume up louder and louder. Emma didn't want to hear her own thoughts anymore.

* * *

Not everything at her birthday party had gone well in her opinion. Emma still wished that she could erase her birthday party from her mind. While it had been a quiet affair, it was still more than she had originally dreaded. Everything would've been fine if it wasn't for Tony. She had gotten quite a few books and art supplies from her friends and family but what drove Emma crazy was what Tony had gotten her. The idiot had actually bought her an 2018 Audi R8 which was a luxury sports car. The car was the same green as her Viper Assassin suit, because Tony thought he was clever, with black leather seats. The only thing that impressed Emma was the stereo system and how fast it could go but she still wasn't sure about the car.

It had been a couple days since the ordeal with Jessica and Emma wasn't sure about going back to Jessica's apartment. Obviously the woman was as bitchy and hard to reach as Emma was so she wasn't going to hold that against her. Emma thought that Jessica could still help her but first she just needed to figure out how to accept the fact that she had been raped. It sounded stupid but Emma could never really admit it to herself. What was that saying? The first step was admitting that you had a problem. Emma was pretty sure that mostly applied to addicts but she figured she could apply it to herself as well.

"This is such a cool car!" Peter exclaimed as she drove them both to school. She had obtained her driver's license not long after the birthday party. Emma was a bit disappointed because she thought stealing cars and driving without a license was more fun.

"I guess." Emma muttered as she made a turn. Peter had tried to change the song earlier but Emma told him if he wanted to keep his hand then he wouldn't touch the stereo. She didn't think his music taste was great since he seemed to like Maroon 5 and the Weeknd so much. Seriously? What guy loved Maroon 5? Peter was so weird. The next thing she would find out is that he also loved Taylor Swift or Shawn Mendes. Emma would dump him if he turned out to be a Taylor Swift fan. That was just disgusting.

"Maybe I can drive it?" Peter said hopefully and Emma looked at him like he was crazy.

"I'm never letting you drive this car. I still remember what you did to Flash's car." Emma told him and Peter pouted.

"That was an accident and we were in a rush." Peter said defensively. "Besides…I've practiced driving with May loads of times since then." Emma scoffed.

"What? Have you tried driving through a Whole Foods parking lot instead of the Rite-Aid one?" Emma asked sarcastically. "You're a terrible driver, Parker. Literally the worst one I've ever seen. You've flunked two driving tests."

"So I'm still learning the ropes." Peter said as he blushed. He wanted to prove to Emma that he was capable of driving. That's what boyfriends were supposed to do, weren't they? Boyfriends were supposed to drive their girlfriend to places. "But I'll get my license soon enough." Emma laughed and Peter glared at her.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Emma told him and Peter glowered.

"How are you so great at driving anyways? It's annoying when you're good at everything." Peter replied and Emma shrugged.

"I'm good at driving because I've been driving since I was seven." Emma said and Peter crossed his arms.

"I just want you to know that I'm not incapable of doing adult things." Peter said quietly and Emma figured that this was his male ego again. She probably would never completely understand men but she understood them a little. She spent more time around them, after all, but there was still some confusion. Even some of the stuff her grandfather did confused her.

"Peter, it's fine. I don't care whether or not you can drive. It's not a big deal." Emma told him as she continued to drive. "I mean, it's not like this a dick measuring contest. It's just a car." Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Why do you say things like that?" Peter questioned, blushing even more than before. Emma sighed as she tried thinking of something comforting to say. What would Steve say in this situation? He'd probably give her one of those encouraging smiles and tell her that she was going to do great.

"Look, Peter, you're going to get your driver's license. Just don't think too much about it." Emma told him and Peter frowned.

"How can I not think about it? This is my driver's license for Christ's sake!" He exclaimed.

"Do you really need to drive? We live in New York, after all." Emma told him before continuing. "Your problem is that you're making too much of a deal out of the whole thing. That's the reason you get so nervous and then fuck the whole test up. If you just tried not to make such a huge deal out of it then you'd probably pass." Peter considered her somewhat harsh but also honest words. Emma never had a knack for sugar coating things.

"I guess you're right." Peter told her after he considered her words. "I promise that I'll get my driver's license soon. I'll try not to overthink it." Emma smiled at him.

"Good." Emma told him and Peter smiled back at her, his brown eyes gleaming with hope.

"Then you'll let me drive your car?" Peter asked her and Emma immediately shook her head.

"There's now way in hell I'm ever letting you drive this car. Driver's license or not." Emma told him and Peter huffed, pouting again. Emma always thought he was cute when he was pouting like that.

"Why not?!" Peter whined and Emma smirked. "Why won't you let me drive your car? Don't you love me?" Emma scoffed.

"I also love the Haim sisters but I'm not about let them drive around in my car and I bet they drive way better than you." Emma told Peter teasingly but he wasn't upset. He was kind of expecting Emma to say that even though she said she didn't care about the stupid car Tony had gotten her. Emma clearly liked the car.

"I'm an amazing driver." Peter mumbled and Emma smiled because she knew better than that. Peter was good at a lot of things but driving was not one of them. Emma finally pulled into the school parking lot as various students stared in awe at the nice car. Peter blushed shyly from the attention but secretly he felt kind of cool to be in a car like this one.

"What are you going to say if people ask where you got the car?" Peter asked her curiously and Emma smirked.

"I'll just tell them I'm a drug dealer. Why else would a sixteen year old have a car like this?" Emma said and Peter really wasn't sure if she was being serious or not. He hoped that she wasn't being serious.

"You're not really going to say that, are you?" Peter asked nervously and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Parker, I'll just tell them that I have a really greedy and rich grandfather like Paul Getty who gave me this car as compensation for being absent for my entire childhood." Emma told Peter seriously. "That's not unreasonable. Everyone at this school probably has rich relatives except for scholarship kids like you. How do you think Flash got in? The kid's a lost cause."

"Okay…rich grandfather." Peter said as he processed that information. Emma just smiled at him before she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Peter immediately melted into the kiss as he kissed her back, wanting to pull her in closely so that they could extend this kissing session before school started. He made a move to do so but Emma pulled away. Peter gave her a disappointed look.

"Why did you stop?" Peter whined and Emma gave him an amused look.

"Yeah, try whining…because that's hot." Emma said sarcastically although she honestly thought his whining was kind of cute. Peter was immature a lot of the time but that didn't really annoy her like it annoyed her when other people acted the same way. It was cute on Peter. He continued giving her those puppy dog eyes and Emma groaned. God, she never took Peter for the begging type. "Fine. If you come to my room after your Spider-Man thing tonight then maybe, and I mean _maybe_ , we can continue this then." Emma laughed when she saw the excited look on his face.

"Okay." He said happily and Emma rolled her eyes although she was still amused by his dorkiness. She didn't say anything else as she got out of the car. Peter followed suit, closing the door behind him but was stopped in his steps when he heard someone calling out his name. He glowered when he saw Flash Thompson snickering at him with his two cronies, Charles and Jason, behind him. Emma was immediately reminded of Draco Malfoy with his two little body guards, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Penis Parker! You have to have your girlfriend drive you to school?!" Flash said loudly so the whole school could hear. "Penis Parker can't pass his driving test! How pathetic!" Peter blushed as everyone in the school parking lot turned to stare at them. Emma didn't really understand that. How could Peter suddenly be so confident and bold when he was in the Spider-Man suit but when it came to school and everything else, he'd shrink back. He was stronger than that. Emma clenched her jaw as she turned to look back at Flash, fixing him with her best death glare.

"Oh shut up, you jealous little virgin." Emma snapped at him and Flash stared at her in shock. She soon saw his cheeks becoming pink as he looked back at her.

"I-I-I'm not a v-virgin." Flash stammered and Emma gave him a look of disbelief. "I have sex all the time." Emma scoffed because she honestly believed in ghosts more than in the fact that Flash got laid on a regular basis let alone ever having sex.

"Yeah, right. The day you have sex is the day Peter passes his driving test." Emma told Flash before linking arms with Peter who looked very confused and bewildered by what just happened. She could hear Flash in the background, trying to reassure his friends that he had plenty of sex but she doubted that they believed him.

"Does that mean that you don't think I'll ever pass my driving test?" Peter asked her in a hurt tone but Emma just smirked at him.

"No, it means that I think you'll pass your driving test but not until some sad and lonely driving instructor with low self-esteem passes you." Emma told Peter and the teenage boy smiled at her as they made their way inside the school. He loved Emma's subtle and clever insults. She had a comeback for everything.

"I love you." He told her and Emma smiled.

"I know."

* * *

"Guys, did you hear about the party at Mitchell Ori's house tomorrow night?" Ned asked her and Peter as they worked on an assignment in history class. Emma was busy with her assignment so she barely looked up when she heard Ned talk. Peter gave his best friend a curious look.

"Mitchell Ori? You mean, the super popular senior who's the quarterback and only dates cheerleaders?" Peter asked him and Ned nodded furiously.

"His dad is also that senator Stan Ori so his family's, like, super rich." Ned told them and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Oh, great. Another politician…just what the world needs. His son's no doubt a little politician in the making, wanting to please daddy. He's probably hoping to go to some boring ass school like Harvard or Yale." Emma deadpanned as she continued to focus on her work but Ned barely spared her a glance as he turned back to Peter.

"Why are you even telling us about this party, Ned?" Peter asked him. "He thinks we're a bunch of nerds. Remember Freshman year? He's the one who came up with the name Penis Parker. Flash just stole it from him." Emma raised an eyebrow at this.

"You mean that Flash didn't even come up with that lame insult himself? He's even more pathetic than I thought." Emma told them and Peter smiled because he knew that was her way of making him feel better.

"Well, he's inviting us to the party tomorrow." Ned told them and Peter gave his friend a surprised look.

"What? How? I mean…why us? I thought we were lame and stupid according to him." Peter told Ned, honestly shocked by this latest development. Ned blushed a little before awkwardly clearing his throat.

"This is where it kind of gets complicated." Ned told them before continuing. "We were invited by Lexi Alvarez, one of the cheerleaders, who said that Mitchell is inviting Emma to the party. She also said that we're invited too…technically. Since we're Emma's friends and everything." Peter gave Ned a confused look and Emma had to admit she didn't like where Ned was going with this.

"Emma's invited? Why would she be invited?" Peter asked him and Ned laughed nervously. Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously because she knew he was up to something. That kid was even worse at keeping a poker face than Peter was.

"See, the thing is that Mitchell kind of has a crush on Emma. Lexi says that Mitchell thinks she's really hot." Ned said quietly and Peter's face flushed red with anger while Emma just looked bored. She could care less if some dickhead thought she was hot.

"What?!" Peter exclaimed in a hush tone. They were still in history class, after all. "This guy's inviting Emma to a party because he wants to date her?!" Ned suddenly looked hesitant.

"I don't think he wants to date her so much as to do other things with her." Ned said, looking slightly embarrassed but Peter seemed pissed off. Emma rolled her eyes at the dark haired boy.

"Just say it for what it is. He wants to invite me to this stupid party so that he can fuck me." Emma said bluntly which caused Ned to blush but for the first Peter didn't care about her crudeness. He was livid. This very good looking and popular guy wanted to have sex with his girlfriend… _his_ girlfriend. Peter knew that he was being slightly possessive but he couldn't help it. He still didn't know why Emma picked him of all guys. She was beautiful and could have any guy she wanted but somehow she had picked him. Peter Parker who was nerdy and wasn't even experienced when it came to girls. Peter had heard rumors about how experienced Mitchell was when it came to things like kissing and sex. Sometimes Peter still didn't know if he was kissing Emma the right way and he still got embarrassed whenever he heard the word sex. He knew it was immature which only made him feel worse since Emma was incredibly mature. She was the most grown up person he had ever met.

"He can't do that!" Peter hissed, his eyes flashing with anger. "Doesn't he know that Emma's _my_ girlfriend?"

"Some people don't care about things like that, Peter." Emma told Peter who only looked more pissed off but not at her. She didn't know what it was but something about a jealous Peter really did it for her. Emma felt the familiar feeling of desire pooling in her lower stomach as she stared at him. It was a weird thing to feel so turned on about but she couldn't help it.

"So…I was thinking that maybe we should go to this party." Ned said as he tried to ignore the weirdness between Peter and Emma. Peter who just seemed angry about this thing with Mitchell and Emma who staring at Peter with an almost longingness in her eyes. Yeah, they were really weird sometimes. Peter gave Ned a look of disbelief.

"What?" Peter questioned. "You want to go to a party where some guy wants to sleep with my girlfriend?!" Ned blushed.

"Well, I mean it's not like Emma would really do that. I'm just saying that we should take advantage of the situation." Ned told them but Peter looked furious at Ned.

"So you're saying we should pimp out my girlfriend so we can go to this party?!" Peter whispered angrily to Ned who had an apologetic look on his face.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds really bad." Ned told him but Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Do you guys really want to go to this stupid party?" Emma asked them and the two teenage boys stared at her.

"Yes." Ned replied without hesitation and Peter glared at him.

"Peter?" Emma questioned because she knew that Peter liked going to parties…that he liked feeling like he belonged. Emma didn't really care one way or the other if her peers accepted her but this seemed to matter to him and she did care about him.

"I'd like to go this party but not if this guy's only inviting us because he wants you." Peter told her honestly and Emma just smiled at him.

"Peter, I'm not interested in this entitled asshole. I don't even know who the hell he is." Emma told Peter sincerely.

"Mitchell's only the most popular guy in the school. Everyone knows who he is." Ned interjected but became silent when both Emma and Peter glared at him. Emma turned back to face Peter.

"We can go to this party if you want. You don't need to worry about Michael Orin. The only boy I want is you. Besides…you're always making dates centered around what I want to do. I want to do the same with you and I know you like parties." Emma told Peter and the teenage boy felt his heart race as her stunning blue eyes locked onto his. He still couldn't believe that he was the one she picked…that she'd pick him over Mitchell Ori. No one picked anyone over Mitchell Ori but Emma did because she was just that special. There wasn't anyone in the world like Emma Rogers.

"It's Mitchell Ori actually." Ned interjected again and Emma sneered at him although Peter was just delighted by what Emma just said. He knew that she hated spending a lot of time around their classmates so he knew that what she said was as close to a romantic declaration of love that he was going to get. There was no doubt in Peter's mind that she loved him if she was willing to go to a high school party with him.

"I could really give a shit less."

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to go to the party with me." Peter told Emma as they laid across her bed. They had just finished up working on their chemistry homework after Peter's long night of crime fighting. Apparently Emma was still suspended from her Viper Assassin activities but she didn't really mind that much. At least this way they had a lot more to talk about when he came back to her.

"It's not a big deal." Emma told him nonchalantly but Peter knew she was just pretending like it was nothing to her. Peter reached over and rested his hand over hers, immediately grabbing her attention.

"Yes, it is. I know how much you hate parties." Peter told her and Emma shrugged.

"Well, it just seemed like something you wanted to do." Emma replied but seemed somewhat nervous at the same time. "You always make these grand romantic plans for our dates and I'm not as romantic as that. I don't know how to be romantic."

"Yes, you do." Peter argued as he became encouraged to prove to her that she could, in fact, be romantic. "The picture you painted me for my birthday? That was, like, the most romantic thing ever. And the fact that you love me enough to let me have your grandfather's compass engraved? Trust me, Emma, I know how you feel about me."

"I just know that sometimes I can be a bit much." Emma told him hesitantly but Peter just smiled at her.

"You're never too much. You're perfect." Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"We both know that's not true, Peter. I'm the furthest thing from perfect." Emma replied, not believing his words for a moment. Him telling her that she was perfect was just the usual BS that boyfriends spouted out to their girlfriends. "I'm the most imperfect person in the world."

"Well, you're the most perfect version of imperfectness that there is." Peter said, his eyes sincere as he stared at her. Emma blushed under his intense gaze, unable to control her emotions. When he said things like that she felt like she was a better person that she actually was. _He_ made her feel that way.

"You're so cheesy, Parker. Don't make me throw up." Emma told him and Peter just gave her that teasing little smirk of his but she saw hopefulness in his eyes. Emma knew he had something on his mind...that he wanted something.

"Remember what you said earlier?" Emma knew exactly what he meant but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him. Emma pretended to not have any idea what he was talking about as she feigned an expression of innocence.

"What I said earlier? No, I don't believe I do." Emma said nonchalantly as she pulled her hand away from him. Peter flushed red in embarrassment because he knew this was her messing with him. She was going to make him say it.

"You know…the thing you said about continuing what we were doing in the car earlier." Peter said shyly and Emma smirked at him.

"No, what thing?" Emma said teasingly and Peter groaned in frustration before doing what she wanted him to do. He pulled her on to his lap quickly and the smirk fell right off of Emma's face. Her heart raced as his lips descended down upon hers. Emma was taken by surprise of his unusual display of boldness but she didn't think about it too much as she kissed him back. She immediately knotted her fingers in his hair which caused him to groan as she felt him run the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip. She gasped in surprise because he never made the first move like that but she allowed his tongue in nonetheless.

Emma couldn't tell how long it was before Peter surprised her even more when he took her off his lap and firmly planted her on the bed. Emma laid there in surprise as she watched Peter hover over there, looking down at her with his eyes looking darker than usual. She had never seen him like this before. Peter swallowed hard as he looked down at Emma who was laying there underneath him. Her blonde hair was splayed across the bedspread under her and her face was flushed red. Peter thought she looked breathtakingly beautiful…almost angelic.

"Is this okay?" He asked, sounding a little out of breath. Emma slowly nodded as she thought of something to say. It was rare that she didn't have a response.

"Yes." Emma finally managed to say quietly and Peter smiled at her before his lips crashed against hers again, his hands suddenly roaming her body. Emma knew that this was new territory for them because they never went this far. They had promised each other that they'd wait for sex but that didn't mean that they couldn't have fun doing other things. This was still new to Emma though. Sometimes Emma would sit on his lap while they kissed but never like this. His hands trembled which Emma only found more endearing. Emma felt Peter's tongue massage hers and was thankful that they both had no need to come up for air as soon as normal people would. Emma tensed when she felt one of Peter's hands brush against her breasts. She knew that he hadn't meant to when he stilled and moved his hand elsewhere.

"Sorry." Peter said, his breathing sounding heavy and Emma shivered. She swallowed nervously as she calmed herself down and she wonder if he was aroused like he was last time. Emma wondered if he was because she knew that she really wanted him. Normally she never felt such a strong feeling of sexual desire but everything was so overwhelming to her in that moment. Peter was acting much more bold than she thought him to be and Emma liked it.

"It's fine." Emma told him softly and Peter looked down at her in surprise.

"Are you sure?" He asked her and Emma quickly nodded. Emma looked up at him in amusement because he had a look on his face like he had just won the lottery. Peter's lips descended back down onto her lips as he began to cup one of her breasts experimentally. Emma moaned at the new sensation and Peter felt himself harden. He knew he should probably stop before this went further but he didn't feel like stopping. Especially when Emma moaned like that. That little sound she made was the most intriguing sound he had ever heard her make and Peter wanted so badly to hear her moan again.

Emma pulled on his hair harder and Peter wished that they could somehow be closer to each other. Everything was so exhilarating and new to him. Emma was allowing them to go further than they normally did. Even though he was only cupping Emma's boobs through her shirt, he felt amazed by the feel of them in his hands. Peter thought they were the perfect size. They were just enough for him to hold comfortably in his hands. He just couldn't believe that Emma was actually letting him touch her boobs…and that she seemed to actually enjoy it. Peter thought Emma had given him enough surprises that night when she suddenly rolled her hips against his. He moaned at the sensation as he kissed Emma harder. The need to feel closer to her was overwhelming as Peter tentatively rolled his own hips against hers in response. Emma gasped before tightening her grip against his back, her nails digging into his shirt and possibly through the fabric.

It felt like she and Peter were in another world and she suddenly knew what lust felt like. It was overpowering and it was the only thing she could think about as her and Peter were locked in a passionate moment. Emma had never felt anything like it and she knew she enjoyed it more than she would admit aloud. However, Emma should've known that some things didn't last forever because as soon as she felt Peter's hardness against her thigh, it triggered something. It was like she was taken out of the moment and sent somewhere outside this little piece of heaven that her and Peter were perfectly happy in.

She was back in that cold and dark room in Hydra, on that bed that Rumlow pinned her down against as she felt him move inside her. The familiar feeling of fear filled her mind as she remembered the way he violently moved against her…like a shark thrashing in the water. Emma felt like she was in that room all over again.

 _"_ _Margot."_ He grunted in her ear as he moved and Emma couldn't take it anymore. She didn't like being underneath Peter anymore. She felt trapped…like she couldn't breathe. Emma pushed against his chest but Peter mistook her fear as desire. He continued kissing her along her neck and her eyes filled with tears, a couple tears escaping and falling down her face. Peter took a break from Emma's neck to smile back up at her and that was when he saw the look on her face. The smile fell off his face as soon as he saw the tears. Peter immediately stopped what he was previously doing as he got off of her.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Peter asked in concern, his eyes desperately searched her body for any signs that he had harmed her but he couldn't find any. He was afraid that he might've grabbed her a little too hard. Peter was always scared that one day he'd hurt her. He knew that he was a lot stronger than her so the possibility of somehow accidentally hurting her was pretty high. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" Emma swallowed hard as she sat up from her previous position. Peter watched her carefully, noticing that she had the same haunted look on her face that he had been seeing quite frequently in the past couple weeks.

"It's…I'm…I'm fine." Emma managed to say but her voice was barely more than a whisper. Peter knew that something was very wrong. It must've been something he did. Maybe she was uncomfortable with the way he touched her. It was more intimate than they had ever been before, after all. God, what was wrong with him? Aunt May always told him to be a gentlemen and to be respectful but all of that seemed to go out of his head the moment he had Emma on his lap.

"Did I make you feel uncomfortable? Please tell me, Emma." Peter pleaded with her, desperately wanting to know what was wrong. "I went too far, didn't I? I knew I should've stopped. Oh, Emma, I'm so sorry." Emma immediately shook her head.

"It's not you, Peter." _It's me_ which is what she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to. Peter just stared at her in confusion as he failed to understand what was going on inside her head.

"Then what is it?" He asked her as he continued to stare at her but he could already see her doing that thing she did whenever she withdrew back into herself. He could already see her walls coming back up.

"It's nothing…I told you I'm fine." Emma told him as she wiped the tears from her face but Peter shook his head.

"Don't lie to me, Emma. You're crying." Peter told her, wishing that she'd just tell him what was wrong. "I must've done something wrong so just tell me."

"I said I was fine!" Emma snapped and Peter stared at her silently. He should've anticipated her annoyance or anger but he was hoping that she'd just be open and honest with him. He should've known better.

"Emma, please don't shut me out. Just let me help you." Peter begged her and Emma avoided eye contact with him. She knew she should tell him now. Now would be the right moment to tell him but she was terrified. What would he call her if he knew? Would he be disgusted by her? Emma couldn't bear to see the look on his face when she told him. Even in her imagination the look on his face was unbearable.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!? I told you that nothing's wrong so just believe me!" Emma said angrily and Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"You're always doing this! You're always shutting me out!" Peter argued, slowly becoming more and more frustrated with her. "All I want to do is help and you won't even tell me what's wrong."

"Stop going on and on about this. There's nothing wrong. I already told you." Emma said in a clipped tone and Peter growled in frustration. He was beyond livid with his girlfriend who wouldn't tell him why she was having all these terrible nightmares. His girlfriend who didn't confess the reason why she had been acting odd lately. His girlfriend who cried when he touched her but wouldn't tell him why.

"Is it him?" Peter asked her desperately and Emma looked up at him in surprise. Peter just stared at her, trying to read the emotion on her face.

"W-who are t-talking about?" Emma asked him, taken back by his question. Peter's jaw clenched because he knew he found the answer he was looking for.

"I'm not stupid, Emma. I know there was a guy before me." Peter told her, jealousy in his voice but once Emma didn't think she liked a jealous Peter. Emma just gave him a confused look.

"What?" She asked, clearly bewildered by what he was saying but Peter just glared at her.

"That night all those months ago when we were hunting down Toomes…when I asked you about your first kiss. You said that I wasn't your first kiss." Peter told her and she realized what he thought this was. He thought that she was acting this way because of another guy.

"You're acting ridiculous, Peter." Emma told him but something was off about her voice. She didn't sound as angry or annoyed. Emma sounded almost…tired or broken down. Peter fumed at her dismissal of the subject.

"This is all about him, isn't it? Why you've been acting so weird…why you're crying now. It's because of him." Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"Peter, that's not true." She denied but he huffed.

"You were in love with him, weren't you?" Peter questioned, his blood boiling as he imagined Emma with another guy. Emma's eyes widened as she gave him a disgusted look. She quickly stood up from the bed and backed away from him.

"No!" She shouted at him, seething in anger. "You're making yourself look really stupid right now."

"Are you still in love with him?" Peter asked her, slightly afraid to hear the answer. He was afraid Emma would sneer at him and admit that she loved someone else. That she would admit that she never loved him at all and that it had been a beautiful dream that was too good to be true.

"I already told you no! There's no other guy!" Emma told him, tired of all his bullshit. "Stop being a child!"

"I'm not being a child!" Peter argued back before looking at her slightly disheveled looking appearance from their previous encounter. The worst suddenly came to mind as he looked at her and it was like his jealousy had it's own dark and taunting voice. "Did you sleep with him?" Emma stared at him in hurt and disbelief.

"What are you talking about?!" Emma exclaimed as he glared back at her. She didn't know what had gotten into him. Things had been nice between them ten minutes ago…before she had messed everything up by having another flashback. The Rumlow inside her head was going to love this but Emma just felt trapped by his never ending questions.

"Did you have sex with him? Did you let him…touch you?" Peter questioned jealously, not noticing the broken look on Emma's face. He just continued questioning her, letting his jealousy overcome him.

"He took your virginity, didn't he? Didn't he?!" Emma slapped him and Peter's head moved to the side from the harsh slap. He slowly turned his head back to look at her in disbelief, not believing that Emma had actually slapped him. Her slap was a lot stronger than he would've imagined as he felt a stinging sensation across his left cheek. Emma stared at him coldly.

"Get. Out." Emma told him in a clipped tone but Peter just stared at her.

"What?' He questioned, still surprised by the fact that she had actually slapped him. Emma eyes flashed in anger as she shoved him harshly, trying to get him to leave the room.

"Get out of my room! I don't want to see you!" Emma screamed almost furiously at him and Peter felt like he really messed up this time. She hadn't even seemed this angry when she had that flashback the other night. Peter had never seen Emma this angry and he knew he messed up because she was angry at him of all people.

"LEAVE!" Emma screamed at him, tears falling from her eyes as she continued to shove him out of the room. Peter let her shove at him because he didn't know what else to do. Emma and him had fights before but it was more like bickering. It was never like…this. Emma gave him one last shove as she pushed him out of the room and slammed the door in his face.

Peter stared at the door in shock, not sure what just happened. Everything happened so fast and he was so angry at her. Angry because she always shut him out by not telling him anything. No, he had a right to be angry with her. Peter clenched his jaw in anger, furious at the way Emma had slammed the door in his face like he was the one in the wrong. It wasn't him…it was her. She was the one who did the wrong thing. Not him.

"Whatever!" Peter yelled at the door. "I hope you know you're being dramatic, Emma!" Peter jumped when he heard something hitting the door and he immediately decided to get out of there before Emma killed him. Yeah, she was definitely pissed.

Emma stood on the other side of the door as she cried. All Emma could do was cry because everything hurt so much. She didn't know why Peter had said all those things…those hurtful things. Well, maybe she did. Emma didn't want to admit it but he had hurt her a lot. She hated feeling this weak and terrible about herself but all those things he said about her and Rumlow having sex. He didn't know that he was talking about Rumlow or what Rumlow did to her but it still hurt. She heard him angrily stomp down the stairs before the door slammed harshly and Emma felt a flare of anger. How dare _he_ be angry at _her_! She told him she was fine but he didn't listen. He was the one who decided to lose it and start accusing her of loving and sleeping with some other guy. If she was such slut then he sure didn't seem to mind twenty minutes ago when he had his hands all over her boobs and ass.

The blonde immediately grabbed the backpack he had left by her bed and ran to the window, her antics fueled by hurt and anger. She opened the door, feeling the cool winter air flow through the room, and she felt even more angry when she saw him and his stupid face walking down the street below. Emma immediately turned the backpack over and dumped all the contents onto the street. Peter narrowly dodged his geometry textbook as it landed on the street beside him along with all his other school materials. He looked up in disbelief at his very angry girlfriend who stood at the window with his backpack in hand. She then threw the backpack onto the street as well.

"You're fucking crazy!" Peter yelled at her, livid and bewildered at her antics. Who did she think she was? Throwing his textbooks and school supplies at him? If he was a normal person that could've killed him.

"And you're an asshole!" Emma yelled back at him before she slammed her window shut. Peter nostrils flared in anger as he stooped down and began to pick up his school things from the street. All the while people passed by him, giving him weird looks. Some people even asked him what the hell he did to piss his girlfriend off but Peter didn't say anything. He just gathered all his things together before he left, not sparing another glance at Emma's bedroom window. She was being dramatic and he hoped she figured that out soon. He'd never understand her. He didn't know if it was because she was a girl or if it was because she was Emma.

* * *

Emma fell back against her bed as she processed everything that had just happened. Everything had been fine one moment. They were having one of their little make out sessions and yeah this one was more intense but it was going good. Emma hadn't been afraid or uncomfortable and she had even enjoyed it when Peter groped her chest. Then she felt his hardness against her and everything changed. Suddenly she back with Rumlow in the base. It wasn't just her and Peter anymore. Emma wiped more tears from her face as she rested her head against the pillow.

She knew that they probably wouldn't have fought like that if Emma had just been honest with him but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Jessica said that she shouldn't let Rumlow have control over her life but that's what he was doing. He was already ruining one of the best things to have ever happened to her. Now Emma felt even less sure about telling Peter. If he reacted like that to the idea of her having sex with another guy then how was he going to react to her being raped? All Emma could think about was the angry look on his face as he asked her if she had sex with someone else. She could only imagine what he'd look like if she told him the truth about Rumlow.

Emma tried to shove the thoughts of Peter and Rumlow from her mind but when her eyes rested on the stuffed horse Peter had gotten her for her birthday, she lost it. She shoved the cute horse off her bed because that was the last thing she wanted to see. Emma buried her face in the pillow, hating the way Peter made her feel. He had made her into a sad, pathetic teenage girl who cried about how her boyfriend hurt her feelings. This kind of thing was supposed to be beneath her. Emma continued to cry into her pillow, unleashing months upon months of repressed emotions, and Emma didn't even stop to compose herself when she heard her bedroom door open.

"Is everything okay in here?" Darcy asked somewhat hesitantly as she peered inside the bedroom. She was quite surprised to see Emma crying into her pillow. The only time she had seen Emma this upset was after the ordeal with the ferry. That time it had been Tony that made her cry this much but Darcy knew that it wasn't Tony this time. Judging by all the screaming and yelling she heard, she could tell it might've had something to do with a certain cute and nerdy teenage boy.

"Go away!" Emma said but her voice was muffled from the pillow. Darcy sighed as she entered the room before perching herself on the edge of Emma's bed. She never really knew what to do in these types of situations because Emma was way different than she had been at that age. Darcy didn't have her first boyfriend until college and even then she had dated a string of losers who never gave a shit about her. She wasn't sure what kind of advice she could give to Emma but she knew she had to help her.

"That was a pretty nasty fight. I could hear you guys from all the way in the living room." Darcy told her but Emma didn't say anything. She only sniffled. "Peter also walked out of the house looking pretty pissed. It was kind of weird because usually he seems so cute and nerdy. I didn't think it was possible for him to get mad." Emma said something from underneath the pillow but it was muffled.

"What was that?" Darcy asked her, not understanding what Emma was trying to say.

Darcy took the pillow away from her face and was surprised at what she saw. The perfect and immaculate Emma Rogers looked distraught. Tears streaming down her face and her eyes puffy from all the crying. Her make-up was horribly smeared and Darcy was bewildered because she had never seen her look that upset before. Wow, Darcy thought to herself, Peter sure did a number on her.

"I said that Parker's an asshole." Emma said bitterly, looking to be a cross between hurt and angry. Darcy gave her a doubtful look.

"Really? Because I thought he was the best boyfriend ever this morning." Darcy then did, what she thought was, a good impression of Emma as she twirled her hair around her finger and made her voice higher. " _Oh, Peter, you're so good to me. You're the best boyfriend in the world. You're so hot and I can't wait to take your scrawny little nerdy ass home so I can make love to you all night. We'll act out one of your creepy Star Wars fantasies. We can play Princess Leia and the lonely Stormtrooper._ " Emma scowled at her.

"I never said that. You're disgusting." Emma hissed and Darcy could tell that she wasn't really making Emma feel any better about this. Darcy thought Emma would be laughing by now but it didn't look like Emma was anywhere near laughing. Darcy sighed as she became serious once more.

"Okay so spill it. What were you guys yelling and screaming about?" Darcy asked her and Emma made a face before resting her head back against the pillow.

"I don't want to talk about it." Emma grumbled and Darcy knew that Emma wasn't about to start spilling all her secrets. She should've known that Emma wouldn't want to talk about it but at least she tried.

"Couples fight, Emma. It's completely normal." Darcy told her and Emma just shook her head.

"It was really bad this time, Darcy. We've fought before but this time it was different because-"

"Because you're a couple?" Darcy interrupted and the look on Emma's face told her that she was right.

"I slapped him, Darcy." Emma admitted, still not believing that she had actually slapped Peter and Darcy gave her a surprised look. It wouldn't have been the most violent outburst she had when she was angry. When she was little, after the injections, she'd have all kinds of violent outbursts. Her father was probably the only person that knew how Emma was when she was angry. All those years of Hydra training her to suppress her emotions and somehow Peter had brought out her ugly side. She hadn't meant to slap him but everything he was saying was too overwhelming. Emma couldn't take it but she never meant to hurt him.

"What did he say to you?" Darcy questioned curiously. "Tony's pissed you off more than anyone but you've never slapped him."

"I know I shouldn't have done it but the things he was saying…they hurt." Emma said sadly and Darcy gave her a sympathetic look.

"Look, boys can be really stupid sometimes, Emma. Whatever he said, I'm sure he didn't mean it." Darcy said sincerely but she sighed when Emma didn't say anything. "You two had your first fight but you'll kiss and make up soon. All couples do."

"I don't know, Darcy. This was a really bad fight." Emma whispered as she thought about the fight. She didn't want to think about it but the look on Peter's face wouldn't leave her mind. He looked so angry at her and Emma wondered if her not having her virginity was a deal breaker. Because if it was then Peter really wasn't going to want her anymore and the thought of him breaking up with her was terrifying. He had said a lot of terrible things to her but that didn't mean that Emma wanted him to leave her. He promised that he wouldn't leave her but that was before the fight.

"It's going to be okay, Em." Darcy said reassuringly and Emma sniffled.

"What if he decides that he doesn't love me anymore?" Emma asked her and Darcy fought the urge to roll her eyes. She had forgotten how dramatic teenagers could be. Even though Emma wasn't the most normal of teenagers, it was nice to know she was still a teenager where it counted.

"Don't be stupid. Of course, he loves you." Darcy told her seriously. "That boy is crazy about you, Emma. You two just need a little time to cool off."

"I hope you're right." Emma mumbled and Darcy just smiled at her.

"I'm always right. Just ask Jane." Darcy replied, sounding quite sure of herself. "Do you know how many times Jane and Thor have fought? I don't even think Thor knows when they're fighting. Jane gets really pissed off at him too but at the end of the day they still love each other."

"I don't know why Thor's with that loser." Emma muttered and Darcy laughed.

"I don't know why either." Darcy murmured but her thoughts were elsewhere as she looked at the tired looking blonde on the bed. She wrapped her arm around the teenage girl and for once Emma didn't push her away. She just laid still as the brunette held her close, allowing someone other than Steve or Peter to comfort her. Emma knew that her and Darcy posed as sisters as part of their cover story but Emma really considered Darcy to be like a sister to her. She'd never admit it aloud but Emma might've even cared for Darcy.

"You'll be okay." Darcy whispered softly, trying to comfort her but Emma still felt drained from the fight. She just hoped that Darcy was right about Peter. Emma didn't know if she could take losing him too.


	68. Chapter Sixty Three: Part I

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took forever to write! This is actually just Part I of the chapter and I will try having Part II out real soon. I'm actually about half way finished with Part II. I've had Part I done for a couple days but I wasn't ready to publish it yet because I was still trying to figure out where would be a good place to split it up into two parts. For obvious reasons this chapter had to be a long one.**

 **So I went to the HAIM concert a couple weeks ago and I have to say my mind was blown. It was probably the best concert I've ever been to but mainly because it was general admission so I was able to be right in the front row. All I had to do was get there two hours before the doors opened. Seeing them up close was surreal because they're my favorite band ever and watching Danielle shred on the guitar was even more amazing. She's such a badass on the guitar! Este was hilarious, of course, and Alana loves picking on her sisters. Also, seeing Este's bass face in person was super cool and if you're a HAIM fan you'll know exactly what that means. I have to admit I wasn't super into Lizzo but watching her perform live was something else. She's a really good singer and I liked the positive message she had. She kind of complimented my outfit too so she definitely won me over. I might've even put one of her songs in this chapter because this song is my newest obsession which is weird since I'm not typically into rap or R &B. I'm much more of an indie rocker. A really good concert though and they're probably the first band I've seen that I would want to see again. **

**I also found out that there's a comic con coming to the same venue HAIM played at in the city. Apparently Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Chris Evans will be there and I seriously considered going because the tickets aren't that expensive and I've never been to a comic con before but going all the way back into the city isn't that appealing to me. Maybe I'd go if Sebastian Stan was going. Yeah...I totally would go if he'd be there for obvious reasons. He's probably my number one celebrity crush. Maybe another time.**

 **I just want to say that I don't own the songs 'Mr. Tillman' or 'Truth Hurts'. Those songs belong to Father John Misty and Lizzo. I'm really obsessed with both of those songs right now.**

 **Sabrina Barnes: I tried to write last chapter with both of them being in the wrong. Peter for overacting because of his jealousy and Emma for lying to him and snapping at him when he was only trying to help. I didn't want to make Peter out to be the one completely in the wrong because a lot of stories make everything the guy's fault which I don't really like. Yes, Peter acted like an asshole but so did Emma. It would be so cool by the way if you could recommend some Bucky/OC stories. The only one I've ever really read and finished was this one called 'Stranger on a Bench'. It's the only one I like but it's also the only one I've seen that doesn't have the OFC being a spy or assassin but just a normal person instead.**

 **artemis7448: You should definitely watch Jessica Jones if you haven't already! I know not a lot of people share this opinion but it's my favorite Netflix Marvel series. I will admit the first season is way better than the second but it's still really good. I think Kilgrave was one of the most terrifying MCU villains because he scared the shit out of me. So creepy.**

 **Winchestergirl123: I know I said there would be a small Steve related surprise in this chapter which is still kind of true but it's going to be in PART II. Part I of this chapter just became super long because it's 15,000 words already but I promise it will be in Part II. So still in chapter sixty three technically.**

 **MusicLover315: So I had actually never heard of 'The Way I Used To Be' but I looked it up and became interested in reading it. Unfortunately Book of the Month Club(which I have a subscription to because I'm a nerd) didn't have it so I ordered it on Amazon. It just came in the other day but I read the whole thing in a few hours. It was an amazing book and I could definitely see how Emma would remind you of Eden and everything Eden dealt with in the book. I don't think I've ever cried that much reading a book before. It's so sad because she was dealing with all of this on her own(kind of like Emma has been doing) and everyone gets mad at her for being the way she is but they don't really know any better at the same time which makes the whole situation sadder. I'm happy she figured things out a bit at the end though. Thank you so much for introducing me to the book! I really appreciate it. I honestly think every teen should read this book despite how brutally honest it is because it might make them understand about how to treat each other better, especially where the bullying was involved in the book.**

 **I, myself, am kind of sad that Emma and Peter can't really be a real thing in real life but at least they can in here. Michelle still has my approval for her and Peter to get together in the movies. I do think it was kind of shallow for Peter to be completely hung up on Liz since the whole nerdy teenage boy and pretty popular girl pairing is so cliche( nerd and popular good looking person is the plot of every eighties high school rom-com) but he is a teenage boy, after all. Hopefully in the next movie he'll open his eyes a bit and see Michelle because Michelle was my favorite character from Homecoming(other than Peter, of course).**

 **HwGenius: I don't think I wrote him out of character. We haven't seen much of Peter's angry/jealous side but it finally came out last chapter...big time. He's been super patient with Emma but even he knows she doesn't tell him everything so I think he just finally lost his patience. Emma and Peter also bring out different sides in each other...sometimes very ugly sides. Yes, they are but how they got Emma to go to the party is kind of funny. Let's just say Ned's mastered the art of annoying Emma.**

 **Blue: This story isn't going to end anytime soon. It's tough to say when it will end but I know it won't be for a while. If it came to them having kids, that would probably end up being in a sequel when they're older. They're way too young now to be having kids and Emma happens to hate kids which Peter will learn soon. It's actually going to be kind of funny because Peter's going to be the kind of person who someday wants kids and even looks forward to it while Emma scoffs at the idea. Don't worry. She'll come around eventually.**

 **marinapanic: I know if Peter and Emma were older when all this was happening that Peter might not care if she slept with someone in the past but I feel like a teenage boy would be much more insecure about that. In his mind, Emma's already had sex with someone who was probably experienced and Peter's worried that he'll somehow disappoint her because he's not experienced at all. Of course, he has no idea about what really happened and wouldn't even begin to act like that if he knew the truth. It's also Emma's fault for not being honest enough with him. He's also possessive like you said but Emma's very possessive too so it's not like he's alone in that.**

 **Keystone: So I've been slowing working myself up to the idea of Rumlow becoming enhanced in some way because I also realized that he's not that much of a powerful villain. He's got resources but literally anyone could take him out on their own... even Clint or Natasha. I've kind of been foreshadowing like a couple chapters ago when Emma talks about the previous participants in the Winter Soldier program and how they went insane. Anyways...that's all I'll give away when it comes to that.**

 **Guest: I never meant to make Peter the villain last chapter. The reason Emma got angry at him like that was because she was being defensive. She wants to tell him but she's really scared of what will happen when she does. In this chapter, Emma's not really mad at him. She gets kind of pissed at him for acting stupid but the feeling doesn't really stick because she's mostly mad at herself and doesn't blame him for acting that way. You'll see what I mean in the chapter though.**

 **Radioactive88: I wanted their first fight as a couple to be both intense but funny at the same time...like when Emma threw his stuff out the window. Also that moment when Peter hears something hit the bedroom door after she slammed it in his face and he kind of gets scared. They'll make up soon though...I promise.**

 **J3ennife4: Oh my god! That's so weird...and kind of cool that you happen to know Matthew McConaughey. Originally, Emma's AI system was going to just be a random male voice that she would named Ziggy after Ziggy Stardust but then I thought about why not making the AI system's voice to be a more recognizable voice. I thought of the most iconic and recognizable voice and Matthew McConaughey immediately came to mind. I thought it would be funny and weird. However, I never thought anyone reading this would actually know him because that is weird.**

 **I kind of want Matthew McConaughey to be in the MCU. I know a lot of people hate this idea but I kind of want him to be the Green Goblin. I just think that would be hilarious. Imagine the Green Goblin with McConaughey's voice.**

 **Heavenly: I'm eventually going to include a smut scene at some point in this story although I'm not going to be making this story into porn or anything. There's not going to be like a smut scene every chapter or so. I just feel like it's important to the story so I will include one but I'll let everyone know when we do get to that point which won't be for a while. On Quotev I probably won't include it but I'll let people know it's on the version here on . I'm not sure about Wattpad though. I don't really remember their rules or guidelines so I guess I'll go back and look into that.**

 **Cheekylove: Ha! I didn't even think of that but now that you mentioned it I'm definitely going to be doing that when the Infinity War storyline comes into play. Teenage Groot crushing on Emma will be completely hilarious. I also see Rocket as their translator. Emma will probably be confused as hell while Peter's just automatically decides he hates Groot. I also feel like Emma would get along with Rocket. She might raise an eyebrow at a talking Racoon but Rocket and Emma have a similar attitude and like giving their teammates a hard time. Emma likes making fun of Tony the same way Rocket like's making fun of Peter(Quill).**

 **AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR comes out in a week, guys! I can't even express how excited I am. I'm considering it a late birthday present since it comes out a week after my birthday.**

 **Sorry for not responding to all the reviews but there was so many and I really wanted to update this story since it's been over two weeks now. You guys must hate me at this point! Lol. Anyways...thanks for all the reviews, favorites(we're at over 700 now!), and follows. Let me know what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

"I don't get it, Peter. Why can't we go to this party again?" Ned asked Peter Parker who was moping around in his room after school. It had been a day since the fight with Emma and Peter didn't know what to do. He was still furious with Emma for hiding things but he also felt bad for accusing her of all those things like that. The hurt and broken look on her face was engraved inside his mind as he tried to forget the fight from the night before. All his insecurities had come to light last night and especially where Emma and another boy were concerned. A part of it may have been from the knowledge that Mitchell Ori had his eye on her. Peter hated the idea of losing Emma to anyone but his insecurity was what caused him to explode with anger. However, he was still mad at Emma for keeping things from him. They were in a relationship and people were supposed to be open and honest with each other in relationships. It almost felt like Emma didn't trust him and that hurt more than anything else.

"Because we can't go without Emma and Emma and I…" Peter trailed off and Ned rolled his eyes.

"Emma and you aren't talking. I get it. I saw the way she was glaring at you in Gym." Ned shuddered at the memory. "I thought she was scary when she wasn't mad but she's down right terrifying when she's actually mad. I was sure she'd murder you or something." Peter just glared at the floor.

"Well, she's the one that messed up." Peter said stubbornly as he crossed his arms. "I don't know why she's so pissed at me. I didn't do anything wrong." Ned didn't look like he entirely believed him because Peter had to of done something wrong for Emma to glare at him like that. Emma usually looked at Peter with something akin to love in her eyes. Yeah, Peter definitely did something.

"Anyways…Michelle talked to Emma and she said that it was still okay for us to tag along with them to the party." Ned told him and Peter looked up at him in surprise.

"She said that Emma was okay with it?" Peter asked, not sounding like he really believed that. Emma had thrown a textbook at his head last night, after all. He didn't really think she was eager to be spending anytime with him. It had been tough at school that day because Emma ignored him and whenever she did look in his direction, she glared at him. At lunch she and Michelle had resumed sitting at the other end of the table like back in the old days. She teamed up with Abe during the decathlon meeting without even sparing a glance in his direction. He had seen Emma mad before but this time it felt different. He felt like he had really hurt her which made him even more mad because if she'd only open up to him they wouldn't be having this kind of problem.

"Well, Michelle really had to talk her down but she finally agreed." Ned told him and Peter looked doubtful.

"And she just agreed? Just like that?" Peter questioned because that honestly didn't really sound like Emma. He knew when Emma avoided him she made sure to stay clear of him. Peter knew the last time she avoided him she went as far as hiding out in the girl's bathroom. This time, however, she went as far as hiding out under the bleachers with all the stoners. That was saying something because Emma despised the stoners. She called them idiots whose lives were so sad and pathetic that they couldn't stand to live in reality. Peter always smiled when she said that even though he knew it was a mean thing to say…but it was also a very Emma thing to say. Peter shoved those pleasant thoughts about Emma away because he was still mad at her.

"Well…no." Ned admitted nervously and Peter gave him a suspicious look.

"What did you do?" Peter asked accusingly. Ned blushed.

"I just annoyed her until she finally caved in. It worked when I got her to go to the dance with me so I figured it would work this time too. I was right as it would turn out." Ned said and Peter sighed heavily. Great. This was just great. Emma was only agreeing to go to this party because Ned annoyed her to death. This probably meant that she was more pissed off than usual.

"No. We can't go to this party, Ned. I don't want to talk to Emma right now." Peter told his friend as he shook his head. "There's no way I'm going to be going to the party with the way things are between us. She obviously doesn't want to talk to me and I'm not that thrilled with her either at the moment."

"Come on, Peter." Ned whined as he prepared himself to beg for something from his friend. "You're already Spider-Man and not to mention you have the hottest and coolest girlfriend ever. I don't have any of those things. This party is the only thing I have." Peter looked down at his lap as he clenched his jaw but he wasn't mad at Ned. He couldn't tell who he was mad at. He didn't know if it was himself, Emma, and or whoever the guy was that Emma refused to tell him about.

"I don't think Emma wants to be my girlfriend anymore so I don't have everything like you think." Peter muttered and Ned put the thought of the party aside as he looked at his friend in concern. Peter had been in such a grumpy mood since last night but he never explained what exactly happened between him and Emma. He only said that they had gotten into a fight and weren't talking. Ned never had a girlfriend himself so he didn't know if that meant they had broken up or if they had taken a break. He'd never understand the weird relationship Emma and Peter had.

"What exactly happened?" Ned asked him as he took a seat in Peter's desk chair. "I mean, you kind of said that you got into a fight but you never explained what it was about." Peter sighed.

"I don't know, Ned…things were going so great." Peter said before blushing as he remembered what Emma and him had been doing before the fight. It was the closest to sex they had ever gotten which was a big deal to him. They had never gone that far before but it ended before Peter could blink and he didn't know why. He knew he probably would've had to stop it eventually but he never meant for it to end the way it did. Not with Emma in tears and him being completely confused. "We were…um…making out." Ned raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" Ned asked him, suddenly interested and Peter nodded quickly. He was still embarrassed to be talking about this aloud.

"Yeah…and we were doing other things too." Peter said, blushing an even more vibrant shade of red.

"Like what?" Ned asked enthusiastically and despite what happened, Peter still felt a bit proud about what happened between him and Emma. Before everything ended badly everything had been wonderful. Emma always made fun of him for his male ego, as she called it, but he did enjoy the way he made her moan. Peter just hoped that Tony would never find out about that. He broke nearly all of Tony's rules last night. "What base? Was it second or third…wait, did you go all the way?" Peter swallowed nervously.

"No, it was just second." Peter admitted and Ned's eyes widened.

"You mean you, like, touched her boobs and stuff?" Ned asked in wonder and Peter nodded.

"Yes but-" Peter stopped himself because he realized this had nothing to do with what he was trying to say. Emma was always commenting on how immature he was and he didn't want to prove her right. "Wait, that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that everything seemed to be going fine. We were just fooling around but then she started crying." Ned gave him a confused look.

"Crying?" Ned questioned before smirking at his friend. "Maybe you're just that bad at kissing, Peter." Peter glared at him before becoming serious once again as he remembered the look on Emma's face when he pulled away from her last night.

"No…it was different. It was almost like she was scared. She's never been scared of me before." Peter told Ned sadly and the smirk fell off of Ned's face. "I thought that I might have hurt her but she denied it. She wouldn't say what was wrong no matter how hard I tried to get her to tell me."

"Maybe she's on her period or something. My brother said that his girlfriend gets weird on her period." Ned tried to suggest and Peter groaned in frustration.

"It's not like that, Ned!" Peter argued as he got up from his bed and started to pace his bedroom. "This isn't the first time either. I know she's been keeping things from me. There's things about her past that she won't tell me. I think there's even a guy."

"A guy?" Ned questioned doubtfully and Peter nodded.

"I think she was with some guy before me. She denies it but I'm not stupid." Peter informed Ned before chewing on his bottom lip anxiously. He felt the familiar feeling of jealousy come over him. "I don't know what happened but Emma's still hung up on him. I think they…well, I think they had sex."

"You think Emma was with a guy before you?" Ned questioned, still not understanding what Peter was saying. It didn't make any sense. "Do we know the same Emma Rogers? She didn't seem that interested in a relationship with you and she happens to be in love with you. What makes you think she dated some guy before you?"

"It's the only explanation!" Peter exclaimed in frustration. "She told me that I wasn't her first kiss all those months ago and then she never said anything else about it. She's always making those crude comments about sex…and I don't know…some of the stuff she says sometimes makes me think that she might not be a virgin."

"Does that bother you?" Ned asked him and Peter blushed before shrugging.

"Not really. I mean, it wouldn't bother me if she wasn't but I just wish she'd tell me the truth." Peter said honestly before he stopped pacing. "I said a lot of terrible things to her and I know it was wrong even though she hurt me too but it's just…well…"

"What is it?" Ned asked him, completely confused by his friend's odd behavior. Peter blushed even more as he grew uncomfortable about the topic they were discussing.

"I'm just worried that I won't be enough for her. If she was with this other guy that knows a lot about sex, I'm worried that she'll be disappointed in me when we do cross that bridge." Peter confessed, feeling very embarrassed but at the same time he was also worried. "I'm not experienced when it comes to that stuff and I'm afraid that I won't be good enough."

"Wow…that's deep." Ned said, not knowing what else to say and Peter felt somewhat crestfallen. Ned had been his best friend for years but there was some things he couldn't talk about with Ned. It was so easy for Peter to unleash his feelings on Emma because she always knew what to say and if she didn't then she'd hold him. Not that Peter wanted Ned to hold him or anything because that was just weird.

"Thanks." Peter muttered and Ned sighed.

"Look, I'm sure everything will turn out alright with Emma. You guys can't be mad at each other forever." Ned told him and Peter shrugged. That wasn't really what he wanted to hear. He wanted someone to tell him that Emma and him weren't over. That she'd talk to him about whatever, or whoever, she was hiding from him. He even wanted someone to erase the harsh and angry words he said to her so that everything could go back to the way it was before. Everything was going just fine, more than fine actually, before they had that fight. Peter still couldn't believe Emma had thrown those books at him. The furious look on her face was enough to frighten him and Peter was starting to recall the words Mr. Stark once said when he mentioned women were always right. He had doubted Tony's words back then but now he was starting to find the wisdom in those words because Emma was beyond scary when she was mad. She hadn't even looked that mad at Tony that day on the ferry so Peter figured that he had really pissed her off this time.

"So what do you say? Wanna go that party?" Ned asked hopefully and Peter sighed heavily.

"I don't know, Ned. I don't really feel like talking to Emma right now and I don't think she wants to talk to me either." Peter told his friend. He honestly didn't feel like going to a party with Emma who was probably going to be glaring at him the whole night. When he had agreed to go to the party the day before, that was before Emma and him had the fight. The party had been something where Emma and him could spend some time together but for once he wasn't looking forward to spending time with his girlfriend. At least not while she was mad at him like that.

"Come on, Peter. It won't even be a big deal." Ned said as he tried to reassure Peter. "Emma's just going to drive us there and she'll probably have the radio on or something. We all know how much Emma loves her music. She probably won't even pay any attention to us."

Somehow Peter sincerely doubted that. Emma wasn't the type of person to forget about things and especially not the kind of things Peter said to her. She was the type of person to act like nothing was wrong but then she'd make some cold and subtle comment much later to remind him of what he did. No, Emma didn't forget anything and Peter knew she wasn't about to forget the night before either.

"Fine." Peter finally said as he relented. If he didn't say yes then Ned was most likely going to bug him the whole night about it. It wasn't like he could avoid Emma forever. She was his girlfriend, after all. "We'll go to the party but I'm not going to stay that long." Ned grinned at his friend.

"Yes! This is going to be incredible, Peter." Ned told his friend excitedly, happy that Peter finally said yes to going. "Can you imagine us, two sophomores, going to Mitchell Ori's party? This is even better than the time Liz invited us to her party."

"Yeah, it sounds great." Peter replied in a flat voice, no excitement whatsoever in his voice. Ned's excited look faded as he gave Peter a sympathetic expression.

"Don't worry. You and Emma will probably make up by tonight." Ned told Peter reassuringly as he tried to comfort his friend but Peter wasn't buying it. Emma had been really furious with him last night and he had a feeling that a party wasn't going to lessen her anger. Peter knew he messed up but he wasn't entirely to blame either. Emma messed up by lying to him and Peter was mad at her too. Whatever happened tonight, Peter wasn't going to be the first one to give in. Not this time. He wasn't going to apologize until she did. Although knowing Emma, that would probably not happen for a good decade.

* * *

Emma didn't know how to describe the mood she was in. Angry? Yes. Hurt? Even more so. However, she was also calm and collected because that was what she was taught to be since she was four…to suppress the anger and sadness because those were the feelings of a little girl according to Hydra. So why was she so hurt by the words that Peter said to her? The words that stung more than she cared to admit. Maybe his words hurt so much because Emma always feared he'd feel that way when he found out what Rumlow did to her. Granted, he thought she had slept with some other guy before him but still.

The car ride to the party had been filled with an obvious tension and one which Ned tried to cover up was idle conversation about a new Star Wars video game that had come out. Emma could really care less about video games so she instead turned up the volume on the stereo system until Ned's voice was completely drowned out. Even through the loudness of 'Mr. Tillman', she could still feel Peter's gaze on the back of her seat. Emma liked listening to Father John Misty every now and then because his lyrics distracted her from reality but not even the indie rocker's collection of songs could make her forget about Peter this time. The need to look at Peter was almost suffocating. Not looking back at Peter through her rear view mirror was one of the most difficult tasks she ever had to do but somehow she managed to not look at him.

As soon as Emma parked the car outside Mitchell Ori's house, Peter didn't waste anytime getting out and Emma rolled her eyes. He was such a child sometimes. Emma knew she and Peter were technically children but Emma didn't really consider herself to be a child. She had seen and done too much to still be a child. Michelle raised an eyebrow at her while Ned looked at Emma questioningly.

"Careful, kids. Mom and dad are fighting." Michelle said sarcastically and Emma gritted her teeth.

"Emma, maybe you should forgive Peter for whatever he said." Ned suggested hesitantly. "I mean, he couldn't have said anything that bad." Emma slowly turned around to glare at Ned coldly.

"Get. Out." Emma said in a low and dangerous tone. Ned's eyes widened as he gulped before nodding furiously.

"Right. See you guys inside!" Ned exclaimed before he hurriedly hoped out of the car. Emma watched as the little coward ran over to catch up with Peter. Sometimes she really disliked Peter's friend. Ned had a real talent for getting on her nerves and not in a cute way like Peter either.

"I'm assuming you don't want to talk about what's going on with you and Peter?" Michelle asked although it didn't really sound like a question.

"You assumed right." Emma replied and Michelle only nodded. She didn't know what really happened between Emma and Peter but she knew that the couple were angry at each other. Emma unsurprisingly refused to talk about it and Michelle respected her wishes. She didn't want Emma pissed at her too. Peter didn't make it out to be a pleasant experience from what she heard. Emma got out of the car and Michelle followed suit whilst Emma made a point of locking it behind her. This was a nicer suburb of New York but that didn't mean that Emma trusted the idiots that lived in it.

Emma was wearing a black and white stripped skater skirt, converse sneakers, and an Alice Cooper concert shirt she had tucked into her skirt…the same Alice Cooper shirt she had stolen from Tony. Emma always had a habit of stealing things from the other Avengers but none of them minded too much. She just blamed it on the witch if anyone asked although Emma was certain that Tony wasn't dumb enough to believe that the witch had stolen his Alice Cooper shirt. Emma didn't want to seem like she was making an effort but at the same time she was wearing one of the skirts she knew Peter loved. He never said anything but she knew he loved it when she wore skirts because he always seemed to stare at her legs when she wore them. Emma meant to torture Peter in a subtle way. She knew it was petty but Emma was mad at him.

Mitchell Ori's house was something more of a mansion which wasn't surprising considering his father was a senator and future presidential hopeful. The Ori family was something like a modern day Kennedy family. Emma had only been kidding before when she pretended not know who Mitchell's Ori's family was. The Ori family was one of the many political dynasties that Hydra made her learn about which made her hesitant about even going to this stupid party. The Ori family had just as many scandals and darkness looming over them as the Kennedy family. Nothing as horrifying as Chappaquiddick but some incidents involving the family were pretty damn close.

The moment Emma entered the Ori mansion she was hit with the revolting odor of weed in the air. There were times like these that Emma wished that her senses weren't enhanced because there was nothing worse than the smell of weed to her. To Emma it smelled something like a skunk. It wasn't like she had never seen drugs before. Some of the men at Hydra were users of various drugs although they much preferred cocaine to weed. Emma just couldn't understand the point of drugs. Drugs made you less sharp and the thought of not being in a constant clear state of mind frightened her. It was just asking for Rumlow to find her and take her. Emma didn't really care if her dislike of weed made her seem like Steve. She nearly cringed at the thought of being compared to Steve. The very thought made her want to puke.

There was a lot of kids from school in the mansion but very few she recognized. Most of the kids seemed to be juniors and seniors but there was a few sophomores she saw like Betty Brant. Betty Brant who quickly hurried into another room the moment she saw Emma. At least that was one thing she didn't have to worry about tonight. The mansion had high ceilings and the most elegant of furniture. Most of the furniture and antiques looked as if they had been in the family for generations which made this place much different than any house Tony might have owned. Tony's tastes were much more modern than that and he made it clear that he wasn't the nostalgic sort.

Emma looked around in distaste as she saw the other kids drinking and dancing to the music. She was already starting to regret coming here. Peter was already with Ned near one of the kegs in the kitchen as someone poured him a cup of beer. Emma narrowed her eyes at the scene. Oh, so he was suddenly cool enough to drink beer? She rolled her eyes when she saw him scrunch his face up in distaste after taking a sip of the beer. Figures, she thought to herself. She never took Peter as someone that could handle alcohol. Emma let Michelle take her somewhere into the party where she couldn't see Peter. 'Truth Hurt' by Lizzo was blaring from the speakers as Michelle and her came across the living room of the mansion.

 _Why men great 'til they gotta be great?  
Woo_

 _I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch  
Even when I'm crying crazy  
Yeah, I got boy problems, that's the human in me  
Bling bling, then I solve 'em, that's the goddess in me  
You coulda had a bad bitch, non-committal  
Help you with your career just a little  
You're 'posed to hold me down, but you're holding me back  
And that's the sound of me not calling you back_

You and me both, Lizzo, Emma bitterly thought to herself as she and Michelle found a spot in the room that didn't reek of weed. Peter could go drink himself silly for all she cared. It wasn't her problem if he was going to make a complete and utter fool of himself when he inevitably got drunk. She'd laugh her head off if Peter got drunk. He was Tony's problem anyways. It's not like Emma was his babysitter which he never stopped reminding her of. Emma was taken out of her thoughts when she spotted Michelle take something out of her purse. She had to admit it was weird seeing Michelle with a purse but now she knew why. The dark haired girl opened another book of hers and began reading.

"Are you seriously reading a book at a party?" Emma asked her and Michelle looked at her as if the answer was obvious. Emma loved her books but she didn't love them enough to take them to a party with her. Reading a book while a bunch of idiots were dancing, drinking, and smoking weed wasn't Emma's idea of a peaceful reading environment.

"Isn't it obvious?" Michelle said boredly and Emma rolled her eyes.

"How can you even read with all this racket?" Emma asked her and Michelle gave her an amused look.

"Wow, Emma, I didn't realize you were a grouchy old man. What's next? Are you going to tell the kids to get off your lawn?" Michelle asked sarcastically and Emma glared at her even though she knew that Michelle had a point. She was really starting to sound like her goody two shoes grandfather which was mortifying. Emma thought that Steve's decision to not put her in a real school with other kids wasn't just because he was afraid she'd kill them. No, Emma was sure it was because he didn't want Emma near drugs or hormonal sex-crazed teenage boys. Well, Steve already messed up when it came to the hormonal teenage boy part since Emma already had a boyfriend.

"Whatever." Emma muttered. "I'm going to get a drink."

"Don't get roofied!" Michelle called after her.

"I'll try not to!" Emma called back before heading to the kitchen area. She decided to avoid the alcohol because what was really the point? The stuff tasted gross and it's not like she could even get drunk. Wasn't that the whole point of drinking alcohol? To get drunk? That's the reason Jessica seemed to chug the stuff down anyways. Emma instead poured herself a cup of soda but as soon as she put the liter of soda back on the counter, she noticed her boyfriend acting like a idiot as she previously predicted. If she wasn't mad then she'd probably laugh at him. Emma noticed that Peter giggled a lot when he was drunk…kind of like when Tony was drunk. She didn't understand how he could already be drunk after having one or two cups of beer but judging by the way he was already drinking tequila shots, supplied to him by some mischievous juniors, Emma kind of figured that it would be hard for him _not_ to be drunk. Don't intervene, Emma thought to herself. You're not his babysitter and it's not your fault if he makes a complete idiot out of himself.

"No beer, huh?" Emma heard a voice say from beside her. She glanced up and noticed a tall, muscular looking guy sleazily smiling at her. Emma supposed he was good looking if you were into the Thor thing and his smile was blinding which made Emma sick. She hated people that smiled that wide and he smiled even bigger than Peter which was saying a lot. What the hell did these people have to be so happy about all the damn time? The guy's hair was dirty blonde and his eyes were hazel colored but somehow Emma knew she already disliked him. She liked to think she had an asshole radar and this guy was definitely an asshole. She just could just tell.

"No." Emma said shortly as she took a sip of her soda and Emma eyed the joint in the guy's hand. She was about two seconds from bolting away from there. The scent was alarmingly repulsive.

"Right…" The guy replied awkwardly before moving on. "It's Emma, right?"

"Yes and who are you supposed to be?" Emma asked in a bitchy tone and the guy gave her a surprised look.

"You don't know who I am?" He asked her, genuinely surprised that Emma didn't know who he was. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"No." Emma snapped but the guy just smiled at her, not at all taken back by her tone. Idiot, Emma thought to herself.

"I'm Mitchell Ori." Mitchell introduced like he was someone famous and Emma tried not to make a face. So this was the asshole everyone kept talking about. The one who apparently wanted to sleep with her. Yeah, Emma had to pass on that. This guy looked like he was full of himself. She could tolerate that attitude with Tony but she refused to tolerate it with anyone else. He also wasn't Peter.

"Good for you." Emma muttered as she took another sip of her drink and looked in another direction. Mitchell laughed and Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"You're really funny." Mitchell told her and Emma wished she was anywhere but in that kitchen with this annoying dickhead. He was really starting to test her patience and unfortunately for him he wasn't Peter...meaning that she didn't love him to let something like that slide.

"Hey, you like Beyonce, right?" Mitchell asked her as a Beyonce song started blaring through the speakers. "You know, I can get front row tickets to a Beyonce concert if you want to go. I can even get VIP passes." Emma grimaced.

"I'd rather watch _Gossip Girl_." Emma said sarcastically but the sarcasm went right over Mitchell's head.

"We could do that too." Mitchell replied and Emma really wished this guy would go away. Emma was so distracted by fantasizing about ways to kill this asshole that she didn't even notice she had the attention of her boyfriend from across the room. Peter watched from behind his cup of beer as Mitchell Ori asked his girlfriend out on a date. Suddenly nothing was funny anymore as the very good looking football player flirted with Emma. Peter clenched his jaw because Emma looked beautiful tonight…who was he kidding? She looked beautiful every night. Peter didn't really like how she was wearing a skirt either. Actually he did like it when she wore skirts but not when Mitchell Ori was staring at her legs. Peter was the only one who was allowed to do that…or so he thought. He took another sip of his beer as he glared at Emma and the quarterback. Peter wanted to go over there and push Mitchell away from his girlfriend but he knew Emma would probably only tell him to go to hell. So he decided just to drink his beer and sulk from a corner in the room.

"Yeah, sure." Emma said dismissively, hoping the idiot would get the message and leave. Unfortunately he didn't seem to understand that he wasn't worth her time.

"Hey, you wanna hit?" Mitchell asked her nonchalantly, practically shoving the joint in her face. Emma nearly gagged at the odor and mentally cursed Howard Stark for inventing a serum that just had to enhance her sense of smell. She really could've gone without smelling that thing for the rest of her life. Emma knocked the joint out of the idiot's hand, trying to get it as far away from her as she could.

"No, I don't want a hit, dumb ass." Emma hissed as she glared furiously at him. "Get that shit out of my face." Mitchell had an offended look on his face but Emma didn't care.

"Sorry, I was just trying to be nice." Mitchell said in a hurt tone and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, right. More like you were trying to fuck me." Emma said coldly as she sneered at the football player. "No amount of alcohol or weed would ever make me want to fuck you, daddy's boy." Emma then quickly turned around and walked away, tired of having to converse with that asshole. She knew she was in his house and everything but she really didn't care. He was a little hormonal dickhead who just wanted to get laid and Emma didn't have the patience to humor him. She was really starting to wonder why she had even agreed to come to this stupid party in the first place.

* * *

Emma didn't know how long she had been at the party but she knew she had been there longer than she ever wanted to be. She must've spent two hours sitting there watching hormonal teenagers dance and grind all over each other. It was enough to cause the bile to rise in Emma's throat as she wished that she was somewhere far away. She also spent two hours watching her boyfriend get drunker and drunker as he drank shot after shot. A part of her wanted to intervene because deep down she was worried about him but she also didn't want to be the first one to cave in over their previous fight. If she acted like the worried girlfriend she was then he'd make some smart ass comment about how he thought they were fighting. Emma didn't want to deal with that right now and she also didn't want to admit she was worried about him. Of course, she was worried about him. Why else would she have stuck around this party for this long? She didn't want to be worried about him because he was being an idiotic asshole but she was. God, this being in love thing was stupid sometimes.

"Why don't you go over there and tell him that you're sorry?" Michelle suggested from beside her which caused Emma to look away from Peter.

"What?" Emma questioned, thinking she might have heard Michelle wrong. Michelle only sighed before closing her book and turning to face Emma.

"You've been staring at him with that worried look on your face for the past two hours." Michelle stated. "I think you two should just make up or whatever. I don't know what happened between you two but I can tell that you miss each other. Peter's been staring at you all night too."

"He has?" Emma asked in a small voice and Michelle wanted to roll her eyes at the look on the blonde's face. She couldn't believe the scary and intimidating Viper Assassin was acting like an actual teenage girl for once.

"Yes, he has." Michelle confirmed. "You two need to grow up and apologize before Peter drinks himself into a coma. He's only doing that because he wants your attention."

"You don't know what happened." Emma told her, sounding rather sad and distant. Michelle was taken back by this because she didn't think she had ever seen the blonde look sad before. She was always so put together but she could now see that whatever happened between Emma and Peter had been a lot more serious than a simple lover's quarrel. "We said a lot of things we probably can't take back."

"Are you saying that you're finished with him?" Michelle asked her in surprise and Emma genuinely looked shocked. Her heart raced in her chest at Michelle's words because the thought of her and Peter being over terrified her. She didn't really understand herself. Emma was mad at him but at the same time she didn't want to be apart from him. She didn't like the thought of them not being together. Peter and her dating had been the most fun she ever had in her life. She was the happiest she had ever been and it may have sounded wrong for her to put some much value in a guy but this was different. She loved Steve and her father but Peter was the first person who treated her like an equal. He didn't treat her like a child and maybe that was because they could relate to each other on that level. People always treated them both like children and that was part of the reason that made it so easy for Emma to allow him to get close to her like that. Now she was wondering whether or not dating Peter had been a good choice in the first place.

Emma had been hesitant in dating Peter. She knew how much she was risking by agreeing to date him in the first place. She knew from the beginning that dating him would be more complicated than being friends with him. Her sex life, non-existent or not, wasn't his business when he was just her friend and there were things that she could rightfully keep from him. Being in a relationship was different because he wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know about her family, her past, and all her secrets. Emma was just so used to having secrets that she didn't know how not to keep secrets.

She hadn't wanted to date Peter for exactly this reason. Even though she was in love with him, she hadn't wanted to date him because she knew she'd let him down in some way. She knew that she would hurt him and then he wouldn't want anything to do with her…not even as a friend. Emma knew that if she dated him then she'd probably lose him forever but she hadn't used her common sense. She ignored that small voice in her head that warned her against getting involved with him because Peter had stared at her with those warm brown eyes of his and told her that he was in love with her. One look into those brown eyes and Emma was a goner. Emma didn't have a lot of weaknesses but she knew Peter Parker was her greatest one. Hydra was right when they said love was a weakness because no one had been able to hurt her in the way Peter had and it was all her fault. She only had to be honest with him but she couldn't even do that. He was going to leave her and break her heart in the process.

"I don't know. That depends on him." Emma said shortly but in all honesty it depended on her. She had a choice…she could've told Peter a long time ago. Emma had originally wanted to tell him after they formed the truce against Toomes. She was going to tell him then because she hadn't really cared about him then or cared about what he thought of her at least. Emma thought it would be a good way in working up the courage to finally tell everyone else but then the inevitable happened. Peter had worked his way into her heart and she began to care about him as a friend. She suddenly cared about what Peter thought about her and then she fell in love with him to top it all off. Emma didn't want to tell him then and especially because it wouldn't matter anyways. She had foolishly assumed that he'd never feel the same about her. It was then that he finally told her that he was in love with her and then she suddenly found herself in a relationship with him. Emma became too scared to tell him because she was afraid of losing him. A part of her should've known that this would happen…that he'd know that she was keeping things from him but she had been naïve. She thought that they could be happy together without ever having to address the Rumlow issue. Emma thought that she could forget about Rumlow but she had been wrong.

"Well, don't look now but it looks like your boyfriend is about to smoke pot for the first time." Michelle said in dull tone and Emma looked up at her in confusion. She then followed Michelle's gaze to the other side of the room where, as it would turn out that, Peter was standing amongst other older high school boys. Ned was nowhere to be seen as Peter stood there with boys that he probably didn't even know. She noticed that Peter looked incredibly wasted…barely able to stand up on his two feet. The other older boys laughed at the drunk looking sophomore as they handed Peter the joint. Emma glared at the scene before her because she was starting to realize just how stupid her boyfriend truly was. He took the joint in his hand, laughing as he did so, and that's when Emma decided that she had enough. She had let him drink himself silly but she was damned if she let her boyfriend become a stoner. Emma got up from the couch and immediately stormed over to where her boyfriend was standing with the other boys.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Emma hissed as she crossed her arms. All the boys turned to look at her, including Peter, who immediately smiled as he sauntered over to her. Emma looked at him in disgust as he almost tripped over his own feet. The smile on his face wasn't the usual adorable and goofy one that she loved so much. His smile looked drunk and lazy.

"Hey guys, look it's my girlfriend." Peter announced loudly before throwing an arm over Emma's shoulders. Emma looked at him in surprise, not knowing what to think. "Isn't she beautiful? She's the prettiest girl in the whole live world and somehow she picked me. Not Mitchell Ori but me. Peter…Parker." Emma noticed how Peter slurred his words. She could barely understand a word he was saying. He also reeked of alcohol and the smell was so repulsive that she found it difficult just standing next to him.

"She's a good girlfriend too. She let me get to second base and everything…not going to lie but it was definitely one of the best moments of my life. She did it because she looovvves me." Peter slurred and Emma stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe he actually said that. Emma had enough of his bullshit. He was embarrassing her but more than anything he was also embarrassing himself. "I love her too. I love her more than everyone in the whole world. I love her more than smores. I love her more than video games. I even love her more than Star Wars."

"Peter, stop it. You're embarrassing yourself." Emma told him shortly and Peter gave her a confused look as if he couldn't understand why she said that.

"Embarrassing myself?" Peter questioned, his words barely coherent. "How am I embarrassing myself? I'm telling everyone how much I love you. I'll tell the whole world if I have to. Hey everyone, I love Emma Rogers!" Emma's eyes widened as she stared at him. She couldn't believe he called her by her actual name. Thankfully no one seemed to take any notice of it and probably dismissed the name as being the misspoken words of a drunk idiot but still.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Emma snapped and Peter gave her another confused look.

"What do you mean? I'm just making a declaration of my love for you. Isn't that what all girls want?" Peter said in a cocky tone before taking the joint in his hand and raised it up to his lips as he were about to casually smoke it. Emma's eyes flashed in anger as she immediately slapped the joint out of his hand, causing it to fall to the floor. Peter looked down in surprise before looking back up and giving her an angry look.

"Hey! I wanted to try that!" Peter whined and usually she found it cute when he whined but now he just looked pathetic. Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was dating Seth Rogen." She said sarcastically and Peter pouted.

"You're a mean girlfriend. You never let me do anything I want. If you were a nice girlfriend then you'd let me try things like weed and you wouldn't pick on me all the time. Nice girlfriends don't make fun of their boyfriends." Peter slurred and Emma felt the urge to slap him again but she knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"I'm so sorry I'm not a _nice_ girlfriend. My sincerest apologies." Emma said as she sneered at him and her voice was nearly dripping with sarcasm before she became serious. "We're leaving this party right now. I'm taking you home and I'm just going to pretend that this never happened because this is bullshit. You don't even know how stupid you look right now." The other boys snickered at this.

"You gonna let your woman walk all over you like that, Parker?" One of the boys said and all the other boys chuckled. Peter glared at Emma as he stood up a bit straighter, trying to appear more serious but miserably failing in the process.

"They're right. You can't tell me what to do. You're not my babysitter and I can do whatever I want." Peter told Emma or tried to as he continued to slur all his words. "You're not the boss of me. I'm tired of you telling me what to do all the time. It doesn't work like that. I-I'm the man in this relationship. You're the girl. What _I_ say goes." Emma watched Peter silently, a million thoughts going through her mind and she was finding it harder and harder to not reach over and slap him. Peter got annoyingly sexist when he was drunk.

"You're supposed to listen to me. I'm a man and you better start treating me like it." Peter finally finished as he looked at her seriously. His confidence slightly faltered when he saw the cold look on her face. She only looked like that when she was really mad. Peter gulped because he was starting to feel scared. Emma looked like she wanted to kill him.

"Nice one, Parker!" One of the boys called and Emma snapped. She immediately turned towards the boy, looking absolutely furious.

"Get the hell out of here before I pick up that joint from off the floor and make you fucking eat it." Emma hissed at him and the look on her face made the boy believe that she would actually do it. His eyes widened as he slowly backed away from her.

"Come on, guys, let's get out of here. She's fucking nuts!" The boy said to his friends and the group of boys immediately started walking in the opposite direction. It was then that Emma turned back to face Peter with a deadly look on her face. Peter couldn't help but compare her to a shark slowly moving in for the kill. She gave him a cold look as she stalked towards him and somehow that was more frightening than if she looked furious.

"You're a man, huh?" Emma questioned and Peter slowly backed away from her, almost stumbling over his feet as she walked towards him. "You want to tell me what to do because you're the one in charge?"

"Y-yes." Peter replied weakly and Emma glared at him.

"Really because I was under the impression that we were equals." Emma said as she clenched her jaw. "But since you're a _man,_ I guess that doesn't apply."

"I am a man." Peter argued and Emma scoffed.

"No, you're not. Real men don't get so drunk at parties that they can barely stand on their own two feet. Real men don't make fools out of themselves in front of the whole world." Emma said sarcastically and Peter glared at her.

"I'm not making a fool out of myself." Peter said and Emma just shook her head at him.

"Yes, you are. Look at you." She told him as she looked him up and down, her gaze full of disappointment. "You're drunk and if I hadn't stopped you, you'd probably be high too. You're such a hypocrite."

"Excuse me?" Peter questioned in disbelief and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're always telling me right from wrong and here you are drunk. If only people could see the _amazing_ Spider-Man drunk out of his mind and being an idiot." Emma told him and Peter could only glare at her in response. "And guess what, Peter? That informant you told me to never see again? Yeah, well, I've been seeing him a lot. I even got that Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure that you love so much from him. It was probably stolen."

"Obi-Wan?" Peter asked in surprised, looking truly shocked at this.

"That's right. You want me to take you seriously? Then start growing up. You're acting like a child." Emma said in annoyance and Peter glared at her.

"Well, if you don't like it then why don't you go back to your last boyfriend? Maybe he's mature enough for you." Peter said angrily and Emma flinched when he said that. She knew he was drunk and could barely even speak but those words still stung. Maybe even a little more than they had the night before. Emma stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say before the anger and hurt began to sink in. The surprised look on her face then vanished and was replaced with one of anger and coldness.

"You know what, Peter? Fuck you." Emma told him in a bitter tone and Peter sobered up a little bit from that. "You're an asshole and I can't even look at you right now." He just stared at her wordlessly and Emma took a step closer to him, leaning in close to him but he knew she wasn't going to kiss him.

"And you were right. I'm not a virgin." Emma told him scathingly and he just stared at her. "That ship sailed a long time ago. If you wanted a virgin then you should've picked Betty Brant. I'm sorry if you feel cheated." The blonde then turned around and walked away without saying another word. Peter just stared after her, not understanding what just happened as Emma walked away from him. He was still drunk so he was processing everything a bit slower than usual but he still regretted the words he said to her. Especially because he knew he hurt her which he promised her he'd never do. She had messed up before when she lied to him but she didn't deserve him acting like this either. Peter stared at the empty plastic cup, knowing that him and Emma might not be okay this time. He might've really screwed things up between them for good. The thought alone was enough to break his heart.

* * *

Emma walked out of the mansion, trying to ignore the worry and concern she felt for Peter. She wasn't supposed to be worried about him…she was supposed to be angry at him. They had just had another fight and Emma wasn't sure if they could survive this one. Two fights in two days? This was new and scary territory. Even so, Emma didn't want to leave him alone in there when he was drunk like that. Not when all those older kids could take advantage of him and use him as their own personal laughing stock. That's what they were doing, after all. They were trying to see how drunk they could get goody two shoes Peter Parker. Emma couldn't just leave him like that but her pride held her back from going back in there and dragging him out. So instead she called the one person that she knew could deal with the mess Peter made...the mess that was also partially her fault too. There was about two rings before he picked up the phone.

"What's going on, Mini Cap? You never call. Did you miss my voice?" Tony asked in a joking tone but Emma really wasn't in the joking mood.

"Your little protégé is drunk off his ass at a party right now. I stopped him before he could smoke any weed but I don't know how he'll hold up now that I'm leaving." Emma said in a flat tone and there was silence on the other line for a moment.

"Wait…what? Are you saying Peter's drunk?" Tony questioned and Emma rolled her eyes.

"That's what I just said." Emma replied.

"Why don't you stop him or something?" Tony asked, completely flabbergasted by what Emma was saying. It wasn't like Peter to go out to a party and get drunk. The kid was a handful but he wasn't the trouble making sort. He was a good kid.

"Apparently I'm just a woman and he's a man, therefore I can't tell him what to do." Emma said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Tony couldn't help but notice that she sounded really pissed. He shuddered a bit even though he knew it probably wasn't him that she was angry at. Tony remembered the days when it was him that Emma was always mad at and he really didn't miss those days. "Anyways…you better get Happy or someone to the Ori mansion before Parker gets alcohol poisoning."

"Wait a minute. What's-" Tony started to say but Emma hung up on him. She didn't really want to explain to Tony why she wasn't going to save Peter from his drunk self. Emma put up with a lot from Peter. His immaturity was a big thing she tolerated and sometimes she even found his immaturity cute but not tonight. He had gotten it in his head that Emma had been with some other guy before him and he let his jealous side show. Peter wasn't alone in his jealousy because Emma got jealous too but she would never say the things he said to her. She didn't know why he was like that.

Sometimes Peter's jealous side excited her but not this time. She didn't like it when he got jealous like this because it was more than him declaring that she belonged to him and only him. Despite where feminism was now, Emma liked the idea of belonging to Peter because he belonged to her too. She didn't really care what society had to say about that because she was happy and that was all that mattered. Until now. This sort of jealousy wasn't hot or cute like it usually was where Peter was concerned. It was quite ugly and it made Emma think that he only wanted her if she had all her innocence in tact. She thought that he might've been able to look past her loss of innocence if he loved her enough but maybe she was wrong. Maybe he couldn't handle it if she was tainted. Emma just didn't know what was going to happen to them now.

* * *

Jessica Jones came home late after making a stop at a bodega for another bottle of booze. She knew she should cut back this time but the flashbacks of Kilgrave were getting bad again and this was the only way to numb the pain. When she finally reached her apartment she had figured she'd just go inside and drink alone in the dark. However, she never expected to find a certain blonde teenager sitting outside the door, looking to be in a very sad state of mind. The young girl looked incredibly lost and barely looked up at Jessica as the woman stood there. She hadn't seen the girl since she had ran out of there earlier in the week. Jessica had no idea what the girl was doing at her apartment.

"You okay, kid?" Jessica asked her and Emma snapped out of her thoughts, finally noticing her. Emma had gotten there about half an hour before, after dropping off Michelle at the girl's house. She immediately stood up from the floor and Jessica noticed that the blonde's eyes were slightly puffy like she had been crying. That surprised her because she didn't picture the Viper Assassin to be the crying kind. In all honesty the blonde had been on her mind all week. Mostly because, even if she wouldn't admit it, Jessica was worried about the teenage girl. Emma had come to her apartment several days ago in dire need of help but Jessica felt like she hadn't helped her in the way she should've. The girl was obviously going through a lot of issues and probably felt like she didn't have anyone to talk to. Jessica knew exactly what that felt like since she was also the type that kept things bottled up. Maybe they were a lot alike in that way.

"Yes." Emma said shortly, sounding a bit out of breath. Jessica gave her a doubtful look.

"Really? That's strange because it's almost midnight and you're at my apartment crying." Jessica noted and Emma tried to hold her head up high so she could at least maintain some of her dignity.

"I'm not crying." Emma denied but Jessica didn't look convinced.

"You want to come inside?" Jessica asked her quietly, losing her normal unpleasant tone as she stared at the teenager. Emma didn't say anything as she quietly nodded while Jessica unlocked the apartment door before stepping inside, Emma following suit. Jessica closed the door behind them, her eyes never leaving Emma as the teenager then took a seat in front of Jessica's desk. The older woman wasn't sure how to approach this situation. Jessica was never the kind of person that people went to for help. Well…Hope had gone to her for help but look how well that turned out. She still didn't think she was the kind of person someone should seek out for advice. Jessica was fairly sure that was the reason why Emma was there right now. She just didn't know how she was supposed to help her when she couldn't even help herself. Jessica couldn't survive a day without booze, after all. She wasn't exactly the poster child for survivors of sexual assault.

"I don't know what you're doing here but I don't think I'm the right person for you to seek out." Jessica told her and Emma just watched the dark haired woman silently as she sat behind the desk, placing the bottle of whiskey in front of her.

"I'm not seeking you out." Emma told her and Jessica gave her a look of disbelief.

"You're not as subtle as you think you are, kid." Jessica told her and Emma glared at her.

"I'm not a kid. I've done more things than most adults have in their lives. Do you know how many people I've killed? The things I've had to do? I stopped being a child the day Hydra took me." Emma said bitterly and Jessica just stared at the girl, trying to understand her somehow. It made her uncomfortable at the thought of this teenage girl having killed a bunch of people. Jessica had only killed two people and she felt like she was losing whatever sanity she had left. She couldn't imagine how Emma was after killing that many people and still being so young. Jessica had an idea of how many people Emma probably killed. They didn't call her the Viper Assassin for nothing. The Winter Soldier and Viper Assassin were noted for their acts of terrorism and political assassinations. They were possibly two of the most famous assassins in history and the Black Widow was right up there with them.

"Why are you here?" Jessica asked her suddenly, ignoring what Emma had previously said. Emma looked up at her with an unreadable look on her face. She just stared at the older woman quietly for a moment, not saying anything as she thought of something to say. It took a moment but Emma finally decided to be honest with someone. It was safe to be honest with Jessica because Emma didn't really know her. She didn't have any fear of Jessica asking her why she didn't fight him off or why she hadn't ever said anything. Most of all, it was safe because even if Jessica looked at her in disgust, it wouldn't hurt her like it would if Peter, Steve, or her father looked at her that way. Emma took a deep breath before exhaling.

"This thing is taking control of my life." Emma finally admitted. "I have nightmares a lot and the flashbacks are especially bad. I thought I'd be okay eventually…that I'd just get over it but the nightmares are getting worse. I've done a lot of bad things…evil things…and I've been tortured a lot but somehow him raping me is worse than all of those things combined. Sometimes I wish I had nightmares about the experiments, the assassinations, and the beatings because it's not as terrifying as what he did to me." Jessica just looked at her silently as she processed everything the blonde just told her. She found that she could relate to everything Emma just said. Jessica still had nightmares about Kilgrave all the time and let's not forget about the flashbacks. She could still hear his voice in her head sometimes.

"What do want me to say?" Jessica asked her quietly. "You want me to tell you that it's going to be okay? You want me to say that one day all those nightmares and flashbacks will disappear?" Emma stared back at her as she considered what Jessica was saying. In all honesty, Emma wasn't really sure what she wanted Jessica to say. She didn't know if she wanted her to tell her it was going to be okay or if she wanted Jessica to tell her how to deal with this…how to finally get over all this so she could finally get her life in order.

"I want you to tell me how to do this. How to tell people what happened to you without feeling ashamed or weak." Emma told the older women bluntly. If Jessica couldn't see how much this was bothering the young girl, she might've thought Emma was insulting her. "I've lied to everyone I've ever met. All I've done is lie to them and I know it's wrong but I just wanted them to not think of me as some pathetic, weak little girl who can't even defend herself. They already coddle me enough as it is."

"You've never told anyone? I didn't you were serious when you said that before." Jessica said, genuinely shocked by this information. Emma shrugged but she had a haunted look on her face.

"This one girl knows but I didn't tell her. She's a telepath so all she had to do was look at me and she knew." Emma said bitterly as she begrudgingly thought of the witch. "Telepaths are the worst. They're nosy little assholes who can't mind their own business. I don't care if they can't help it or not. That's their problem, not mine."

"I agree with you there, kid." Jessica said, pointedly ignoring what Emma previously told her about not being a kid. "So you've never really told a single person then?"

"No." Emma said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I've thought about it but I'm too afraid, I guess. They think I'm tough and strong but the truth is that I'm not. I tell them the truth and then they'll know that I'm weak. Worst off, they'll be disgusted. They'll never look at me the same way. I don't know if I can handle that."

Jessica realized then that they were also different in some ways. She had never been ashamed of what Kilgrave did to her. In fact, Jessica had wanted the whole world to know so that they'd know he was the evil asshole that he was. However, Emma seemed to care more about what people thought of her…or at least what the people she cared about thought of her. She was someone who was very proud of the way she presented herself and being raped was seen as something she should've stopped. Maybe it was because she was so young that she thought that way. No one had been around to help her get through any of this so of course she bottled it up inside and pretended like everything was okay. She had been alone most of her life and when she finally found people who cared about her, she was afraid of disappointing them.

"Why are you talking to me about this?" Jessica asked her. Not in a mean way or anything but as if she was in a state of wonder. "I'm not a good role model for you if that's what you're looking for. I'm an alcoholic with just one friend and zero successful relationships. I literally drive everyone I meet away. The one friend I have is too crazy too leave. Trust me. You don't want to listen to me."

"You own up to what happened to you like it's nothing. You _tell_ people what happened like it's nothing." Emma told her, a sadness in her eyes as she ignored Jessica's words. "And you killed Kilgrave. You actually killed him." Jessica scoffed as she stood up from the chair, shaking her head at the young girl.

"I only tell people what he did because if I don't, it just means that I allow him to have all that power over me…that I allow him to still control me just like he used to. If I hide it from everyone then it's like he's violating me all over again." Jessica ranted as she looked back at Emma who watched the dark haired woman in shock. "And you think killing him made all my problems go away?" Emma didn't say anything so Jessica continued.

"Killing him didn't do shit. Even though he's dead sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking he's still out there…waiting for me. I forget that he's dead." Jessica confessed and Emma wasn't sure what to think of all this. "Is the world a better place now that he's dead? Yes. It didn't make it all the pain go away or for all the memories to just magically disappear. Is that what you thought? You thought that maybe if you kill him then it would erase the rape…like it never even happened?"

"I don't know." Emma said quietly and it was true. She didn't know anything anymore. Emma had to admit that it was stupid of her to think everything would go away if she killed Rumlow. It was even naïve of her to think that. Jessica narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"Well, I hate to break it to you but it's never going to go away. It'll probably haunt you for the rest of your life. You'll never forget what happened." Jessica told her and Emma didn't want to believe it. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted Jessica to tell her that eventually these nightmares and flashbacks would stop but that's not what Jessica was doing.

"No." Emma said, refusing to believe Jessica's words. The expression of Jessica's face softened when she saw the devastated look on Emma's face. Jessica sighed.

"Don't get me wrong. With time it starts to fade but it'll always be there…somewhere in the back of your head." Jessica murmured. "There's always going to be some kind of trigger."

"So that's it." Emma said, tears flooding her eyes as her voice broke. "There's nothing I can do to get over it? I'll always be this fucked up?" Emma continued when Jessica didn't answer her.

"I'm pushing everyone away, you know. I'm destroying the best thing that's ever happened to me." Emma said and Jessica herself felt choked up with emotion because seeing the girl in this state was the saddest thing she had ever seen. She didn't look like a scary assassin. No, she looked like a lost and broken girl.

"There's a boy." Emma admitted and Jessica stared at her in surprise. "I love him and I know that sounds insane because we're so young but it's not puppy love. He's not just some boy I'm all lovesick over. He's also my best friend but I've been lying to him… a lot. There are a lot of things he doesn't know about me including the rape but I'm too selfish and scared to tell him. I don't want him to leave me but I think I'm driving him away so he'll probably leave me either way." Jessica swallowed hard as she finally came up with something to say. It was hard to think of anything because that was a lot to process. Jessica certainly hadn't expected for Emma to admit to something like that. The blonde was probably the last person she ever expected to be in love.

"You don't want to tell him because you're scared?" Jessica inquired but she already knew the answer. Emma furiously wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm afraid he won't want me anymore. I'm afraid he'll finally decide that I'm too much trouble and give up like he should've done a long time ago." Emma said, her voice thick with emotion. "He could have any girl he wanted…someone less damaged and more innocent than I am. I don't think I can give him everything he wants either. We um…got very intimate the other night but then something triggered the flashback of the rape and I-I was scared of him. I don't know if I could have sex with him and for it to be something that I'd enjoy. He doesn't deserve that."

"If he doesn't want you because you were raped then he's an asshole." Jessica told her bluntly as Emma looked back up at her. "I'm tired of these dickheads backing away the second they find out the woman they're with was raped. This is the twenty first century. If he can't handle that you were raped then fuck him. That's his problem, not yours."

"I don't want to lose him." Emma murmured but Jessica just shook her head.

"Telling or not telling people shouldn't rest solely on you being scared of what they'll think of you. This isn't about them…it's about you." Jessica told her fiercely and Emma locked eyes with her as she listened to the older woman's words. "Not telling people is obviously not doing you any good. Yes, it's true that killing your rapist isn't going to be the solution to all of your problems but hiding things really isn't going to solve anything either. You're letting him have control over your life. Obviously you hiding this from everyone is already causing you problems in your life. Keeping this bottled up inside is just letting him win. He still controls you even if he's not here." Emma shook her head as she started getting scared again. The thought of finally telling someone what happened to her was terrifying. It was letting herself become so vulnerable with someone that she opened herself up to getting hurt. She didn't know what she'd do if she told Peter what happened and he decided that he didn't want her anymore. She'd never recover from something like that.

"I can't… it's too…I just can't." Emma said as she stumbled over her words and Jessica glared at her before rearing her hand back, slapping the girl with all her strength. The force of her hand would probably snap a normal person's neck but Emma wasn't normal, after all. Emma's head whipped to the side and a stinging sensation could be felt across her face. She slowly turned her head back to look at the woman, shocked that someone had dared to slap her. Emma wasn't mad like she usually would've been. She just felt calm.

"You think you're special?!" Jessica snapped at her and Emma could only watch her in surprise as Jessica lectured her. "You think you're the only girl to have been raped? You don't think there's thousands…millions…of women out there that's been through the same thing?"

"I don't know." Emma said quietly, feeling quite stupid as Jessica yelled at her. Jessica scoffed.

"Guess what, Blondie? You're not the first one and you're not even the last. There's nothing special about what happened to you." Jessica said without sugar coating anything. Maybe that's why Emma went to her in the first place. Maybe it was because she knew someone like Jessica would finally push her in the right direction without caring about hurting her feelings. "What happened to you was terrible but it wasn't your fault. You need to be honest, not just with the people in your life, but yourself too. Keeping this to yourself is just protecting him. You're letting him have too much control over your life."

"But it is my fault." Emma told her, a tear falling from her eye. "I always ask myself why I didn't fight back. Why I didn't lock the door…why I just laid there and let him do whatever he wanted." Jessica then grabbed the blonde's face and held her chin firmly in her hand so that Emma had no choice but to lock eyes with her.

"It's not your fault." Jessica said firmly. "Repeat after me…it's not my fault." Emma backed away, shaking her head furiously.

"No, I can't." Emma denied but Jessica clenched her jaw, feeling annoyed by the very stubborn girl.

"Repeat. After. Me." Jessica said in a tone that told Emma that Jessica Jones wasn't the kind of person you wanted to argue with. Emma stared at her long and hard before eventually relenting. She sighed before slowly nodding.

"It's not my fault." Emma mumbled and Jessica didn't seem very satisfied by that.

"Say it again." Jessica demanded and Emma held her head up higher, looking Jessica straight in the eyes.

"It's not my fault." She said in a much more clear and confident voice. Jessica just nodded, appearing to finally be satisfied with her.

"Good." Jessica noted. "Now that we've gotten over that, all you have to do is tell someone. Will you do that?" Emma didn't look very excited at the prospect of talking about the rape but she knew Jessica was right. This thing was already taking a toll on her and Peter's relationship. By lying to him she was sabotaging her own happiness and he had been patient so far but it was clear that there was only so much of her lying that he could take. Emma really had nothing to lose by telling him. If she told him the truth and he couldn't handle it then he'd leave. If she kept lying to him then he'd just leave anyways. At least this way she wouldn't be letting Rumlow control her life anymore.

"I will." Emma finally said. "It won't be easy but you're right. I can't keep going on like this."

"You tell that boy of yours and then it won't be so hard telling everyone else. You've gotta work your way up to it." Jessica told Emma, giving her some advice that Emma would take to heart. Jessica was right. Telling Peter was only the first step. If she told him then it wouldn't be so difficult when she told Steve and her father. Emma just hoped that Peter wouldn't hate her. Emma just nodded.

"I should get going then. There's some people that are probably wondering where I'm at." Emma said quietly and Jessica nodded in understanding.

"Sure. I can't say this was a pleasure or anything. This was a seriously depressing conversation." Jessica told her and Emma smiled although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. There was a lot of thinking she had to do before the weekend ended. Emma knew that the next few days weren't going to be very easy on her. Everything she had been keeping bottled up inside was finally going to be released. Emma was just scared for the end results. The blonde then began to walk towards the front door without saying anything else. However, before she could walk out of the apartment, Jessica stopped her in her steps.

"Hey, kid." Jessica called out and Emma turned around. A curious look came over Emma's face as she stared back at the dark haired woman. Jessica Jones suddenly seemed unsure as she began to speak to Emma.

"My best friend paid for some quack therapist to help me work through my issues. It turns out they were full of bullshit but I managed to get one or two things out of the session." Jessica started to say as Emma listened to her intently. "Next time you have a really bad flashback just say the name of the streets you lived near when you were younger."

"I don't remember the street names." Emma said quietly and Jessica gave her an awkward look.

"Oh." There was a slight pause before Emma spoke again and when she did, Jessica was legitimately surprised.

"I remember the name of the farms I lived near." Emma finally admitted and Jessica gave her a surprised look before nodding enthusiastically.

"Good." Jessica said breathlessly.

"Redwood, Knox, and Pecan." Emma informed her and Jessica gave her a small smile.

"It sounds stupid but repeating the names kind of helps. Don't tell anyone I said something out of therapy actually works." Jessica said gruffly and Emma returned her smile. She stared at the older woman, ocean blue eyes meeting dark brown ones.

"Thank you, Jessica." Emma told her and Jessica shrugged.

"Don't mention it, kid." Jessica replied and with that, Emma left the apartment, feeling like there wasn't anything more to be said between them. Emma was sure that wasn't the last she'd be seeing of Jessica Jones but Jessica had given her a mission of sorts. Emma now knew what she had to do. If she ever wanted to move on with her life she was going to have to be honest but she was also going to have to be okay with being honest. It was going to be a long and difficult road but it really needed to be done. She was finished with sabotaging her own happiness for the sake of Rumlow. Emma was finally going to be open and honest for the first time in her life. No more lies.


	69. Chapter Sixty Three: Part II

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took me so long to write. It's the longest chapter I've ever written and it was also hard to write some of the content because it was super emotional for me. I thought about splitting this chapter into three parts instead of just two but I just decided to update it in one chapter. It's probably over 20,000 words long so with both parts combined that means that the chapter is probably 35,000 words long. This is more like a novella but whatever...**

 **I cannot wait for Friday to finally get here! It's been a long time coming. I also have to beg you to please don't spoil anything for me if you happen to see the movie before Friday. I would totally go see it opening night if I could but I usually don't feel like going out anywhere that late. I've already pre-ordered the tickets for my mom and I(and yes I'm going to see the movie with my mom. She loves these movies almost as much as I do...almost). I think I might even be more excited for this movie than I was for the HAIM concert which is weird because I love HAIM...but I also love Marvel. I'm also scared for this movie because I'm afraid that a lot of characters are going to die. Don't tell me if they do...I don't want to know until the movie but I'm still scared. I probably also won't work on the next chapter of this story until after I see the new movie just so I can get a better idea as to how to adapt the Infinity War storyline to fit this one. Obviously Steve and the others don't come back until Infinity War in the movies but in this story they're going to be coming back a little sooner. I just want to have a better idea of how to adapt everything because I really want to do the Infinity War storyline and everyone's going to be coming back pretty soon. There's just going to be a couple of Rumlow RELATED appearances in the next couple chapters and a quick flashback chapter and then we'll be seeing the others. So it's right around the corner. I won't say how many chapters because I don't have a definite number in mind but it's definitely not that far away.**

 **CheekyLove: Another genius idea! I will definitely do that when the time comes. I could maybe see Emma and Peter Quill kind of singing along to 'Ziggy Stardust' or at least something else by David Bowie. Maybe Emma will introduce him to HAIM. I kind of think Peter(Quill) might like HAIM. Emma would probably think he's an idiot but she might end up respecting him a bit for his taste in music. I'm so excited for the Infinity War storyline because it means Emma's going to interact with all these characters. There's probably going to be a lot of Harry Potter jokes when she meets Doctor Strange. She'll probably be able to relate to Nebula and Gamora a lot. Also, Peter's greatest fear will happen...Emma and Loki finally meeting. I don't think he'll be jealous that time around(he's kind of learned his lesson there) but he'll definitely be worried of leaving those two alone in a room together. If Thanos doesn't destroy the world, Emma and Loki probably could together. Lol. I'm also looking forward to writing her reunion with Thor and Bruce who won't have seen Emma for three years at that point. Emma's grown up a lot since they last saw her.**

 **scrapingskies: The concert was fun! I still can't believe I went. I think I read the story you mentioned a long time ago but the author was still updating at the time so I kind of read it up to a certain point, waiting for another update and then got caught up with other things so I never finished it. I do remember really enjoying it so I might read it again and finally finish it since it's been so long. Thanks.**

 **SabrinaBarnes: Unfortunately I don't think Sebastian's coming to the comic-con in my city which is kind of sad but maybe someday. It would be cool if he did because Bucky's obviously one of my favorite MCU characters. I think I might love Bucky even a little more than Peter which is weird because I've been writing a Peter/OC fanfic but I have no plans for a Bucky/OC fanfic. Maybe it's because there's already so many Bucky/OC fanfics so I never thought of making one myself. Okay...I'm just going to say it. Bucky's my absolute favorite. Sorry for rambling so long but I love all things Bucky and Sebastian Stan related. If you really like Sebastian, you should see 'I, Tonya'. It's a hilarious movie and Sebastian was really good in it although he was kind of an asshole in it but that's just who he played in the film. As I re-edited this a Law and Order episode came on with Sebastian in his younger days. Teenage Sebastian was so adorable!  
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 **Guest: I actually didn't know how tall to make Emma because I knew she had to be kind of tall because of the serum and everything but I'm not an expert on tallness. I stopped growing four years ago and I'm 5'3. I just turned twenty so I know I'll never grow past that which makes me very sad. I really didn't know what I was doing when I was trying to make Emma tall. I did some research on the internet(which sounds kind of stupid) but I didn't really learn anything. I just did my best because 5'5 kind of seems tall to me at thirteen because I'm not even 5'5 now and I was probably like 4'10 at thirteen. At least I'm taller than Ariana Grande...I'll always have that, I guess. Thanks for the feedback. No one really commented on that before so I never knew. Maybe when I do the edit of this story, I'll go back and change that but that won't be for a long time.**

 **PlanetaryGO: Thanks so much! I kind of wanted to do a pairing like this for a while and the fact that they're so young still makes it cute but it's a different kind of cute than puppy love, I think. Emma's probably the most fun I've ever had writing a character because she's kind of crazy but in a good way. I love writing every single scene with her and Peter. I never had a boyfriend in high school either. Not that I wanted or didn't want one but I just really kept to myself in high school. I was probably more interested in watching movies that had romance in them then actually having that for myself in real life. I was super obsessed with movies and I still kind of am. This sounds bad but I actually sometimes ditched my friends to go watch marvel movies. None of them were interested in Marvel, Star Wars, or anything remotely fun so whenever they wanted to go see something stupid like 50 shades of gray, I used to tell them that I was grounded and then I'd go see a different film. I think they saw 50 shades and I went to see Kingsmen when it came out. Lol. Sorry, sometimes I get way off topic.**

 **Keystone: I wrote last chapter and the one before it with both of them being in the wrong. Peter did act irresponsibly by getting drunk like that because of his emotions and he was only sixteen, after all, so he really shouldn't be drinking. Emma didn't mean he was embarrassing himself for declaring his love for her but she meant that he was embarrassing himself because he was drunk while he was doing it. I didn't mean to make Peter out to be a sexist or anything but he was so drunk that he really didn't even know what he was saying. I wanted to make it evident just how drunk he was. I hate writing Emma and Peter fighting but it really needed to be done. Him getting drunk was kind of a wake up call to Emma who blamed herself a bit for letting that happen and it was what pushed her into finally talking to Jessica about how she could come clean about everything. It just needed to happen and Peter's not going to be responsible all the time because he's still a teenager so he's impulsive. Emma can be impulsive sometimes too but only where Peter's involved. Thanks! I can't believe we're at a thousand reviews. It's all so crazy to me but I'm entirely grateful.**

 **Amberdeengirl17: Thanks for the flood of reviews! I mean...that's dedication so thanks. I really appreciate it.**

 **alleya02: I've been having what I call a mini Marvel movie marathon. I figured that I've seen all the older ones like over a hundred times so I'm just re-watching the newer ones...one every night of the week. Monday was Avengers: Age of Ultron. Tuesday was Captain America: Civil War. Last night was Doctor Strange and tonight will be Spider-Man: Homecoming. I'm holding off on Thor: Ragnarok since I saw it again not that long ago. So excited for Friday! I can't wait! I've been avoiding watching any new clips or trailers so I can be very surprised when I see the movie. Friday could not come sooner for me.**

 **So sorry for not responding to every review but it took me forever to write and update this chapter so I just want to put it out before the movie on Friday. Thanks so much for the 1,000 reviews...seriously, I'm completely amazed. Thanks for all the follows and favorites too because we're almost at 900 follows which is insane to me! Thanks again and please review.**

 **I'm also just going to quickly plug in a new story... I don't really count it as a new story since it's just a collection one-shots from 'Some Things Never Sleep'. I've had these one-shots lying around which I know I'll never use in this story so I'm putting them together in a separate fanfic. It's called 'Dry Bite' and it takes place before Emma meets Peter since I skipped over a lot of time during the course of this story. Some take place before she's born, when she's still a baby, a toddler, and even some stuff with Bucky when she was in Hydra. I'll be including some one-shots between her and different Avengers when she still lived in the tower too. Every one-shot is still somehow connected to Emma even if she isn't in it. The one-shots are in no particular order. So far I just have one chapter out which features the first time Tony and Emma met...the _real_ first time. Just in case you're interested. I know I said I wouldn't be working on 'Some Things Never Sleep' until the movie comes out but I'll be working on 'Dry Bite' in the mean time. I haven't updated my other story 'Rose Garden Dreams' in some time but I just want to get through a certain point in 'Some Things Never Sleep' before I work on that one. Thanks.**

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Somehow Happy had managed to find Emma, probably due to the tracker in her phone, and he had picked her up right outside Jessica's apartment building. He had questioned what she been doing all the way in Hell's Kitchen but Emma told him that it wasn't any of his damn business. He promptly shut up after that but she knew that Tony wasn't likely to shut up about it like Happy had. Happy drove her to the compound in silence and she couldn't help but notice she was alone. No Peter although Emma suspected that he was probably too wasted to handle a car ride right now. The blonde arrived at the compound at nearly one in the morning but she didn't feel tired. There were so many thoughts racing through her mind that there was no way she'd fall asleep. Emma was in her bedroom, staring out the window at the night sky, when someone broke her out of her thoughts.

"Still awake?" Tony asked her and Emma barely spared him a glance as she continued to stare out the window. The billionaire stood next to her as if he were also staring out the window but Emma felt his eyes on her. She knew his mind wasn't on the surrounding forest or the night sky outside the window.

"I can't sleep." Emma murmured.

"I thought I was the only insomniac around." Tony joked and Emma shrugged, not bothering with a response. The smile fell of his face because usually Emma would tell him to leave her alone or tell him how unfunny he was. She did no such thing. Tony just stared at her as he tried to analyze the look on her face but he couldn't come up with any particular emotion. Was she angry? Sad? Hurt? Tony couldn't tell. Emma Rogers was the single most difficult person to read and Tony thought she was even better hiding her emotions than Natasha.

"Your boyfriend's not coming up here this weekend." Tony said suddenly and Emma still didn't look up from the window. "He's grounded big time. When Happy found him, he was rolling around in the grass of Ori's front yard whining about how much he missed his girlfriend. He also puked all over the backseat of the car. Yeah, Happy wasn't too _happy_ about that." Emma raised an eyebrow at that.

"So that's why it smelled like Lysol back there." Emma remarked and Tony gave her a look of disbelief. He expected her to be more caring and concerned for her boyfriend. Wasn't the kid supposed to be the love of her life or something? Juliet would probably be worried if Romeo started getting so drunk that he was blowing chunks all over the inside of Happy's car.

"May has him now. Last I checked, he was still puking his guts out into the toilet. He'll probably sleep on the bathroom floor tonight but, boy is he going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning." Tony continued to tell Emma as he watched the expression on her face but she was keeping a really good poker face. "I remember my first hangover and it was not pretty. You're lucky that you don't get those."

"Sure." Emma said, sounding unconcerned with this topic of conversation and Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"Okay, Mini Cap, what's going on between you and the Spiderling? First, I get that weird phone call from you and then you disappear for two hours. Now, you're acting all weird…at least weirder than usual." Tony told her and Emma shifted uncomfortably which was the first sign of emotion that Tony had seen from her. Truthfully, Emma was still mad at Peter for what he said but she was mostly mad at herself because she knew if she'd only been honest with him from the beginning then none of this would be happening.

"Nothing." Emma said shortly, trying to make it clear that she didn't feel like talking about this and with Tony of all people.

"It's not nothing." Tony said as he tried to figure out what was going on. He quickly went over everything that had happened tonight. Between Emma's vague phone call, Peter's weird behavior, and now Emma's even _weirder_ behavior...there was definitely something going on. His eyes then widened in realization as a bewildered look came over his face.

"Wait…are you two fighting?" Tony asked in amusement. Emma glared at the smug looking billionaire, wishing that she could somehow slap that smug look off his face and teach him a lesson.

"I said it's nothing." Emma hissed but Tony didn't look put off by her tone. In fact, he grinned at her.

"You are, aren't you? What did the kid do this time?" Tony questioned teasingly and Emma just stared out the window. "Did you catch him checking out some other girl? Did he forget your anniversary?"

"Damn it, Stark, I said it was nothing so just drop it." Emma snapped and the smile fell off Tony's face again. It was then that it dawned on him that this was more serious than he originally thought. Emma and Peter fighting had been kind of amusing but the tired expression on Emma's face told him otherwise. This was a real, legitimate fight. A look of concern then came over the billionaire's face as he frowned.

"This is serious, isn't it?" Tony asked her and Emma didn't say anything as she shrugged. He felt worried for her because he realized that the fight must've been serious if it had taken this much of a toll on Emma and made Peter act like a little jackass.

"Did he do something?" Tony questioned, quickly becoming angry with the thought of Peter disobeying the rules he had given him. The thought of Peter somehow taking advantage of Emma made him want to fly over to that little idiot's house and knock some sense into him. "He's not pressuring you, is he?"

"Pressuring me?" Emma asked in confusion and Tony clenched his jaw.

"He's not pressuring you into having sex or anything, right? If he is then I will seriously knock the shit out of that kid." Tony told her and Emma just shook her head, almost wanting to laugh because Peter would never do anything like that. She had even told him that they could have sex on his terms and he refused. Emma knew that Peter would never do any such thing. He was too good…too pure to take advantage of Emma's offer.

"That's not it. Besides…Peter would never do that. You, of all people, should know that." Emma told Tony and the older man felt a bit guilty for thinking of Peter like that. He was just protective of Emma because she had been through so much in her life and he didn't want to let anyone else hurt her. Tony just wanted her to be safe and happy.

"So what is it then?" Tony asked, noticing the way Emma tensed up. He sighed briefly before looking back over at her. "You can talk to me, you know. I know we give each other hell all the time but I do care...even if you think I'm an asshole."

"I don't think you're an asshole." Emma said quietly and Tony gave her a doubtful look. Emma laughed a little and Tony felt at ease now that he made her laugh… _now_ that he made her look anything but tired or sad. "Fine but I think you're an asshole in an affectionate way."

"So what's going on between you and the kid?" Tony asked her, cutting to the chase. Emma sighed as she looked away from him and stared out at the night sky again.

"He just wants everything." Emma murmured and Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"I thought you said that he wasn't pressuring you." Tony said and Emma immediately shook her head.

"Not like that." Emma was quick to say before further explaining. "I just mean that he wants to know every little thing about me. _Everything_. He already has my love, my faithfulness, my devotion, and my complete and utter attention but he just wants more. He wants to know every little secret and every little thing that's ever happened to me." Tony just stared at the blonde who seemed so tormented and haunted. He knew for a fact that this wasn't even the half of it. There was something hiding beneath the surface of her words that she didn't dare admit. It was always like that with Emma. Ever since she had made her way into the Avengers' life, he felt like she was hiding something from them. Steve never saw it because he adored Emma and she could never do any wrong in his mind but Tony and the others weren't as blind as Steve. They all knew she had secrets as much as she tried to hide it. They all waited patiently for her to just come out with it but she never did. Now it was three years later and she was still just as tight lipped as she was the day they rescued her from the Hydra base. Only now it seemed to be having a bad impact on her love life.

"This is usually normal for relationships, Mini Cap. It's called communication." Tony commented but he could see that she was really having a hard time dealing with whatever was going on between her and Peter. He wanted to help her because he knew the kid made her happy and Tony just wanted her to be happy. The kid was good at making her happy but communication in a relationship couldn't all be one sided. That's not what communication meant at all. "Look, normally I'd tell you not to worry about it since you two are so young but I know this isn't some high school fling. You and the kid are the real deal."

"No kidding." Emma said sarcastically, feeling like Tony hadn't listened to anything she just said but Tony just gave her a sharp look before continuing.

"I just mean that what you two have is a real, long-term kind of relationship. You're in an adult relationship so you both are going to be have to deal with emotions and feelings like adults. You can't act like children about this." Tony told her and Emma glared at him, crossing her arms.

"I don't act like a child." Emma told him and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we all know how mature you are. No need to remind me, Mini Cap, but when it comes to relationships you don't know what you're doing. When you're in an adult relationship you have to be open and honest with the other person, otherwise it's not going to work." Tony lectured and Emma scoffed, thinking that Tony almost sounded like Steve in this situation. Maybe he was trying to be like Steve and give her advice. She didn't really know but Tony was the last person she wanted relationship advice from. He was Tony Stark, after all.

"And you know so much about successful relationships?" Emma asked sarcastically. "Tony Stark who fucks anything in a skirt?" Tony should've flinched at the teenage girl's crudeness but he was used to it from her by now. She was probably the only person in the world that talked to him like that. Well, her father used to talk to him like that but he had died many years ago. It became painfully obvious to Tony that they were both related. Steven hadn't cared if Tony was a genius billionaire either. He'd tell Tony where to get off if he had to.

"That used to be me but a lot of things can change you. Especially being held hostage in a cave for months on end." Tony told her in almost sad tone and Emma immediately felt bad for snapping at him like that. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad or anything. She just got defensive sometimes. "I think it changed me for the better. Still…I've been in a somewhat successful relationship for the past seven years. Sure, I probably make Pepper regret not marrying some other more functional guy at times but we're still together."

"Natasha used to say that it doesn't matter how we stay together as long as we stay together in the end." Emma said quietly before looking back up at Tony. "She said that right before all that shit went down at the airport."

"That was different." Tony told Emma, not wanting her to confuse one thing with the other. Emma gave him a curious look as she listened to him. "She was talking about us staying together as a family. I'm talking about how to make a relationship work. Relationships aren't easy. The thing you're struggling with, being open and honest with someone, was something I struggled with too. That's a large part of the reason Pepper and I broke up last year." Emma didn't say anything so Tony continued speaking.

"It's not much different than the partnership between Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin." Emma was beyond stumped by this as Tony explained what he meant. "You two have to rely on each other for missions. If one of you kept things from the other during a mission then the mission would fail. One or both of you could die. It's the same thing in a relationship. You have to be honest and you have to trust that other person. If you can't trust them then what's the point?"

"It's not that I don't trust him." Emma finally said after being quiet for a few minutes. She liked how Tony compared a relationship to being like a partnership. Emma understood why it was so wrong of her to keep so many things from Peter. She hadn't really seen it that way before but now she understood it better. Tony glanced back at her.

"But you're scared of being vulnerable? You're scared that he'll break that trust?" Tony asked her and Emma didn't say anything as she silently nodded. He smiled softly at her before nodding to himself. "I get it, Emma. I get it more than anyone. It was scary to me too but the kid loves you. He worships the ground you walk on."

"He shouldn't." Emma said bitterly, causing Tony to frown. He didn't like it when she talked about herself like that and especially because it reminded him of a moment between himself and her father all those years ago. Steven had said almost the same thing to him back then after telling him that Margot was pregnant. _She deserves better, Anthony. She really does. She could do so much better than me._ This moment reminded Tony exactly of the same moment he had shared with Steven. A feeling of déjà vu washed over him and he felt regretful. Regretful that Tony told Steven that Margot was probably better off with him or Rhodey instead. He had only been joking but Tony wished he had been a better friend to Steven…a better brother.

"I know you think you don't deserve him but that's not true." Tony finally said and Emma looked up at him in surprise. "In fact, I think you're too good for him. The kid doesn't know how lucky he is." Emma snorted, shaking her head at him.

"How much have you had to drink tonight, Tony?" She questioned but Tony refused to let her think that she was a bad person who doesn't deserve to be happy. Emma deserved the world. She meant so much to him and sometimes he had trouble trying to convey that to her.

"It's true." Tony insisted before continuing as he tried to explain his words. "I wish when I was his age that I could've had a girl like you. If there was a girl like you, someone to keep me in line, I might've turned out alright. I might already have kids instead of a drinking problem. Don't get me wrong. I love Pepper but if there was some girl, when I was Peter's age, that loved me half as much as you love him then maybe I wouldn't be this way. I'd be a somewhat decent person." Emma was incredibly quiet as she watched Tony in shock. She didn't think she had ever heard him sound so honest and heartfelt before. This was probably the most emotional conversation they ever had. There was that time after the thing with Toomes but that was probably still at the top of the list of times that Emma Rogers and Tony Stark had been all mushy with each other.

"You don't know how rare it is to find the person you're meant to be with at your age. Peter's going to get to spend most of his life with you." Tony stated in a thoughtful tone and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Tony was even amused to see Emma blush. He didn't think he had ever seen the blonde blush but he knew he'd never forget the way her pale skin looked as she blushed. It was truly a rare sight. Something as rare as seeing an albino giraffe or a blue moon.

"Don't be ridiculous. We haven't even been dating that long and not to mention we're young like you said before. Besides…he's probably not going to want anything to do with me. Not after all I've put him through." Emma said dismissively but Tony didn't miss the sad look on her face. He just smirked at her, not believing anything she said for a moment.

"That kid's completely in love with you, Emma. If he could, he'd probably propose right here and now." Tony then frowned at the thought. "Although I don't think I'd like it if he did that. You're only sixteen, after all. God, where does the time go? It didn't feel like that long ago when baby you was puking all over my designer shirt and now you might be getting married? God, I'm getting old." Emma rolled her eyes at the billionaire.

"Geez, Tony, calm down. I'm not walking down the aisle yet." Emma told him. "You're such a mom sometimes." Tony glared at her as he tried to ignore the snide comment before continuing his little speech.

"Anyways, my point is that Peter isn't going to be letting go of you anytime soon. He can't stay away from you. You have the kid wrapped around your little finger. He'd do anything for you." Tony told her and Emma smiled at him. It was a real, genuine smile and Tony knew just how lucky he was to see a smile like that.

"It goes both ways. I'd do anything for him too." Emma murmured and Tony just watched her silently, wondering about the complexities of Emma and Peter's relationship. It was still so weird to him that Emma was dating someone even if it was Peter. She never let anyone in, not even him, but somehow she had let Peter in. Tony was curious about how all this came to be. He supposed it must've started with the Toomes thing. They probably spent a lot of time alone then but Tony was glad it happened. Emma needed to stop hiding things but he wasn't stupid enough to believe that she'd spell all her secrets to him of all people. If there was at least one person she could be open and honest with then Tony was glad it was Peter. Despite the kid's stupidity, he was a good person who loved and cared about Emma. He'd be there for her.

"I know he did a lot of stupid things tonight but just go easy on him, okay?" Tony started to say as the conversation began to come to an end. "He's just a teenage boy. You've had to grow up really fast but he's still trying to catch up. You're too mature for him which I think is a good thing. Just don't be too harsh on him." Emma nodded.

"I won't." Emma promised and Tony smiled at her. They stood there staring at each other for what felt like minutes before Tony finally decided to do something there was no turning back from. He took a step closer before wrapping his arms around her. Emma froze as Tony hugged her, not having any idea as to what was going on. They stood there awkwardly for a minute or two, locked in an embrace…well, not a real embrace. Tony was hugging Emma while Emma just stood there, her arms still at her side. He awkwardly patted her back a couple of times and Emma finally found it in herself to speak.

"What the hell are you doing, Stark?" Emma asked in bewilderment but Tony still didn't let go.

"Hugging you. You look like you could use a hug." Tony told her as they continued to be locked in an awkward embrace. Emma was getting more repulsed by the second as Tony held her in his arms. This was wrong. She admitted that she was somewhat more fond of him than she used to be but that didn't mean that she wanted to be hugged by him.

"Let go of me, Stark." Emma told him and he could tell by her voice that she wasn't fooling around. He quickly let go of the blonde who glared at him. Tony gave her a sheepish smile.

"I guess the Spiderling is the only one you allow to do that." Tony observed and Emma glared at him. "I just hope that's all you let him do. You don't let him do anything else, right? Please tell me you don't, Mini Cap."

"Get out of my room." Emma said in an annoyed voice and Tony knew that this was the end of their conversation. Emma didn't seem to be in the joking mood right now.

"I hope you not answering my question is just you being annoyed and tired…because I will kill that kid if he's done anything else." Tony continued to say and Emma took a deep breath as she tried not to get too angry at him. With Tony Stark it was really hard to not let him get to you.

"Leave before I say or do something I'll regret." Emma told him in a clipped tone. Tony just shook his head at her, giving her an amused smile. He began to walk out of the room and only made it to the door before Emma stopped him.

"Tony," She called out and he turned back around to face her. She had a torn look on her face, not sure whether or not she should say this, before she finally opened her mouth to speak. "You were wrong before…You're a decent person. I mean, you do a lot of stupid shit but you're still a good person." Tony just smiled at her because he knew that was just Emma trying to be nice. She still sucked at being nice to people but he was happy that she was trying.

"Thanks, Mini Cap." Tony told Emma before smirking at her once more. "Listen, if that kid gives you any more trouble just tell me. I can have him deported, rejected from college, or even thrown in prison. I like the kid and all but I like you more." Emma smiled in amusement at Tony, a look of mischief in her blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Tony. I can handle myself just fine." Emma told him, sounding very sure of herself. Tony just laughed before nodding to himself. Tony knew that Emma could more than handle the idiotic teenage boy. Weirdly enough, Emma seemed to be the only one that Peter listened to and vice versa. That kid really did worship the ground she walked on.

"I know you can." Tony told her, giving her one last smile, before finally leaving her bedroom. Emma watched him leave in silence, returning to her own thoughts the moment the door closed behind him. She found, despite how annoying Tony seemed to be at times, that she didn't want him to leave. Tony leaving meant that she'd actually have to be alone with her thoughts.

It was early Saturday morning by now and Emma was afraid to fall asleep. She knew falling asleep meant another nightmare about Rumlow but this time Peter wouldn't be there to hold her. Emma didn't like admitting that she depended on anyone for anything but deep down she knew she depended on Peter to make her feel safe. They hadn't been fighting that long but it was too long for Emma's liking. She missed Peter as silly as that sounded. Emma wished that he was there with her because she really needed him. She didn't think that she had ever needed him more than she did in that moment. Emma just hoped that she could make things right with him.

* * *

Peter groaned as he woke up from his long slumber although he wouldn't really call it a slumber since he felt terrible. He had a pounding headache and everything seemed so bright. Peter tried opening his eyes but the lights felt blinding. Last night was blurry and Peter could barely remember what happened or why he felt like he was dying. The last thing he could really remember was getting out of Emma's car at the party. Everything else was brief flashes of color that made him groan in discomfort.

"How are you feeling, Party Boy?" His aunt asked and her voice sounded louder than usual. Peter groaned once more at the loudness as he went to cover his ears.

"Don't talk so loud." Peter whined and May rolled her eyes at her idiotic nephew.

"I'm actually not being loud." May explained. "You're just hungover." Peter opened his eyes, partially shielding them from the light as he looked at his aunt in surprise.

"What?" Peter asked her in confusion and May gave him a doubtful look.

"Do you really not remember last night?" May asked him and Peter shook his head as he got up from the floor. It was then that he realized that he had been laying on the bathroom floor next to the toilet. God, what really did happen?

"No. I mean…sort of." Peter started to say when everything suddenly came back to him. Well, not everything entirely but fragments of memories. He remembered drinking with a bunch of juniors before watching Emma talking to Mitchell Ori. From there on, he drank even more and the memories got even blurrier. At one point he remembered Emma coming over to him and insisting on driving him home like he was some sort of child. Peter winced because he also recalled some of the things he said to her. The last thing he remembered in vivid detail was the hurt and angry look on her face before she turned around and left him there. The sight of her retreating form, her blonde hair swishing from side to side, was the most vivid of all the other blurry memories.

"Happy found you lying on the grass in the front yard bawling your eyes out while Ned tried to calm you down." May informed him and a look of concern came over Peter's face.

"Is Ned alright?" Peter asked her and May scoffed.

"Ned's just fine. He told me he had two sips of beer before deciding that he didn't like it. I just wish you thought something similar. Anyways…Happy dropped him off at his house last night and he's grounded for the weekend." May told him and Peter looked awkwardly at the ground.

"Oh…" He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. May just looked at him with a disappointed expression on her face. She looked even more disappointed than she was when she found out that he had been skipping school.

"You're going to be grounded for a hell of a lot longer than a weekend. I hope you know that." May said and Peter felt ashamed of himself. "Seriously, Peter? Drunk at a high school party? Emma had to call Tony, you know." Peter immediately narrowed his eyes.

"So she was the one who ratted me out." He said to himself and May gave him a look of disbelief. She couldn't believe the nerve of her nephew. May thought she raised him better than that.

"She didn't call Tony because she was trying to get you into trouble. She called him because she was worried that you were going to drink yourself to death." May said, exhausted by her nephew's behavior. "I'm glad she called us. Do you know how dangerous that was? What if you got alcohol poisoning? What if you got yourself killed?"

"May, I'm fine. It's not like I'm as breakable as a normal person." Peter said, trying to sooth his aunt's worrying but she seemed even more upset at what he said. Peter instantly felt guilty when he saw tears streaming down her face. He never meant to disappoint her like this. That was never his intention.

"I don't care, Peter!" May said angrily, looking beyond frustrated with Peter's antics. "I don't care. I've already lost your uncle…I can't lose you too. I worry every night when you go out there and try to save the whole world but it's okay because I know you have Emma with you. However, this is something different. This is you being stupid and I'm afraid you'll get yourself hurt or killed. So yes…I'm glad Emma called." Peter immediately got up from the floor, despite how terrible he felt, and went over to comfort his upset aunt. He wrapped his arms around her and she sniffled.

"I'm sorry, May." Peter whispered softly and he genuinely felt sorry for everything he had done. He felt sorry for being stupid and drinking all that alcohol at Mitchell Ori's party to get Emma's attention. He was sorry for scaring his aunt and putting Ned in a difficult situation. Most of all, he felt sorry for all the things he said to Emma. He didn't remember everything he said to her but he knew he hurt her. He hadn't been a good boyfriend to her…in fact, he had probably been the worst boyfriend in history. Peter promised Emma that he wouldn't hurt her but that's exactly what he had done last night. He was starting to feel a lot of regret because he knew he had let her down.

"Peter, why are you crying?" May asked him softly once she looked up at him. She could see tears flooding his brown eyes. Peter shook his head furiously as he tried to stop the tears.

"May, I screwed up really bad." Peter said as he thought about everything that happened last night. He sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking down at the floor in shame. "I said a lot of terrible things to Emma last night…things that I don't think she'll forgive me for."

"What kind of things, Peter? What's going on?" May asked him in concern. Peter begrudgingly looked up at her even though he knew he was probably only going to disappoint her more by saying this.

"Emma and I have been fighting." Peter admitted and May frowned.

"Fighting? About what?" May questioned and Peter had a very guilty look on his face as he looked down at his hands.

"I think she had a boyfriend or something before me and I just…well…I got jealous. I don't like the idea of her with someone else." Peter confessed and May gave him a look.

"It's really none of your business who Emma did or didn't date. That's in the past and all that matters is that you're together now. You don't own her." May told him in that familiar disappointed voice which only made Peter feel worse about everything. "I thought I raised you better than that, Peter. Women aren't possessions."

"I know, May." Peter said sadly because he knew he had screwed up big time. He didn't mean to make Emma feel bad about what happened in the past. Peter knew that whoever this person was in Emma's past, boyfriend or not, had done something really bad to her. She didn't want to talk about it and he shouldn't have ever cornered her like that. Peter shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and made her feel trapped. He should've been more gentle with her and he deeply regretted the way he treated her. "I just love her so much. I wasn't thinking." May immediately caressed her nephew's face in that way she used to when he was little. Whenever he had a bad nightmare or got sick she used to caress his face and run her fingers through his hair. It was tough to think that same little boy was almost a man now.

"I know you love her, Peter." May murmured. "But that doesn't mean that you can be mad at her for something that happened in past."

"I just want to see her and tell her that I'm sorry." Peter said sadly as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "That is if she even wants anything to do with me anymore. She'll probably dump me." May's heart went out to her sad looking nephew as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for another hug. She soothingly rubbed his back just like she did when he was little.

"I know I'm in trouble, May, but can I please go over to her house to apologize? Please? I messed things up so much and I just want to see her." Peter begged but May just gave him a sad look.

"I would if I could, Peter, but Emma's upstate with Tony and the others." May informed him and Peter was disappointed to hear that. He also realized just then that it was the first time he had even thought of Tony. What must Tony think? Was Tony going to confiscate his suit? Probably and Peter thought he deserved it. He had been horrible to Emma and had acted even more horribly at the party.

"Oh. I didn't know." Peter muttered, feeling disappointed that this meant that he probably wasn't going to be able to talk to Emma. He felt a bit worried because this also meant that they were going to spend the weekend apart. What if, in that time apart, Emma decided that she didn't want to be with him anymore? She said she'd never leave him but Peter had said a lot of terrible things to her, after all. God, this was turning out to be the worst week of his life. How could this get any worse?

"Maybe it'll do you both some good to spend some time apart." May suggested as she tried to get him to see the bright side of this. Peter, however, didn't think it would do him any good to spend time apart from Emma. Not with what he said to her. "When Monday comes around, you can apologize to her then."

"Monday? Why not Sunday when she comes back?" Peter questioned and May pulled away from him, giving the teenage boy a pointed look.

"Because you're going to be grounded for a long time." May replied as she gave him a serious look. Peter looked at her in disbelief. "You came home drunk so you're definitely grounded. I raised you to be more responsible than that so I'm still very angry with you. Tony confiscated the suit and he's also going to be putting you to work at the compound. You're lucky that I'm still letting you go to London."

"My suit?" Peter said as if that was the only thing he heard. He honestly couldn't believe everything May just told him. No suit? Wait…Tony was going to be putting him to work at the compound? What did that even mean? "Tony can't take my suit? New York needs Spider-Man."

"Tony is completely in his right to take the suit away since he made the suit…and Emma's actually getting her suit back so she'll be taking over by herself until you get back." May told him but Peter was still disappointed that he was going to be spending even more time apart from Emma. Why did he have to drink so much at that party?

"I guess that sounds fair." Peter said quietly although he really didn't like the idea of not fighting crime with Emma or even being able to apologize to her before school on Monday. He wanted to see her right then and now. He wanted Emma to know that he was sorry and he wanted her to know that he loved her…a part of him was afraid that maybe she had forgotten.

"You're not going anywhere other than school for the next two weeks. You'll go to school and then come straight home. No stops." May told him firmly and Peter's eyes widened.

"But Emma-" He started to say when May narrowed her eyes at him and Peter looked away.

"Well, if you're so concerned about your girlfriend then maybe you should've thought of her before getting drunk at some party. I'm sorry Peter but that's on you." May said and Peter knew that she was right. He had no one else to blame for this mess except himself.

"Okay…I get it. You're right." Peter admitted and May smiled softly at him. She patted his shoulder affectionately, glad that he wasn't going to challenge her on this subject. Sometimes Peter could be very stubborn when he wanted to be. He was like his uncle and father in that way. Parker men were sometimes annoyingly pigheaded but May still loved them.

"Good. Now that you've finished puking into the toilet maybe you can take a nap. That has to be a killer hangover." May told him and Peter nodded.

"The lights are so bright." He muttered and May just shook her head at him before reaching over on the bathroom counter and picking up the glass of water she had left there. She immediately handed the water over to Peter who graciously took it from her before downing the contents in a record amount of time.

"Unfortunately for you, Peter, there is no one cure for a hangover so the best thing you can do is to just sleep it off. Maybe your abilities will lessen the pain." May said as she tried to comfort him but Peter just thought that his abilities might've even enhanced the pain. It wasn't like he was hurt physically so there wasn't anything for his body to heal. Maybe Emma was lucky since she couldn't get drunk. It meant that she would never have to get a hangover and Peter was glad she'd never have to go through what he was going through because this was excruciating.

"Thanks, May." Peter told her before he slowly, and very carefully, got up from the bathroom floor. He felt a bit sore from lying on the hard floor all night but he was sure the pain would go away soon enough. He walked slowly to the door but May stopped him before he could leave.

"Promise me that you'll never do that again, Peter." May called out to him with a worried look on her face. "I was so worried and I don't know what I'd do if…you did this again." Peter looked back at her, still guilty over what happened.

"I'm sorry, May." Peter told her honestly. "I'm sorry but I can honestly say that I'm never going to do that again." They both laughed when he said that although it kind of hurt Peter's head to do so. May gave him a sympathetic look.

"Go get some rest. You might feel better later." May said and Peter nodded.

"I will." She then gave him another sharp look.

"I'm still mad at you." She tried to tell him seriously and Peter just chuckled.

"I know." It was then that he finally left the bathroom and headed for his bedroom. Even with his painful headache, a lot rested on his mind and all those thoughts concerned Emma. He wanted to know just how mad she was at him but he also wanted to know what she was thinking. Did she miss him like he missed her? Did she still love him? Was she thinking of ending things? Peter hated not being able to see her. He wished more than anything that he could so at least he could trying mending things between them.

Peter entered his bedroom and immediately made a beeline for his bed. He climbed into bed, his body aching, before pulling the covers over his head. Peter never felt this sore in his life, even after a night of crime fighting but all he knew was that he wanted to block out any trace of light. The teenage boy laid in bed for a long time, he wasn't sure for how long, when he peeked out through a small sliver of light through the darkness of his comforter. Peter's eyes adjusted to the light as he spotted the small bookshelf resting near the door of his bedroom.

It wasn't a big bookshelf like Emma's was. Emma's bookshelf was huge and it took up an entire wall of her bedroom. He liked to think that her room was almost like a library and while Peter read quite a few books he didn't read the kind of books Emma did. He liked reading books that were centered around theoretical science while Emma was more inclined towards fiction. It was a huge difference between them since Emma had no interest in science or math while Peter hated English Literature but he liked that they were different. He liked listening to Emma tell him everything that happened in a favorite novel of hers that she had recently read. She seemed so enthusiastic and happy to tell him everything which in turn made Peter happy to listen. Science bored Emma to death but sometimes he'd try to explain something to her and she'd listen to him with her complete and undivided attention. She'd watch him intently with those ocean blue eyes of hers which made Peter blush although he couldn't deny that he liked having her attention. Sometimes she'd even ask him a question and he'd happily explain it to her. The memory of Peter trying to explain Quantum Physics to Emma almost made him laugh. She questioned every single thing he said until Peter eventually realized that she was just messing with him. The smile faded when he remembered that they were still fighting.

It was then that his eyes rested on the small box sitting on top of the bookshelf next to his lamp. He stared at the box because it had been a long time since he had even noticed it much less looked inside of it. In fact, he hadn't looked inside the box since the day of Uncle Ben's funeral. Of course, he knew what was inside of the box…something that Uncle Ben had given him a couple years before he died. Peter had been so young then, eleven at the time, and hadn't given the trinket much thought as he deposited it into the box before going off to play video games with Ned. It wasn't until now that Peter was even reminded of the box and what it contained but everything made so much more sense now that he did remember.

Uncle Ben's words echoed inside his head as he remembered what his late uncle told him all those years ago. Peter hadn't taken him seriously then and had only brushed him off but now that he was older, he understood what Uncle Ben meant. Peter's eyes remained fixed on the box as an idea slipped into his mind. Peter knew what he was going to do and just what he was going to say to Emma when he saw her again. He didn't care if he was grounded or not…he was going to make sure that she knew how much he loved her. Hopefully Emma would still feel the same by tomorrow.

* * *

By Sunday night Emma had returned to the townhouse after spending the weekend at the compound. The nightmares had been inevitable but Emma was thankful for the time away from the city so she could think about what she had to do. She just couldn't put this off any longer and in all honesty she should've done this a long time ago. Hell, she should've fessed up the day she woke up in the medical bay of Stark Tower when Steve had saved Bruce and Dr. Cho from her wrath. Emma probably wouldn't be living a life full of lies if she had and maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. It would've been super embarrassing and Steve probably would've forced her to see a therapist but at least she'd be better than she was now. Anyways…it probably wasn't smart to dwell on the past. All she should think about was telling Peter. He probably had a right to know more than anyone else because they were in a relationship together. She knew how confused he was the other night when she started crying when she was underneath him and it wasn't right that he thought it was because of something he did.

Tony, even though she'd never admit it, was right about relationships as well. It was a partnership that would never survive if she couldn't be honest with Peter. So Emma had made a decision. She'd tell Peter first and then her father and Steve whenever they came back. Emma didn't really know if she needed to tell Tony or the others. She was at a point where she was ready to tell Peter, Steve, and her father but she wasn't like Jessica. Emma didn't think she was at the point where she was fine with everyone knowing. For now, it would just be the men she loved most. All equally but all in different ways.

"Hey Emma, this came in the mail for you." Darcy said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. The brunette was standing in her doorway with a package in her hands...a package that had a letter tucked into it. Emma gave the package and letter a curious look.

"Someone sent me a package?" Emma questioned and Darcy just smirked at her.

"Well, I think we all know who would definitely send you a package and don't worry. It came courtesy of Sharon Carter delivery." Darcy told her and Emma's eyes widened in surprise from her spot on her bed. Darcy then deposited the package and letter onto the bed in front of Emma while the blonde stared in wonder at the writing on the package. The neat handwriting was none other than Steve's and she could feel her heart race just from the sight of it.

"I'll just leave you to it." Darcy told her knowingly and Emma barely noticed as the brunette left the room, closing the door behind her. Emma stared at the package and letter for only a couple seconds before grabbing the letter. She was very careful as she opened it, making sure not to rip the envelope. Emma pulled the letter out of the envelope and began to eagerly read it.

 _To My Best Girl,_

 _I know by the time this letter reaches you that it'll be past your birthday and for that I'm really sorry. My greatest fear was that you might think I would forget but trust me none of us have. There was a certain sadness and regret that came over me when I realized that I wouldn't be able to celebrate your sixteenth birthday with you. Sixteen? God…you're almost a woman. Please forgive Bucky and I for not being there for your birthday. Just know that we would if we could._

 _I'm aware that Natasha informed you of Bucky being in the Cyro-Chamber again. I wish she hadn't but you had a right to know. I know you're worried about him but trust me when I say that he's fine. He's being looked after by the most brilliant mind the world has ever seen. I'd say where but I don't want you running around trying to find him. Natasha's informed me that Tony enrolled you at a high school. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm completely okay with the idea of you going to school with hormonal teenage boys(I remember how Bucky was in high school) but I know school's good for you. Besides…I know you're too smart and independent to want anything to do with those boys anyways. I can't really picture you in high school but Natasha told me that you were doing good last time you two chatted and that you even joined the Academic Decathlon team. I wish I could see one of your competitions but maybe when things are calm again, I can. I'd really like that and I know Bucky would like that too._

 _However, I've also seen the Viper Assassin on the news again and I'm not happy. I thought Tony was keeping you out of danger so I was very disappointed in seeing you going up against the man who called himself the Vulture. Tony has always wanted you to join the team so I don't know why I was so surprised. The fact that you and this Spider-Man guy are spending time together doesn't ease mine or the others' minds. There is little that I know about him and Sam really doesn't have a high opinion of him either. The fact that you're apparently continuing this partnership of sorts puts me on edge because you're not the best judge of character when it comes to these things. The fact that you admire Loki so much still gives me chills at night. When I get back we will definitely be having a discussion about Spider-Man and the continued appearance of the Viper Assassin. Still…the shield looks good on you._

 _With all that being said, I can't express how much I miss you. It's almost been a year but it feels like so much longer than that. We're currently going from place to place, never staying too long in one area, but I wish you could see everywhere we've been. You'd love it. Sometimes I regret that day at the airport when Bucky and I let you stay behind. I wish we had made you come with us but I know that's selfish. You've made friends back home with kids your age and you're living a somewhat normal life which is all I've ever hoped for. I just hope to see it someday and I hope that day can be soon._

 _I hope your birthday was fun and I hope that you and Tony are getting along. Emma, I know it's hard getting along with him (trust me, I know better than anyone) but just try. He's not a bad guy and I know he cares about you in his own way. It still makes me sad that I'm missing any part of you growing up but I promise this won't be forever. We'll see each other soon. The others also wish you a happy birthday. Sam says he misses you too and sometimes I think he misses you almost as much as I do. Almost._

 _Do what Tony says and try not to get into any trouble if you can. I know that's impossible for you but just try. I love you, Emma, and I miss you every single day. Hopefully we can come home soon but until next time I hope you'll enjoy the gift I got you. I knew you'd love it from the moment I saw it. Happy Birthday and I promise to be there for the next one. Please forgive me. I love you…in case you didn't already know that._

 _-Your Very Young Looking Grandfather_

Emma wiped away a few fallen tears as she looked down at the letter. Her finger tracing over the neat handwriting as she imagined Steve sitting down somewhere as he wrote the letter. She never realized how much she missed him until she saw something like this. A part of her felt a bit guilty for the happiness she felt during his absence. Emma was in a relationship with Peter in a state of bliss while Steve and the others were on the run as well as her father being in the Cyro-Chamber. It felt very selfish for her to be so happy without them but she also knew that she could never be completely happy even if she was with Peter. There was still a hole inside of her from their absence and even Peter couldn't fill that hole. He provided a very different sort of happiness to her than Steve and her father did. Emma still knew that she'd never be completely happy unless she had all three of them with her at the same time. It was so strange because she had all three of them at one point in her life but never at the same time. First it was her father during her time in Hydra then it was Steve after the Avengers rescued her and now it was Peter. Was it too much to ask for all of them? Was it too selfish?

Emma decided to distract herself from thoughts of Steve and her father as she focused on the present in front of her. She opened the box up and stared in confusion as she spotted numerous Chinese characters decorating the box. Emma understood what the box said but she just didn't understand why Steve would send her something with Chinese characters decorating it. She took the flat and slender box out of the package before carefully depositing it onto her bed. Her finger traced the cloth fabric of the pale green colored box. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she saw an image of a familiar figure printed on the box. Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the Chinese leader that Emma admired more than any other leader in history. Emma even thought that Loki didn't have anything on Emperor Qin who was far more patient and strategic than Emma thought Loki had been when he had attempted in taking over the world. If Emma ever met the god of mischief then she was going to tell him all the ways he went wrong with his original plan to take over the world. Did Loki honestly think he could take over the world in a matter of a couple of days? Even with an army of aliens, that was never going to work.

She then opened the box which revealed a surprise that Emma never expected. There were four stone figurines inside the box that were designed to look like the Terra Cotta warriors. The most recognizable one to Emma was the figurine of Emperor Qin but she also spotted two figurines that looked to be his guards and a scholar. Emma took the figurine of Emperor Qin out of the box and admired the detail and design of the figurine. As she held the figurine carefully in her hands, she realized that Steve knew her very well. He always thought it was weird how Emma held admiration for an a leader who was very intelligent and accomplished but also one who was cruel and something more of a dictator. Emma admired strategy and tactics and as far as she was concerned, Emperor Qin had been the most successful leader in history. He had accomplished so many things and lead China into being one of the greatest civilizations to have ever existed.

Yes, he did a lot of bad things too like banning and burning books as well as executing scholars who challenged his rule but the world wasn't black and white to Emma. It was a very gray place but Steve could never see that. Although, it seemed like he still remembered that friendly debate they had on the subject. Steve didn't like the idea of Emma admiring someone like that but Emma tried to get him to see the point she was making about the world not being black and white like he thought it was. They agreed to disagree even though they secretly both thought they were right. However, Steve seemed to not hate the thought of her admiring such a person since he sent her box of figurines honoring the famous Chinese emperor. Emma also realized what else this meant.

This box of Chinese figurines meant that Steve and the others were in China or they had at least been there recently. Emma knew where he was but she felt no desire to chase after him like she always wanted. There used to be a day where Emma would drop everything and go search for him if she found out information like this but everything had changed. She had actually started to build a life here which was what Steve had always wanted. Even if things weren't going so great with Peter right now, she still knew she could never leave him.

Emma then saw something at the bottom of the box and she immediately pulled it out. It was a birthday card which made her smile. The card was a vibrant shade of red and was also decorated with Chinese characters but what stood out the most was the picture stamped across the front. It was a printed design of a snake and Emma suddenly realized what it meant. She had almost forgotten that she was born during the year of the snake. Her Chinese Zodiac was kind of ironic considering who she was. The card was signed by Steve and the others who all wished her a happy sixteenth birthday. The card made Emma smile despite how much she missed Steve. He promised to be there for her next birthday but what if he wasn't? What if it was years before Steve returned? Emma could be an adult before she ever saw Steve and her father again.

Emma's gaze was then drawn away from the birthday card and gift as she heard something from outside her room but it didn't sound like it was coming from her hallway. It sounded like it was coming from outside. Emma glanced over to the window but saw nothing but darkness. Her enhanced hearing, however, signaled to her that someone was climbing up the wall of the townhouse. Her heart raced and Emma immediately feared the worse. It was Rumlow. Who else would try and sneak up on her like this? Rumlow had finally come for her and he was going to try and take her. He was going to bring her back to Hydra and he was going to rape her again. He'd probably never let go of her this time and Emma didn't know if she could fight him off.

She immediately jumped off her bed and went to turn off the light in her bedroom. Emma didn't hesitate in flying up to the ceiling of her room. She flew just above the window and began to wait for the person to show their face. This was the drill that Emma had trained herself for in case anyone from Hydra came looking for her. Emma's eyes narrowed as the person opened the window and climbed into her room. They pulled themselves over her window seat and just when they stood up, seemingly to catch their breath, Emma flew down from the ceiling to attack them. She ambushed the individual by pushing them onto the floor and sitting on their back. The person grunted as Emma wrapped her hand around the back of the individual's neck, shoving their face into the ground with extreme force.

"Tell me who you are and who sent you before I shove your face in through the floor." Emma threatened and the person squirmed underneath her.

"Emma! It's me! Peter!" Peter exclaimed as he continued to squirm underneath her and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. She quickly moved off of him and stood back up, watching as Peter also got up from the floor. Emma couldn't believe that she hadn't known it was Peter. She should've known it was him…right? Emma should've known by his scent that it was him and she should've even been able to see through the darkness that it was him. Somehow she had ignored those details, thinking he was part of Hydra. Everything was getting much worse for Emma and she knew it. She was more paranoid than ever.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Emma said as she tried to ignore her feelings of guilt. Peter pulled off the hood of his hoodie as he looked at Emma and she immediately turned the lights back on. He gave her a look of disbelief.

"I just wanted to see you." Peter said in a quiet voice. "I didn't mean to scare you." Emma just shook her head.

"Then why didn't you come in through the front door like a normal person? Why did you have to crawl in through the window like a serial killer?" Emma questioned and Peter gave her a guilty expression.

"Aunt May grounded me for the next couple weeks and I didn't want to wait until school to see you." He admitted and the look of anger faded from her face as a more understanding one took place.

"Right…Tony told me about that. Sorry." Emma told him and Peter gave her an unsure look as he fiddled with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"How is he? I-I mean did he seem mad?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged. There was a certain tension between them that was still new to Emma. She supposed it was because they had been fighting a lot recently.

"He seemed pretty calm about it when he talked to me but I think Happy's the pissed off one. You puked all over the inside of his car." Emma told him and Peter blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh…I guess I should apologize to Happy then." He said awkwardly and Emma just nodded although she didn't really care whether or not he apologized to Happy. Peter then glanced over her appearance, suddenly looking very shy and nervous as he smiled at her. Emma tried to pretend like his smile didn't affect her but her heart still raced nonetheless. Stupid Parker. Sometimes she hated the way he made her feel about him because it was like she couldn't stand her ground when it came to him and his stupid smile.

"You look really beautiful." Peter told her and Emma raised an eyebrow because somehow she doubted that. She wasn't wearing any make-up, her hair was still wet from her shower, and she was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and one of Steve's old shirts. Emma didn't think he was in his right mind if he thought she looked beautiful. She wasn't even trying to look beautiful. No, this was probably just his way of sucking up to her. Tony pulled the same shit with Pepper all the time. Emma didn't really know why he was trying to suck up to her anyways. It's not like she was mad at him anymore. Well, she was kind of mad at how he got drunk the other night and acted like an asshole but she wasn't mad about any of the other stuff.

"Thanks." Emma said dryly, not looking entirely convinced by him. Peter swallowed nervously before his eyes rested on her bed where Steve's birthday present, letter, and card still rested. He cleared his throat as he nodded towards the various items on her bed.

"W-what are those?" He asked nervously and Emma followed his gaze. She sighed.

"It's just some stuff Steve sent me. A belated birthday present or whatever." Emma told him shortly as she immediately began picking everything up from her bed and placing it on her desk. Peter raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Your grandfather sent you something? Emma, that's great. Did he say anything? Maybe he-" Peter began to ramble but Emma cut him off as she gave him a pointed look before crossing her arms.

"Why are you here, Peter?" Emma asked him bluntly and Peter stared at her, completely at a loss for words. He had rehearsed over the weekend all the things he had meant to say to her but now his mind seemed to be drawing a blank.

"What?" He knew it was a stupid thing to say but it was also the only thing he could manage to say.

"I don't know why you're here. The last time we spoke you got mad at me for telling you what to do. You told me that you were the man and I was the woman so I should listen to you. You also accused me of being a terrible girlfriend for not letting you smoke weed." Emma told him and Peter looked down at his shoes, ashamed of the way he had spoken to his girlfriend. He hadn't known what exactly he had said to her before. Peter knew he had acted like an asshole but he hadn't known what exactly he had said. Not the specifics anyways.

"I really said all that?" Peter asked shyly as he hesitantly looked back up at her and Emma nodded.

"And more." She added and Peter gave her a sincere apologetic look, never feeling as terrible as he did in that moment. He still couldn't believe Emma had to stop him from smoking pot. Pot? Peter had never had the desire to do any kind of drugs in his life. If there was one thing he had learned from this entire thing, it was that he acted like an asshole when he drunk.

"Emma, I'm sorry for everything I said and did." Peter blurted out as Emma gave him a confused look. He was apologizing? _Him_? "I've treated you terribly and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve what I said to you. I've been a terrible boyfriend."

"Peter-" Emma started to say but Peter didn't let her speak.

"No, I have." Peter stated, refusing for her to tell him anything different. "I know it's none of my business who you have or haven't dated. It's all in the past now and I don't care because you're here with me now and that's all that should matter. I'm sorry for saying all those things and I'm really sorry for the party. You were trying to help me and I acted like a jerk." Peter took a deep breath before continuing.

"I treated you like you were a piece of property to me and that was wrong. I never should've done that." Peter told her in an honest and sincere tone as Emma patiently listened to him. "You're my girlfriend but you're also my best friend. I didn't treat you with the respect you deserve so I'd understand if you wanted to break up with me. I hurt you when I promised I never would. I can never express how sorry I am about that. I've acted horribly but please don't leave me, Emma." The expression on Peter's face was almost desperate which scared Emma. She had never seen him look like that before. He grasped her hands, holding them tightly in his hands as he began to plead with her. Emma was speechless.

"I'm not asking you to forget everything I did but please don't leave. I know I don't deserve you after all of that but I don't want you to leave." Peter said pleadingly, his brown eyes flooding with tears and Emma felt shocked at the sight of him. She didn't know what to say as he pleaded with her like he was the one who messed up and not her. "I just want you to know that I love you even though I haven't been acting like it recently…because I don't think I could stand it if you didn't want to be with me anymore."

Peter then quickly let go of her hands as he began rummaging through his pocket as if he were searching for something. Emma just watched him silently, wondering what he was doing. It took a moment but eventually Peter managed to pull out a necklace. Emma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked at the necklace in his hands. It was a beautiful looking piece of jewelry with a silver chain and a heart shaped pendant. Emma marveled at the emerald stone heart. It was bright green and even shimmered a bit under the light. Peter then locked eyes with her as she looked back up at him.

"This was my mother's necklace." Peter stated quietly and Emma glanced back down at the necklace in surprise before looking back up at him. "My father gave it to my mother on their fourth date when he realized that she was the woman that he wanted to marry and start a family with. At least that's what Uncle Ben told me when he gave me this necklace for my eleventh birthday. He told me that it was my mother's and that someday I would give it to the right girl when I met her. Of course, I thought girls were kind of annoying and gross back then but I see things differently now." Emma told herself that she didn't know what Peter was trying to say but deep down she did. A part of her felt floored by Peter's speech but another part of her felt scared and guilty. The look on Peter's face then softened as he gazed at her. Emma could feel her heart pounding in her chest and the familiar feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

"Emma, I want to give this necklace to you." Peter told her in a firm and sure tone.

"Peter, I-" Emma began to say but Peter yet again interrupted her. He wanted to finish what he had to say before Emma could say anything. Maybe it was because he was scared that she would immediately reject the necklace and tell him to go back home. Peter just wanted her to hear him out.

"No, no, let me finish. I want to give this necklace to you because you're the only girl for me, Emma." Peter told her and Emma fell silent once more as she stared at him with a wide eyed look on her face. "I already know that you're going to be my wife someday…and the mother of my children. People will say that we're too young to know what we want but I don't care. Uncle Ben said that I'd know when I met the right girl and I know that you're her."

Emma could only watch Peter in shock as he spoke. With each word, she became more and more surprised because, secretly, Emma had always assumed that Peter would eventually tire of her and then want nothing to do with her. She never knew that he felt that way about her…that he saw a future with her. A future in which Emma was the girl he wanted to marry and have children with. It all sounded like some sort of fairytale her mother used to read to her when she was little but Emma never thought she deserved a fairytale. She always thought her life would be forever doomed into being a tragedy.

"Emma, I promise that we'll get married someday. Not anytime soon but when we're older, I'm going to marry you." Peter said, sounding very sure of himself as he placed the beautiful necklace in her hand. Emma stared at the necklace, the chain feeling cold against her warm hand. Peter's promising words echoed inside her mind as she stared at emerald heart necklace. He didn't propose to her but he might've as well have. Peter just told her that he was going to marry her someday…no, he promised her. After everything she put him through, he still wanted to be with her and what made her feel worse was that he even wanted a future with her. How could he want any of that after all of the lies she told him? After all the times she snapped at him when he was only trying to help her? Emma knew what she had to do now. It would be so tempting to lie to him so they could continue to be happy together but Emma knew that they wouldn't be happy long. He'd still have questions about her past and Emma would snap at him again which would bring them back to square one. She couldn't lie to him anymore. Even if he didn't want her anymore, at least she could say that she had been honest with him. Emma then glanced back up at Peter, her blue eyes locking onto his brown ones.

"I can't take this." Emma whispered and a hurt look flashed across Peter's face. She wanted to curse herself because she never knew how to use the right words. Emma didn't want to make him think that she didn't love him as much as he loved her. She just wanted to tell him the truth…to tell him all the secrets she had been hiding for the past three years.

"That's not what I meant." Emma told him quickly before continuing. "I meant that I don't deserve this."

"What are you talking about?" Peter said in confusion and he was even more bewildered as Emma placed the necklace back in his hand. He didn't understand. Did this mean that Emma didn't want him anymore? That she didn't forgive him and that she didn't feel the same way anymore? Peter knew if that was the case then his heart would break. Emma bit her lip nervously.

"I haven't been honest with you, Peter." Emma confessed, suddenly feeling nervous because she knew what she was going to have to tell him. It was now or never. "I've been lying to you a lot. Our whole relationship, I've been lying to you…I've even been lying to everything I've ever known. My father, Steve, Tony, all the others…you." Peter just shook his head.

"If this is about the guy I accused you of being with, I don't care. It's in the past now. It doesn't matter to me." Peter said, trying to reassure her but Emma only felt more upset. She furiously shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. Peter frowned at the sight but Emma didn't allow him to question what was wrong.

"There's no one else, Peter. I was being honest when I said that. It always has been and always will be _just_ you." Emma told him and Peter had to admit he felt a bit relieved when she said that although he wouldn't admit that. He had just gotten through apologizing for his jealousy and Peter didn't want her to think he only thought of her as his property because that wasn't true. However, he was still confused as to why she looked so sad.

"I don't understand, Emma." Peter said, still sounding confused by her sad state. Emma swallowed hard.

"I think we should sit down for this, Peter." Emma said quietly and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Emma, I don't-" He started to say but she didn't let him finish as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Peter reluctantly sat down next to her with about a million questions racing through his mind.

"Just let me tell you the truth. I haven't been honest with anyone and I think I really need to do this." Emma told him vaguely which made Peter feel worried. Her voice was full of hurt and pain but there was nothing he could do because he just couldn't understand what was going on with her. A tear had fallen from her eye and Peter made a move to wipe it away but she dodged his touch. Peter felt hurt at that but Emma just shook her head. "I need to say this so please just listen. Okay?" All Peter could do was nod as he stared back at her, not having a clue as to where this was going.

"Okay." He said simply and Emma started to tell her story…her _real_ story. Over the weekend, she had gone over dozens of different ways to approach the subject but she didn't use a single one as she began to speak. There was only one way she could tell this. There was no other way to tell Peter this that would soften the blow. Nothing could soften a blow like this.

"Hydra made me do a lot of bad things but they also did a lot of bad things to me." Emma started to say and Peter knew he wasn't going to like this. He hated thinking of Emma being in any kind of pain. It made him wish that he could go back in time to save her from Hydra which he knew was a silly thought but he couldn't help it. She didn't talk about Hydra often so Peter knew that this was big. He still didn't know where exactly she was going with this. "Remember when I told you they used to give me beatings to suppress my emotions so that I could control myself?" Peter swallowed hard.

"Yes." Peter said softly.

"Well, that was only the half of it." Emma told him as Peter listened to her intently. "They used to see how long it would take me to heal. They'd stab me over and over again. They'd shoot me over and over again. They'd even pull out all my teeth to see how long it would take for them to grow back. They said it was to toughen me up but I think they enjoyed it a little too much. The sadistic bastards." Peter felt a burning anger flood over him as he listened to Emma. She made her years of torture sound so casual and like it was nothing to her which Peter didn't like. It meant something to Peter. It made Peter angry that Emma had been tortured for years inside that Hydra base and no one had come to save her…not until she was much older.

"Rumlow, the man who killed my parents, was the one who orchestrated all the torture. He took great pleasure in seeing me in pain." Emma said as she began to talk about the dreaded topic of Rumlow. This was it. There was no turning back after this point. Once she talked about Rumlow then that was it. "He trained me at the base…when my father wasn't there. I used to tell myself that I would learn from his teachings so that I could use his techniques against him one day and kill him. It was stupid because I was still scared of him." Emma briefly paused before continuing.

"I used to call him the man with the wolf like smile because he reminded me of a wolf. He terrified me but I was so naïve. I should've been more scared." Emma said quietly and Peter began to get a very bad feeling about this. If this was the thing that Emma had been hiding then it couldn't have been good. "He'd always watch me when he thought I wasn't looking…sometimes even when he knew I was looking. I didn't think much of it and sometimes I would even talk back to him. I was so stupid." Emma closed her eyes briefly in an attempt to stop the tears but all it did was cause more to stream down her face. She opened her eyes back up, not really looking back at Peter because she didn't know if she was strong enough to hold his gaze as she told him this. She didn't want to see the expression on his face when he knew what really happened in that Hydra base.

"My father had been put back into the Cyro-Chamber months before so life was pretty dull at that point. I missed him but by then I was used him being in the Cyro-Chamber." Emma said and her throat felt thick as she began to reveal the one thing about herself that she never dared to tell anyone. "I had just turned thirteen when _he_ came into my room one night. It was dark in there despite the moonlight streaming in through the porthole they called a window. I woke up and he was hovering over me in the bed." She felt Peter's gaze on her but Emma ignored him as she continued with her story but Peter already knew she wasn't talking about her father.

"I asked him what he was doing there at first but I think I knew deep down. I was waiting for the day it would happen. Hydra wanted me to be an effective assassin and one who used sex as a weapon…like the Black Widow. In order to do that, they'd have to break me but I just assumed I would be older." Emma said and Peter stared at Emma with wide eyes because even he knew what was coming. He begged God to tell him that it wasn't what he thought…that he was just assuming the wrong thing but he knew he wasn't. The lost and broken look on Emma's face told him that it was exactly what he thought. "But the look on his face told me that it wasn't why he was there. He was there for himself." Emma sniffled as she fought to control her emotions, not sparing Peter a glance because she still couldn't bear to look at him.

"I tried to tell him to get off but he wouldn't listen. He threatened my father a-and I just wanted to protect him. Papa had sacrificed so much for me so how could I let Rumlow hurt him?" Emma said, feeling slightly ashamed of herself as she spoke. Peter felt tears start to stream down his own face as he watched Emma who looked so broken. He realized that this was exactly the thing she had been keeping from him. The reason she had been so hard to get close to and the reason she acted like an animal who had been abused. All her secrets had started coming to light but Peter could feel his heart breaking a little bit. The look on her face was like a knife through his heart. "I-I thought that if I just let him do what he wanted then he'd go away and leave Papa and I alone. I figured that it wouldn't hurt that much. Hydra had tortured me in other ways and I had been fine…I had healed from those injuries but I was so wrong."

"H-He was i-inside me and it h-hurt so much. I thought I was going to die." Emma cried and Peter immediately embraced her as he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face into his shirt as she sobbed. Peter had never seen Emma cry so much before and he cried too as she told him everything. He cried because someone had hurt Emma and they had hurt her so badly that she was still hurting today. He also cried because he had been so awful to Emma and accused her of those terrible things when she had gone through something like that. Peter thought he was a terrible person for saying those things about her when this was what really happened to her. How could he have said all those things? No wonder Emma didn't want the necklace. He was a terrible boyfriend...a terrible person.

"I thought it was never going to end. I-I don't know how long it went on, it felt like h-hours, and when he finished there was so much blood down there. I-I hadn't even had my first period yet. I was so s-scared and I didn't understand why there was s-so much blood." Peter could hear Emma's trembling voice as she struggled to speak. He soothingly rubbed her back as she cried into his chest. Emma felt like a child again as Peter held her tightly in his arms. Peter swallowed hard before finally speaking.

"It's okay, Emma. You don't have to say anything else." Peter murmured and Emma sniffled. She then pulled away from him to finally look at him but he didn't look disgusted or angry like she thought he'd look. No, he just looked sad.

"But I have to." Emma told him as she looked back at him. "I've kept this secret for too long. It's killing me, Peter. I can barely sleep anymore and when I do I'm always trapped in these horrifying nightmares. I pretend to be braver than I am but the truth is that I'm not brave at all. I'm weak but I'm also scared of h-him. I'm afraid he'll get me and I don't know if I can stop him. I don't think I could even kill him if it came down to it. I'm just too afraid." Peter searched her eyes as he tried to figure out where her mind was right now. He was desperate to know because he never heard her talk like this before. Not to mention she just told him her deepest and darkest secret. A secret that filled Peter with anger and more rage that he had ever felt before but it wasn't directed at her. It was directed at the monster who did those terrible things to her…the monster who hurt her.

"He's not going to get you, Emma. He never will. I won't let that happen." Peter told her seriously but Emma just shook her head, tears still streaming down her face.

"It's what he wants, Peter. This is why he's coming back. He's coming back for me and I don't know if I could go through all of it again if he gets me." Emma said, sounding terrified and Peter wiped the tears from her face. This time she didn't stop him.

"I already told you that won't happen." Peter repeated as he looked down at her. "Besides…once we tell Tony, he'll know what to do. He'll make sure that monster can't get you." Emma shook her head furiously.

"I'm not telling Tony." Emma said and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What? He needs to know, Emma. He'll know what to do and he'll make sure that this man goes to jail." Peter said but Emma didn't look convinced.

"I can't tell him, Peter. I could barely tell you…you're the first person I've ever told." Emma said and Peter couldn't believe that. Emma hadn't told anyone else about this? Not even her father or grandfather? It spoke volumes to him that she trusted him enough to tell him this at all but it still hurt knowing that Emma had been living with this secret for the past three years. She had been alone in this and he hated to think of her hiding her pain. She didn't need to do that.

"We need to tell the others, Emma." Peter said and Emma immediately threw herself back into Peter's arms, taking him by surprise. Peter didn't know what to say or do because Emma was usually never this…affectionate. She wasn't the hugging type. They kissed and held hands a lot but that was different. Sometimes if they were in bed together, she wanted him to hold her but Peter suspected that had something to do with the nightmares.

"Please don't tell the others. I don't want them to know." Emma begged him although her voice was muffled as she buried her face against his chest. Peter just stared down at the blonde who was practically in his lap, crying into his shirt. His heart broke at the sight as he absentmindedly ran his hand through her hair in an attempt to calm her down. He hated it when Emma cried. It was rare for her to cry but he absolutely hated the sight of a sad and hurt Emma. He would do anything to make her stop crying…to somehow make her feel better. She could ask him for anything in the world and he'd give it to her.

"Emma…" He trailed off and Emma held on tighter to him.

"I promise I'll tell Steve and my father when they get back but don't make me tell the others. I can't do that. Not yet." Emma pleaded and Peter knew he was going to cave in even if it wasn't what he thought was the right thing to do. He sighed as he held onto her and felt sadness for Emma, the girl he loved, and everything she had to go through. How could this happen to her? She was a good person despite what she wanted people to believe. Emma didn't show it to most people but he knew she was kind and compassionate. The thought of anyone doing anything to hurt her didn't just make him sad but it also made him furious.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise." Peter said softly as he continued to hold her in his arms. He rested his face against the top of her head, holding her closer because he it was what she wanted. "It's okay, Emma. I won't say a word."

"Thank you." Emma whispered and they were silent for a while as he held her. A million thoughts raced inside Emma's mind as Peter held her close. She couldn't believe she finally told him the thing she had been hiding from everyone for years. The only thing that worried her was that he was going to change his mind about everything. She was scared that he was going to change his mind about her.

"Do you still want me?" Emma asked quietly after a moment of silence and Peter immediately pulled away from her so he could look at her.

"What?" He questioned in confusion and Emma looked down at her hands almost shyly before looking back up at him, an almost worried expression on her face.

"I'm damaged, Peter, and the worst part of it is that I made you believe that I was less damaged than I actually am. I tricked you." Emma told him but Peter just shook his head.

"You didn't trick me. You just…you were just scared and that's okay." Peter said reassuringly before a guilty look came over his face. "I'm the one who messed up. I accused you of all those things when you were just hurting inside. I haven't been good to you. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to break up with me."

"Peter, I lied to you. You didn't know any different. I should've told you a long time ago." Emma said as she tried to get him to see it wasn't his fault. She didn't want him to feel guilty or anything. "Please don't blame yourself." Peter cupped her face in his hands as he looked down at her, his gaze gentle.

"I will never not want you. Not even for a second." Peter told her in a serious and sincere voice. Emma felt somewhat lost in his warm brown eyes. "Everything I said before still stands. I'm going to marry you someday and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

"I still want you too. I'll never stop either." Emma told him before looking away from him, removing herself from his embrace. "Even though I don't deserve you. You deserve someone less damaged than I am. Someone who still has their innocence. I lost mine a long time ago."

"I don't care about any of that, Emma, and you're not damaged. Not to me." Peter told her, trying to get her to see that what that monster did to her didn't change the way he felt about her. "What he did to you was evil. If he was here…well, I don't know what I would do but I can't say it would be anything good." Emma was baffled by what Peter was saying. He still wanted her? There was a world in which he knew the truth about her but he still wanted her? Emma couldn't really believe it. All this time she had been afraid to tell him because she was afraid of being vulnerable and she was afraid he'd leave her but he actually still wanted her…he wasn't disgusted like she thought he'd be. Peter Parker really was something else. It was quiet for a moment as Emma fell silent but Peter still had some questions on his mind.

"Emma…" He trailed off hesitantly before continuing but he still had Emma's full attention. "Is this what all the nightmares are about? Wait…you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." Emma just shook her head.

"No, it's fine." Emma told him before looking back at him. She didn't seem upset by his question but Peter wasn't sure. "But to answer your question…yes. I don't even have nightmares about the people I killed or all the torture at Hydra anymore. I used to but that was before the…rape." Emma paused briefly as she tried to find the right words to say. She didn't really know what to say anymore. However, Peter still listened to her patiently despite the hurt he felt at hearing how much this affected Emma.

"I've tried to forget it over time but I can't get him out of my mind. He's always there with me even when he's not. He's like some sort of parasite." Emma said darkly before continuing. "Not matter how much I try to move on, he's still there. Even when I'm asleep I can't be free of him. Some things never sleep, I guess." It was true too. Some things really didn't seem to sleep. The horrors of her past, the longing she felt for Steve and her father, and even the feelings she had for Peter. Even when she slept, none of those things disappeared. When she dreamed of Steve, her father, or Peter, those dreams were nice and peaceful. Emma could happily dream of those things and have a peaceful night of rest. However, when she slept sometimes she also had nightmares about Rumlow and the nightmares were getting worse. When she had those nightmares, it was like she was trapped inside her own personal hell.

"The nightmares are only getting worse. I think the knowledge of Rumlow getting closer is affecting me in a bad way. I have flashbacks too…sometimes I even think I see him in a crowd or something but there's no one there." Emma told him honestly and Peter didn't know how to respond to something like that. All those times Emma had been sleeping in class or being more moody than usual was probably because of this. He knew she had been more tired lately but he hadn't known why. "I can't even sleep because I'm afraid of what I'll see." It was then that Peter made a decision that wasn't at all difficult for him to make.

"I won't leave then." Peter said suddenly and Emma stared at him in confusion.

"What?" She wasn't sure if she had heard him right. Peter had a determined look on his face as he stared back at her.

"I'll spend the night with you if that'll help…so you know that no one will harm you." Peter told her and Emma just stared at him in astonishment. She then blinked and glanced away from him, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Emma wasn't that used to the feeling of embarrassment but somehow Peter could bring that out in her.

"I'll be fine, Peter. It's nothing." Emma denied but Peter just shook his head at her.

"It's okay to want help, Emma. I won't judge you…I'll never judge you." Peter told her and she looked back at him with a conflicted look on her face. She wasn't sure what she wanted. "You just need to ask and I'll help you. That's all you have to do. If you don't want me to stay, I'll go home right now but if you do…" Emma had been alone for so long, forcing herself to deal with her inner turmoil and pain for that same amount of time but things were different now. Peter knew the truth about her and he was still there. He cared about her. Emma realized in that moment that she didn't have to be alone anymore if she didn't want to be.

"Please stay." Emma said after a moment of silent. The look on her face was almost shy as he stared at her. Emma wasn't used to feeling vulnerable but somehow she knew Peter wouldn't hold it over her. She trusted him.

"Then I'll stay." Peter responded and he was glad that Emma was being more open and honest with him. He could tell it was hard for her but he knew it would be for the best in the end.

"What about May? Won't you get into trouble?" Emma asked him quietly and Peter shook his head.

"May thinks I'm asleep right now but I'll just sneak back in before school tomorrow. I'll be fine. Don't worry." Peter reassured her and Emma just nodded.

"Okay." She said simply and Emma got under the covers at once. Peter immediately kicked off his shoes before kicking them off to the side of the room. He made a move to get under the covers with her and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion which caused him to pause. "You're going to wear your jeans to bed?" Peter just stared at her, the edge of the comforter still in his hand as he stood over the bed.

"What do you mean?" He questioned and Emma looked at him curiously.

"You're still wearing your jeans." Emma told him as if Peter wasn't aware of this fact. Peter shrugged.

"Well, it's not like I brought my pajamas or anything." Peter said and Emma just gave him that look that told him that she thought he was being stupid.

"You can take them off if you want." Emma told him with the same amount of bluntness she usually used. Peter blushed at her statement.

"Are you sure? I mean…I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything." Peter said, referring to the fact that he now knew what happened to her. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Peter, I'm not going to have a flashback just because you take your pants off. It's not like I'm forever haunted by even the slightest reminder of a penis." Emma said sarcastically but Peter was secretly happy that Emma was back to her normal blunt and sarcastic self. He just nodded slowly as he began to unbuckle his belt, his hands slightly shaky from Emma's gaze. Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Can you maybe not watch me?" Peter asked and Emma smirked before looking away. He nodded and then proceeded to take off his pants until he was only left in his t-shirt and boxers. Peter hurriedly got under the covers after that so Emma wouldn't peek. It wasn't until she gave him that familiar smug look that he realized that she had.

"Cute boxers." Emma said teasingly and Peter blushed again.

"Whatever." He mumbled but the teasing look faded from Emma's face as soon as Peter opened his hand, revealing the same piece of jewelry he had shown her from before. Emma stared at the pretty emerald heart pendant he held out to her. "Will you let me put it on for you?" He asked her and Emma was perplexed that he still wanted to give her his mother's necklace. She knew the necklace was more than just a necklace. Him giving her the necklace meant that he was promising forever to her…that he even wanted to share his future with her. Emma knew she felt the same way about Peter but she just never expected him to feel that way about her. She hadn't said it before but she thought he was the only boy for her too.

"Are you sure, Peter?" Emma asked him and he gave her a sincere look, his warm brown eyes staring into her ocean blue ones.

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life." Peter told her and that was the only answer Emma needed to hear. She turned around, pushing her hair off to one side so that Peter could put the necklace on her. Her breathing hitched as he came up behind her and put the necklace on with such carefulness that Emma might've even felt like she was capable of breaking which was furthest thing from the truth. When he moved away, she relaxed and laid back down on the bed with Peter following her example. She bit her lip as she looked down at the beautiful necklace that was now hanging around her neck. Peter watched the expression on her face with something akin to adoration, happy that she seemed to like the necklace.

"I know my mother's birthstone is emerald and yours is garnet but I hope you still like the necklace." Peter said almost shyly and Emma looked back at him. They were facing each other in bed and somehow this felt like it was the most intimate they had ever been. Emma didn't know if it was because Peter now knew her darkest secret or if it was because they had made up but something felt different. However, she knew this was a good thing. Emma smiled softly at him.

"Peter, I love it." Emma told him and he smiled back at her. "If you ever want it back you only need to ask." Peter just shook his head.

"I'll never want it back. It's completely yours." Peter told her and Emma decided not to argue with him about the necklace. They were silent for a minute after that as they both tried to find the right thing to say but what were they supposed to say after everything that had happened between them in the past couple days? Peter looked at her with a somewhat guilty look on his face.

"I really am sorry for everything I said and did, Emma." Peter said quietly and Emma just stared back at him before he explained himself. "Everything I said at the party…everything I said the day before that. And after everything you've been through? I just feel like the worst boyfriend in the entire world. I-I should've known something was wrong…I should've been more supportive." Emma swallowed hard before answering because she really didn't want him to beat himself up over this. Not when it was all on her.

"I already told you that it's not your fault. I was a terrible girlfriend because I kept a lot of things from you…and you have been supportive. More supportive than I deserve but I didn't allow you to the chance to be supportive the other day. You didn't know any better." Emma replied and Peter sighed heavily as he looked at her.

"Do you think that we could maybe just forgive and forget then?" Peter asked her in a hopeful voice and Emma nodded.

"Yes. I'd like that." Emma told him and Peter felt relieved that she was willing to put this all behind them.

"I promise that I'll never drink like that again, okay? It was a stupid idea to drink at all and I promise you that I'll never treat you like that again. I'll still get possessive from time to time but I won't treat you like my property." Peter promised Emma, looking very determined as he made the promise.

"I promise that I'll be more open and honest with you. No more secrets." Emma promised in return before she remembered some of the advice Tony had given her. She'd never admit to actually listening to any advice Tony gave her but in the end, she knew Tony was right. "I'll ask for help if I need it too. We're not just lovers…we're partners as well. I just want you to know the reason I didn't tell you wasn't because I didn't trust you. I trust you as much as Steve or my father. Trust was never the issue."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Peter asked her softly but blushed despite himself at Emma's usage of the term 'Lovers'. She said it so casually and intimately that his heart skipped a beat at the mere whisper of the word. She momentarily glanced away from him before quickly looking back up at him.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be able to deal with it…that it would be the last straw. I know I have a lot of baggage and you don't deserve to have to deal with all my problems." Emma admitted and Peter shook his head.

"This doesn't change the way I feel or care about you, Emma. I still love you." Peter told her, trying to make her understand that there was nothing that could make him stop loving her. A sad look then came across his face as he remembered everything she told him about what that monster did to her. "I'm just sorry this ever happened to you. I wish it hadn't…I'm sorry if I'm not saying the right thing here. I don't know what to say. I just want you to know that I love you and I'll be here for you no matter what." Emma smiled back at him.

"Thank you." Emma told him and he returned her smile briefly. They fell silent again as Emma slipped her hand into his. Emma watched their fingers interlace in pure happiness because she really was happy. She was happy that her and Peter had made up and she was happy that Peter still loved her despite knowing about her past. Emma then decided to change the subject from the previous one. She had already talked enough about the rape and she didn't want to dwell on it anymore…at least for now. Emma knew she'd probably confide in Peter in the future now that he knew the truth but for now she just wanted to talk about something else. "It's okay that you feel possessive over me. I feel possessive over you too." Peter frowned.

"I shouldn't have said those things though and I really shouldn't have treated you like you belong to me. May was right when she told me that you weren't a possession." Peter replied and Emma just shrugged as she looked down at their interlocked hands before glancing back up at him. She slightly got lost in the depths of his gorgeous brown eyes. She really loved those pretty brown eyes.

"But I do belong to you, Peter. I'm yours but you're also mine." Emma said, sounding completely at ease with talking about this. Peter looked at her in surprise. "It's okay if we belong to each other. It's not wrong or anything. It's also why you don't need to feel threatened…you're the only one I'll ever love. My heart belongs to you and only you." Peter felt floored by Emma's statement because it was perhaps the greatest declaration of her love for him that she had ever made.

"My heart belongs to only you too." Peter said, once he felt like he was able to speak again. He briefly looked down at the heart necklace around her neck as if he was emphasizing his point. She smiled briefly and Peter was glad he brought the smile out of her. Her eyes were still a bit puffy from all the crying so it was just nice to see her smile. He hated to see her cry. There was another brief period of silence before Emma decided to change the subject to something that was less serious.

"I'm never going to marry you, you know." Emma said suddenly and Peter widened his eyes as he looked at her, a feeling of hurt starting to come over him but Emma continued before he could respond. "It's nothing personal or anything but I just think marriage is stupid. I still want to be with you but I don't ever want to get married. Besides…no one really gets married anymore. It's so old fashioned and if you think about it, it's just a piece of paper. We'll be just as happy living together. It's essentially the same thing." Peter gave her a confused and astonished look.

"You want us to live together but you don't want to get married? I don't get it." Peter said, perplexed by Emma's reasoning but she didn't seem to think her explanation for not wanting to get married was weird. It seemed like Peter would never understand what went on inside his girlfriend's head. Didn't most girls want to get married anyways? Well, not Emma apparently.

"It's never going to happen and I'm sure as hell not going to have your kids either." Emma said bluntly and Peter gave her a more curious look this time around. He was starting to not take her seriously at this point. This was just Emma being Emma.

"Really?" Peter questioned in a nonchalant tone and Emma nodded.

"Yes. I hate kids. Kids are disgusting and annoying." Emma said, telling Peter what she honestly thought of children. She hated to break it to him but she wasn't a huge fan of kids in general. "Not only that but I'm not carrying your little Spider-Brat inside me for nine months and then have to shove it out of my vagina. I love you but I don't love you that much. I don't love anyone that much. Besides…if the kid's anything like you, it'll probably be hopping around inside my womb and annoying the shit out of me so no thanks." Emma looked over at her boyfriend to see his reaction, expecting an upset or hurt one, but was surprised to see Peter trying to stifle his laughter. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What the hell are you laughing at, Parker?" Emma asked him in an annoyed tone. At this point Peter was just glad that they were back to their normal bickering antics. He just shook his head at the stubborn blonde.

"You always say that you won't do something but then you end up doing it anyways." Peter explained but Emma still didn't understand what he was getting at.

"What are you talking about?" Peter smirked because he was going to love telling Emma all the reasons why he thought she was going to marry him and have his kids.

"Well, at first you didn't want to enter a partnership together but then you did." Peter said as he began to list off all his reasons. "Then you didn't want to be my friend but we became friends anyways. You also didn't want to fall in love with me but you did that too. Oh and you didn't want to be my girlfriend either but you eventually caved in." Emma just huffed as she playfully glared at him.

"Wipe that smug look off your face, Parker." Emma stated as she tried to get her point across. "There's a big difference between being your girlfriend and marrying you. There's also a big difference between that and having your spawn. Why do you even want kids? What sixteen year old boy wants children?" Peter blushed as he looked back at Emma, a bashful expression on his face.

"I don't think it's weird that I want kids. Everyone wants to eventually have children…well, except you apparently." Peter told Emma as she listened to him curiously. His expression then became sadder as he began to discuss the real reason he wanted kids. "My parents died when I was very young and I guess I just want to be part of a complete family. I love Aunt May and Uncle Ben but I just always wanted to be a part of something bigger."

The expression on Emma's face softened once she heard Peter's explanation. She supposed they were different in that sense. Emma's parents had died when she was young too but she never felt the desire to have kids of her own someday to try and have something that she didn't have when she was younger. She just never saw it that way. Maybe it's because a part of herself had always resented her parents for having her. They probably knew there would be a risk in having a baby related to Captain America but they had gone ahead and brought her into this world anyways. Emma didn't know if she could intentionally have kids and especially with who she and Peter really were in mind. That would be putting the kid at risk just like how Emma's parents had put her at risk.

"Oh…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say to that. Emma didn't want to tell him that they couldn't have kids because he seemed really fixed on the idea…he even seemed hopeful. A part of her hoped that Peter would forget about the kids thing because otherwise she knew she'd probably cave in eventually. Emma wouldn't be able to say no to Peter if it was something he really wanted. He'd probably give her that stupid puppy dog look and she'd be putty in his hands. Stupid Peter and his pretty brown eyes. He really had no idea how much he affected her.

"I mean, I don't want to have kids right away or anything. Maybe once we graduate college." Peter said casually and Emma felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. College?! He wanted to have kids after they graduated college? Wait…she was only going to go to a two year art school so she would probably be twenty when she graduated. Peter, on the other hand, would probably want to go to a university to study something science-y and that was four years which meant he'd most likely be twenty two. Was Peter saying he wanted them to get married and have kids at twenty two? God, this boy really was crazy. What the hell was wrong with him? They were only sixteen now so that meant that Peter wanted kids in six years. Her boyfriend was insane. "I think we should have at least four of them…or maybe even five. Five is a good number." Emma's eyes widened as she looked at him in disbelief.

"Five?! You want to have five children?!" Emma said in shock. "What are we? The Weasleys? Why the hell would you want five kids for? The only reason people ever had that many kids was if the family owned a farm or something and it was 1935. No one has five kids anymore." Peter gave her a sheepish look as he shrugged.

"Well, I want a big family because I never had siblings growing up. I thought you'd feel the same since you're an only child too." Peter told her and Emma scoffed.

"Yeah, it's easy for you to say since you won't be pushing out five Spider-Brats from between your legs." Emma said snarkily and Peter practically glowed with happiness as he stared at her.

"You're saying that we'll have kids then?" Peter asked in delight and Emma mentally cursed herself for slipping up because that was totally not what she meant when she said that. She gave him a sharp look.

"That's not what I meant." She muttered but Peter just smirked at her, looking very confident. Emma didn't like the confident look on his face. It was like he was so sure that they were going to have kids someday. The smug bastard.

"We'll have a family someday. You'll see." Peter told her happily as Emma pretended to be annoyed with him. "We're only sixteen now so I have plenty of time to convince you to have children. We have years."

Emma didn't respond when he said that because she knew nothing she said would convince him otherwise. They fell silent once more but this time the tension was gone. It was only them and them alone. Emma scooted closer to him and immediately rested her face against his chest. Peter wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and Emma felt perfectly content. She missed this…she missed being this close to him. Emma knew it was silly for her to miss something like that since they had only been fighting for a couple days but she didn't like being away from him. Not just because they were in love but because he was her best friend.

"Let's never fight again. Okay? I don't like being mad at you." Emma whispered as she listened to his heart beat, finding it soothing as she always did. Peter looked down at her with an almost thoughtful expression on his face.

"Emma, we're probably going to fight again. All couples fight." Peter told her but Emma didn't like that answer. "You and I both know that we couldn't be more different. There will probably be a lot we'll fight about in the future but I'll still love you at the end of the day. We'll get through it." Emma smiled softly as she laid there against his chest.

"I love you too." Emma told him and Peter felt elated at her response. Everything was back to normal between them…everything was okay. Peter leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss against the top of her head. He inhaled the sweet scent of strawberries and coconuts…a scent that he had spent too long without for his liking. It was _her_ scent and Peter missed her scent.

Emma didn't say anything after that and it was only then that he realized that it was because she had fallen asleep, gently lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat. He smiled at the peaceful expression on her face as she slept. It wasn't often she looked so at peace and Peter realized that she must've been very tired. Not sleeping for a long time had certainly taken its toll on her and Peter only wished that he could've helped her sooner.

However, a different feeling soon came over Peter as he watched the peaceful expression on her face as she slept soundly. A feeling of sadness then came over him as he stared down at her, recalling all the things she had described…all the things she had said about the monster she called Rumlow. His poor Emma had been through so much and she had been hurt more than he could ever imagine. Emma who was his favorite person in the world and who he loved with all his heart. She was a good person despite what she wanted people to think so Peter could never comprehend that anyone would hurt her. It would truly take a real monster to hurt her. A dark look then crossed Peter's face as he thought about the man who hurt Emma.

Peter knew that Rumlow was no man. He was a monster who had hurt Emma. What kind of person did that to a thirteen year old girl? Well, Peter supposed a very evil person since Rumlow had also tortured Emma for many years and murdered her parents. A tear escaped Peter's eye as he thought about how scared she must've been…how lonely. No one had been there to help her and Peter hated to think of her like that. Peter would give anything to go back in time and stop that from happening to her but he wasn't stupid. He knew that you couldn't go back and change the past. So instead Peter just held onto Emma tighter as he gazed at her blonde locks which were splayed across his chest. A familiar feeling of anger came over him but the anger wasn't directed at Emma or even himself this time. It was directed at that monster who hurt Emma…the one he had seen in the pictures at the compound. Peter recognized the feeling inside himself but he was afraid of the feeling. Not because he was a coward or because he was afraid of Rumlow himself. No.

He was afraid because it was the same feeling of rage he had after Uncle Ben's death.


	70. Chapter Sixty Four

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I've just been in kind of a sad mood since Infinity War. I'm not going to spoil it or anything but the people who saw it will understand why. So after seeing the movie for a second time I now have a clear idea about how I'm going to write the Infinity War storyline for my story. I was originally just going to finish part III and maybe just dive into IW for Part IV but I've decided against that. I'm actually planning on including the Thor: Ragnarok storyline in my story because it's the only way I can do what I want for Infinity War so I'm going to go ahead and do that for Part IV. I really wanted to include Emma in that storyline when I first saw the movie but back then I just really wanted to skip ahead to Infinity War but now I'm more keen on waiting. This way it'll give me more time before Avenger's 4 comes out and Emma and Loki can finally meet which has always been my dream. Those two are going to cause so much mayhem on Sakaar and it's going to be so much worse because Peter and Steve won't be there to supervise Emma. It'll basically just be Emma being allowed to do whatever she wants on a far away planet with the God of Mischief who probably isn't a great chaperone. Don't worry. There's still much to write where Part III is concerned and even when I start Part IV, the Thor: Raganrok storyline probably won't happen for a while. I'm going to include a lot of fluffy chapters with the Avengers finally being back together before Thor: Ragnarok storyline.**

 **Another note for this story...Steve and the others will return in four chapters after this one. Next chapter will be a flashback chapter which I don't think will take me too long to write and then some shit's going to go down. People have asked forever when the others will return and I never had a definite answer but after writing this chapter I finally do. I'm so excited to write the return!**

 **By the way...did anyone see Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets Avenger's Edition? Is it bad that I kind of see the tweet about Tom Holland being true? Lol. A part of me believes that it was Anthony Mackie's tweet from a fake account. I can't believe it's going to be another year before we see Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan roasting Tom Holland during the press tour for the next movie. Mackie and Stan need to do a comedy together or host SNL or something because I can't get enough of them. They're so hilarious. I always watch their interviews together when I'm sad because it's the only thing that can make me laugh so hard that I'll cry. If you haven't seen the compilation of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan roasting Tom Holland, you really should. It never gets old.**

 **Also warning...Emma says some offensive stuff about German people in this chapter but it's only because she's super weird and mean sometimes. It's not because I hate German people or anything. I mean...I'm half German so I definitely don't hate German people.**

 **Mcduffie145: I do have plans to update Rose Garden Dreams but I'm just super inspired by Some Things Never Sleep right now so it might be a little while. It sounds really terrible but Rose Garden Dreams is kind of my go to story when I'm lacking inspiration for this one but I've been pretty motivated to write this as of lately. Rose Garden Dreams was actually taken from the song 'Cherry' by Lana Del Rey but I do know of Rose Colored Boy. I'm not a huge fan of Paramore's latest album but there's a couple songs on there that I still really like and Rose Colored Boy is one of them.**

 **CheekyLove: Bucky and Steve spying on Emma and Peter would be a really cute idea but I don't know. We'll see. I know that Steve is probably going to be surprised by Emma and Peter but he'll eventually be happy for them. Bucky's probably not going to be that easy. I can kind of see Peter enthusiastically trying to win Bucky's approval and Bucky just giving him a dirty look. I'm not that familiar with that actress but I've always seen Elle Fanning as Emma. It's kind of stuck in my head now so that's the only person I picture as Emma. Someone was even kind enough to make the cover of this story with Elle Fanning as Emma which I'll forever be grateful for. I'm not that creative. I also see all this fan art out there and I wish I could draw that well. I don't think there's any fan art for this story out there but the other day I saw this beautiful drawing someone drew of Bucky as the Winter Soldier holding this little blonde girl in his arms and she reminded me of Emma. I know the person who drew it obviously has no idea this story exists but it still made me think of Emma and Bucky. God, I wish I was talented enough to draw stuff like that because I would definitely be churning out fan art for this story.**

 **glagla60800: I'm still going to include the Infinity War storyline. The first time I saw the movie I didn't really want to but after seeing it a second time I've decided that I am going to do it. I feel like it will allow me to explore a new and different part of Emma's character. It won't happen for a while and hopefully Avenger's 4 will already be out or be close to coming out by the time I reach the end of the storyline so I can just continue it right after.**

 **nathan19bane: I know some people might get mad at me for this but I don't watch Agents of Shield. I think I watched the first two seasons but then I got bored and stopped watching. I do love Agent Carter though and I'm sad they canceled that show. I'm not really familiar with that actress either but I've always pictured Elle Fanning as Emma in my mind. She's just forever engraved into my mind as Emma. I wish that there was a character like Emma in the MCU and especially someone who was paired off with Peter but I guess that's the reason for fanfiction. The thing you said about Natasha, Gamora, Emma, Peter, Peter, and Bruce never really occurred to me but I like what you said. All of those couples are super unconventional but I think they make for better and cuter romances.**

 **Doom13: I saw the scene you posted the link for and I might include it in this story. It might not happen for a while but it would be super cute and make Emma reconsider the family thing although she probably would never tell Peter that. Lol. I actually completely forgot about the scene which is weird because I think I have that movie somewhere. I know I have both Amazing Spider-Man movies. What's funny is that I actually started writing a Spider-Man fanfiction based off the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man and it was basically the same idea as this story. It was Captain America's granddaughter who was a former Hydra spy or something. She just had a different name but I got bored with it after writing three chapters. I think it's because I love Tom Holland's version of Spider-Man so much more. This version of Peter is just so cute and dorky, he's impossible not to love. Emma's actually a lot more fun to write than the character in the other Spider-Man story I was going to write.**

 **Guest: I 100% cried writing the last chapter. It was really hard and took forever but I got through it. I'm just glad that I finally got it over with. I mean, I've thought of writing my own book but I have no idea what I would write. I have some ideas but nothing concrete. Some Things Never Sleep is kind of my practice for writing that book, I guess. I'm just not sure what I would write.**

 **HwGenius: THANK YOU! I got a couple of not so nice reviews a few chapters ago about not updating fast enough and because I had started a separate fanfiction. It kind of made me feel bad or guilty but the chapters I write for this story are super long so that's why it takes me so long to update sometimes. There are days that I don't feel inspired to write and I don't really want to force that. I mean, I guess in a way I should be flattered because that means that people really love this story but I also want to take my time to write.**

 **Radioactive88: Yay, you're back! I love your reviews because they're so long and funny. The cute conversation between Emma and Peter about a family was something I came up with several months ago. I had the idea and wrote the dialogue down in the notes app on my phone. I was waiting for the day when I could finally use it. I was so happy and relieved writing that chapter with Emma and Peter because Emma's been keeping this to herself for so long and Peter finally knows. It's not just a huge weight off Emma's chest but also mine as the writer. Tony and Emma's hug was both much needed and funny. He was right when he said that Peter's the only one she allows to hug her but I think now because of Peter she's going to be more open to hugging Steve and Bucky than she was before.**

 **IvyMoore: I'm glad you like the story so much and I'm glad to get new readers. I know what you mean about it being hard to find fanfiction that you really like. It's been so long since I've read something super good. I feel like I used to read fanfictions all the time when I was in high school but now it's harder to find stories that I really love. Not to say that there aren't new good ones out there but I just haven't found a lot of them yet. I'm hoping to see more Peter/OC fanfiction but I'm not sure Infinity War will have that kind of impact on fanfiction writers. Maybe the next Spider-Man movie will.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews even though I didn't answer all of them. I just want you to know that I read every single one of them and I really appreciate you guys taking the time to review. Thanks for all the favorites and follows too. Keeping reviewing to let me know what you think and please enjoy the new chapter.**

* * *

"Did you pack your toothbrush? What about your deodorant?" May asked Peter as he and Emma waited in the airport security line at JFK. It was the day of the flight to London for the Academic Decathlon competition and the entire team was excited…especially Peter. Emma knew how excited her boyfriend was for London because he had been tossing and turning the entire night before. She barely got any sleep because he had elbowed her and kicked her in his sleep almost twenty times. Emma was starting to regret letting him into her bed every night because he was a restless sleeper but at least Emma's nightmares weren't as bad.

It had a been a couple weeks since Emma had told Peter the truth about her and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Emma didn't regret telling Peter either. He didn't look at her any differently than before and he had proved to be an incredible listener as she told him about some of the nightmares she had…the _real_ nightmares. The only difference was that Peter was way more gentle and careful whenever they kissed. He never touched her like he had that time in her bedroom when their make-out session became steamier than ever. Emma was disappointed that he was so cautious with her now. She didn't want him to coddle her but at the same time she was thankful that he was being patient with her. He was just being a little _too_ patient for Emma's liking.

Things were different between Emma and Peter now that he knew her darkest, most intimate secret. Emma had gone through a change in this relationship and had decided to be more open and honest with her boyfriend. She had told him everything she could've thought of…from her father still being in the Cyro-Chamber to Alexander Pierce being her other more evil grandfather and even her strange new friendship with Jessica Jones. Peter had taken it all well, being both sympathetic and understanding. He didn't judge her for not telling him all of these things sooner. Emma was just happy that everything was out in the open between them. This no more secrets thing was oddly refreshing. Emma being completely honest was still new territory but it was nice not to be drowning in secrecy anymore. Peter didn't make her regret it one bit.

Things at the compound were going great too. Tony had hilariously put Peter to work around the compound since he got grounded, making him clean and polish all the Iron Man suits even though Emma was pretty sure that Tony had some kind of machine that did that automatically. He also made Peter dust all the empty Avengers' rooms and started referring to him as the maid. Emma was secretly amused and even teased Peter at night when he climbed into her bed. He'd glare at her in that cute way he did when he pretended to be mad at her but they'd engage in a cuddling session, forgetting all about his annoyance with her. Emma would never admit that she actually enjoyed cuddling with Peter. Emma wasn't the cuddly type but she supposed that there were a lot of exceptions when it came to Peter Parker.

"Yes, May." Peter said, not letting his aunt's annoying questions get him down. He was much too excited for the trip.

"And you packed your underwear too? Please, tell me you didn't forget again." May said, sounding very concerned. Peter blushed as Emma smirked at him.

"Yes, let's not forget about your underwear." Emma said teasingly and Peter glared at her before glancing back over at his aunt.

"No, I didn't forget." He said in an embarrassed voice, hoping that none of their classmates would hear…especially Flash. However, the others were much too occupied discussing what places they were going to visit while they were in London. Even Michelle seemed to be looking forward to the trip. Emma knew how interested she was in visiting the Tate Modern just like Emma was.

"So you have everything then?" May continued to ask and Peter sighed before smiling at his aunt.

"Yes, May. I have everything…Emma made sure I triple checked. I'll be fine." Peter told her reassuringly. "I promise." May just nodded before looking over at Emma who smiled back at her. The older woman's eyes then rested on the necklace the girl was wearing around her neck. She had noticed the necklace about a week or two before and recognized it as her sister-in-law's necklace. May knew just how much Mary adored that necklace and by the way she had caught Emma admiring it every now and then, May could tell that Emma adored the necklace in the same way that Mary did. It had surprised her to see Emma wearing the necklace originally which led May into knowing that Peter and Emma's relationship was now a lot more serious than she thought. The thought kind of scared her since they were both so young but May was also happy because Peter was happy.

"Don't worry, May. I'll keep an eye on him." Darcy interjected as she casually wrapped an arm around both Emma and Peter, causing Emma to glare at her. "I have to make sure this one keeps his hands to himself. Don't think just because you two are in London, the city of love, that you can just be making out on every romantic bridge and street." Emma rolled her eyes.

"The city of love is in Paris, you idiot. Not London." Emma corrected but Darcy didn't look bothered by this information.

"Anyways…I'll make sure these two stay out of trouble. Don't you worry one bit." Darcy said as she continued to reassure May. "I used to live in London, you know. Jane did some of her research over there so I'm very familiar with the city. I've even mastered driving in London." Emma honestly doubted that Darcy mastered driving in London. She hadn't even mastered driving in America. Emma actually couldn't believe Darcy was going to London with them. Imagine her shock and annoyance when Darcy announced that she had signed up as a chaperone for the trip. It was Emma's worst nightmare because she knew the brunette was going to annoy the shit out of her during this trip. Between Darcy, Ned, and Flash, she was going to very annoyed this time around.

"Thank you, Darcy. I really appreciate it." May told her but Emma wasn't really looking forward to Darcy being on this trip. She was fond of Darcy but sometimes the brunette really got on her nerves.

"It's no problem." Darcy said before May glanced back over at her nephew.

"You better not get into any trouble on this trip." May told Peter with a serious expression on her face. "I don't want to hear anything about you leaving the hotel room to go spend the night with your girlfriend again." Peter blushed a vibrant shade of red.

"I told you, May…it wasn't like that." Peter tried to tell her as Emma looked between the two of them in amusement. It was clear to her that May was only teasing her nephew.

"It looks like Mr. Harrington isn't going to be making the same mistake twice. He made sure to put the girls and boys on two separate floors." Darcy informed May smugly. "We have to make sure that your nephew keeps it in his pants." Emma just glared at the insane woman as Peter looked even more embarrassed than before. Yes, this was going to be a very long week if Darcy was going to be there every step of the way. This trip would certainly test her patience. Emma was going to have to see whether or not she'd actually end up murdering Darcy this time. It was definitely going to be a slippery slope.

* * *

They were at their designated gate inside the airport, waiting for their flight as their classmates ran about the airport buying a bunch of books or magazines for the flight that they'd probably never end up reading. Darcy was buying a bunch of snacks for the flight and one of those stupid gossip magazines she always read. Emma and Peter's eyes, however, were glued to one of the television screens but they weren't the only people in the airport completely glued to the TV. They were currently watching King T'Challa's United Nations speech as he announced that Wakanda would be joining the United Nations. The Wakandan King looked incredibly handsome and well dressed in his nice, fashionable black suit and Emma realized that this was the first time she had seen the king's face. She had fought against him at the airport in Germany but she had never seen his face before. He wasn't really what she had expected. Emma supposed she might have assumed he'd be older or uglier. Most kings were but she had been wrong before.

"Can you believe it?" Peter said in amazement as he continued to stare up at the screen. "All these years and Wakanda's been hiding the fact that they're the most advanced technological country in the world." Emma just shrugged.

"I'm guessing that was the point." She stated before continuing. "I don't think I'm that surprised either. The guy's suit was made entirely of Vibranium. He certainly left quite the mark on Steve's shield. A Vibranium suit like that doesn't come out of a third world country." Peter just shook his head, his eyes not leaving T'Challa on the screen.

"I just don't understand why they would hide it. Why hide all that technology? They could've been helping people for years." Peter said, sounding sincerely confused.

"Don't you know your history, Parker?" Emma questioned before she explained further. " _Our_ ancestors kind of have a history of taking what isn't theirs. Whether it was land, people, or riches, we took and took until there was nothing left. I don't blame them for hiding everything. They were actually smart to do that and especially since they have the largest supply of Vibranium in the world. They were right to hide everything from the outside world." Emma explained and Peter suddenly understood why Wakanda had been hiding their resources for so long. Emma was right. They were only trying to protect Wakanda to ensure that no one robbed or colonized it like the rest of the continent had been. Peter didn't blame them at all.

"I see your point." Peter said as he finally tore his eyes from the screen. He stared at his girlfriend's face as she stared up at the screen. Peter narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. He reminded himself not to get so jealous because that was the reason they started fighting all those weeks ago. They had moved past that bump in the road after Emma declared that she would never love anyone other than him but Peter still got jealous from time to time although nothing like before. It was kind of reasonable that he would feel the slightest bit threatened by T'Challa despite Emma and him working through the jealousy. T'Challa was, after all, a very good looking king who was probably the richest man in the world. "Why are you staring at the screen like that?" Emma finally tore her gaze from the screen as she looked back at Peter. He had a torn look on his face and Emma knew he was trying to mask his jealousy. She smirked in amusement at her jealous boyfriend.

"What? I can't look?" Emma said innocently and Peter playfully glared at her.

"No." He said shortly and Emma continued to smirk at him, thoroughly amused and a little attracted to Peter's jealous side. This was the jealous side of Peter that she could appreciate. Not the other jealous side like the night they fought.

"I'm just appreciating T'Challa's outfit. He's got a great taste in fashion." Emma said jokingly and Peter scoffed.

"Yeah, sure you are." Peter said, sounding unconvinced and Emma just laughed.

"Well, can you blame me, Peter? He's pretty good looking for a king. T'Challa's definitely no Henry VIII. That's for sure." Emma retorted but she wasn't really being serious. Sure, T'Challa was good looking but Emma didn't think he had anything on her cute little spider. Peter crossed his arms.

"Yeah, sure…if you like tall, good looking men with a lot of money and a palace then yeah. I guess he is worth looking at." Peter said bitterly and Emma just laughed as she slipped her hand into his. She leaned in close as she began to whisper into his ear, causing Peter to blush and his heart to race.

"Don't worry, Parker, I much prefer my men to be short, nerdy, and to have a bunk bed rather than some silly old palace." Emma flirted and Peter gave her a slightly offended look.

"I'm not short! I'm still growing!" Peter argued passionately and Emma just gave him an amused smile. "I'll probably grow a few more inches. You'll see."

"I'm sure you will, Parker." Emma said, not sounding entirely convinced by his statement. "You shouldn't feel so threatened anyways. I think you're a lot better looking than that king."

"Really?" Peter asked her shyly and Emma nodded.

"Yes."

"Do you think I'm better looking than Thor too?" Peter asked her and Emma just looked at him.

"Peter, that's a stupid question. No one's better looking than Thor." Emma told him, causing Peter to stare at her in surprise. "The guy's a moron but at least he has a pretty face."

"I can't believe you would-" Peter started to say but stopped when he saw Emma laughing at him. He was a little annoyed that she was teasing him but he was happy to see her laughing. She seemed a lot happier ever since she told him her secret about Rumlow. Emma wasn't as stressed out as she used to be and Peter was just happy that she was happy.

"I'm messing with you, Parker. You have a much prettier face than Thor. I don't even like long hair anyways." Emma told him. "If you ever have long hair or grow a beard, I'll dump you. I swear." The only thing was that Peter couldn't tell whether or not Emma was joking. He supposed that it was a very Emma thing to say.

"Well, I don't think I _can_ grow a beard anyways so you don't have anything to worry about." Peter told her and Emma just shook her head at him in amusement but before she could answer she was interrupted by Darcy Lewis who had a stack of gossip magazines in her arms and a bag of pretzel snacks. Emma wanted to groan at the sight of her and she hoped to god that she didn't have to sit by Darcy for the entire flight. Twelve hours of listening to Darcy's constant chatter wasn't Emma's idea of a good time.

"Okay, you two horny kids. Back away from each other." Darcy said teasingly as she looked between them. "I'll be watching you two on the plane so I don't want to see any hands under any blanket." Emma glared at the brunette as she calmly pulled her hand away from Peter's while Peter just blushed in embarrassment.

"You better be careful, Lewis. Don't test my patience or you might find yourself getting thrown out of the plane." Emma said darkly but Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Keep it up with the death threats. I don't care." Darcy said, sounding unconcerned by Emma's threat. "I'll just be reading about Brangelina's divorce and watching _Law and Order: SVU_ re-runs in the meantime." Darcy then walked off to go chat with some of the other adult chaperones. Most likely Ned's mother because Emma couldn't really see Darcy holding a conversation with Flash's dad. The man looked like a huge dickhead to Emma with his expensive suit and way he always seemed to be having a conversation about business on the phone with some asshole on Wall Street. Flash really looked like a miniature version of his father and Emma wasn't just talking about his height either.

"I swear to god I'm going to kill that woman one of these days." Emma muttered to herself but Peter just gave her an amused smile.

"No, you won't." Peter said in a confident sounding voice. Emma just muttered something under her breath as she glared at the television screen that was now showing a cereal commercial. She knew Peter was right. Emma would never murder Darcy like she threatened but the worse part was that Darcy wasn't even slightly afraid that she might kill her. She really had lost her touch. Emma blamed it on Peter but only in the most affectionate way.

* * *

Peter looked around London in wonder as Emma watched him in amusement. He pointed at everything, his jaw hanging open. They had landed at Heathrow airport a couple hours before and the tour bus, the school had rented for them, had already dropped off their luggage at the hotel they were staying in. Peter and Ned's faces had practically been glued to the bus window the entire ride much to Emma's amusement. Darcy, to Emma's delight, had sat next to Flash's father for the entire bus ride, annoying the hell out of the older man. To Emma that was even more entertaining than anything outside the window.

"Emma, look it's the big clock tower thingy!" Peter exclaimed excitedly and Emma watched as Peter stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to stare at Big Ben in awe. Everyone else was also admiring the tower except for Michelle who was reading a book and Emma who was watching Peter. Emma and Michelle were currently leaning back against the Westminster bridge while everyone was bustling around, chatting excitedly amongst each other.

"Big clock tower thingy…yeah, no one's going to have the slightest idea that we're Americans." Emma said sarcastically as she referenced one of the meetings that the Academic Decathlon team had about not advertising the fact that they were Americans. It was pretty much a bad idea to let anyone in a foreign country know that they were Americans because apparently a lot of people hated Americans. Big surprise there. Mr. Harrington had been insistent on them telling people that they were Canadians but Emma doubted that anyone would buy that.

"Your boyfriend's an idiot." Michelle deadpanned and Emma nodded her head in agreement.

"I know." Emma replied which caused Peter to glare at the two girls.

"Hey, you're supposed to defend me!" Peter told his girlfriend but Emma just shrugged, not seeming that concerned with him.

"I'm not going to lie, Parker." Emma retorted and Peter just shook his head at her, not really annoyed with her. Even though they had been dating for two months, Emma never ceased picking on him and Peter would honestly be kind of sad if she did stop. It was kind of their thing…Emma teasing him and Peter pretending to be annoyed by it. It was just another form of their flirting.

"Whatever." Peter muttered before a happier expression came over his face as something came to mind. Emma already knew she wasn't going to like this. Whenever Peter got that stupid look on his face, she knew it was because he had some stupid idea that she was going to hate. "Hey, let's get a selfie with Big Ben in the background! That would look so cool! Oh, I can't wait to post it on Instagram."

"I don't take selfies." Emma told him firmly, putting an end to Peter's rambling and Peter groaned.

"Fine, then. We'll have Ned or Darcy take a picture of us." Peter told her and Emma just gave up at this point because she knew Peter wasn't just going to give this idea up. He'd just badger her until she gave in anyways. Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine. Let's take the stupid picture." Emma grumbled but Peter didn't look put off by her unenthusiastic tone. He knew Emma wouldn't agree to this if she didn't want to do it. The teenage boy happily handed his phone over to Ned before walking back over to Emma.

"I think we should kiss for the picture." Peter said as he grinned at her. Emma looked at him in disbelief before glancing around at all the people walking around them. Was he crazy? He wanted to kiss her in front of all these people? If there was one thing Emma and her grandfather could agree on, it was PDA. Emma hated PDA. She was fine with holding hands or even hugging in public but kissing in public was something else.

"I told you that I don't like PDA." Emma stated and Peter pouted.

"We don't have any pictures of us kissing. I'd just like to at least have one. The only picture we have of us together is the one Darcy took while we were sleeping." Peter explained to her as he gave her that stupid puppy dog look that she claimed to find annoying but actually found to be cute. The look then faded from his face as he was reminded of something. He suddenly wondered if he was being too pushy with her. Peter constantly feared whether or not he was somehow pressuring Emma in anyway and especially with what happened to her in the past. Peter admitted that he was being a lot more careful with her than normal but he just didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "Unless you're not comfortable with it or anything."

Emma stared at Peter as he said that and she knew this was him being slightly overprotective of her. The reason she didn't like PDA had nothing to do with Rumlow. She just didn't like the idea of sharing private moments with strangers. However, Emma didn't want Peter to think she was uncomfortable. If he thought that she was uncomfortable then that just meant that he'd be even more hesitant when they kissed behind closed doors. Emma didn't want him to think she was uncomfortable with anything of the sort. She just sighed before answering.

"Kiss me then, Parker." Emma told him tiredly and perhaps it wasn't the most romantic declaration but it seemed to make Peter happy. He briefly turned to Ned to give him the signal before quickly turning back to Emma. Peter immediately leaned in towards Emma and all annoyance and discomfort disappeared as soon as his lips met hers. She felt his hands on her as he held her close but Emma didn't feel uncomfortable like she thought she would. Kissing in public was never something she thought about but it didn't feel like there was a bunch of people watching them. No…it just felt like it was the two of them and no one else in the world. It was perfect.

"I got the picture…I actually got three so you two can stop kissing now." Ned called out to them as they both pulled away from each other. Despite Ned having interrupted their moment, Emma and Peter's eyes were still locked onto each other. It was moments like these that they both realized how in love they were. Emma didn't know what made her so mushy all of a sudden. She didn't know if it was because she was in London or if it was because things were so blissful between her and Peter since they had that talk.

"Let's take a couple of others then." Peter stated and Emma found herself nodding despite hating having her picture taken. Peter pulled her in close again as he wrapped his arm around her. He smiled at the camera and Emma briefly admired his goofy smile, her favorite smile of his, before she also faced the camera. For the first time in a while Emma found herself smiling in a way that wasn't forced or fake. It was the way she smiled when she was alone with Peter…a completely happy smile that lit up her whole face and made her blue eyes sparkle. They had Ned take a few more pictures before they followed the rest of the class down to the London Eye. Emma didn't exactly have great memories of London in the past but Emma didn't feel completely haunted by her past like she thought she would. Emma was making new memories in the famous city and she had Peter to thank for that. She spent the walk over to the London Eye watching Peter point out different things with a happy and content smile on her face.

* * *

The international competition looked far bigger than the one in D.C. although Emma couldn't be sure since her and Peter had been a bit occupied during that time. It was kind of annoying that people kept a close watch over them. Especially Mr. Harrington and Darcy who were making sure that they didn't run off together again. She had to admit that it was frustrating that all of their classmates were convinced that she and Peter had stayed back at a hotel room to have sex last time around. They also thought that she and Peter had run off to have sex again when they ditched the homecoming dance. Literally every time Peter and Emma had went off to be the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man, their classmates thought they were having sex. Even Michelle and Ned knew that wasn't the truth yet that didn't stop them from teasing the young couple about it.

"Are you nervous?" Peter asked her and Emma had to scoff at that.

"I don't get nervous about anything." She replied before she looked around in distaste at all the audience members watching them. They were currently seated at a table on the stage with their other classmates. The team had been competing all day and was finally in the semi-finals stage of the competition. They were currently competing against England and Germany for the chance to compete in the finals. "Besides…I just want to get this over with so we can go home." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Come on, London can't be that bad. Right?" Peter said and Emma shrugged.

"I don't know, Peter. It's been pretty good so far but the last time I was here it was for my grandmother's funeral and it was also when the whole world started going to shit. I'd prefer not to be here for too long." Emma said but Peter just gave her a smile. He slipped his hand into hers before giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

"We'll have a lot of fun. This trip has only just begun." Peter told her, trying to cheer her up. "We're going to go to those art museums that I know you're just dying to visit. Mr. Harrington says we're going to visit Windsor Castle tomorrow and on Thursday we're going to see Stonehenge so that'll be cool."

"I guess the art museums will be interesting." Emma said, trying to downplay her excitement in finally going to the Tate Modern but Peter knew her better than that. "I'm not really looking forward to going to that stupid castle. I don't get why people are so obsessed with the royal family. Aren't they all inbred or something? Besides…it's not like that old bat has any real power. She just attends tea parties all day. At least someone like T'Challa has actual power in his own country." Peter looked around frantically as he looked to see if anyone had overheard Emma. He knew that Emma didn't care but he didn't want to offend anyone. Peter didn't think it was acceptable to talk about the queen that way in her own country but Emma didn't seem to care either way. It was something he loved about her but in this instance; it might even be something that would get them kicked out of the competition.

"How about we convince Mr. Harrington to let us go with Darcy to your grandmother's grave? We don't even have to tell him where we're going. We'll be with a chaperone so he won't think twice about it." Peter suggested to her and a soft look came over Emma's face. "Do you think you would like that?" Emma immediately nodded as she smiled at him.

"I'd love that. Thank you." Emma told him before her smile morphed into a smirk. "Although I don't think Darcy's that great of a chaperone." Peter laughed.

"No, she really isn't." Emma said and Peter smiled at her once more.

"We'll have fun." Peter reassured her. "Just don't think of anything aside from you and me in this city having fun, okay? When we're older I promise I'll take you to a lot of cities. Maybe even Paris. Paris is pretty, right? It's the city of love, after all."

"I hate Paris." Emma told him which caused Peter to give her an amused look.

"How about Los Angeles? There's probably a ton of cool stuff there." Peter suggested and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Los Angeles is probably the most disgusting place in the world. I wouldn't set foot in that city. It's more than likely full of wannabe actors and musicians. I'd rather not." Emma said bitterly but Peter just laughed at her. It was so like Emma to put down every city in the world. Of course, Emma wouldn't want to go to a city where everyone else wanted to go. She was just entirely unique that way.

"Okay so what city do you want to go to? Where in the world would you want to go?" Peter asked her honestly, very curious to hear where Emma wanted to go. A more relaxed expression came over her face as she seriously considered his question. Emma, however, already knew she had the answer to his question.

"I'd like to go back to Japan someday." Emma said softly as Peter stared at her intently. He remembered her talking about Japan before on their first date. It was one of the few places that Emma had ever talked about enjoying. "Nishiizu, Japan. It's probably one of the most beautiful places in the world. I've never been there. I had business in Shimoda which was nearby but I never made it to Nishiizu."

"Then we'll go to Nizizu." Peter told her as he pronounced the name incorrectly and Emma just laughed at him.

"It's called Nishiizu, Parker." Emma told him and Peter rolled his eyes playfully.

"Whatever. My point is that someday I'll take you to Nishiizu. I promise." Peter told her and Emma smiled at him in return, knowing that she was hopelessly in love with Peter Parker. Their moment, however, was then broken by someone who Emma constantly fantasized about killing.

"Looking good, Lewis." Flash said smugly as he took his seat next to her, looking the blonde up and down. Peter glared hatefully at the teenage boy while Emma just gave him a disgusted look. Leave it to Flash to ruin a romantic moment between herself and Peter.

"It's too bad that I can't say the same about you." Emma retorted, causing Flash to frown before his attention turned to Peter. The short boy glared at Peter who was still holding onto Emma's hand. He hated how Emma Lewis, one of the prettiest girls at Midtown, was none other than Peter Parker's girlfriend. Peter Parker who always had the highest grades and Peter Parker who all the teachers loved. Perfect Peter Parker who also had the hottest girl at Midtown on his arm. It was annoying to see the dorky teenage boy get everything without even trying.

"Nice to see that you've finally showed up, Penis Parker." Flash said sarcastically. "It's not like we need you anyways. We were just fine last time when you and Lewis snuck off together." Cindy Moon sighed heavily from down the table.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Flash. You didn't answer a single question last time." Cindy told him and Flash blushed.

"T-that's not f-fair. I didn't ditch like Penis Parker." Flash struggled to point out.

"Whatever, Eugene." Emma said nonchalantly as she remained just as cozy and close to Peter as before. "Parker and I are here now so let's not dwell on the past like an asshole." Flash gave Emma a surprised look.

"What did you just call me?" Flash asked her and Emma smirked at him. Flash blushed an even more vibrant shade of red at Emma's comment.

"Your name's Eugene, isn't it?" Emma inquired but she already knew the answer. Flash looked entirely embarrassed as everyone at the table stared at him. He instead just glared down at the table, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Shut up." He muttered and Emma had a satisfied look on her face as Peter, Ned, and Abe snickered while Sally and Cindy looked entirely amused. Michelle just raised an eyebrow, looking in between Emma and Flash. Charles looked conflicted but ultimately decided that his friend probably didn't want to be comforted this time around. It was probably a good decision on his part.

With that, the competition began and it was one of the lamest things she had ever experienced. All these little idiots rushing to hit the bell just so they could answer a stupid question that held little importance in the world. Emma also hated the stupid smile on the other teenagers' faces whenever they answered something correctly. It's like they were little people pleasers. Ew.

They had already finished the essay portion of the semi-finals with Cindy giving a speech as another part of the competition. Peter had already answered numerous questions but Emma hadn't answered that many. She only answered the ones that her team didn't know which were usually the language questions. Michelle pretty much had their backs on literature for the most part. During one of the breaks, she could see that their team was the ridicule of the German and English teams. The Germans particularly had a good time calling the boys on the team asshole and dickhead in German while also hitting on the girls in German. Emma found it entirely insulting.

"Du hast einen schönen Po und lange beine. Warum kommst du nicht mit mir nach Hause und ich kann dir eine wirklich gute Zeit zeigen. Mehr als dein amerikanischer Freund, der wahrscheinlich einen kleinen Schwanz hat ( You have a nice ass and long legs. Why don't you come back home with me and I can show you a really good time. More than your American boyfriend who probably has a small cock)." One of the German boys told Emma as he and his buddies giggled, thinking that because Emma and her classmates were Americans that all of them were somehow stupid. Well, most of them didn't understand German except for Emma and Sally Avril who took German as one of her electives. Emma glared at the stupid German boy.

"Der Einzige mit einem kleinen Schwanz bist du. Nicht die Klappe halten, bevor ich drüben gehe und dein Gesicht neu anordne, du kraut Arschloch frisst(The only one with a small cock is you. Now shut the fuck up before I go over there and reaarange your face, you kraut eating asshole)." Emma hissed at the boys in fluent German. The boys gave her a shocked look as they then quickly turned away from her. Sally gasped a little in surprise before she started giggling while the rest of the team just watched on in confusion. Emma looked at them, not seeming at all bothered by what just occurred.

"I just gave him the formal German greeting." Emma told everyone but they didn't look convinced. Especially Peter who gave her a doubtful look as everyone looked away from her and started chatting amongst themselves.

"Why do I feel like you're lying?" Peter questioned and Emma just smirked at him.

The competition resumed not long after that. Emma even managed to answer a couple Shakespeare questions which of course annoyed the English team. Before they knew it the competition ended with Midtown winning the semi-finals which meant that they would compete in the finals on Wednesday against the Japanese and Wakandan teams. Emma wasn't happy because this meant that she had to sit next to Flash again but at least she only had to do it one more time before they could go home. However, Emma tried not to dwell on having to sit next to Flash. Peter was right…this was trip was supposed to be fun. She wasn't going to try and ruin it with being her bitter and cynical self. At least she was going to see her grandmother's grave. Emma had never gotten the chance to visit her grandmother's grave and the best part was that she was going to have Peter with her. Everything would turn out alright.

* * *

 _Margaret Elizabeth Carter-Sousa_

 _April 9_ _th_ _, 1921- May 18_ _th_ _, 2016_

 _Beloved Wife, Mother, and Friend_

 _"_ _Compromise where you can but where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree and say, "No, you move."_

 _-Peggy Carter_

"I like the quote." Peter said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. They had arrived at the cemetery not that long ago. Darcy was leaning up against a tree, chatting with Ned and Michelle, near the entrance of the cemetery. She knew that after they were finished Darcy was going to take them to Covent Garden so Emma didn't want to take too long. She knew that a cemetery wasn't necessarily a fun place to hang out at although Michelle probably thought so. Emma had been staring at the tombstone for the past few minutes as she remembered her grandmother. She didn't remember a lot of her grandmother before she had been abducted but the last couple years had been hard for Emma to see. Peggy Carter, who had once been the most legendary agent of all time, had been reduced to a frail shell of the empowered woman that she used to be. It had broken Emma's heart to see her that way and Peggy had gotten even worse during those last few months. At least Peggy was at peace now.

"She was very wise." Emma said quietly before glancing at the small bouquet of flowers resting on the ground. The flowers looked to be a couple weeks old at the most. It was a bit puzzling to Emma but not too puzzling. She knew that she had an aunt that still lived in London so the flowers might've been from her. "It was just so sad to see her that way during those last few months."

"It must've been really hard on your grandfather." Peter said softly and Emma shrugged.

"I suppose. He said that he had long accepted that they were never meant to be but I think deep down he wishes that things had turned out differently." Emma told him honestly. "I mean, I think he has feelings for Susan but at the same time there's this factor of him not knowing what could've been had he never crashed into the ocean. It haunts him to this very day. He never said anything but I know he dreams of a life where he never crashed into the ocean and he married my grandmother…a life where he raised my father and grew old at my grandmother's side." Peter stared at Emma as he thought about whether or not he should tell her what was on his mind. He eventually decided to tell her since they promised to not keep secrets from one and other.

"I had a nightmare like that." Peter admitted and Emma looked at him in surprise. She didn't really understand his meaning.

"A nightmare about Steve crashing into the ocean?" Emma questioned and Peter immediately shook his head.

"No, I had a nightmare about _you_ crashing into the ocean." Peter told her and Emma just stared at him silently, not knowing what to say. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I had a nightmare that you crashed into the ocean and been frozen for seventy years and I was an old man by the time you woke up. You were still really young and pretty while I was this gross and disgusting old man."

Emma continued to stare at Peter as he finished speaking. Peter was almost going to say something else to break the silence when Emma abruptly broke out in laughter. He stared at quizzically as she laughed at him. It was her real, musical laughter too because he could see how her entire face lit up as she laughed. Peter wanted to be mad because she was laughing at him but he couldn't find it himself to be angry with her when she was laughing. She was so beautiful when she laughed…well, she was always beautiful to him but she was even more beautiful when she looked as happy as she did in that moment.

"You're hilarious, Parker." Emma told him as Peter attempted to glare at her but he miserably failed in the process. She calmed down a bit after her fit of laughter and instead gave Peter a soft smile. "I'm not going to crash into the ocean like Steve. You don't have to worry."

"You totally could." Peter argued as he tried to get her to see that this could actually happen someday. "If it happened to Steve then it could happen to you too. You would still be young and beautiful while I'd be this gross old man. You probably wouldn't want me anymore either." Emma rolled her eyes at the sad look on his face. Her boyfriend could really be over dramatic sometimes. Did he seriously think that this would happen?

"Parker, I think you're completely crazy to think that this is something that would ever happen but I'll ease your worries anyways." Emma told sincerely before continuing as he paid avid attention to her. "If I ever get frozen for a good chunk of time I promise that I'll still want you. I'll want you even if you're old, fat, and gross looking like Tony." Peter gave her a hopeful look.

"Really?" He asked her in a small voice as she then smiled a bit mischievously at him.

"Yes. Even if you were a seventy year old man, I'd still sleep with you." Emma said flirtatiously and Peter blushed.

"Emma…" He trailed off, not knowing what he could to say to something like that. Emma smirked at how red he got when she said that.

"I bet old man Peter would still be really hot. You'd probably have a ton of gray hair and wrinkles but I'd still want to have sex with you." Emma told him in the most serious voice she could muster. Peter's eyes glanced back to her grandmother's tombstone and he looked even more uncomfortable.

"Emma, you shouldn't be saying that here of all places. We're sitting on your grandmother's grave." Peter tried to tell her but Emma just rolled her eyes at him again.

"It's not like she's going to stick her skeleton hand out of the grave and pull you under, Peter." Emma teased but Peter looked even more freaked out. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes yet again because she knew her boyfriend probably watched _The Walking Dead_ way too much. The look on her face then softened as she looked back at him. "I'm just trying to say that it doesn't matter how old you are or how old I am…you'll always be my Spider-Twerp." Peter swallowed hard as he gazed at the sincere look on Emma's face. He gave her a small smile.

"And you'll always be my little snake." Peter told her and Emma immediately made a face at that nickname.

"Don't call me that." Emma told him and Peter gave her an amused smile.

"Why not?" He questioned although he wasn't really concerned with Emma's attitude towards the nickname.

"Because I still have my dignity." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head at her in amusement.

"You call me Spider-Twerp." Peter pointed out.

"Yeah, because you have no dignity." Emma shot back and Peter knew he should've been mad at her but truthfully he loved bickering with her. She rested her head against his shoulder as they both sat there at her grandmother's grave. "Thank you." Emma said softly and Peter gave her a curious look.

"Thank you for what?" Peter asked her and Emma just smiled.

"Thank you for being so good to me." Emma murmured and Peter didn't understand why she always thanked him for being nice to her. She shouldn't thank him for being a decent person. However, Peter knew that Emma, despite how confident she sometimes acted, had a low self-esteem. It was a result of all the trauma she had been through in her childhood. She had been through a lot of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse…so much that it clearly still haunted her more than she was willing to admit. Somehow, because of this, Emma believed that she didn't deserve to be happy but Peter was intent on making her see that it was okay to be happy. No one deserved to be happy more than Emma.

"You don't need to thank me, Emma." Peter told her and Emma looked at him from under her lashes, suddenly seeming very shy.

"I know you've had to put up with a lot." Emma told him, a certain amount of sadness in her voice. "I haven't made it easy on you either." Peter just shook his head at her.

"Emma, I already told you that what happened in your past doesn't change the way I feel about you." Peter replied and Emma wondered how she could deserve someone as amazing as Peter. There was so much goodness and so much pureness in him. "I'm just happy that you trusted me enough to tell me the truth."

"I'm glad I told you too." Emma said softly because she honestly was happy that she had told him. She liked that there wasn't any more secrets between them which was strange because Emma always thought someone knowing the truth about her would ruin her but it was actually the opposite. Emma didn't feel alone and strangely she felt free now that Peter knew.

"We should probably go. Darcy, Michelle, and Ned are waiting for us." Peter murmured although his gaze was still focused on her face. Emma just nodded and figured that Peter was probably right. They couldn't sit in this cemetery all day. Her grandmother wouldn't want it that way.

Peter got up from the ground and Emma made a move to follow him but not before something caught her eye. There was a piece of blue colored paper in the bouquet of old, dying flowers at her grandmother's grave. She would've completely ignored the piece of paper had it not been for the small inscription written across the paper in neat handwriting. Emma reached for the note before staring down at the writing but it didn't take a genius to figure out who had put the bouquet there.

 _To My Best Girl_

"Steve was here." Emma whispered as she finally stood up from the ground, the note and bouquet in her hand. Peter gave her a quizzical look.

"What?" He questioned in confusion and Emma held up the note with the writing on it.

"My best girl…it's the same thing he called me in that letter he sent. It's what he used to call _her_." Emma said and Peter looked down at the note in surprise.

The realization then dawned on her and Emma could even feel her heart skip a beat. She barely spared Peter another glance before she started rushing over in the direction of the funeral home near the entrance of the cemetery. Peter called after her as she ran over to the funeral home but she ignored him. Emma knew what she was doing was puzzling but all logic escaped her mind the moment she saw the note. She entered the funeral home, not even out of breath, as she walked over to the front counter where a receptionist was seated. The receptionist smiled politely at Emma but Emma had a very serious expression on her face.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist asked her and Emma lifted up the old bouquet of rotten flowers, her hand slightly shaky.

"Do you know who left this at one of the graves?" Emma asked suddenly, sounding very nervous and on edge. It was unlike her to not be so composed but this was a unique situation. The receptionist then gave her a slightly confused look.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but are you asking me who left that bouquet of flowers at one of the plots?" The receptionist required and Emma nodded, not being able to find it in herself to speak. "I'm sorry but there isn't a sign in sheet. People come and go all day." Emma felt a wave of disappointment come over her because she knew the woman was right. What was she even thinking? People didn't sign in when they visited cemeteries. Why would they?

"Oh…" Emma trailed off, not knowing what else she could say. "Thanks anyways…I guess." The receptionist just gave her an apologetic smile. Emma felt like she might've lost all hope as she turned around to leave but she was stepped in her steps by a voice.

"You wouldn't happen to be asking about the American that came here, would you?" Emma turned around and was met by the sight of a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties standing in the lobby of the funeral home. He was very good looking, Emma supposed, with his dark brown hair and big brown eyes although he was rather pale which Emma assumed was because he was English. The English were usually pale. He was very clean shaven with short hair and no beard. The man, however, didn't appear to be very tall…he was maybe an inch or two taller than Emma.

"And what if I am? What's it to you, anyways?" Emma questioned once she found it in herself to finally speak. The man didn't look offended in the least as he gave Emma an amused smile.

"I think it concerns me a great deal since you're holding the bouquet of flowers from my grandmother's grave and inquiring about the man who left them there." The man told her and Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she stared back at him. Grandmother? Wait…of course. Emma should've known better. Of course, her grandmother had other grandchildren. Emma always knew that she wasn't the only one. Peggy had two other children after Emma's father and this man must be the child of either Emma's aunt or uncle. Her cousin and not a distant cousin like Sharon either. No, he was an actual first cousin and it was weird staring in the face of someone who was so closely related to her. A long lost relative. Emma would never lose count of all the long lost relatives she had met in her life. First there was Alexander Pierce who was only one of her grandfathers and then there was Steve who was the grandfather that wasn't an evil Hydra loving asshole. Of course, there was also Peggy but then there was Sharon too. Now there was this guy and who knew how many other relatives she had running around out there. Probably a lot.

"I'm Daniel Langley." He introduced and Emma decided that her and her newly found cousin didn't look much alike. Emma thought it was a weird coincidence that she looked more like Steve while her cousin looked more like Peggy. Emma wordlessly handed him the bouquet back but the man still didn't look offended that she had taken the bouquet in the first place. He took the bouquet back and Emma gave him a curious look.

"The man you saw…did you get a good look at him?" Emma asked quietly and Daniel gave her another amused look.

"I know who he was…and I think you know too." Daniel told her in a nonchalant tone and Emma looked surprised.

"What?" She questioned and Daniel chuckled.

"I've seen enough pictures and heard enough stories to know who that man was." Daniel said to her as Emma listened to him intently. "Don't get me wrong. I know my grandmother loved my grandfather dearly but we all knew that she longed for another…the one who got away. It was nice finally meeting the man I grew up hearing so much about." Emma gave him a cautious look as she considered everything he told her.

"Why didn't you turn him in then? He's a war criminal, you know." Emma told Daniel seriously and he shrugged.

"A lot of people visit my grandmother's grave but not many spend as much time there as he did. It's nice to know that someone cared that much." Daniel answered and his answer satisfied Emma's curiosity.

"When did you last see him here?" Emma asked him.

"About a week and a half ago. I'm afraid you've just missed him…I haven't seen him since." Daniel said honestly and Emma nodded to herself. So Steve was here, after all? Emma could laugh at how close their lives had just come to intersecting after almost a year. It was almost like fate was messing with them.

"Did he seem okay?" Emma asked quietly and Daniel before nodding.

"Yes although we didn't exchange a lot of words." Daniel said and Emma took in that piece of information. So Steve really was there. It was just too bad that they had missed each other.

"Well, thank you." Emma said, signaling to him that their conversation was coming to an end. She didn't bother to say goodbye as she turned to leave. It was best not to spend any more time around this guy. He'd start asking questions soon enough and Emma wasn't so sure she wanted that. However, what he'd say next would surprise her and stop her in her steps.

"I know who you are too." He announced and Emma slowly turned back to face him. Her face was full of surprise as she stared back at him and he gave her a knowing look.

"Excuse me?" Emma questioned but Daniel just smiled at her.

"Come on, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put it all together. Captain America showing up to my grandmother's grave and then a teenage girl coming around asking questions almost two weeks later. Not to mention you look quite a bit like the captain. It's uncanny." Daniel explained to her as Emma just watched him, an unreadable expression on her face. "My little cousin Emma would be about your age now too so I'm assuming that you're her."

"You don't really seem surprised that I'm alive." Emma stated and Daniel shrugged.

"Well, Uncle Steven was a bit abnormal because he was his father's child so I figure that maybe you are too since you're Uncle Steven's child." Daniel informed her and Emma decided that her cousin was a lot smarter than he looked. Emma stared at him long and hard before finally speaking again.

"I know that you're probably going to tell your family about me but I just hope you know that I won't go willingly with you if you want to take custody of me. You should tell your mother and uncle that." Emma told him bitterly but Daniel just looked confused.

"Why would we take custody of you? We don't have any right to." Daniel replied and now Emma was the confused one.

"What do you mean?" She questioned and it seemed like Daniel might've known something that Emma didn't.

"Well, I'm assuming that you're in your godfather's custody right now. That's the way Uncle Steven would've wanted it so I don't think my mother and Uncle Michael would do anything to jeopardize that." Daniel told her but this didn't ease Emma's confusion. Godfather? What was Daniel talking about? Emma didn't have a godfather. However, before Emma could continue to question Daniel about this, Peter showed up.

"Emma, where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." Peter asked her as he entered the lobby. He then looked in between Emma and Daniel almost suspiciously. Emma just nodded as she looked back at Daniel.

"It was nice meeting you, I guess." Emma told him and Daniel just smiled at her.

"It was nice seeing you again, Emma. You've grown up so much." Daniel told her kindly. "I'm just glad you're okay. Hopefully we'll see each other again." Emma gave him a short nod before turning away from him and walking away. Peter glanced between her and the handsome stranger before following his girlfriend. Emma didn't say anything as they walked out of the funeral home which frustrated him but he was still used to it. He usually had to literally pull information out of her. Emma wasn't the most forthcoming with information like normal people were. It wasn't because she was hiding anything but she just didn't seem to have the ability of naturally sharing information people might like to know.

"Who was that?" He asked as he kept looking back at the building behind them. Emma shrugged.

"My cousin, I guess." Emma told him and Peter's eyes widened in surprise.

"Another cousin? Emma, I thought you promised to tell me if you had any more family members running around." Peter complained and Emma just gave him a look.

"Well, I didn't even know he existed until fifteen minutes ago." Emma informed him and a look of understanding came over his face. Wow, Emma really had a lot of family members coming out of the woodwork, Peter thought to himself.

"Woah…" Peter said, not knowing what to say to something like that.

"Yeah." Emma said in response as they continued making their way over to where Darcy, Michelle, and Ned were. She sighed heavily.

"I have a feeling we might be seeing more of the Carter family. Something tells me that my dear cousin over there isn't going to keep his trap shut about me being alive." Emma said before she turned to look at Peter and she noticed that he had a goofy smile on his face. "What do you look so damn happy about?"

"I get to meet more of your family." Peter told her as he continued to smile at her and Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't understand why you're so obsessed with meeting my family. You do know that even _I_ haven't met most of them." Emma replied but Peter didn't seem let down by her answer.

"Of course I want to meet your family. They're a part of you." Peter told her excitedly and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him again even though she secretly found him adorable when he looked like that. "I can't wait to meet your grandfather and father too. I mean, I'm a little intimidated, because this is Captain America and the Winter Soldier we're talking about, but I'm going to make it my mission to get them to like me. Maybe they'll love me so much that we'll go on little bonding trips together. That would be fun, right?"

Emma looked at Peter like he was insane because he kind of was if he thought that getting her father and grandfather to like him would be that easy. Well, Steve would probably like Peter but she doubted her father would. Emma and her father were a lot alike which made sense since he practically raised her. However, Emma couldn't see her father loving Peter because there was also a huge difference her and her father. Emma was completely in love with Peter Parker…she was in love with everything from his dorky personality to his warm brown eyes and not to mention that Peter was insanely hot to top it all off. One thing Emma knew for sure was that her father wasn't likely going to see Peter the same way she did. Her father wasn't going to be pulled in by Peter's warm brown eyes or pretty face like she always was. Yeah, Emma couldn't really see her father and Peter going on any father and son-in-law bonding trips in the near future. She almost snorted at the thought of Peter and her father doing something so mundane as going on a fishing trip. Wouldn't that be a hilarious sight to see?

"Good luck with that, Parker. The chance my father would actually like you went away the day you felt me up." Emma told Peter who blushed in response.

"It's not like you'll tell him about that, right?" Peter asked and Emma smirked at him.

"I don't know. Maybe I will." Emma said casually and Peter's eyes widened as he gave her an almost frightened look. "The look on Papa's face would be hilarious."

"You can't tell him about that, Emma! He'll kill me!" Peter exclaimed as he began to panic but Emma didn't seem bothered.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Peter. You can totally take him." Emma said in a reassuring tone but Peter didn't feel reassured.

"I'm not fighting your dad." He told her and Emma gave him an amused look.

"It would be entertaining if you did." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head as they walked back to the others. She still couldn't believe that Steve had been there and she also couldn't believe she had met another cousin of hers. Emma briefly wondered how many cousins she had. Probably quite a few. The Carter family seemed to large in a way that the Rogers family wasn't. Even though Emma knew that Steve was long gone, she was comforted by the thought that he was okay. Emma knew that he was closer than ever and that gave her hope. Maybe the day they would see each other again wasn't so far away, after all.

* * *

 **Hydra Headquarters**

 **The Swiss Alps**

The base was no longer the quiet and empty base that it had been a couple months before. The large base was now bustling with newly recruited Hydra agents as they all rushed to get their work done. It had taken a little time but Brock Rumlow had finally done it. He had finally built Hydra back up from the ashes. If only Alexander Pierce was still alive so that he could see Brock's good work. A smile reached Brock's face as he watched all the Hydra scientists on the floor below working on the alien weaponry they had purchased from those idiots in New York. He still couldn't believe the nerve of those fools. They had all that power in their grasp and they used it on ATMs. No, Brock had bigger and better plans for these weapons. Plans that would soon win him the prize that Hydra would finally be able to reclaim.

"Sir, may I have a word?" Lance Collins requested as he entered the room. The decorated British MI6 agent walked into Rumlow's office and Brock turned away from the large glass pane window. Brock was still wearing his Cross Bones mask which he rarely ever took off but most of the agents at base were used to it by now.

"What is it, Collins?" Brock said in a gruff tone and the agent walked into the office, shutting the door behind him. Lance then glanced around the office briefly as he noticed several alarming pictures glued to the wall. All the pictures were of the Viper Assassin. Pictures that were printed out from the internet. Everyone at the base knew that Rumlow had a weird obsession with the famous assassin. His obsession was something more than a simple desire for Hydra to have a weapon. Lance had seen the way that Brock had stared at those pictures. He always got an unsettling feeling whenever he saw the predatory smile on his superior's face when he stared at those pictures. Lance didn't dare to question Brock's true intentions either because the last time an agent did that, the agent got his brains blown out. Lance might be suspicious of his superior but he also wanted to keep his brains inside his head.

"I'd like to inform you that Dr. Hugo and Dr. Marlow have finally made a breakthrough on the weapons." Lance informed Brock who actually seemed genuinely surprised by this news. It was seldom that they ever got any good news and this was a very good piece of news. Hydra had spent the past couple months collecting all the alien tech they could and it had been fairly difficult. After Toomes went to prison there wasn't a lot of dealers around. It was good to know that they were finally getting somewhere.

"That's good news." Brock said as he looked at the agent approvingly. "We'll be able to proceed with the attack on the facility within the next couple weeks then. Everything's going according to plan." Brock was about to turn away to admire the pictures he had hung on his wall when he saw Lance hesitate to leave. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something else, Collins?" Brock asked as he sneered at the man. Lance swallowed nervously before nodding, revealing the folder he had hidden underneath his arm. He then hesitantly handed the folder over to him and Brock took the folder with a suspicious look on his face. "What is this?"

"One of the IT guys found this off Instagram." Lance said as Brock flipped open the folder and started looking at the pictures inside. What he saw, however, wasn't anything he would've imagined in a hundred years. While there were many pictures of Emma Rogers within the folder, she wasn't the only one in the pictures. Every picture seemed to be of the young blonde next to a teenage boy with brown hair and a wide smile. Brock looked down in distaste when he saw the boy with his arm around her but he felt a sensation of rage come over himself when he saw one picture in particular. It was a picture taken in front of Big Ben in London but that wasn't what pissed him off. No, it was the fact that _his_ princess was kissing the boy in the picture.

Emma and the boy appeared to be locked in a rather passionate embrace as they kissed in front of Big Ben. It would've been an entirely untroubling picture had it not been Rumlow who was staring at it. A lot of emotions came over him but none as strong as the betrayal that Brock felt. He clenched his jaw as he stared at his princess in the arms of some scrawny teenage boy. _That little whore!_ Brock immediately crumpled the folder of pictures in his hands which put Lance on edge. Brock turned away in anger as he was forced to fixate on the image that was now engraved into his mind. She was just like her mother, Brock thought bitterly to herself. Spreading her legs for any man who came her way. Brock was no fool. He knew Margot had her share of men even before Rogers Jr. However, Brock also thought that Emma would be different. He thought he was the only one that would ever have her…that she would remain his and only his. He was wrong…he was wrong because she was just like her mother deep down. Climbing into the beds of men everywhere. She just couldn't keep her legs closed, could she?

"The profile is of a sixteen year old boy named Peter Benjamin Parker. He attends the same school as the Asset." Lance told him and Brock could barely utter a word as he glared at the ground. "I suspect that he and the one who calls himself Spider-Man may, in fact, be the same person." Brock looked up in surprise when he heard what Lance just told him.

"What?" Brock questioned and Lance shrugged.

"Well, the Viper Assassin has always been seen with Spider-Man. The public even likes to believe that they're something like a couple. Now, however, she's been photographed out of costume with this boy. It's not hard to connect the dots." Lance explained and Brock nodded because he had to admit that Lance had a point there.

"So this little boy is the circus freak in tights?" Brock said bitterly as he looked at the crumpled photograph of the boy on the floor.

"I believe so." Lance confirmed.

"Well, fine then. We'll kill him and get her. It's that simple." Brock said and he knew he couldn't wait to wrap his hands around that boy's neck, strangling the life out of him. He would make Emma watch too so she knew what happened when she invited someone into bed that wasn't him.

"I don't think it will be that easy, sir." Lance told his superior. "We've seen the videos of Spider-Man on the internet. He's strong…stronger than both the assets combined. Killing him isn't an option. The only question is whether or not we can subdue him long enough to retrieve the Asset." Brock considered what Lance said thoughtfully.

According to Lance, Peter might still be a child but Brock wasn't stupid. Spider-Man was so strong that he was able to hold up two halves of a ferry together with his bare hands. He was even able to stop a bus. The fact that this Spider-Man guy was apparently one of the strongest beings in the world annoyed Rumlow but not for the reason most people would've thought. It was because it made him realize why his princess was so drawn to this boy. Of course she was. Emma had always liked strong men. The way she had followed the Winter Soldier like a lost puppy had always frustrated him. It frustrated him because she never looked at him that way or followed him around like that. Whenever the Winter Soldier wasn't there, she still talked about him. It was like the Winter Soldier was her whole world and the thought made Brock jealous. He may or may have gotten even more pleasure from watching that one armed moron get his brains fried over and over again.

However, now Brock was faced with an even worse problem. The Winter Soldier wasn't currently in the picture so Emma had replaced him with this little boy. The realization hit him in that instance that she would never pick him. His princess would never pick him because he wasn't strongest one, was he? She had picked the Winter Soldier and Spider-Man because of their strength but she was never going to pick him because he would never match up. Her mother was the same way. She had picked Rogers. Jr, hadn't she? Rogers Jr. had been one of the most accomplished Shield agents in history and the deputy director as well. Brock had gotten rid of Margot's precious Rogers Jr., expecting her to come running to him but she hadn't. Margot merely looked at him in rage and disgust so he had been forced to kill her too. His princess was the only thing he had left so he couldn't let her go down the same path as her mother. He couldn't let her go off with the wrong man. Not when she belonged to him.

Hydra did their research and Brock knew that it would be silly to think that they could just kill Spider-Man. No one else had been able to accomplish that task yet so how could they hope to do the same? His princess certainly had a very particular taste which could've made Brock apprehensive about how to move forward in this scenario but somehow he wasn't that apprehensive. No, he had an idea about how to move forward in Hydra's plan in retrieving the Viper Assassin. The question of subduing Spider-Man, Stark, and those other freaks at that facility wouldn't even be a problem if Hydra was able to accomplish what he thought they could. He then smirked as he started forming a new plan. One that would be even better than the original.

"I agree with you, Collins." Brock finally said as he came back into reality. Lance raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly concerned for his superior. Well, not concerned for him but more concerned of what his superior's delusions might do to Hydra.

"You do?" Lance questioned and Brock nodded.

"Which is why I think we'll be much better off initiating Project Viper." Brock informed him and Lance gave him a quizzical look.

"Project Viper? You mean the project where Hydra was going to have the Winter Soldier impregnate-" Lance started to say before Brock interrupted him, furiously shaking his head as he tried to forget the old Hydra project that Pierce had created.

"No, I'm talking about Project Viper 2.0." He told Lance. "Hydra's back-up plan in case the Viper Assassin and the Winter Soldier ever escaped our custody. I can't think of an occasion better than this one to kick start it." Lance furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Sir, what you're suggesting…" Lance said in bewilderment before continuing. "Do we even have any blood samples left?" Brock grinned as he stared back at Lance.

"A lot of them were destroyed by the Captain during the attack on the base in Sokovia but he didn't know that we had others…so many others planted in bases all around the world. You can never be too safe." Brock told him and Lance nodded. The British agent now understood what Brock was getting at. He knew what Brock had in mind for Hydra.

"Let's hold off on those plans to infiltrate the Avenger's Facility. I have something much better in plan." Brock ordered Lance who just nodded in response. "It may take a little time but I think it'll be worth it."

"What do you suggest we do in the meantime then?" Lance inquired and the smirk on Brock's face was unwavering.

"I think we should recruit Dr. List back into our little operation." Brock said deviously and Lance gave him a confused look.

"But, sir, Dr. List is imprisoned at Raft prison." Lance informed him, thinking that Brock may have forgotten. However, Brock didn't seem bothered by this information at all.

"Not for long." He said vaguely as he then looked back out the window that looked over the main hangar of the base. He watched as his men worked on the alien weaponry they had bought off those idiots back in the states. Getting Dr. List back wouldn't be a problem at all and with Dr. List back, he just knew they could get his princess back in no time.

If his princess wanted a strong man then a strong man she would have.


	71. Chapter Sixty Five

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to update. It's a chapter about Emma's parents which is why it took me so long because I just really wanted to get back to Emma and Peter but I still knew that this chapter had to get done. This is probably one of the longest chapters in the story but it's also the last full on flashback story. I might have snippets of flashbacks within some chapters but nothing that will ever take up an entire chapter. Margot and Steven will still be included in my one-shot series 'Dry Bite' if you want to see them again so not to worry. I know not all of you love the chapters about Emma's parents but there's going to be something in this one for everyone. A lot of MCU cameos so hang tight. I promise the next chapter isn't going to take over two weeks like this one. I'm really excited to get back to writing about Emma and Peter again because some really exciting stuff is going to be happening. I'm also glad all of you have been so patient with me and haven't been mad at me for not updating in a while.  
**

 **A lot has happened since I last updated. This story now has over 1,100 followers and over 900 favorites so thank you guys so much! I can't believe it and I'm so happy this story's come this far. It's not even a year old yet and it honestly feels like I've been writing it for a lot longer but I haven't. I just love this story so much and I'm glad other people seem to love it too. I also want to thank the owner of the Supernatural Romance community for including 'Some Things Never Sleep' in their archive. Another thank you to gallws for creating the awesome new cover for the story. It was really hard to get it to work for fanfiction but thankfully we managed to make it work and I'm so happy with the new cover. I loved the last one you made me too and you're honestly so talented because I'm probably one of the worst cover makers ever. So lots of thank yous to everyone.**

 **Some music I've been listening to while writing for this chapter has mainly just been the 1975, Gwen Stefani, and the Arctic Monkeys' new album. I've been listening to a couple of Florence + The Machine's new songs. I really liked 'Sky Full of Song' but I'm not quite sold on 'Hunger' yet but I'm really excited for the new album. There's also this new band I've been listening to called The Aces. They have this new album called 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' which I can just tell is going to be my favorite album of the summer. They're more pop than rock but they still use a lot of guitar in their music. I'm just really obsessed with them right now. I also listened to some music from Gang of Youth which was recommended to me by KitaandOpie and I liked them too. The lead singer sounded a tiny bit like the lead singer from this other indie band I like called the Tracks. Not a lot but just a tiny bit.**

 **I also just binge watched all past episodes of this BBC show called _Killing Eve_. I'm super obsessed with that show now because it has two female leads who are both crazy badasses. Especially Villainelle. If you haven't heard of it, it's basically this show about this MI5 agent(Eve) who does boring office work but becomes obsessed with this mysterious assassin(Villainelle) who's been killing important figures in society. Eve is then tasked by MI6 to go track the assassin down. Said Assassin then develops a mutual obsession with Eve and they start playing this cat and mouse game. I love the fact that there's finally that complex Batman/Joker or Sherlock/Moriarty relationship between two empowered women. If you can then I suggest watching this show because it's high addictive and entertaining. The actress that plays Villainelle deserves an Emmy. Villainelle's batshit crazy.  
**

 **artemis7448: Something slightly better than T'Challa taking her to see Bucky is going to happen. Just be patient. The return of the others will either occur in two or three chapters after this one. It was going to be three but it really depends on how long the next chapter will be.**

 **JuggernautJJ: I don't think Emma and Peter's classmates are really embarrassed about their PDA. I remember couples acting like that all the time in high school and I mostly just ignored it. In high school I think you just get used to it.**

 **glagla60800: I'm actually going address Thor and Jane's relationship in the next chapter. Just to let everyone know that Chapter Sixty Six is going to take place four months after Chapter Sixty Four. Emma and Peter's school trip took place in February so the next time we see them they'll be off of school for the summer. It's really important to me that it's four months later and I'll be addressing a lot of things that happened in those last four months which will include the status of Jane and Thor's relationship. Peter probably won't be included in the Ragnarok storyline but I'll definitely have chapters from his perspective while Emma's away. Bucky's reaction to Emma and Peter is going to be hilarious and that's all I'm going to say about that...except that Peter probably isn't going to find his reaction hilarious. Emma will probably be meeting Doctor Strange at the same time Thor does but she's not going to like him. Emma's going to be using a lot of Harry Potter references when it comes to Doctor Strange.**

 **scrapingskies: Emma and Valkyrie will meet when Ragnarok comes around. I really love Valkyrie and I hope she's in the next Avengers movie. She could be since the Russo brothers confirmed that she's still alive. I went to the Tate Modern a couple years ago when me and some of my classmates took a two week trip to England and Scotland. It was a really cool gallery and I think I bought my dad this print of this alien artwork since he's obsessed with aliens. They had a lot of cool stuff in that museum although the sound sculpture really creeped me out. I actually based Emma's school trip to England off my school trip like the part where she mentioned the teacher telling everyone not to say they're Americans. I remember the teachers on my trip telling us to tell everyone we're Canadians but everyone knew we were Americans anyways. I really loved London and Edinburgh the most because I'm from this really small town so I had never been anywhere as cultured as those two cities. There was just so much history which I loved. The coolest museum near where I live is in Seattle and it's called the Mopop. It basically has a ton of movie props and guitars from the likes of Dave Davies, Kiss, Eric Clapton, and Kurt Cobain but there's not really any historical items like all the stuff I saw in England although Mopop now has a really big Marvel exhibit so that's pretty exciting.**

 **I have to admit I was watching a ton of documentaries about the royal family on BBC America last week and I even got up at four in the morning to watching the wedding( I squealed a little bit when I saw Idris Elba walking up to the church). I'm a huge history buff so I kind of find the royal family interesting although really gross because of all the incest but they don't really seem to be marrying off people to their cousins anymore so that's nice. Maybe it's because I'm American that I find the royal family so interesting. There's really nothing like that here. I mean, some people consider Beyonce and Jay-Z to be like American royalty but I don't really like them. I think the closest thing we probably ever had to American Royalty was probably the Kennedy's but they had a lot of problems. I guess every family has a ton of problems.  
**

 **ChanceToBeImmortal: I went to Windsor Castle on a school trip to England a couple years ago. All I remember is how pretty the gardens looked and this gigantic doll house one of the princesses had that actually had electricity in it which was weird because this was a really old doll house. Emma and Peter's trip was inspired by my trip because I really fell in love with Scotland and England when I went. I want to go back so badly. I actually heard that the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming is going to partially take place in England so maybe Emma and Peter can return to London when we reach that point.**

 **I loved the James Corden Tour bus thing with the Avengers. Anthony Mackie cracked me up when he said he was going to put his Chris Pratt autographed Star-Lord action figure on Ebay. I was a little sad that Tom Holland wasn't there because I feel like Sebastian and Anthony would try to get James Corden to abandon him at the comicbook store. I actually just saw this video of Sebastian Stan last night when he was at a comic con in Philadelphia and he was doing more Tom Holland bashing. I won't say what he said because it contains a lot of spoilers for Infinity War but it made me laugh because it was kind of mean. Sebastian's really witty.**

 **Another random account: It really never occurred to me to do the upside down kiss between Emma and Peter. I feel really stupid now but I'm glad you gave me the idea. I'll probably do it eventually but not until stuff calms down with Rumlow.**

 **Consumer of Fantasy: I realized that you were right about Peter and Tony. I haven't really been giving them time to form more of a closer relationship and I really need to. I've always loved their father/son dynamic so I'll be sure to include more father/son moments between them in future chapters. I just think it's tough for Tony because he's known Emma for so long and Peter's also like a son to him so he doesn't know if he should encourage Peter or be protective of Emma. When Steve and Bucky come back he'll probably not be as protective since Steve and Bucky will scare Peter more than enough so I think that's when the bond between Tony and Peter will strengthen.**

 **Radioactive88: I definitely agree with you about T'Challa. I've only seen Black Panther once but I'm super excited to see it again now that it's on DVD. I feel like all the men in Wakanda are super good looking. I kind of have a thing for M'Baku and I know Kilmonger wasn't techically from Wakanda but he was still their prince. I really love Chadwick Boseman and I hope he gets a lot of other parts. I've been a fan of him since I first saw him play Jackie Robinson a few years back and I remember being so happy when they cast him as T'Challa. Can't wait to see more of him in the future.**

 **The scene where Bucky finds out about Emma and Peter is going to be classic. I already have it planned out in my mind and I'm just going to say that Bucky's going to walk in on something that he'll instantly misinterpret.**

 **extremeninja09: That review made me laugh so much. In my story I don't think the others will really be mad if they find out Emma's pregnant but that's going to be a long time from now. Like probably in a sequel or something.**

 **Mabel: I probably won't do that storyline with Cindy because Emma would probably kill Cindy if that ever happened. She'd probably break her murder promise for that because to Emma that would be a solution to the problem.**

 **Keystone: That's definitely a lot of different ideas about how the others will find out about Emma and Peter but I already have a plan in mind. Peter's spidey senses will probably appear for the first time in either the next chapter or the one after. I know what will make them appear but I'm not sure if it'll happen in the next chapter or not because it really depends on how long the next chapter will be. If the next chapter's too long then his spidey senses will just show up in the chapter after.**

 **moocella: Emma will forgive Wanda but they haven't had a chance yet because Wanda hasn't been in the story in a while. Emma kind of mentioned to herself that she felt slightly bad for the way she treated Wanda so I think they'll definitely forgive and forget when Wanda comes back into the picture. I kind of meant for the audience to feel bad for Wanda in that chapter because I didn't want it to seem like I personally hated Wanda. I actually really love Wanda. She's really the only people(other than Peter and Jessica) that knows about what happened to Emma so she feels terrible for what she did so in a way she's seen _everything._ Being inside Emma's head is probably no easy task so I'd say she's extremely haunted by what she saw. **

**Ya boi: Thank you! I mean, I'm used to criticism but that comment just seemed kind of rude and unnecessary because I could tell from their review that they haven't read my story. Their review was kind of the opposite of this story but thanks for that nice review. I'm glad you enjoy the story so much.**

 **Anonanon: I know there's a lot of typos in this story and I trying to find the time to go back and re-edit everything. It's just kind of hard since I've been mostly working on new chapters. I've been wanting to include Michelle more but it's difficult in a story with so many characters. I'll try more in the future. I originally had more scenes with her and Michelle but those had to get cut during certain chapters because there was already so much going on and I didn't view the scenes as important enough to the chapter. There's probably going to be more with Michelle and her in the next chapter but I also like to think that they're very independent so they aren't the kind of friends like Darcy and Jane who spend a ton of time together. Again, I originally had more scenes with Susan in mind but those got cut because they weren't relevant to the chapters I was writing. Susan's not really a central character to the story. I mainly focus on Emma, Peter, Tony, Bucky, Steve, and maybe even Darcy as being some of the main characters within this story.**

 **Grazi: Jessica will be making a short return to the story soon although I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of her when things calm down with Rumlow.**

 **Assbitch67: I kind of noticed that Bucky and Steve are like two gay dads which I never really intended when I first started writing this. It's kind of cool now that I look back at it but I'm not going to change their sexual orientation for the story or anything. It's really nice that Emma has two dads and I never decided on her having a mother figure because despite all the hurt one man put her through, she still has this pull to the men in her life. I think she likes men more than women because there wasn't really a lot of women at the Hydra base so she doesn't really understand women as much. I'm glad you love the story so much and there will be plenty of more chapters to come.**

 **I'm so sorry that I didn't answer every review. I read every single one and I loved/appreciated all of them(well except a kind of obvious one) so I'm very grateful for all the reviews. There was just five pages of reviews so I couldn't get to every single one although I wish I could. I just answered the most I could so I could update this chapter soon which I'm sure you guys would prefer. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! Let me know what you think of the new chapter.**

* * *

 **Manhattan, New York**

 **2000**

Margot walked around in a dazed state after her appointment with the doctor at Shield Headquarters. It was almost like she was in another world as she walked around the grocery store and even when she arrived back at her and Steven's apartment. There were a million things on her mind as she stumbled into the apartment, barely being able to shut the door behind her. Margot didn't know if she felt scared or happy. Maybe a little bit of both. She really couldn't be sure but she definitely knew that she was still in a state of shock.

 _"_ _Congratulations, Agent Pierce." Dr. Oliver said with an enthusiastic smile on her face._

Margot snapped out of the short flashback as she continued to process everything that had happened that day. It had been two years since she and Steven first started this odd sort of relationship but Margot was happy. They had moved in together not long after they first started dating although Steven hadn't been very happy with the idea at first. It didn't take long for Margot to realize that Steven was a man who really loved his routine and held a strong dislike for change. However, she liked to think that Steven was willing to change his routine for her. Despite the both of them falling in love a little later in life, Margot still felt like a giddy teenager.

It wasn't to say that everything was easy between them because it wasn't. Steven wasn't the easiest person to live with but she never regretted being with him. Of course, they had to keep it a secret at work because Shield frowned upon relationships in the workplace and she was even more sure that Shield would lose their minds if they found out that the deputy director was in a romantic relationship with a field agent. Margot and Steven didn't really lie about their relationship but they didn't exactly tell the truth either. The only people that probably knew about their relationship were Steven's mother and Clint. Margot would've told her father but they hadn't spoken in years so she didn't really see the point.

There was no talk of marriage between Steven and Margot but she was sort of fine with that. It wasn't to say that she didn't want to get married but she understood why Steven might not want to. He thought he was too old to get married although Margot didn't necessarily agree with that. She wasn't set on getting married or anything. Margot was just happy to be with Steven and that was enough for her despite what Steven's mother always said. His mother seemed very keen on getting her oldest child to finally get hitched. Margot found it amusing but Steven didn't really seem to think so.

Margot had never spent too much time thinking of her and Steven's future. How could she? They both held very dangerous occupations so either one of them could die at any moment. The couple accepted that because they were forced to. They knew what they were getting into when they first started this relationship and neither one of them expected the other to just quit their job. Still…Margot knew that she wanted children. Margot knew she could live a very happy and complete life without children but somehow she still wanted them. Clint called it baby fever but she didn't care. She was getting older and the opportunity was continuing to slip away from her. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if she knew Steven wanted kids but the only problem was that she knew for a fact that he didn't. They hadn't discussed it much but Margot knew that he really didn't want kids…which was why today's news both excited and troubled her.

Margot didn't know why she had been so sick lately but she probably should've known. For the past couple weeks Margot had been feeling very dizzy and sick. Each morning she had gotten up and made a beeline for the bathroom before puking her guts out into the toilet. Steven had been very worried about her and insisted that she go see the doctor at Headquarters. Margot knew he was right so she had done what he asked. A part of her was worried that she might've had cancer or something. Her mother had ovarian cancer and Margot knew there was a slight possibility that she might've inherited it. However, the doctor brought her in a few days later and assured her that she didn't have cancer. Margot had been both relieved and confused at first until Dr. Oliver congratulated her…on her pregnancy.

This was why Margot was sitting on her couch in a dazed state as she tried to process this news. In any other situation she would've been happy but she feared Steven's reaction. Mostly because Steven had clearly told her that he didn't want children which made Margot sad but she thought that maybe she could convince him to adopt someday. She didn't really know how she had gotten pregnant. Well…maybe she did know how but it was a matter of when. Margot thought long and hard but it didn't take her long to come up with the answer. The doctor had said she was about twelve weeks along which pointed to that week in May when she and Steven had played hooky from work.

Steven had taken her to Fiji…to the island of Taveuni which was lush with beautiful rain forests and coral reefs. It was the perfect tropical paradise and it seemed like something out of another world. Margot had traveled to a lot of places in her life but nowhere that was as pretty as that island. Taveuni had the most beautiful birds and flowers with colors beyond the imagination and not to mention the beautiful waterfalls. Things were peaceful on the island when it was only the two of them. There was no Fury, no Shield, and no bad guys trying to kill them. It was only just the two of them on that beautiful island but nothing lasted forever. Their time on that island soon came to an end and they flew back to New York which also meant returning to reality. Little did she know that they didn't completely leave Taveuni behind. Margot had been carrying a little piece of that island with her this entire time.

"Margot, I'm home." Steven announced as he entered the apartment and Margot was immediately snapped out of her thoughts. The older man walked into the living room, carrying take-out bags in his hands. "I know you weren't feeling well so I just picked up some take-out. I got some of that egg flower soup you love so much from Peking Palace. It was real busy tonight by the way. I wonder what's going on…"

Steven stopped in his steps as soon as he saw Margot sitting there on the couch. Whenever he brought home her favorite soup from their favorite take-out place, she'd usually give him that wide and infectious smile before showering his face with kisses. The gesture used to embarrass him somewhat but deep down he enjoyed how happy he could make her and how happy she made him. Now, however, Margot just seemed to be sitting on the couch with a small smile on her face but her eyes were distant. Steven knew that smile. It was her fake smile that she used a lot on missions and when talking to her father on the phone but never when it was just the two of them alone.

"What's wrong?" Steven questioned as he stared at her and Margot feigned a confused expression, pretending like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." Margot tried to deny but Steven knew her better than that. For a being a spy Margot Pierce could be a terrible liar at times.

"Whenever I bring home Peking Palace's soup, you act like it's the best day of your life." Steven stated before giving her a look that was a cross between worried and cautious. "But now you have a look on your face that leads me to believe that something's wrong. What is it? Did the doctor say something? Is there something wrong? Oh, god…please tell me you're okay." Margot just shook her head furiously as Steven began to ramble. The sight of him rambling was somewhat scary to Margot because he rarely ever rambled. She was the talkative one in the relationship, not him.

"No, no…it's nothing like that. According to Dr. Oliver, I'm one hundred percent healthy." Margot told Steven and the older man let out a sigh of relief but the look on Margot's face was unchanging. Steven gave her a smile.

"That's good. I'm glad." He said in relief before frowning again when he realized that Margot still seemed troubled. "Then I don't get it. What's the matter?"

Margot nervously chewed on her bottom lip which was a nervous habit of hers that Steven didn't fail to notice. She didn't have any idea how to tell Steven the news about the baby… _their_ baby. Somehow she knew he wasn't going to take it well. How could he? Steven made it clear that he didn't want kids and even though Margot had said she was fine with that, she really wasn't. It was why she couldn't help but be happy about the news of the pregnancy but at the same time she was scared. She was scared because she thought that Steven might leave her.

He could give her that ultimatum that guys gave women in movies where they told their girlfriends that they could either keep the baby and they'd leave or get rid of the baby and they'd stay. Margot always called those men assholes and rooted for the woman to leave the dickhead behind so that she could happily raise the baby on her own. It was always what Margot told herself that she would do if she was in that woman's shoes and it seemed so easy. Who really needed a man like that anyways? The mom and baby would probably be better off without an asshole like that in the long run. However, Margot never considered how tough a situation like that was in real life. What would she do if Steven asked her to do that? She loved Steven and would give him the world if she could but could she really get rid of the baby if he asked? Margot wasn't sure.

Despite her inner turmoil, Margot swallowed down her fears and decided to be brave. It's not like she could hide the fact she was pregnant from Steven even though she wished she could. He wasn't stupid and he'd find out sooner or later so it was best if she just told him now. So without any more thought on the subject, Margot just decided to come out with it. She looked Steven straight in the eyes and told him the one thing that caused him to look the most shocked she had ever seen him be during their two year relationship.

"I'm pregnant, Steven." Margot told him and then waited for Steven to respond. He didn't say anything for the longest time which confused Margot at first. Steven just stood there in shock, staring down at her. For a moment she thought he might be having a heart attack or something but he didn't fall or tremble. He just stood there in shock. It was a few minutes before he said anything and Margot spent the entirety of those three long minutes trying to decide whether or not she should say anything.

"W-what?" Steven stuttered, his blue eyes wide with surprise and fright. Margot bit her lip once more before answering.

"I said that I'm pregnant, Steven. That's why I've been throwing up so often and why I've been missing my periods. I'm twelve weeks along and I've always been irregular which is why I never even suspected it but I still should've known. It's just that…well, I've been so busy at work that I never really noticed." Margot said as she nervously explained the situation to him while Steven just continued to stare at her in surprise and confusion. He shook his head.

"I don't understand. How are you pregnant? I thought you were on the pill." Steven told her and Margot immediately glared at him. Was he seriously going to blame this all on her? The only reason she was on the pill was because Steven, like most men, didn't love the feel of a condom. Margot didn't really like condoms either but Steven could've still worn one if he was that worried about her getting pregnant.

"Well, the pill doesn't always work one hundred percent of the time but don't you dare blame this on me." Margot said angrily as Steven just stared back at her. It wasn't often that Margot was angry. She was usually very energetic and bubbly but never angry. "You'd think someone as old as you would know these things." Steven flinched from her cold tone, still surprised by her changed demeanor.

"I just…I'm just having a little trouble processing this. You're pregnant? That's what the doctor said?" Steven said and Margot was starting to get annoyed at this point. How dare he be in denial?! She didn't have time to be in denial over this. The only thing she had time to do was figure out how to tell him about the baby.

"That's what I've saying this entire time." Margot said before continuing to explain everything to him. "Remember Fiji? Taveuni? Yeah, well, it looks like our luggage wasn't the only thing we brought back with us."

"I know, Margot but…damn, I'm just a little surprised by this. That's all." Steven told her, trying to ignore the way she snapped at him. He could probably count the times Margot had been angry with him on one hand and none of those situations felt quite like this one. Why was she mad at him? He was just trying to understand all of this. "I mean, we talked about kids, right? I told you that I didn't think it was really a good idea if we had one."

"Well, you should've thought of that before you fucked me on that boat…and in the hotel room…the beach…and well, everywhere on that fucking island!" Margot snapped and Steven sighed as he tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Steven was starting to think that Margot was already exhibiting the signs of pregnancy hormones because she sounded really pissed and he wasn't sure why. Was she mad at him because she was pregnant or was she mad at him for not seeming excited about it? Steven honestly couldn't tell.

"I'm just trying to make sense of everything. I was being serious when I said I didn't want kids." Steven told her seriously and the angry look faded from Margot's face. A hurt expression took its place as she looked back at him. A part of her had known that he might not want the baby but it hurt more hearing him say it aloud.

She had wanted a baby really badly for a long time and now she finally had her chance. A baby that was all her own and one that was real. What was Steven saying? Was he really saying that she should get rid of it? Could she just pick Steven over the baby? Margot had known Steven for a lot longer than this little baby that was slowly growing inside of her. She was completely in love with Steven and even saw a future with him where they would grow old at each other's side. Steven wasn't her first adult relationship nor was he the first man she had ever fallen in love with but he was definitely the first one she saw a future with. She wasn't stupid either. She knew that Steven had a list of ex-lovers that was even longer than hers but she had been hoping…just hoping that maybe he felt the same way.

Despite how much Margot loved Steven, she somehow knew that she loved this little thing growing inside her more. Don't ask her how. Margot couldn't tell you how she could love something she had only known about for a day but she knew she did. It was a different kind of love than the love she felt for Steven but she knew there was no force on heaven or earth that could make her get rid of this baby. Margot had never wanted anything more in her life than to have this baby. She could suddenly envision herself bathing a cute little boy with Steven's hair and her eyes in the bathtub as the little boy giggled endlessly. Margot could even maybe picture brushing a little girl's blonde hair and dressing her up in cute frilly pink dresses that the little girl would no doubt someday hate. Visions, filled Margot's mind, of holding her child's hand as they crossed the street and taking them to their first day of school as they hung onto her pant leg, begging her not to leave. It was everything Margot wanted and she knew that not even Steven could get in the way of that.

"I'm not getting rid of the baby, Steven." Margot told him firmly, determination in her green eyes. Steven just stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Margot…" He trailed off but Margot just shook her head.

"No, I'm keeping this baby. It's my choice and I want to keep it." Margot said to him before telling him how it was going to be. Steven always made the big decisions in their relationship like what apartment they were going to live in together, what their take-out place was going to be, and what movie they were going to see but that wasn't going to happen any longer. Margot was going to put her foot down and tell him how it was going to be. "I know you don't want kids but I don't care because this is something I want. This is something I've always wanted. I was willing to put all of that aside for you when I wasn't pregnant but not anymore." She briefly paused before continuing as Steven just watched her silently.

"I'm pregnant and there's no way in hell I'm having an abortion. If you want to leave then fine. It would break my heart but not enough for me to want to get rid of the baby." Margot told him, practically daring Steven to leave like she suggested. Tears were flooding her eyes as she thought that this might be the end of them. It broke her heart to think of her and Steven ending things but if he didn't want her to have the baby then what else was she supposed to do? "This baby's already coming and she or he is here to stay…whether you like it or not. So if you don't want the baby then I'll just go and pack my things up right now. I'll stay with Clint until I can find a place of my own. You don't even have to worry about child support if that's what has you all scared."

Margot waited for him to say something…to say anything but he didn't. He just stared at her with that same unreadable expression on his face. It had always frustrated her when she couldn't read him but it was also what made her so attracted to him. There was no one more mysterious than Steven Rogers but in that moment it was the last thing she wanted. Margot just shook her head in disappoint and made a move to turn away. However, before she could, Steven stopped her. He grasped her wrist firmly in his hand as he stopped her. She looked up at him in surprise. The expression on his face was one of sadness and fear.

"Please don't leave me." Steven said in desperation as she stared back at him. "I-I couldn't take it if you left me. Just…please don't."

"I don't know what you want me to do, Steven. You don't want me to go but you don't want me to have the baby either. You can see why I'm confused." Margot retorted and Steven shook his head.

"It's not that I don't want you to have the baby. I can tell how much you want the baby and I don't have it in me to deny you of what you want." Steven told her and Margot just gave him a confused look.

"Then what do you want?" She asked him and Steven fell silent for a moment as he forced himself to gather his thoughts. He took a deep breath before exhaling.

"I don't hate kids. That's not what this is." Steven told her honestly as he told her for the first time the real reason he didn't want kids. "I love kids. I love all my little nieces and nephews…and when Tony came along that was one of the best days of my life. He was annoying as hell but he was a cute kid and I never minded watching him whenever Howard was too busy. I loved it actually."

"I don't understand what your problem is then." Margot said, feeling a bit breathless after witnessing Steven's confession. The older man sighed before continuing to explain his actions.

"My father's serum runs through my veins, Margot. The same serum that will run through this child's veins." Steven admitted and Margot's eyes filled with understanding. "My blood is probably the most sought after thing in the world. Howard thought I might even be able to cure the common cold but my mom never let him poke and prod me with any needles. She didn't want to turn me into a lab rat."

"Steven, our baby's not going to be a lab rat either." She told him sincerely but that wasn't what had Steven worried.

"My father's serum was what put a target on my back but I had my mother, Howard, Colonel Phillips, and the Howling Commandos to protect me. I had all the protection in the world." Steven told Margot as he recollected his isolated but secure childhood. "However, that also meant being homeschooled and not being allowed to play with other children. It was a very lonely childhood and I would never wish that on any other child…especially my own. There's going to be people out there that will want our child for evil just like they wanted me and I don't want to put them at risk like that. It's not fair to them."

Margot stood there as she processed everything Steven just told her. He used to say the reason he didn't want kids was because he was too old but now she knew the truth. Steven didn't want kids because he was worried about putting a target on their back. Margot could understand that. He had to live a very lonely childhood, always looking over his shoulder, so she could understand why he was hesitant to inflict that on another child.

"Steven, I understand why you feel that way but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have kids. There's always going to be a risk when you have kids. No one can foresee the future." Margot told him softly. "I know it's scary but I think this baby…our baby…will make it all worth it. It's going to be a long road and it won't be easy but I'm willing to see past all of that because I love this baby. I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl but I already know that I love them." Steven briefly looked down before looking back up at her. He still had a troubled look on his face but he didn't seem quite as unreadable as he had been before.

"That's not the only thing, Margot. You do realize if we have this baby that this means that we have to quit Shield. Fury's going to know the truth about us and we'll both lose our jobs. I know how important your career is to you." Steven informed her but Margot just shook her head.

"I don't care about any of that, Steven. I've worked at Shield long enough and I think it's time I retire. I don't want to spend the rest of my life chasing after bad guys." Margot said she locked eyes with him. "The only thing I want is this baby." Steven knew in that moment that Margot's mind was already made up. It seemed like her mind was even more made up than when he first got home. He sighed once more as he gazed down at her.

"Look, I'd never make you do anything you don't want to do. You're right…this is your choice but I just want to make sure you know the risks before you go any further." He told her quietly. "If you want to have this baby then I'm with you every step of the way."

"I'm sure, Steven. I've never wanted anything more in my life than this baby." Margot said determinedly as she rested her hand against her stomach. Steven briefly glanced down at the already formed baby bump. It was so strange how he had never noticed it before but maybe it was because he wasn't looking then. Now, however, it seemed more obvious than anything.

"I guess, you're stuck with me then. You _and_ the kid." Steven finally told her, a small smirk on his face as Margot's eyes widened in surprise. She then squealed in delight before throwing herself into Steven's arms. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. Steven stood there as Margot told him all about the doctor's appointment but his mind was on the child. He was still worried of course but he knew that Margot was going to be having this baby no matter what he said. He wouldn't have it any other way either. It was going to take a lot of time to process this but it was true. They were going to have a baby.

* * *

Later that night Steven, being wide awake, stared up at the ceiling as he tried to think of the future. When would be the right time to resign from Shield? Not now…they were still trying to get to the bottom of the investigation of Santiago Salazar and Steven felt like they might've even been on the cusp of something. Margot wasn't really showing that much either so she could still work. She had already told him that she'd sign up for desk duty until she handed her pink slip in. He'd have to resign soon too because if they were going to have this baby then neither one of them could still work at Shield. Shield would paint an even larger target on their backs and Steven knew it was best if they just left. He'd been working long enough and his retirement was long overdue. Maybe he and Margot would head somewhere quiet…somewhere warm and somewhere they could have lots of space to raise a child. They'd never find anything like that in New York and frankly, Steven was tired of New York. He was tired of all the lights, the noise, and even the people. Somewhere quiet and empty would do all three of them some good.

Three…

Steven turned his head to the side so that he could look at Margot. He never really called her his girlfriend because he was honestly too old to have a girlfriend but she was something more than a girlfriend to him. She was more like a partner or even a wife. Yes, a wife. Steven never thought he'd get married and never had the desire to but he could see himself marrying Margot. There was no one else that he could possibly want to marry more than her. She was perfect but somehow she was also his which was mind-boggling to him. Steven then glanced down at the small baby bump and he was once again reminded that there was no longer just two of them anymore. There was now three of them.

He reached his hand over and lightly pressed it against Margot's stomach with as much care as possible. Steven didn't know what he had been expecting to feel. It was probably too early for the baby to kick but he was still left awestruck over how there was a baby in there. He was fifty four but somehow this was surprising to him. He still remembered the time Maria had forced him to feel her stomach when she was expecting Tony and boy could that kid kick. It had amazed him then but you would've thought he'd be over that curiosity by now but apparently not. Maybe it was because this time it was his own baby resting inside there. It wasn't Maria and Howard's baby nor was it his sister or mother's baby. No, it was his very own and somehow that amazed him. Steven then wrapped his arm around Margot, holding her close to him, as he then began to drift asleep. He dreamed of himself and Margot living on a farm in the middle of nowhere while a child as beautiful as their mother ran through the acres upon acres of land, a dog barking and chasing after the small child in the meantime. Steven and Margot would watch on, basking in their child's delight and glowing happiness. There was no dream more beautiful than that one.

* * *

"How are things going on at work?" Alexander Pierce asked in a formal tone… the only tone he ever had when he spoke to Margot. The redhead barely glanced up from her salad as she looked back at her father. She hadn't seen her father in years but Steven had finally pushed her into having lunch with him. Fortunately for Steven, he was too busy with work to come down and finally meet her father as his daughter's boyfriend instead of as deputy director of Shield. She was now around twenty weeks along so she thought it would be a good time to tell her father the news. They had already told Steven's mother and Clint which was enough for her but apparently Steven wanted her to tell her father too. It wasn't like she wanted to wait to tell him until she was going into labor or anything but Margot was just dreading telling him the news. He'd probably make some subtle, offhanded comment and manage to insult her all in one sentence. Her father really had a talent for insulting her in the most discreet ways.

"Dad, you know I can't talk about those kinds of things in public." Margot complained as she looked at him. "I'm level seven for a reason."

"I just want to know if anything new happened. Any new promotions or anything? Agent Rogers is getting quite old, you know, and you've been with Shield for a long time…maybe a new promotion is coming your way." Her father told her and Margot winced. Great…he just had to bring up Steven. This was just another thing she had to tell him since he had no idea that she and Steven were even together. This was going to go really well. _Yeah, dad, that's great and by the way…I've actually been sleeping with my boss for the past two years and now we're expecting a baby. Surprise!_ Her father was going to _love_ this.

"Funny you should mention that, dad." Margot said as she started to break the news to her father. "Because I'm actually thinking about resigning." Her father immediately dropped his fork and Margot winced yet again. She stared down at her plate, feeling like the ten year old girl she used to be whenever she got into trouble with her father which happened to be a lot. However, back then her mother was around to play the referee but things were different now. They now lived in a world without her mother to keep things calm between them.

"Excuse me?" Her father questioned in surprise and Margot looked back up at him, feeling a bit more courageous.

"I said that I'm going to resign." Margot repeated, sitting up straighter in her seat. Her father narrowed his eyes at her but Margot continued on. "I don't want to do this my whole life and I think thirty seven is an acceptable age to retire."

"All that work, Margot…All those years and you're just going to throw it all away." Her father told her as he shook his head in disappointment. Margot glared at him and wondered how on earth she thought they could get along for longer than twenty minutes. Her father was impossible.

"I'm not throwing it away. I've done my fair share of work at Shield and I'm leaving now that I feel like I've accomplished what I set out to do. This is my choice… _my_ choice, dad." Margot told him heatedly and he just stared back silently at her for a moment. She was starting to feel uncomfortable by his long stretch of silence when he finally spoke again.

"What is it, Margot? Have you met a boy or something? Just tell me now." Her father finally said and Margot hated the tone he used with her. It was like he was almost expecting this to happen and Margot just hated that he thought so little of her. He was just waiting for the day she'd get knocked up and "ruin" her life. Well, Margot didn't care anymore because this wasn't her ruining her life. This was just the start of something better and something that would make her happy in a way that a job never would. It's not like Margot expected her father to understand that. Some people prioritized their family before their careers but not her father. Her father threw both her mother and her under the bus, focusing on his job and nothing else. He stopped caring the day the doctor told him and her mother that they couldn't have any more kids. Their family had already suffered a huge tragedy when Margot's younger brother Bobby died of sudden infant death syndrome. Bobby had only been nine months old at the time and Margot was seven. The news that her father would never have a son again made him cold and detached as he drifted further and further away from them which in turn broke her mother's heart.

Margot remembered spending long weekends up in that cold mansion with her mother who pretended like everything was alright and her father who stayed locked up inside his office the whole time. Even when her mother was dying, her father couldn't bother to leave that fucking office of his. Her mother died a slow and painful death but her father never cared. He never so much as shed a tear for Margot's sweet natured and loyal mother whose only fault was loving him. At her mother's funeral, he never even went up to the open casket to say goodbye. He just sat there in the front row as he stared out one of the stained glass windows in the church. As soon as the funeral service ended, he just got up and left without saying a word. That was the day that Margot decided that she hated her father. Nothing in this world could ever make her forgive him for the way he treated her mother. She didn't even care about the way he treated her. Her poor mother loved him for whatever crazy reason but he didn't even care. This was why she was going to take great pleasure in telling him this news. It was going to be great because she knew she was going to ruin whatever ideal and perfect future he had planned for her. Margot just couldn't wait to see the disappointed look on his face when she told him.

"I'm pregnant." Margot finally said and her father fell silent again. He didn't really look surprised but he didn't look like he had been expecting the news either. It took him a couple minutes before he finally answered again.

"I wasn't aware that you had gotten married." Her father said in that snide tone of his. He damn well knew she wasn't married but he was going to try and make her feel like shit the entire time. It was just what he did. Margot rolled her eyes.

"This isn't the 1950s anymore, dad. People don't have to get married just because they're having a kid. Times are changing." Margot informed him and he gave her that fake and condescending smile that she had always hated. God, she wished she could slap that smile off his face.

"So you're having a baby out of wedlock." Her father said in an almost smug tone… like he thought this was embarrassing for her or something.

"Yes, I am." Margot said, not feeling embarrassed in the slightest.

"Who's the father? Do you even know?" He asked her and Margot tried to remind herself of what her mother used to say. " _Your father's been through a lot. Just be patient"._ Her mother had always been very patient but Margot didn't really know if she had inherited her mother's patience.

"The father has a name and we've been dating for the past two years." Margot retorted before elaborating. "It's pretty serious actually. We're living together." A pinched expression came over her father's face when she mentioned the fact that her and her baby daddy were actually living together. She never really took her dad as the old fashioned type but maybe that was because she didn't really know him that well. They were practically strangers as far as she was concerned.

"Do I know him?" He asked quietly and Margot nervously chewed on her bottom lip because she knew Steven and her father knew each other. They had probably gotten know each other incredibly well ever since Steven took the job of deputy director. They probably worked together several times in the past. Steven had always told her how her father was doing but Margot told him to not even bother. Her father didn't care about her so she wasn't going to spend her life trying to care about him. She had already used up all her time and energy on him so long ago that she didn't have it in her to try again.

"Yes." Margot said quietly as she stared back at him. "It's Steven Rogers." Her father looked at her with an unreadable expression on her face. It wasn't surprise nor was it anger or disappointment. Margot dared to think that it may have even been…horror. Horror? Why should he feel horrified? Yes, Margot had been sleeping with a much older man and not to mention her boss at that but why should her father feel horrified? He wasn't one to feel things like surprise or horror. A part of her didn't believe that her father was even capable of feeling anything. Before Margot had much time to dwell on her father's habits, his expression then morphed into the usual one of annoyance and disdain.

"Your boss, Margot? Really?" Her father said in a scolding tone just like that time he scolded her for playing in the mud outside when she was six. Margot hated it when he did that. He always tried to make her feel like a child when she was a grown ass woman.

"Yes, really." Margot retorted and he shook his head in disappointment once again. Like she actually cared whether or not she disappointed him anymore. That ship sailed a long time ago.

"Is that how you got your last promotion? Sleeping with your boss?" Her father questioned as he sneered at her. Margot gave him a disgusted look.

"Of course not! God! I hadn't even met Steven yet when I got promoted to level seven." Margot said defensively as she glared back at him. "Our relationship isn't like that. We've been together for a while now so it was only a matter of time before we got married or pregnant." Her father clenched his jaw as he stared back at her with those cold blue eyes of his.

"He's your superior, Margot. That's against Shield's policy." Her father lectured and Margot fought the urge to roll her eyes at him again. "You just can never do as you're told. Even when you were a child, you never listened."

"Look, dad, it doesn't matter anyways. I'm turning in my pink slip at the end of the month and so is Steven." Margot tried to tell him but this seemed to annoy him even more.

"So you're screwing up your life and Agent Rogers' life. Good. I'm glad I taught you how to be responsible." Her father said sarcastically and Margot could really just strangle the life out of her father. He was such an asshole sometimes! No, scratch that. He was an asshole all of the time. There was never a time in her life that he wasn't being an asshole.

"Believe it or not, Steven and I are actually really happy about this." Margot said heatedly as she looked him straight in the eyes. "We're happy about leaving Shield, we're happy about starting a new life together, and we're especially happy about this baby. This is something I've always wanted, dad. Why can't you just be happy for me?" Her father scoffed as he gave her a look of disbelief.

"Maybe I'd be happy if I didn't just find out that my daughter got knocked up by her boss…a man who's only ten years younger than myself." He told her in his usual disappointed tone. "Is that what this is? Are you with him because you have daddy issues? Your mother always said we should've taken you to a therapist and I refused but maybe she was onto something." Margot just shook her head at him, beyond finished with him at this point. She knew this was a bad idea. She just knew but she went ahead and gave him the benefit of the doubt anyways. Her mother always said to give him a chance but her mother was blinded by love. Her mother was wrong about him.

"Not everything is about you." Margot snapped before laughing humorlessly. "I didn't want to have this conversation with you but Steven told me that it might be a good idea. That maybe this baby would bring us closer or something. He was wrong…so was mom because let's face it. Without her we're just two strangers forcing ourselves to like each other. And I really don't like you. Not even a little bit." Margot then threw some cash down on the table as she got up. Her father watching her with that same cold and detached look he always had plastered on his face.

"Margot…" He started to say but Margot just sneered at him.

"Mom loved you and I never understood why." She said suddenly and it may have seemed random but it wasn't. This had been on her mind for many years. "All I know is that you never deserved her." Margot then proceeded to walk away from the table at the small café and Alexander Pierce could only watch in surprise as his daughter left. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he watched her leave. The feeling of horror being stronger than any other feeling within him.

He was horrified by this news but not at the news of his daughter's pregnancy. No, he was horrified at the news that she was pregnant with none other than Steven Rogers Jr.'s baby. If she had informed him that some other poor, stupid girl was knocked up by Rogers then maybe he'd be fine…maybe he'd even be gleeful. However, it wasn't some poor stupid girl that was knocked up with Steven's baby. His daughter was the one who was pregnant with the grandchild of Captain America. Captain America who had been injected with the super soldier serum created by none other than Abraham Erskine. There was no other serum like it and not even the one used on the Winter Soldier could match up to it. The ones used on the Hydra assassin squad hadn't exactly been a success either but maybe someone who already had the serum running through their veins would be able to accept the new serum, becoming even stronger than any of the other super soldiers combined. Pierce's predecessors had wanted to abduct the Captain's son but the boy was closely watched by a great number of people. There had been attempts in the past to abduct him but none had been successful.

Hydra had patiently been waiting for the day Agent Rogers would knock up some poor girl and they were just beginning to give up hope when Margot informed him of both her pregnancy and the father of the baby. Pierce should've been happy or thrilled by this information but he was, in fact, a bit horrified at the news. His daughter would be giving birth to what could be Hydra's greatest weapon. Hydra had been waiting for the longest amount of time to finally be able to have a chance at building a new world…a better world and now it was finally here.

He did love his daughter in a strange and twisted way. Pierce never wanted to see her hurt which was he kept her and Hydra separate, never bothering to even try to recruit her to the cause. She was better off living in a more oblivious world. However, she had just walked into the world of Hydra without even knowing it. She was a part of this world whether Pierce liked it or not because she was pregnant with Hydra's greatest weapon. As much as Pierce loved his daughter, he knew how to prioritize things. His daughter was just one person in the whole entire world but what Hydra had in mind was a lot bigger than just one person. This was a war, whether people were aware of it or not, and in war there were men like Pierce who had to make sacrifices. Margot made her choice the day she let Rogers knock her up and that was on her. Now Pierce was going to have to make a choice too and that choice was going to be for the greater good. She'd understand one day…she'd see all the good Hydra would accomplish and then she would know why he had to do this. Pierce just hoped that wherever his wife, Edith Pierce, was that she was also as understanding.

Please forgive me, Edith.

* * *

"What is this place, Steven?" Margot asked as she looked around all wide eyed at the interior of what was probably the fanciest restaurant she had ever been in. There were high ceilings, chandeliers, marble floors, and even a live in house band. She just knew that this place was probably more than what she could ever afford. It probably cost a whole week's worth of pay at Shield just to eat here. Steven just chuckled at her.

"Don't ask me. I've lost track of all the expensive places Tony likes to eat at. The guy certainly has expensive taste. He's like his father in that department." Steven told her and Margot just nodded, not knowing what else to say. It had been a week since lunch with her father and she was glad that it was over. She probably wouldn't see him until her and Steven's kid graduated high school…hopefully. Margot would just rather put it all behind her and especially now that she was meeting Tony. The man who Steven considered to be something like a little brother to him which made her nervous. She had already met Steven's half siblings but this was different. This was Tony Stark.

You had to be living under a rock to not know who Tony Stark was. He was only one of the richest men in the world and he was only thirty. Tony Stark was also the CEO of Stark Industries, passed down to him by his deceased father. The fact that she was meeting a rich playboy wasn't what made her so nervous but it was actually the fact that she knew how much Steven loved him. It was a little nerve wracking because she didn't know what she would do if Tony Stark decided that he hated her. Was that a deal breaker to Steven? She hoped not since she was twenty one weeks along so it was kind of late for either one of them to be backing out of this relationship.

"There he is!" Steven said as he grinned in the direction of a table near the center of the expensive restaurant. Margot was broken out of her thoughts as she followed Steven's gaze to a table where a man with dark hair and a hideous goatee was sitting. It looked like the man had been flirting with a waitress whose boobs were about to spill out of her shirt. This appeared to be the famous Tony Stark she had heard so much about. She couldn't say she was surprised either because everyone knew that Tony Stark was something of a womanizer.

"Brat!" Steven exclaimed in an affectionate tone which caused Tony to frown a little in embarrassment. Margot took that to mean that he didn't really care for Steven's nickname. That was interesting. The waitress giggled at the nickname before Tony gave her a fake smile and politely shooed her away. It would appear that his playtime was over now that his cockblocking surrogate brother was in the room. He then stood up from his seat to greet them.

"Hey, Junior." Tony greeted as he went to shake Steven's hand but the blonde man instead went for a hug, wrapping his arms around the shorter man in a near bone crushing embrace. Tony fought to catch his breath as Steven hugged him while an amused Margot watched. She wasn't used to seeing an over affectionate Steven but she supposed this was different. This was Tony, after all, and even though she had never met Tony in person, she knew how much Steven loved him. Other than his mother, of course, he counted both Margot and Tony as the most important people in his life although that number was continuing to grow. His and Margot's unborn child was now included in that short list of people too. "God, you have a grip on you. Remember, It's actually really important that I stay alive since I'm only the CEO of the top weapon's manufacturer in the world. It's kind of vital that I don't get crushed to death in a Dolph Lundgren hug." Steven just laughed at the ridiculous man.

"Okay, Anthony, we get it. You're very important." Steven said in a teasing tone but before Tony could even hope to respond; his attention was drawn to the petite looking redhead at Steven's side. He gazed at the woman curiously because although he had never met her, he had heard plenty about her on the phone when he was talking to Steven. He mostly ignored Steven's rambling about the woman but some information stuck…like the fact that she was Alexander Pierce's daughter and that apparently they weren't even supposed to date. It was a forbidden work relationship thing that he was sure would make a good, sappy romance novel. However, now that he was face to face with the woman of Steven's dreams, he found that she wasn't what he had been expecting at all. No, she was the exact opposite now that he thought about it.

Tony had known Steven his entire life so he was fairly certain that he knew what the older man's type was and it definitely wasn't the redhead. While the redhead was very attractive, she wasn't the usual brunette with long legs and tan skin that Steven usually went for. The classic model look that Steven probably only went for because it was simple. Like Tony, Steven also favored one night stands or short term relationships. For Tony it was because he had commitment issues but for Steven it was because he just never had the time or energy for anything long-term. He suddenly wondered what it was about this redhead that captivated Steven for so long. Tony couldn't remember the last time Steven had a relationship that lasted this long. Maybe it was that Peruvian girl Steven had dated when Tony was a teenager but that had been forever ago.

Tony looked the redhead up and down without even trying to be subtle about it. She was actually quite short but what she lacked in height, she made up for in curves. Tony wasn't going to lie. The redhead was pretty hot and she also had a nice rack too. Tony always secretly had a thing for redheads anyways. Her skin was very pale but smooth and creamy looking. The paleness of her skin even seemed to highlight the smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. She wore a beautiful emerald green summer dress that seemed to be a perfect match for her vibrant emerald green eyes which were her most captivating feature. She looked more fairy like than model like but Tony thought that Steven certainly had good taste. Of course, Tony wouldn't say that aloud because from the way Steven's girlfriend was glaring at him, he was sure she might murder him. He had learned from his recently hired personal assistant that you never wanted to piss off a redhead. Not if you knew what was good for you.

"Okay, you can stop checking out my woman now, Anthony. Just stick to that waitress I saw you flirting with earlier." Steven told Tony as they all took a seat at the table. Margot gave Steven a teasing look although deep down she didn't like the way Tony looked at her. He just looked her up and down with a smug look on his face like he was expecting her to melt at his very gaze. Gross. It was even more gross because she knew Tony was probably around Clint's age and she knew she would be sick to her stomach if Clint ever looked at her like that.

"Hey. I'm my own woman, Rogers." Margot said teasingly and he just smiled back at her.

"I don't doubt it." Steven said, almost flirtatiously as he looked back at her and Tony felt the sudden strong urge to throw up. Steven flirting was something he never liked witnessing but mostly because he thought Steven was too old to flirt.

"Don't worry, Junior. I'll keep my hands to myself." Tony said to the older man who just smiled at him. Tony then turned to Margot with a smirk that she was beginning to already dislike. Oh, boy. She could tell this man was going to be a pain in her side and they hadn't even been properly introduced yet.

"Tony." He introduced and Margot forced herself to give him a polite smile.

"Margot." She said in response and Tony continued to grin at her. At least he didn't smile at her in that condescending way her father did or even the creepy way Rumlow did. If he did then this whole dinner might be unbearable.

"I'm glad to finally meet ole' Stevie boy's latest squeeze." Tony quipped and Steven glared at him before giving Margot an apologetic look. She was starting to get the feeling that might've been a common look on his face whenever Tony was concerned. He then turned back to Tony, giving him that stern look like Tony was a child who had misbehaved.

"Margot isn't my latest squeeze, Anthony. If you would've met up with us at any point in the past two years then maybe you'd know that." Steven told him before looking over the menu. "I also won't have you talking about Margot that way. You'll treat her with the upmost respect or else." Margot watched the way Tony immediately shut up, not even making some smart ass remark. The billionaire glared down at his menu.

"Do I make myself clear?" Steven said in a more stern voice when Tony didn't answer. Tony reluctantly looked up from his menu and slowly nodded.

"Yes." Steven seemed satisfied with that and they all went back to looking at their menus. Margot watched the exchange in fascination because it was somewhat perplexing watching the thirty year old billionaire glower like he had just been scolded by a parent. She glanced back at Steven who was currently reading the menu with interest. She smiled a bit because she thought Steven was going to be an amazing parent. He was going to be a great father to their child and Margot couldn't wait until the kid would finally get here so she could see it all in action.

"I already ordered us some wine. It's only from the best vineyard in all of France." Tony bragged as he grinned at the both of them. It seemed like he had put the scolding to the back of his mind as he closed his menu, his decision for his dinner already made. Steven smiled at him.

"That sounds great. Thanks." Steven told him before he quickly remembered something. "Of course Margot won't be having any." Tony shot them both a curious look while Margot blushed at Steven's bluntness. He wasn't going to beat around the bush, was he?

"What? Are you a lightweight or something?" Tony questioned in amusement and Margot shook her head.

"No. Drinking's just off the table right now. It's actually why Steven wanted us to all have dinner together so badly. We have a little announcement to make." Margot said as she smiled over at Steven who returned her smile. Tony looked between them in confusion, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Okay, now I'm just confused and I don't think it's from the scotch I had before getting here." Tony commented and Steven smiled happily at the younger man.

"Look, I know you don't really know Margot that well so this may seem a bit sudden but we brought you out here tonight because we have some big news to share with you." Steven started to say and Tony gave him a bored look.

"Out with it, Junior. You know how much I hate long, drawn out surprises." Tony told him and Steven grabbed onto Margot's hand as he stared back at the man who he saw as his little brother.

"Margot and I are having a baby." Steven finally told him and Tony just stared at them. It was perhaps the first time Tony Stark had truly looked shocked about anything. His eyes immediately darted to Margot's stomach which happened to be partially concealed by the table. Did she look pregnant? Well, Tony really couldn't tell since she was wearing that sundress but maybe that's why she had worn the sundress in the first place…to conceal the baby bump. The only thing he did know was that Steven looked more happy than Tony had ever remembered him being. He had a feeling that it had something to do with the redhead seated next to him.

"Well, fuck." Tony finally said, not knowing what else he could say to something like that. Margot gave him an amused look. How very charming of him.

"I'm about twenty one weeks along right now. The doctor said that I'm due in February. February 5th to be exact." Margot politely informed him as Tony began to slowly nod his head, still taking in this new information.

"This is great, guys. Entirely shocking but great." Tony said awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what you were supposed to say in a situation like this but he was going to try. The billionaire then turned to Margot. "I don't know you at all but congratulations on getting knocked up. Two years is a long time but I'm sure you guys got all the practice you needed in the long run"

"Nice one, Anthony." Steven said in an unamused tone but Tony just gave him a sheepish smile before looking at Margot's stomach.

"Congratulations to you too, Mini Steven. Congratulations on being conceived and I wish you luck on your journey into this crazy, big world. Hopefully you're born with all your fingers and toes attached and I really hope you don't inherit your daddy's hideous looks." Tony rambled as he then made a face. "Because that would be unfortunate…for you." The billionaire then looked at Steven and Margot, a smirk on his face although he could tell that Margot and Steven weren't really amused with his smart ass remarks so far. Maybe the little bun Margot had cooking in her oven would be more fun than these two old people anyways.

"Hey, maybe you could even name the thing Anthony. What do you think, Junior? Anthony Rogers is a cute name, right?" Tony said to the older man who only rolled his eyes in response. Margot, however, was quick to respond.

"We actually went to the ultrasound yesterday and we found out the gender." Margot told him, seeing this as an opportunity to end Tony's weird rambling or maybe just to shut him up completely. "It's a girl." Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise but smiled nonetheless.

"A girl, huh? That's still cute." He remarked before smirking again as he looked back at Margot. "Antonia Rogers then." Margot just gave the billionaire an unimpressed look.

"I'm not naming my daughter that." Margot told him firmly but Tony didn't look put off by this.

"You really should. I'd be completely honored." Tony told her and Margot shook her head.

"Yeah, I don't even know you so I don't think that's going to happen." Margot said as she tried to make it clear to him that she was never going to name her kid after him. Tony just continued to smirk at her.

"Oh, but you will know me, Margot. It's only a matter of time before you name your kid after me." Tony insisted as Margot looked back at Steven who also didn't seem keen on naming their daughter after Tony.

"That's definitely never going to happen, Anthony." Steven tried to tell him but Tony just laughed.

"Never say never, right?"

"Well, we're both saying never and we're saying never right now." Steven replied but Tony just waved his hand dismissively. Margot could definitely tell that Tony Stark was an interesting person but she just wasn't sure if he was interesting in a good way or a bad way. Only time would tell. She then cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I'm actually going to go to the restroom real quick. I'll be right back." Margot said as she excused herself from the table. Steven smiled adoringly at her as she began to get up from the table.

"Be careful." He said as he leaned in and kissed her chastely on the lips. Margot pulled away and laughed at him.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Not Mexico." She told him before she got up from the table and began to head in the direction of the bathroom. Steven watched her until she disappeared around the corner and Tony made a face.

"God, that was disgusting. This whole you being in love thing is weird. You seriously can't let her go to the bathroom without kissing her?" Tony remarked as he ate a breadstick. "Someone's whipped." Steven playfully glared at the younger man.

"Just you wait, Anthony. Someday you're going to fall in love too and you'll be just like me." Steven told him knowingly and Tony snorted.

"Um…no thanks. I'm pretty sure there's a part of you that would follow her into the bathroom if you could." Tony told him pointedly. "Yeah, I'm not into that kind of thing. I'm more of the lone wolf type or whatever kind of wolf that allows me to sleep with numerous pretty she-wolves without getting tied down in the process."

"You talk too much. Has anyone ever told you that?" Steven retorted and Tony just smirked at him.

"Yes, actually. You, Dad, Mom, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, Obie…I could really go on and on." Tony said and Steven just shook his head at him. The look on Steven's face then softened as he brought up a different topic.

"So…Margot. What do you think of her?" Steven asked him, a hopeful look on his face. Tony gave him a confused look.

"What does it matter what I think? You're the one having a kid with her. Not me." Tony told him and Steven shrugged.

"It's important to me what you think because you're one of the most important people in my life. I think that list's extended to Margot and our daughter now too but you were one of the first on that list." Steven said honestly and Tony grew uncomfortable from the affection in Steven's voice. He was uncomfortable because he was never used to affection. His father rarely showed any affection but Steven never really had a whole lot of issues showing affection. Maybe where other people were concerned but not when it came to family. Steven was all about family too even though he didn't really have one of his own…until now. "So yes I care what you think." Tony just sighed before answering.

"Well, I've only known her for twenty minutes but so far she seems great. She seems very…spunky. I like her. There's something about her that's…" Tony trailed off but Steven picked up where he left off.

"Different?" He offered and Tony nodded.

"Yes but in a good way, I think." Tony added before continuing. "She's also hot and not to mention on the young side. How young is she by the way, Junior? She looks like she might be around my age." Steven actually blushed at that question which amused Tony. The younger man smirked at his good friend.

"She's thirty seven." Steven told him and Tony chuckled.

"Wow, Junior. She _is_ on the young side." Tony remarked. "At least for you, anyways although I, myself, have never minded an older woman. Especially, one as hot as your baby mama." Steven rolled his eyes as he shook his head at Tony.

"You're an idiot." Steven told him but Tony didn't look offended. His smirk then faded as a look, surprisingly, of concern came over him. Steven was a bit taken back by the look on Tony's face. It was rare that the billionaire ever looked concerned about anything and why should he? He had everything handed to him on a silver platter although Steven had never held that against him. It was partially Steven's fault why Tony was so spoiled. He had spoiled the kid rotten because he always felt like it was his fault why Howard had always been so distant to him. So that meant buying Tony every toy he ever wanted and taking Tony everywhere he wanted to go. Tony sighed before speaking, a sincere and concerned look on his face.

"Steven, are you sure about this?" Tony asked him in a quiet voice. Steven stared back at him curiously since it wasn't often that Tony called him by his actual name.

"What do you mean?" Steven inquired and Tony shrugged.

"I'm talking about settling down and starting a family. You've never wanted kids and I know this because you've been preaching that ever since dad tried talking you into it." Tony told him as he tried to make sense of everything. "I like Margot and everything. She seems like a nice girl but are you really okay with this?" Steven sighed.

"Look, I've always liked kids and I liked hanging around you when you were all cute and little. I actually think you were less annoying back then than you are now." Steven said and Tony made a face.

"Thanks." Tony said sarcastically and Steven just chuckled before continuing the conversation.

"Anyways…my problem was never with kids. I just went through a lot in my childhood because of my father and his super soldier serum so I never wanted to inflict that on another child." Steven explained and Tony suddenly understood everything a lot more. "I didn't want kids because I was afraid of what it would mean but it's not like we planned this, after all."

"And you're not scared?" Tony inquired and Steven laughed.

"Of course, I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified, Anthony." Steven told him honestly. "I never had a father. Mine died before I was even born and your father, even though I loved him, wasn't the most responsible male figure. I loved Daniel too but he always had his hands so full with the twins that we never had that sort of bond. I'm not sure if I can be a good parent." Tony immediately shook his head.

"No, that's not true." Tony told him firmly and Steven gave him a surprised look. The billionaire swallowed hard. "You were always a good father to me. You taught me how to tie my shoes and how to throw a ball." Steven gave him an incredulous look.

"Anthony, you're a genius. I doubt learning to tie your shoes is one of your biggest accomplishments." Steven told him, looking very amused. "And you can't throw a ball to save your life. Maybe I wasn't a great teacher, after all." Tony just gave him a smile and it wasn't the smug smirk that he normally plastered across his face. It was the same smile that Tony used to give him whenever Steven would cancel all his plans that day to take him somewhere. Sometimes they'd go to a baseball game even though Tony never cared much for the game. The little seven year old boy just liked the hot dogs and ice cream Steven would buy for him at the game. However, there were other times that Steven would take him to the zoo or even car shows which always got Tony so excited. Steven missed that version of Tony because that was the Tony who didn't resent him for stealing his father away.

"No, it's the fact that you did all those things even though you didn't have to. You care a lot, Steven…more than my dad did and I think you'll be a much better father than he was." Tony said honestly and Steven didn't argue with him about his father. Usually Steven would scold Tony for talking about Howard like that but in a way he knew he was right. Howard had even said it himself all those years ago when the deceased Stark had tried to talk him into having kids. Howard tried to tell Steven that he would make a much better father than he ever was but Steven just ignored him at the time.

"Thanks. That means a lot." Steven said quietly and Tony suddenly felt uncomfortable with the way the conversation had turned. Tony wasn't usually the one to get all mushy and he knew that Steven wasn't either.

"So…um…what are you going to do about that super-secret spy job of yours? I mean, they're bound to find out about you and Margot now that she's got a bun in the oven. Can't hide Mini Steven forever, right?" Tony said as he changed the subject. Steven just smiled at the younger man before answering.

"We're actually both retiring." Steven told him and Tony gave him a surprised look.

"Really?" Tony questioned. He wasn't disapproving or anything but he was just genuinely surprised to hear that information. Tony knew how important that job was to him. Steven had made it very clear in the past how much he loved his job. "It's just that you've been working there forever and I thought you said that you were going to work until you drop." Steven just shrugged.

"Well, I never thought I'd have any kids. I always wanted to leave a legacy behind and I thought I could do that with my work. Now I realize how wrong I was." Steven admitted as Tony listened to the older man curiously. "I know I've made a difference in the world but there will also be other people who will make an even bigger difference. My time there will just be a footnote in history. Children are different though. They're everlasting because they have children and their children have children. Each one of those children will make a difference too." Steven paused briefly, looking at Tony before he continued with his speech about legacies.

"When my father died, he left a legacy behind in me. It wasn't just all the good he had done in the world but it was me too. Your father's legacy wasn't just the company either. You're his legacy." Steven told him and Tony didn't know how to feel as he took in everything Steven was telling him. "People always say that children are the future and it's true. This child will be Margot and I's legacy. This stuff I've done at work is great but our daughter will be better. I know she will." There was a long pause of silence as Tony considered everything the older man just told him. He supposed he was right in a way. Children really were the future.

"Well, hopefully the kid inherits her mother's good looks and not your ugly mug." Tony said jokingly as he tried to lighten the mood. Steven smiled at him in amusement before shaking his head.

"I hope so too. You know, I really don't know what I did to deserve Margot because she really deserves better than me. I'm much too old for her and I've seen too many things. I was always waiting for the day she'd gather her senses and leave but now it looks like she's stuck with me for good." Steven told Tony as the younger man stared back at him. Steven's tone was light hearted but Tony could see that a part of Steven actually believed that he didn't deserve someone like Margot…that he didn't deserve to be happy. "She deserves better, Anthony. She really does. She could do so much better than me."

Tony wanted to tell him that he was wrong. Tony wanted to tell Steven that he deserved to be happy because he was the best person Tony knew. Steven was even Tony's favorite person in the world because, even though he would never admit it, Steven was all Tony had left. However, Tony didn't say any of those things as he smirked at the older man and teased him just like he always did. Tony would regret doing that many years down the road when he was older and all alone.

"Miss Pierce is certainly a looker. I'd even say that she might be better off with me…or maybe even Rhodey. I think she'd like Rhodey." Tony teased him and Steven rolled his eyes. "We're not old like you either so we can actually get it up. Don't you take Viagra now or something?"

"I don't take Viagra. I'm more than fine just on my own. Trust me, Margot's _very_ satisfied which is more than what I can say for any woman who crawls into bed with you." Steven retorted as he stared back at Tony. "You're probably so drunk that you can't even get your pants completely off." Tony playfully glared at Steven.

"Whatever. Margot probably slips some Viagra into your drink without you even noticing." Tony muttered. Steven just laughed before reaching his hand over and ruffling Tony's hair like Tony was a kid again. The billionaire gave him an annoyed look.

"You're a little brat, you know that?" Steven said in affectionate tone as he repeated phrase he had used one too many times during Tony's childhood. Tony opened his mouth to respond but before he could, Margot returned to the table. She had a smile on her face as she sat back down next to Steven.

"Did you fall in there or something? What took you so long?" Tony asked, being his nosy self but also really wanting to change the subject. He didn't like it when Steven talked to him like he was a child…especially in public. He had a reputation to keep up, after all. Margot just rolled her eyes.

"No, there was just a huge line. You think for an expensive restaurant, they'd have more stalls. I even tried using the "I'm Pregnant" card but no one cared." Margot complained and Tony shrugged.

"Well, they call them rich bitches for a reason." Tony said nonchalantly and Steven immediately smacked Tony on the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Language!" Steven scolded and Tony glared at him while Margot just looked in between the two of them with an amused expression on her face. Steven had always said that Tony was like another little brother to him but now she could see how right he was about that. Steven and Tony certainly acted like brothers.

"I'm not twelve anymore." Tony complained and Margot decided to step in before they started bickering again. She could tell that those two bickered a lot.

"So…did I miss anything while I was gone?" She inquired as she changed the subject. The annoyed looks then faded from Tony and Steven's faces as they both shared a small smile.

"Not really." Steven told her as he shook his head. "We were just catching up." Margot nodded before she then turned to Tony, a curious look on her face.

"So, Tony…what can you tell me about this one's youth." Margot said deviously as she flashed Steven a mischievous smile. "I've tried getting some stuff out of his mother but she only tells me about the good and innocent Steven Rogers. I want to hear about the naughty one." Tony smirked as Steven tried to tell him to keep his mouth shut with his eyes. This was going to be so much fun. Steven had always embarrassed Tony in front of Tony's female friends but now the tables had turned.

"Oh, I have a lot of stories, Miss Pierce. Where do I even begin?"

* * *

"Do you really have to go on this mission, Agent Rogers?" Margot asked as she and Steven walked over to the debriefing room. They were always formal with each other at work because they never wanted to risk being found out. It had been two weeks since Margot, Steven, and Tony had met for dinner and now Margot was even further along in her pregnancy. She had even felt the baby kick for the first time just the other day much to both her and Steven's delight. However, it was also getting more and more difficult for her to hide the pregnancy. She hid the bump under loose shirts and unflattering dresses but she knew there was a rumor or two going around that she was pregnant.

"Yes, Agent Pierce." Steven told her in a dull tone. They had already had a fight the night before about him going on this mission but it seemed to have impacted Steven's decision in no shape or form. "This mission is possibly the most vital one yet. I can't just not go on it."

"We're turning in our pink slip next week. This is cutting it a little too close, isn't it?" Margot argued and Steven just shook his head.

"We're almost on the cusp of getting to the bottom of the weapon suppliers. Salazar? Mexico? The Weapon Suppliers? Does any of that ring any bells?" Steven told her and Margot glared at him.

"Of course, it does. That's how we met, after all." Margot replied before the expression on her face softened. "I'm just worried something will happen to you on the mission. It's not like I can do anything about it either. I won't be there this time." Steven immediately stopped walking and Margot did too.

"I'm going to be fine, Margot. It's not even a real mission anyways. We'll just be gathering intel from an abandoned storage building of Salazar's. No one will be there. We'll probably be in and out in forty minutes." Steven told her as he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear in an attempt to reassure her. "Besides…I'll have Barton with me. You, yourself, said that he's the best agent Shield's got. He's a good kid…excellent shot. Hill's going to be there too. I'll be fine. I'm not exactly breakable, you know." Margot swallowed hard before nodding.

"I know you can take care of yourself but I'm just worried something will happen…something will go wrong." Margot told him and Steven shook his head as he placed both her hands into his, giving her a sincere look.

"Nothing's going to happen. It'll probably be boring. We'll just be escorting this scientist on loan to us from the CIA. He's going to be collecting data or whatever the hell it is that scientists do." Steven told her and Margot wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ew…the CIA?" Margot questioned and Steven chuckled.

"Yeah, I know but apparently he's brilliant." Steven told her and Margot nodded.

"Just be careful, okay? Come home in one piece." Margot told him and Steven nodded.

"I will." Steven promised before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Margot smiled into the kiss as he pulled her closer. They pulled away after a moment and Steven knelt down to the ground so he could talk to their child…or rather Margot's stomach. He smiled as he placed his hand against the growing baby bump.

"You take care of your mother. Don't let her get into too much trouble." Steven said before he leaned in and kissed the baby bump. Margot laughed when she felt the baby kick, causing Steven to back away in surprise before he also started laughing.

"She definitely has your strength. That's for sure." Margot joked and Steven got up from the ground, kissing Margot one last time before pulling away.

"I love you…the both of you. Stay safe, okay?" Steven told her and Margot nodded.

"I love you too." Margot told him softly. "If you die, I'll kill you." Steve just chuckled before he turned away and continued down the hallway to the conference room. Margot tried to look mad but she miserably failed in the process.

"I mean it, Rogers!" Margot called after him but he continued on his merry way. As much as he annoyed her at times, Margot was also in love with the idiot. She just hoped that he would make it home to her in one piece. He disappeared down the hall and Margot sighed as she began to turn down a different hall to resume her work. However, as she left, she failed to notice the pair of dark eyes watching her from around the corner.

Brock Rumlow, whose eyes had narrowed into a glare, had just seen the entire exchange between Margot and Rogers Jr. and there was nothing about that exchange that he liked. He clenched his fists tightly as he went over what he had just seen. Margot and Rogers kissing, Rogers kissing her stomach, and Margot and Roger exchanging "I love you's" in the hall. It was almost too much for him to bear. All these years he had been waiting in the sidelines as Margot dated loser after loser…just waiting for the day for her to realize that she belonged with him but now it seemed like that day would never arrive. Margot was forever lost to him now and there nothing he could do about it. It wasn't Fury, Coulson, or even Barton that had torn them apart. No, it was Rogers Jr. and Brock promised himself that he would make the older man pay for that one day.

Maybe not today but someday…

* * *

"You must be Agent Pierce." A soft sounding voice said as Margot swiveled around in her chair to see who was speaking. Steven, Clint, Maria, and the scientist they were escorting had just left for their mission so Margot had reported to the top floor of the building where all the data analysts were. Even Fury was at work as they made sure to keep track of the three Shield agents and the scientist. Steven had said it was an important but still boring mission which meant there most likely wouldn't be much action but Margot was still worried.

She then broke out of her thoughts as she looked up at the petite brunette woman staring down at her. The woman was very small and almost dainty looking, resembling someone who looked more like a woodland fairy. She was probably in her late twenties or early thirties at the most. Her skin wasn't as pale as Margot's but she wasn't quite tan either. Her hair was brown which also went down right past her shoulders. Margot also noticed that the woman wasn't much taller than herself but what she noticed even more was that, like Margot, the woman was also pregnant. Margot determined that the woman was quite a bit more pregnant than she was, judging by how much larger her baby bump was. The redhead could still hide her pregnancy somewhat, although it was hard to do, but she could tell that this woman had long since given up hiding her pregnancy. Margot was almost five months along by now but this woman was probably around seven or maybe even eight months pregnant. She looked like she was going to pop. Margot knew right then that her and Steven could no longer put off telling Fury about the baby because she doubted she could get away with hiding her pregnancy if she looked like that in a couple months.

"Yes, I am." Margot said slowly, still staring at the woman's stomach. It was kind of hard not to stare at it and especially since Margot was only a couple short months from getting there as well. She swallowed hard as she forced herself to meet the woman's gaze. It was probably kind of rude to be staring at the woman's stomach all this time. However, the woman gave her a knowing smile as she stared back at Margot. Margot blushed because she knew she had been caught. Well, wasn't that humiliating.

"It's nice to meet you." The woman said politely as she continued to beam at her. "I was told to report here. I'm actually on loan from the CIA for the ongoing mission and someone told me I was supposed to report to this floor." The woman said nervously and Margot just stared at her. The CIA still had agents doing work when they were _that_ pregnant? That was a little troubling to know.

"I'm sorry…who are you?" Margot asked in confusion and the woman blushed.

"Oh, wow…I completely forgot to introduce myself. You must think I'm an idiot." The woman said in embarrassment before answering Margot's question. "I'm Mary…Mary Parker. Data Analyst and Translator." Margot slowly nodded as she took in that information. She thought she remembered Phil saying that the CIA were loaning a couple of their data analysts to them for this mission. Shield was a little shorthanded for the time being, after all.

"Right. Well, it's nice to meet you too, Mary. I'm Margot." Margot told the petite woman who smiled at her once more. It was then that Margot realized that Mary probably shouldn't be standing for longer than she had to. Margot awkwardly cleared her throat as she pulled out the office chair next to her. "Here, you should probably sit down."

"Thank you." Mary said kindly as she took the seat next to her. Margot couldn't help but notice how kind Mary's eyes looked. Her eyes were big and brown…almost doe like. Mary sighed in relief as she finally sat down but still looking quite tired. Margot wondered if she was going to still be this tired and sore by the end of the pregnancy. Probably. It could only get worse from here as the baby's birth drew nearer and nearer. Right now wasn't so bad, anyways. The morning sickness had kind of gone away and her sex drive being heightened wasn't so bad. Margot knew Steven wasn't complaining…that was for sure.

"So we're currently waiting for Agent Rogers, Agent Hill, Agent Barton, and…" Margot leaned forward as she tried to read the last name from the piece of paper from the debriefing packet. When she finally read the name, she glanced at Mary from the corner of her eye. "…Dr. Parker to arrive at their destination. They're currently flying over New Mexico so they shouldn't be too far away. They'll be arriving in Juarez in about thirty minutes. In the meantime, we're just waiting until Director Fury gives us the go ahead." Mary nodded as she listened to what Margot just told her.

"Right. Sounds like a plan." Mary replied and Margot nodded to herself. She didn't know what else to say to the woman so she just glanced around the room, pinpointing where everyone else was. Fury was in an intense discussion with Phil while Sitwell was at the front of the room analyzing a map. Everyone was trying to keep themselves busy until the agents and scientist landed in Mexico. Margot didn't really like it when someone wasn't talking. She hated long silences which was a huge difference between her and Steven who happened to be completely fine with being silent. Seriously…there was one time in which Margot rambled away for half an hour and he never even said anything. It wasn't like he minded or anything although he looked quite amused.

"I like your necklace." Margot told her suddenly, trying to make small talk, and Mary's warm brown eyes widened in surprise as if she had forgotten she had been wearing the necklace in the first place. The younger woman glanced down at the emerald heart pendant and smiled before looking back up at Margot.

"Thank you." Mary said as she smiled at Margot. "My husband actually got it for me not long after we started dating. It's very beautiful, isn't it?" Margot smiled back at her and nodded. She had to admit the necklace looked incredible on the pregnant woman and Margot didn't miss the way Mary's eyes lit up when she talked about her husband. Mary's husband already sounded a hell of a lot more romantic than Steven whose idea of a romantic gift was a hideous looking ceramic frog. However, Margot appreciated his effort nonetheless because she knew Steven had at least tried. He wasn't the most romantic person in the world, after all.

"Yes, it's very beautiful. Have you been married long?" Margot asked, trying to make more small talk to kill some time. Mary shook her head.

"Just a little under a year but we were dating for quite a while before then." Mary answered and Margot could tell by the dreamy look on the woman's face that the honeymoon phase still hadn't worn off. It was then that the dreamy look faded and was replaced by a worried one. "Although I'm really worried about him being on the mission. Especially with the baby arriving so soon." Margot realized that Mary's husband must've been the scientist that was on the mission with Steven, Clint, and Maria. She thought there may have been a link between the two but Parker was a common last name.

"So he's the scientist then?" Margot asked although it didn't really sound like a question. Mary gave her a small smile before nodding.

"Yes. I mean…maybe it wouldn't be so scary if I wasn't seven months along. It'll be eight months soon enough." Mary looked down at her stomach and placed her palm against the large baby bump. Margot watched her curiously. She wanted to tell her that she understood how she felt because her significant other was also on that mission but she knew she couldn't. Margot and Steven's relationship was still a secret.

"Your husband's going to be just fine." Margot said in a reassuring tone. "He's in great hands. Agents Rogers, Barton, and Hill are some of the top agents here at Shield. He'll be just fine." Mary smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank you." Mary told her and Margot just smiled back at her. Margot was about to return to her work when she was interrupted by what Mary said next. "So…how far along are you?" Margot turned back to Mary in surprise. Did she say what Margot just thought she said? How did she even…

"What?" Margot questioned in surprise and Mary just stared back at her.

"You're pregnant too, aren't you? I thought you might be. You just have that sort of glow about you." Mary told her and Margot blushed as she swallowed hard.

"It's not really something that a lot of people are aware of around here." Margot replied in a hushed tone as she pointedly looked around the room. Mary gave her a confused look.

"What? Does Shield not let you work if you're pregnant?" Mary questioned in confusion. "I'd understand that if you were still working in the field but you're up here with us." Margot furiously shook her head.

"It's not really the fact that I'm pregnant but more of the circumstances of how said baby came to be. Let's just say it's incredibly complicated." Margot told her and Mary finally understood what Margot was getting at. She figured that Shield probably had way different dating policies than the CIA. Well, maybe not. CIA field agents weren't really supposed to get involved but neither her nor Richard were field agents. Richard was a scientist while Mary was just a data analyst and translator. The father of Margot's baby, however, must've been another Shield agent and Mary wondered if it was Agent Barton. Even at the CIA, Agent Pierce and Agent Barton were quite famous as well as their close knit partnership. There were rumors that the two were involved and Mary figured that maybe the rumors were true judging by Margot's hidden baby bump.

"Oh…I understand." Mary said as she tried to think of something else to say that might comfort the redhead. "I'm sure everything will work out." Margot just nodded although she wasn't so sure herself. It wasn't like she expected Steven and her to be able to keep their jobs when they told Fury, not that she wanted to, but she was kind of dreading his reaction. Would he yell at them? Would he be disappointed? Margot wasn't so sure. During the years she had worked at Shield, Fury had become the father figure she never had. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him in any way.

"Would you like to touch my stomach?" Mary asked suddenly, breaking Margot out of her thoughts. The redhead looked at Mary in surprise, not believing what she just heard.

"Excuse me?" Margot questioned and Mary blushed.

"It's just that I can feel him moving around a lot. He likes listening to people talk." Mary elaborated and Margot looked at Mary's baby bump curiously.

"Are you sure?" Margot asked her. The one thing Margot wasn't looking forward to when being pregnant was the fact that people were going to want to touch her stomach all the time. Margot remembered people doing that to her mother all the time when her mother was pregnant with Bobby. Mary nodded as she beamed at Margot.

"Of course." Mary insisted and Margot hesitantly touched the younger woman's baby bump. She rested her hand there for several seconds before she felt the baby kick. Margot giggled at the sensation because the baby didn't stop there either. She felt some movement after the fact too.

"He's certainly hyper, isn't he? You said it was a he, right?" Margot asked and Mary nodded.

"Yes, it's a he. I wanted it to be a surprise but Richard hates surprises so here we are." Mary said as she stared at the baby bump. "He's incredibly energetic. Sometimes it feels like he's doing cartwheels in there. My bladder's really taking the brunt of it too. What about yours? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl." Margot confirmed as she pulled her hand away from Mary's baby bump. "Although she's not quite as energetic as yours seems to be. Most of the time she doesn't move at all. I was worried at first but the doctor said that she's healthy. I guess she just sleeps a lot. She only seems to get excited when she hears her father's voice." Mary laughed.

"That's so cute. She's definitely going to be a daddy's girl then." Mary told her and Margot just shook her head in amusement.

"God, I hope not. I don't need _two_ people ganging up on me." Margot joked but it wasn't until that moment that she wondered what the baby would be like when she was older. Was she going to be super serious and look at Margot like she was ridiculous like Steven did? Or maybe she'd be super chatty and bubbly like Margot. Maybe a combination of both. God forbid if their daughter really turned out to be a daddy's girl. It would definitely be two against one if it came down to that.

Before Margot or Mary could say anything else on the subject, Phil Coulson walked up to the table the two were currently seated at. A serious look came over Margot's face the instant she saw him. She loved Phil but she knew he'd go straight to Fury if he learned the truth about her and Steven. It wasn't like she could blame him either. He was just really good at his job and obviously followed the rules more than she or Steven ever did.

"They landed in Mexico." Phil announced as he stood in front of them, a serious look on his face. "Fury needs you to get in contact with Hill and bring up a blue print of Salazar's old warehouse. We're going to need that ASAP." Margot nodded.

"Of course." Margot told him and Phil nodded once before he walked over to go check on Agent Sitwell. Margot and Mary immediately did as they were told but both secretly had the men in their lives on their minds. Neither one of them could think of anything else as they worried about the safety of their men. The mission could only go one of two ways and they hoped that it would be their own preferred way.

* * *

"Rogers, it's all clear. The warehouse is empty. Is there was anyone here, they left a long time ago." Clint Barton informed Steven as he walked back into the main floor of the warehouse. They had just arrived in Juarez a couple hours before and immediately headed for one of Santiago Salazar's warehouses where he had kept things like private jets and his stock of drugs hidden. There didn't seem to be any private jets in the warehouse currently or the fancy cars that Salazar also kept there. Salazar's men probably ransacked the whole place after he was killed.

"There's a leftover supply of cocaine in the back though." Maria Hill as she stood next to Clint. Maria was probably one of the youngest Shield agents at the agency but what she lacked in age, she made up for with her calm and calculated demeanor as well as her intelligence. She was another agent that Phil Coulson had trained and Steven knew that Phil had gotten it right with this one. This was one of Maria's first missions out in the field but Steven wouldn't know it if he hadn't been told. "It looks like Salazar's men didn't come to reclaim that."

"They sure didn't mind taking his private jet and his sports cars." Clint quipped but Steven knew he had a point when it came to that. It was quite curious that Salazar's men had reclaimed his plane and cars but not the drugs.

"How much of the cocaine did they leave behind?" Steven questioned curiously and Maria crossed her arms.

"Let's just say that with the drugs they left behind they could've probably bought a couple yachts." Maria told him with a suspicious look on her face. Steven didn't seem to be the only one to find this all a bit odd. Steven stared in between the two younger agents before he finally tore his gaze away to see how the doctor was doing.

"What about you, Parker? Find anything yet?" Steven questioned as he looked at the scrawny looking scientist. The man was very slender and was a few inches shorter than Steven was. Not to mention he was much younger than Steven. Steven estimated that Richard Parker must've been somewhere in his mid to late thirties. He was probably around Margot's age. The man's hair was a dark brunette color while his eyes were a bright hazel.

Richard looked out of place among the Shield agents who looked ready for combat. The scientist was dressed in a light blue buttoned up shirt, khaki pants, nice suede shoes, and wore a pair of glasses on his face. It made Steven very uncomfortable knowing that this guy probably couldn't even harm a fly. If there was a threat then Steven wasn't just going to have to worry about himself but this guy as well. At least he didn't have to worry about Clint and Maria because he knew those two could take care of themselves. There was also the fact that Richard talked Steven's ear off the entire plane ride to Mexico. The motor mouth of a scientist asked Steven about a million questions regarding his father's super soldier serum and the effects it had on Steven. Steven came very close to killing the annoying scientist and it didn't help that Clint was snickering at them the entire time. God, sometimes he wondered what Margot saw in that idiot. For one of Shield's top agents, Barton sure acted like an idiot sometimes.

"Are you sure that Salazar didn't have the weapons here?" Richard asked in a serious voice. It was perhaps the first time Steven had heard him sound serious. Steven furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked back at Clint and Maria.

"No sign of the weapons?" Steven questioned and the two agents shook their heads in unison.

"Not a trace, Sir." Maria replied and Steven looked back to Richard who was pouring himself over one of the tables. He seemed to be staring at an assortment of papers scattered across the table.

"What is it?" Steven asked Richard as he drew closer to the table. Richard just shook his head.

"I just can't understand this." Richard told Steven as he continued to analyze what looked to be blueprints of weapons. "These blueprints don't make any sense whatsoever."

"How so?" Steven questioned and Richard looked up at him.

"Well, I can't be completely sure, since some of the papers seem to be missing or destroyed, but whoever designed these blueprints is talking about making a weapon that's so powerful it can completely disintegrate a person with just the pull of a trigger." Richard tried to explain but he sounded confused himself. Clint walked over and stared at the blueprints in confusion as well.

"What? Like a bomb or something?" Clint asked and Richard shook his head.

"No, it's something a lot more powerful than a bomb." Richard told him as he held up the blueprints. The blueprints displayed an image that appeared a little too familiar to Steven's eyes. Steven swallowed hard as he stared at the blueprints of a weapon that looked quite similar to some of the weapons that Hydra had made back in the day. Steven knew this because he had the highest clearance level that anyone could possibly have unless they were Fury. He had seen the Hydra weapons that Fury had stored in one of vaults within one of Shield's most secure bases. Steven wasn't a huge fan of the fact that those weapons hadn't been destroyed but he understood why Fury had kept them in a way. The weapons were like an insurance policy in case anyone like the Red Skull came around again. So far they had been lucky with villains like Bullseye and Victor Von Doom but there might come a day when Steven and the best Shield agents, the world had to offer, wouldn't be enough. That being said, it also didn't sit well with Steven how similar the Hydra weapons and the weapons in the blueprint looked.

"Look, the documented energy levels from this weapon is unlike anything I've ever seen. A single spark or flare, from an energy level like this, could turn a person into ashes…maybe even less than ashes. If this was used in some kind of mass destructive weapon, it would be worse than any nuclear weapon in existence." Richard said as he continued to study the blueprints. Clint gulped as he heard that while Maria just raised an eyebrow. Steven had to commend her on her feigned indifference because he could hear her heart racing in her chest.

"Well, that's not really good." Clint said nervously but Richard just shook his head.

"I wouldn't worry. This weapon would be impossible to make even if the power source could exist. I mean…I see the energy levels listed but not the power source so I'm assuming they haven't found a power source that could put out this level of energy. These blueprints are little more than wishful thinking." Richard explained as he tried to calm everyone down. He seemed to be sure that this weapon couldn't exist but Steven wasn't so sure. "Even if this power source existed, I doubt there's anything that could harness those energy levels enough to make it into a weapon. According to the blueprints, it would melt any kind of metal. They'd have to have something really strong to hold it."

"Well…if that's all, then let's just bag it to be safe." Steven stated after Richard was done speaking. The scientist nodded as he handed the blueprints over to Maria. He could've told Richard, Clint, and Maria that a power source that could produce those kinds of energy levels was in existence but he didn't. Their clearance level wasn't high enough for that. There was only one power source that could give out those levels of energy but Steven was fairly certain that it was hidden away in a highly secure vault. However, there was still a doubt in Steven's mind that maybe the energy source wasn't locked up and safe like he originally thought.

"Barton…Hill, you two look upstairs again and see if you can find anymore blueprints like these ones. Parker and I will stick to the main floor." Steven ordered as he gave out instructions and both Clint and Maria nodded in agreement before taking off, leaving Richard alone with Steven. It wasn't like Steven wanted to be stuck with the chatty scientist but he didn't trust Barton or Hill to keep watch over him either. Hill was still new to the field and Barton couldn't even look after himself half the time. Steven lost track of the times that Margot rushed to the infirmary after Clint got injured on a mission. It might've had to do with the fact that the man favored bows more than guns. Steven would never understand that man.

"So Shield…that's exciting, right?" Richard inquired as he broke Steven out of his thoughts. Steven stared at the scientist. This was the man's attempt at making small talk, wasn't it? Steven only knew this because Margot had a big habit of making small talk to make up for prolonged silences. He found it amusing when she did it because he was in love with her but when anyone else did it, he found it annoying. Although, sometimes he let it slide when Tony rambled on and on. Steven had really tried to break Tony out of the habit of talking so much but it seemed like the kid just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Yes." Steven said shortly as he began to walk to the other side of the main floor, searching for anything that might be of use to them. To his dismay Richard followed him.

"It must be. You're the deputy director, after all." Richard said as if Steven was somehow unaware of this fact.

"Yes." Steven repeated, trying to not get annoyed with this man again. He always prided himself on his patience but this man was slowly starting to test Steven's patience.

"Your mom's pretty legendary at Shield too, right? Peggy Carter…wow. That's one hell of a woman." Richard remarked and Steven just stared at the shorter man who blushed. "Not that I'm hitting on your mom or anything. I-I mean she's a beautiful woman but just a little too old for me. Well, not old but…I'm married!" Richard finally said as he tried to get himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. Steven wondered why in the hell Fury would even agree to letting the CIA loan them scientists. It became even more clear to Steven in that moment that only idiots worked at the CIA.

"Congratulations." Steven said sarcastically as he tore his gaze away from Richard and continued walking. However, the sarcasm seemed to go over the scientist's head.

"Thank you. Speaking of my wife, we're actually expecting a little one soon. The due date's in November so it's a very exciting time for us." Richard said as he began to tell Steven his life story. Steven grew even more annoyed at this. Great, there was going to be another idiot like this one running around out there. Just what the world needed…another Parker. "We're currently living in Queens. We've got the baby room set up and everything. Of course, my brother and his wife came over to help because my brother's a little more hands-on when it comes to that kind of stuff. We're having a boy so we painted the room blue. You should see all the different shades of blue they have at the paint store. When I was a kid there was probably just five different types of blue but now there's a hundred. It's really amazing."

"Great." Steven muttered as he gritted his teeth. It was really a wonder how there was any more air left in the room with how much this guy talked.

"Hey, where do you live by the way?" Richard asked and Steven was so distracted by trying not to strangle the man he accidentally answered the question without thinking.

"The Upper West Side." Steven replied but winced the second the words came out of his mouth. He was already regretting answering Richard's question. Richard practically beamed at him, looking all kinds of excited.

"Really? That's a really nice neighborhood although it's kind of pricey." Richard remarked as he started to drive Steven crazy again. "Mary and I actually have some money saved so we were thinking of splurging and moving to a nicer area when our son's a little older. Hey, maybe we'll even move to the Upper West Side." Steven gave him a wide eyed look as Richard grinned at him.

"What?" Steven questioned but Richard's grin didn't waver.

"We could be neighbors. What apartment building do you live in?" Steven Rogers decided in that moment that he and Margot were definitely going to move. He wasn't going to raise his daughter anywhere near Parker's little brat. Steven, Margot, and their daughter were going to move and they were going to move far away. The other side of the country sounded nice. Steven was going to move his family as far away from this man and his unborn brat as he could. Nothing in the world would change his mind about that.

* * *

"You're back." Margot said as she met Steven in the hallway. Steven, Clint, Maria, and Richard had all returned from the mission the next morning after taking several blueprints from the abandoned warehouse as well as notifying the DEA about the large supply of cocaine that was also sitting in the warehouse. There was a relieved expression on Margot's face as she stared at Steven and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. However, she knew she couldn't because of all the people in the hallway.

"I am." Steven replied softly as he smiled at her. He was extremely exhausted after coming back from the mission but also the meeting he just had with Fury about the blueprints of the weapon. Fury assured him that the Tesseract was locked up nice and safe in the same vault it had always been in. He also made a point in reassuring Steven that the old Hydra weapons that Shield had were also locked up. According to Fury, there was no way in hell that Salazar's weapon suppliers could build a weapon like the one in the blueprints. Steven felt a little relieved at Fury's reassurances but he wasn't that relieved. Ever since the night he saw a glimpse of the mythical Winter Soldier, it was seldom that Steven ever felt relieved. Steven wasn't even completely sure of what he saw that night but he didn't think he'd ever feel completely safe again.

"Having fun doing boring desk work?" Clint interjected as he interrupted Margot and Steven's moment. Margot playfully glared at her friend as Clint grinned down at her. Unlike Steven, Clint didn't hesitate to hug her in the crowded hallway although he was way more gentle with her than usual. Ever since Margot told him that she was pregnant, he treated her like she was glass. Even more so than Steven which was saying a lot. Clint pulled away from her to glance down at her concealed baby bump.

"How's little Margot doing anyways?" Clint asked her and Margot gave him a look.

"Be quiet! Someone might hear you!" Margot scolded and Clint just rolled his eyes.

"It's not like you're going to be able to hide it forever, Go." Clint told her. "Are you going to wait to tell Fury until you go into labor? No…wait. You should do that. I'd love to see the look on Fury's face." Margot glared at her friend.

"Just mind your own business." Margot muttered and Clint smirked at her. However, before he could respond the three of them were interrupted by Phil who was walking down the hall towards him. Margot flashed him a smile but the smile faded when she saw the serious look on his face.

"Agent Rogers...Agent Pierce, Fury wants to see you in his office." Phil told them in a business like tone. Margot, Steven, and Clint all shared a look before looking back at Phil.

"When? Did he say what for?" Margot asked in confusion.

"He wants to see you _now_." Phil said more firmly and it was clear to them that he was there to escort them to Fury's office. Margot swallowed hard because she realized that somehow Fury already knew about them. The serious look on Phil's face was enough to tell them that their secret was more than likely not a secret anymore.

"I guess I'll see you later." Margot said to Clint who barely nodded as he gave both her and Steven a worried look. Phil started walking in the opposite direction and Margot and Steven were left with no choice but to follow him. Margot had a really bad feeling about this.

The walk to Fury's office was silent as both her and Steven followed Phil. She was taken back by Phil's silence since usually he was quite chatty when it came to Steven Rogers. Now he was just silent which troubled Margot. Maybe Margot and Steven wouldn't even have to turn in their pink slip anyways. Maybe this was it. Fury was either going to murder or severely injure them. Hopefully he'd spare her since she was pregnant but unfortunately for Steven, he couldn't use that card.

When they finally reached Fury's office, Margot was left surprised by what she saw inside. Not only was Director Fury sitting at his desk inside his office but Rumlow was standing right beside him. Margot really didn't like the smug look on Rumlow's face either. She needed to be reminded why she had ever dated that asshole in the first place because she couldn't remember. Fury stared at his top Shield agent and deputy director with an unreadable look on his face. Margot felt uneasy about the whole situation while Steven looked as calm as ever. How was he that calm? Fury was probably going to skin them alive. Fury didn't speak for a couple minutes until he finally grew bored with staring and sighed tiredly.

"Coulson, close the door." Fury ordered and the balding Shield agent did as he was told. The Director then looked at Steven and Margot. Margot prepared herself for the worst. "Now it's been brought to my attention by Agent Rumlow that he witnessed a rather inappropriate encounter between the two of you. What he mistaken?" Margot glared at the dark eyed man. What a snitch. When did he ever even witness an encounter between her and Steven? Was he following them around like a little stalker? Didn't he have anything better to do with his time? He was the leader of the STRIKE team, after all. You would think he'd have a heavier work load.

Steven took a deep breath before he prepared himself to take responsibility for his actions. He had built up a lengthy and accomplished career at Shield, a career that he was proud of, but he was finally ready to let that go. This was just the end of one chapter of his life. He knew there would be many more chapters where Margot and their daughter were involved. Steven was ready to finally let go.

"Sir, I don't know what Agent Rumlow thought he saw." Steven finally said and Rumlow immediately glared at the older man.

"You're a liar, Rogers. I saw you and Pierce in the hallway-" Rumlow started to say but Fury interrupted him.

"Rumlow, I'll only tell you once to shut your damn mouth when your superior is talking." Fury snapped at Rumlow who immediately shut up. He might've been stupid enough to talk back to Steven but he wasn't stupid enough to talk back to Fury. Rumlow fell silent and Steven continued to speak.

"I wasn't finished, Sir." Steven told Fury, looking the director straight in the eyes. "I don't know what Rumlow thought he saw but I just want to be honest here when I say that Agent Pierce and I have been engaged in a romantic relationship for the past two years." There was silence in the room after Steven's confession. Margot blushed at Steven's confession. It made her slightly uncomfortable to have her and Steven's relationship be scrutinized by their boss. The funny part, however, was the fact that Phil seemed to be the only one in the room who looked remotely surprised. He probably initially thought Rumlow was trying to start trouble which wouldn't be unusual. Rumlow seemed smug as he waited for Fury to yell at them or murder them but the Shield director just stared at them.

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Rogers?" Fury asked suddenly and everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Sir?" Steven questioned and Fury raised his eyebrows.

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice one of my top agents and my deputy director sneaking around behind my back?" Fury asked rhetorically but Steven and Margot could only stare at him in surprise. "I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"Sir, this is against Shield's policy-" Rumlow started to say but Fury once again silenced him with a glare. Rumlow at least had the decency to look the tiniest bit embarrassed by his outburst.

"Rumlow get your ass out of here." Fury ordered and Rumlow almost seemed surprised that Fury was kicking him out. Margot wondered what he was expecting to happen. Did he think that Fury was going to promote him for this or something?

"But, Sir-" Rumlow started to say again but Fury once again interrupted him.

"Leave." Fury said in a final tone and Rumlow clenched his jaw, resembling something of a spoiled child that hadn't gotten his way. He headed for the door but made sure to give Margot and Steven a look of disdain as he passed by. The way his dark eyes fixed on Margot instantly creeped her out. There was something very sinister about the way he stared at her. Rumlow finally tore his gaze away from her as he walked out the door and Phil shut it behind him. Margot felt a bit relieved that he was gone but she was still worried about what Fury was going to do. She had no idea what was going through Fury's mind at the current moment.

"Director, if you knew all this time then why did you never say anything?" Margot asked Fury in an almost curious tone. She was kind of scared to know the answer but the curiosity was overwhelming. All these years she had been afraid that Fury would find out about them and murder them. And for what? Nothing.

"My only concern about a relationship within Shield is if it affects my agents' work. If I don't see a change then I could really give a shit less." Fury told them honestly before he sighed. "However, I was disappointed when Rumlow came to me about what he saw. I'm guessing what he saw was true. You do realize that I can't condone this anymore now that you've made your…relationship…a spectacle here at work."

"Sir, we weren't going to do this until next week but I think now's as good of a time as any." Steven told Fury before glancing at Margot who nodded in agreement. Steven then looked right back at Fury. "Agent Pierce and I would like to resign from our positions here at Shield." Both Fury and Phil had identical looks of surprise on their faces.

"Let's not do anything too drastic." Fury finally managed to say as he tried to maintain his composure. It wasn't very often that the Shield director was surprised by anything. "I was going to suggest moving Agent Pierce to a different department so you wouldn't be supervising her anymore. No one's said anything about resigning." Steven sighed.

"This is actually something Agent Pierce and I have been thinking about for a while." Steven replied and Fury didn't seem to understand what was going on. Neither did Phil as he gave Margot a questioning look. She refused to meet his gaze because this was more difficult than she thought it was going to be. She and Phil were friends but they weren't as close as she was with Clint. Phil had been at Shield since before she was even there and he had taken her under his wing when she started training as an agent. He was always nice to her.

"You're telling me that the both of you are resigning so you can what? Go vacationing in Fiji again?" Fury questioned and Margot really wondered if there anything this man didn't know. "Don't give me that look. I keep tabs on all my agents. Please tell me that I'm not about to lose my deputy director and one of my best agents because you two wanna go sip some fruity drink on a sandy beach and watch the sunset…because I really don't have time for that shit." Margot swallowed hard as she tried to muster what courage she had left in order to finally be blunt and honest with Fury. It couldn't get any worse from here.

"Actually, Sir…I'm pregnant." Margot finally confessed and you could hear a pin drop in the room. It was completely silent. Fury looked more shocked than she had ever seen him be in her entire career at Shield. Phil's jaw had dropped while Steven just had a stoic expression on his face as he prepared himself for what Fury would say next. It looked like today was a day of surprises and Fury really didn't like surprises.

"Excuse me?" Fury said as if he thought he might've heard Margot wrong but the look on her face told him otherwise. She rested her green eyes on his face as she walked closer to his desk.

"I'm pregnant…that's why I took desk duty and that's why we want to resign. It's nothing against you or the agency, sir." Margot said sincerely. "I actually enjoyed working here all these years. I've never felt like I belonged anywhere else more than here but it's time for me to move on. I don't want to be a Shield agent forever."

"Fuck." Fury cursed as he was still trying to process this information. It was kind of a lot to take in. "You two do realize what kind of position you're putting me in here." Steven managed to give not only his boss, but colleague and friend, an apologetic look.

"I know, Nick." Steven said softly. "I'm sorry but this was inevitable." Fury looked between Margot and Steven before sighing heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"You don't have to leave." Fury finally said. "I'll have to assign one of you to desk duty permanently but neither one of you has to resign. Lots of Shield agents have children here. It's not unheard of."

"Nick, you know why that's just not possible for us." Steven told him seriously and Fury stared back at him. "Margot and I already have a target painted on our backs because of our occupations. The fact that this child will have my father's super soldier serum in her veins is just adding fuel to the fire." Fury was taken back a bit by the information that not only his longtime friend and colleague was having a child but a daughter at that. It only made the whole situation even more real.

"You can't know that she'll have the same abilities as you or your father, Steven. Maybe she won't." Fury told him but Steven just shook his head. His and Margot's minds were already made up.

"That's a risk I'm not willing to take." Steven responded.

"We could protect you. That's what your mother did with you and you're still alive." Fury tried to tell him but Steven wasn't having it.

"It's not good enough." Steven said before glancing over at Margot who gave him a small reassuring smile before nodding. Steven glanced back at Fury. "We're resigning and that's final. I want a peaceful and quiet life for our daughter. She can't have that with two Shield agents for parents."

"I just didn't expect to lose two of my best agents when Rumlow walked in here today." Fury said despite understanding why Margot and Steven were quitting. He had to admit that Steven and Margot were thinking about this from a logical position. Any kid related to Captain America would have a target on their back for the rest of their life. He knew that Steven still had a target on his back even though he was practically middle aged now.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Steven told him and Fury nodded. It looked like he wouldn't be able to change Steven's mind this time. Steven and Margot were bound and determined. Fury sighed.

"I understand although I wish it didn't have to be this way." Fury told them.

"Me too." Steven replied.

"You two want to leave soon then?" Fury inquired and both Steven and Margot nodded.

"Two weeks." Steven told him honestly. "Then we'll head somewhere else…somewhere quiet and away from everything and everyone." Fury nodded.

"I might be able to help you with that." Fury said, wanting to be helpful because Steven wasn't just his colleague but a long-time friend. "I can help you with anything you need. I'll make sure to keep Agent Pierce's pregnancy off the books." Steven smiled while Margot just looked relieved.

"Thank you, Nick." Steven said and Fury just shook his head.

"Don't mention it." Fury told him before giving them a serious look. "Now get the hell out of my office. I have a shit ton of paperwork to do." Steven and Margot smiled at the director in amusement and gave him a nod before they started to leave. It seemed like the confrontation went better than they imagined. Steven led the way as they walked towards the door and he even managed to flash a smile at Phil on the way out as the agent held the door open for them. Margot, however, flashed him an even bigger smile as her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness. She felt a lot of relief after the talk with Fury. She felt like her and Steven might finally be able to get on with their lives.

"Congrats." Phil said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. Margot beamed at him before leaning over and giving him a hug. Phil was taken by surprise but quickly returned the hug before they parted.

"Thank you, Phil." Margot told him and with that the redhead followed Steven out of the office. There was a wave of silence that came over them as they walked down the hall. Margot couldn't explain what she was feeling but she knew it was bliss. It no longer felt like she and Steven were living a lie. Just when she was about to sigh in content, Steven suddenly stopped and pulled her aside. Margot gave him a questioning look before he leaned down to kiss her. She closed her eyes in content at the chaste kiss before Steven pulled away. Margot smiled at him as she opened her eyes again.

"At least there's no more hiding." She told Steven and he returned her smile.

"No more hiding." He repeated and suddenly a troubled look came over his face. Margot gave him a look of concern.

"What is it?" She asked and Steven just shook his head.

"I was just thinking." Steven said and Margot smirked at him.

"Oh, no." She said and Steven rolled his eyes at her before responding.

"No, I was just thinking about what we should do now. We're finally retiring and the baby's four and a half months away. We should probably discuss what's going to happen next." Steven told her and Margot nodded in agreement.

"You're right. I've been thinking a lot about that too lately." Margot confessed. "I mean, where should we move? Upstate New York? Maybe New Jersey? On second thought, no. I don't like New Jersey." Steven just chuckled.

"No, I wasn't talking about moving. I mean, we should probably make a decision on that very soon but I meant something along the lines of what's next for _us_." Steven tried to explain but Margot still looked confused. He just sighed because he knew he was bad at these kinds of things. "I love you more than I've ever loved any other woman in my life."

"Other than your mother, of course." Margot added and Steven just smiled.

"Margot, believe me when I say that there's no one else for me out there. You're the only one and I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't understand why you'd want anything to do with me but somehow you do and I'll be forever grateful." Steven declared before continuing. "You're also the mother of my child and…hopefully my wife too." Margot stared at Steven in shock. A part of her thought she might've heard him wrong but the sincere look on his face told her otherwise. He looked at her almost adoringly and Margot could hardly believe it.

"You want to get married?" Margot asked breathlessly and Steven nodded.

"If you want to and I hope you do." Steven told her and Margot looked around the now nearly empty corridor.

"Are you seriously proposing to me at Headquarters?" Margot asked and Steven shrugged.

"It's where we met, after all." Steven replied and Margot gave him an amused look.

"It's not exactly the most romantic place in the world. When I was a little girl I always envisioned my boyfriend proposing to me on top of the Eiffel tower. There were lots of fireworks, doves, and violins involved too." Margot told him and Steven suddenly looked worried.

"Well, I don't know about fireworks, doves, and violins but we could go to the Empire State Building if you want." Steven said, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. Margot just laughed at the look on his face.

"Rogers, I was just messing with you. I don't care where you propose." She said and Steven looked slightly relieved.

"So that's a yes then?" Steven asked her and Margot raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't even technically asked me. I don't want anything fancy but I still want an actual proposal." Margot told him with a teasing smile and Steven playfully glared at her.

"Why do you have to make everything so hard, Pierce?" Steven questioned and Margot just shrugged.

"Just propose to me, Rogers." Margot told him and Steven grumbled as he got down on one knee. Thankfully it was fairly late at Shield so there wasn't a lot of people around to witness Steven Rogers getting down on one knee. He supposed it wouldn't matter anyways since he and Margot were leaving Shield.

"Margot Stephanie Pierce, will you marry me?" He asked and Margot stared down at his empty hand.

"No ring?" She questioned and Steven sighed.

"I thought we could go pick one out." He told her and Margot smirked at him.

"I'm going to the pick the biggest, most expensive ring then." Margot told him but Steven didn't look bothered.

"That's fine." Steven told her because he honestly didn't care how expensive the ring was. As long as she would marry him. It was about time they got married anyways. Two years was long enough. Margot frowned at how he didn't protest against that.

"You don't have to get me an expensive ring. I'd be happy with one from a bubblegum machine." Margot told him and Steven gave her a doubtful look.

"If I gave you a ring from a bubblegum machine then I'm probably going to die before little Margaret's born. You'll murder me." Steven told her and Margot gave him a look of distaste.

"Margaret? Margaret's an old lady's name. We're not naming our child Margaret." Margot told him, not even denying the fact that she'd probably kill him if he got her a ring from a bubblegum machine. Steven gave her a slightly offended look.

"Margaret's my mother's name." Steven said and Margot sighed.

"Look, I love your mom but Margaret's an old lady's name and I'm not going to have our kid be made fun of in school for having an old lady's name." Margot said seriously.

"Then we'll name her Edith…after your mother." Steven told her and Margot groaned in frustration.

"Edith's an old lady's name too." Margot told him and Steven sighed.

"We'll figure it out later then. Are you saying yes…because I'm kind of getting tired of kneeling." Steven said and Margot just smiled brightly at him.

"Of course I'm going to say yes. I would love to be your wife, Steven." Margot told him in affectionate tone as Steven grinned at her excitedly before getting up from the ground and sweeping Margot into his arms. Margot laughed as Steven held her close to him. She could hardly believe this was happening. Everything was falling right into place between the baby and them getting married. It looked like she would finally have the life she always wanted. It would probably be more boring than what Shield could offer her but Margot didn't care. She wanted to be boring and she swore on her life that she and Steven would never end up like her parents. They would be so much happier and their baby would have a happy childhood too.

"So we're getting married then?" Margot said as she pulled away from Steven so she could look up at him. "Now that we've made that decision and finally telling Fury the news, what's next for us? Where are going to live? Where are we going to raise the baby? I know it's a lot to consider but we really need to discuss this soon. I'm almost five months along and if we're going to move somewhere else then it has to happen now." Steven nodded because he had been thinking a lot lately about where they were going to raise the baby.

"I know. I've been thinking about it quite a bit too and I think we should move somewhere far away from New York. I want to raise our daughter somewhere quiet and small. I don't want to raise her in the city like we were raised." Steven told her honestly and Margot nodded.

"I think you're right. I don't want her to grow up in all the crowds and noise like us. She'll be better off somewhere quiet with lots of space to run around in." Margot replied as she smiled at the thought of their daughter running around on acres upon acres of land. It was a pleasant idea. "When I was a little girl I always dreamed of living on a farm. The nanny took me to a petting zoo once when my mom was ill and I remember seeing all the little pygmy goats and wondering what it must be like to be surrounded by animals. I dreamed of waking up and feeding all the little animals and staying outside until the sun went down. I loved animals."

Steven smiled at her as he tried to imagine the child version of Margot who dreamed of a life much simpler and quieter than the one she had. He had truthfully never minded living in the city as a child but as he grew older, he grew more fond of the quietness that a city couldn't offer. He cherished the times Shield sent him on missions to the quiet country side of France or the small coastal towns of Italy. Anywhere that didn't have the constant chatter and noise that New York or Los Angeles had to offer.

"We'll live on a farm then. Somewhere in the South maybe? Somewhere warm and sunny with lots of land but hardly any people. Does that sound good to you?" Steven inquired and Margot nodded.

"That sounds perfect." Margot said softly and Steven then glanced down at Margot's baby bump. He gave the baby bump a fond look as he placed his hand over Margot's stomach.

"What about you, little one?" Steven asked their unborn daughter. "Do you want to live on a farm with all the little goats and chickens to feed? Does that sound nice to you?" A kick was the only answer Steven needed from their daughter. Steven and Margot shared a smile with each other before they decided to finally vacate Headquarters. They discussed the process of moving out as Steven took Margot to the first jewelry store they could find so that he could finally buy her that ring. He would buy an engagement ring and wedding bands from Tiffany and Co. as it would happen. Margot claimed to not want such an expensive engagement ring but deep down she was flattered. Steven was just happy that she was happy.

* * *

Margot and Steven eloped a week later at city hall with Steven's mother and Clint serving as the witnesses. Phil and Fury managed to make it to city hall although Fury made sure to watch the proceedings from far in the back so he would remain unseen. Margot didn't expect anything less of Fury. They had invited Tony to the elopement but unfortunately the billionaire hadn't been able to make it due to a business engagement which was probably just Tony vacationing at the Playboy mansion. Margot didn't really want him there anyways. She was sure he'd screw it up with some sarcastic comment. Tony instead sent his friend Rhodey in his place who happened to also be a friend of Steven's. Margot thought the man was weirdly nice for being a friend of Tony Stark. Steven's half-brother managed to come although his half-sister hadn't been able to make it since she still lived in England. The only other person that was missing was Margot's father who Margot hadn't even bothered inviting. At this point she didn't think she even wanted him in her life. He had proven to her that there was no way that they could ever salvage their relationship…if there was even one to begin with.

Margot was no longer Margot Pierce but Margot Rogers instead and the funny thing was that she was completely okay with that. She liked being Margot Rogers funnily enough. It was something that made her even more of a stranger to her father and Margot liked that. It was like she was finally her own person and Margot always felt that way with Steven. He never made her be someone she wasn't and she was thankful for that. A few days after the elopement, Margot was packing up some of the smaller things in her and Steven's apartment while Steven was retrieving a moving truck. There wasn't a lot that they were taking with them. Mostly more personal items and some things from the kitchen. Steven was having the house, they had just purchased, furnished so everything would be good to go when they arrived at their new home.

There was some of the wedding gifts they had received too although everyone mostly just purchased baby gifts for them that both her and Steven appreciated. Well, except for Tony, that is. Instead of buying the baby a present, Tony just sent her and Steven a box full of sex toys which she was sure he thought was a very funny joke. Margot swore she was going to get him back for that someday. She honestly didn't know why Steven put up with his antics that much. The eccentric billionaire was one of the most smug and infuriating people she had ever met in her life.

"You're seriously moving to Oklahoma?" Clint asked Margot as he helped her pack. He had a look of disbelief on his face as Margot shrugged although she was slightly worried. Things had been a bit tense between her and Clint ever since she told him that she was moving across the country with Steven before the baby was born. She had informed Clint right after the small reception she and Steven hosted. The archer had been quiet at first but it was starting to become clear to Margot that he might not have been as accepting of the fact that she was moving.

"Yes, Clint. We already discussed this last week." Margot told him but Clint just shook his head.

"I just can't understand this, Go." Clint said as he tried to wrap his head around why Margot suddenly felt the need to leave her life behind to go live a domesticated life with Rogers. "Why do you have to move and to move to Oklahoma of all places?" Margot sighed.

"I already told you, Clint." Margot said tiredly as she tried to explain herself to Clint yet again. "We want to give our daughter a better life than what we had for ourselves."

"What's wrong with New York anyways?" Clint questioned as he tried to give her a reason to stay. "I was born in a small and boring town and I can tell you that it did no wonders for my brother and I. My parents still died in a car accident no thanks to my drunk of a father and my brother and I still dropped out of high school to join the circus. Small town or not, we were still screw ups." Margot gave him a sympathetic look.

"Clint, I know and I'm sorry but I think this can be good for us. Good for our daughter. I think it will be safer for her if she lives there than if she lives in New York. We can keep a better eye on her if we live somewhere small and she can even be able to go to school with other children there." Margot told him seriously. "We just don't want her to have Steven's childhood. I don't want her to have to be homeschooled just so that I can be sure she won't ever be kidnapped. If we live somewhere quiet and small then she can be safer." Clint crossed his arms as he stared back at her.

"Well, I looked up the teen pregnancy rate in Oklahoma and it's the second highest in the country. You know why, Margot?" Clint said and Margot rolled her eyes but looked back at her friend.

"No. Why?" She asked, deciding to humor him.

"It's because teenagers get bored in small towns since there's nothing else to do. So they start having sex…unprotected sex. This means that your daughter probably has a good chance at getting knocked up by some high school drop-out loser…a guy that probably won't be much different than me. Imagine that, Margot. Your daughter and some idiot like me having a baby together. Does that sound like the ideal life you want for her?" Margot just shrugged.

"If, and I mean if, our daughter becomes interested in having sex at that age then I like to think that she would come to me like I went to my mother when I became interested in having sex. I'd sit her down and we'd have a long talk about sex and what it means…Then I'd get her birth control pills and make sure she's safe in every way." Margot explained calmly. "I'd like to think she would trust me enough and not feel afraid to come and talk to me." Clint scoffed in disbelief.

"You honestly think that Rogers Jr. would be as cool of a parent as that…as understanding?" Clint questioned doubtfully and Margot glared at her friend.

"Steven's understanding and cool. I'm pretty sure he used to be a hippie so that defeats your argument." Margot argued and Clint groaned in frustration.

"That's not my point! I'm just saying that your daughter could have just as happy of a life here as anywhere. Maybe even better because you wouldn't be moving away from everyone." Clint tried to reason but it was clear Margot had already made up her mind about this this.

"It's not safe, Clint. With who she is, who her father is, it's just not safe for her here." Margot told him and a defeated look came across Clint's face.

"So that's it then?" He questioned as he stared back at her. A part of Margot felt guilty but she knew this was the right decision. "You're just going to pack up and leave? You're going to leave all your friends behind to run off into the sunset with Rogers."

"Just think about it, Clint. What kind of parents could Steven and I be to our daughter as Shield agents. Someday when you have your own kids, you'll understand that. You'll want to keep them safe even if that means sacrificing everything and everyone else." Margot explained to Clint but he wasn't having any of it.

"You're being selfish." Clint spat and Margot gave him a look of disbelief.

"Excuse me?" She questioned.

"You're being selfish. You're taking off with Rogers without thinking of how it will impact everyone else you leave behind." Clint told her and Margot shook her head.

"When you start to have children you'll understand that your children will always take priority over everything else." Margot informed him but Clint just glared at her.

"What about me, huh? What happened to sticking together?" Clint questioned and Margot just stared back at him. "I thought I was just going to lose you as a partner. I never thought I'd be losing my best friend too. I don't have anyone else…you're all I have left, Go. Please don't leave."

He was clearly pleading with her not to leave and Margot was tempted to stay. She had never seen Clint like this before. He was usually upbeat and cheerful like her. However, she should've known he'd react to her leaving like this. Clint didn't have a large group of friends outside her and Phil. Not to mention his whole family was dead. When he first came to Shield Clint was just a lost and lonely boy. Margot had taken him under her wing and they had become close in the process. He reminded her of her younger brother in a lot of ways which sounded silly since Bobby was still a baby when he died but Clint always filled her with wonder. She wondered if Bobby would've been as silly and goofy as Clint if he had lived. She wondered if her relationship with Clint was what her relationship with Bobby was supposed to be like. Margot supposed she'd never know but she always thought of Clint like a little brother. The reason she allowed them to become so close like that was because she thought she'd never have to leave. If there was any hard part about this whole thing then it was finding the courage within herself to finally say goodbye to Clint. The only person she wished that she didn't have to say goodbye to.

"I'm sorry, Clint, but this is the way it has to be. This is what happens when people get old and start families. They move on with their lives." Margot said as she tried to break it to him but there was no easy way to say this. "You're my best friend too but this is what's best for my daughter so I have to go. I'd take you with me if I could but you have a life here. You have your work at Shield and I know how important that is to you. You'll get another partner someday and you'll be just fine."

"But you're my family, Margot. I can't have another partner…not like you. Please don't do this." Clint practically begged and Margot felt tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at him.

"You can visit anytime you want. It might even be nice for you. You're always saying how you want a vacation and I think Oklahoma would be good for you. Besides…you can be an uncle and everything. You'd make a great uncle." Margot tried to reassure him but she could tell she was only hurting Clint more. "You can still call whenever you want. We can even talk every single day."

However, Margot's promises fell on deaf ears as Clint retreated back into himself. He realized then that Margot was leaving and there was nothing he could say or do that would convince her otherwise. A part of him had always thought Margot would be just within arm's reach but that was no longer the case. Clint never had romantic feelings for the redhead but she was a partner, best friend, and sister combined all into one person. She was the only family he had left in this world and he didn't know if he could go on without her nearby. It was sad but Margot was one of the few things that got him up in the morning but everything was different now. Now it just felt like she was abandoning him like everyone else had abandoned him. Clint sneered at the pregnant woman.

"You know what? Don't even bother." Clint said bitterly and Margot gave him a hurt look.

"Clint…" She trailed off but he just shook his head furiously as he glared at her.

"No, I see that you have your new family now so I'll just leave. I know where I'm not wanted." Clint said and Margot shook her head, trying to deny what he was saying but the door to the half empty apartment opened which interrupted them. Steven came walking into the apartment with a happy smile on his face.

"I parked the moving truck outside so all we have to do is finish packing and load everything up on the truck." Steven said and Clint finally tore his gaze away from Margot as he turned away from her to leave. Steven's smile faded as he sensed the tension in the room. Clint brushed by him without saying a word. The archer just stormed out of the apartment with a less than pleasant look on his face. Margot watched him go worriedly. Steven gave her a look of concern as he walked over to her, unaware of the fight that just happened.

"What's going on, Margot?" He asked his wife. A part of him worried that something was wrong with the baby but he was honestly always worried about that. However, he could tell this was something very different. She just shook her head.

"Clint's angry with me." Margot said as she sniffled. She wasn't sure if it was the hormones or Clint that was making her so emotional. Steven gave her a confused look.

"Did he say why?" Steven questioned and Margot nodded.

"He's mad because I'm moving away. He thinks I'm abandoning him. I never meant to leave him. I only want to keep the baby safe." Margot said quietly as a couple tears fell from her green eyes. "I never wanted to hurt him." Steven shook his head as he wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her close to him.

"Clint's a grown man. He'll get over it soon enough." Steven said as he tried to reassure her but Margot wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, Steven. He seemed really mad." Margot told Steven as she thought back to the angry and hurt look on Clint's face right before he left. "I've never seen him that mad at me before."

"I'm sure Clint will realize how ridiculous he's acting and he'll be visiting us in Oklahoma in no time. He'll probably be annoying the shit out of me and then we'll wish he was still mad at us so he'll leave us alone." Steven told her and Margot managed to crack a smile at that. Maybe Steven was right. Clint couldn't be mad at her forever, right? He'd soon see why she had to leave New York. He'd understand why New York was too dangerous for her daughter and he'd come right back to her. Margot hoped so because she thought Clint would make a terrific uncle.

"I guess you're right. Clint's not really one to hold a grudge but I just wish I wouldn't have to leave on such bad terms." Margot replied and Steven just shrugged.

"I'm sure he'll call you once we've been in Oklahoma for a couple days. Clint's going to be just fine." Steven said, sounding quite sure of himself and he sounded so confident about it that even Margot believed him. "Let's finish packing and maybe we can order a pizza. Are you still having those weird cravings?" Margot grinned at him, momentarily forgetting about the fight between herself and her best friend.

"Of course. I want every single topping they have on that pizza. I expect nothing less." Margot told her husband and Steven just shook his head in amusement.

"Right. I'll just order myself a normal person pizza and you can have the crazy person one." Steven said as he reached for the phone. Margot laughed as she playfully hit Steven on the shoulder and older man chuckled at her weak attempt in hurting him.

All thoughts about Clint were currently forgotten as they found themselves back in their own little world…their own little bubble. Little did Margot know that her and Clint's argument would be the last time she ever spoke to Clint. Not for a lack of trying as she would spend the upcoming years trying to get into contact with the archer but only for Clint to ignore all her calls. He'd come to regret his actions years later when he would finally be reunited with Margot as he stood over her grave at her and her family's funeral. He would even feel more guilty as he quietly watched her daughter from afar in the tower, never finding it within himself to hold a conversation longer than two minutes with Margot's daughter. He'd avoid her at all costs because she was a constant reminder of the hurt he caused Margot. Margot and Emma didn't look much alike but Emma's constant ravings about a new band or singer she liked, reminded Clint Barton of the days Margot Pierce would talk endlessly about Bonnie Tyler or Blondie. Emma Rogers served as a painful reminder to Clint that he royally screwed up and he would never get the chance to fix it.

It was just too late.


	72. Chapter Sixty Six

**Author's Note: It keeps taking me forever to update for some reason but I guess I've been distracted lately. So here's finally a chapter with Emma and Peter. This was one was supposed to have more in it but I just started including more fluff scenes so a lot of the action stuff is going to happen over the two chapters after this one. I just felt like if I included a ton of action stuff then it would feel like too much and especially since we're seeing Emma and Peter a little further into their relationship so it's best not to rush things like that. So there's a lot of fluff in this chapter but probably not as much in the next one. There's no Tony in this chapter either but we'll be seeing a lot of him in the next chapter.**

 **J3ennife4: Well, it was the last flashback chapter anyways and there was only like four flashback chapters in the whole story out of like seventy something chapters. Also it wouldn't work if I included the chapters in another story because nothing would really make sense for what I have planned next. I also didn't really want to make people have to read another story just to read this one. I do have a companion piece but it's not required reading for this one. Glad you loved the chapter though and I really debated whether or not I should include Peter's parents. I thought it might be too cheesy but then I thought I can do whatever I want since it's fanfiction. I actually had that scene with Richard and Steven planned in my mind for the past couple months. It was just so funny that I couldn't resist writing it. I know the portrayal of Richard Parker in the Amazing Spider-Man movies was way more serious but I just thought to take a goofier and more rambling approach instead. When Clint comes back we'll see a lot more of his guilt especially when everyone finds out what happened to Emma.**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2: I really loved England but I loved Scotland a little more. I just really fell in love with Edinburgh when I was over there and I found myself wishing that we had spent more time there than in England although England had a lot of cool stuff too. So yeah...a really big fan of Scotland. I think I went to three castles when I went over there. I went to Edinburgh castle in Scotland then Warwick castle and Windsor castle in England. There's really a ton of cool stuff over there for a history buff like me. I just find it so boring here in the states because everything is so much newer. England and Scotland blows my mind because of how old everything is. I really recommend going there because it's amazing. Sorry about rambling about England and Scotland but even after three years I still can't stop thinking about going over there. Next time I want to maybe go to Germany because I have a ton of German ancestry but mostly because of the food. I'm half Mexican and half German but for some reason I really hate most Mexican food but I love German food.**

 **It is really sad about Clint and Margot but it's kind of why he's remained so distant from Emma. It's really hard for Clint to even look at her at times because he always thinks of Margot and what he didn't do. It was different for Tony when he and Emma weren't close because she looks a lot like her dad but Tony never really had a falling out with Steven although he does still have a lot of regrets. I think in the future of this story we'll see Clint start to make amends. He obviously can't fix things with Margot but I think he'll do right by Emma. Sorry about the long message regarding travel but seriously never ask me about traveling because I can talk for ages about all the places I want to go.**

 **scrapingskies: I might've even cried a little writing the last chapter although I think I get emotional every time I write Margot and Steven into a chapter because of their inevitable deaths. I did cry a little more than usual writing the last part with Clint at the end. Poor Clint.**

 **artemis7448: The fact that Peter and Emma's parents met is going to come up within the next couple chapters because it has to do with what's coming although they might not know that their parents met when their parents were all expecting. Everything is going to come together in the next couple chapters when the Avengers get reunited. Tony definitely has some involvement in making that happen but Peter will too in a way although Emma's ultimately the one that brings them all together again and it was always supposed to be that way. I'm so excited for the others to come back! I've had this planned since around the time I first started writing this and I can't believe I'm finally going to be writing this. It's still a couple chapters away but I'm just so thrilled.**

 **I'll probably include an obvious INFINITY WAR scene when Steve and the others come back because the Avengers are already going to be reunited by the time Infinity War rolls around anyways. I'll probably leave a spoiler warning just in case but the scene doesn't really include any spoilers from the movie. Just thought I'd give people a head's up just in case.**

 **darklaughter: Thanks! I'm glad you like the story. I've actually listened to that song numerous times just as I've listened to Halsey's first album more times than I can count and that's actually one of my favorite songs from that album. Sadly I don't really like her second album at all. It's just not for me, I guess. I liked her first album way better. 'Control' is a good song though and 'Drive' was another favorite of mine from that album too.**

 **ChanceToBeImmortal: I'm glad you liked the flashback chapter. I always receive mixed reviews on the flashback chapters but luckily that was the last one. Ugh! I'm so jealous of you. It must've been so cool to be around for the royal wedding and it looked so beautiful over there. They really picked the perfect day for it.**

 **Snapplecracks: The only reason Clint acted like that was because he was afraid of Margot leaving him all alone because if you look at his background in the comics it's really sad. It's kind of nice that he has a family now and everything so he's not alone anymore. I know some people aren't huge fans of Laura Barton because I remember people really wanting Clint and Natasha to get together but I personally think it's better that he has an actual family. Thanks!**

 **marylopez0812: I can't wait for Dr. Strange and Emma to meet either. They'll probably drive each other insane.**

 **angus281299: I've kind of thought about the whole Russian vs. American accent thing a lot in the past and I've summed it up as being because Hydra trained her to speak in numerous other languages so they also trained her to fake different accents. I was going to include a chapter in the beginning when she was still going on missions for Hydra where she faked a British accent but I cut it out of the chapter. People noticed in Infinity War that Wanda didn't have her accent anymore and the Russo brothers explained it as Natasha teaching her how to blend in and having a Sokovian accent would probably make her stand out. Emma's probably spoken so long with the accent that it's just stuck. I know a lot of actors used to have different accents and then they started speaking with a more "proper" accent so much that the accent stuck for real. I think actors like Ryan Gosling, Jennifer Lawrence, and even Grace Kelly(way back when) were examples of this.**

 **SSHdoesfanfics: I am eventually going to include the Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War storylines but not for a while.**

 **Jason Hunter: The actress I picked and the one who's in the cover art is Elle Fanning. She's starred in a lot of my favorite movies like _Super Eight_ , _Maleficent,_ _The Vanishing of Sidney Hall_ , and _Mary Shelley_ which I haven't seen yet but I'm excited for. She's done a lot of indie films but I happen to love indie films. Elle Fanning's also the younger sister of Dakota Fanning. She's one of my favorite actresses and I hope to see her maybe do some more big budget films too or maybe a series on Netflix.**

 **moocella: Yeah, those videos are definitely going to come up in the future. It's going to be incredibly hard for Emma to forget something like that. Same goes for the videos Darcy made although I don't think Emma will be enthusiastic about Steve seeing those.**

 **Guest: I've never really seen Grey's Anatomy. I've obviously heard of it but it's not really my kind of show although I really loved Sandra Oh in _Killing Eve_. I liked how they didn't make her one of those boring, straight laced agents. She was kind of dorky, weird, and funny which I liked. I just finished the whole season and I can't wait for the next one. It's probably one of my favorite shows of the year.**

 **blue: In my story Steve and the others are coming back in a couple chapters. Infinity War is really far away so everyone will already be reunited for probably around a year before the stuff with Thanos starts happening. The same goes for the events with Thor: Ragnarok. In my story Thor: Ragnarok is going to take place a few days before Infinity War in Earth time but it'll take place a couple months before Infinity War Sakaar/Asgard/Space time because I remember Loki and the Grandmaster mentioning how time worked differently on Sakaar. Loki was on Sakaar for a few weeks before Thor showed up so time definitely works differently than anywhere else. Emma might be with Thor part of the way but she'll eventually find her way to Tony and Peter.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciated every single one of them. Sorry for not answering all of them but I was just super eager to update. Thanks for all the favorites and follows too. Let me know what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

 **Hydra Base**

 **The Swiss Alps**

 **Present Day**

Diego Ugalde walked through the Hydra base with a certain amount of pride in his step. The Mexican actor was a very proud man and even more so now that he was one of the wealthiest men in the world. Not quite as rich as Tony Stark or King T'Challa of Wakanda but he was getting up there. Diego thought he was doing fairly well for someone who grew up on the streets as a child. His story was a classic rags to riches story although his line of work was a little less than moral. Diego Ugalde was a very famous actor back in Mexico and had even scored a few prominent roles in Hollywood but what many people didn't know was that he was also the leading weapons dealer in the world. Ulysses Klaue used to be Diego's strongest competition but luckily the man was dead so Diego was back to being number one.

"Ugalde!" Agent Lance Collins said as the British agent came walking over to Diego. Diego raised an eyebrow as Collins gave him an annoyed look.

"Ah, Prince William. What can I do you for?" Diego asked with his usual cocky smile on his face. Collins glowered at the shorter man. Diego Uglade always made a habit of referring to Lance Collins as Prince William just because he was English. Collins would never understand that because it wasn't like he was the only English person that worked at the base.

"It's Agent Collins to you." Collins said in an icy tone before giving the man a suspicious look. "I've been looking for you for the past half hour. Where the hell have you been?" Diego just shrugged nonchalantly.

"I was just seeing how the base is doing. It's been a long time since I've been to a Hydra base. It's vital that I make sure that my investment is well taken care of." Diego said in his thick accent. Collins scoffed.

" _Your_ investment?" Collins questioned. " _We're_ the ones who gave you the weapons to sell. _We're_ the ones who've put all that cash in the pocket of your hideously flashy suits. _We're_ the ones who you work for. It would do you good to remember that, Ugalde." Diego just chuckled as he took off his designer shades. Collins really had to wonder why Diego was wearing sunglasses in a dark base within the Swiss Alps but this was Diego Ugalde he was talking about. The guy was notoriously weird.

"Well, your precious Alexander Pierce is the one who hired me for the job. Apparently he thought I was important enough to sell your weapons." Diego reminded Collins who gave the man a sour look. He knew more than well that Alexander Pierce had personally hired Diego Ugalde for the job of weapons dealer after they were forced to have Santiago Salazar killed. He was hired solely based on the fact that the guy was another Hollywood idiot. Diego was less suspicious because he was a famous actor.

It wasn't suspicious that he had so much money because he had been the star of one of the Mexico's most popular telenovelas for years and not to mention all the movies he had starred in. All his movies had the highest box office opening for any Mexican made films. There was also the movie production studio he now owned in Mexico City which produced various films and television shows, some of which were Oscar and Emmy winning. No one questioned how much money Diego had because he was just too famous and successful in the movie industry. It made sense that he was one of the richest men in the world. It didn't help that he was also very handsome and people liked him a hell of a lot more than Tony Stark. Diego Ugalde was the perfect employee for Hydra because no one would ever suspect him.

"I'm well aware of that fact." Collins said begrudgingly and Diego just smiled at him.

"Good now when is this little show going to start? I have a meeting with Miss Columbia tonight and I cannot be late. She's an impatient one." Diego said with a goofy smile on his face and Collins fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"The injections are going to start in about fifteen minutes." Collins informed him and Diego nodded.

"That's good to know." Diego said as Collins began to lead him in the direction of the lab area of the base. "I was starting to think that serum would never be finished. That doctor of yours sure took his time." Collins gritted his teeth.

"Well, it's not exactly like baking a cake, is it?" Collins snapped and Diego smirked in amusement. There was nothing he enjoyed more than riling up Hydra agents. They really made it too easy.

"We probably wouldn't need this serum if you had been able to control the Viper Assassin and Winter Soldier properly." Diego told Collins who really tried to find the strength within himself to not punch the actor.

"There were certain events that we weren't able to foresee at the time. If we knew Captain America would destroy everything we worked so hard to build then maybe we would've moved them both to a safer location." Collins explained but Diego just shrugged.

"Not to mention how much you fucked up with the twins in Sokovia." Diego added and Collins reminded himself that Rumlow told him to play nice. Diego had been a long-time ally of Hydra and for some reason Pierce seemed to of held him in high regard.

"We're here." Collins announced, refusing to dignify Diego's remark with a response. They had arrived at a room which looked over the lab down on the floor below. A large window allowed them to have a perfect view of the lab and Diego stared down at the scientists down below who were running around the lab in a rush to get things done. Diego spotted Rumlow strapped down to a chair that looked similar to a dentist's chair. The actor wrinkled his nose in disgust when he saw Rumlow's face. Diego couldn't imagine looking that hideous. He'd probably go into hiding or die if he looked that bad. The Hydra leader grumbled orders at his counterparts as they all scrambled around the lab to please him. The disgusted look then faded from Diego's face as a more concerned one replaced it.

"Are we sure that Rumlow's the right person for the serum?" Diego questioned as he stared at the unhinged looking Hydra leader on the floor beneath them. Collins turned to look at Diego because it was perhaps the most serious Diego had ever sounded.

"What do you mean?" Collins inquired even though he had a slight idea as to what Diego was insinuating.

"Rumlow's not all there, is he? He's also has a very troubling obsession with the Viper Assassin." Diego mentioned and Collins swallowed hard. Everyone knew of Rumlow's obsession with the blonde traitor. His office was covered in pictures of her and it was seldom that he talked about anything other than her. Most of the time, however, Rumlow bragged about sleeping with the assassin which made Collins and some other agents uncomfortable. Collins had children of his own so Rumlow bragging about having sex with a teenage girl made him sick but he put up with it. Besides…the Viper Assassin wasn't really a child. She and the Winter Soldier were monsters who had murdered far more than a good number of agents at the base had.

"Is that a problem?" Collins retorted and Diego shrugged.

"It could be. Our goal is taking down those masked freaks. Not retrieving the Viper Assassin so that Rumlow can drool all over her like a horny little boy." Diego told Collins pointedly and the Englishmen just shrugged.

"Rumlow's fine. He knows how important this is and he knows what we have to do." Collins told the shorter man but he didn't really know if he believed his own words. Collins didn't even really know if he could trust Rumlow to have Hydra's best interests at heart.

"Rumlow's insane…he's a monster. What makes you think that what happened to Hydra's squad of assassins won't happen to him too?" Diego asked him, referring to how the serum had actually driven the late Hydra team of assassins crazy. Collins just stared back at him.

"We're not in a league of gentlemen here, Ugalde. We might need a monster in order to win this." Collins said softly and Diego could only stare back at the man as he processed what Collins was saying. He didn't like the idea of an unhinged Rumlow running around out there with the Viper Assassin's blood running through his veins. If they wanted to stop him then they'd die in the process. He'd be too powerful to overpower and not to mention his obsession with the Viper Assassin made Diego nervous. He was worried Rumlow would screw this up for all of them because Diego was positive that Rumlow wasn't in this for Hydra. He was in this for the traitor.

"I hope you're right." Diego muttered as they both turned to the window. Collins carefully sneaked a glance over at Diego as something else occurred to him. If Rumlow was going to finally get the injections he needed then the plan was close to becoming real. If they were about to launch an attack against the Avengers then they were going to need all the weapons they could get their hands on. They were going to save Rumlow as a nice little surprise for the Avengers later on but until then they needed weapons for the rest of the Hydra agents.

"Is the weapons shipment here yet?" Collins asked quietly and Diego stiffened at the question. Collins somehow knew he wasn't going to like Diego's answer. Diego swallowed hard before answering.

"All three shipments have arrived on time and in perfect condition." Diego answered and Collins furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"All three? I thought there were four shipments?" Collins questioned and Diego sighed.

"There was but we ran into some trouble with the cargo trucks in Tanzania." Diego said begrudgingly with a very sour look on his face. "Some of my men ran into trouble with the _Black Panther_." Diego said the name with a special amount of distaste in his tone but Collins' eyes widened in surprise. The Black Panther had become rather famous in the past year ever since his appearance in Romania and Germany but even more so with the events in South Korea a few months ago. It was obvious to everyone that the Black Panther was not someone you ever wanted to cross paths with.

"The Black Panther?" Collins said in surprise, still trying to process what Diego told him. The Latin man nodded.

"Yes. Him and those bald headed whores that chase after him." Diego said in an annoyed tone as Collins hung onto his every word. "Four nights ago they stopped the cargo trucks, the ones with the weapons, and they apprehended my men. They confiscated the weapons and took my men. More than likely somewhere to either interrogate or imprison them. Probably both." Collins just stared at Diego in disbelief.

"Where did they take them?" Collins questioned and Diego shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably to that expensive underwater prison in the Atlantic. The one where your doctor was imprisoned before you broke him out." Diego told Collins and the Hydra agent swallowed nervously. This wasn't good news. No, this wasn't good news at all.

"So they have the weapons that were powered by the Tesseract…the very same weapons that were built from Vibranium metal which can only be found in Wakanda." Collins said, trying to get Diego to see how bad this was.

"I guess so." Diego said nonchalantly and Collins was starting to get angry.

"The same weapons that we had in storage for the past seventeen years to ensure that something like this would never happen." Collins said as he started raising his voice. Diego just glared at him.

"I don't know what you're getting mad at me for? I've been bending over backwards trying to get you these shipments. You're lucky that you got three shipments instead of zero." Diego told him as he narrowed his eyes at the angry Hydra agent. "So we lost a shipment? We still have three." Collins sneered at him.

"You don't get it, do you? If the Black Panther knows that these weapons are out there then he's going to tell the Avengers and it's not going to take long before the Avengers figure out that it's us who has these weapons." Collins said and Diego just waved his hand dismissively.

"How is that royal pretty boy going to know it's us anyways? It could be anyone." Diego told him and Collins scoffed.

"I don't think you realize how rare these weapons are. Not only were they created from the Tesseract but they're also made from Vibranium. No other place in the world except Wakanda has Vibranium so you can imagine the Black Panther is an expert on the stuff." Collins explained to Diego in a frustrated tone. "This means that the Black Panther is going to link these weapons back to Klaue who sold us the metal almost two decades ago. It's not going to take them long before they figure out that it's from us. Rumlow wasn't that discreet all those months ago when he bought weapons from those idiots in New York either. They're already suspicious and they're going to put two and two together in no time." Diego coughed awkwardly.

"I guess I didn't think of it like that." Diego said quietly and Collins really struggled not to choke the life out of him. He sighed tiredly instead.

"Just tell me that the men the Black Panther arrested in Tanzania are somewhat loyal or they at least had some cyanide on them." Collins almost pleaded and Diego gave him a sheepish smile.

"I really wish I could but they'll probably rat us out to save their lives. They don't really give a shit about Hydra. They barely know what Hydra is." Diego admitted and Collins just stared at him as he tried to figure out what to do with this idiot. Killing him wasn't an option. He was too much of an ally to Hydra for them to kill. No, he was just going to have to put up with this idiot's antics. Between Rumlow and Diego, it was like Collins couldn't get a break.

"So this is it. The Avengers are onto us now. There's no going back from this." Collins said softly and Diego gave him a worried look.

"Is this really bad? Are we screwed?" Diego asked him and Collins paused for a moment before answering. It took him a minute to think but he thought he knew the answer. He took a deep breath before exhaling as he looked back at the window, his eyes resting back on Rumlow on the floor below them.

"No…I don't think we are. Between the weapons and Rumlow, I think we'll be just fine." Collins told Diego reassuringly. "The Avengers might be onto us but we still have the advantage of Rumlow. They won't know what's coming until it's too late."

The two men then stared as the scientists prepared Rumlow for the injections. He was all set to go and all that was left was for the needles and IV to go in. Rumlow stared at the ceiling as Dr. List stared at a screen, his eyes anxiously watching the numbers. One of the scientists sterilized the area of Rumlow's body where the needle was about to go in as all of them prepared themselves for the moment they had been waiting for during the past four months. Rumlow thought of nothing else but the image of a familiar blonde assassin. Before he could even think of anything else, however, they stuck the needles in. He lost track of the amount of needles that entered his body but it wasn't until the red liquid entered his body that he started to feel something start to change. The red liquid wasn't just any kind of red liquid either but instead the blood of his princess. A part of her that was inside him and a part of her that would make him stronger than ever. It was almost like they were together again which brought him some pride and even joy.

 _This is for you, Princess._

* * *

 **Queens, New York**

 **June, 2017**

"So you survived your first year of high school." Michelle Jones stated as she looked over at Emma with that usual bored expression on her face. "Do you feel happy now?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm but Emma wasn't offended. This was just her and Michelle's weird friendship. It was a strange kind of friendship that made everyone else weirded out but somehow it was normal for them. Emma just smiled before shrugging.

"Not happy but definitely not looking forward to the next one. If I have to deal with Flash for another two years then I'm either going to murder him or myself." Emma retorted before she dipped her spoon back into her gelato. Emma and Michelle were currently seated outside of a gelato shop just a couple short blocks from the school. They had just finished their last day of school and had decided to stop for some gelato on the warm summer day. Peter and Ned had gone off to see one of what Emma liked to call their nerd movies. Peter told her it was okay if she crashed their guy time but Emma would rather stuff her face with gelato than sit through one of Peter's nerd movies. It was okay because he felt the same way about the classic Hollywood films she liked to watch. Emma was just happy she didn't have to sit through that movie about the apes and Woody Harrelson.

"At least it's one more year that we don't have to be here." Michelle told her and Emma gave her an amused look.

"I've never heard you sound so positive in all the time I've known you, MJ." Emma said teasingly and Michelle just rolled her eyes. The blonde just shoved another spoonful of gelato in her mouth and basked in the warm sunny day. Normally she didn't like warm weather but today was an exception. Emma kind of blamed it on Peter. She blamed a lot of things on Peter but mostly just the good stuff.

It had been four months since their field trip to London and although they didn't win, that trophy actually went unsurprisingly to Wakanda, they returned home happier than they had ever been before. Not much had happened since the trip. The only significant thing that happened was Jane breaking up with Thor over the Bifrost which was new because Emma had heard of people breaking up with their boyfriends or girlfriends over the phone but never over a Bifrost. Emma didn't even know if it counted as them breaking up because all Jane did was yell at the sky for Heimdall to tell Thor she was tired of waiting and that they were through. Darcy screamed at the sky too but only to tell Thor that he was finally free. Emma may or may not have joined in on the Jane bashing but only because she thought Jane acted like she had a stick up her ass. Seriously though…the woman was worse than Steve.

Even with all the couple drama, which included the awkwardness between Emma and Susan regarding an absent Steve, Emma and Peter were still able to find happiness despite everything going on around them. She was sure they had the trip to London to thank for that too. Their time in London had been carefree and fun because the trip allowed Emma and Peter the chance to get away from home and spend time together without the reminder of their superhero alter-egos. It was nice for Emma to relax and unwind for once. Ever since the trip it had been like that too. She felt happier than before and Emma knew it was because of getting all her secrets off her chest with Peter. Peter and her were in a way more honest relationship than ever. Whenever she had a nightmare, she could talk to Peter about it and he'd patiently listen to her as he ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. He'd remind her in the littlest of ways that it was nothing but a nightmare and she was safe. Emma had to admit she always felt better after he comforted her and she realized that this was what Tony had meant when he said it was better being open and honest in a relationship. Emma, of course, would never admit aloud that Tony was right about anything. She wasn't exactly saying the nightmares went away either or that she ceased having flashbacks but Peter was there to offer her comfort and support now that he had a understanding of what she had been through.

Even though Emma and Peter's relationship was in a much better place, there was still an emptiness inside her that she knew was because of the prolonged absence of Steve and her father. It didn't escape her mind that it had been over a year since she had last seen the both of them. She still found it hard to believe that it had been that long. A year since the Sokovia Accords, a year since the fight at the airport, and even a year since she had come face to face with Peter for the first time although she hadn't known him as Peter back then. It was still a year since she had seen two of the most important people in her life and it felt even longer since she hadn't been able to spend that much time with her father during that time. She had only seen her father for about two hours before he was whisked away from her yet again. Before that she hadn't seen him in years so it made the loss overwhelmingly painful. It hurt being away from Steve too because she had become so close to him in the two years they spent together. She rarely left his side in those two years so now that she was without the both of them, it felt like she was missing something huge in her life. Emma was happy with Peter but she just wanted Steve and her father to be able to be around to see her at this new point in her life. She knew that if she could somehow have all three of them in her life at the same time that maybe she could even feel complete. She'd have all the men she loved in her life which was Emma's dream. Emma needed all three of them and she didn't care if that sounded selfish or greedy. She just needed them.

"Maybe the sunny weather put me in a better mode." Michelle said sarcastically and Emma just laughed.

"I'm sure." Emma retorted, not sounding entirely convinced by her friend. Michelle then gave the blonde a curious look.

"So how are going to spend your summer? Are you and your lame boyfriend going to Disneyland with Tony Stark?" Michelle questioned, her voice once again laced with sarcasm. Emma just sighed.

"I hate traveling and I especially hate traveling with Stark so probably not. I also hate amusement parks and cartoon characters." Emma said in a flat tone as she looked back up at her friend who didn't seem the slightest bit put off by Emma's statement. It was times like this that Michelle really wondered how Emma and Peter even worked. Emma considered everything, from a normal person's childhood, beneath her while Peter had gone to see _Toy Story 3_ five times when it had first come out all those years ago. Michelle knew this because the idiot actually bragged about it to everyone in class. Michelle supposed she'd never stop feeling puzzled over Emma and Peter's strange relationship. She considered Emma to be a very close friend but she was no closer to understanding Emma's odd attachment to the nerdy teenage boy. She supposed some things in life would forever remain a mystery.

"Sometimes I think you're even more pessimistic than me." Michelle muttered and Emma just smirked at her before giving the dark haired girl a curious look.

"What about you? What are you going to do?" Emma questioned and Michelle shrugged.

"Nothing much. I'll probably just get some more reading done. Maybe I'll even go down to the mall to draw whatever boring loser I can find." Michelle told her and Emma nodded.

"Same here. I just ordered a whole shipment of books with Stark's credit card so I'm pretty much occupied for the summer." Emma said, seeming to actually look forward to a summer filled with reading while listening to her favorite artists on repeat via Darcy's old iPod. "I haven't had a chance to work on any drawings lately but maybe I'll give that a go too." Michelle raised an eyebrow as she smirked at her friend.

"Yeah, right. You mean that you haven't had a chance to work on drawings that don't feature your idiot boyfriend." Michelle teased and Emma actually blushed at her comment before she tried to glare at the girl sitting across from her.

"My drawings don't all feature Parker. I draw other things too." Emma said defensively and Michelle scoffed.

"Like what? You know you're one step closer to drawing your ideal perfect wedding and scribbling Mrs. Parker all over your sketchbook. Ooh! The Viper Assassin? Well, I'm shaking in my boots." Michelle continued to tease and Emma leaned back in her seat as she glowered at the teenage girl. It seemed like her friend was teasing her even more about Peter ever since Peter happened to mention to Michelle and Ned that he and Emma were going to get married someday. He mentioned it in an offhanded way one spring day as the four of them walked past a nice and large looking townhouse.

 _"_ _Look how big and cool that house looks, Emma. I bet there's like four or five bedrooms in there. Ooh! Look at the front steps! It looks so fancy…like something a celebrity would have." Peter rambled as he looked at the house and Emma raised her eyebrows. She didn't understand why Peter was suddenly so interested in architecture. Never in the time that she had known him had he expressed an interest in houses._

 _"_ _I guess." Emma said as she shrugged, seemingly not as interested in the house as he seemed to be. Peter just continued to stare up at the house in awe. Ned and Michelle seemed just as bewildered as she was by his odd behavior. Emma wondered sometimes if Peter was on drugs. She knew that he wasn't but sometimes she still wondered because she would never stop trying to understand him and his antics._

 _"_ _We should live here when we get married." Peter told her in a casual tone. He hadn't even looked away from the house when he said it. Michelle and Ned looked shocked at his statement while Emma just blushed. She was a little surprised that he had said it in public like that but she wasn't really surprised that he had said it in the first place. Then just like that, Peter turned away from the house and started walking back down the street. Emma, with her hand in his, was forced to walk with him although she was still blushing from his very public admission. Peter Parker infuriated and perplexed her like no other._

You would think that was the first time Peter had talked about them getting married but it really wasn't. He never really talked about it so much as made offhanded comments when he talked about the future. Sometimes it annoyed her because he sounded so sure that she was going to marry him which wasn't the case. They bickered every time Peter talked about it but mostly because Emma hated the idea of marriage. She felt like if she ever got married then it would be the end of the fearsome reputation she spent her life building. No one would ever take her seriously again if she got married. She already threw most of what was left of her reputation out the window the day she fell in love with Peter Parker. Of course, deep down Emma didn't mind losing that reputation although she was much too stubborn to admit that. However, Emma was going to draw the line at marriage. She would never marry Peter Parker and she didn't care if he gave her that stupid puppy dog look or even if he begged her. Well…maybe she'd care a little.

"I'm not going to marry him. Now leave me the fuck alone." Emma grumbled as she glared at her gelato while Michelle just rolled her eyes at her.

"I was only kidding. Geez, sometimes I think you're German. You don't really have a sense of humor." Michelle remarked and Emma glared at her.

"I can be funny." Emma retorted and Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Since when?" Michelle questioned and Emma huffed, crossing her arms.

"It was funny when I threw that knife at Tony during dinner the other night." Emma informed Michelle and Michelle scoffed.

"You're the only one who found it funny. You nearly stabbed him in the hand." Michelle told her and Emma shrugged.

"I never intended to actually stab him. I'm great at throwing knives so I never miss. Papa was a great teacher…you should really see Papa throw a knife. He makes me look like an amateur." Emma told Michelle who didn't seem entirely eager to be around the Winter Soldier if he was throwing knives around. Maybe if she was safely positioned behind a bulletproof glass window.

"My point is that almost killing or severely maiming people isn't really the typical sense of humor for most people." Michelle stated and Emma gave her a curious look.

"Why not?" Emma inquired. "I happen to think it's hilarious. I remember when I tied up a clown and hid him in one of the rooms at the tower for three days. Everyone was so shocked. There was also the time that I placed the hand of one of my targets in a birthday cake for my evil grandfather. You should've seen the look on that Nazi asshole's face when he bit into the cake. Priceless."

Emma laughed at the memory of Alexander Pierce's face when he realized that there was no way Emma would just bake him a birthday cake out of the kindness of her heart. Sure, Rumlow and Volkov had beaten her with an iron bar for a couple hours but it was completely worth it in Emma's eyes. Nothing gave her more satisfaction than watching Pierce unknowingly become a cannibal. Emma had told her father the story when he had woken up from the Cyro-Chamber and even though he scolded her for pissing off Pierce, she couldn't mistake the small crack of a smile on his face. However, she decided that it was probably best never to tell Peter or Steve that story because she had a feeling they wouldn't find it very funny.

"How are you even one of the good guys now?" Michelle questioned after staring at her friend in silence for several seconds. Emma acted like she didn't know what she was talking about.

"You're acting like I cut the man's hand off when he was still alive or something." Emma said as she shrugged. "I was never sadistic. He was already long dead when I cut his hand off and I figured he wouldn't need his hand anymore anyways. I'm also sure that he would've enjoyed what I made Pierce do. Maybe he'd even thank me for it." Michelle scoffed.

"You think he'd thank you for cutting his hand off and putting it inside a cake just so your evil grandfather could eat it?" Michelle questioned and Emma nodded nonchalantly.

"Maybe." Emma said before she smirked at Michelle. "Come on, you think it's funny too. The look on that idiot's face was classic when he realized what he had bitten into." Michelle cracked a small smile.

"Was the hand chopped up into little pieces or was it perfectly intact?" Michelle asked curiously. She was always curious about Emma past as an assassin. She was more curious about that than any of the stories Peter and Ned wanted to hear about the other Avengers. Michelle was always morbidly curious about death and murder and who better to ask than Emma although Michelle always had enough tact not to ask her too many questions. She figured the topic was kind of sensitive for the blonde but if Emma was going to offer up information then who was she to stop her?

"Intact. The bone, flesh, nails…essentially the whole hand. I kept it in a cooler on the way back to the base." Emma answered but Michelle still looked curious.

"Did you cook it…like _Fried Green Tomatoes_ style?" Michelle asked and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"You mean did I put it into the batter and bake it into the cake? Ew…no. Of course not." Emma said, sounding completely revolted. "You have a sick mind. It was a layer cake so I just put it in between the layers after and then used a ton of frosting. I told him it had a strawberry filling. God, I can't believe you thought I'd actually put the hand in the oven. Do you know how bad that would smell? Gross." Emma then returned to eating her gelato as if they were talking about trivial topics like fashion or the weather.

"Well, excuse me for thinking you would put a hand in an oven." Michelle said sarcastically as she also went back to eating her gelato. Emma swallowed more of the frozen dessert down before looking back up at Michelle.

"You know…believe it or not, MJ, that was the first and last successful thing I've ever baked. When Steve forced me to bake Christmas cookies I almost burned the whole place down so I consider the cake a success." Emma pointed out and Michelle just stared at her silently for a moment before responding.

"Remind me to never eat any of your cooking." Michelle muttered and Emma just smirked at her without saying another word. Michelle was now convinced that Emma did, in fact, have a sense of humor but the sense of humor of a serial killer. Although Michelle had to admit that the hand in the cake thing was kind of funny. Disgusting but funny. If anything this made Michelle even less sure of how Emma and Peter worked. She supposed it was the opposites attract thing but if Peter could sleep peacefully, without any fear, next to Emma then good for him. Personally Michelle thought Emma was too cool for Peter but she supposed even cool people who put hands inside cakes could even fall for a dork like Peter Parker.

* * *

"And this is Peter in the bathtub." May pointed out to Emma as she held a photo album in her lap. Emma was going to eat dinner with Peter and May as she had done on several occasions in the past. May wasn't the greatest cook but neither was Emma so she couldn't really complain. Emma had arrived at Peter and May's apartment a bit early seeing as Peter and Ned's movie still wasn't over so May decided to kill some time by showing Emma baby pictures of Peter which she had never seen before. Emma's eyes focused on a naked three year old Peter in a bathtub as he giggled at the camera. This was going to be great blackmail to use against her boyfriend in the future. "He used to love splashing around in puddles when he was little so Ben and I had to rush him home and get him cleaned up."

"That's a cute rubber duck." Emma pointed out as she looked at the rubber duck covering up Peter's penis in the picture. May laughed.

"Yeah, he used to do the cutest thing too when he was around that age. Peter's always been kind of shy but when he was little he'd cover himself up whenever I was trying to get him ready in the morning and he'd make a little angry face like this." May paused to make the face she was talking about, scrunching her face up in the process and Emma looked at her in amusement. "Then he'd say, 'Don't look at my winky'." Emma busted out laughing at this. She didn't think she had laughed that hard in a long time as she tried to picture a little toddler Peter trying to cover up his junk. Winky! Emma was sure she'd never look at Winky the house elf in the same way ever again.

"Wow…I did not know that. I don't think Peter ever mentioned anything like that." Emma said as she tried to calm down from her fit of laughter. May just shook her head.

"No, I can't imagine he would." May said as she flipped to another picture. This time Emma was sobered up as she glanced at a picture of what must've been Peter's parents. She had never seen a picture of Peter's parents before and she also knew that he didn't talk about them often. Emma knew it was more because he didn't really remember them since they had died probably even before Emma's parents died. Emma remembered her parents more than she wanted to which was why she never talked about them but for Peter it was because he just didn't remember them well enough.

"This is Peter's parents…Richard and Mary. This was actually taken when Peter was just born." May explained as Emma stared down at the picture. The picture showed a baby Peter in the arms of his mother while his father had his arm wrapped around her. Peter's father was a very slender man and not what she expected when she thought of Peter's father. He looked to be in his late thirties with hazel eyes and dark hair. Emma thought that Peter even had his smile…it was the same goofy smile that Emma adored. However, she noticed that Peter looked more like his mother than he did his father. His mother's brunette locks were the same exact color as Peter's while they also shared the same warm brown eyes. The photo even made Emma smile more when she saw baby Peter bawling his eyes out in his mother's arms. He was…cute and he still was according to her.

"Here's Ben and Peter at Stark Expo." May told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at the next photo. Peter looked to be around seven or eight in the photo although she couldn't really see his face. He was wearing a large Iron Man mask which made Emma want to roll her eyes. So his Tony hero worshiping went further back than she originally thought. Why was she surprised? His Uncle Ben, who he rarely liked talking about, looked a lot like his brother or so she noticed. He had the same dark hair and hazel eyes but he was also slightly older than Peter's father. She thought she remembered Peter telling her that his Uncle Ben was his father's older brother but that was the extent of what he had said about his uncle.

Usually Peter was so open to her about everything but his uncle was something he didn't talk a lot about. Emma assumed it was because Peter was very close with his uncle and the loss of his uncle still haunted him even today. It was probably something she'd never understand. While Emma had lost her parents at a young age, it had been a long time since she had felt sad about them. As the memory of them faded so did the feeling of loss. She didn't feel close to them anymore. Emma had never lost someone like Peter lost his uncle which made it difficult for her to understand something like that. He had gotten her to be so open to him about the rape but Emma also wanted him to be open to her about his uncle. She didn't want him to feel alone but she didn't know how to bring something like that up. Emma was afraid of somehow hurting him or making him angry. He was so good at listening to her and giving her advice but Emma didn't know if she was good at that too. She wasn't used to being a good listener and helping people with their problems, that was Steve, but Emma still wanted be there for Peter and she wanted Peter to know that.

"Oh, and here's Tony's autograph." May pointed out and Emma was snapped out of her thoughts as she tore her gaze away from the picture of Peter and his uncle. Emma's eyes rested on a signed picture of Iron Man and narrowed her eyes.

"Who in the hell would want Tony's autograph? I wouldn't give someone a nickel for that piece of crap." Emma stated and May laughed before shrugging.

"Peter was always a huge fan of Tony. Tony was, and probably still is, his number one idol. Before you came along, it was always Tony Stark this and Tony Stark that. It absolutely drove me up the wall." May told Emma who smiled in amusement. "Of course, now you're all he can talk about it which I think is better than hearing about Tony all the time. Tony Stark wasn't exactly the role model I wanted for my young nephew but at least he's better than Justin Bieber." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"If Peter liked Justin Bieber then I wouldn't have even been friends with him in the first place. Gross." Emma said as she cringed at the thought of anyone, she associated herself with, actually listening to Justin Bieber's music. The thought revolted her. May laughed at the blonde once again.

"You're funnier than I thought, Emma. Has anyone told you that you've got a great sense of humor?" May asked and Emma smiled mischievously.

"I get that a lot actually." Emma told her which was the opposite of the truth. May just smiled as she then gave Emma a curious look.

"You know who Peter is also a big fan of?" May asked her and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Who?" Emma asked and May smiled knowingly.

"Captain America." May finally said and Emma was beyond confused at this. Did she maybe hear May wrong? Did she actually just say Captain America?

"What?" Emma questioned and May nodded as she then pointed to a picture of a six year old Peter playing with what looked like a Captain America action figure. This was probably before the Avengers and before Steve had even woken up from the ice but Captain America was always a pop culture icon. Throughout the decades, Captain America lunchboxes and action figures were quite common although the demand for Captain America merchandise had only increased after the alien attack in New York. However, most stores no longer sold any merchandise of any of the Avengers who were now considered war criminals. Still…Emma wasn't exactly surprised that someone had a Captain America action figure but she was instead surprised that Peter of all people had the action figure.

"Captain America was always Peter's favorite Avenger. Ben and Peter watched a documentary once and after that Peter was just hooked. He said it was because Captain America always stood up for what was right…that he always did the right thing and he wanted to do the same." May told her and Emma just stared at Peter's aunt in silence. She didn't know how to feel about that. Emma had never gotten the impression from Peter that he was a fan of Captain America. He never mentioned it around her. She was…stumped. "He had Captain America coloring books, action figures, and even a poster…the usual things most boys have."

"He never said anything and I've never seen any posters or action figures in his room." Emma said in confusion and May just smiled.

"I think he hid them all when you two first started becoming friends. He was probably embarrassed about it. You know how Peter gets." May told her and Emma was still confused. She couldn't believe that her boyfriend was a Captain America fan this whole time and he never mentioned it. Emma wasn't mad or anything but she was just surprised. Emma was still processing that information when May turned to another picture from Peter's childhood.

Peter was a lot older in this picture and she could tell that it was probably one of his school pictures. He didn't look much younger than he was now, probably around fourteen, but he looked slightly different than the Peter she knew. This Peter was very scrawny and somehow shorter than he was now. He wore a pair of glasses on his face and she could see the slightest traces of acne like most teenagers had. Peter never really had acne when she knew him but she supposed it was part of the bonus side effects of the spider bite just like how her serum had bonus side effects too. This Peter looked different than the Peter she knew now but there was no doubt in her mind that he was still the same Peter… _Her_ Peter. He still had that goofy smile on his face, his warm brown eyes hidden behind his glasses, and he was even wearing one of his t-shirts with a lame pun on it. Granted he still looked way more fragile than the Peter she knew but he was still adorable. Emma didn't know why he didn't let her see any pictures of him before the spider bite because he was still incredibly handsome. In fact, those dorky glasses he was wearing were really doing something to her. She wasn't going to lie and say that those glasses weren't a turn on for her because she was starting to think that they were. Maybe she'd ask him to wear them for her some time.

"May, I'm back from the movie! Hey, you should've seen how awesome it was. Woody Harrelson was completely insane-" Peter started to say as he walked into the apartment but stopped when he noticed his aunt and girlfriend sitting on the couch together. Peter was a little surprised because he hadn't expected Emma to come to the apartment until a little later.

"Emma…you're here." Peter said in surprise and Emma scoffed.

"Gee, I'm happy to see you too." Emma said, being her usual sarcastic self. Peter shook his head as he made his way into the living room more.

"Of course I'm happy to see you. I'm just surprised…well, it's a good surprise actually." Peter said softly as he smiled at her. Emma couldn't help but smile back because even though they had only spent a few hours apart, somehow Emma was still incredibly happy to see him. She thought the excitement and happiness every time she saw him would fade with time…that their so called honeymoon phase would end like it did for most couples but for Emma and Peter it was just the opposite. They only grew closer with time and they had spent plenty of time getting closer since they had just celebrated their six month anniversary. Emma had pretended not to keep track but deep down she had.

Peter had surprised her for their sixth month anniversary by taking her to Coney Island for the day and then taking her to the movie theater where they went on their first date. They saw _Casablanca_ which was one of Emma's favorite movies and she was touched that Peter actually sat through that movie for a second time. She knew how much those old movies bored him. The next day they went to a Comic Con which Emma had bought them tickets for. Spending the day surrounded by a bunch of middle aged losers who still lived in their mom's basement wasn't Emma's idea for a good time but she knew how much Peter was into all that nerd stuff. Peter had worn a Luke Skywalker costume which Emma had teased him about although she actually thought he looked pretty cute in it and Emma had worn a Death Eater costume because it had a mask and Emma didn't want someone taking a picture of her there and for it to get back to Tony and Darcy. Those two idiots would never let her forget the fact that she had actually gone to a Comic Con. Besides…being a Death Eater made total sense. Emma would never admit this to anyone, because she refused to be the nerd she always made fun of Peter and Ned for being, but she had taken the sorting hat quiz on Pottermore which sorted her into Slytherin. Emma didn't really think that made her a nerd anyways because Harry Potter was different. You weren't a nerd if you liked Harry Potter…everyone liked Harry Potter. Star Wars was a nerd thing but not Harry Potter. Cool people like her could like Harry Potter without being a nerd like her dorky boyfriend was.

"Darcy's right. You two are so cute." May said in awe as she looked between them. Emma snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at Peter's aunt. Peter walked closer to the two most important women in his life and took time to admire the necklace that Emma still wore around her neck. He had given the necklace to her a few months ago and she still hadn't taken it off. Peter always thought that Emma would get bored of wearing his mother's necklace day after day but she never did. In fact, it was the only piece of jewelry he had seen her wear.

"Whatever." Emma mumbled as she looked back at the photo album while she pretended to not be as fond of Peter as she really was. It was part of the weird flirting she and Peter did. She teased and made fun of him while he pretended to be annoyed by it. Most people didn't understand them and thought they were weird but their flirting wasn't weird in their eyes…no, it was normal. It was almost like a fun game she and Peter would play. Peter then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he wondered what book Emma and May had resting in their laps.

"What are you two reading?" Peter asked curiously but he felt suddenly nervous as Emma smirked at him with a teasing look on her face. Uh, oh. He knew that look and he knew that look never meant anything good. May just smiled at him obliviously.

"Oh, I was just showing Emma some of the pictures from your childhood. I can't believe you never showed her, Peter." May said and Peter's eyes widened as his eyes darted back and forth frantically between his girlfriend and what he liked to call "The Book of Horrors". First off, there was all the naked chubby baby pictures. Then there was the pictures of him and Ned being total nerds while they played with their lightsabers and pretended to be Jedis. Lastly, there was the really awkward puberty pictures when he was in a really embarrassing stage of puberty. That was before he was bitten by the spider and when he wasn't the cool person with super powers that knew Tony Stark and had a really beautiful girlfriend that was in love with him.

The Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker was a real dork who had bad acne and stupid glasses. Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker also was incredibly clumsy and always tripped over his own feet. The only girl he had ever talked to in his life back then was Michelle and that was only because he had known Michelle since elementary school. If he had met Emma back then she'd probably think he was a loser. He more than likely wouldn't have even been able to have a full conversation with her without sounding like an idiot. Peter still remembered all the failed conversations he had with Liz and that was just Liz Allen. If it was Emma, he probably wouldn't have even had the courage to say hi to her let alone talk to her.

"W-what?" Peter said in disbelief as he eyed his eighth grade school picture that Emma was looking at. He immediately blushed in embarrassment. "Why would you do that, May?!" May just rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Peter. Emma's your girlfriend…she doesn't care if you used to have acne." May told him which only embarrassed Peter more. He quickly snatched the photo album out of Emma's lap and held it close to his chest. Emma just gave him an amused look.

"How much did you see?" Peter asked nervously and Emma thought he looked cute when he was all defensive like that. She didn't know why he was so embarrassed. It wasn't a huge surprise to her that Peter was cute…he was cute then and he was cute now. Emma leaned back against the couch as she continued to smirk at him.

"I saw enough." She replied and Peter inwardly groaned. Great…why did everyone seem to love embarrassing him? He never wanted his girlfriend to see those pictures. It was just all so embarrassing and he was sure Emma was going to make fun of him for it. She never did anything embarrassing in her childhood. Peter instantly felt guilty for thinking that because he remembered that Emma never had a childhood. She probably didn't have embarrassing pictures from her childhood because her childhood was stolen from her by Hydra. However, before Peter could give the subject anymore thought, May got up from the couch.

"While you two are discussing this, I'm going to start dinner. It'll probably be ready in forty minutes." May said as she walked past Peter but not before ruffling his hair which only embarrassed him even more. She disappeared into the kitchen and Emma and Peter were left alone. He refused to meet her gaze as he looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm going to put this away in my room." Peter muttered after a moment of silence. He then stormed off into his room and Emma rolled her eyes. He was such a drama queen sometimes. The blonde got up from her seat and immediately followed him into his room. May called out for them to keep the door open but Emma barely paid any attention as she walked towards his room. She found him hurriedly shoving the photo album into one of the drawers of his desk. Emma leaned against the doorway casually as she watched him.

"You know that I'll be able to find it no matter where you hide it." Emma told him and he jumped up in surprise.

"Do you always have to sneak up on people?!" Peter exclaimed and Emma just shrugged as she walked into the room.

"It's not my fault you're not more cautious." Emma stated and Peter just glared at her. She sighed as she walked closer to him.

"Come on, Parker. There's no need to pout." Emma told him almost teasingly but the grumpy look on Peter's face didn't go away. The look on his face almost reminded her of the one May mimicked earlier when she told Emma the winky story. Emma had to force herself not to laugh.

"This is so embarrassing. I can't believe May actually showed you those stupid pictures." Peter said and Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes yet again.

"You're making too big of a deal out of this." Emma replied and the look on Peter's face was unchanging. "I don't know why you never wanted me to see those pictures."

"Why?!" Peter said in disbelief as if the answer was obvious. "Because I looked like a total loser then. Did you not see the picture? The acne? The glasses? How skinny and weak I was…how clumsy. You think Flash picking on me now is bad? Can you imagine how bad it was back then? He had a lot more material to use back then because I was the scrawny little nerd that no one ever noticed. You wouldn't have even spared me a second glance." Emma just watched him in silence because it was rare that Peter sounded that defensive about anything. She discovered that she didn't like him talking about himself like that. She didn't like that he thought she was so shallow that she wouldn't want him unless he was the taller, stronger, and muscular version of himself that he was now.

"Don't talk about yourself like that." Emma said seriously as she moved closer to him and Peter's breathing hitched at the close distance between them. Her blue eyes locked onto his brown ones.

"Why not? It's true." Peter said although he was a bit more quiet than before.

"You're still a nerd, Peter." Emma said bluntly and Peter gave her a slightly offended look.

"Gee, thanks." Peter said sarcastically and Emma sighed because she was never good at the comforting thing.

"No, I just mean that you were a nerd then and you're still one now. You think that I care that you used to wear glasses? You think I care what Flash thinks?" Emma asked him and Peter just stared back at her.

"I don't know." Peter said quietly and Emma just shook her head.

"I don't." Emma said softly as she held onto his hands. "I don't like it when you say that you used to be a loser or that I wouldn't like you if I knew you back then. I know I would. You're a good person…there's not a single ounce of evil in you. You're untainted and you always do what's right no matter what other people think." Peter shrugged, not sure how to respond to Emma. It was seldom that she ever talked like this…that she ever tried comforting anyone but Peter was glad to see this side of her. It was the side of her that she rarely showed to anyone else. Peter counted himself lucky that she trusted him that much.

"There's not an ounce of evil in you either. You're a good person too, Emma." Peter told her but Emma just continued as she shook her head.

"I don't know, Peter. I've done a lot of bad things but you never cease to surprise me. You never seem to think that I'm bad like the others do sometimes." Emma paused briefly as she allowed herself to be open and honest with him which was still taking some getting used to. It was difficult but Emma knew that it was also important. "I know they care but some of them are afraid that I'm going to fall off the wagon one of these days…it's like they half expect me to screw things up and become like Loki. It's why they don't trust me like they trust you but you seem to trust me…and believe in me for whatever reason. You don't think I'm bad." The look on Peter's face softened as he lovingly gazed down at her.

"Of course I don't think you're bad." Peter said to her because it was true. Emma wasn't bad and no one knew that more than he did. "I just wish you would see yourself the way I see you."

"And I wish that _you_ would see yourself the way _I_ do." Emma threw back at him before she continued. "It doesn't help that you're nice either. You're probably the nicest and sweetest person I've ever met." Peter made a face when she said that.

"Girls don't like nice guys." Peter pointed out but Emma just shook her head and gave him a small smile.

"I do." Emma said softly and Peter didn't say anything because he really had no idea what to say to that. Emma never seemed to stop surprising him and he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her. It was hard to imagine that it was only a year ago that they had fought against each other at that airport in Germany. Since then they had become classmates, reluctant partners, friends, and finally boyfriend and girlfriend. Peter didn't really know if he could even label themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend like all the other kids did at school because Emma and him weren't like the other kids. They weren't like Isaac Dylan and Leslie Sanders who were the prom king and queen. Nor were they like Phoebe Webber and Luke Anderson who were voted couple of the year in the yearbook. Those couples were just high school flings or puppy love. They wouldn't even remember each other in twenty years.

No, Emma and Peter were much different than those other kids. What they had was something more sincere and everlasting because they had been through so much together. The bond they had was more than the typical bond of a boyfriend and girlfriend. It was so funny that he and Emma had started out as partners in crime fighting because now he was sure that they would also be partners in life. He knew if he told Emma this aloud she'd probably glare at him and call him an idiot but he knew he'd convince her someday. It's not like he wanted marry her now since they were only sixteen but he knew at some point after high school, it was going to happen. Peter liked imagining himself and Emma living in a nice house together with just the two of them together. Being married to Emma would be fun. They could eat whatever they wanted every night, like cake and ice cream for dinner, but they could also do whatever they wanted too. They could watch movies all day, make out whenever they wanted, and they could even sleep in the same bed without worrying about getting into trouble. Not to mention that Emma would have his last name. Emma Parker…the thought made Peter's heart skip a beat. Maybe they'd get a dog or something too. Peter always wanted a dog.

"Are you still with me, Parker?" Emma asked him in confusion as she looked at the dreamy look on Peter's face. Peter immediately snapped out of his daydream of a domestic lifestyle with Emma and looked back at her.

"Yes." Peter told her and Emma continued with what she was saying.

"I was just saying that you're perfect to me in every way…you're even my favorite person in the world. I tend to hate everyone else but I could never hate you." Emma told him sincerely and Peter gave her a surprised look.

"What about your father and grandfather?" Peter questioned and Emma rolled her eyes.

"They're my family…I have to love them." Emma told Peter honestly. "You're different than Steve and Papa. I love them too but I also love you in a much different way." Peter smiled at her as he gently reached up and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I love you too, Emma." Peter told her softly. "I know what you mean because you're my favorite person in the world as well. Never question that." He then leaned forward and wrapped her up in a hug. Emma closed her eyes in content as he held her close to him. She'd never forget how warm he felt against her or the smell of the cheap soap his aunt bought him from the local pharmacy. She could always feel his heart racing in his chest when he held her like this but Emma's heart was racing too. Emma then opened her eyes as a small smirk made its way onto her face.

"Besides…Papa can be a dick sometimes and Steve acts like he has a huge stick up his ass so there's no doubt that you're my favorite person." Emma told Peter as she pulled back to look at him. "Of course when you piss me off you're probably my least favorite person so you're not always _the_ favorite." Peter laughed at her odd remark and he knew he could always count on Emma to find a way to tease him in some way.

"Thanks a lot." Peter said sarcastically but he still had a smile on his face because he felt better after Emma's reassurances. The smirk faded as she continued to look back at him and a more serious expression came over her face once more.

"I still don't understand why you never let me see those pictures." Emma said suddenly as she stared back at him. "I thought you were just as handsome back then as you are now. There's no difference to me." Peter blushed as he glanced away from her face, suddenly feeling shy at her sudden and bold statement.

"Maybe _you_ need glasses." Peter told her and Emma immediately cupped his face with her hand to force him to look back at her. Her ocean blue eyes were locked onto his as he got lost in her blue depths that were hinted with the familiar trace of green.

"I'll always want you. No matter what." Emma told him honestly. "Will you always want me too?" Peter swallowed hard.

"Of course I'll always want you." Peter replied just as honestly as she had. "How could I not? You're perfect to me in every way too." Emma just smiled softly at him because it made her feel at ease knowing that he felt the same exact way about her that she felt about him. She always worried if her heightened emotions made her love him more than he loved her but she could see now that they loved each other equally. Nothing made her happier.

"I learned a lot about you today." Emma said suddenly and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" He questioned and Emma just shrugged.

"I learned that you went to Stark Expo and met Tony although I doubt he knows that but I also saw pictures of your parents and uncle. It made me realize something." Emma said as she locked eyes with Peter again. "You never talk about him…your uncle, I mean." Peter sighed as he slowly nodded.

"I know I don't but…" He trailed off as he tried to find the right words to say. "I just miss him a lot and sometimes it's hard to talk about him. It gives me this ache in my chest because I just wish that he was somehow still here so he could see all the things that are going on in my life. Spider-Man, the Avengers…You." Peter smiled softly at her as he ran his thumb across Emma's cheek. Emma could feel the familiar sensation of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach that she normally felt whenever Peter looked at her like that.

"Uncle Ben would've really loved you. He'd probably tease me about finally getting a girlfriend but I know he would've liked you." Peter said and Emma just swallowed hard before responding.

"I don't know what it feels like to lose someone like that." Emma told him as her gaze softened. "I lost my parents but I didn't really know them. Their faces are like blank spaces in my mind so I can't know how it feels but I still want you to talk to me about him if you want. He was very important to you and because of that he's important to me too." Peter nodded.

"I'll tell you about him this week when we go back to the compound." Peter decided because he knew she was right. He never really talked about Uncle Ben and Emma never pushed him because she wasn't that kind of person. She had waited long enough but Peter was going to tell her everything she wanted to know about his uncle just like she told him everything he wanted to know about her father and grandfather. "There's a lot to discuss but we have a lot of time. We have the whole summer, after all."

"Good." Emma replied but something else occurred to her as she looked back at him. She gave him a curious look. "May also told me something else…something very curious."

"What did she tell you?" Peter asked her and Emma gave him an amused smile.

"You never told me that you were a Captain America fanboy." Emma said suddenly and Peter gave her a mystified look as he blushed.

"S-she said that?" Peter questioned nervously and Emma nodded.

"Yes she did. How come you never mentioned it to me?" Emma inquired curiously and Peter shrugged although he still looked as nervous and shy as before.

"It just never came up I guess." Peter said and Emma raised an eyebrow at that.

"It never came up?" She questioned and Peter nodded his head in agreement. "It never came up even though you've been dating his granddaughter for the past six months? I'm not even including the time when we were just friends." Peter sighed tiredly because he knew she wasn't buying it.

"Okay, fine. I just didn't want you to think I was a dork or something." Peter mumbled and Emma gave him another amused look.

"Peter, I'll always think you're a dork." Emma teased and Peter glowered at her.

"Thanks." He muttered sarcastically but Emma just laughed.

"Besides…I happen to really like dorks." Emma told him before she feigned a serious look. "I guess I finally know why you wanted me to be your girlfriend so bad." Peter looked confused at her odd statement.

"Huh?" He asked in confusion.

"You're just using me to get to my grandpa. How manipulative of you, Parker. I didn't know you had it in you. You play the part of the seducer very well." Emma told him and Peter looked at her in horror.

"That's not why I'm with you!" Peter exclaimed as he tried to defend himself. "How could you even think that-" He stopped when he saw Emma attempting to stifle her laughter. Peter playfully glared at the blonde.

"Relax, Parker. I'm just fucking with you." Emma told him and Peter shook his head in disbelief. She never grew tired of teasing him, did she? Peter would never admit it but he kind of enjoyed it whenever Emma would tease him. "Although it does make me curious why you decided to fight on Tony's side and not Steve's if you liked Steve so much." Peter shrugged.

"I don't really know. Maybe it was because Tony was the one that found me and he told me Captain America went crazy so I just believed him, I guess. I didn't really consider Captain America's point of view." Peter answered honestly. "I mean I should've known that he was in the right because when has Captain America ever been wrong?" Emma looked down sadly because she knew that wasn't true.

"My grandfather's not right about everything, Peter. He's not perfect…it's taken me a while to see that without rose-colored glasses getting in the way. I just saw him as perfect because he saved me from that place." Emma admitted. "I suppose that's why I was mad at Tony for so long too. I couldn't believe anyone would dare go against Steve which is crazy because Steve's still human…he's not infallible. He can be really stubborn and arrogant at times too. I guess we're related, after all."

"Tony wasn't right either." Peter told her and Emma looked back up at him before nodding.

"I know. I guess we're surrounded by stubborn and arrogant men who think they know what's best for the world when they really have no clue whatsoever." Emma replied and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"So what _is_ best for the world?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"I guess only God would know that." Emma answered and Peter gave her another confused look.

"I thought you didn't believe in God." Peter stated and Emma sighed heavily.

"I didn't but maybe I was wrong. Who else would be cruel enough to make the world the way it is?" Emma told him and Peter thought she had a point there. Their conversation had taken a heavy turn so to lighten the mood, Peter changed the subject. They didn't need to be discussing what went on inside the minds of their leaders. They would probably never figure that part of their lives out.

"I have a box of things that I've hidden from you." Peter said abruptly as he changed the subject. Emma gave him a quizzical look. "Just things that I thought were embarrassing. Do you want to see them?" Emma stared at him for a moment before eventually nodding.

"Sure…why not." Emma said and Peter nodded before he quickly walked over to his bunk bed before kneeling on the ground to retrieve something from underneath his bed. Emma watched curiously as Peter then sat on the edge of his bed with the box in his hands. It was an old, worn out looking shoe box that made Emma curious to see what Peter had kept hidden inside. He patted the spot next to him on the bed, gesturing for her to sit next to him but Emma surprised him as she casually sat on his lap instead. She watched as his skin flushed red while he gulped nervously and not to mention the fact that she could hear his heart hammering inside his chest.

Emma always liked the way he reacted to her doing something like this. It told her that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. For the past few months they had been playing all these games with each other. They would flirt and tease each other all the time. Their make out sessions would get hot and sometimes even a little bit steamy but they never took it any further than that. The furthest they ever got was when Peter would occasionally feel her up but that was it and he never let it go any further than that and Emma knew why. It was because he knew about the rape and he didn't want to hurt or traumatize her. Emma was happy that he was so considerate but at the same time she felt frustrated because she knew she wanted more. He wanted more too because Emma had felt his hardness against her after every time things got a little out of hand. She'd offer to help him with his problem but he refused because it was just Peter being protective over her. Emma appreciated the gesture but she was annoyed that he was coddling her.

Did Emma want to have sex? Yes and she was even more sure now than she was before. Her feelings of sexual desire were only increasing and sometimes she wondered if it was because of her heightened emotions or because she wanted Peter that much. Maybe it was both. She used to feel ashamed of her desire because of what Rumlow did to her but after another talk with Jessica she knew that she couldn't let Rumlow dictate the things she did in her life. If she wanted to have sex with Peter and was ready then she should. It wasn't wrong for her to have those kinds of feelings. She still got flashbacks from time to time when she was with Peter but he had been very comforting and understanding whenever that happened. Their love life wasn't completely smooth sailing which probably made Peter apprehensive when it came to taking their relationship further but Emma knew that she still wanted him. It was just a matter of trying to communicate to Peter that she was finally ready to take the next step because he just wasn't getting it.

"Is this comfortable for you?" Emma asked him unabashedly and Peter just nodded as he focused his gaze on the box.

"Yes." He mumbled before he opened the box, revealing the contents he had kept hidden within. Emma stared at his collection of random objects although she noticed that a lot of it was Captain America memorabilia. She saw a couple of Captain America action figures, folded up posters, collectible comic books, and even a paddle ball decorated with a cartoon version of Captain America. Emma wasn't stupid when it came to her grandfather's former popularity with the masses. She knew there had been a lot of cartoons and even a lame biopic someone had made about her grandfather in the eighties. Emma was fairly sure Nick Nolte played him which was the worst casting pick ever. Steve had always been a popular figure in history but it still surprised her to see all this stuff in Peter's old shoe box.

"So this is your Captain America shrine?" Emma said and Peter huffed, wrapping his arm around her waist as if he thought she wouldn't notice. She did.

"It's not a shrine." Peter replied and Emma just smiled because she really didn't know why Peter was embarrassed of all this stuff. She actually thought it was kind of cute that he had a man crush on her grandfather. Emma then looked down with more interested as she spotted an inhaler in the box. Peter had asthma? She didn't know why she was so surprised. Peter had mentioned how weak he used to be and she supposed he meant he was weaker than just being shorter and skinnier. It was ironic because she was pretty sure she remembered Steve mentioning he used to have asthma before the serum as well.

"This is why I looked up to Captain America so much." Peter said quietly as he watched her look at his inhaler. "He used to be small and weak like I was but he grew bigger so that he could take down bullies. I always admired that about him."

"I think a lot of people do." Emma said as she picked up his old pair of glasses from the box. They were the same pair of glasses she had seen in the picture. Peter looked shy as he watched her observe the pair of glasses.

"Yeah, I used to wear those too. Pretty dorky, huh?" Peter said as he laughed nervously. Emma then locked eyes with her boyfriend who noticed that she looked quite serious despite the situation.

"Put them on." Emma said and it struck Peter that she wasn't asking him. No, she was telling him to put the glasses on. Peter thought he might've even heard her wrong.

"What?" Peter questioned in shock and Emma handed the glasses to him.

"I want to see what you look like with them on." Emma said as if her reasoning made total sense. Peter swallowed hard as she stared at hm.

"Why?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged.

"I'm just curious." Emma told him which was true. She actually was curious to see what he looked like with his glasses on. Peter gave her a weird look.

"Okay but I already know I look stupid with them on." Peter told her before he then put the glasses on. He blushed as Emma stared at him silently. Peter really couldn't see anything through the glasses but he could feel her gaze on him. She then tossed the box to the side of the bed without warning. He was just about to speak again when suddenly Emma straddled him without explanation before she wrapped her arms around his neck as her lips crashed down upon his. To say Peter was taken by surprise was an understatement. He couldn't help but melt into the kiss as he kissed Emma back. Peter rested his hands on her hips as they kissed passionately but Peter broke the kiss as he started coming to his senses again.

"What's gotten into you?" Peter asked her, sounding slightly out of breath. Emma smiled mischievously.

"You look hot with your dorky little glasses on. It really turns me on, Parker." Emma told him honestly and Peter just stared at her in bewilderment.

"I always knew you were crazy but now I think you might be clinically insane." Peter said breathlessly but Emma didn't take any offense by it. She moved in to kiss him again but he stopped her. He placed his hands on her forearms to stop her and Emma pouted. Peter took off his glasses then tossed them to the side where the box was lying. "The door's open. May could walk in at any moment."

"She's probably too busy trying not to burn the kitchen down." Emma told him with a teasing smile on her face. Peter sighed heavily.

"Emma, if we keep doing what we were doing then I'm not going to be able to leave this room for a while." Peter told her and Emma smirked at him.

"Oh, do you mean your winky's all excited?" Emma asked teasingly and Peter's eyes widened as he began to think that he misheard her.

"W-what?" Peter questioned but Emma's smirk didn't fade.

"Your winky…the one you don't want anyone to see." Emma said innocently and Peter flushed red in embarrassment as he realized what Emma was talking about.

"Damn it. Is there anything May didn't tell you?" Peter muttered as he shoved Emma off his lap and she fell down beside him on the bed. She laughed at the annoyed look on his face.

"Don't be so embarrassed, Parker. That picture of you in the tub with the rubber duck was really cute." Emma continued to tease and Peter glared at her.

"You're not funny." He grumbled and Emma gave him another innocent look.

"There's no need to be shy. I hope that you even might let me see your winky someday." Emma joked and Peter just shook his head at her.

"Keep saying winky and there's not going to be a problem anymore." Peter told her, looking to be in a sour mood and Emma caught his double meaning. Emma laughed once more and despite the situation Peter was happy to see her act so carefree. These past few months had been so blissful and peaceful between them. Peter wouldn't trade those months in for anything.

"My poor little Parker." Emma said flirtatiously as she looked back at him. "You know that I'd help you out if you really wanted." Peter swallowed hard as he blushed again.

"Stop flirting." Peter told her as he subsequently turned her down. The thing about Emma was that he never knew what went on inside her mind. Recently her comments had become increasingly more suggestive than usual but Peter brushed it off as her teasing him like she always did. He didn't really think she was serious about any of it and even if she was then Peter still wouldn't want to take that extra step. It was tempting when she mentioned things like that but he knew he couldn't. Giving in wouldn't be right because Emma had been hurt so much in the past that Peter would be taking advantage of her which was something he never wanted to do. His greatest fear was somehow hurting her so Peter turned her down whether she was serious about it or not. It was difficult for him, even more so as their relationship progressed, but it was for the best.

"You're real cute, Parker." Emma told him softly but felt a bit disappointed that he turned her down yet again. She had only been half joking when she said that because she knew if he took her up on her offer that she'd be more than happy to finish him off. It's not like she was super obsessed with his penis or anything but she was still curious. That and she felt bad for getting him all worked up just for them to stop things before they went too far. Emma just wished that Peter would see things her way.

"I'm going to find baby pictures of you someday, you know." Peter said suddenly as he eagerly changed the subject. Emma went along with his change of subject without any objection.

"Then it's a good thing they all burned in a fire." Emma retorted as she gave him a smug look. Peter smiled in amusement at her.

"I bet Tony has some hidden somewhere." Peter pointed out and Emma shrugged.

"Good luck finding that. Stark probably threw them all out ages ago." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head.

"You and I both know he'd never do that." Peter replied and Emma wouldn't admit it but she knew he was right. "I'm going to find pictures just as embarrassing as the ones you saw and then we'll see whose laughing." Emma scoffed.

"It'll still be me laughing, Parker." Emma shot back. Peter opened his mouth to retort when May suddenly called out to them that dinner was ready.

"Guys, dinner's ready! I think it turned out okay this time." May said and both Peter and Emma got up from the bed. However, before they left the room Emma stopped him.

"You do know that I'm never going to let you forget about the winky thing, right?" Emma told him with a smirk on her face. Peter just rolled his eyes at his annoying but beautiful girlfriend.

"Whatever."


	73. Chapter Sixty Seven

**Author's Note: So this update came two days later than when I originally wanted to be finished with it. I really thought I would finish sooner but then 10,000 turned into 20,00 and now the chapter's like 30,000 words long. I don't why every time I plan on not writing a huge amount, I actually write twice as much than what I originally planned. It's super crazy. My laptop was also acting stupid and somehow restarted by itself so I lost almost 3,000 words so I didn't have a chance to save my work. I've decided just to buy a new one and found this good price online so it's coming today. The one I have now is held together by ducktape and I can't shut it without it breaking so it's a miracle it's lasted five years. Anyways...the new one's a real nice laptop with everything I need and more(my dad thankfully helped me pick it out). It's also fucking purple, guys!It took me forever to edit this as imagined but here's finally an update.**

 **INFINITY WAR SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER(PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE). So there is a scene from Avengers: Infinity War in the very last part of this chapter so be warned. It doesn't contain any actual spoilers from the movie really but it's just a scene from it so I thought I would warn you. This is just my way of adapting Infinity War to fit my story since the Avengers are going to be reunited a lot faster than they were in Infinity War. There will be another scene(with some changes) from Infinity War next chapter but then that will be it until Infinity War actually happens in my story.**

 **Also...I just wanted to let you guys know that I updated my Some Things Never Sleep companion piece 'Dry Bite' which is a collection of one-shots from before Emma and Peter met. The third chapter is an entirely Emma and Bucky fluffy chapter that's super cute in case you're interested. I'm going to try and update 'Dry Bite' with another quick chapter after this.**

 **Quick question...Does anyone know why Kate Bishop is included as one of the characters in the Avengers(movie) archive? I just found it curious that she's in there since she's never been in any Avengers movie or other MCU ones as far as I'm aware. Was she in a movie and I'm totally spacing out on it or something?**

 **I'm also placing a warning on this chapter for SEXUAL SITUATIONS because I just feel like I should still warn people even though this is already rated M. I just naturally assume that everyone's a prude for some weird reason.**

 **nathan19bane: Some of that might happen but definitely not the whole thing. I think I'll let you find out for yourself in the next chapter because that's when everything really starts coming together.**

 **bonnieandjangolove: I actually can't claim the Peter and Tony already meeting as my own because I think the Russo Brothers or someone important in Marvel(can't remember who) confirmed that the little boy with the Iron Man mask in Iron Man 2 that Tony saved was actually Peter when he was younger which I think is super cute. I kind of want Tony to find out about it so maybe he will in the future of this story. Probably not now since a lot of shit's about to go down.**

 **Radioactive88: Glad you liked the hand in cake bit. I was a little hesitant in actually putting that in because I was worried people would think it was too dark but Emma's got a really dark sense of humor so it's not out of character for her. While Michelle might get her sense of humor, I feel like Loki would get it way more which I why I can't wait for them to meet. They're going to be bonding on Sakaar over all these stories that only they find funny. The hand in cake story as well as the snake stabbing Thor story are just going to be one of many things they'll bond over.**

 **CheekyLove: Could you please let me know if you really want me to answer these questions because last time I answered your questions you said you didn't want spoilers so just let me know so I don't end up accidentally spoiling anything again. That would be appreciated.**

 **scrapingskies: I wanted to make the Jane and Thor break up funny but also possible since we don't know how they broke up because Thor's up in space and Jane's on earth. The Heimdall/Bifrost thing was the only way but I also thought it was the best way because it's kind of funny.**

 **wonderbitch26: Thank you so much! Glad you're liking the story. It's kind of hard to make the story stand on it's own but still make it interesting but I'm just taking it chapter by chapter. I thought I would get bored after the Homecoming storyline and there have been instances where I get writer's block for this story but if I spend a week away and work on something else I can feel inspired again. Steve and the others are coming back really soon. I'm just going to say that it won't happen in this chapter although there's a couple cameos within it.**

 **Grinning: Thank you! I don't really find writing Peter as hard as I find writing characters like Tony, Vision, or Thor. For some reason those characters are always super difficult for me. Part of the reason I even wrote a Peter/OC fanfiction in the first place was because I liked Tom Holland's version of Peter so much because his version was cute, nerdy, and had a certain kind of innocence about him that I found interesting. I never had that big of an interest in the Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire versions but I love Tom Holland's version. I'm always worried about some of the stuff he says to Emma being too cheesy but then I realize that Peter is kind of a cheesy person.**

 **I will eventually be including a lemon between Emma and Peter but not for a while. There is a scene in this chapter that gets really steamy so people can skip over it if they're not interested in that. Again...I'm assuming that everyone's a prude. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm a prude? Who knows?**

 **Another random account: Peter's apprehensiveness about sex with Emma will be explained more in this chapter. They discuss a lot in terms of the future of their relationship within this chapter. I just realized how much stuff happens in this chapter. I feel like I've been writing this chapter for months but it's really only been since Friday...I think.**

 **xCANNIBALX: I just want to make it very clear that I didn't create the youtube trailer for Some Things Never Sleep. A lot of people think I did but I mentioned before that the trailer was created by knarl who did an amazing job. Knarl only used Chloe Grace Moretz in the trailer because Chloe has way more action/fight scenes than Elle Fanning does. From the beginning, Elle Fanning has always been the face claim for Emma and I base Emma's description off of her. Gallws did an amazing job in creating the cover for this story and the one before that so I'm also grateful to her. However, I also can't control how you picture Emma so if you picture her as Chloe then that's up to you. I'm just explaining that I didn't create the trailer because I'm not that creative. For me, Emma's always been Elle Fanning. As for Elle Fanning movies, I highly recommend 'Super 8' which I think is the first movie I ever saw her in. It's a really amazing movie that I think you'd like if you like the Goonies, Stranger Things, or ET. She also did this recent indie movie called 'The Vanishing of Sidney Hall' that I really liked.**

 **Ashleymcd25: The comment I made about Beyonce and Jay-Z before I'm guessing was related to one of the reviewers talking about how people in England don't care about the royal family and I was saying that people think that Beyonce and Jay-Z are American royalty but I don't really care for them. I don't hate Beyonce and Jay-Z or anything, I mean I'm not fans of their music, but I didn't mean that I really disliked them. It's very generous of them to help out where they can so good for them. I just meant that I'm not obsessed with them and their lives like most people are. It's more about the obsession and hype thing. I honestly say the same thing about Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez. I get that people have celebrity crushes and stuff but if I talked about Sebastian Stan like some people talk about Beyonce everyone I know would think I was crazy. I think Beyonce has a great voice and she's pretty while Jay-Z kind of discovered HAIM(which earns him major points with me for having a good ear) but I'm just not obsessed with them. I'm kind of even worried about saying this because I feel like the Beygency is going to come after me. By the way if you haven't seen the Beygency SNL sketch, you really should. I totally relate to Andrew Garfield in that sketch.**

 **YawnTiffany: Peter's going to realize a lot in this chapter so just hang tight.**

 **So I finally got through most of the reviews! I tried answering most of them but keep in mind that I had to edit this chapter which took forever because it's 30,000 words or more. Thanks for all the reviews! I read every single one and loved them. Let me know what you think of the next chapter.**

* * *

 **JFK International Airport**

 **2004**

"Do you think Peter will be alright with May and Ben?" Mary Parker asked her husband as they waited nearby their designed gate at the airport. The couple was waiting to board their flight but Mary couldn't help but feel anxious as the thought of their three year old son entered her mind. She hadn't wanted to leave him, especially when those big brown eyes welled up with tears as he begged them not to leave.

"He'll be fine, Mary." Richard told her to try and soothe her worries. He was worried about their son too but he knew that Peter would be much safer with his brother and sister-in-law. "We've left him with May and Ben before." Mary sighed.

"I know but I just hate leaving him." Mary said as she looked down at her shoes sadly. "He begged us not to go, Richard. He was crying." Richard gave his wife a sympathetic look before he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace, seeking comfort.

"We'll be back by the end of the week. Our business in D.C. won't take long." Richard reassured her but Mary still seemed unconvinced.

"I don't know about this, Richard. I feel like we're entering something that's a lot bigger than the two of us." Mary told him but Richard just shook his head.

"We're doing the right thing by reporting this, Mary. We can't just do nothing." Richard said before lowering his voice as he cautiously looked around the airport terminal. He then returned his gaze to his worried looking wife. "Something's going on at Shield…I don't know if it's corruption or what but something's not right."

"Shouldn't we go to Director Fury then?" Mary questioned but Richard shook his head again.

"He's the Director, Mary. Just think about it." Richard said seriously. "Look, Fury's a good man and I've never questioned that but the file…the weapons…this Ugalde guy. I'm just starting to wonder if we might not be able to trust him with this information. This is about Shield, after all. He's the director and I just don't know his stance on all of this."

"What about Agent Rogers?" Mary suggested. "He's got a great reputation and track record. He's the child of Captain America and Peggy Carter. Agent Rogers is trustworthy."

"Agent Rogers retired, remember? No one knows where he is." Richard said as he tried to get his wife to see that this was the only way. "Alexander Pierce is a good man and highly respected. He's done a lot of good in his years as a politician. Everyone I've ever talked to has a huge amount of respect for the man. I can't say the same about Fury but Pierce is a man of both integrity and honor. Besides…you've met his daughter, right? She seemed like a good person, didn't she?" Mary shrugged as she pulled away to look back at him.

"I talked to her for maybe a day and then I never saw her again. Yeah, she seemed nice but I don't know, Richard. I don't know if we can just trust this man with this info. It's a huge gamble." Mary told him and Richard just sighed.

"We don't have a choice, Mary. There's no one else we can go to. Pierce is the only one." Richard said and Mary knew he was right even though she didn't like it.

"I just don't like this, Richard. This feels dangerous." Mary said seriously. "I'm a data analyst and you're a scientist. We're not spies. This shouldn't be up to us."

"Well, it is. This is just the way it is and we need to make sure this information doesn't get out to the wrong people." Richard said, trying to make his wife see the good they were doing by going to Pierce with the information they had stumbled upon. "Pierce will know what to do."

"If you're sure." Mary said quietly and Richard smiled softly before he nodded.

"Everything will be okay. We'll tell Pierce what we know and then go back home to Peter." Richard told her and Mary nodded before a solemn look came over her face. Brown eyes locked onto hazel ones as Mary understood the hesitant tone in her husband's voice. They weren't in the clear…not even if Pierce turned out to be trustworthy. There was no telling what would happen after they went to Pierce but what else were they supposed to do? They couldn't just pretend that they didn't just stumble across the information they had found. No, they had to at least try and do something but Richard and Mary both knew they were treading into dangerous waters. They weren't naïve in any way.

"You left the file at Ben and May's apartment, right?" Mary asked him quietly and Richard swallowed hard but nodded.

"Yes." Richard answered softly and Mary nodded to herself, her mind feeling worlds away. She just didn't know what to expect of their trip to D.C. Mary didn't know what to expect of anything right now so she just thought about Peter. Her beautiful little boy who begged her not to leave even though Mary knew she had to. He always seemed to do that whenever Mary and Richard had to leave for work. Mary just hoped after this trip that they'd never have to leave again because she knew she hated seeing Peter cry. Maybe they'd even be able to move into a bigger place and into a nicer neighborhood. Mary smiled as she thought of her and Richard buying a house with a yard for Peter to run around in. Richard was right…everything would turn out alright.

"Flight 357 is now boarding." The lady at the gate said which caused Richard and Mary to be broken out of their thoughts. They immediately got up from their seats and stepped into the line to board the plane. The couple were both quiet as they waited to board the flight but neither of them noticed the man standing towards the back of the line. The man didn't look very suspicious as he wore a well-tailored suit and held a cellphone to his ear. He looked like the average business man.

"Yes, the TSA agent let me through." The man said very quietly into the phone but over the loud noise of the airport, people paid no attention to the average looking man. "When you said you had people everywhere, you really meant it."

"Do you see them?" The voice on the other line said.

"Yeah, I see them. They're towards the front of the line." The man answered. His eyes were fixed on Richard and Mary Parker who both looked lost in their own little worlds as they waited to board the flight.

"I hope you know that we're all immensely grateful for your sacrifice to our cause, William." The voice told him earnestly which made the mysterious man smile despite what he knew was coming. "We won't ever forget the sacrifice you made for our survival."

"I am just one man. This will help create a bigger and better future." William replied, speaking the same brainwashed line that was taught to him ever since he was first recruited into Hydra. To William this was a gift that Hydra was gracious enough to give him. There was no honor higher than this.

"Still…we appreciate your sacrifice." The voice repeated and William nodded.

"I know, sir." William said quietly.

"Hail Hydra." Alexander Pierce finally said into the phone before he hung up. William closed the flip phone before storing it in his suit pocket. He stood in line with a stoic expression on his face as the device in his other pocket ticked away. A small redheaded girl who stood in front of William in line looked up at him and flashed him a bright smile, showing all her teeth. She was a little thing, probably only six or seven, but she seemed rather friendly as her father busied himself with getting their boarding passes ready. William smiled back at the girl just as widely which made the girl giggle. He chuckled in amusement before the little girl turned her attention back to her father. What a cute kid, William thought to himself. His attention was, however, taken away from the girl as the line started moving up. William watched silently as the woman at the desk checked the Parkers boarding passes before passing them through the gate. This was it.

"May I see your boarding pass, sir?" The woman at the front asked him. William flashed her his most flattering smile as he showed her his pass. She checked the ticket and gave William a polite smile.

"Enjoy your flight, sir." The woman told him and William grinned at her.

"Don't worry. I will." He said before he passed her and started following the other passengers to the plane. Despite the fear he felt at what was to come, William was filled with a sense of pride. This was the mission Hydra had given him and this was the most important mission they could give to anyone. He was proud that Alexander Pierce thought he was worthy of such a mission.

"Welcome." One of the flight attendants greeted as she welcomed William onto the flight. He flashed her another one of his dazzling smiles before boarding the plane. William immediately spotted Richard and Mary seated towards the front of the plane but he passed them as he made his way to his own seat which was a couple rows back. There was an elderly woman seated beside his assigned seat but William barely paid her any attention. He seated himself in the seat right beside the aisle and kept his eyes on the Parkers.

"So what brings you to D.C.?" The elderly woman asked him as she started to make small talk before the flight. "I'm visiting my grandchildren but I wonder what brings a young man like you to D.C. Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Doris." William normally found batty, nosy old ladies annoying but seeing as how he was living out the last hour or so of his life, he didn't really care anymore.

"William." He introduced and the old lady gave him another kind smile.

"William…what a lovely name. My husband's name was William." She said before remembering her original question. "I'm sorry. I always get so side-tracked all the time. You must forgive me. I believe I asked you what brings you to D.C." Michael smiled at the elderly woman and for the first time in a long time he spoke the honest truth.

"My destiny." He told her but in his mind there were only two words roaming through his thoughts. The two words that drove him to murder every single person on the plane the moment he stepped on board. Two words that would prevent Richard and Mary from ever returning to their son.

Hail Hydra.

* * *

 **The Avenger's Facility**

 **Present Day**

It was two weeks since school had let out for the summer but Emma was already being driven up the wall by Tony. Emma would be staying at the compound for the whole entire summer instead of staying in the city with Darcy. Unfortunately Peter was still going to be spending the majority of his time in the city but Emma suspected that was because Tony was afraid she and Peter would have sex if they were left alone in the city with too much time on their hands. Well, Tony's worries weren't completely unwarranted…at least not on Emma's end.

Emma wouldn't lie and say that it was completely bad being away from Peter throughout the week. She didn't like being away from him but when they reunited on the weekends, they had a lot to talk about and even more to make up for. However, Emma was still disappointed that Peter wasn't anywhere near with wanting to take the next step. Emma would probably back off if she thought that Peter wasn't ready for sex but she knew he was. The look of desire in his eyes whenever things had become a little more intense for them than usual was enough to tell her that he wanted her but he'd take a deep breath before exhaling and stop it before they went any further. She could tell how difficult it was for him to push her away but he did it anyways. He'd make some excuse that someone could walk in but Emma knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She just wasn't sure how to talk to him because she didn't have experience with that kind of thing. Sometimes Emma really wished her father was there because she used to talk about everything with him. Despite his astounding amount of silence, he always managed to be helpful when it came to difficult situations.

However, Emma still wondered when the day would come that she would finally be able to see Steve, her father, and the others. Was it going to be a few months? Another year? Five years? Emma honestly didn't know. She had hoped the situation with the accords would've blown over by now but that didn't look to be the case. A year ago Steve and her father had promised that they'd come back for her but that was before Zemo presented Tony with the video footage of her father murdering his parents. She knew Tony didn't want revenge against her father anymore but she also knew that he wasn't going to lend a hand to help him either. Emma couldn't really blame Tony for that either. She understood how he felt.

Emma just wondered if there would ever come a day when the others would be able to come back without being thrown back into Raft prison. She supposed she could kill Ross to ensure that wouldn't happen but the government would just replace him with another asshole that would get in her way yet again. Emma knew she promised Steve and even Peter that she wouldn't kill again but she swore if that asshole Ross continued to get in her way then she wouldn't hesitate in getting rid of him. Ross had already stood in between her and her family long enough. She was starting to get really annoyed with the politician and everyone knew that Emma wasn't a pleasant person when she was annoyed.

"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked Emma as he broke her out of her thoughts. She blinked before looking up at him. They were currently in the training facility of the compound but this time Maria wasn't there with them. The former deputy director of Shield was currently in the lab with Susan, Tony, and Erik Selvig as they discussed what they deemed as "classified information". Emma didn't really think anything of it when they deemed their secret meetings as classified since it wasn't like the Avenger's Initiative had any real jurisdiction. Well, they used to but that was before Tony, Rhodey, and Vision made the stupid decision of signing the accords. Emma just shook her heard before offering him a wide smile.

"I'm just thinking about how I'm going to kick your ass." Emma said in a teasing tone as she got up from the set of steps she was sitting on. Emma and Peter had been training for the past four hours as they tried to busy themselves on an otherwise boring Saturday afternoon. They usually trained on weekends but never for this long.

For some strange reason Tony and Maria had been adamant about Emma and Peter staying away from the main area of the facility. Emma wasn't stupid. She knew something was going on and that they were keeping her and Peter in the dark. Peter was a bit more naïve when it came to stuff like that, putting all his trust into Tony but Emma still didn't believe Tony when he said everything was alright. Her and Tony might have a better relationship than they did a year ago but that didn't mean Emma trusted him when he said things were alright. He had been acting increasingly odd over the past two months but Emma had no idea why. She thought something with Hydra might've come up but she didn't hear anything in the news. There was also the fact that he had given her missions to do ever since she moved back into the compound.

The missions were never anything big despite what Peter thought. Her boyfriend seemed to think Tony was sending her on Avenger level missions while he was stuck in Queens fighting petty thieves but that was far from the truth. Tony would send Emma on missions across the country for days at a time but the missions never turned out to be anything and she never went alone. Vision always went on the missions with her and she was sure the android knew more than he was letting on. She got the strangest feeling that Vision was being more of a babysitter than he was an assigned partner. Emma knew that the others were keeping her and Peter in the dark about something but she just wasn't sure what. Something told her that there was something going on that Tony didn't want her to know about. Emma was only growing more suspicious as the days went on.

"Yeah, right." Peter muttered as Emma got up from her seat and headed for the opposite side of the room. They had done their morning run a couple hours before and while Peter happened to be stronger than Emma, she was smug to know that she was definitely faster than him although she still wasn't sure whether he was letting her win or not. For the past couple months, whenever they were at the compound, Emma had also been teaching Peter how to box with the old punching bags Steve and Sam had left behind…the ones Steve hadn't broken anyways. Emma thought Peter was getting rather good at it for someone who hadn't been boxing long.

"Hey, why can't we do yoga here? Yoga can be handy when training." Peter suggested and Emma groaned.

"We're not doing yoga. Yoga's lame and a waste of time." Emma told him honestly because it was truthfully what she believed. "Look at Bruce. That guy did a shit ton of yoga and what use did it do him? All that mediation and relaxation stuff he always preached about was a load of crap because it never relaxed him enough not to turn big and green."

"Yoga can be fun though." Peter argued but Emma still didn't look convinced. "Maybe we can do goat yoga. Goats are kind of cute." Emma gave him a disgusted look.

"Goat yoga? What so a goat can shit and piss all over you?" Emma said as she scoffed and Peter laughed at her blunt honesty. Emma's bluntness never ceased to amuse him. "No thanks. I think I'll pass on that." Peter, feeling a bit more confident than usual, gave Emma a smirk as he said something she never expected to come from his mouth.

"Maybe you could do yoga and I could watch." Peter said flirtatiously and Emma turned back to look at him, a shocked look on her face. Emma couldn't believe that Peter was actually flirting with her. Usually she was the one that flirted with him instead of the other way around but for some reason he seemed more confident than usual. Emma gave her boyfriend a curious look as she took a step closer to him.

"What's gotten into you today? You're acting more flirty than usual." Emma told him and Peter just shrugged.

"It's your leggings, I think." Peter said honestly as he nodded towards the athletic leggings Emma was wearing which were really form fitting. Peter wasn't going to lie. He had been appreciating her leggings all morning and especially when he purposefully let her run ahead of him during their morning run. Emma smirked as she crossed her arms and pretended to be offended although she honestly wasn't. It was quite the opposite actually.

"Are you sexually objectifying me, Parker?" Emma questioned although she had a teasing look on her face. "I know you were letting me win during our morning run but I never thought you were such a little pervert…and to think I thought you were being a gentlemen when you were actually staring at my ass that whole time. You have no shame. What would May say?" Peter blushed.

"You're not really mad, are you?" Peter questioned, looking adorable as he started to doubt himself. "I'm sorry if I did anything to make you feel weird. I didn't mean to-" Peter stopped when he saw Emma laughing at him. He should've known that Emma was only teasing him. She wasn't the type to get offended and especially about stuff like that.

"I'm just messing with you, Parker." Emma told him before speaking in a more suggestive tone. "I don't care if you objectify me because I objectify you too. Your Spider-Man suit really highlights everything and when I say everything, I mean _everything_."

"Maybe we should go back to training." Peter muttered, feeling very shy and hot in the face all of a sudden. He realized that he was never going to win flirting with Emma because she was always the one who won in the end. It was almost impossible to make her blush as much as he blushed. Peter figured that it was because she had such a wide control of her emotions. That wasn't to say that it was completely impossible to make her blush because he did know a couple things that could make her blush. "I thought we should probably practice some more fighting again." Emma raised an eyebrow at him in amusement but nodded nonetheless.

"You mean the kind of sparring where you hold back and let me win because you think you'll hurt me." Emma pointed out and Peter suddenly looked very interested with the floor at Emma's accusation.

"I don't let you win." Peter mumbled and Emma gave him a knowing look.

"I know for a fact that you let me win and don't deny it." Emma told him seriously before taking a deep breath. "Peter, I understand that you don't want to hurt me. I don't want to hurt you either but this isn't going to help you improve your fighting skills. There's going to be people that will want to hurt you and you need to be able to fight back against people like that."

"I can fight back!" Peter argued and Emma sighed.

"Yes you can but you can't reach your full potential if you're pulling your punches." Emma told him and Peter frowned. "I'm not saying to Hulk out on me or anything but I'm just saying that maybe you should be less afraid to hurt me. I can take care of myself. I don't need to be coddled." Peter's gaze softened when he realized that Emma was right. It wasn't going to help him in the long run to hold back. Maybe when he was with Emma but she was right when she said there would come a day where he might fight someone a lot stronger than him and he needed to be prepared for something like that.

"Okay." Peter finally relented and Emma grinned happily at him. Peter could've said he was taking her to Disneyland or Paris for all he knew. Most girlfriends got excited about normal stuff like that but his girlfriend seemed to be beyond excited at the prospect of fighting him. His girlfriend was so weird.

"Great." Emma said excitedly. She was positively thrilled that Peter was finally going to fight her without holding back. They had practiced fighting with each other in the past but Emma knew he was still pulling his punches. She understood that he was a lot stronger than her and could kill her very easily if he wanted but she trusted him. She knew he was able to control his strength like they had been practicing with the punching bags all this time. Emma just worried about him and wanted him to know how to fight hand-to-hand combat better. Sure, she knew his strength was a great asset and there weren't many who were stronger than Peter but she still wanted him to be better when it came to knowing how to fight. Emma wanted him to know how to be smart about it because there were other ways to beat an opponent who was stronger than you. Emma knew that better than anyone.

"Where should we do this? On the mat or…" He trailed off, sounding unsure. Emma just stood exactly where they were as she calmly looked back at him.

"Here's fine." Emma told him and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"Really, Emma? On the hard ground? Because I think it would be way safer on the mat-" Peter tried to say but Emma immediately interrupted him.

"There's not going to be a mat out in the real world. We'll do this right here and right now." Emma told him in a voice that said there would be no negotiating with her. Peter sighed before nodding, knowing there was no point in arguing with her. Emma was perhaps the only person in the world who no one could win an argument with. Not even Tony Stark could seem to win an argument with her.

"Okay." Peter said and Emma immediately went into a defensive stance as they stood a ways away from each other. They had fought like this before in the past, standing feet apart as they waited for one or the other to make the first move. Normally Peter was careful with Emma then but now he was going to try and use all his abilities against her.

Peter made the first move, like he normally did, as he ran at Emma in an attempt to tackle her to the ground but he should've anticipated that she would dodge his attack. The blonde gracefully dodged his first move as she moved to the side but not before bringing her knee up to add a blow to his stomach. Peter winced for a second and recovered, turning around to attack her again but she was already gone. The teenage boy glared at the spot she had just been in because he always hated when she did that. Maybe she was more like Batman than he was, after all. Emma seemed to have a talent for disappearing and then reappearing. He then quickly turned around and spotted her there. Peter narrowed his eyes as he moved in for another attack but Emma also seemed to anticipate his next move as he threw a punch at her before she caught his wrist mid-punch and easily pulled him forward, sending him falling to the ground.

"Come on, Spider-Twerp. I know you can do better than that." Emma teased as she smirked at Peter who was now lying on the ground. He glared at her before quickly jumping up. However, this time it was Emma who attacked him instead of waiting around for him to make the next move. She threw a punch at him which he side-stepped quickly before managing to get his arms around her and keeping her in a tight grip using his full strength. Emma only struggled within his clutches for a couple seconds before moving onto another tactic. He was stronger but he still had weak spots. She, using her own full strength, elbowed him as hard as she could to get him to loosen his grip. The moment he loosened the tight hold he had on her, Emma grabbed his wrist tightly and spun out from underneath him. With his wrist in hand, she quickly moved in back of him, pinning his arm to his back which caused Peter to lose balance and fall on the floor. Emma kept his arm pinned to his back as she sat on him.

"You know…I almost think you enjoy being under my mercy, Parker." Emma whispered suggestively in his ear as he struggled. Peter glared before he suddenly used his full strength to rip his arm away from her grasp, the sudden movement sending her falling off his back to the ground beside him. Peter quickly got up but so did Emma. She gracefully rolled back into an upright position, kneeling against the ground as if she had meant to do that the whole time. Peter wondered how she managed to move so gracefully and as if she made no mistakes. He assumed it was all the years of training but it was still amazing to watch.

Peter lunged at the blonde as he immediately threw a couple punches, two of which she was able to dodge but one that she wasn't quite fast enough to. Although Emma had asked him to not hold back, he still held back a little on the amount of force he used in his punches. He knew he would kill her if he used all his strength even if Emma told him he wouldn't. Peter just used a little more force than usual because he knew Emma was right in a way. He knew he might still be able to win even if he didn't use his full strength. Emma winced at the force of the punch but quickly recovered as she punched him a couple times in the ribs but she didn't hold back.

In order to push Peter into fighting as hard as he could against her, she knew she would have to challenge him in various ways. Peter winced at the punches, responding with a couple of punches of his own. He landed a couple in her ribs but before he could land another, Emma dodged the attack and reacted with a swift kick to his side. Peter had always admired and practically drooled over his girlfriend's long legs but this time he could see the disadvantage he had. Although Emma and Peter were the same height, she was still remarkably tall for a girl while he was still an average height for a guy.

Peter stumbled back as she landed another kick to his side, immediately making his sides ache from all the punching and kicking. It was clear to him that Emma wasn't just playing around this time. Peter tried to land another punch in retaliation but he was disoriented from her fast and swift movements. He tried lunging at her again only to fall to the floor when she flew effortlessly into the air above them. Peter immediately glared up from the ground as she hovered a great distance above him. It didn't help that she had that smug look on her face either.

"That's cheating!" Peter called up to her but Emma didn't seem bothered by his accusation.

"There is no cheating or playing fair in fighting." Emma told him confidently. "There's only winning. I said that we shouldn't hold back against each other so that's what I'm doing. Maybe you should use some of your abilities too."

Peter narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend who still hovered in the air. If that's how she wanted to play it then fine. Peter wasn't going to play fair either. The teenage boy then got up from the floor again before quickly hopping onto the wall. Emma watched smugly for a moment, thinking there was no in hell that he was going to be able to get to her. How could he? She could fly and all he could do was climb walls. However, she didn't take in account that he might jump from the wall and leap onto her. Emma was more than surprised when Peter did this and she felt herself fall back through the air from the surprise impact. Emma squirmed as he tried to get a hold of her as they fell through the air. Between trying to resist his hold and flying, she began to fail at both as she finally crashed onto the floor and sent both her and Peter onto the ground. She rolled a couple times against the ground but she wasn't able to regain her composure as fast as Peter because before she knew it Peter had her pinned to the ground, his weight on top of her.

Emma watched in surprise as Peter hovered over her, his hands pinning both her wrists to the ground. She tried getting out of his grip but found that his grip was unyielding. As much as she struggled against him, she just couldn't seem to escape him. Emma looked back up at him as he held her against the ground and she knew she had lost. His strength used to scare her but that was before she began to trust him. When they first discovered the truth about each other, Emma always kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't try anything with her because she knew he could easily overpower her. However, now it was different. She knew he would never hurt her and she trusted him with all of her heart. She wasn't even scared at the fact that he was on top of her, pinning her down to the ground. This was how much she trusted him.

The two of them were breathing heavily from their sparring session but Emma couldn't help but feel an overwhelming of feeling of desire again as he stared down at her. His brown eyes were fixed on her face but they were darker than usual. Emma knew that he felt the same way she did because this felt just like the other times when they were alone. Peter swallowed hard as he looked down at her because he didn't feel victorious like he thought he would in winning a fight against Emma. He just felt an overwhelming feeling of desire for her as those ocean blue eyes looked up at him. It didn't escape his notice either that she wasn't trying to fight him off anymore. His heart raced in his chest as he wondered what was going through her mind. He wondered if she stopped moving because it was her trying to gain the upper hand against him or if she had genuinely given up. Peter never knew with her because it was just like Emma to play games with him like that but he knew he secretly enjoyed it when she did that. Peter would never stop trying to figure her out. He knew that much.

"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Peter asked softly and Emma shook her head as their eyes remained locked onto each other.

"I'm fine." Emma said in a tone just as soft. Truthfully he had hurt her but that was the point of these training sessions. Peter needed to learn how to fight in case there was ever a circumstance where his powers wouldn't be enough. Emma wanted him to be safe. "Did I hurt you?" Peter immediately shook his head.

"No." He answered and then he realized that he still had his hands around her wrists. Peter blushed before relinquishing his grip on her wrists but he didn't move away from her. He just put his weight onto his forearms as they continued to gaze at each other. Emma suddenly felt warmer than usual at the way Peter was staring at her. Peter gently brushed a strand of her blonde hair out of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as he did so. Emma knew then that she wanted Peter more than anything.

"Let's go to your room." Emma said suddenly and Peter blushed at the way she stared back at him.

"Shouldn't we train more?" Peter asked her but Emma didn't seem like she wanted to do any more training. No, she had something else on her mind.

"Training's over." Emma told him and the tone of her voice was final. It was clear that Emma was bossing Peter around like she normally did but Peter didn't mind. He liked it when she was bossy. Peter was completely fine with being bossed around.

* * *

"You're so pretty." Peter said, sounding out of breath ever since Emma had straddled his waist and paid extra attention to him. His hands gripped her hips tightly as she led a trail of kisses along his jawline. They had been in his room and on his bed for the past half an hour doing what normal hormonal teenagers did when they were left unsupervised. The two weren't like average teenagers when it came to most things but they were when it came to this. As much as Emma had complained about Tony keeping them in the dark about things, she was glad he was busy with whatever he was doing because it meant that her and Peter could have more time alone.

Peter then gasped slightly as Emma moved away from his jawline and made her way towards his ear. His grip on her hips tightened even more as she began to nibble on his earlobe. The sensation of it was driving Peter crazy with desire as he moaned at the way she kissed him there. Emma was thrilled at the discovery she made when nibbling on Peter's earlobe. It seemed like every time they would engage in something like this, she discovered a new place he liked being kissed. It filled her with satisfaction and even arousal when he moaned like that. Emma knew he was enjoying this a lot too because she could feel his hardness against her as she kissed him.

"I love you." Emma whispered in his ear softly as she paused from the attention she paid to his ear. The way she whispered into his ear turned Peter on so much that he immediately pulled her off his lap and firmly planted her on the bed. Emma giggled at the abruptness of Peter's action but her laughter soon faded as she watched him move over her. The look in his eyes told her that he wasn't playing around this time and the thought excited her. She figured that it wasn't likely that they were going to have sex. Not now. However, she did start to think that Peter might be willing to do something else. Was he finally going to let her touch him? Was he going to touch her? A million questions went through her mind as he looked down at her and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Emma didn't know what she wanted to happen but she knew she liked being with Peter like this. He made her feel loved and Emma realized that she wanted to be with him in every single way. What was so wrong with that?

Her eyes then drifted towards the shirt he was still wearing, his stupid nerdy shirt with the lame pun stamped across it, and she knew that she wanted to see more of him. The most she ever saw of him was in the alley that one time when he had been changing. It had been an accident and she never saw him in a state of undress like that again but Emma didn't cease to think of him like that. Emma still remembered admiring all his muscles and abs that day and she didn't feel bad about it. So Emma, trying to muster up as much confidence as she could, reached for the bottom of his shirt and began to pull it up. Peter, realizing what she was trying to do, blushed but pulled his shirt off the rest of the way anyways. He watched her reaction closely, suddenly feeling very shy under Emma's close watch.

Emma's eyes rested on his shirtless form and she immediately thought he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She always knew her boyfriend was ridiculously hot, even if he didn't seem to believe it, but this really proved it. God, why was he so perfect? Emma, feeling curious, gently traced her fingers along his chest as she touched him. Peter shivered uncontrollably as she moved her hand along his chest and all the way down to his abdomen. Her touch was like electricity, making him feel all sorts of things that he struggled to keep buried within himself in the past but now what was becoming more and more impossible for him to ignore. Emma curiously felt his six pack, admiring the hardness of his muscles, before allowing her hand to drift even further. Before she could move her hand any further down, Peter groaned from the way she was touching him and he immediately crashed his lips down against hers. Emma let her hand fall to the side as her eyes fluttered shut from the passionate kiss.

Peter somehow managed to pour every emotion he was feeling into the kiss as she laid there underneath him. She felt the tip of his tongue run along the edge of her parted lips, begging for entrance and like always she granted him it. Emma moaned into the kiss as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, lightly brushing it against hers at first before their kissing became even more passionate. Their make out sessions had been fairly sloppy in the beginning, as it usually was for teenagers who didn't know what they were doing, but with time Emma found that the phrase "practice makes perfect" really was true. Emma shivered when he moved his hand underneath her shirt as his tongue massaged hers. Her skin flushed red from the way he touched her and his hand drifted upwards until he cupped her breast through her bra. She rolled her hips against his in response which caused Peter to pause for a moment but only for him to tell her how much he loved her in a voice filled with such desperation that it made Emma want him that much more.

Peter immediately resumed kissing her while he made the bold move of grinding his hips against hers. Emma let out a small gasp of surprise but didn't make a move to stop him. In the past it had been difficult for her to move past stuff like this. While she still had flashbacks from time to time, they didn't occur as often now that her and Peter had done a fair amount of experimenting. They would still happen on occasion but Emma was so focused on Peter and the way he made her feel that she couldn't think of anything other than him. Emma dug her nails into his back as she felt his hardness rub against her and Peter moaned at the new sensation. He then moved away from her lips as he began to lead a trail of kisses along her jawline before reaching her neck. She couldn't help but notice how flushed Peter was as well as how heavy he was breathing as he nibbled his way down her neck. Emma kind of hoped that he didn't give her a hickey again because the last time was embarrassing…especially since Darcy had seen it. The hickey healed pretty fast with her healing factor but that didn't stop Darcy from teasing her about it for weeks on end. Emma bit her lip at the amount of pleasure she felt from Peter nibbling on her neck and she thought that she might not care if Peter left a mark, after all.

"Peter." She moaned as Peter just hummed as he focused on her neck. Emma then decided to say something more bold to see if maybe Peter would be willing to move this along even further. This was the most intimate they had ever gotten and Emma knew she wanted more. She knew that now was her chance to see if he would finally see that she was ready for more.

"Peter…let me touch you." Emma whispered to him softly and Peter stopped when he heard that. For a second he thought he might've heard her wrong but as he pulled away from her and looked down at her, he knew what he heard was true. The way she looked at him was enough to tell him that things had once again gone way out of hand. Peter searched her eyes to see if he could see any signs of fear or distrust but he didn't find any. Was she okay? Had he hurt her? Had he scared her? Peter didn't know what he thought he was doing. He promised himself to never let things get this far with Emma but that promise always slipped from his mind whenever Emma kissed him like that. How could he have been so selfish? Peter knew that he could've really hurt her if he went on like that. Without any more thought Peter sat up on the bed, removing himself from over Emma. He swallowed hard, feeling guilty at how far he let things get between himself and Emma. It was almost like he had no control when it came to her. Emma frowned as she also sat up from her position on the bed.

"Peter, what's wrong?" She asked him. He was still breathing heavy as he swallowed hard and tried to cool down but it was kind of difficult with Emma still so close to him.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What are you sorry about?" Emma questioned and Peter just shook his head, refusing to answer her. Emma's eyes then drifted downwards and she knew that he was still hard. She scooted closer to him on the bed before resting her hand on his thigh.

"Let me help you, Peter." She said to him and Peter was so tempted to let her do what she said. He really wanted her to and Peter wasn't going to lie when he said that he hadn't fantasized about her doing that among other things. However, Peter knew that it wasn't right. Emma didn't know what she wanted and she was just confused. He couldn't take advantage of her this way.

"I'm fine." Peter said hurriedly and Emma just shook her head.

"I really don't mind, Peter." Emma told him as she began to move her hand up his leg but Peter immediately stood up from the bed in an attempt to get away from her. He swallowed hard once more as he tried to get himself under control and not cave in like he so desperately wanted to do. Emma stared up at him in bewilderment, completely confused as to why her boyfriend was acting so weird. Well…she wasn't that confused. She knew he had this weird thing about protecting her because he thought she was scared of his penis or something but he was being ridiculous at this point. Emma had made it more than clear to him that she was ready for the next step but he wasn't listening. She was beyond frustrated with him. Why did he seem so hell bent on treating her like she was a glass doll?

"I-I need to take a shower." Peter said as he stumbled over his words. Emma just stared at him, not knowing what to say as he then hurried off into the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and Emma couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment come over her. Even though she knew this was Peter being overprotective, she couldn't help but feel unwanted as he walked away from her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes before she got angry with herself for actually crying over something her stupid boyfriend did. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she actually going to cry because Peter refused to take things any further? God, if only her father could see her now. He taught her to be stronger than this but somehow she had thrown all of his teachings out the window as soon as Peter rejected her. She was really no better than any other teenage girl out there. Emma wasn't supposed to be this sensitive but Peter somehow brought this out of her.

Emma really didn't understand her boyfriend sometimes. She didn't know how much more she had to spell it out for him. Emma didn't know how she could make it clear to him that she wanted him. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to be with Peter that way. Why shouldn't they be together like that? She was in love with him, she trusted him, and most of all…she wanted him. It's not like Emma decided that she was going to have sex with a random person. This was Peter, after all, and he was the only one she would ever want. During one of her visits with Jessica, the dark haired woman had told her this much when Emma curiously asked her about sex. The visit happened a while ago but their talk still lingered in Emma's mind.

 _"_ _Jessica?" Emma said during the midst of the silence between her and Jessica. She visited the woman every so often in Hell's Kitchen whenever she was bored. That day in particular Peter and Ned were off building some lame Lego Star Wars thing while Michelle was with her parents attending some family function out of town. Peter didn't really like her visiting Jessica even though he had never met her. Emma figured it was because he thought Jessica was a bad influence on her but Emma kind of thought it was the other way around._

 _Most of the time Emma spent at Jessica's apartment was just Jessica working on whatever case she had to work on while Emma just worked on some of her art work. Sometimes she would help Jessica with a case. It turned out that Emma wasn't bad at tracking people but she blamed that on Hydra. Mostly she and Jessica worked in silence. Emma had a feeling that Jessica was feeling lonely ever since the aftermath of what happened with Jessica's mother and best friend. The older woman didn't really have a lot of people around except for her boyfriend and his family. Emma didn't mind being around Jessica. She actually liked the woman's blunt and sarcastic nature, admiring Jessica in the same way she admired Loki._

 _"_ _What?" Jessica said in annoyed tone. "I'm busy."_

 _"_ _You have a lot of sex, right?" Emma asked bluntly and Jessica looked up from her laptop in surprise before narrowing her eyes at the blonde._

 _"_ _That's none of your fucking business." Jessica told her in a gruff tone. Emma didn't seem put off by Jessica's defensive tone. If anything she just seemed curious._

 _"_ _I'm not judging you. I'm just curious." Emma said honestly and Jessica gave her a bewildered look._

 _"_ _Why would my sex life interest you?" Jessica questioned and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _I don't know. I'm just curious about how you're able to have sex." Emma admitted and Jessica raised an eyebrow._

 _"_ _Do you honestly not know how people have sex? Did your flag waver grandpa forget to fill you in on that?" Jessica asked sarcastically and Emma playfully glared at her. In their time spent getting to know each other, Emma had filled her in on some facts of her life. She didn't tell her everything but she might've mentioned how Steve happened to be her grandfather. Jessica was surprised to say the least because she never would've pictured Captain America's granddaughter to be quite like Emma. She would've pictured some goody two shoes girl with pigtails who went to vacation bible school during the summer and played hop scotch in the school yard. Jessica never would've imagined someone like Emma who was quite the opposite._

 _"_ _Steve wants me to believe that he's never had sex. He also wants me to believe that no one has sex except for Tony who's some kind of sexual deviant." Emma said, rolling her eyes as she talked about Steve's wild and weird imagination. Jessica snorted._

 _"_ _It sounds to me like your gramps is living in some kind of weird dream world." Jessica told her and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _You're telling me." Emma retorted before becoming curious again as she glanced back at Jessica. "I know how sex works. I obviously know that consensual sex is way different than rape but I'm just curious about how you bring yourself to do it after everything. Don't you feel vulnerable or scared?" Emma's questions were blunt but Jessica knew that the girl wasn't trying to push her buttons like she normally did. The look on the blonde's face was genuinely curious which in turn made Jessica curious._

 _"_ _Why are you asking me all these weird questions? Don't you have some mom type figure to ask about all this shit? What about that woman you live with…the weird one who tasered Thor?" Jessica suggested and Emma scoffed at the mere suggestion of going to Darcy about this._

 _"_ _Who, Darcy? The same woman that hasn't been laid in over a year?" Emma questioned sarcastically before shaking her head. "I'm not going to ask a woman, who spends her nights watching 'The Mindy Project' while shoveling down Stark Raving Hazelnut ice cream, about sex."_

 _"_ _Yeah, well, I'm not the type of person to ask about this either." Jessica argued as she tried to get Emma to ask someone else about this. "I'm not your mom and I'm not your friend." Emma wasn't offended by her rude remark as she smirked at the dark haired woman._

 _"_ _You could be my mommy if you wanted. You're old enough to be." Emma teased and Jessica glared at her._

 _"_ _Shut up." Jessica growled as she looked at the girl darkly. "You're such a little asshole, you know that? I'm starting to feel bad for Tony Stark for the first time in my life because he has to deal with all your shit every day. Maybe I should send him a condolence card for having to take care of a spoiled little brat with homicidal tendencies."_

 _Emma just laughed at the woman's insult. She liked the woman's insults because they sounded like something Emma would say. Emma even liked to think that Jessica was like a grown up version of her. Hopefully Emma would still be that bitter and cool when she was that age and hopefully Peter didn't make her into too much of a boring sap. She'd never forgive him. Well, she obviously would but she would still be pretty annoyed._

 _"_ _Seriously though…" Emma started to say as she brought the conversation back to where they started it with. "Tell me about how you have sex. Do you prepare yourself for it…like a pep talk or something? Do you have to be on top? Do you have to have a lot of foreplay first? What happens?" Jessica glowered at the bluntly honest teenage girl. What was wrong with this girl? Obviously this girl had no sense of shame or embarrassment but she was still so weird. Had Jessica been that weird at that age? She was around the same age when she got her powers but she never remembered asking a grown woman how she prepared herself for sex. Jessica sure as hell never asked Trish's mother about sex. Jessica nearly shuddered in revulsion at the very idea of asking Dorothy about sex. Gross._

 _"_ _Why the fuck do you want to know? Huh?" Jessica questioned in annoyance. "I hope this isn't you hitting on me because you're jailbait in case you haven't noticed and I'm also not into girls…or blondes. I actually really hate blondes." Emma rolled her eyes at the woman's dramatics before a more serious look came over her face. She seemed slightly troubled as she bit her lip which was something Jessica had never seen her do. The former assassin never seemed capable of having nervous habits but Jessica had been wrong before._

 _"_ _It's my boyfriend." Emma said quietly as she suddenly found it hard to look Jessica in the eyes. Jessica didn't really know much about Emma's mysterious boyfriend. Not since she told Jessica about the dilemma of telling her boyfriend about the rape. However, Emma informed her that she ended up telling him and he had taken it well or at least as well as someone could take finding out their girlfriend had been raped by some sick fuck. Other than that, Emma hadn't talked about him much. All Jessica knew was that he was some little nerd that Emma went to school with. Jessica was a bit mystified that the girl even had a boyfriend let alone her boyfriend basically being her high school sweetheart but Jessica wasn't one to question it. She was, after all, dating a guy with a kid and Jessica surprisingly really enjoyed feeling like she was part of a family. It had been a long time._

 _"_ _What about him?" Jessica questioned before narrowing her eyes. "He's not trying to pressure you into having sex, is he? If he is then he's a little dickhead because that's the last thing he should be trying to do after knowing all that you've been through." Emma furiously shook her head because that wasn't it at all._

 _"_ _No, it's just that…well…fuck…" Emma said as she struggled to get the right words out. "I've just been having these feelings lately."_

 _"_ _Okay…" Jessica said, still sounding confused as to what the blonde was getting at. Emma sighed heavily because she knew she was going to have to elaborate more._

 _"_ _And I've also been having these thoughts…about him." Emma said quietly, hoping that Jessica might've understood what she was trying to say. Fortunately she did because a look of understanding came over her face as Jessica smirked._

 _"_ _So you want to do dirty things to your precious little nerd." Jessica teased smugly and Emma glared at her._

 _"_ _I'm trying to be serious with you for once…can't you do the same with me?" Emma said and Jessica sighed as she nodded solemnly._

 _"_ _Okay, okay." Jessica said as she finally closed her laptop to give Emma her full attention. "So you want to actually have sex with him. Okay…so what's the problem?" Emma just stared at her as though she thought the answer was obvious._

 _"_ _Um…I don't know. Maybe my problem is that the only remotely sexual experience I ever had was when some asshole raped me when I was thirteen." Emma snapped as she grew annoyed with Jessica. "Maybe I'm just a little worried that if I'm with him like that then I'll have some kind of flashback or…maybe I'm even wondering if I should have sex at all. Sex is the last thing that should ever be on my mind…right?" Emma sounded a bit unsure towards the end and Jessica gave her a look of disbelief._

 _"_ _Wait…are you telling me that you think you shouldn't act on your own feelings because of what that dickhead did to you?" Jessica questioned and Emma shrugged._

 _"_ _I don't know. Shouldn't I be disgusted by sex or want to stay away from it at the very least? I probably shouldn't be interested in having sex after what happened to me." Jessica just rolled her eyes at the girl although she was intent on giving the girl some helpful advice. As much as she tried to deny it, Jessica actually really liked the teenage girl. She reminded Jessica a lot of herself and maybe she wanted to help Emma because there weren't a lot of people around to help her when she was Emma's age. Well, there was Trish but that was a story for another time._

 _"_ _It doesn't matter how you think you should feel. It just matters what you actually feel." Jessica told her honestly as Emma listened intently to the older woman. "Society will tell you one thing but you need to think about what you want. Not what you think everyone would want. What is it that you want?" Emma swallowed hard before answering._

 _"_ _I'm scared at the aspect of being vulnerable like that with someone but on the other hand I love and trust him…I want to be with him. I really do." Jessica watched as the blonde blushed as she admitted the very thing she had been keeping to herself for a while. A part of her had been embarrassed and even ashamed to desire someone in that way. To not only feel love, friendship, and trust for Peter but to also desire him sexually. She wasn't ashamed of him but she was instead ashamed of the way she felt even after everything that happened to her. "I've never desired anyone before but I know I desire him and I just want to be closer to him."_

 _"_ _So you want to have sex with him." Jessica stated and Emma nodded._

 _"_ _Yes." She answered a bit shyly which Jessica thought was unusual for the blonde but she was slowly adapting to this new side of Emma Rogers._

 _"_ _You shouldn't feel ashamed of your feelings. Don't let what that dickhead did to you dictate how you live your life." Jessica lectured her but Emma didn't interrupt her. She just listened to the older woman carefully. "If you feel like you're ready to have sex then you should but only if you feel ready."_

 _"_ _How do you do it without having a flashback?" Emma asked suddenly, looking desperate to know. "You have sex so often. It's like it doesn't impact you in any way." Jessica shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't offended from Emma's questions because she knew Emma only wanted advice on how to move forward with her boyfriend._

" _Look, kid, it doesn't matter how often or not often you have sex. The stuff that happened in the past is never going to go away completely. That kind of trauma never does." Jessica informed her honestly. "I'm not going to lie and say that I don't still have flashbacks from time to time because we both know I do. I'm also not going to sit here and give you a bunch of advice on having sex like I'm an expert on getting through it without becoming traumatized. You and I are completely different anyways." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she looked at her._

 _"_ _What do you mean?" Emma inquired and Jessica sighed._

 _"_ _You're in a committed relationship full of love and trust. I'm in a semi-stable relationship right now but before Oscar there was just a revolving door of losers whose names I can't even remember. There was nothing healthy about it." Jessica told Emma, refusing to mention Luke who she didn't consider to be one of those losers but Luke was a tough subject. She didn't like talking about him these days. "I can't really tell you why I did that for so long. I saw this shrink who said it was just me trying to regain control over myself after what Kilgrave did to me which makes sense, I guess." Jessica locked eyes with Emma and Emma stared back at her curiously._

 _"_ _Love and trust had nothing to do with me wanting to have sex. Your intentions are more pure than mine were." Jessica told Emma which was true. Despite how crazy and manipulative the blonde acted sometimes, Jessica knew that it was all an act. The blonde was soft at heart and especially when it came to this guy in her life. Normally Jessica didn't approve of young girls like Emma who considered their boyfriends to be such a vital and important part of their lives but Jessica could tell it was different with Emma. This boy wasn't just a boyfriend or teenage fling. No, Emma also considered him to be her best friend._

 _"_ _You seem to trust this guy, right? You two are in some kind of lame lovey-dovey bullshit relationship?" Jessica asked and it became obvious to Emma that Jessica couldn't get too sentimental. The older woman had to at least maintain some of her dignity. Emma nodded slowly._

 _"_ _Yes." She answered._

 _"_ _Then I think it'll be better for you than it was for me. I'm not saying that there won't be bumps in the road but he obviously cares about you a lot so I think you'll be alright." Jessica said as she gave Emma her honest opinion. "Just take it one step at a time and please use protection. Don't think the pull out method works because a couple girls I went to high school with have proof that it doesn't. If your boyfriend tries to convince you that he can pull out before he comes then he's full of shit." Emma, for once, blushed at Jessica's blunt nature. She laughed nervously as she nodded, telling herself to remember that information for later._

 _"Okay…I'll try to remember that." Emma agreed and Jessica gave her a pointed look._

 _"_ _Just don't forget it." Jessica told her and Emma nodded before giving her a small, rare smile. It was rare for Emma to smile like that but she wanted to convey to Jessica that she really appreciated her advice._

 _"_ _Thanks, Jessica." Emma said quietly and Jessica nodded briefly._

 _"_ _Don't mention it, kid." Jessica said before pausing for a moment as something else came to mind. "Oh, and by the way…if your grandpa or Stark comes by yelling at me for giving you advice on having sex then I'll completely deny it. I won't even hesitate." Emma smirked at her in amusement because she totally knew Jessica would do that. She wouldn't put it past Jessica to do exactly that._

 _"_ _Oh, I don't doubt it."_

The talk Emma had with Jessica about sex had occurred around two months ago and nothing had really changed between her and Peter since then because her boyfriend was so stubborn sometimes. She may have been more inclined to have sex now that she had that talk with Jessica but Peter was too afraid to go there with her. Not because he wasn't ready but because he was treating her like she was fragile. Emma hated that. She wasn't fragile or delicate like he seemed to think she was. She didn't know what she ever did to give him that impression. It was more than likely the knowledge of her rape but Emma still didn't understand why he was still being so overprotective. She literally came out and said she would touch him if he really wanted. Emma wouldn't say that unless she meant it which she did.

Peter came out of the bathroom fifteen minutes after he locked himself inside there, wearing a pair of jeans and a plain light blue t-shirt instead of the pair of jogging pants he had been wearing before. His t-shirt was still lying carelessly on the floor from where he had thrown it before in the midst of Emma and Peter's passion filled hour of making out. His hair was still a bit wet from the shower as he walked out of the bathroom nonchalantly…like he hadn't hurried away from her just fifteen minutes ago. Peter blushed as his eyes met hers and he quickly looked away from her. He immediately went to sit on the edge of his bed as he grabbed his video game controller and focused his gaze on the television in front of him. Emma narrowed her eyes as she felt a wide range of emotions wash over her. Was he seriously going to play that fucking game? She was sitting right behind him. He hadn't even said anything to her. What the fuck was wrong with him? Peter really knew how to piss off Emma sometimes.

"Are you seriously going to play that stupid game?" Emma hissed in a low and dangerous tone. Peter stiffened as he turned around to look at her. He appeared shocked at her tone as if _she_ was the one who was acting insane.

"Yeah…I figured that I would finish out the level and go from there." Peter replied dumbly and Emma glared at him.

"You're just going to ignore me then? You're going to pretend like nothing ever happened?" Peter flinched at the tone Emma was taking with him. Shit…somehow he knew he was in trouble.

"I'm not ignoring you." Peter pointed out defensively as he tried to avoid bickering with Emma. He could tell this time it wouldn't be the flirting kind of bickering him and Emma usually did. This would be real bickering. "See. I'm talking to you right now." Emma clenched her jaw in anger and she felt the urge to scream into her pillow in frustration. Why was he so frustrating?!

"You still don't understand a thing about women." Emma muttered, trying not to get too angry with him. Sometimes Peter really knew how to push her buttons. It was rare that anyone else really pissed her off the way he did. That seemed to be one thing Peter and Tony had in common. They both knew how to piss her off. Peter gave her a confused look like he didn't know what she meant.

"What are you talking about? I understand women plenty." Peter argued and Emma just stared at him silently for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief. Peter didn't understand women but more importantly, he didn't understand her. If he did then they wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"You don't understand anything." Emma argued back and Peter just glared at her before turning back to face the tv screen. He really didn't feel like arguing with her now.

"Whatever." He muttered as he began to start his game back up. Emma, however, didn't like being ignored. She felt a spark of anger as he pointedly ignored her and brushed her words off as he resumed playing that stupid game. Emma didn't want to be ignored. He was trying to pretend like their moment before never happened when all Emma wanted to do was talk about it with him. Jessica was right when she said that if Emma was ready for sex then that was her choice. Peter couldn't make those decisions for her. She immediately reached over and snatched the controller out of his hand. Emma hastily chucked it across the room so that she could finally have his attention.

"What the hell?!" Peter said in bewilderment before he turned back around to face her. "What was that for?!"

"Why don't you want to have sex with me?" Emma asked him abruptly, finally trying to get to the bottom of their intimacy issues. Peter's eyes immediately widened in shock as he looked at her and his face flushed red in embarrassment at Emma's blunt words.

"W-what?" He stuttered and Emma's gaze was unwavering as she stared back at him, searching his face for some answers.

"I know you want me so why don't you want to have sex?" Emma said as she elaborated but Peter was still left shocked and bewildered at her questions. He never would've expected her in a million years to come out and say it. Well, maybe he did because this was Emma, after all, but it was still so shocking to hear. Peter swallowed hard as he looked back at her. Leave it to Emma to be so unapologetically blunt and honest.

"Geez, Emma, do we have to talk about this right now…like this?" Peter said, feeling very embarrassed by her questioning. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, we do. We need to talk about this because you never seem to want to. Whenever things get a little heated between us, you always stop it. I deserve to know why." Emma told him and Peter realized that she was being entirely serious. He had to admit that he hadn't expected her to be so serious about this but it appeared that she was. She seemed almost…annoyed or frustrated with him which Peter hadn't expected.

"You know why." Peter said softly as his warm brown eyes rested on her face. Emma scoffed.

"Because I was raped? You don't want to have sex with me because I was raped?" Emma questioned and Peter's eyes widened before he furiously shook his head.

"No, that's not what I meant." Peter said hurriedly as he rushed to explain himself to her. "It's just…Emma, I know you feel like you have to be nice to me for some reason. That you think I deserve a reward or something for being your boyfriend but I don't expect anything. I just want you to know that." Peter suddenly felt like he had said the wrong thing again as she glared back at him. God, even now that he had been dating Emma for half a year, he still couldn't seem to ever say the right thing.

"You think I would whore myself out to you because you're nice to me?" Emma asked him in a pissed off tone and Peter blushed again.

"No…God, why can't I ever say the right thing? No, I just know that maybe you don't always have the right idea about sex." Peter said nervously and Emma shook her head.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned and Peter bit the inside of his cheek nervously before answering.

"About a month into our relationship we talked about…sex and you said that you were ready whenever I was. You said it like it depended only on me instead of you…like I was the one who called the shots." Peter said as he stared at her with a perplexed look on his face. "And I don't know…I guess it just scared me. After you told me about what Rumlow did to you, it made more sense to me why you might've said those things but I still didn't like it. You talked about sex like it was nothing…like it was your job to please me or something. Emma, I don't want you like that. Not if you only want to do it to somehow please me or make me happy. That's not how it works."

Emma suddenly felt guilty because she realized that Peter was right. She had acted that way in the first stage of their relationship. Emma had basically offered herself to Peter on his terms because she had been scared. She knew the secret she was keeping about Rumlow had been driving a wedge between them and she thought she could make him stay if they had sex. She hadn't been very interested in sex back then because of how bad the nightmares were but she had been willing to give herself to Peter if it meant that he wouldn't leave her. Of course, now she realized how fucked up that was but that was when she had only seen sex as a tool. Rumlow had used it against her to hurt and humiliate her but Emma thought she could use it to make Peter stay.

It had been a while since Emma had thought like that. Her self-esteem had been severely low back then and she thought Peter would leave the second he found out about Rumlow but she had unfairly misjudged him. Their relationship began to go in a different and better direction after that. After the Rumlow thing they had become more open and honest with each other which did the both of them a lot of good. As their relationship progressed she even started to have different kinds of feelings for Peter among the strong feelings of love, trust, adoration, and friendship she felt for him. She started feeling desire for him…sexual desire and Emma began to start to become more comfortable with the idea of having sex with Peter and for it to be something she wanted and not just something that she thought Peter wanted. Things had changed so much since those early days of the relationship and Emma finally felt like her and Peter were in a point in their relationship where they could take the next step. This was something Emma wanted simply because she loved and trusted Peter. This wasn't because she thought it would just make Peter happy and not her. No, Emma was certain this would make her happy too.

"You're right." Emma admitted as she finally responded to his statement. "I did feel that way. I was willing to have sex with you so I could make you stay with me."

"Emma-" Peter said as he began to interject but Emma quickly interrupted him.

"I was in a very different place and I was keeping secrets from you because I doubted your love for me…I was scared you'd leave me." Emma said as Peter grew silent. She wasn't telling him this to tell him he was right about everything but she was talking about this because she needed to be open and honest. She knew being open and honest with him about everything was vital in making him see the point she was making. "It was stupid, I know, but that's how I felt. I wasn't that interested in sex…only if you were and I can see that was wrong now."

"We've been together for six months and we've known each other for even longer." Emma said as she started to tell him the truth about her feelings for him. "A lot of things have changed for me in those six months. I didn't use to want to have sex because I was afraid if we were together like that it would trigger a flashback or something. I'm not saying that it will probably never happen but I know one thing." Emma swallowed hard as she locked eyes with Peter. Ocean blue meeting warm brown.

"I want you, Peter." She stated as firmly as she could to make him understand what she wanted. Peter blushed at her words and the way her blue eyes rested on his face. "I want you more than I've ever wanted anything."

"Emma…" Peter trailed off, not knowing what to say. Her words made it hard for him to think let alone come up with an answer. She wanted him? Emma wanted him…like that? Peter didn't really know if he could believe her.

"I'm being honest with you, Peter. I think about you all the time and I want to be with you in every way. I want us to be together." Emma said as she tried to convince him that she wasn't playing games with him anymore. She wasn't the girl with low self-esteem that was so emotionally damaged that she would let him do whatever he wanted with her. She learned her lesson and she knew how wrong she was. It was different now though. Her desire for him was real and genuine. This was what she wanted.

"I want you too." Peter answered quickly, his eyes widening from his own words as he tried not to blush again. "I think about you a lot as well…all the time actually. I've been thinking more about it recently. You're not the only one. I want us to be together too."

"Then why do you keep pushing me away?" Emma questioned, desperate to know why Peter always kept her at a distance when things became too intense. She knew it just wasn't because he thought her intentions were misguided. Peter sighed.

"I'm just scared." Peter admitted quietly and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Of what? Me?" She asked but Peter shook his head.

"I'm scared that I'll make you afraid of me." Peter finally told her but Emma was even more confused. Peter actually thought Emma could be afraid of him? No, it was impossible. Peter was the least scary person she knew.

"Peter, that's ridiculous." Emma told him and Peter swallowed hard.

"No, it's not. What if we're together like that and things change afterwards? What if you never look at me the same way again?" Peter questioned as tears flooded his eyes and Emma could tell this was something that had been bothering him for a long time. "What if I hurt you? We both know that I'm a lot stronger than you. What if I accidentally grabbed you too tight or worse? I'd never forgive myself." Peter then looked down at his hands which were in his lap and Emma frowned. She moved up further on the bed to sit next to him and without any hesitation she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug. Peter buried his face in her neck as she held him there.

"You won't hurt me." Emma whispered to him as she rubbed his back soothingly. Peter just held onto her.

"You don't know that." Peter told her and Emma held him tighter.

"Yes, I do." Emma said without an ounce of doubt. "I know you would never hurt me just like I know I could never be afraid of you either." Emma then pulled back from him, forcing him to look her in the face. He looked back at her almost shyly but Emma wanted him to see that she knew he would never hurt her.

"I trust you, Peter." Emma told him firmly and Peter felt breathless at the sureness in her tone. "I want us to be together. It's my choice whether or not I want to have sex just like it's your choice whether or not _you_ want to have sex. If you don't then that's fine but don't say no for my sake."

"I want to make love to you too. I've wanted to for a long time." Peter said suddenly which slightly surprised Emma. If it were any other circumstances, Emma would've made fun of him for saying "make love" but the only thing she could allow herself to feel was happiness. She smiled at him softly and Peter returned her smile with one of his own.

"Really?" Emma said and Peter nodded.

"I really do, Emma. I wasn't lying when I said I felt the same way about you. I want you more than you'll ever know too." Peter told her as he held her hands in his, softly caressing her skin with his thumb. "The adults say that we're too young for something like this but how could it be wrong? We're in love, aren't we?" Emma nodded with a bright smile on her face.

"Yes." Emma responded.

"And we're going to be together forever. I don't care if you say that you'll never marry me because I know you will and I know we'll also have a family together some day too." Peter told her and Emma playfully rolled her eyes.

"The marriage and kids thing is a hard no but forever sounds nice." Emma told him and Peter gave her that goofy smile. She knew he still wasn't going to give up on trying to convince her to marry him and have his little spider-brats. It would be a cold day in hell before Emma put on a wedding dress and an even colder day in hell before Emma started attending mommy and me workshops but forever was something she could definitely do. Forever with Peter sounded perfect. Peter's smile then faded as he became serious again. A thought crossed his mind in the midst of all the excitement he felt.

"If we're going to take this step then we're going to need to make some boundaries before this actually happens." Peter told her and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of boundaries?" Emma inquired curiously.

"You need to tell me things you don't want me to say or do." Peter told her honestly and Emma quickly realized what he meant. "You need to tell me how I can make this feel more comfortable and safe for you, okay?" Emma nodded furiously as her heart raced in her chest. She couldn't believe Peter was finally ready to take the next step…that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

"You also have to promise me something, Emma." Peter said firmly and Emma locked eyes with him again.

"Anything." Emma stated and Peter looked at her seriously.

"When we finally do this you have to promise me that you'll tell me to stop if you don't want to do it anymore. I don't care what the circumstances are. If you don't want to anymore then you have to tell me to stop. Okay?" Peter said in a demanding tone and Emma quickly nodded.

"I promise." Emma told him and Peter smiled softly at her. She was touched that he was being so considerate. It was just like Peter to be so sweet and considerate with her. He really was the best boyfriend. Okay…gross. She was starting to sound like the teenage girl she dreaded to be. Well, maybe she didn't care as much about that as she thought she did because she honestly did have the best boyfriend.

"Good. We should probably still wait a little while until we figure these boundaries out." Peter said to her. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course." Emma said as she nodded. She was just happy that Peter and her were finally going to be together in every way. "We should probably get some condoms too. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want your spider-brats and I especially don't want them in high school."

"Oh, right." Peter said as he blushed at her remark. Emma bringing up condoms seemed to make all of this just a little bit more real and he was excited. He still couldn't believe Emma wanted to have sex with him. Despite his earlier apprehension, he couldn't help but feel happy now that they had finally had a much needed talk about taking that next step. Peter then attempted to sound cool as he responded to Emma's remark. Emma and Peter having sex was a way that they would express their love for each other, as corny as that sounded, but it was also a sign that they were growing up. He could totally be the mature adult who casually talked about buying condoms with his girlfriend even though Peter hadn't even thought about using protection until Emma mentioned the condoms. "Yeah, we should definitely buy some condoms. That's probably the smart thing to do. Condoms it is then."

"Right." Emma said as she gave her boyfriend an amused look. He was such a dork sometimes. Emma continued to watch him in amusement as he struggled with the ability to contain his excitement. It seemed like he failed in the end as he gave her another goofy grin as he looked back at her.

"I can't believe we're going to have sex." Peter said in awe as he pulled her onto his lap and into his arms, burying his face in her neck again but this time she knew he was happy. Emma giggled as Peter then moved away from her neck before pressing his lips against hers but it wasn't a passionate kiss like before. The kiss was sweet and full of promise. He seemed very happy and pleased as he pulled away, feeling content just to hold her in his arms.

"I'm going to make sure our first time is romantic and perfect just like in the movies." Peter told her excitedly as he began to ramble on about all the things he was going to do for their first time.

"I'm talking about candles from Bath and Body Works, flower petals, and maybe we'll even have the Weeknd's music playing in the background. Or maybe John Legend? What do you think? Do you like the Weeknd more or John Legend?" Emma laughed at her ridiculous boyfriend and he pretended to pout.

"You're real cute, Parker." Emma said which was the phrase she always used when she thought he was being silly or amusing. Her gaze then softened as she looked back up at him. "I don't care what music's playing in the background. I just want to be with you."

Peter looked back down at her with something akin to adoration in his eyes. He was about to lean back down to kiss her again when their moment was rudely interrupted. Emma and Peter immediately turned to look at the wall of Peter's bedroom where Vision had just popped out of. The android looked completely unaware of the moment he had just interrupted and it didn't take Emma long to glare at him as she still sat on Peter's lap while Peter just looked curious. Vision almost sighed at the usual glare on Emma's face which was directed towards him. Sometimes he wondered if it was the Winter Soldier she was related to by blood and not Steve. There were very few similarities between herself and the Captain.

"I am sorry if I interrupted anything between you and Mr. Parker." Vision said in what Emma always thought was that snide tone of his. She always hated how the android talked like he knew everything. Well, maybe he did know everything since he did have the mind stone, after all. Emma still refused to admit that she might actually like him despite all his annoying quirks. The missions Tony had sent her and Vision on were surprisingly not as bad as she thought. Emma would still never say that to Vision's face because she could just picture him giving her that smug look. Everyone told Emma that Vision wasn't capable of looking smug but Emma didn't believe them. There was a lot that Vision was hiding…Emma was sure of it.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are." Emma muttered and Peter nudged her, trying to tell her to be polite. Emma thought it was adorable how Peter thought she was capable of being polite.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything, Vision. Emma and I were just talking about boring stuff. Nothing interesting." Peter nervously rambled as he lied terribly. Emma thought he was just lucky that it was Vision who was here and not someone human who could actually easily detect Peter's pathetic lies. If it was Tony or Rhodey in the room then they'd be able call Peter out on his shit easily. Vision simply just nodded at the pair before changing the subject.

"Very well. Tony and Rhodes sent me to get you two. Apparently there's an emergency Avengers meeting in the conference room." Vision informed them. Emma and Peter both shared a bewildered look before looking back at Vision. An Avengers meeting? The last time they had one of those was when Volkov, a Hydra agent, killed himself all those months ago after telling Emma that Rumlow was looking for her. Avenger meetings that Emma and Peter were allowed to attend were very rare since neither Emma nor Peter were officially Avengers. Peter because he took the high road, deciding he wasn't quite ready for it, and Emma because she thought the whole Avenger thing was kind of lame and stupid. Emma was much more happy being the Anti-Hero than being an Avenger.

"What about?" Emma asked suspiciously and Vision seemed hesitant to answer her.

"Tony requires your presence and there's little time left. We should go now. The meeting's urgent." Vision said, not even trying to answer Emma's question. Okay…something was definitely up. That android was an even worse liar than Peter. Deciding that there was no sense in questioning Vision further, Emma got up from Peter's lap and began to follow Vision out of the room with Peter following behind her. Emma didn't know what was going on or why there was a need for a meeting but she knew this wasn't good. Emma also had the distinct feeling that whatever this was might've had something to do with why Tony and the others had been acting so weird lately. Emma was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Great, Peter had finally corrupted her. She was actually quoting Star Wars in her head now. Although…Han Solo did kind of have a point when it came to bad feelings and the feeling Emma had right now was really bad.

* * *

"So what is this about?" Emma asked bluntly as they all sat in the conference room of the compound. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Maria all sat around the table for the meeting. There also happened to be the holographic forms of Thaddeus Ross among other UN members. Emma glared at the holographic form of Ross at the table, wishing nothing more than to strangle the man. That old asshole caused more problems in her life than anyone else. Peter sat next to Emma as she looked at what was left of the Avengers suspiciously. By the grim looks on their faces, Emma could tell that this probably wasn't going to be good. Tony sighed as he finally mustered up the courage to tell Emma the truth.

"There's been an attack." Tony said solemnly and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She noticed that Peter also looked very confused.

"Attack? What attack?" Emma asked, clearly not having a clue as to what Tony was talking about.

"Stark, do we really need to have her and the boy here? There isn't time for games. We have serious matters to discuss." Ross declared and Emma wanted so badly to somehow reach through that hologram and murder the idiot. Even Peter glared at Ross because he knew this was the man keeping Emma and her family apart.

"This actually involves Emma so she does have a right to be here." Rhodey interjected and Ross glared at the colonel.

"Have care how you speak, Rhodes. I'm feeling incredibly impatient today." Ross replied and Emma sighed heavily in annoyance. Sometime she really hated how many men hung around the compound. It was all one big dick measuring contest.

"Just get to the point and tell us what's going on. I don't care what Ross says." Emma told Tony, causing Ross to shoot Emma a nasty look but she really didn't care. However, before he could speak, Tony responded to her.

"There was an attack on one of Shield's old headquarters buildings in Oklahoma City two hours ago." Tony said, looking more serious than she had seen him be in a while. Emma didn't look any less confused. "It was reconstructed as an outlet for the CIA two years ago. Sixty four killed and one hundred and eleven injured…so far."

"An attack? Are you talking about a terrorist attack…like the Oklahoma City bombing in '95?" Emma questioned as she looked around the table. She remembered learning about the Oklahoma City bombing in one of the history books Hydra made her read. "Who was it this time?"

"We believe the attack was a terrorist attack but our information is very vague. We're waiting to hear more information in the meantime." Maria said as she also had a very grim look on her face. "Agent Carter's currently on the scene but we're waiting to hear more from her."

"I don't understand." Emma said, looking perplexed as to why they decided to even have a meeting about this. "Isn't a terrorist attack a job for the Joint Counter Terrorist Center? Why is it the Avengers' problem?" Emma may have sounded cold and uncaring but she was just being logical. A terrorist attack was more of a concern for the government's agencies and not for the Avengers. She didn't get why they were even discussing this.

"The Avengers operates under the supervision of the United Nations panel or have you forgotten about the accords?" Ross said in a cold tone as he glared at the blonde. Some of the members from the United Nations panel nodded in agreement with Ross's statement. "The Avengers are brought in when and if we say so and only when we say so." Emma scoffed as she returned Ross's glare.

"I never signed those bullshit papers and I never will. You can count me out on that." Emma snapped and Ross fumed at the way she talked to him. "I'm not an Avenger anyways so I could really give a shit less what the United Nations says. I'm not your little puppet like Tony, Rhodey, and Vision are. You can't control me." Ross exhaled and he looked like he wanted strangle the young girl. Good, Emma thought to herself. At least the feeling was mutual. Peter clenched his jaw angrily at the way the older man was staring at Emma. Emma always had a problem with authority figures but that didn't mean that old man had the right to look at her like that.

"Listen here, you little brat, you might not be able to sign the accords now but the second you turn eighteen you better change your tune or you'll land your ass in that prison faster than you can blink." Ross threatened in a low and dangerous tone but Emma just smirked at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Do you promise?" Emma said teasingly but Peter didn't feel as nonchalant about the man's threat. He gave the man a scathing look, a look that none of the others had ever seen on the sweet-natured boy's face, as he reached for Emma's hand under the table. Peter squeezed her hand comfortingly as he glared at Ross.

"You'll do no such thing." Peter said protectively and Emma looked between the two in amusement. Peter was really hot when he was telling Ross off. Nothing gave her more satisfaction than seeing her boyfriend telling Ross where to shove it. "Emma's not going to prison. I wouldn't even think about it if I were you and I also won't having you talking like that to her." Ross sneered at the teenage boy. He had it up to here with arrogant teenagers.

"Who do you think-" Ross started to say but Maria didn't let them finish.

"Guys, we don't have time for this." Maria interjected as she gave Ross a pointed look because Ross honestly should've known better. He was arguing with a couple of teenagers for Christ's sake. "This terrorist attack is actually more puzzling than it seems."

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned as a more serious expression crossed her face. Tony swallowed hard as he prepared himself to give Emma the bad news.

"We think Hydra's the one behind the attack." Tony told her quietly and you could hear a pin drop in the room. It was so quiet. Emma could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she took in that information. It was quite the harsh blow. Hydra was the one behind the attack? How could that be? They hadn't heard anything about Hydra in months. The last time they got a lead was when Emma found out those idiots in Queens had sold Rumlow Toomes' old weapons. Ever since then the trail had gone cold. There was just silence.

"What makes you think that?" Emma questioned, completely confused by this information and she wasn't the only one. Peter also looked incredibly troubled by this information. Tony then used one of the high tech holographic screens to bring up the scene of the bombing. Emma fought to maintain her composure as she looked at the gruesome scene while Peter just looked shocked and horrified. The scene didn't show a building like Tony mentioned but rather the ruins of what used to be a building. Ambulances and fire trucks littered the scene as they tried to offer aid to injured people while also trying to find anymore living people under the rubble of all the destruction. Dead bodies also littered the crime scene but it wasn't like any typical bombings that Emma had ever seen before. No, it looked different. While everything had been reduced to ashes, it still looked too clean to have been caused by a bomb. There was no fire or burn marks on any of the victims and there was even no smoke wafting through the air. The only evidence of the devastation was the rubble that had caused death or injury to many of the victims. Something seemed off about the remarkably clean crime scene.

"Does this look normal to you?" Tony asked rhetorically as he gestured to the crime scene. Peter also analyzed the scene but he wasn't sure what Tony meant by it. All he could see was the dead and injured people at the scene of the bombing. The scene filled Peter with a sense of regret and sadness. Emma just kept a stoic expression on her face as she stared at the scene, trying to think about this logically.

"It looks clean…not like any kind of bombing I've ever seen. Do we know what kind of bomb they used?" Emma questioned and Tony just shrugged.

"It's really anyone's guess. The investigation is just beginning but I don't think it was a bomb." Tony told her as he looked back at the blonde. "I think they used something else."

"If this even is Hydra." Emma argued as she finally looked around the scene. "Did they even leave a message or some kind of clue? Why are you so sure this is Hydra?"

"Why are you so sure that it isn't?" Maria pointed out and Emma raised an eyebrow before she shrugged.

"I'm not sure that it isn't. I would like some more information though." Emma said quietly as she drummed her fingers against the surface of the table. "If it is Hydra, like you think, then they did this for a reason. The message would be the attack. The only question is what message are they trying to get across?"

"We were hoping you might help us answer that." Rhodey said and Emma have them all a bewildered look.

"What? You think I had something to do with this?" Emma questioned.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Ross muttered and the others all gave him another pointed look before looking back to Emma. Tony sighed heavily.

"Look, Mini Cap, this attack happened in Oklahoma. Where you, who Hydra's obviously been wanting back, were born so you can't tell me this is just a coincidence." Tony said and Emma was surprised that she hadn't drawn the connection herself. Honestly she hardly thought about her life before Hydra. Emma considered her life to be the life she had been living for the past three years. Oklahoma hardly ever crossed her mind. Peter looked between Tony and Emma in surprise because he had forgotten that Emma was originally from Oklahoma. Well, he hadn't really forgotten but it had just somehow managed to escape his mind. Emma didn't talk about Oklahoma often but he knew it was only because she didn't remember much.

"My parents lived in Rush Springs which was in the middle of nowhere. I'm not from Oklahoma City." Emma said as she shook her head. "Oklahoma City was like an hour away. I know because I looked it up ages ago."

"You and your parents lived in Rush Springs but there wasn't a hospital there because they lived in bum-fuck nowhere. You were born in Oklahoma City because it was the closest hospital to where they lived." Tony informed her and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know why she didn't think of that. Of course she couldn't have been born in Rush Springs. The population was so tiny that it was impossible for the town to have an actual hospital. Emma swallowed hard as she came to terms with what this meant.

"So what? Are you saying they want me?" Emma asked quietly but she already knew the answer. Of course they wanted her. Hydra would always look for her. The idea that they had stopped was silly. They would never stop trying to get her back. They had invested too much time and effort to do anything less.

"I'm saying that there's a good chance that they're trying to get our attention with attacking your birthplace." Tony said in response but Emma knew the truth. Hydra was trying to scare them and fill them with unease. It was what they did before they made another strike. They liked to instill fear and terror in people before making another attack when their targets were still weak. Emma knew because she used to use this tactic among many when she was still Hydra's weapon. She could tell everyone in the room was uneasy which meant that Hydra's plan was already working.

"We still don't know if this is Hydra for sure. Let's not jump to conclusions." Ross added as he interrupted both Emma and Tony's thoughts. Emma pointedly ignored the man as she looked at Maria.

"I know we can't know what kind of weapons were actually used but what kind of weapons do you _think_ were used? Do ballistics match anything we've come across in the past?" Emma inquired as she tried to not let herself panic about Hydra. Peter was softly caressing the top of her hand with his thumb to give her some comfort but she still felt overwhelmingly uneasy. How could she not? She always knew Hydra would come for her but a part of her had hoped they would've forgotten about her. However, that was stupid thinking. They would always come back for her. It had been a long three years coming but Hydra was finally coming for her.

"We were able to make some comparisons to the devastation other weapons have left in the past. Notably advanced weaponry." Maria said as Tony then brought up side by side picture comparisons of the scene in Oklahoma City and the scene of other known crime scenes that used advanced weaponry.

"We're thinking that Hydra managed to get their hands on a large amount of alien tech…assuming this is Hydra." Tony added the last part after receiving a sharp look from Ross. "We already know that Rumlow bought alien weaponry off the four ATM robbers in Queens. We also know that Hydra has gotten their hands on a large amount of Chitauri technology when we attacked their base in Sokovia two years ago. Not to mention Loki's scepter."

"And that was just one of many bases that they had Chitauri technology hidden inside." Emma said as she did her best to remember details of her time at Hydra. "I saw some Chitauri technology at the base in Siberia and I know they had some at the one in Dusseldorf but they more than likely moved them when Steve took down Hydra in D.C. They were moving a lot of shit around back then." Emma remembered how the Hydra agents had run like chickens with their heads cut off back then. They were all terrified at being found out and she would never forget the state of panic they were in.

"Right." Tony said as he showed images that compared the devastation of Chitauri weaponry and the Oklahoma City attack. None of the images matched. "All we know is that advanced weaponry had to be used in the attack because the energy levels cannot even be compared to anything else."

"Have all the different terrorist organizations, other than Hydra, come out of the woodwork to claim responsibility?" Emma asked and Rhodey nodded.

"You know it." Rhodey answered. "We've been vetting them for the past couple hours but so far nothing seems to match up." It was then that Vision spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. He had a concerned look on his face as he looked over at Tony.

"Tony, do you not think we should also inform Miss Rogers of the other news?" Vision inquired and Tony glared at the android. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. News? What other news?

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to discuss that." Tony said but Vision didn't look troubled by Tony's annoyed tone. Emma just didn't understand what they were talking about. It didn't exactly surprise her that Tony and the others might've been hiding something from her. She had been suspicious of Tony for the past couple weeks but she was still curious what Tony's secrecy could be about.

"Given the events of Hydra's new attack, I think it is imperative that we inform her of other Hydra related events." Vision said and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Hydra related events? Was this not the only Hydra related event? Emma turned to look at Peter's reaction but he looked just as confused as she was. Yeah, she knew they weren't likely to tell Peter anything either. Her boyfriend couldn't keep a secret to save his life. He had the biggest mouth out of all the people she had ever met.

"We don't even know for sure that this is Hydra. There's no need to cause a panic." Maria said and Emma starting to become frustrated at this point. They were talking about her like she wasn't even here.

"Come on, Maria, of course this is Hydra. We all know that. It's too coincidental for it not to be Hydra." Rhodey argued. Ross glared at Rhodey and Emma honestly had no clue why Rhodey ever defended this man and demanded all of them to respect him. Ross was the biggest asshole on the planet. She was even sure that she liked Ultron a hell of a lot more than this old man.

"You think I'm actually going to stand by and let you idiots spill classified information to a couple of teenagers?" Ross interjected and all the UN members at the meeting voiced their agreement. "I have a lot of respect for you, Colonel Rhodes, but I won't let you do that."

"Can you just tell me what the hell you're talking about? I already know something's going on." Emma interrupted them, her voice full of annoyance. Everyone turned to look at her, unsure looks plastered across their faces. They all seemed hesitant but they realized that they had already revealed too much just to backtrack on their statements.

"Mini Cap, it's really nothing." Tony said nervously and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Emma retorted and Maria crossed her arms, a stoic expression coming over her face.

"Fine. If we're going to tell you anything then _he_ can't be here." Maria said as she then pointedly looked at Peter. An offended look immediately crossed Peter's face as he glared at Maria and Tony.

"Hey, I'm just as much of a part of this as Emma. I deserve to know everything that's going on too." Peter argued and despite the tense moment, Emma had to admit Peter was so adorable when he was angry. She then immediately cursed herself for getting sidetracked by her boyfriend's cuteness because this was a serious moment. Her annoying teenage girl thoughts were going to have to wait for another day when the world wasn't going to shit like it always seemed to do. Why did the world always seem to go to shit? Every year it seemed like a bunch of evil assholes were set on destroying the world. Loki, Evil Space Elves, Hydra, Ultron, Zemo, Toomes, and now Hydra yet again. It seemed like there was always some evil asshole that had to make their lives harder. Couldn't these guys take a break?

"Stark, if you tell them anything, I swear-" Ross started to say but was interrupted by Rhodey.

"I mean no disrespect, Mr. Secretary, but if anyone deserves to know then its Emma." Rhodey told him, trying to be as polite and cordial as he could but Emma could tell he was quickly growing annoyed by the Secretary of State. They all were. A part of Emma wanted to say I-Told-You-So about the Sokovia Accords but she knew that it would be a dick move. It was still awfully tempting to do. "This all directly concerns her and we both know that it's Hydra launching these attacks. Who else would have the weapons? I think that Emma would be able to give us some helpful insight into Hydra if she knew what was going on." Ross clenched his jaw angrily as he hatefully glared at Emma.

"Yes, I forgot we had a former assassin and terrorist in the room with us. Good to know." Ross grumbled but Emma didn't let Ross piss her off like he seemed to be pissing Peter off. She just smirked smugly at him as she leaned forward in her seat.

"I actually prefer being called a survivalist. I think that's the politically correct term for it in my opinion." Emma told Ross who didn't look amused by her. "It was all just surviving to me." Tony cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to remove the tension in the room between Emma and Ross. The two clearly hated each other and Tony wasn't a huge fan of Ross either but they really needed to get through this without Emma stealing a Quinjet to fly over to Ross's place so she could murder him. That wasn't going to help anyone right now.

"Anyways…I think Rhodey has a point although I don't know if the kid should hear this right now." Tony said and the amused expression on her face was replaced by a defiant one as she squeezed Peter's hand from under the table.

"If you send Peter out of the room, I'll tell him everything later. It doesn't really make a difference what you do." Emma told Tony and the billionaire sighed. He kind of figured Emma would say that and Peter didn't look like he was about to leave either.

"Fine. He can stay." Tony finally relented before a more grim expression came over his face. Ross didn't look happy about this but it was clear to him that the Avengers were going to do this whether he liked it or not. Maybe he should send them another memo about the accords in the future just so he could remind them where their place was. Tony took a deep breath before finally telling Emma the truth that he had tried hiding from her for the past couple months.

"Dr. List escaped Raft prison." Tony told Emma who just stared back at him silently. For a moment she thought she had imagined him saying that.

"Excuse me?" Emma questioned and Tony nodded slowly before continuing.

"He escaped from prison three months ago. We believe that he might've even had help from Hydra." Tony told her and Emma took a deep breath as she tried to process what he was telling her. Memories of the insane doctor flooded her mind as she remembered all the needles he used to poke and prod her with. The cold expression on his face when he had her submerged in that tank, watching in cold indifference as he injected her with the serum. He was the reason Emma held a huge distrust towards scientists and he also just so happened to be on her shit list. Him and Rumlow were the only ones left alive who were still on that shit list. Pierce, Karpov, and Strucker were all dead. Emma finally managed to gather her bearings as she swallowed hard before speaking up.

"I don't get it. Why am I only finding out about this now if it happened three months ago?" Rhodey flinched at the anger in Emma's tone because he knew she was pissed. The others were a bit nervous at Emma's raised voice because things had been going so well between Tony and Emma lately. They bickered a lot but it was rare that they actually argued about anything these days.

"We didn't want to cause a panic or anything so we kept it out of the news. Four Avengers managed to break out of the prison so imagine how people would react if someone else broke out." Tony tried to explain but Emma was quickly becoming furious with the older man.

"I don't care about you keeping this out of the media. I want to know why you didn't tell _me_." Emma snapped and Tony tried to keep his cool. He didn't want to argue with her because he was finally in a good place with the blonde. He almost felt like they were on the brink of having a relationship similar to the one that they had when she was a toddler. Not that she would remember any of that.

"I thought if we captured him again then it wouldn't be a problem. I didn't want you to get worried about it for nothing." Tony said honestly, his gaze caring but Emma didn't care. She didn't care if he was looking out for her. She wasn't a baby and she deserved to know everything Hydra related. Whenever Hydra came up in conversation, it would forever have something to do with Emma. They had kidnapped and held her prisoner in their base for nine years while also making her into a weapon. "I didn't want you to think Hydra was coming back for you." Emma just scoffed as she shook her head.

"Well, you obviously did a shitty job at capturing him again." Emma said in a heated tone and it was clear that she wasn't touched by Tony's caring attitude. Tony gave her a slightly guilty look. "I have a right to know if Hydra's back on our radar. Every time something Hydra related comes up, I should be the first to know. You have no right in hiding that from me."

"Emma's right." Peter said from next to her. "None of you had the right to keep this from her. She deserves to know if her life's in danger." Most, Emma included, were surprised to hear Peter agreeing with Emma over Tony. The teenage boy always idolized Tony and saw him as a paternal figure which made it surprising to hear him come to Emma's defense rather than Tony's. Emma was just happy that she at least had some support on this.

"Is this why you've been keeping me at the compound all this time? Why you've had me wasting my time on missions with Vision?" Emma said, her voice now accusatory as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You've been hiding me, haven't you? Locking me up like I'm your own personal prisoner. This is exactly what you did to Maximoff after that incident in Lagos." Tony rolled his eyes at the blonde.

"Don't be so dramatic." Tony told her and Emma fumed at the carefree expression on his face. He could be such an asshole sometimes! "You have Wi-Fi, Netflix, and access to the training facility and the pool. Don't act like I'm keeping you prisoner."

"You lied to me! You've been going around behind my back and making sure that I'm completely ignorant of your dealings with Hydra so that you try and play hero." Emma said furiously as Tony glared back at her. "Well, guess what, Stark? You did a shit job because Hydra's still on the loose blowing up cities while you're over here sitting on your ass fretting about not causing a panic. God, you just love sneaking around on people, don't you? Ultron, the Accords, and now Hydra. I didn't realize we were living in a world of Tony knows best. Who even put you in charge?"

"Your grandfather did when he walked out on us!" Tony snapped at her. He was heaving with anger at all the things Emma accused him of. He was just trying to protect her but she made him out to be the bad guy in all of this. Why was he always the bad guy?

"Well, you made damn sure of that, didn't you?" Emma said as she sneered at him. Everyone watched the two argue back and forth like it was a tennis match because Emma was probably the only person in the world, other than Steve, who wasn't afraid of standing up to Tony Stark. Emma honestly didn't really hold Tony responsible for Steve and her father's absence anymore but this fight was bringing out old feelings. She was using whatever she could against him but deep down she was honestly just scared about Hydra coming back. The very thing she had always had nightmares about was now happening and there was no telling what would happen. It was then, however, that someone finally decided to step in and diffuse the situation. Vision cleared his throat as he interrupted the heated argument between Emma and Tony.

"Perhaps we should just focus on the issue at hand." Vision said softly as Emma and Tony stared at each other silently, coming down from their angry state. Despite how much Tony cared about Emma, he also found her about as stubborn as Steve sometimes. Like her grandfather, she just couldn't see things from his perspective. It was beyond frustrating. "While Dr. List escaping from Raft Prison and the attack in Oklahoma have all been signs of Hydra's activity in recent times, there have been other signs too." Emma finally looked away from Tony as her curiosity took over.

"What signs?" She questioned as Peter also looked over at Vision curiously. He had stayed quiet during her argument with Tony, not because he didn't agree with her but because he knew that she liked to fight her own battles. Peter understood why Tony had done what he did but he just thought Tony went about it the wrong way. It was wrong not telling Emma what was going on.

"There was some business in Tanzania recently involving King T'Challa and the Dora Milaje." Emma was vaguely familiar with the Dora Milaje but not much was known about them. After all, everyone was still learning about Wakanda since they decided to integrate themselves more into the world. "They came across weapon dealers transporting a shipment of weapons made from Vibranium and an unidentified energy source. We have reason to believe that perhaps the weapons King T'Challa and his guards confiscated are, in fact, the same ones used in the attack."

"You're saying that there are more of these weapons out there?" Emma questioned and Vision nodded before Maria added something else.

"King T'Challa and an agent with the CIA interrogated these men shortly after arresting them and they spilled everything…or at least everything they knew." Maria said as she brought up a video on the holographic screen before hitting play. Emma watched as the familiar face of T'Challa appeared on the screen alongside Agent Everett Ross who happened to be one of the men who led the investigation against her father during the business with the accords. A look of disdain crossed her face momentarily at the sight of the short man before she focused on the situation at hand. The two men were in an interrogation room of some kind, a very filthy looking one, as they both glared down at a Hispanic looking man sitting in front of them who looked scared out of his mind.

"Juan Ramirez, is it?" Everett questioned although it was clear that he already knew the answer. T'Challa just seemed to watch silently and let Everett do all the talking. "You seem to be in a bit of a tight situation, Juan. Care to explain yourself?"

"Yo no hablo ingles." Juan said as he looked between Everett and T'Challa nervously. Everett slammed his hand back down on the table which caused Juan to jump in fright.

"Do we look stupid to you?!" Everett snapped. "We know that you were born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and we also know for a fact that your Spanish doesn't go beyond high school so don't try and bullshit us.

"Now…are you going to cooperate with us or not?" Everett continued after his voice had taken a calmer tone. "Because it's not looking good for you right now, Juan. You just tried to smuggle a ton of Vibranium based weapons that's powered by God knows what. You're in so much shit right now that you're even on the King of Wakanda's radar. Does King T'Challa look happy to you?" Juan nervously glanced over at T'Challa who looked incredibly pissed. The man swallowed hard.

"Um…no." Juan replied, sounding unsure.

"You see, the men we arrested with you. Well, they aren't talking." Everett told him as he sat down on the edge of the table. "They're really tight lipped as it would seem so they're landing themselves a cell in Raft prison. Do you know how bad Raft prison is, Juan? No human contact, twenty four hour surveillance, and you get let out of your cell twice a day for bathroom privileges. It doesn't sound fun, does it?"

"No." The weak looking man squeaked.

"But you're not like them, Juan. I can see that. You seem smarter." Everett said and Emma had to admit that even though she despised the man, he was a pretty good interrogator. "You don't have to go to Raft prison like them. We can set you up in a prison back in the states. You could be going to little arts and craft circles…hell, you could even take college classes if you wanted. We might even be able to work out a lesser sentence. That sounds nice, right?"

"Yeah, it does." Juan said quietly as he nodded at Everett.

"We just need your cooperation." Everett said softly as he stared the man down. T'Challa didn't look like he enjoyed the thought of this man getting a lesser sentence but he didn't say anything. "Do you think you can cooperate with us?"

"Yes." Juan said as he swallowed hard. "I would like to cooperate."

"Go on then." Everett told him as he gave him a fake smile. "Tell us everything and we'll be able to work out a deal." Juan nodded as mustered up the courage to finally speak. Everyone started paying closer attention to what the man was about to say.

"I swear I didn't know what was in the boxes, okay? I swear." Juan told them before he continued. "I'm just trying pay off my student loans, man. Do you know how much they charge for college? Anyways…so a buddy of mine said that he knew an easy and fast way to make some cash." Juan took a deep breath before speaking again as Everett and T'Challa listened closely.

"They told me that there was this rich Mexican guy who needed some things of his to be moved around from place to place. I just assumed he was having his art collection move around or something. You know how rich people are." Juan said nervously as he looked between Everett and T'Challa. "It seemed like good money and I got to travel a lot so of course I took the job."

"What was the man's name?" T'Challa asked in his thick accent, speaking up for the first time since the interrogation began. Juan bit his lip nervously before answering.

"Diego Ugalde." He told them and Everett immediately stared at him in disbelief.

"Diego Ugalde? You mean Diego Ugalde like the famous actor?" Everett questioned and T'Challa looked confused. It was obvious that he wasn't aware of who Diego Ugalde was. Emma was only vaguely aware of the actor but that was mostly because Darcy had made her watch one of his movies once. Emma didn't think he was all that great but then again she rarely like any of the movies Darcy watched.

"Yes." Juan told them and Everett scoffed.

"Stop wasting our time!" Everett snapped and Juan hurriedly shook his head.

"I swear I'm not! I know it sounds crazy but it really is Diego Ugalde. That's why I thought everything was legit." Juan rushed to say. "I only met him maybe once or twice in the past year I've been working for him. He was nice then but recently he's been really impatient and pissed. He was wanting the shipments in specific locations at specific times. There's not a lot of guys in the crew so we had a hard time making all his crazy deadlines." Something in Juan's confession seemed to make Everett believe him as he took a second look at the man.

"You're saying that a movie star is somehow involved in this?" Everett asked skeptically.

"Yes. I know it sounds crazy but I swear it's true. Look, we've been moving this shipment across the world for the past year alone. From city to city, state to state, and country to country." Juan told them and T'Challa narrowed his eyes at the man.

"If what you're saying is the truth then how did this… _actor_ get his hands on the weapons?" T'Challa questioned as he began to raise his voice at the man who sank back into his seat. "Who did he get the Vibranium from?"

"I told you I didn't know what was in the shipment. We weren't allowed to look. We signed a contract not to look." Juan explained and Everett raised his eyebrows.

"And you're still claiming not to know what this guy was having shipped around the world?" Everett asked him and Juan looked guilty.

"I needed the money. I didn't ask any questions." Juan said weakly and T'Challa gave him a disgusted look. There was a brief moment of silence before Juan spoke up again but it was only then that he held T'Challa and Everett's complete attention. "I never knew anything about the weapons but I did hear rumors about Diego."

"Rumors?" T'Challa inquired curiously and Juan ran his tongue over his teeth before answering.

"The other guys in the crew, the ones who had been working there longer than me, talked about the shipments like it was someone else needing them and not Diego…like Diego might've been having them moved for someone else." Juan said quietly and Everett stared at him in surprise.

"You're saying this guy was working for someone else?" Everett asked and Juan nodded. "Like who?"

"I heard some of the other guys talking. They mentioned a name." Juan said, seeming almost frightened as he spoke but this time he seemed scared of something else. T'Challa and Everett exchanged a look before glancing back at the scared looking man.

"What name?" T'Challa asked and Juan looked back up at him with wide eyes.

"Hydra."

Maria then ended the video clip as Emma was left to process everything she learned from the video. Diego Ugalde. Vibranium. Hydra. All this new information astounded her and she had no idea how to put it all together. None of this made sense. At least not right now in this very moment. Supposedly this guy was working for an actor that so happened to work for Hydra? Why would Hydra entrust their most powerful weapons to an actor of all people? Well, maybe they would, after all. Actors were supposedly charming and great at playing a part. Look at Ted Bundy. Although he wasn't an actor people always said he seemed charming which was why he probably got away with killing people for so long. Maybe Hydra _would_ be that stupid. It was plausible but Emma didn't really know what to believe anymore. She had spent nine years with Hydra but she had also spent three years out of Hydra. A lot can change in three years and not to mention Hydra was now run by different people. It wasn't run by her grandfather anymore. Pierce and Rumlow were two very different people so the way Hydra was now run was bound to change.

"This interrogation took place three weeks ago." Maria told them solemnly as she looked across the table. "It didn't take long for the other crew members to eventually fess up when they realized that they were about to spend their entire lives in Raft. They all had the same exact story."

"Are you seriously saying Diego Ugalde is working for Hydra?" Peter asked in disbelief, not believing what he was actually hearing. "The guy who did that talking fish movie is working for Hydra? This is insane."

"It sounds laughable but Hydra's done crazier things." Emma said quietly as she added her view on this new discovery. "If they wanted to maintain a low profile then finding a village idiot to use as their messenger wouldn't be a terrible strategy." Maria nodded in agreement at Emma's statement.

"We've done numerous background checks on him but he's clean. Between several ex-wives and mistresses, the guy's just your average Hollywood A-Lister." Maria told them but Emma didn't look sure.

"Just because he's clean doesn't mean he's _clean_. This just means he hasn't been caught." Emma replied as she still seemed suspicious. "This story is a pretty elaborate and specific one to just be dismissed. We should still be cautious of him."

"We are." Rhodey told her seriously. "We've got people down in Mexico City keeping a close surveillance of his mansion. So far the guy's done nothing out of the ordinary for a womanizing celebrity."

"What about the weapons T'Challa confiscated?" Emma asked suddenly as she remembered the fact that T'Challa and the Dora Milaje had managed to confiscate these weapons that were apparently property of Hydra. "Is there a way we could possibly match them to the weapons used in Oklahoma?"

"T'Challa's been pretty adamant about keeping the weapons in Wakanda until further notice." Tony announced. It seemed like both he and Emma had cooled down from their prior argument. The situation had gotten slightly more serious than before. "He's having his people analyze them and he'll send us the results when they're finished. Until then we won't know for sure if these are the same weapons although it's safe to assume that it's a match."

"If it's a match then that means that Hydra led the attack on Oklahoma." Maria added.

"It's not safe to assume anything." Ross interjected and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You're just saying that because you're too lazy to deal with Hydra." Emma told him, causing him to glare at her again but Emma didn't care. "This couldn't be anyone _but_ Hydra."

"Mini Cap." Tony said, grabbing her attention again. "What's your take on this? What do you think they're up to?" Everyone's gaze was focused on the blonde as she sighed heavily.

"I think that this is only the beginning." Emma told them as she looked across the room at all of them. "Hydra likes to start out small. If they have these weapons then that means they can do a hell of a lot more than attacking some government building in Oklahoma City. They're trying to get our attention and they've already done that."

"What about Dr. List?" Rhodey asked curiously. "Do you think they broke him out of prison to help create these weapons?"

"No. He wasn't that kind of scientist. List's specialty was human experimentation. Trust me, I know firsthand." Emma said, immediately shutting down Rhodey's theory. "You're right though. Hydra broke List out for a reason. Not because they missed him…no, they needed something from him. That's the only reason they would go through all the trouble."

"So what are you saying?" Ross asked her and it seemed very hard for him to actually ask her for her opinion on all of this. Any other time Emma would've smirked at him and rubbed it in his face but she was feeling slightly more on edge than usual.

"I'm saying that I wouldn't focus all my attention on these weapons. That's what Hydra wants you to do." Emma informed them as she gave them her honest opinion. "They have something else up their sleeve that they're saving for later. That's why they brought List back. Whatever it is, it's probably guaranteed that we're not going to like it."

"Do you have any idea what that might be? What about the weapons?" Maria questioned as she looked desperate for any other information. Emma honestly didn't know what to tell her. "Do you have any idea what weapons they might be using? Did you see anything when you were there?" Emma took a deep breath before exhaling.

"My job at Hydra was simple. Kill who they wanted and then wait for the next mission." Emma said, looking a bit guilty at her former life at Hydra. Peter gave her a sympathetic look, wanting to convey to her that it was okay. Her life at Hydra was over. "I didn't ask questions but I did see a few things. I know they were using Loki's scepter for human experimentation as well as creating weapons. I also know that they used Chitauri technology to make other weapons. According to your analysis, however, the weapons used in the attack were neither powered by the Chitauri or Loki's scepter. What else they may have used to make these weapons is beyond me."

"So you don't know everything, after all." Ross smugly pointed out and Emma fought the urge to glare at him as she remained focused on the others. She swallowed hard as she tried to come up with the courage to make a very bold suggestion. A suggestion that she had been wanting to make for a long time. It was kind of terrible that she had been desperately waiting for the world to go to shit again so she could even make the suggestion but Emma never thought it would have to come to Rumlow for this to finally happen.

"Look, there are a lot of things I can't tell you about Hydra. I was there for nine years which seems long but there's someone who's been there for a lot longer than me." Emma then paused briefly as she looked at everyone's expressions. Vision and Peter looked slightly confused by her odd statement but everyone else had looks of shock on their faces because they immediately knew who Emma was talking about.

"I think we need to get the others in on this. We need my father." Emma stated and the room suddenly grew very silent. "He was kept prisoner by Hydra for several decades. There's no telling what kind of information he might have. Maybe he knows something about the weapons…something that could help us."

"If you think I'm going to sit by and let your psychopathic assassin boyfriend run loose around the city then you're crazier than I thought, Rogers." Ross hissed and Emma tried to not let herself explode in anger at him. How dare he talk about her father like that! And boyfriend?! Was he nuts?! She really wished that Bruce had smashed that guy's brains in all those years ago when he still had the chance. Emma furiously shook her head as she looked to the others for help.

"Look around! Who's left?" Emma told them, desperate to get them to see what move they needed to make next. "A nerd in a suit of armor, an android, and a man who can't even walk outside his suit. There's Peter and I too but that's not going to cut it. We're seriously understaffed."

"We need Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and we even need the Winter Soldier." Emma said as she tried to get them to see that everyone needed to finally bury the hatchet. "Whatever Hydra has planned for us is going to be bad. We don't know how bad yet but it's gotta be catastrophic if they're hiding it like this. This is why we need the Avengers all back together again. We need to formulate a plan on how to move forward. With Cap's strategy and Winter's knowledge of Hydra we could have a real advantage."

"If your grandfather or any one of those war criminals sets foot on American soil I will have them sent back to Raft with life sentences." Ross said as he sneered at her and Emma scoffed.

"Oh, like your precious little prison is so secure." Emma said sarcastically. "You've already had four Avengers break out of that place and not to mention a Hydra scientist. You think it's working so great? Trying looking into your staff. It's guaranteed that one of them helped break List out so it looks like that stupid prison's corrupt anyways. Are you sure Zemo's even there anymore? Maybe you should go check." Ross looked like he wanted to murder her but he didn't get the chance to respond as Rhodey jumped back into the conversation.

"Emma, it's not that simple." Rhodey stated as he brought the conversation back to Emma's suggestion. "Look, even if we could get the rest of the Avengers here legally, we can't just go running around the world doing whatever we want. The UN has to approve it because the Sokovia Accords-" Emma then interrupted him, tired of hearing about the accords. The stupid accords were all she seemed to hear about these days and she was sick of it.

"Fuck the accords!" Emma snapped and everyone looked at her in shock. "I'm serious. Rip them up and let's just forget they ever happened." Rhodey laughed nervously as he tried to keep things calm in the room. This conversation was starting to become very political.

"You have to understand something about politics, Emma-" He tried to tell her but she just interrupted him again.

"Oh, I understand plenty. It's all Hydra used to teach me but the fact is that I don't give a shit about politics." Emma told them heatedly as she glared at all of them. Ross looked pissed at her but Emma didn't give him a chance to interrupt. "You guys are always preaching all the time about saving the world and protecting people, which I always thought was lame, but the second politics come into question, you just sit on your asses and wait for approval from a bunch of pencil pushers who don't know shit."

"We're doing the best we can with what we have, okay?!" Tony snapped at her and Emma glared back at him as she shook her head.

"It's not good enough, Tony. We're just a fraction of what we used to be and it's not going to hold up against Hydra this time." Emma told him honestly.

"I agree with Emma." Peter said quietly from next to her. He had remained quiet for a large part of this heated debate like Vision but he was going to support his girlfriend because she was right. Peter knew that she was only trying to do the right thing even though she was a little rough around the edges. Everyone turned to look at him. It was kind of scary standing up to the Avengers but he had faced worst.

"She's right." Peter said as he continued to speak. "We need the Avengers back together again. There's hardly any of us left. Politics shouldn't stand in the way of helping save lives. People are in danger and we need to do something about that." Emma gave him a small smile of thanks as he once again squeezed her hand and returned her smile. She was happy that he was being supportive of her even though she knew it was difficult for him to disagree with Tony. He was there for her and she appreciated it.

"They're right, Tony." Maria told the billionaire as she nodded in agreement with what Emma and Peter said. "There's going to be a lot of lives hanging in the balance over this. A lot of people have already died and the body count's only going to rise."

"I also see the logic in Emma's reasoning." Vision stated as he momentarily glanced at her before looking back at the others. It was one of the rare occasions he called her by her first name but Emma was more shocked because the android was actually agreeing with her. Who knew? "Many people have already perished and more will if we sit here and keeping talking amongst each other. This calls for action and perhaps Sergeant Barnes could give us some insight into Hydra. We have a better advantage as a full team than a partial team."

Tony glanced from face to face, not liking the fact that everyone other than Rhodey and Ross were agreeing on this issue. He was slowly losing his mind over this. Barnes coming back? Could he really handle that? Tony knew deep down that it wasn't Barnes' fault that he had killed Tony's parents. It was Hydra controlling him and brainwashing him. Tony knew all of this but he still didn't know if he could handle being around that man. The one that Steve had thrown everything away to save and the one Emma seemed to love so unconditionally. Tony didn't know if he was ready for something like that. It had been a year but the pain of finding out about his parent's death and the fight between himself and Cap was still raw. Tony finally managed to take a deep breath as he collected his thoughts and looked Emma straight in the eyes. The same eyes that she shared with both her dad and grandfather.

"I get that you want to do the right thing, Emma, but this can't happen." Tony finally stated much to Emma's shock and anger. "We signed the accords for a reason and the rest of the others made their choice the day they refused to sign. There's no other way around this." Emma immediately stood up from her seat as she glared at the billionaire. Everyone held their breath as they watched her glare at Tony who did his best to maintain his composure.

"You're lying." Emma said as she forced herself not lose it over Tony. She would be damned if she cried over Tony Stark. How could he do this? How could he still sit there and tell her that he couldn't let the others come back even if the world was in danger? "This isn't about the accords. This is about you." Emma shook her head in disbelief.

"You won't let them come back because your ego won't let you." Emma accused but she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Peter looked up at her in concern, wanting nothing more than to comfort her but he knew better than to interrupt Emma when she had something to say. Tony looked down at the table, refusing to meet her gaze because it was too difficult. All he could see was hurt, disappointment, and anger swirling around in those blue depths. He felt like he was letting her down and maybe he was.

"You're being selfish. This isn't about you…this is about Hydra and what they might do but you don't care." Emma told him, sounding completely hurt by his decision. Her expression then hardened as she quickly became angry.

"You know what? All those deaths are going to be on you." Emma said coldly as she acted out of anger. She was angry at a great many things but she was mostly hurt by Tony's actions. "Because you had the chance to do something about it but you didn't. You had the chance to get over yourself and ask for help but you refused because you're an egotistical asshole who doesn't care about anyone except himself." Tony swallowed his emotions down because he felt like a little boy again getting lectured by Steven for doing some bad although Steven never sounded as hurt and angry as Emma did in that moment. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to wish away the regret he already felt from hurting her.

"I'm finished here. I can't spend another second in this fucking room." Emma hissed before she abruptly made a beeline for the door and vacated the conference room. There was a brief moment of silence as everyone stood in shock from what they just witnessed. Peter had only experienced Emma and Tony fighting once before but this was equally as bad. He could tell that Emma was really hurting. Without giving it anymore thought, Peter got up from the table as well. He only glanced at Tony for a moment.

"I still think you're wrong, Mr. Stark." Peter said quietly, giving his mentor a disappointed look which didn't make Tony feel any better. If anything it just made him feel even shittier than before. Now the kid was mad at him too? Wow…he really fucked up, hadn't he? "We need the others more than you know." Peter then looked away from Tony sadly and followed his girlfriend out of the room, leaving Tony and the others alone to wrap up the meeting although Tony couldn't stop thinking about the look on Emma and Peter's face. This was really bad.

* * *

The second Peter stepped out of the conference room to go find Emma; he realized that he wouldn't have to look far. The blonde was leaning against the wall outside the room with a haunted look on her face and her arms wrapped around herself. Tears were silently streaming down her face and Peter didn't hesitate in going over to her. Peter immediately pulled her into his arms and Emma melted in his embrace, not wanting to be alone right now. Not after everything that just happened during the meeting.

"Why is he doing this, Peter?" Emma questioned as she let Peter hold her in his arms. "He knows that we need them but he just won't move on. He can't let go and people are going to die."

"I don't know, Emma." Peter murmured and Emma sniffled. "I just think it's a lot for him to get over."

"He told me he forgave my father. He said it straight to my face." Emma told Peter.

"It might've been easier for him to forgive your father since your father isn't here. I think he might be scared to face everyone after what happened last year." Peter said to her as he tried to keep the peace between Emma and Tony. Of course Peter was on Emma's side but that didn't mean that he wanted Emma to be angry at Tony. He knew she said a lot of things she didn't mean when she was angry and she said a lot of those things to Tony just now. Tony might not have been as aware of this as Peter was.

"Peter, it's not just Tony." Emma said suddenly as she held onto him tighter, fear clenching her heart. Peter looked down at her in concern.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned and the look on Emma's face scared him. She looked absolutely terrified as she looked back up at him. It was rare that Emma ever looked scared and he didn't like it.

"Hydra's back which also means Rumlow's back." Emma told him, her voice trembling. "He's going to get me, Peter. Just like in my nightmares. He's going to get me and he's going to rape me again. I know he is."

Peter felt an overwhelming amount of fear wash over him at Emma's statement. In all his shock over Hydra launching the attack in Oklahoma among other things, he didn't have time to think of Rumlow. Now, however, he realized that things were a lot more serious than he originally thought. Hydra coming back also meant Rumlow coming back…the man who raped his girlfriend. The man who still haunted Emma's nightmares on a regular basis. Peter wanted so badly to hurt the man who had hurt the girl he loved. He even wanted to kill him which went against everything he believed in but this was Emma he was talking about. This man had done evil things to Emma and he needed to pay. Peter pressed a chaste kiss against Emma's forehead before pulling away to look at her. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tears, as he locked eyes with her.

"He's not going to get you, Emma. He's not. I won't let him." Peter told her sincerely and it was clear to Emma that he meant every word. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're safe with me."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Peter." Emma whispered as she tried not to let herself break down. "My parents couldn't even save me from Hydra."

"I won't let anyone ever hurt you. Please believe me." Peter pleaded softly with her but Emma seemed distant…her thoughts somewhere far away. She shook her head as the fear started to overwhelm her.

"Whatever Hydra has is really bad, Peter. I don't know if we can hold them off on our own. There's no one here anymore." Emma stated as she tried to come to terms that things were only going to go downhill from there. There was just three Avengers plus her and Peter. What use was that if Hydra was planning something catastrophic? "We need the rest of the Avengers. Without them…I don't know what will happen."

"Maybe if you told Tony about what Rumlow did to you-" Peter started to say but Emma interrupted him as she scoffed.

"Telling Tony's not going to change a thing. He doesn't give a shit." Emma said bitterly, still pissed off by Tony's stupid decision. "You heard him in there. No, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing what Rumlow did to me." Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"You think Tony would take any pleasure in knowing what Rumlow did to you? Emma…he cares about you." Peter told her as he tried to get her to see some sense. "If you told Tony the truth then I know he would change his mind about the Avengers. He'd bring them back in a heartbeat if he knew."

"You think too much of him." Emma muttered, still clearly angry with Tony. Peter didn't really agree with her on that but he didn't want to argue with her. Not when she was in such a scared and hurt state.

"I think it would be for the best if you finally came clean about everything. No one would hold it against you, Emma. I know you think they will but they won't." Peter said as he tried to convince her to tell everyone about the rape. "If Hydra's coming then it might be better if they know."

"I'm not telling them anything. It's none of their business." Emma said, showing her stubborn side and Peter sighed. He knew he couldn't force her to tell the others if she didn't want to. She had to make that decision herself and if she didn't want to tell them then…well, Peter didn't think there was much he could do about it.

"If you don't want to tell them then maybe I could if you want…if that would be easier for you." Peter suggested but he immediately regretted the suggestion when Emma glared at him.

"You promised you wouldn't tell." Emma said, her voice low although Peter could still detect a small amount of fear in her voice too. Peter just shook his head as he pulled her back into his arms and held her.

"I won't. I won't." Peter hurriedly reassured her. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I'll do whatever you want. Okay?" Emma buried her face in his chest in an attempt feel closer to him. Despite her fear, she did feel safer in Peter's arms. She knew it was silly but she felt like nothing could hurt her if Peter just held her like this.

"Thank you, Peter." She murmured and Peter just soothingly rubbed her back as he comforted her. Emma tried to listen to his heartbeat because she knew the sound of his heartbeat always calmed her down. Everything about Peter could calm her down.

"We'll be okay." Peter whispered as they stood very still in the hallway. It was quiet so Emma just allowed herself to focus on nothing but him and the steady pattern of his breathing. A million thoughts went through her mind as she stood there with Peter but she couldn't help but panic over what was going to happen next. Whatever it was, Emma knew that it definitely wasn't going to be good. They might've even been able to get through it if everyone was here but the compound was a pathetic excuse for an Avenger's facility since there was barely any Avengers left. Without the others, Emma didn't know if they were going to come out of this one alright. She just didn't know and that terrified her. One thing she did know was that Rumlow was finally coming for her and he might even be able to get her this time too. There was no telling how the future was going to unfold at this point. Emma was just sure that no good was going to come out of this. Nothing good was ever associated with Hydra. All of Emma's fears were finally coming to light. Hydra was coming and they weren't going to stop…no matter the cost.

* * *

 **Wakanda**

T'Challa walked across one of the Wakanda hilltops as Okoye, the general of the Dora Milaje, gave him updates of the status of all the tribes still within Wakanda. Several members of the Dora Milaje trailed after them as T'Challa looked over the countryside of Wakanda. He had lived in Wakanda his entire life but never did any of Wakanda's beauty grow old to him. It was just as beautiful as he remembered it when he was just a young boy.

"The King's Guard and the Dora Milaje ready at your request." Okoye informed him as they walked ever so slowly over the hill. Although Wakanda looked as beautiful as ever, even after the incident with Killmonger, there was still a threat worldwide now that they had learned their Vibranium had ended up in the wrong hands. There was no telling how but T'Challa had a few sneaking suspicions. Even though Ulysses Klaue was now dead, it was clear that he was not finished with the living just yet. It seemed like he had left them a surprise in the form of these weapons. T'Challa just wondered who he had sold his leftover Vibranium to.

"The Border Tribe?" T'Challa inquired, wanting to know how many tribes were in position in case the fight was ever brought back to Wakanda. Hydra, as Everett Ross suspected, seemed very eager to launch attacks in the US but there was no telling whether or not they might come to Wakanda to take more Vibranium. If that day came then you better believe T'Challa was going to be prepared for it.

"Those that are left?" Okoye questioned.

"Send them away to the Jabari as well. M'Baku likes a good fight." T'Challa ordered as an amused smile came over his face at the thought of his rival turned ally. T'Challa and Okoye finally came to a stop just a short distance away from one of the villages that the Border Tribe occupied.

"Here we conquer." Okoye said as she smiled at her king but soon grew serious once more as she and T'Challa looked down at the form of a tall white man hard at work as he helped the local farmers do their daily tasks. Okoye nodded at the man.

"And what of this one?" Okoye asked. T'Challa stared thoughtfully at the man for a moment before he finally spoke.

"This one may be tired of war." T'Challa proclaimed as he watched Bucky Barnes help one of the farmers lift something heavy as if it weighed nothing. T'Challa, however, knew better than that. "But the White Wolf has rested long enough." T'Challa then nodded for the guards to follow him and Okoye as they moved in towards Bucky who they now called White Wolf.

Bucky Barnes had spent two months out of the Cyro-Chamber and in those two months he felt better than what he had felt in a long time. He no longer felt the inner turmoil of the Winter Soldier but he just felt…well, he felt like himself. He felt like the old Bucky but still different at the same time. Bucky didn't really know how to explain it but he just felt healthier and more free. It had taken a while to get used to it but thankfully Shuri had helped him through it. The Wakandan princess and T'Challa's little sister was a big help although Bucky at times forgot she was a princess. She was very sarcastic, witty, and informal for a princess. Not to mention she was a teenager who was probably around Emma's age.

Emma…

It hadn't felt like a year since he had last seen Emma but he knew that it had been that long. The Cyro-Chamber made him feel like it had only been a couple short months when, in fact, it had been a lot longer. One of the first things he had asked after he had woken up in the tent was where Emma was. He must've asked Shuri a million questions about his adoptive daughter but it soon became clear that she didn't have much of a clue who Emma was. It wasn't until she brought him to T'Challa that he was able to get some questions answered.

T'Challa informed him that Emma was living in New York under Tony Stark's care and that she was as safe as can be. The thought of Emma living under Tony Stark's watch made Bucky hesitant since Bucky and Tony hadn't really met or parted under good circumstances and Bucky couldn't blame Tony for that. Still…Bucky had been worried about whether or not Emma was really safe with Tony Stark but T'Challa assured him that she was. Steve had left her in Tony's care, believing that no harm would come to her there and Steve's opinion was good enough for Bucky. This still didn't mean that Bucky didn't miss her at the end of the day. There wasn't a day that went by that Bucky didn't miss her or long for her company. T'Challa mentioned that Natasha met with Emma a few months ago and that she seemed to be doing well. She was going to school and had even made some friends. Bucky found that hard to believe but he was happy that she was doing well. He just wished that he could be there for her.

Steve and the others were gone as well apparently. They had left Wakanda a couple months after Bucky had been placed into the Cyro-Chamber to put some space between them and Wakanda. They knew T'Challa could get into a lot of trouble over offering aid to the Winter Soldier so they didn't want to put the king in anymore jeopardy by harboring all the Avengers too. Bucky hadn't had contact with Steve since waking up but T'Challa said that it was only because everyone was on the run. No one knew where they were. Despite feeling welcomed into the Wakandan community, he couldn't help but feel alone without the presence of his daughter and best friend. Sometimes he just wished everything was a lot simpler than it was.

Bucky was then broken out of his thoughts as he glanced over at the forms of T'Challa, Okoye, and some of the Dora Milaje approaching him. He immediately stopped the work he was doing to give them his full attention. Bucky was bit curious as to why the king himself had come all the way down to where the Border Tribe lived. Usually if Bucky was needed by T'Challa, someone would bring him up to the palace. He really liked T'Challa even though they didn't meet on the best of terms but he was grateful that T'Challa had been so helpful since he had woken up. Bucky owed him a lot and he had no clue how to ever repay him.

Bucky's eyes then drifted to an official looking metal suitcase that one of guards had. The guard immediately set the suitcase in front of Bucky, managing to capture his complete and undivided attention, before popping it open. Bucky's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the contents of the suitcase. Inside, much to his surprise, was a new and much more advanced looking version of his metal arm but this one looked different than the one Hydra made for him. This one looked a lot better and there wasn't a doubt in Bucky's mind that Shuri was the one who designed it. It had Shuri written all over it. Bucky hesitantly traced his fingers over the cool, metallic texture of the arm as he stared down at it in astonishment while T'Challa and Okoye just watched him silently. He had almost forgotten they were there in the midst of everything. Bucky looked up at the king, locking eyes with him.

"Where's the fight?" Bucky asked knowingly and T'Challa just gave a solemn look that said more than words could. Somehow Bucky knew something was very wrong. He could feel it and it was rare that he was ever wrong about that sort of thing. T'Challa wasn't about to tell him he was wrong either as he spoke quietly to the former assassin. The situation was a lot more serious than either of them could even begin to comprehend.

"On its way."


	74. Chapter Sixty Eight

**Author's Note: I feel like I'm always apologizing for the chapter taking forever but they just end up being so big. I'm always saying that this chapter's not going to be that long but then it just ends up being almost 30,000 words long anyways. I'm hoping the next one won't be as long so I can have it out fast but I'm not going to make any promises since every chapter always becomes longer than I planned. It didn't help that I was getting rid of a bunch of stuff in my room for a garage sale which was super time consuming. I came to make an interesting discovery about myself. I'm a huge book hoarder. I had books that I would never read so I have no idea why I kept them for so long. I'm probably getting rid of over a hundred books and I still have a couple hundred around the house. It's been a real nightmare.**

 **Another reason it took me forever with the chapter because I finally sat down and read two actual books this past week and it's been a while since I've done that. _The Music Shop_ by Rachel Joyce and _Circe_ by Madeline Miller were both amazing. _The Music Shop's_** **great if you're a huge fan of music and vinyl like me and just want a really good romance that's not super corny and boring but quirky and sweet with a great ending. _Circe's_ also really good even if you don't know much about Greek mythology. I've never read a book before that spans a thousand years without it being a history book. Both amazing books that I completely devoured and both books that are to blame for the delay of the new chapter.**

 **I also updated the companion piece to this story _Dry Bite_ with a cute chapter about Tony and Peter's first meeting in Civil War from Tony's perspective. I don't know when I'll update next but it's going to be sometime after updating this story again.**

 **Music for this chapter...In case you haven't noticed I really only listen to albums while writing chapters rather than playlists. I rarely listen to playlists unless I make them myself. Anyways, I listened to the album _Caer_ by Twin Shadow while writing this new chapter(Love Twin Shadow! You should really check him out!) and I also listened to the album _Cool Like You_ by Blossoms(the lead singer's voice sounds a lot like Alex Turner but they're not like the Arctic Monkeys at all). Not to mention I'm really obsessed with Florence + The Machine's new song 'Big God' which gives me a ton of hope for the new album. I wasn't a huge fan of the other two singles but I'm in love with this one. **

**I also feel a need to mention the Seattle Comic Con that happened this past weekend. I think I mentioned a while ago that I kind of wanted to go but I didn't because I thought Sebastian Stan wasn't going to be there and he's the only reason I would really want to go Seattle(Seriously, Seattle used to be nice but it's just gotten really bad lately. It's not a great place to visit right now. There's so many problems there). Anyways...last week I was super disappointed when they announced last minute that both him _and_ Anthony Mackie were going to be there to replace Chris Hemsworth who had to drop out. But I was like fine...I'll just watch it on YouTube because it was too late to get tickets anyways. I was still super jealous because Sebastian, Anthony, and Tom Holland were all doing a panel together which is probably one of the most amazing things to happen at a Comic Con. However, when I watched the panel last night I was glad I didn't go because I was super disgusted by those two teenage girls at the end who, instead of asking Sebastian and Anthony a question, insulted them both for five minutes. They ruined the amazingness of Sebastian, Anthony, and Tom finally doing an interview together and everything had been hilarious up to that point. You should seriously watch Anthony Mackie's entrance by the way. Best entrance ever. I just can't believe some teenagers and especially the disrespectful way they talk to adults. I don't know if they were trying to be funny or what but it just came off as rude and entitled. They claimed to be fans of Marvel but they were just super obsessed with Tom Holland. I like Tom too and I love his portrayal of Peter Parker(although I honestly don't know much about him other than the fact that he's British which is kind of funny since I've been writing a massive Spider-Man fanfic for the past year) but they also went too far with it. Anyways...Sebastian and Anthony really handled it like pros and I felt bad for Tom because he looked super embarrassed. I just thought to mention this because I hope it doesn't mean that Sebastian and Anthony will never return to Seattle Comic Con because I would kill to see them. Sorry for the rambling but I've been dying to vent about this. It was a gift that those two even went there and those girls were just awful to them. Also warning for people if they're going watch the end of that panel...don't watch it if you get super anxious about awkward situations. I was cringing the whole time I watched that last part. You should still see it though if you find Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan roasting Tom Holland as cute and funny as I do. It was really funny other than those two girls.**

 **Favorite quotes from the panel:**

 **"I haven't seen the Falcon movie-oh no...there isn't one. Sorry." -Tom Holland**

 **"I follow no man." -Anthony Mackie**

 **"You have a good time on the internet tonight." -Sebastian Stan**

 **So moving on to this new chapter. I just wanted to really thank Keystone for this chapter because they gave me a lot of advice on a certain aspect of Peter's abilities which shows up in this chapter. I don't want to spoil anything. A few chapters back Keystone was super helpful with a lot of Spider-Man stuff that would've otherwise been really difficult for me to write. If there's any way I can fix or improve this side of Peter's powers please let me know and I'll keep it in mind for future chapters. Yet another reason this chapter was so hard to write was because of all the action bits. I'm not great at writing action and I always find it so difficult so please bear with me.**

 **This chapter is also pretty violent just to let you know.**

 **extremeninja09: I feel like that would be good for a bit of comedy and it would be such an ironic death but I already have his death scene planned out. It's still going to be a short while before we see something like that though.**

 **Wildfarr: I know Part III moved really slow in terms of action but a major part of it was dealing with trauma, PTSD, and Emma's relationships with people which I felt was the most important thing. I also wanted her to feel very comfortable at this stage in her life before Hydra made their return because that was also important to me. This is really the ultimate test for her. Thanks for the long review by the way. I really appreciate it. I love long reviews.**

 **Yusuke Kurosaki: Thanks for letting me know. I was super curious about the Kate Bishop thing which I found weird because how would Fanfiction know that she was going to be in one of the Avengers movies when even we don't know. That would be an interesting future for the MCU. That's for sure. Can't wait until Avenger's 4 and it sucks that we have to wait another year. I heard the Russo brothers aren't announcing the title of it until the end of the year and I'm dying to know.**

 **wonderbitch26: Shuri might be closer than you think. I won't say anything beyond that.**

 **bellaphant: Someone mentioned the similarity to me which is weird since I don't watch _Agents of Shield_. I used to but I stopped after the first two seasons because I got bored. I mean, I love _Agent Carter_ but I just couldn't get into _Agents of Shield_. I don't know if that character showed up way back then and I don't remember her or what. I'm not familiar with the actress either so I guess it's just a weird coincidence. **

**BabyPinkPuppy: Haha. I don't know why Jessica Chastain would be doing an Avenger's movie interview. I think she's in the new X-Men movie but I'm not sure. The thing about Emma and Peter's first time being surrounded by candles and flower petals with music playing in the background was just a joke. I meant for Peter to sound cheesy because he's a cheesy person but it probably won't happen exactly like that. Emma would probably tell him to leave if it did. Lol. When the sex scene eventually happens I'll put a warning in the author's note but it's still not going to happen for a while.**

 **I also just want to make it clear to other readers that will read the scene that I'm not turning this story into one of those fanfics filled with porn because that would be creepy since Emma and Peter are only sixteen. It's going to be tasteful and classy. That's all I have to about that for the moment. I'm even kind of embarrassed just writing this message right here.**

 **I'm glad you mentioned the thing with Ross because that is something that will definitely come up in the next chapter and it'll all be explained in there. There's going to be another huge argument about the accords between the Avengers and Ross so all of that will certainly come up. Not to worry. I'll just let you find out for yourself next chapter which I'm super excited to write although I'm sure you'll see why by the end of this chapter.**

 **Poppin Michelle: I have thought a lot about it although I'm really unsure what to write about it. The longest original piece I wrote was this one hundred and some page unpublished novel but that's about it. I have a lot of ideas floating around inside my head but it's just super hard trying to figure out what to write.**

 **Aleksitupper19: I'm always happy to get new readers for this story and I'm glad people are noticing it through the amazing trailer knarls made me. Your question about Emma being reunited with the others will be answered by the end of the chapter. Emma will also eventually tell the others about the rape but it's going to happen soon although I won't say how soon because I don't want to spoil a whole lot.**

 **Oh my god...my favorite Avenger? That's like asking who your favorite kid is. I mean, I definitely like Wanda too. I love her powers and I love how her character's developed so much over the past couple movies. I kind of want to say Falcon but that's only because I love Anthony Mackie so much but maybe I would love Falcon a lot more if they gave him a larger part in the movies. He had a bigger part in Civil War but I would still love to see more of him. Thor's the one Avenger whose changed my opinion the most. I really used to hate him because of all the Loki stuff but now I kind of feel bad for him because of Loki. Like, he messed up big time in his relationship with Loki and I even think he took his brother for granted but by the time he realized how much he messed up and tried to make amends, it was just too late. I also feel bad for him because no matter what his brother does, he still loves and cares about Loki. In the last movie I felt so touched when Loki finally went back to calling him brother again. I don't remember if he did that in Thor: the Dark World but I just liked how Thor and Loki's relationship slowly started piecing it's way back together in Thor: Ragnarok. Maybe I'd even say the Winter Soldier's my favorite although I don't know if he counts as an Avenger. Let's just say he does since he was in Infinity War and he fought alongside the Avengers. Bucky's definitely my favorite character because he's still just hanging on. He's been through so much unbelievable shit but at the end of the day he's just trying to live a semi normal life like what we saw in Civil War and then the beginning of Infinity War. Poor Bucky. I also love his very dry sense of humor. By the way...my biggest hope for the MCU is if we get a Winter Soldier and Falcon movie. That would be the greatest thing ever!**

 **Well, I guess I don't have a favorite or maybe they're all my favorites. I really don't think there's an Avenger I don't love**

 **plumsforbucky: Thank you! I'm glad for another reader who enjoys the story. I'm always glad. I also just have to say that you have a genius username. Seriously. I wish I had thought of something like that but, of course, Civil War hadn't come out yet when I first started this account.**

 **Snapplecrackles: I know exactly what you mean. The Russo brothers are amazing but they're also kind of cruel. I've never felt that sad after seeing a movie. My mom asked what the hell was wrong with me an hour after we saw the movie and I told her that I was still trying to process everything. It was almost like I was mourning the characters which sounds stupid but it's true. I just needed a long time to unwind after that. I was weirdly quiet for the whole night. I never even felt that sad after watching _Marley and Me_.**

 **Thanks for taking the time to review the story. I've read every single one but I'm just so anxious to finally update that I didn't get around to answering all of them but if you have additional questions just PM me. Also thanks for all the favorites and follows. We're at 1,000 favorites now too which is crazy.**

 **Sorry for the super long Author's Note but it's been a while.**

* * *

There was nothing but silence in the compound that night. Everyone was sound asleep after the tumultuous meeting the team had earlier that night. Even Tony who rarely ever slept had managed to sleep but mostly thanks to Pepper. Emma and Peter were currently fast asleep in her bedroom. Peter had his arm around her as they spooned. He had finally managed to get her to fall asleep even though this was a very emotional time for her. Peter had just held her as she cried until she finally fell asleep after pure exhaustion. He fell asleep not long after she did although he had a much tougher time falling asleep. Peter was incredibly worried about Emma and it was only after he focused on the pattern of her breathing that he was able to allow himself to fall asleep too. Emma and Peter fell asleep around ten, but it was only four hours later that Peter was awoken abruptly by a strange sensation running through his body.

Peter's eyes shot open and the darkness of the room filled his vision. He blinked a few times as he tried to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he sat up from his position next to Emma who was still sound asleep. Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he looked around the room, feeling weirder than he normally did. The teenager was instantly confused as to what had just woke him up. It wasn't very often that he woke up in the middle of the night like this. Usually he was a very hard sleeper which was something that Emma always teased him about. Speaking of Emma…Peter couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked as she slept. Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took, and Peter couldn't help but smile softly at her sleeping form. He felt the urge to lean over and brush her hair from off her face when he felt that strange sensation once more.

The feeling was more different than anything he had ever felt before. It was an odd feeling that made Peter almost think he was sick, but he knew it wasn't that. This was different somehow. It was then that Peter raised his arm only to stare mystified as the hairs on his arm stood up. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he kept staring at his arm. His heart pounded in his chest as he began hearing something loud. The sound was deafening but Emma didn't seem to hear it as she laid there asleep. Peter was quickly growing even more confused as he glanced around Emma's bedroom only to see that nothing was there.

What was going on with him?

Was this some kind of nightmare?

Was he still sleeping, and all of this was just happening inside his head?

Peter also couldn't help but see everything in Emma's room in more vivid detail than he had before. He didn't know what this was. Usually his eyesight and hearing were more enhanced than average, but this was crazy. Everything was normally dialed to eleven but now everything seemed to be dialed to three times more than that. It was too much. Peter grunted in discomfort as the loud, humming noise continued to fill his ears. Emma finally stirred on the bed as she woke up from the noise Peter made. She turned around on the bed and tiredly looked up at her boyfriend.

"Peter, what's wrong?" She asked him, her voice sounding slightly drowsy from sleep. Peter just shook his head furiously as he tried to wish the noise out of his ears. Emma sobered up the second she saw the look of discomfort on his face. She immediately sat up and gave him a look of concern.

"I don't know. I woke up and everything just feels weird." Peter said, and Emma started getting really worried. This was just so unlike him. She rested her hands on his forearms as she tried to see what was wrong with him.

"Weird? Do you think you're sick or something?" Emma asked, and Peter shook his head again.

"No, this feels different somehow. There's this loud noise in my ears…this humming sound and it won't stop." Peter told her, and it was clear that this noise was bothering him a great deal. Emma didn't understand what was wrong with him, but she desperately wanted to make him feel better. The thought that Peter was hurt or sick deeply troubled her.

"Humming?" Emma questioned, and Peter nodded.

"Yes, it sounds like a…machine or something. I don't know what it is." Peter told her before he swallowed hard. "I don't know what any of this is, Emma. Everything feels wrong and I…don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Do you want me to get you water or something? What about a doctor?" Emma desperately asked him, wanting nothing more than to help him. She didn't know what to do but maybe a doctor could help because Peter was acting strange and it scared her.

"I can wake up Tony if you want. Maybe he can help." Emma told him and suddenly her anger at Tony didn't matter anymore if Peter's wellbeing was in question. Peter just shook his head again.

"No, it's not like that. This feels like…" Peter trailed off as he tried to find the words to describe the sensation he was feeling. Emma gave him another confused look.

"Like what?" Emma asked him, and Peter just stared back at her at a loss for words. However, before either of them could say anything else, a loud dinging could be heard from up above. The room was then lit up with red light which was something Emma had never seen before. Was there some kind of malfunction in McConaughey's system? Why was the room now red? Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she looked at the ceiling.

"Emergency Lockdown." McConaughey announced in a flat tone and both Emma and Peter's eyes widened in surprise as they looked at each other. Emma's heart raced in her chest as she tried to find the courage to speak again. Emergency Lockdown? Was this some kind of drill or something? There had never been an emergency lockdown at the compound before. This was supposed to be the most secure building in the world…or so Tony said.

"McConaughey, what's going on? Why is there an emergency lockdown?" Emma questioned, her voice trembling. It was unlike her to sound so uncalm but after hearing everything she had at the meeting, she was on edge.

"I've detected several intruders approaching the perimeter of the compound. The compound is currently on lockdown." McConaughey said which struck Emma with fear. Dare she think this was Hydra? Of course, it was Hydra. Who else could it be? Peter immediately looked at Emma with wide eyes as he watched the look of fear on her face. He knew what she was thinking. She was thinking this was Hydra and Peter didn't doubt that she was right although he didn't like her being right in this instance.

"Shit." Emma said as she looked away from the ceiling. She immediately got up from the bed and ran for the door, grabbing her grandfather's shield which was propped up against the wall next to the bedroom door. Peter hurriedly followed her as he attempted to stop her. He grabbed onto her wrist to try and calm her down, so she wouldn't do anything irrational. Emma was usually calm and collected but now she seemed slightly hysterical. It was unusual for Peter to be the calm one in their relationship. If Peter was being honest, he didn't want Emma rushing out into the hallway just yet. There was no telling what was going on out there and Peter just didn't want her walking into danger. She was safer in the bedroom and especially if Hydra was somehow involved in this.

"Emma, just hold on for a second." Peter tried to tell her, but Emma just yanked her wrist out of his grip.

"I need to know what's going on." Emma told him firmly before opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Peter just took a deep breath before reluctantly following her. She was really stubborn sometimes. He loved her, but she was too stubborn for her own good. The pair walked into the hallway only to find the others standing in their pajamas outside their rooms with expressions similar to the bewildered ones on Emma and Peter's faces. None of them seemed to find it odd that Emma and Peter had just walked out of the same room. Everyone was a little preoccupied at the moment. The hallway was lit with the same red lighting that was in her bedroom as everyone stood around in a panicked state.

"What's going on? McConaughey says there's been a breach." Emma asked as her eyes wildly searched the expressions on everyone else's faces. Darcy, Jane, and Susan were all huddled close together, all of them with alarmed looks on their faces. Helen Cho and Erik Selvig seemed to be talking in hushed voices off in a corner while Pepper was speaking frantically to Maria. Vision was calmly assessing everyone in the hallway as Tony and Rhodey were locked into a heated discussion. The moment Emma spoke, Tony and Rhodey stopped their discussion as they turned their attention to her. Tony had a look on his face like she was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Not because he was angry at her but because he hated to tell her that the compound was currently at risk…that she and everyone else were in danger because of an impending attack.

"Emma, it's fine. We've got it under control." Tony tried to reassure her, not wanting to scare her but Rhodey shook his head at him.

"Tony, there's no more time for lies." Rhodey told him solemnly and Tony looked away from his friend before looking back to Emma. He seemed kind of defeated as he looked back at her, his eyes finally meeting hers. She just wanted to know what was going on. Tony swallowed hard.

"There's been a breach. We don't know who it is yet. We've sent out our best guys to check it out and they're reporting that there's unknown assailants in the forest with unidentified weapons. The agents have yet to make contact with them." Tony told her in a dull tone as if he was reading out a report to her. "McConaughey's done a scan of the forest and he's detected massive energy levels."

"Energy levels." Emma repeated breathlessly, and Tony nodded.

"I think it's the same energy levels as the attack in Oklahoma." Tony said in a defeated tone and that seemed to strike fear right in Emma's heart. This confirmed the worst.

"Hydra." Peter said but it wasn't a question. Tony didn't say anything but the grim expression on his face was enough to tell him that he was right. The sensation running through his body was only growing by the minute. The humming was slowly growing louder, and Peter felt like he could feel something in the air…something that wasn't quite right. Emma nodded slowly as she took in everything Tony said and confirmed. Right…so Hydra was finally here at the compound of all places. She didn't know what they wanted. Emma didn't want to be arrogant enough to assume that they wanted her but why else would they come all the way here? It probably wasn't to kidnap Tony or Vision.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Emma finally asked as she regained her composure.

"The agents are standing by for their signal to engage the intruders." Tony told her seriously and Emma just stared at him silently for a moment. For a minute she actually thought she might've misheard him. When he talked about agents, Emma of course knew he meant the former Shield agents, the none Hydra ones, who now worked at the Avenger's Facility. While Emma knew that all the agents were talented and skilled individuals, that didn't mean she thought they were enough to go up against Hydra.

"What do you mean? Why are your hired help out there and not us? Why are we not suiting up right now?" Emma questioned even though she knew she probably already knew the answer to that question. Tony forced himself not to look away from her sheepishly as he answered her.

"It's going to be fine. They're dealing with the problem right now and they'll have those men apprehended in no time. They're good at their job, Mini Cap." Tony said as he tried to downplay the situation but this time not even Rhodey seemed too happy with his words. Emma started growing more and more furious by the minute. "In the meantime, the safest place for you right now is here. The situation is being handed."

"Goddamn it, Tony!" Emma said in annoyance as she looked at him in disbelief. "Hydra's right at our door with god knows what kind of weapons and we're in Emergency Lockdown yet you still insist that everything's fine. Guess what? It's not. If there was ever a time to go out there and kill a bunch of evil dickheads, it's now. They're right here on _our_ property."

"We can't. The accords-" Tony started to argue and Emma didn't hesitate in interrupting him as she sent him a scathing look.

"I can't believe you're still going on about the fucking accords! Look around you!" Emma yelled at him as she tried to get him to open his eyes to look at what was taking place around him. They were literally in a lockdown, standing around in a red lit room while a loud beeping noise could be heard throughout the entire facility. Everyone looked terrified as they huddled around each other. This was no situation to be trivialized like what he was doing. "We're under attack and you're standing there with a thumb up your ass, waiting for Hydra to kill us all!"

"Guys we really don't need to be arguing right now." Rhodey said as he tried to calm the situation down. Emma glared at Tony while Tony just looked back at her, unsure of what to do. He knew she was right. Deep down he knew she was right about this and that he had been wrong all this time. More importantly, Cap had been right about the accords all along and Tony didn't listen when he should've because he was so goddamn stubborn. Tony took a deep breath before responding.

"You're right. Maybe we should-" Tony started to say but was interrupted by the unexpected.

It all happened in slow motion for Peter as the humming grew louder and louder in his ears until it was all he could hear. Time seemed to move slower for him as the blast from the mysterious weapon hit the compound and he didn't waste any time as he pushed both Emma and Tony to the ground, causing Emma's grandfather's shield to fly from her hands. Peter covered Emma's body with his own as the blast hit the building. He stared determinedly into Emma's wide and frightened blue eyes.

The building trembled from the blast as the explosion was heard in everyone's ears. Peter could tell just from the sound of it that the explosion was on the other side of the building on the first floor. He could hear some of the others screaming in terror through the loudness of the explosion as some parts of the ceiling fell on top of them. They were far from the explosion, but the blast was powerful enough to be felt on this side of the building. The building shaking didn't stop for a couple minutes and when it did everyone was hesitant to move, afraid that the floor might collapse from under them.

"Is everyone okay?!" Tony called out as he slowly stood up from the ground. It was a miracle that second floor hadn't collapsed but the facility was huge, after all. The explosion sounded like it came from the other side of the building anyways. Tony looked around the room as he desperately tried to find Pepper.

"Pepper, where are you?!" Tony called out as he looked around wildly, trying to find her.

"I'm over here, Tony." His fiancé replied as she and Maria got up from the ground. Tony let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like Maria managed to grab ahold of Captain America's shield which she used to cover the both of them.

"We're fine." Maria told him before glancing down at the shield which was still in her hands. She then cast her gaze over in Emma's direction where Peter was just beginning to remove himself from her. Everyone was covered in dust from all the rubble but most of all, everyone still seemed to be shock.

"This shield's not half bad." Maria said to Emma, but the blonde was still in a state of shock and fright as she tried to calm down.

"Thanks." Emma managed to mumble as both she and Peter sat up. Peter looked over her in concern as he tried to detect any possible wounds.

"Are okay? Are you hurt?" He asked her worriedly and Emma immediately shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just…in shock, I guess." Emma managed to say as she then gave Peter a worried look.

"What about you? You're the one who took the brunt of it." Emma said in concern, but Peter shook his head.

"No, I feel fine." Peter answered, and Emma just managed to nod before deciding to get up from the floor. She still felt like she was in shock, but Hydra just attacked them, and it was most likely that they were edging their way into the facility by now. The other agents positioned outside were more than likely dead, so they needed to make their next move and they needed to make it now. Peter helped her get up from the floor and for the first time, Emma actually let him.

"Is anyone hurt?!" Maria called out as she looked around her at all the rubble. Everyone was slowly starting to get up after the unexpected attack. Emma could see Susan, Darcy, Jane, Helen, and Erik all covered in dust as well as they slowly got up, each of them helping the other. Vision was there too. Emma was relieved to see that they were alright.

"We're fine!" Erik managed to say as he looked at everyone, trying to make sure that everyone was there and thankfully they were.

"Rhodey!" Tony said as he spotted his friend still on the ground, struggling to get back up due, in part, to his paralyzed legs. Tony quickly helped his friend up as Rhodey grunted in pain.

"I'm fine." Rhodey told him as the device Tony created for his paralyzed legs began to stabilize his balance. "The blast just took me by surprise."

"It took everyone by surprise." Tony said as he then focused his attention on Emma and Peter who were now slowly getting up from the ground as well. His eyes rested on them as he tried seeing if they were injured in any way.

"Are you two alright?" Tony asked them and they both nodded although Peter seemed to be the only one able to actually speak at the moment.

"Yeah, I think we're just fine." Peter said but his attention was solely on his girlfriend. Emma looked around in surprise at the second floor of the compound. Bits and pieces of the ceiling rested on the ground along with pictures and artwork that had been hanging on the walls. Emma knew that this wasn't the worst of it. The explosion sounded like it had happened on the other side of the building so Emma expected the damage to be way worse over there. They were just lucky that the floor hadn't caved in from underneath them.

"I'm not getting anything from Murray or Phelps." Maria said as she glanced down at her Stark phone. She was referring to the two team leading agents that had been leading the other agents out to the perimeter of the compound. Emma already knew that it was more than likely that those agents were dead. She doubted that they had managed to make it through the explosion.

"How is it looking out there?" Rhodey asked Tony who was also staring down at his Stark phone with one hand and his other arm was wrapped around Pepper who looked scared out of her mind. The holographic screen displayed heat signatures and Emma had a feeling that those heat signatures weren't a good sign.

"Not good. I'm getting around two dozen heat signatures quickly approaching the compound. The energy levels are off the charts." Tony told them with a worried look on his face. "We need to act fast."

"Suit up?" Rhodey questioned and Tony locked eyes with Emma, realizing that none of them had a choice anymore. Sokovia Accords or not, Hydra was here, and they wanted something. Tony didn't really care what that something was. He just needed to focus on keeping everyone safe for the time being. Suddenly the accords held no meaning for him in that moment. He could go back to worrying about the accords after everyone was safe and the compound was secure again. Tony finally glanced away from Emma who looked both frightened and determined.

"Yes." Tony confirmed before casting his gaze to the others. "First, we need to get everyone else to safety. Hill, you take all the others down to the saferoom in the basement. Rhodey, Vision, and I will-"

"No." Emma interrupted as soon as she realized that he meant to send her and Peter down to the saferoom with the others like they were just as helpless as the rest of them. Tony fixed her with a surprised look although he wasn't really sure why he was so surprised. He should've known that Emma wouldn't be quick to just listen to him and stay out of danger. "Peter and I are going with you."

"Mini Cap, you're insane if you think I'm going to put you and the kid in danger like that." Tony told her, but Emma just crossed her arms as she looked at him defiantly. Peter stood at her side, looking every bit as defiant as her. He knew that he wasn't about to go down to the saferoom either. If there was going to be a fight, then he was going to be there to help.

"Tony, you don't have the luxury to make decisions like that anymore. All you have is Vision and Rhodey. That's not enough." Emma told him, and deep-down Tony knew she was right.

"This is dangerous." Tony told them both as he looked between them.

"I know." Emma said, refusing to back down. Tony just sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he was actually going along with this, but it wasn't like he had a whole lot of options right now anyways. If there was anyone else that could help, then he'd be more than happy to accept their help, but Emma and Peter were some of the only ones left.

"Fine but you two better take the back end of the compound while Vision, Rhodey, and I investigate the explosion site." Tony told them, and Emma was just relieved that he wasn't going to argue with her on this one. Steve would've argued with her for hours if he was here.

"I'll take the others down to the saferoom." Maria announced before glancing back at Emma, holding out Steve's shield which she still had in her possession after the explosion. "You'll probably need this." Emma just stared down at the shield for a short moment before taking it from Maria. She smiled at Maria in thanks.

"Thanks." She said, and Maria just nodded as she then began to round up all the others. Pepper and Darcy, however, looked the most worried out of all the others. Pepper for Tony and Darcy for Emma. Tony just kissed Pepper softly in an attempt to reassure her while Emma smiled at Darcy, secretly telling her that it would be okay although she wasn't sure that it would be. Despite their fear, they still allowed Maria to lead them down the other staircase towards the opposite side of the hallway. It was most likely the exit that had the least amount of damage.

"We need to suit up." Peter said softly to her, but Emma just shook her head.

"There's no time." Emma told him, and it was true. They didn't have time go back into their rooms and search through the rubble for their suits. They could save that for later, but Hydra was most likely inside the compound by now. There was simply no time to get suited up.

"You two good to go?" Tony asked them and despite him letting the two teenagers join them momentarily, he was still concerned for them. If he had any other choice he wouldn't let them assist like this, but Tony didn't have any other choice. He was a little understaffed as it would seem.

"We're fine, Mr. Stark. We'll stick to the back and see what we find." Peter told him, and Tony just nodded.

"Good. Let us know what you find." Tony told them, seeming reluctant to leave them but he knew he had to. "Stay safe." He told them before he finally pressed a button on his signature, highly advanced wrist watch which summoned his Iron Man suit to him. Rhodey pulled an identical move as both he and Tony became suited up in their Iron Man and War Machine suits. Vision, Rhodey, and Tony gave them both a brief nod before heading off towards where all the damage was. Emma and Peter watched them silently as they left until they disappeared off towards the other side of the compound. The pair slowly turned to each other after they realized that they were alone.

"We should um…check out the kitchen on the first floor." Emma finally said after a moment of silence. She knew her and Peter needed to get a move on. "There's only one way in or out of the kitchen so if they make it over there we might be able to surprise them." Emma's words were completely reasonable, but Peter detected the distant tone in her voice. He gave her a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked her, and she snapped out of whatever trance like state she was in before she looked over at him. Emma nodded furiously.

"Yes. I'm fine. We should probably start moving." Emma told Peter and he nodded in response.

"Right, of course." Peter said as they started walking towards the same staircase Maria had taken the others down. The only difference was that they weren't going to go all the way down to the basement. Emma and Peter both knew they were looking for the Hydra agents, but they just didn't know if they really wanted to find them. They had only walked a short distance when Emma broke the silence.

"Thank you." She said abruptly, unable to contain herself. Peter gave her a bewildered look, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"What?" He questioned, and Emma swallowed hard.

"Thank you for saving me back there. I never saw that blast coming." Emma told him, and Peter just looked back at her, those warm brown eyes locked onto her face.

"You don't need to thank me, Emma. Of course, I'd save you." Peter told her sincerely. "You would've done the same for me…you've actually done the same for me in the past." She stared back at him, her gaze softer than before. Emma then realized that she needed to get a hold of herself. They were in the deadliest of situations and she didn't need to be acting all mushy with Peter now of all times. She needed to think seriously about what was going to happen. She needed to find those Hydra agents.

"Anyways…that explosion was just the beginning. Something tells me that they didn't just come all this way to blow up the Avenger's Facility. They're here for something else." Emma told Peter in a more serious tone.

"Which is why we're looking for them…in our pajamas." Peter said, not sounding entirely confident and Emma smirked at him.

"Well, when I dreamed of finally getting to kick some Hydra ass, I never imagined I'd be in my pajamas. This scenario might actually be better." Emma said jokingly, and Peter smiled at her in amusement despite the situation. They were going to need a little humor with what they were potentially going up against. Peter shook his head at her, clearly amused despite everything, before responding. Yes, some humor was definitely much needed.

"It's a lot better."

* * *

Emma and Peter finally made it to the first floor of the compound and were both careful to make their footsteps quiet. Emma was an expert at making her footsteps silent, but she knew Peter wasn't as skilled when it came to that. Thankfully, the floors were carpeted much to Emma's relief but that almost made it a tad bit more difficult to detect other people's footsteps. Especially trained people. Emma and Peter made their way across the first floor, checking every room carefully along the way for Hydra agents. So far, they hadn't found any.

"I would feel a lot better if I had a gun." Emma whispered to Peter quietly as they walked silently across the first floor.

"We're fine." Peter told her to try and reassure her, but Emma didn't really feel good about any of this. The entire compound was completely dark since the power had gone out after the explosion and McConaughey's systems were currently down. It wasn't likely that the AI system could be rebooted until Tony got his hands on him. Right now, everyone was a little too preoccupied with the situation to worry about a power outage.

"It's too quiet. I don't like it." Emma said as she cautiously looked across the empty lobby of the building. The lobby seemed like a different place without all the people bustling through it as they rushed to wherever they needed to go. Peter secretly agreed with Emma on the fact that something felt incredibly off. He had that same feeling as before when the explosion hit. The hairs on his arm were standing up again.

"I know." Peter replied as he also carefully scanned the area but there was no one there. It was then that Emma felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her cotton shorts. She took it out before hitting the accept call button.

"What's going on over there, Mini Cap?" Tony asked on the other line and Emma just sighed before she spoke.

"There's nothing over here, Tony. It's just quiet…a little too quiet if you ask us." Emma told him truthfully. "What about you?"

"Aside from the fact that there's a gigantic, expensive looking hole in the side of my building? Nothing. We haven't come across anyone yet." Tony told her, and Emma exchanged a look with Peter before returning her attention back to the phone.

Peter stood there beside Emma, watching as she spoke with Tony but the odd sensation he was feeling was only increasing by the second. The humming sound was back on full blast, but it seemed louder than it had been before. Peter wanted to tell Emma, but he didn't know how. Would she look at him like he was insane? Whatever this was didn't even made sense to him so how was it going to make sense to Emma? Peter could've passed it off as just a bad feeling, but this felt like something more. Of course, he would have a bad feeling at a time like this but somehow this felt more extreme than just a bad feeling.

"They're probably already inside then." Emma told him.

"I can only assume. Listen, let's-" Tony said but was interrupted by a loud noise on the other line. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Shit! Vision block them off! We can't let them through to the others!"

"Tony, what's going on?!" Emma questioned although she had a pretty good idea as to what just happened.

"Get yourself and the kid to the saferoom! This is way more than we anticipated!" Tony ordered, and Emma was about to respond when the line went dead. Peter gave her a wide-eyed look as he stared at her.

"What's going on?" Peter asked her, and Emma just shook her head as she stuffed her phone back in her pocket.

"They're in the building somewhere. That's for sure." Emma told him, and Peter nervously bit his lip.

"Are we going to do what Tony said? Are we going to the saferoom with the others?" Peter asked, and Emma smirked at him.

"What do you think?" Emma replied, and Peter smiled at her.

"I love you."

"I know." Emma told him but before Peter could say anything the humming noise became even louder. He winced at the high volume and Emma's smirk immediately morphed into a look of concern as she noticed the look of discomfort on his face again. She placed her hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked him, and Peter just shook his head.

"I don't know. I feel like…it's like I have a bad feeling or something." Peter finally told her as he tried to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. The thing was that he didn't even know what he was feeling. Everything just felt so strange. All his senses felt more heightened than usual.

"I've got a bad feeling about this too, Peter. I mean…look around us." Emma told him, but Peter shook his head again.

"No, this is different." Emma was about to respond to his odd statement when everything happened really fast for Emma but very slow for Peter. She watched in a silent state as two odds looking cannisters rolled across the floor and released a smoky substance in the air. Emma recognized the substance. Tear gas.

"They're here." She whispered silently as she backed away from the cannisters slowly. Peter followed her movements as the gas began to waft through the air, making it incredibly hard to see. However, Peter's vision was heightened more than usual in this odd state. He could make out numerous figures in the thick cloud of the tear gas. Peter's eyes watered a bit from the tear gas and his throat felt incredibly dry as he inhaled it, but his gaze was more focused than ever. Emma got herself into a defensive stance as she readied herself for the first attack. She really wished she had a gun or at least a knife right now. Oh, well. Steve's shield was just going to have to do for now.

"Remember! We need the traitor alive!" Emma and Peter heard one of the voices say in the distance. "Kill the other."

Emma narrowed her eyes. She would be damned if any one of these assholes even rested a hand on Peter. She would make sure they regretted it if they did. Peter glared through the cloud of tear gas as he felt a certain rush of adrenaline at the words of the Hydra agent. No one was even going to dare get their hands on Emma. She wasn't going anywhere. The two teenagers exchanged a look with each other before also giving each other a single nod in silence. This was their signal.

It was time.

Without further thought Emma threw the shield at one of the dark figures in the cloud of tear gas. Peter immediately leapt into the air as he also ambushed one of the dark figures. It was like there was something in him that was telling exactly what to do. All time seemed to slow down as he focused on his target and he instantly shoved the man to the ground, causing the man to grunt in surprise. Peter didn't waste any time delivering a punch to the man's side as the man struggled to fight back but Peter was too strong for him. The teenage boy delivered a punch to the man's face which instantly knocked him out. Peter then stood up from the ground and looked around, analyzing the room to see how many individuals were around. There were quite a few. At least twelve.

Emma stalked over to the man who she hit with her shield who was now lying on the ground. She briskly picked the shield up from beside him and as he got up, she didn't hesitate in hitting him again with the shield. Emma watched coldly as he fell to the ground and she found that she really didn't care if she broke her murder promise today. She was sick and tired of dealing with these assholes and she was sure Steve and Peter would be understanding. The tear gas began to clear up through the room and Emma now had a clearer image of all the men and there were way more than she anticipated. Emma expected that these were just half of the men that were attacking the compound. The other half must've been over on the other side of the compound keeping Tony, Vision, and Rhodey distracted. It was a good strategy. It made it easier for them to take her for whatever sick and fucked up reason they had.

"Come with us willingly, Asset, and we'll spare the boy." A British accented voice said, and Emma stared at a man who she didn't recognize. Hydra must've been getting new recruits. He looked to be in his thirties and was very slender. Emma couldn't help but notice how skinny his legs were. Easier to break, Emma thought to herself. She could make those skinny legs of his snap like twigs. Emma gave the man a smug look as Peter glared at him.

"Surrender now and I'll think about not killing you where you stand. It's been a long time since I've been able to give into my homicidal urges. I'm just _dying_ to murder someone and you seem like the right guy." Emma told the man, not seeming even the slightest bit threatened by the man. Lance Collins glared at her and he immediately understood what some of the others meant about the blonde assassin. He could tell that she was going to make this very difficult. However, it made little difference to Lance. He was up for the challenge.

It was then that the humming noise became even louder for Peter. Peter's eyes drifted towards the large weapon in one of the agent's hands. It looked like a gun but highly more advanced, yet Peter didn't think it looked like one of the weapons Toomes had designed either. No, this one was way more complicated looking. Peter didn't fail to notice the ominous blue glow that came from the odd-looking gun. His eyes then widened in realization because he realized that this was where the humming had come from. The humming noise had come from these weapons all along and somehow Peter had heard it. Even earlier when the weapons must've been far away. These weapons were what had caused the attack on the compound and somehow Peter had heard the weapons before they were fired earlier.

"So be it." Lance told her before he signaled for one of the agents to fire. The man lifted the weapon towards Peter and Emma, beginning to power it up and Peter knew what was going to happen next.

"Emma! Move!" Peter shouted, and he immediately pushed her to the ground as the weapon went off again. The blast of blue energy erupted from the weapon and flew over their heads as it hit one of the many conference rooms on the first floor. Emma watched in surprise at the actual power of the weapon before an angry look came across her face.

"That's it. They're dead." Emma stated in a cold tone and this time Peter didn't bother arguing with her. They meant to kidnap Emma and harm her. He had little patience for people like that and maybe for the first time he wouldn't mind if Emma actually killed someone. Especially if it was Rumlow. Peter found that he even wanted to kill Rumlow himself. It was a dark feeling he had within himself, but he knew he'd kill Rumlow to protect Emma. Uncle Ben would understand that…he just had to.

Emma immediately got up from the ground with her shield still in hand as she threw it once more at one of the agents before flying over to the Hydra idiots that dared point that weapon at her and Peter. Peter didn't hesitate to follow as he also launched an attack on the Hydra agents. From then on, it was like full on war between the Hydra agents and Emma and Peter. Time seemed to do that funny thing again as everything slowed down and it was like Peter could almost anticipate every move the Hydra agents made.

"Cool! I'm just like Neo!" Peter said in excitement. He dodged a punch that was thrown his way before responding even faster than normal with a punch of his own. He remembered all the moves Emma taught him in that moment as he fought against their attackers. Peter didn't have his webshooters so he knew he was just going to have to make up for it with all the defensive and offensive strategies Emma had trained him on during the past several months.

"Come on, guys! You're making this way too easy." Peter quipped as he smirked at one of the agents who growled in anger. The man lurched at Peter, but Peter already saw the move coming as he quickly dodged his attack and fought harder.

One of the Hydra agents came at Emma, a distance away from Peter, but she had long anticipated his attack. By now the tear gas had long dissolved from the room so she didn't have any trouble maintaining her focus as the man charged towards her. Emma immediately hit him in the ribs with the shield which caused him to stumble slightly but it didn't knock him down like she thought it would. She suspected he was wearing some kind of armor underneath his clothing. The man growled before he hit her in the face. The force of his punch was strong but nowhere near strong enough to knock her out. Emma allowed him to hit her a couple times before she was able to learn his fight pattern. It seemed like Hydra hadn't changed their training much since she had been there. The next time he threw a punch in her direction, she caught his wrist in her hand. The agent's determined look morphed into one of surprise at the blonde's strength. Emma immediately reared her fist back before punching the agent in the face, catching him off guard. The agent fell to the floor and Emma instantly knocked him in the head a couple times with the shield to make sure that he would stay down. It was then, however, that Emma was taken by surprise.

"What the fuck!" Emma said as she felt someone yank harshly on her hair, pulling her away from the man as they attempted to drag her away. She elbowed them in the chest as hard as she could and brought the shield up to defend herself when she felt a painful sensation in her side, hearing the sound of electrical currents.

A Taser.

Emma grunted in pain as she noticed her attacker had one of Rumlow's favored taser rods. Emma despised the weapon immensely because it was what Rumlow and Karpov used to torture her with or what they liked to call discipling. Emma gave him the death glare as he zapped her with the rod and she immediately grabbed onto his hand as he attempted to try and get her in a choke hold. Emma gripped onto his fingers and squeezed with her full strength, causing the man's fingers to snap like twigs. He screamed in pain and she didn't waste any time grabbing the taser rod before zapping him with it. Let's see how he likes it, Emma thought to herself and was beginning to smirk when she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her.

Two more Hydra agents had grabbed onto her and lifted her up into the air. Emma gritted her teeth as she tried zapping one of them with the taser rod. This only seemed to piss them off more as the two agents retaliated. They threw her roughly to the ground, causing her to drop the taser, and Emma allowed herself to roll a couple times before she landed in an upright position. However, before she could even get up from the ground, they ambushed her with four taser rods of their own. Both men had two taser rods in each hand as they began to attack her with them.

"I'm going to make you fucking pay for this! I swear on my life, you assholes!" Emma growled as they held her down with the taser rods and Emma moaned in pain. She struggled to get up and it was clear to her that the men had ganged up on her. This was probably part of the plan all along and Emma had been stupid enough to fall for it. She had been so caught up in fighting the other guys that she hadn't even been aware of her own surroundings. Even after all these years, she could still make simple mistakes like that.

"Keep shocking her until she gets knocked out!" One of the Hydra agents shouted to the other one as they continued to shock a struggling Emma. "That's the only way we'll be able to take her alive! She's too strong!"

Peter halted in his fight with one of the other Hydra agents as he heard Emma's yelling and the distinct sound of a taser. He kicked the man to the ground one last time and once he was sure that the man was going to stay down, Peter left to go help Emma. He followed the sound of the humming from the taser and spotted Emma on the ground as the men attempted to zap her with the powerful taser rods. It was obvious what they were trying to do. They were going to shock her with those tasers until she fell unconscious which would make their jobs easier. They meant to kidnap her, but Peter was never going to let that happen. He immediately jumped into action.

"Hey! That's my girlfriend!" Peter shouted as he ambushed the men, knocking one of them off his feet as Peter tackled him to the ground. The man let out a surprised yelp as he struggled against Peter.

"You idiots should really never mess with her." Peter quipped as he continued to attack the man. "She's scary when she's mad."

The other man moved in to help his friend, but he seemed to have momentarily forgotten about the deadly Viper Assassin who was just waiting for him to be caught off guard. It seemed like her time had finally come. Emma acted fast, grabbing her shield from the ground before roughly slamming it against the man's legs which knocked him off his feet. Emma then knocked the taser from his grip before pouncing on him. She hit him in the ribs several times with speed that went beyond that of a normal human. Emma could hear his ribs cracking from the impact and the man screaming in pain, but she didn't care. She wanted to make that man realize that she wasn't someone to be messed with. When she finally finished, Emma gave him a very callous look as she looked down at him.

"Asshole." She muttered but she then spotted another Hydra agent approaching her from the corner of her eye. Emma groaned. God, these men were like cockroaches. They just kept coming and coming. She grabbed the shield before she went off to fight the other men. Her boyfriend stood a distance away as he fought the others.

"You guys never know when to quit, huh?" Peter said smugly. He was still fighting the man who had attacked Emma along with another man who carried the same weapon from before. It was then that something else caught Peter's attention.

"Woah…" Peter managed to say. The teenage boy suddenly became more aware of his surroundings than before. He could hear the man move his finger over the trigger of the weapon as the Hydra agent prepared himself to fire the weapon once more. Peter could even see the beads of sweat dripping off the other man's forehead and he knew the man was nervous about what was to come. Without giving it much more thought, Peter rushed towards the man with the weapon, moving faster than he normally moved as he confronted the man. He quickly ripped the weapon from the man's grip and as hard as the man tried, he just couldn't seem to hold onto the weapon with Peter's much stronger grip challenging him.

"This doesn't look safe." Peter said, voicing his thought aloud as he then chucked the weapon across the room and hoped that it wouldn't somehow blow up in the process.

"This is for hurting my girlfriend." Peter said as he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. The man's eyes widened in fright before Peter threw him across the room with minimal effort. The man yelped in pain as he hit the wall harshly before falling to the floor. Peter didn't waste any time in fighting the other man as the other Hydra agent charged at him.

"Wow…you look big." Peter said, slightly in awe before he regained his focus. The man was bigger than Peter which seemed slightly scary as they faced each other. The man seemed to read the apprehensive look on Peter's face as he smirked smugly at him. The guy must've been about a foot taller than Peter and was probably German or Swedish. Those guys were always weirdly tall…or at least they were in the movies. Although the man was visibly bigger than Peter, he was still very slow which Peter had counted on. Emma taught him bigger opponents were usually slower and those words seemed true as Peter fought back against the man.

"This is just like that one really old movie. You know…the Indiana Jones one." Peter said to the large looking Hydra agent casually as he dodged a kick from the man.

"You're like that evil Nazi and I'm like Indiana Jones. That's pretty cool, right? Except I think the Nazi got his head shredded in the plane propeller or something." Peter said as an afterthought which seemed to really annoy the Hydra agent. The Hydra agent seemed to find the teenager boy overwhelmingly annoying as they fought. His goal was to finally kill the kid to stop all the constant chatter.

"Lucky for you, there aren't any plane propellers around here." Peter quipped once more, and the Hydra agent growled in both anger and frustration.

Peter was a lot faster than this man and every time the man would go in for a hit, Peter quickly dodged the attack and went in with a hit of his own. Peter finally punched the man in the stomach which caused the Hydra agent to hunch over from the pain. Peter took advantage of his weak state and came back around with a roundhouse kick which Emma had taught him. The man flew back from the kick and fell to the floor with a grunt. Peter smirked in victory. That guy wasn't getting up anytime soon.

It was then, however, that Peter noticed three more Hydra agents ganging up on him. It seemed like Peter couldn't get a break and especially with how much he wanted to help Emma who was currently fighting the other Hydra agents. There was just so many Hydra agents and there was only two of them. Peter hoped that this didn't go on forever because he didn't know how many Hydra agents he was going to be able to fight. Still…Peter knew that he would fight a hundred or even a thousand of them if it meant protecting Emma from them. He sighed heavily before getting into a defensive stance, waiting for the approaching Hydra agents to make the first attack.

"This is just great." Peter muttered sarcastically as one of the Hydra agents moved in for an attack. Emma probably would've helped but she had her hands full herself as she knocked another one of the Hydra agents to the ground. She was starting to feel slightly tired from all of this. Slightly but still somewhat tired.

Emma brushed her hair out of her face as she took down, what she thought was, the last Hydra agent. If someone told her that she would be fighting a small army of Hydra agents dressed in nothing but a pair of cotton shorts and Peter's lame pun t-shirt, Emma would've laughed in their face. Despite everything, Emma thought she was doing pretty well for herself. She finally spotted Peter fighting off three Hydra agents of his own and she narrowed eyes as she prepared herself to run over and assist him. Emma was just about to join in on the action when a lone figure stood in her way.

She recognized him as the same agent from before. The one with the British accent and the one who Emma already hated with a blinding passion. He smirked smugly at her in a way that made Emma's skin crawl. Emma deduced that he must've been the team leader as well as a high-ranking Hydra officer. She could just tell that he was because he had that same arrogant and sadistic air about him. Emma knew what those kinds of Hydra men looked like and he looked just like Karpov or even Rumlow to her. While Emma already held a strong distaste for this man, at the same time she knew that he wasn't stupid. Under no circumstances could she underestimate him.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the traitor." The man said tauntingly to her and Emma kept a stoic expression on her face.

"You can't be a traitor to a cause you never joined in the first place." Emma replied callously as she began to engage in a simple conversation with the man. Despite her nonchalant attitude with the man, Emma was keeping a careful eye on him. She assessed everything about his appearance and made sure that she watched his movements very carefully. Emma couldn't let her guard down for one minute with this man. She could tell he was very dangerous.

"Don't act like Hydra never gave you a purpose. Don't act like you didn't enjoy killing." He retorted, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, killing people was so much fun. Washing all the blood and guts out of my hair was a real blast too." Emma said sarcastically which caused the man to glare at her. "Yeah, there were a lot of fun childhood memories there. You guys really know how to show a girl a good time."

"We made you into the deadliest weapon in Hydra history." He hissed at her angrily. "We gave you all the tools you needed to be the best of the best…better than Captain America and better than the Winter Soldier. Smarter, faster, stronger, and better in every way. And what do you do? You waste it all on the Avengers." Emma didn't miss the way he said the Avengers with the upmost disgust in his voice.

"Well, I wasn't into the whole working for someone else's agenda thing. I like being my own boss." Emma said, trying to get a reaction out of the man. He scoffed as he looked at her.

"When will you understand, Asset? You have no right to make those kinds of decisions." The man said as he sneered at her. "You belong to us. Your Hydra's property…not the Avengers, nor your little pet spider's, and not even your beloved Winter Soldier's." Emma glared at the man hatefully.

"And when will _you_ understand, dickhead? I'm no one's puppet's. Not yours and not even the Avengers." Emma told him bitterly as she finally showed her true colors. It was true. Emma had little care for politics or people's agendas. The only agenda Emma followed was her own. She still had a hard time distinguishing right from wrong and sometimes she needed guidance from Peter or Steve, but it was still her decision to follow their guidance. Emma didn't let anyone boss her around anymore…well, she might've let Peter boss her around but that was only because he was kind of cute when he did it. However, the truth was that Emma spent enough time under Hydra's thumb to know that she never wanted to be anyone's puppet ever again. She had been through too much to just allow this asshole to take her back to Hydra…back to Rumlow. Emma would die before she let Rumlow get his disgusting and perverted hands on her again.

"I hate to break it to you but I'm not leaving here without you. You're going to come with me one way or another." He said to her despite the rage he felt at her careless and foolish words. He then smirked evilly at her and in a way that made Emma feel sick to her stomach. "Make this easy on all of us and just surrender now. Rumlow's eager for your return…he has great plans for you." Anger and fear washed over Emma's face at his words about Rumlow. She glared at him as she swallowed down her anger. Emma couldn't let her anger consume her…not now.

"Well, I guess you're not leaving then." Emma finally managed to say, and it was clear that Emma wasn't going to make this easy on him. He narrowed his eyes at her as he quickly pulled out a Ka-Bar knife from his tactical vest. It was a large looking knife, but Emma wasn't afraid by any means. In fact, she was looking forward to a close quarters knife fight because it had been a long time. Emma's angry look then faded into a smug one as she smirked at him.

"That's a pretty knife." Emma complimented as the man got into a defensive stance with his knife in his hand. "I'm going to enjoy taking it from you."

"I'd love to see you try." He then rushed towards her and Emma swiftly dodged him as he swiped his knife at her. She realized that the Hydra agent had the better advantage since he had the knife. Oh well. It looked like Emma was just going to have to take that knife from him, after all.

She swiftly kicked the man in the side in retaliation and he only winced for a short second, but he then lurched forward with another attack. This time Emma got slashed with the knife on her arm, the sharp blade drawing blood. Emma glared at him as she moved forward once again to attack him. She managed to get a couple harsh punches in his ribs before he slashed her with the knife along her stomach. Emma groaned in pain, but she had counted on that because she knew she had to get a couple of punches in just so that she could wound him. Broken ribs were a nasty business and they could even cause internal bleeding. Besides…Emma could heal easily while this idiot couldn't. In a desperate move, the man then wildly slashed his knife low at Emma. She watched his movement carefully and when his arm moved to the side, she could see a weak spot. The blonde instantly hopped on the man, pinning his arms to his side as she tackled him to the ground.

"You fucking bitch!" The man cried out as Emma began punching him in the face. At this point, she had let go of his arms as she attacked him, and his hand wildly reached out for his knife. He grabbed it quickly, trying with all his might to get a good grip on it as Emma punched him. He finally strengthened his hold on the knife and without any hesitance he brought it down harshly into Emma's side. Emma yelped from the flashing pain, becoming distracted by the stabbing. He pulled the knife out and stabbed her until Emma let go of him.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Rumlow and Karpov used to torture her all the time with knives to see how fast she could heal but it had been some time since she felt that kind of pain. Her tolerance of pain might've slightly weakened. Lance withdrew the knife quickly from her side and Emma fell off of him. The blood was quickly pouring out of the wound and onto the floor. She knew it would heal in the end, but it wouldn't heal fast enough for her liking. Lance wiped Emma's blood from the knife callously on his pants as he looked at the injured Viper Assassin. Her pet spider was much too busy with the other agents to even notice her injury, Lance noticed gleefully as he watched the boy known as Spider-Man fight the three Hydra agents. The boy seemed to be doing well so Lance knew he wouldn't have much time to get the Viper Assassin out of there. Hopefully his men could keep the boy distracted long enough.

"You know…from the way Rumlow talks about you, I thought you would be more impressive." Lance said casually as he leaned over the injured girl. Emma eyed him wildly as she kept her hand over her wound which was gushing with blood. Unfortunately, her hand wasn't enough to stop the bleeding because she could feel her blood gushing out from in between her fingers before running down the length of her arm. When was her wound finally going to start healing? Emma felt like it had been forever since she had been stabbed but in reality, it hadn't been that long.

"All the tales of the ruthless Viper Assassin and they turn out to be mere fiction. The tales were always quite horrifying to hear, especially as a father, that a little girl could be such a ruthless killer…A monster."

"All the blood you shed and the suffering you left in your wake." Lance smiled maliciously down at the teenager as he stared down at her and Emma was just trying not to pass out from the blood loss. She knew the instant she fell unconscious that it was over. He would take her back to Hydra and Rumlow then it was game over. Emma just needed to hang on a little longer…just until her wound healed.

"The Viper Assassin sounded something more like the Angel of Death rather than a weapon. Death would come knocking at the door and who would appear but a beautiful little girl with locks of blonde hair and big blue eyes to take those lost souls out of this world." He spoke softly to her and Emma could feel her temper quickly rising. "It sounded all so very poetic…so Edgar Allan Poe…and the stories were very addictive, I assure you." Emma glared hatefully at the man.

"Don't reference Edgar Allan Poe to me." She hissed angrily. "You don't deserve to have read Edgar Allan Poe." The man just chuckled in amusement at her as if she were a sad, pathetic creature. Emma wanted nothing more than to bash the man's head into the floor or maybe even stab him with his own knife to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"You really are quite funny. Rumlow was right about that part at least." Lance told her as he then moved on top of her, his face mere centimeters from hers. Emma wrinkled her nose at the way his hot breath felt against her face. It almost reminded her of the time with Rumlow if it wasn't for the knife the man had pointed at her. "However, now that I've gotten a closer look at you I see you for what you are. A scared and weak little girl. There's nothing terrifying about you at all."

Lance then ran the knife's sharp edge against her face, making a deep cut along her cheekbone in the process. Emma hissed at the stinging sensation. That fucking asshole! She was going to kill him!

"I'm going to take you back to Rumlow now." The man whispered in a low and dangerous tone. "I'm honest when I say that I never liked what he did with you. I'm a father myself, after all, but I think I might turn a blind eye to Rumlow's disgusting fixation with you. Rumlow might make you think twice about betraying us again."

The man smiled sadistically at Emma as he brushed his fingers over the fresh cut on her cheek before smearing the blood over her face. Emma felt the bile rise up in her throat at the thought of returning to Rumlow again. She had barely survived going through that the first time. She didn't think she could survive it a second time.

"I think I might even take your little pet spider with us and make him watch." Lance said cruelly, and Emma's eyes widened in horror. "Rumlow would like that. Maybe then the spider would see what a little whore his girlfriend is. Rumlow's told us all about his time with you…how he fucked your brains out and how addicting you were. I bet you enjoyed it too, didn't you? He probably wasn't even the only one you fucked either. I bet the Winter Soldier also has some great stories to tell too. You two needed all the practice you could get for the future anyways." It was then that something started to change inside Emma as soon as he mentioned her father and Peter. Emma's eyes hardened as she glared up at the smug looking man.

"Shut up!" Emma spat, and the man just chuckled at her again.

"Ooh, did I strike a nerve?" Lance taunted, quickly growing more and more confident as he played games with the Viper Assassin. "Daddy issues too? Not very original for a killer like yourself. Don't worry. After I make your little spider and daddy watch Rumlow take you over and over again, I'll kill them both."

Emma was livid as she watched the man with angry eyes. She started feeling things that she hadn't felt in a long time. Her emotions, which she had fought so hard to suppress, were suddenly overwhelming. Emma tried not to let her emotions control her, but it was too late. Her father wasn't there to calm her down or hold onto her until the feelings passed.

"I'm going to ram this knife through your precious Winter Soldier's heart and then I'm going to slit your little spider's throat. You'll be helpless to stop it. I'm going to love watching the blood pool from their bodies." Lance sadistically threatened, and this was the tipping point for Emma.

"I'm sure Rumlow would love that too but I think I'll save Captain America for him. I know he has something special planned for your grandfather."

It was then that Emma finally snapped. As hard as she fought to remain calm and ignore the man's words, her self-control didn't seem to be functioning. It was like someone had filled a cup of water too full and all the water was overflowing onto the counter. There were just too many emotions, but her anger and fear seemed to be the most powerful. Suddenly it was like Emma was pumped full of adrenaline as she gave into her more aggressive and violent side.

Just like the old days.

The man was so close to Emma as he whispered those ugly and sadistic words into her ear. Her eyes focused on his ear and with a look of pure hate on her face, she leaned forward and bit into him as hard as she could with zero hesitation. Emma's teeth snapped down onto his ear and the man immediately howled in pain. She dug her teeth into his flesh, blood gushing into her mouth, and she didn't hold herself back from using all the strength she could muster. Emma then ripped a chunk of his ear off before subsequently spitting it out onto the floor.

He immediately fell back off of her onto the floor, his knife falling from his hand, as he immediately held his hand to the side of his head. The blood spewed out of what was left of his ear, but Emma didn't care. She gazed coldly at him as she then hopped on top of them, ignoring the searing pain in her side. The blonde unleashed her fury onto the man as she grabbed the knife from the floor. He struggled to defend himself as he tried to knock her off of him, but it was pointless. In the struggle, Emma reared her hand back before stabbing him in the shoulder.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Emma counted as she stabbed him with the same knife he used to stab her and the same knife he threatened to use on Peter and her father. He was going to pay for those threats. She didn't even care that he had stabbed her, but he wasn't going to go anywhere near Peter and her father. Every time she stabbed him, he seemed to wail even louder.

"Stop! Please stop!" He pleaded with her, but Emma didn't stop. Her anger was too blinding for her to snap out of. The people she had been ordered to kill in the past had begged her to stop and she hadn't so why should she stop for this man? A man that was even worse than she was.

Lance Collins then realized that he had made the fatal mistake of underestimating the Viper Assassin. He had seen the blonde hair, blue eyes, and her youthful face which made him think that she was nothing but a weak, defenseless child. It seemed like he had made the same mistake as her other victims had in the past. This mistake, however, might even cost him his life.

Emma then ceased her stabbing as more blood soaked the man's shirt. She couldn't tell which blood was hers and which was his. There was so much of it. Emma punched his face one last time, still not satisfied that she had hurt him enough, and heard a sickening crack as his nose broke. The former assassin was breathing heavily as she looked down at the pathetic, scared looking man who had his eyes clenched shut. It was like he was trying to wish her away or pray that when he opened his eyes, she would be gone. Emma spat out some blood from her mouth onto the floor without looking away from the man. Her emotions were still running high.

"You Hydra assholes try to act tough with your plans of chaos and destruction but you're all just a bunch of cowardly little rats hiding in the sewers." Emma told the man coldly and he whimpered, knowing that whatever she was going to do wasn't going to be good.

"You think you can have your creepy little agendas and still lead a normal life at the end of the way. A wife and a couple kids. Why shouldn't you? That's what the others did. Senator Stern, Pierce, and even Karpov." Emma told him mockingly before continuing. "There were no consequences…no punishments. They got to wear a mask without having to show their true colors."

"I-I'm sorry." He told her in an attempt to fix the situation, but it was too late. The man had already threatened everyone she held dear in her life and Emma wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"I bet you are…but if I let you go now they're just going to put you in Raft prison. Rumlow will probably have you out in a week." Emma said nonchalantly as she balanced his knife in her hand. "No one will know who you are or what you've done. You'll be able to go on your merry way without a care in the world and that's just not fair. People should know who you are." The man watched her with wide eyes because he had no idea what she was going to do.

"Please don't kill me. My wife and kids…" He begged, and Emma gritted her teeth. The man didn't seem like a father or husband a couple minutes ago when he was stabbing her and making all those threats. It was clear to Emma that this man was all talk. Another Hydra coward. Why was she surprised?

"I'm not going to kill you." Emma told him before she brushed the knife's edge along his cheek much like he had done with her a few short minutes ago. "But I am going to make sure people know who you are. Your wife will know, your kids, and everyone who passes you on the street."

"There won't be a soul whose met you who won't know who you are." Emma said in a low and dangerous voice that sent Lance chills up and down his spine.

"You seem to love Hydra so much…why don't I help you honor them."

Lance was confused at first, not knowing what the blonde had meant by her odd statement, as he tried to not think about the pain he was feeling all over his body. His ear, his nose, and even his shoulder. Lance started thinking that he might've finally met his end and at the hands of the Viper Assassin. A part of him even wanted to die because the pain was too much to bear. The Hydra agent didn't realize that the pain was far from over.

Without so much as a warning, Emma dug the edge of the knife into Lance's forehead which immediately made him scream in pain. She began carving a familiar symbol and his screams became so loud that the people in the city could probably even hear him. Emma didn't even hesitate as she continued carving the symbol into his forehead. Her rage and fear were boiling, and she wanted to make him pay. She wanted to make him pay for his threats against the men she loved, she wanted to make him pay for trying to take her back to Hydra, and she even wanted to make him pay for what Rumlow did. The man wasn't there when Rumlow raped her, but she was just so angry that she didn't care. She was hellbent on hurting this man just because Rumlow wasn't there for her to hurt…but this man was.

Peter finally knocked the last Hydra agent to the ground and he was so wrapped up in the fight that he hadn't been able to help Emma. He had heard her cries of pain, but the Hydra agents had done a good job of keeping his hands full. Now that he was finished with them, he was only more eager to help Emma. A part of him was worried that she was hurt badly but he knew he had to focus so that he could help her.

It was only when the teenage boy turned his head that he was finally able to see the circumstance his girlfriend was in. His eyes widened in shock as he spotted Emma sitting on top of the Hydra agent that had spoken to them before. All Peter could see was blood. Emma and the Hydra agent were completely covered in blood while there was also a large pool of blood on the floor. Blood was smeared all around her face and especially around her mouth which scared him. How badly was she hurt? Was the blood hers or his? He couldn't tell whether Emma was the one who was hurt or the man. The man's screams of pain and fear echoed through the empty lobby as Emma dug the knife into his flesh. Where had she even gotten a knife? Peter immediately hurried over to the bloody scene.

"Emma, what are you doing?" He questioned but she only ignored him as she continued to carve something into the man's forehead. Peter watched in shock as the man begged her to stop but Emma wasn't listening to him either. It was almost like Emma was in some kind of trance with the way she moved as she kept the man's head to the ground so that she carve whatever she was carving better.

"Emma, stop. He's finished. He's not getting up." Peter told her, but Emma still ignored him. He really started worrying then as Emma's focus seemed to be completely on the man. It was only when the man passed out from the blood loss that Peter realized that Emma wasn't going to stop. She wasn't going to stop until the man was dead. He needed to do something. Without anymore thinking, Peter quickly moved and grabbed Emma from behind before yanking her off the man and pulling her to her feet. Emma struggled in his arms as her angry gaze remained locked onto the unconscious Hydra agent.

"Let go of me! I wasn't finished!" Emma snapped as she fought against his strong grip. Peter didn't want to tighten his hold on her too much. He didn't know where she was injured, and he didn't want to risk possibly hurting her even more.

"He's unconscious, Emma. He can't hurt you anymore." Peter tried to tell her, but she wasn't listening to him. Her focus was entirely on the badly injured man in front of them as her body heaved with anger.

"I don't care. I want to hurt _him_." Emma hissed as she tried to get Peter to let her go but his grip wasn't budging. Peter realized that he was going to have to calm her down himself because she wasn't about to do it by herself. Her anger was blinding her, and he needed to snap her out of this. There were a few times he had seen her like this in the past, but it was only when Hydra or Rumlow were involved. Peter grabbed her face harshly and forced her to look at him.

"Calm down." He demanded, and Emma's gaze locked onto his. His own gaze was firm as he stared at her and Emma allowed herself to focus on his brown eyes. The anger and fear within herself began to die down as she was broken out of her rage filled state and brought back into reality. She swallowed hard as her breathing steadied and she looked around the deserted lobby. All the Hydra agents were either knocked out or struggling to get back up. However, none of them looked as bad as the one Emma had lost it over. The one who taunted and threatened her. He had multiple stab wounds, broken ribs, a swollen face, a broken nose, a missing ear, and not to mention the symbol Emma had carved into his forehead. The man looked like he had been mauled by some kind of animal.

Had she really done all of that? It had been a long time since she had lost it like that. The last time was after the injections back in Hydra. Her temper tantrums back then could prove to be fatal. Emma had stabbed Karpov multiple times with a knife when he ordered her father to be put back into the Cyro-Chamber. Strucker had also laughed at her another time so she beat him until they were forced to tranquilize her. There was even a time where her father had pissed her off so much that Emma had bitten a chuck of his arm off. He still had the scars today. Peter then loosened his grip on her once he was certain that Emma had calmed down. She seemed lost as she stared at the man, surprised that she hadn't been able to control her emotions…surprised that she had allowed herself to go that far.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked worriedly as he looked at her blood-soaked form. Emma looked back at him, but she had a haunted look on her face this time instead of the enraged one from before. Peter felt even more worried as he spotted the large cuts on her face and arms. She nodded very slowly.

"I think so. He just got me in the side." Emma said, and she slowly lifted up her shirt to look at the wound. Peter's eyes widened in horror as he saw the large knife wound and the blood still pouring out of it. He angrily glared at the man still lying on the floor bleeding out and a part of him, a darker part, wished that he hadn't stopped Emma. The man had hurt her really bad and Peter only felt guilty that he hadn't been fast enough to stop her from getting hurt.

"We need to get you medical attention." Peter told her, looking both scared and anxious. "He stabbed you." Emma just shook her head.

"I'm fine. The wound's already healing. See?" Emma said, and she was right. Peter could already see the wound beginning to close up although the process seemed to be a little too slow for Peter's liking. "Besides…he's the one who needs medical attention. Not me."

"What about you?" Emma then asked with a concerned look on her face. She tried to spot any wounds on him but all she could see was a few scrapes and the beginning of a nasty looking bruise over his left eye. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just got a little too cocky a couple times." Peter replied, and Emma nodded, relieved that Peter wasn't hurt too badly. She was about to say something else when she heard the others enter the lobby. Tony, Rhodey, and Vision quickly rushed into the abandoned lobby in fear that something bad had happened to the kids, but they never expected to find what they did. Emma and Peter were standing in the middle of the room with unconscious Hydra agents lying around them.

Tony really needed to learn to stop underestimating them.

Emma noticed that all three of them, except for maybe Vision, looked a little worse for wear. Tony and Rhodey both had severe dents and bullet holes in their suits. At first glance she thought it was odd that Hydra had used guns on Tony, Rhodey, and Vision but none on her and Peter unless you counted their weird weapon which did nothing more than blow a hole in one of the walls. It was then that Emma realized something that should've been more obvious to her. They meant to kill the others but take her. The only reason they hadn't used guns on Peter was to ensure that they didn't miss and fatally shoot her instead. This was their plan all along.

Kill the Avengers and take her.

"Are you guys alright?" Tony asked them as the face plate of his suit lifted up. He allowed himself to glance over their bodies for any injuries and he didn't like what he saw on Emma. There was so much blood and Tony was afraid to ask whether it was from her or whoever she was fighting against. She also seemed exhausted as she stood there next to Peter in the midst of all the unconscious and beaten up Hydra agents. They would've come a little sooner but the Hydra agents on the other side of the building were more than enough to keep them all occupied. The only difference between the scene over there and the one here was that they hadn't hesitated to kill. Not that he wanted the kid and Mini Cap to do that, but he didn't want them to be in this position in the first place. It became clear to Tony that he had been alarmingly naïve thinking that he could keep Emma safe at the compound. It would appear that nowhere was really safe.

"Mini Cap, do I need to call for medical assistance? I think Cho might be able to help." Tony said to her, but Emma just shook her head as she slowly walked away from the bloodied and battered Hydra agents she and Peter had fought.

"I'm fine, Tony." Emma said to him as she tried to regain her calm demeanor that she had long lost during all the fighting. Peter followed her as he continued looking over her with a worried expression on his face. "Look, you need to round these guys up and we need to build up a stronger defense before more show up. Something tells me that this is only the beginning."

"Emma…" Tony trailed off, but she ignored his concerned tone.

"This wasn't just an attack on the compound…this was a kidnapping mission. This means that they'll inevitably come back. We just don't know when." Emma told him as she continued to try and stay professional but deep down she was scared. She was scared of the fact that Hydra had gotten so close to successfully kidnapping her like they had obviously planned to do. Tonight, Emma had almost ended up in Rumlow's clutches again for the first time in over three years.

"You're bleeding. You need help." Tony stated as Rhodey and Vision also looked at her in concern. Emma just bit the inside of her cheek before glancing back at the work she had done to that slimy asshole still lying on the floor. She then tore her gaze away from him as she began to walk past the three men.

"I'm already healing. The only person who needs medical attention is the asshole bleeding out into your carpet." Emma said bitterly as she walked past them, reverting to her closed off and defensive self. "He's the team leader so we'll need him. Let's see if we can get anything out of him but I need a shower first."

"Sorry about the mess." Emma mumbled as she then walked away. Peter shot Tony an apologetic look as he followed his girlfriend.

"We're fine, Mr. Stark." Peter said reassuringly. "We're just a little shaken up. I'll make sure she's okay and then we'll come back down to sort through this."

Tony could only nod as Peter then offered him a smile that looked more like a grimace before the teenager hurried over to catch up with Emma. Tony just watched them leave but he was no less worried than he was before. Although she seemed adamant that she was okay, Tony could still tell that she was really shaken up. He had expected her to chew him out about not getting there faster but she did no such thing. She just left the room as soon as she could.

"Tony, you should come see this." Rhodey called out for him and Tony was snapped out of his thoughts. He turned his head and spotted Rhodey and Vision standing a short distance away. Rhodey had a look of shock on his face as he looked down at one of the Hydra agents lying on the floor.

"What is it?" Tony said as he began to walk over. He didn't understand what was so shocking about a bunch of unconscious Hydra agents, but it wasn't until he stood next to them that he saw what the big deal was. This must've been the man Emma said needed medical attention…the team-leader. The man looked to be a sight for sore eyes, looking like he had been mauled by a mountain lion, as he laid on the ground passed out. There were a bunch of stab wounds that littered his arm and shoulder. Most of his ear was missing and Tony spotted where the ear was. It was lying several feet away from the man. His face was beginning to look badly swollen but none of that was what gave Tony some pause. No. It was what he saw on the man's forehead that did.

Tony's breathing hitched as he saw the bloody symbol carved into the man's forehead with so much precision that he could clearly make out what it was. It was the Hydra symbol. The symbol displayed the familiar and eerie image of a skull with octopus tentacles coming out of it. Tony swallowed hard at the gory image in front of him. For some reason he found it very difficult to speak but when he did, he limited himself to very few words.

"Let's get Cho down here…and fast."

* * *

Emma had taken a rather long shower after the ordeal of the Hydra attack. She needed a long shower just to wash all the blood off of her but also to gather her thoughts…to process what had just happened. Her knife wound had already healed up by now and she was positive that the other assortment of cuts would be gone by morning too. However, it wasn't the wounds that haunted her so much. It was the memory of how she had lost it back in the lobby. How she had attacked the man like she had no control over herself. She was supposed to be better than her emotions. She wasn't supposed to let her emotions rule her actions which was something she had always preached to Peter during their training sessions. It turned out that she was just another hypocrite. The moment the man threatened all the men she held most dear, something inside her snapped. Her anger reached a boiling point and she couldn't help herself.

It wasn't like how it was with Bruce either. Emma didn't have an alter-ego like that. There wasn't some monster that broke out of her that she could cast all her blame on. No, it was just her. She was the monster. Sure, she could make excuses about what she did. That the Hydra agent was just another evil asshole, but Emma didn't really believe in good and evil like Peter and Steve did. She believed that most of the world was filled with assholes who were hellbent on destroying humanity so that they could compensate for their small penis size and then there were people just going about their usual business, not wanting any trouble. That's what Emma believed in so there was really no excuse for what she had done. She had always prided herself on keeping her cool and never letting her emotions affect her. Maybe she wasn't as good at this as she thought she was.

Maybe she wasn't good at trying to be one of the good guys.

Emma came out of the bathroom, dressed in borrowed clothing from Pepper who was nearly the same height as her. Peter was waiting for her on a seat in the lab. The opposite side of the compound, which contained the lab, medical wing, and training facility, was left untouched for the most part. There was still the question of the other side's state. The second floor was probably still steady, but it was more of the fact that the roof had been blown apart that gave them some pause. Emma supposed that they would just have to make their way through all the rubble to assess the real damage tomorrow.

"How are you feeling?" Peter asked her quietly as she walked into the lab. Emma shrugged as she took the seat next to him.

"Better now that I washed all the blood off of me. The wound also closed up. Sorry about your shirt by the way." Emma said, referring his shirt that she had been wearing earlier that had also been soaked in blood and slashed to pieces. Peter shook his head furiously.

"I don't care about the shirt. I'm just glad that you're okay." Peter told her and Emma nodded briefly before a teasing look came over her face as she felt the need to change the subject. She then spoke again in an attempt to lighten the situation or avoid any talk about what happened before. Emma didn't know which.

"You know, you could've joined me…so we could conserve water. I wouldn't have minded." Peter blushed despite the serious situation.

"I'll take one in a bit." Peter managed to say in the midst of Emma's flirting. Usually Peter might've let her go on with her flirting, but he knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to deflect, and Peter couldn't let her do that. He knew he had to let her talk, so she wouldn't keep it all bottled up inside.

"We should probably talk about what happened." Peter said seriously, and the smirk fell off Emma's face as she sighed. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about, but she knew Peter wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Right…" Emma trailed off quietly, but Peter went ahead and pushed her very carefully to speak about what happened.

"Are you alright after everything? It's all so um…well, I can't even wrap my mind around it." Peter said as he tried to think of something to say. "I never expected something like this to happen here. I thought we were…"

"Safe?" Emma finished for him and Peter nodded at her.

"Yes, safe. I never thought that anyone would dare attack the Avenger's Facility." Peter told her. "I guess that's pretty naïve of me, right?" Emma shook her head.

"No, it's not. I think we all thought we were safe here. Even I did but I've been wrong before." Emma admitted because she truthfully believed that deep down. She never would've imagined that someone could attack the compound and for them to be successful. All it took was a bunch of assholes with advanced weaponry and they were left almost defenseless.

"At least everyone's okay. Darcy and Susan came by while you were in the shower and said that everyone's safe. Well, except for the former Shield agents that were outside." Peter told her, seeming to be filled with sorrow over the agents at the facility who had lost their lives. Emma wasn't shocked or anything. A lot of people died by Hydra's hands. It was nothing new to her. "They asked about you. They were very worried."

"Things could've turned out a lot worse." Emma said, ignoring his last comment about Darcy and Susan.

"We're fine, Emma. Everyone's alive and well. The compound took a hit, but Tony probably already has a plan to fix it." Peter said reassuringly, and Emma realized the difference between them. She was very blunt and honest about the hard truth while Peter tended to sugar coat things if he thought it would make her feel better.

"We're not fine, Peter. We barely managed to defeat Hydra back there. They were almost successful in kidnapping me and killing the rest of you." Emma said bitterly as Peter looked back at her. "You think that's the last we're going to see of them? No, they're coming back for more. You heard that British asshole. It was me they wanted. That's the only reason they attacked the compound tonight."

"We're not going to let them take you, Emma. Mr. Stark will never let that happen… _I_ will never let that happen." Emma scoffed as she got up from the seat. Peter just watched her in concern.

"Tony can't even protect the compound. How is he supposed to protect me?" Emma argued before pacing the room which was something Peter had never seen her do before. He had never seen her act so nervous…so on edge. It was extremely troubling to him. "Not that I need his or anyone's protection. It's just that they almost won tonight. They came so close to taking me back and who knows what would've happened then."

"You're scared." Peter said but it wasn't a question. It was a statement. Emma stopped to look at him.

"I'm not scared of anything." Emma snapped and there might've been a time that Peter would've been offended by her cold tone, but he knew her better than that. She was just being defensive. Peter immediately got up from his seat and didn't waste any time going over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring if she tried to push him away but she didn't. She let him wrap her up in his warm embrace and allowed herself to feel comforted by his presence.

"You don't have to lie to me, Emma. You know I'd never judge you for it." Peter said softly to her and Emma felt tears starting to flood her eyes as she stood there with Peter.

"They almost had me, Peter…and they would've killed you and everyone else to get to me." Emma said as she was being honest with both Peter and herself. "We barely managed to come out on top. What are we going to do the next time they come? They've already nearly destroyed the compound and they've proven that we have a lot of weak spots."

"Next time they'll come better prepared…with more men and more gun power. It's only a matter of time. By then, we might not be able to fight them back."

"Don't say that, Emma. I already told you that I would never let anything happen to you." Peter told her firmly before looking slightly regretful as he remembered the fact that he had already failed her. That man back in the lobby had managed to stab Emma which could've proven to be fatal if not for her healing factor. "Next time we'll just have to stick closer together. I made a mistake tonight. I never should've let you leave my side, but I'll do better next time. I promise." Emma just shook her head as she pulled away from him.

"Peter, you're not my protector. My safety shouldn't be your main concern. If you think like that during battle, then you're going to get yourself hurt or worse." Emma told him, trying to make it clear to him that she didn't want him to be concerned with her safety. Just his own. "Please just promise me that you will never do anything stupid because of me. Please, Peter. If anything, ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do." Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Do you think I could let anything happen to you either?" Peter questioned as he then shook his head. "I can't make a promise like that, Emma. Not when it comes to you. I would do anything for you."

"I don't you want to." Emma said but she was too tired to be mad at him. She was too tired for a lot of things right now. She sighed as she looked away from him. "I don't understand why I can't be happy for more than five minutes without something taking it all away from me. Everything was more than fine before Hydra decided to make a return." Peter watched her silently and felt his heart clench at the sight of the sad look on her face.

"These past few months have been so nice…the happiest I've been in a long time." Emma stated as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I should've known that it wouldn't last forever. Nothing ever does. Maybe I deserve it."

"Don't say that." Peter told her, and Emma just swallowed hard.

"It's true, Peter. You saw what I did to that man." Emma said and found that she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was ashamed of what she did. Not because she felt bad for hurting that man but because Peter had seen what she had done. He had managed to capture a glimpse of the Viper Assassin's true ruthless nature which she had never wanted him to see. Emma didn't want him to see the ugly parts of her. "He said one little thing and I snapped. I'm supposed to be better than that…I'm supposed to have control and I always make it seem like I do when in reality, I have none whatsoever. This is just in my nature."

"No, it's not." Peter argued as he placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "You were just scared, and that man hurt you."

"I didn't have to do those things to him. I went too far." Emma confessed, and deep-down Peter knew she went too far as well but he didn't care. That man had hurt her, and he didn't have any compassion for people who wanted to hurt his Emma.

"You think I care about him? He deserved worse." Peter said darkly, and Emma looked up at him in surprise. She never heard Peter talk like that before and for a moment, it might've even scared her. Emma didn't like hearing Peter talk like that. "Anyone who hurts you deserves worse."

"It's not the first time someone hurt me, Peter. It doesn't matter. I can take it." Emma said softly but Peter didn't seem pleased by her statement. "They'll do worse to get to me… _Rumlow_ will do worse to get to me."

"I'll kill him before I let that happen." Peter said bitterly, and Emma could feel her heart racing in her chest from the look on his face but not in a good way. She was scared out of her mind at the look on his face but not for herself. No, she was scared for him because this was so unlike Peter. Emma immediately grabbed his hands, placing them in hers as she locked eyes with him.

"Promise me that you won't do that, Peter." Emma said to him and Peter looked bewildered at the scared expression on her face.

"But Emma-" He started to say but she interrupted him.

"Just promise me, Peter. I know you and I know that killing people isn't a part of you." Emma told him honestly. "I don't care who the person is but just promise me that you won't kill anyone. Not even Rumlow. I couldn't live with myself if you did that to yourself."

Peter throat suddenly felt dry as she kept her gaze on him. Those beautiful ocean blue eyes, that were filled with tears, stared at him pleadingly and Peter's heart ached at the sight. Emma was begging him not to kill anyone even though he knew he wanted to kill Rumlow more badly than he had ever wanted to kill anyone before. He wanted to make him pay for every single thing he had done to Emma. Peter wanted him to feel sorry and beg for her forgiveness only to never receive it. The man was more evil than anyone Peter had ever encountered before. Anyone who harmed Emma was evil in Peter's opinion. However, she was begging him not to kill anyone. How could he deny her of that when she looked so scared and desperate? Emma never begged for anything, yet she was begging him for this one thing right in this instance.

"Okay." He finally said. Peter knew that he couldn't worry or alarm her anymore. She was already in such a terrified and stressed out state that he couldn't help her by arguing with her. Besides…anything Emma wanted, he would give to her. Peter, however, knew that he would still absolutely kill Rumlow if the man ever got his hands on Emma again. There was no doubt about it. Peter couldn't lose Emma and he would rather die than let that monster hurt her again.

"Thank you." Emma murmured softly, and Peter just nodded.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Peter apologized, and Emma shook her head.

"I'm not scared of you. I just…I know what it's like to kill someone. Good or bad, it's something you carry with you for the rest of your life. You don't need that." Emma told him sincerely and it was times like these that Peter wished that he could somehow go back in time and save Emma from Hydra. He wanted to make it so she never knew pain or suffering…that she never knew what it meant to kill someone. He desperately wished that he could take all that pain away from her.

"You don't need to carry that weight by yourself anymore. I'm not just your boyfriend, Emma…I'm your partner too. You don't have to be alone." Peter told her, and Emma couldn't help but feel grateful to have him in her life. She would never begin to understand why he was still with her after all this. Emma was the definition of high maintenance, yet he was still here with her and he didn't look to be leaving anytime soon.

"I know." Emma chose to say instead of telling him how much she didn't deserve him. She didn't think she did, but he seemed to think so. Peter leaned in and kissed her softly. The kiss was brief, but it was enough to tell her that everything was going to be okay even though it might not be. He pulled away from her after a moment to look back at her.

"Emma, I'm going to make sure everything's alright." Peter told her, sounding very confident despite everything. "We're going fix this and then we're going to find a better way to keep you safe. That's all we need. We just need a plan or something." Emma wanted to argue with him that she didn't need protection, but she just felt too tired at this point. It had been a long day but an even longer night. Things were quickly going downhill and despite Peter's reassurances, she still felt afraid.

"You look tired." Peter said when she didn't answer him, and she shrugged.

"That's because I am tired. Fighting Hydra assholes will do that to you." Emma retorted, and Peter just shook his head.

"You need to get some rest." Peter told her, and Emma looked at him like he was crazy.

"If you think I can actually sleep after all that then you're crazier than I thought, Parker." Emma told him because she honestly didn't think she could sleep right now with the knowledge that Rumlow was coming. She didn't know how or when, but she had a feeling he was coming now that his Hydra agents had failed their mission. But had they failed? Hydra had managed to blow up a part of the compound and infiltrate the base. It was clear that Hydra had already managed to injure the Avengers and Emma didn't know what was going to happen the next time they came. She just knew it was somehow going to be worse.

"Emma, you need to sleep. Maybe even for just a couple of hours." Peter said honestly because he could tell how tired she was. Maybe if she just slept for a couple hours, she would feel better. "If you get some sleep then you can be more awake and alert in the morning. You'll feel better if you get some sleep."

"Where am I even supposed to sleep?" Emma questioned. "Our rooms are probably trashed out right now."

"Tony's got a couch in his office. It's right down the hall. Just sleep for an hour or two and I promise you'll feel better." Peter told her, and Emma bit her lip as she felt herself begin to give in to him. Maybe he was right. An hour or two wouldn't hurt her and Emma really didn't feel like being alone with her thoughts right now. An hour or two of rest would be enough for Emma to unwind for a bit.

"I guess you're right." Emma finally admitted. "I just feel so tired after everything. A part of me doesn't even want to walk the distance to Tony's office." Peter smirked at her, an idea forming in his head.

"Well, I can fix at least one of those things." He told her, and Emma shot him a confused look

"What are you-" She began to say but was taken by surprise when Peter, without a warning, picked her up from the ground as if she weighed nothing and scooped her up into his arms. Emma looked around wildly, still surprised by Peter's sudden action.

"What the hell's gotten into you? Put me down!" Emma said as she glared at him, but Peter didn't seem bothered by her tone. He just gave her that stupid goofy smile of his as he carried her away without another word.

"I don't want you somehow talking yourself out of getting rest." Peter told her as he easily carried Emma out of the lab and down the hall. "But mostly I've just always wanted an excuse to do this."

"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you, Parker." Emma told him as she continued to glare daggers at her boyfriend. Peter just gave her a teasing look. He had that frustrating smug look on his face that always infuriated Emma. It was the same look he got on his face whenever he sounded so confident about something. Usually he was only that smug when he told her that they were going to get married and live happily ever after like some gross fairytale, but this circumstance was just as annoying.

"No, you won't. You know why? Because you loooove me." Peter teased, and Emma wanted to smack that stupid look off his face even though she knew he was right. Peter was just lucky that she loved him because no one else could get away with something like this. They finally reached Tony's office and it was then that Peter briefly paused before he walked through the doorway.

"You know when the next time I carry you over the threshold will be?" Peter asked with a stupid little smirk on his face. Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't you dare say it." Emma warned but Peter clearly wasn't afraid of her.

"When we're married." Peter practically sang, and Emma didn't know why she put up with him. He was so goddamn annoying sometimes.

"I already told you. I'm not going to marry you and I'm definitely never having your kids. You're already annoying by yourself, so I can only imagine how irritating your little Spider-Brats will be." Emma told him seriously, but Peter didn't look bothered by her statement which only annoyed Emma more. It was like he didn't believe her when she told him she wasn't going to marry him.

"I wonder what we'll have first? Maybe a girl. Oooh…we should name her something Star Wars inspired. Rey! Definitely Rey!" Peter rambled, and Emma gave him a scathing look.

"Don't be disgusting." Emma told him in an annoyed tone. Rey? They weren't going to name their daughter after a character in some nerd movie Peter was obsessed with and especially not after a character who Peter probably masturbated to on occasion. She wouldn't put it past him. Peter had even tried to get her to wear the Rey costume to the Comic Con they went to. Emma knew, from the look in his eyes when he begged her, that it was all part of his little nerdy wet dream. Rey didn't even have a sexy outfit, so she really didn't understand Peter's fascination. Her boyfriend was so weird. What kind of name was Rey anyways? Rey…Emma certainly wasn't going to name their kid Rey. Wait…what was she even thinking? Emma didn't even want kids yet here she was mentally arguing with Peter over a stupid name. Peter really knew how to fuck with her head.

"I love you too, my little snake." Peter said teasingly as he walked them further into Tony's office. Emma glared at him as he carefully deposited her on the couch.

"I hate you, you little asshole." Emma muttered but Peter just smiled at her in that goofy way again. God, he really was a little pest, wasn't he? Well, a pest that Emma begrudgingly loved but still a pest nonetheless. Peter immediately covered her with one of the blankets and made sure she was nestled comfortably against the pillows.

"Are you comfy?" Peter asked her, and she shrugged.

"I guess." Peter took that to mean yes. It was then, however, that Emma remembered something. She looked at Peter with a look of concern. Mostly because she didn't know why she had so easily forgotten about Tony and the others as well as the important discussion they needed to have about the attack that had just taken place.

"Wait…what about Tony? We need to talk him through everything that happened in the lobby." Emma said as she began to sit up, but Peter stopped her.

"I'll talk to him. You just rest." Peter told her, and she gave him a confused look.

"Aren't you going to rest with me?" Emma asked him, and Peter just shook his head.

"I'll come back up and join you in a little while." Peter said as he tried to reassure her.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked hesitantly, and Peter nodded.

"Yes. I'll take care of everything." Peter told her, and Emma finally let herself relax against the pillows on the couch. They were both silent for a moment as Emma laid there, a million thoughts going through her mind. She already felt a bit better than she had before. Fear still lingered within her, but the short amount of time Emma and Peter spent bickering about pointless things, had put her more at ease. Emma felt more comfortable than she had before.

"Thank you." Emma said, seemingly randomly as she looked back at Peter and he shrugged.

"It won't take long to talk to Tony. It's not a big deal." Peter told her, and Emma shook her head.

"Not about that. I just meant thanks for cheering me up. I really needed that." Emma told him, and Peter just smiled softly at her.

"Of course." Peter said before he started to get up to leave. Emma stopped him, however, before he could. She didn't really know what she was feeling right now but she knew that she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to be alone with herself again. Emma was afraid of what thoughts would encompass her mind again if she was left alone.

"Please don't leave." Emma said and the fear in her eyes gave Peter some pause. Whenever Emma was scared, it made him scared too. She was the strongest person he knew which is why it filled him with sadness and guilt to see her like this.

"I won't." Peter said as he continued to kneel down by the couch. The fear in her eyes slightly wavered once he made it clear he wasn't going to leave just yet.

"Just stay until I fall asleep." Emma said pleadingly, and Peter couldn't help but oblige her. He knew how hard it was for her willingly beg for anything. Her pride would usually prevent her from doing it, but they had already been through so much tonight that it wasn't likely that she cared anymore.

"I promise." Peter said, and Emma relaxed against the pillow once more.

"You'll join me after you talk to Tony?" Emma asked and she never felt more like a child. Despite all the time she spent making sure everyone knew how much smarter she was than them or how much more composed she was, Emma felt fear strike her heart just like when she was the scared little girl that Hydra had stolen. One face to face meeting with Hydra and Emma had been reverted back to being that same little four year old girl who wept for her mommy and daddy who would never come to save her. However, Peter didn't make her feel sorry or pathetic for asking. His gaze was loving and full of promise. Peter nodded quickly.

"I'll be here when you wake up." Peter promised, and Emma smiled softly, satisfied with his answer. His promise was all she needed to finally make her feel safe again. The fact that he would be here when she woke up was enough for her.

"Thank you." Emma whispered, and Peter shook his head.

"Stop thanking me. You know I would do anything for you, Emma…anything." Peter told her and that was what frightened her. She knew only a little too well that he would do anything for her. From their earlier conversation, Peter made it clear that he would kill for her if he had to which wasn't what she wanted for him. He was full of kindness and light. Emma wished that nothing would ever snuff the light out of his heart. Peter was so innocent and untainted by darkness that Emma would never forgive herself if she ever corrupted him that way. However, she said nothing of this as she looked back at him.

"Tell me something." Emma requested as she laid there, forcing herself not to think of anymore dark thoughts. Now was not the time. "Something to make me fall asleep."

"You're full of demands today." Peter said jokingly as his eyes twinkled with amusement, but he did as she asked nonetheless. "What do you want me to tell you about?"

"Anything. I don't care." Emma told him, and it really didn't matter what he told her. She just wanted to sleep peacefully and without any nightmares. "Tell me about one of your nerd movies." Peter usually bickered with her when she called the movies he liked nerd movies, but he didn't this time. He just smiled and did exactly as she asked.

"Well, Ned and I were actually talking about this one theory we formed about the next Star Wars movie…" He said as he started to tell her a theory he had made about one of the characters. Usually Emma would get bored and tell him what a little nerd he was, but she didn't this time. She just listened as he rambled on passionately about Star Wars and slowly the soothing sound of his voice lulled her to sleep.

It took Peter a couple minutes before he realized that she had finally fallen asleep. A smile made its way back onto his face as he looked down at her. It would never cease to amaze him how peaceful and carefree she looked when she was asleep. There was no sign of the pain and suffering she carried upon her shoulders as she slept. For a moment Peter was able to get a glimpse of what she might've looked like as a small child. It was moments like these Peter always cherished. She always seemed older than him even though he was technically older than her. Emma's cynicism and wisdom made her seem far older than she really was but right here in this moment, she looked her age. Emma Rogers looked like a sixteen year old girl who was peacefully sleeping and dreaming…hopefully of places nicer than this one.

Peter then leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead, mentally wishing her sweet dreams and everything more. A lot had happened today, but he was bound and determined to make sure that Emma would remain safe. He had promised her that she was safe with him, but he had unintentionally broken that promise when the Hydra agents had almost kidnapped her. However, Peter was never going to let that happen again. He was going to have to find a way to keep Emma safe and he had a small idea on how to do that. It would take a lot of begging and convincing on his part, but Peter was convinced that he could do something that he should've done a long time ago.

There was just one person he had to talk to.

* * *

"And then you guys showed up." Peter told Tony and the billionaire had a solemn look on his face. It was perhaps one of the rarest moments where Tony Stark had ever appeared to be solemn. The older man had been oddly quiet throughout Peter's entire recollection of Emma and his fight against the Hydra agents. They were the only two in the lab. Vision and Rhodey were carefully guarding the Hydra prisoners and waiting for Ross's men to arrive to take them to Raft Prison. All of them would leave but one. Lance Collins…the one who had injured Emma and the one that Emma made regretful of that action.

"Okay. Everything sounds in order. Thanks a lot, kid." Tony told him, and Peter nodded. He could tell that Tony was deeply troubled. There was no light heartedness to his tone or sarcasm like usual. Peter had a strong feeling that he knew why, and it went way beyond the attack on the compound. Peter seemed hesitant as he asked Tony the next question on his mind. Something he was very curious about but also dreading to hear.

"Is that man going to live?" Peter asked him, and Tony knew exactly who Peter meant. Tony sighed.

"The guy's in critical condition. I mean he's got several stab wounds, a bitten off ear, broken nose, broken ribs, and a whole lot of internal bleeding." Tony told him before continuing. "But Dr. Cho seems to think she can fix him up although he's not going to be getting that ear back. Cho retired the cradle after what happened with Ultron two years ago. Not that he deserves to have an ear anyways."

"What about his forehead?" Peter asked even more hesitantly before. A part of him didn't want to know the answer but another part of him was desperate to know. He didn't dare ask Emma because he knew she wasn't herself when she had done it. That was the angry and scared Emma. It occurred to Peter that, although Emma had gotten mad at him numerous times in the past, she had never _really_ been mad at him. An angry Emma was the one that had come out against the Hydra agent. Peter had pissed his girlfriend off several times in the past, but he still had all his limbs intact.

"What?" Tony questioned, and Peter nervously bit his lip before responding.

"She carved something into his forehead. What was it?" Peter asked curiously, and Tony knew exactly what he meant. The gruesome scene Emma had left behind still flashed in his mind. Not because he was horrified by it but because he felt guilty. Whenever he saw glimpses into Emma's dark past he always felt guilty. Tony felt as though there was more he could've done way back when to prevent Emma from being taken by Hydra…to prevent her parent's death. But he hadn't done anything. All Tony had done back then was make his way through booze and women. He cared for little else. What happened to Emma was on him in a way. She was his responsibility, after all. No just because her dad and grandfather had both made her his responsibility but because Emma was one of the closest things he had left to family. Everyone else was dead.

"Hydra's symbol." Tony finally said as he pushed those thoughts away. Peter gave him a confused look.

"Hydra's symbol? But why would Emma leave Hydra's symbol on him? She hates Hydra more than anyone." Peter said, perplexed at this new information. Tony shrugged, trying not to let those guilty thoughts creep back inside his head.

"I think your girlfriend's been watching too many Quentin Tarantino movies." Tony muttered and at first Peter felt more confused than before.

"I don't understand." Peter said, no closer to understanding Emma's actions than he had before.

"Think about it, kid. Hydra's known for being a bunch of cowardly little weasels who hide within governments. You can't know the difference between your enemy and your friend." Tony informed him as Peter carefully listened to his explanation. "I think Mini Cap saw this as her way of remedying that."

Peter's mind combed through all the Quentin Tarantino movies he had seen but it didn't take long before he remembered one in particular. It was the ending of the Brad Pitt one. The one where Christoph Waltz's evil Nazi character had switched over to the Allies side when he saw the inevitable defeat the Nazis would have ahead of them. He made demands of immunity, money, and the medal of honor, all of which he would receive. No one would know the horrors he had inflicted and how truly evil and heinous he really was. He would walk across the earth untouched and unpunished, the truth of his crimes unknown to all. Well, not until Brad Pitt's character got a hold of him and the rest was history. Peter then understood why Emma had carved the symbol into the man's head. It made more sense to him now but somehow, he didn't feel sorry for the man. Just like he didn't feel sorry for the Nazi in the Quentin Tarantino movie.

"Oh…" Peter finally managed to say but Tony went on.

"It'll scar. That's what Cho said, at least." Tony said quietly and suddenly he seemed distant to Peter again. He had that faraway look in his eyes and Peter felt as though he still didn't completely understand Tony Stark. Tony Stark who was a man who should've been so transparent…who should've held no apprehension about not beating around the bush. Yet Tony still seemed to be a mystery to Peter although in a different way than Emma was. Emma's mysterious nature was no surprise to Peter. Everyday he seemed to be unraveling a different mystery about her and it was something he loved about her. He never stopped learning something new when it came to Emma Rogers. However, it did seem to surprise him that Tony Stark could be mysterious at times too. Peter started to realize that maybe his mentor wasn't so transparent, after all.

"He deserved worse." Peter told him, fully expecting Tony to become angry with him over saying something so dark but he didn't even look annoyed. The billionaire just nodded.

"You're right." Tony admitted, and Peter gave him an apprehensive look.

"You're not angry with Emma over what happened, right?" Peter asked carefully but Tony shook his head.

"No. I'm actually a little proud that she was able to not kill the guy although I definitely wouldn't blame her if she had." Tony told him before a concerned look, that wasn't so discreet, came over his face. "How is she by the way? She seemed…distant earlier." Peter sighed before answering.

"She's asleep right now. I finally got her to get some rest although she wasn't very happy about it at first." Peter told him as Tony listened to him silently. "The stab wound has already healed which is good but that's just part of it. She's terrified. I've never seen her this scared before which also happens to scare me too."

"Right." Tony said quietly as he took in this new information. The word of Emma's fear didn't set well with him. Everything that happened tonight didn't sit well with him. This was all getting incredibly out of hand and Tony was afraid that there was nothing he could do to protect Emma. He had tried to protect her with keeping her at the compound and making Vision keep an eye on her, but it just wasn't enough. He was failing to do the one thing he had promised both Steven and himself to do. Protecting Emma was never going to be an easy feat, but he never expected to fail so much at it.

"Mr. Stark, is Emma right?" Peter asked him abruptly which once again snapped Tony out of his thoughts. He looked back at the teenage boy with a confused expression on his face.

"What?" Tony questioned, and Peter continued.

"Did Hydra really come here tonight to kidnap her?" Peter asked him with a worried look on his face. He was secretly hoping that Emma was wrong even though he knew deep down that she wasn't. Tony sighed.

"I know this is difficult for you to understand but she's right. I think that's the only reason they came here tonight. They didn't come here for me or you, that's for sure." Tony told him, but Peter didn't know why this was happening. He understood that Hydra had seen Emma as a weapon of sorts, but couldn't they make another one? Not that he wanted them too, but he failed to understand why they were so focused on her and only her. Peter figured that Rumlow had a sick obsession with her but why did the rest of Hydra just go blindly along with it?

"They have so many weapons…highly advanced weapons. They don't need her." Peter told him, but Tony shrugged.

"There's a lot of things we don't understand about Mini Cap. All I know is that the serum my father created, the one Hydra injected her with, is allegedly supposed to make her the new and improved super soldier." Tony informed Peter who listened to him intently.

"No one knows what my dad used in the serum he made. I've tried time after time to find any notes or evidence of what he had done but I've found nothing." Tony paused for a brief fleeting moment as he collected his thoughts over the matter. "The other super soldiers that had the serum before her are all dead now, so they can't tell us either. The only way we would know the secrets of that serum is Emma and I'm not going to poke and prod her with needles. She's been through enough."

"You're saying that they want the serum your dad made? Why? I mean…Emma can fly and all but other than that she's not that different from the Winter Soldier and Captain America, right?" Peter questioned as he tried to understand Hydra's reasoning although he didn't think he ever would. "Maybe they could focus on me instead. I'm stronger than Emma…faster even. They would want me more than her if they knew that. They could take me instead."

"Don't say that, kid." Tony said quickly, not liking what Peter was saying. He was already worried enough about Emma without Peter thinking of stupid shit like that. Deep down Tony knew that Hydra probably had their reasons why they wanted Emma so badly, but he didn't want to scare the kid by telling him. Peter was obviously worried enough about Emma without thinking about crap like that.

"I don't want them getting to Emma." Peter argued, and Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly as he tried not to lose his shit with this kid. He had been very stressed out lately which hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, but Peter and Emma were really testing his patience these days.

"Don't do anything stupid." Tony told him sternly and Peter stared back at him. He had never seen Tony act so serious before. Well, technically he had. There was that time when Tony took his and Emma's suits away but that was different. Tony had been mad at them then but now he just seemed scared.

"It's not stupid if it'll save her." Peter told him defiantly. It was then that Peter finally prepared himself to ask the one thing he should've asked a long time ago. Maybe he would've if he hadn't been so scared of upsetting his mentor…the man that Peter admired beyond all others but now it was clear that Emma was in danger. He had no other choice but to ask him the most impossible thing. Peter just hoped that Tony would listen to him this time.

"She was right, you know…she was right about everything." Peter said seriously as Tony looked back at him. "We're not enough to go up against Hydra. We might've won this time but next time they'll come back with more men and we'll lose. We can't hold them off when they have those weapons."

"I'll think of something." Tony said but it wasn't enough for Peter. The teenage boy took a deep breath before finally standing up against Tony Stark. It was something he had seen Emma do loads of time and it seemed easy when she had done it but in reality, it was hard. It was hard because Peter cared about Tony and didn't want to disappoint him, but this went beyond disappointment. This was about Emma and doing not what was just best for her but for the rest of the world too.

"We need the others, Tony." Peter finally said, uttering Tony's name for the first time to the billionaire's face. In other circumstances Tony would've been glad that they had gotten past such formalities but not this time. Peter could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, but he kept his gaze firmly on Tony's, refusing to look away. Tony frowned.

"Kid-" Tony started to say but Peter hurriedly continued. He was afraid if he let Tony speak that he would never be able to get Tony to see his point.

"No, we need to get them back here. Emma was right. We're lacking in a lot of areas right now. Just think about it." Peter told him as he tried to be as confident as Emma was whenever she was standing up against Tony. He had watched her so many times in this very position, but he would never understand how calm and collected she could be because Peter never felt more nervous in his life. "Captain America knows a lot about battle strategies and especially against Hydra. Her father also spent several decades in Hydra, so he's bound to know a lot of stuff. I know he would help too. He loves Emma…they both do."

"They would want to help her if they knew what was going on. The only reason they're not here is because they think she's safe. They deserve to know if she's not." Peter finally finished as he did his best at trying to convince Tony to do what Emma had earlier suggested. However, it became clear from the look on Tony's face that it wasn't working.

"It's not that simple." Tony told him the second Peter stopped speaking. "Look, I understand where you're coming from, but we can't do that. The Accords forbid that from happening. Cap knew what he was doing when he refused to sign the accords. He should've thought about Emma when he was chasing after his old war buddy."

"I understand why the accords were put in place. We learned about it in AP history." Peter said, and Tony wanted to roll his eyes at the kid's answer but Peter just continued speaking. "But there should be exceptions. The truth is that the accords were meant to protect the world but how is it protecting the world by preventing the Avengers from helping? How is that helping anyone?"

"I already told you that it's impossible. Ross will never stand for it and he'll ship everyone back off to Raft the second they land on US soil. It's pointless." Tony told him as he tried to refuse Peter's suggestion just like how he rejected Emma's suggestion. "This isn't just about the Avengers. This is about politics. We can't just do whatever we want. I learned that lesson the hard way. I know you're too young to understand this but-"

Peter immediately interrupted the older man, not liking the feeling of being patronized. He always hated it whenever Tony treated him like a little kid. Peter knew Emma felt the same way as well. There was so much more they could do yet the adults still treated them like they were children. It was seldom they were ever treated like adults. The meeting the night before was the first time in a while.

"I'm not too young to understand! Okay?!" Peter said as he raised his voice and Tony was taken back by the kid's tone. It was rare that the kid ever raised his voice at him. In fact…Tony was sure that Peter had never done it before. At least not like this. "Politics shouldn't have anything to do with it. These are people's lives at stake. People lives shouldn't depend on politics."

Peter allowed himself to calm down a bit as he continued to talk to Tony. He was trying to get him to see some sense…to look past all the past mistakes he had made and the rift between him and Captain America. There were more important things to worry about. Especially now.

"Tony, I get that the accords are you trying to fix whatever mistakes you made in the past. Whether it was Ultron or something else, I don't know…but this is a lot bigger than the accords." Peter said, trying to make Tony understand why they needed the others. Tony just had to understand. There was no other way they could come out of this without the help of the others. Emma was right.

"We have to get the others. There's no other option. You think that you can somehow fix this and make Emma safer but you can't. Not on your own. You've tried to protect her, and you've done the best you can. We all know that. But you can't risk her safety and the rest of the world's safety over a bunch of papers. It's okay to ask for help sometimes, you know." Peter chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he looked down at his hands in his lap. The expression on his face turned more sad as he continued to speak to the now quiet billionaire.

"It's not just about protecting her or stopping Hydra from hurting more people either." Peter admitted as he slowly glanced back up at Tony, meeting his gaze once more. "She's hurting, Tony. She's hurting really bad. I try to help her…to get her through it but I don't think I'm enough. It's not just me she needs." He paused for a brief moment before continuing and Tony just watched him silently.

"Emma needs her father and her grandfather. There's always been a part of her that's sad without them here. Sometimes she can be happy with me. Sometimes she allows herself to forget how much she misses them but at the end of the day they're still gone." Peter took a deep breath as he paused once more before making one last plea to Tony who watched him with an unreadable look on his face. So many thoughts were going on through Tony's mind that he didn't even know where his mind was.

"I'm asking you-no…I'm begging you to please bring them back. I know you must know a way to find them or something." Peter begged, his brown eyes wide with desperation and tears.

Tony felt choked up at the sight. It wasn't just the fact that the kid clearly loved Emma so much that he was begging but it was more of the fact that Tony always had a soft spot for the kid. Tony had always seen Peter as a better version of himself. The person Tony wished he had been at that age and someone who made all the right decisions instead of the wrong ones like Tony. Of course, Peter still made mistakes from time to time, but he always came through in the end.

"Tony, I'll do anything you want but just bring them back to her. She needs them." Peter pleaded, and Tony's throat felt thick with emotion as he forced himself to look away from Peter.

"I can't." Tony said, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't want Peter or anyone else for that matter to see him so emotional…so weak. Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"What? Yes you-" Peter started to say but Tony instantly interrupted him

"No… _I_ can't." Tony repeated once again before elaborating. "You guys didn't see how things ended with Cap and me. I don't think things can be okay after everything that we said and did. I don't think I can face him after that and I definitely can't face Barnes either." Peter swallowed hard before replying.

"Yes, you can. That happened over a year ago. Besides…Hydra's coming and it'll all be water under the bridge." Peter told him, but Tony was as stubborn as ever. The billionaire shook his head as he spoke again, but this time Peter had lost all his patience with the man.

"You're asking too much." Tony said without thinking and Peter stared at him in disbelief which soon quickly turned to anger. There was something in those words that pissed Peter off beyond belief. The teenage boy instantly glared angrily at Tony…the man who he thought was braver than this.

"Too much?! I'm asking too much?!" Peter questioned in disbelief and Tony's eyes widened in surprise at the kid's anger. He didn't realize what he said until right then. "Emma's apparently too much now?"

"That's not what I meant." Tony told him, but Peter was already beyond pissed off at the man.

"You're a coward." Peter accused, and Tony's breathing hitched at the furious look on the kid's face. Tony swallowed hard as he tried to calm Peter down.

"Peter, I-" He started to say but Peter didn't let him finish. The teenage boy immediately stood up from his seat, his patience worn down. Peter liked to think he was a patient person…he rarely ever lost his temper. Emma was the only one that usually could do that but not even she made him this mad.

"No. You're a selfish coward. You're too scared to finally face Emma's grandfather because of some superhero drama. She's right…you're putting your ego ahead of people lives but most of all, you're putting your ego in front of Emma's life and I'm not going to put up with that." Peter told the billionaire but this time he didn't feel nervous or scared to stand up to Tony. He was too angry to feel nervous at this point. "I thought you loved her. I thought her life meant something to you."

"It does." Tony said desperately but Peter just shook his head.

"If it did then you would do something for once instead of just standing by and waiting for Hydra to take her." Peter accused as he gave Tony a disappointed look that just caused the older man to feel worse than he already did. "Well, I'm not going to wait for Hydra to come back." Tony shot Peter a confused look as the teenager clenched his jaw while looking threateningly at Tony.

"You're either going to bring them back or I'm taking Emma and leaving." Peter threatened in a voice much darker than what Tony was used to when it came to Peter Parker. Peter Parker who was usually shy and nervous but who now looked furious and dead serious. Tony almost thought he heard the kid wrong.

"What did you just say?" Tony asked in bewilderment and Peter gazed even more defiantly at Tony. He was trying to be calm at this point but deep down he was heaving with anger. Peter was angry that Tony was being so stupid and petty. This was Emma's life for crying aloud yet Tony was trying to gamble with it over some stupid feud.

"I said that you're either going to find the other Avengers and bring them back here or I'm going to leave and take Emma with me." Peter said more clearly, and a look of anger and disbelief came over Tony's face as he glared at the kid. Tony shook his head slowly, his jaw clenched but the kid wasn't backing down. Peter looked just as defiant as he had the moment before.

"Are you actually threatening me?" Tony asked in a low voice even though he obviously knew the answer. "Do I need to remind you that you're the kid and I'm the adult. You don't get to call the shots around here. I do."

"I get to call the shots when you're emotionally compromised." Peter told him strongly even though he barely understood what emotionally compromised was. It was a term Emma had used on several occasions but by the shocked look on Tony's face, he could tell he used the term correctly. "You don't have Emma's best interests at heart anymore, but I do. Being here isn't safe for her if there's only three Avengers left. Hydra wants her badly so she's going to need more than that." Peter swallowed hard as he continued to tell Tony off. Someone had to.

"I won't risk Emma's life over some feud between you and her grandfather. Her safety is a million times more important to me than that."

"If you take her then it's kidnapping." Tony accused as he continued to glare at Peter, angry of what Peter was accusing him of but at the same time he felt guilty because he knew Peter was right in a way. Peter shook his head.

"She'll come with me willingly." Peter said, and he was sure of that. Tony knew Peter was right about that too. Emma would go anywhere with Peter if he asked. "We'll find the others one way or the other…with or without your help but if you refuse to help then I'll be forced to take her and leave. I'll die before I let Hydra get their hands on her again."

Tony sat there as he stared back at Peter who still looked just as defiant and angry as before. In all honesty this was something Tony never expected. He never expected that Peter and Emma would ever become this close when he had first walked into the teenage boy's apartment to recruit him. Now the same boy, who had looked up to him like some kind of role model, was defying him and standing against him. Truthfully, Tony wasn't mad. In a way he was happy that Mini Cap had someone who was looking out for her even when he was too stupid to do the same thing. The kid seemed to be thinking more about Emma's safety than he was.

Where had everything gone so wrong? Tony honestly didn't know. Was he really so afraid of facing Cap again that he had been willing to risk Emma's safety…the rest of the world's safety over some old feud? The kid was right. He was a coward and most of all, he was being an asshole. Yes, Cap and him didn't part on good terms and not to mention Tony didn't know how he was going to feel about seeing Barnes again but the situation was quickly getting worse. The truth of the matter was that Hydra was going to come and they would try to take Emma again. Tony didn't want to think about what they would do to her if they got her. Still…Tony knew that he might not be able to stop them next time they came for her. They couldn't do this on their own. The team had to get back together, and they had to get back together right this instant.

This wasn't going to be easy. Things were going to be tense and Tony doubted that the team would reunite like nothing ever happened. He and Cap weren't going to be binge watching _Stranger Things_ together anytime soon and Tony definitely wasn't going to be pals with Barnes either. But this had to be done. He owed this to Emma. Tony had already failed her so many times before but he didn't want to fail her again. This was going to be difficult on everyone, especially him, but it had to be done…for Emma if no one else's.

She needed this.

"Okay." Tony said quietly.

"I'll just take her and I'll…wait what?" Peter said as he started to argue with Tony but quickly fell short when he realized that Tony wasn't arguing back with him. He gave the billionaire a bewildered look, thinking he had heard him wrong. Tony just sighed before looking up at the teenager.

"I said okay. I'll contact them." Tony said as he finally came to his senses. It took him a while, but he was finally managing to come to terms that they needed the others…that he needed help.

"Really?" Peter asked softly, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't actually thought it would work. Peter didn't think Tony would actually listen to him and do what he said. He was really going to take Emma and leave if he had to, but he was glad that it would no longer be necessary. Tony had finally caved in after all this time. Tony nodded.

"Yes. You and Mini Cap are right. We can't do this alone anymore. I was stupid for ever thinking that we could." Tony said, and Peter was completely blown away because it was rare that Tony Stark ever admitted that he was wrong about anything. "I have been a coward."

"I didn't really mean it." Peter tried to say but Tony shook his head.

"You were right. I was willing to risk not just Emma's life but everyone else's just because of my ego. Emma's dad always said that my ego was my greatest downfall and he was right." Tony confessed, and Peter gave him a confused look.

"Her dad? You mean-" Peter started to say but Tony quickly interrupted him.

"I mean her real father. He was always right which drove me insane. Him and Mini Cap have that in common…Steve too. I guess it's a Rogers thing." Tony said with a small smile on his face, but the smile was gone as soon as it had appeared. A more serious look then came across his face.

"You're really going to bring them back?" Peter asked softly, and Tony nodded once more.

"I'll get in touch. I might know a way. Hopefully I'll arrange for them to get here as soon as possible." Tony told him and Peter nodded, feeling successful in his attempt to get Tony to finally listen to what Emma had been saying all along. He felt a wave of relief come over him. This was good. Captain America and the others would come back which meant that Emma might even be safe. Peter was happy.

"Good. I'm glad." Peter said as he significantly calmed down from before. "Do you need any help? Is there anything I can do?" Tony smiled softly before he shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine. I know what I have to do." Tony told him solemnly as he looked back at him. "You go get some sleep. Keep Mini Cap company." Peter smiled back at him.

"Okay, Mr. Stark." Peter said, going back to what he normally called Tony. He then gave the billionaire a grateful look. "Thank you by the way. I know how difficult this must be for you so thank you."

"No problem. I should've done this a long time ago." Tony said, and Peter just nodded as he began to exit the room. However, Tony stopped him before he walked out the door.

"Hey, kid." Tony called out to him and Peter looked back at him with a curious look on his face. Tony flashed him another small smile. "You've got some guts." Peter nodded one last time before he exited the lab to rejoin Emma in Tony's office. He didn't want her to wake up alone and he had already been away for long enough. There was a bit more pep in his step as he walked away because for once there was some good news around here. That good news, in turn, would undoubtedly make Emma happy and safe which was all Peter cared about.

Tony's eyes followed Peter's form until the teenager disappeared around a corner. He tried to process everything that just happened as he then glanced away. It was all so strange. Just a few short hours ago he had completely turned down Emma's suggestion to bring the others back. However, a lot can change in the matter of a few hours. The Avengers were now facing a whole new list of problems after the attack on the compound. They were all out of options and this was the only way out.

Tony knew what had to get done.

The billionaire pulled the flip phone out from his pocket and carefully laid it on the table. In any other circumstance it would've been laughable that Tony Stark even had a flip phone in his possession but there was nothing funny about any of this. He had kept the dated looking phone in the drawer of his desk for the past year, but it wasn't until Hydra started showing back up that he had removed it. He had been carrying it around with him ever since. Sometimes Tony would take it out of his pocket and just hold it in his hands. Other times he would open it and stare at the lone number on the screen. Never had he ever debated about hitting the call button…until now.

Tony must've stared at the phone for fifteen minutes as he tried to muster up the courage to actually pick it up and open it. It wasn't until Tony realized that they really didn't have much time on their hands that he finally picked it up. He quickly flipped it open before he saw the name staring back at him along with the number that went along with it.

Steve Rogers.

Tony chewed anxiously on the inside of his cheek as he quickly hit the call button before he could change his mind. The phone rang three times before anyone picked it up and when they did, he could feel his heart pounding and his throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry.

"Hello?" The familiar voice said, and it was no question that it was who the number said it was. Tony swallowed hard before he replied, trying keep his voice as steady as possible. A rush of nerves came over him at the sound of the voice, but he managed to finally speak.

"Steve…" Tony trailed off as he tried to think of what exactly he was supposed to say. They didn't really part on good terms, so it was awkward trying to find the right thing to say. _Hey, Cap, I know we basically beat the shit out of each other the last time we saw each other but do you think you could come back and help us out here?_ Yeah, trying to find the right words was definitely no easy task but it had to be done…for Emma. There was no other way around it.

"Tony?" Steve said on the other line, sounding surprised to hear from him. Tony imagined it must've been weird since he was probably the last person Steve expected to hear from.

"Yeah, it's me, Cap." Tony said quietly as he kept chewing on the inside of his cheek. He was probably bleeding from it by now, but he didn't care.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, obviously knowing something had to be very wrong in order for Tony to actually call him. Tony sighed heavily before answering, knowing that there was no way to beat around the bush about this.

"It's Emma." Tony finally told him and there was a long pause of silence. Tony was afraid that they might've lost connection or something. It was that silent. He was about to ask Steve if he was still there when he heard Steve's voice again. It hadn't taken much to bring Cap and everyone else back. All it had taken was the suggestion that Emma was in trouble to send Steve running home. Tony just had to mention Emma and Steve would automatically be there. Tony never should've doubted him. Emma was always going to be the one to bring the Avengers back together. He should've known that all along. Without any hesitance, Steve quietly spoke the words that confirmed the return of the Avengers.

"We'll be there in four hours."


	75. Chapter Sixty Nine: Part I

**Author's Note: Wow...This chapter was just so difficult to start writing but I finally managed to do it. Just remember that not everything from the past numerous chapters is going to be covered in this one because this is only the start. The Avengers have a lot to talk about which is going to happen over the next several chapters. I also decided to split this chapter into two parts, this one being Part I. I'm also not going to be able to answer all the reviews because I have like five pages which is amazing but I'm also posting this right before I leave to go somewhere that doesn't have wi-fi so I don't have the time to answer everything. I would if I could but that would mean no updating this chapter until next week and I really didn't want to wait that long.**

 **INFINITY WAR SPOILERS(PLEASE READ MESSAGE): So there is just one last scene in this that may contain some spoilers from infinity war. It's nothing major, just a few lines from the movie, but the scene is yet another way of me adapting the Infinity War storyline to this one because the Avengers obviously return a lot sooner in my story. This is the last Infinity War scene until we actually reach the storyline. I promise! It's within the scene with Ross in this chapter so be warned but I change a lot of things at the same time so it's barely noticeable. It's more like a nod to the movie than an actual spoiler.**

 **It's almost the one year anniversary of the story! July 10th! I want to update again by then but I'm not sure if I'll have the chance. I might just update 'Dry Bite' in honor of the anniversary instead if I'm not ready. I'm also super excited for Ant-Man and the Wasp. I'm planning on seeing it opening night. Hopefully it'll be a nice break from all the sadness that was involved with Infinity War.**

 **Guys, I was also listening to Florence + The Machine's new album 'High as Hope' while writing this chapter. I wasn't sure about it at first but now I am. It's amazing! Florence can really do no wrong.**

 **Can I also just say how amazed I am by all the reviews? I went to bed after posting the last chapter and when I woke up I had like two pages of reviews. So amazed! For some reason I felt like people weren't reading the story anymore but seeing all those reviews made me super inspired to write this chapter so thank you. I've read every single one of them so thank you for taking the time to write them.**

 **Rocket Rover and OgFrosty: In regards to Cloak and Dagger, I don't really know if they would ever appear in this story. If they did it wouldn't be for a long time since we don't know much about them from the show yet. I actually forgot all about the show. I meant to watch it but then forgot about it but when you guys mentioned it, I binge-watched all five episodes so I'm all caught up now. It's really amazing and much darker than I'm used to when it comes to Marvel. I was hesitant at first because I thought it would be like Agents of Shield or other Marvel shows that aren't on Netflix but it's not. I really like it.**

 **Avalongirl55: The Infinity War storyline isn't going to happen for a long time. It's going to be a long while since I'm focusing on the Hydra storyline right now.**

 **Assbitch67: I feel like a lot of things are going to come out about Emma's time at Hydra during this Rumlow thing. I'm not going to spoil anything so that's all I'll say for now.**

 **scrapingskies: I try to update as often as possible so thanks for that. One time I didn't update for two weeks and someone thought I was quitting the story. It's a little stressful but I update when I can. It might take a while since I write long chapters.**

 **OgFrosty: I'm thinking about writing up until Spider-Man: Far From Home(We finally know the title!) and then doing my own thing from there on out. I'm not sure if I'll wait until the third Spider-Man movie. It just depends on where I'm at in a year or two from now.**

 **"The ones that love us never really leave. We can always find them...in here." -Sirius Black**

 **"Compromise where you can but where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your job to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eyes, and say 'No, you move'." -Peggy Carter**

 **JeshaR: Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you like the story so much. The Peter Parker I'm writing in this story is probably different from the ones in the comic books or other movies but that's only because he's entirely based off Tom Holland's version. I just find Tom's version of Peter Parker to be so cute and nerdy which is why I love writing this story so much.. Well, one of the many reasons at least. I am planning to do the Infinity War storyline by the way. Thor: Ragnarok too but we won't get there for a while.**

 **Strider Ridge: Thank you for the advice on the action scenes. I have so much trouble writing them so I'll try to use your advice next time I write an action scene. Thank you. I also tried to make Emma and Bucky's relationship realistic. The Winter Soldier wasn't all touchy feely with her like Steve but there was still a connection there because deep down he still remembered Steve and I think Emma reminded him of Steve in a way.**

 **Keystone0913: I'll try to improve Peter's Spidey sense for next time so thank you for the advice.**

 **Radioactive88: As far as I know the two Ross's aren't related. I looked it up because it was only when I wrote last chapter that I realized that both of them had the same last name but I couldn't find any evidence that they were related. Ross is a very common name so it's probably just a coincidence. Just like how Jessica Jones and Michelle Jones have the same last name but aren't related although I'm not sure if Michelle was in the comic books or maybe she had a different name in the comics.**

 **LovingBOBThePacific: I would've really loved to have gone to see Sebastian and Anthony too which is why it kind of pissed me off that those girls treated them like that. They weren't even supposed to go there and it was really nice of them to show up in Chris Hemsworth's place. I get being a total fangirl over a celebrity. When I was fifteen I had this massive crush on Adam Levine for some reason and I get the wanting to know everything about that person thing but it's just a phase. I'm just glad my worst and embarrassing fangirl moments weren't caught on tape because I'm pretty sure those girls are as bad as it gets because they not only embarrassed Tom but they embarrassed themselves. I also never went that far during that phase or did the stuff they did. There's a different between being a fan and being disrespectful. Just because Tom, Anthony, and Sebastian tease each other/roast each other doesn't mean it's okay for other people to do that. They don't even know us. It's like going up to someone on the street and talking to them like that. It's just plain rude. Hopefully those girls learned a lesson from this and they'll maybe grow up.**

 **Asterion98: That ad is a weird coincidence. I saw it too and it's so weird Elle Fanning(face claim for Emma) is now doing Tiffany and Co. ads. Although I'm not sure how I feel about the rapping in the song because it kind of ruins it for me. I like some rap but not in 'Moon River'.**

 **Naluforever: I probably won't include Luke Cage or Daredevil in this story but never say never. They're okay to me but they're not my favorites Netflix wise. The Punisher and Elektra are more likely to show up in the story although I'm not promising anything. Daredevel may show up, after all, so who knows. I can't remember if you were the one who asked me about the Runaways or someone else but I'll just answer it here. The Runaways won't be featured in this story either but mostly because I haven't seen the show since I don't have Hulu. I already have subscriptions to Netflix, Book of the Month Club, and Apple Music so I really can't add another subscription into my budget right now.**

 **Guest: I would include something like that if I could because that sounds hilarious but unfortunately I don't think Emma and Peter having sex right now is a good idea. With the attack on the compound, I think sex is one of the last things on their mind for the time being.**

 **JustJoyce: I do watch Stranger Things actually. I know everyone probably says this but my favorite character would have to be Eleven. I just love strong, badass female characters like that.**

 **Nathan19bane: I don't have an exact number of chapters planned until Thor:Ragnarok. I'm not that organized. I just know it's not going to be for a while. We still have to get through the stuff with Hydra and then a lot of stuff after that because I feel like Emma, Peter, Steve, Bucky, and Tony all deserve to be happy for a while before Infinity War because in my story Infinity War happens right after Thor: Raganrok. I just want to write everyone back together for a while before we move onto the more serious stuff.**

 **Thanks again for all the reviews and I'm so sorry for not responding to every single one. Thanks for all the favorites and follows as well. You can't know how much I appreciate it.**

* * *

Emma woke up to sunshine littering Tony's office early the next morning. The blonde lifted her head up from the couch as she blinked a couple times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light. She immediately reached for her phone which was in the pocket of her pajama bottoms and checked the time. According to her phone she had only been asleep for around three hours. That was more than enough for Emma because she doubted she could go back to sleep after everything that happened. Emma immediately sat up on the couch and noticed a sleeping form on the ground beside the couch. She frowned as she watched Peter sleeping on the hard ground with nothing but a pillow for comfort. Emma wanted to wake him so that he could sleep on the couch, but she hesitated. She knew that he was going to want to talk if he woke up and Emma just wanted to be alone. Emma had been afraid to be alone last night, but she just needed time to figure everything out.

Without giving it much more thought, Emma got up from the couch before carefully stepping over Peter's body. She smiled a bit at the sight of him sleeping because he looked really adorable. Especially with his mouth hanging open like that and drool pooling out onto the pillow. Emma used to wrinkle her nose in disgust whenever she saw Thor sleeping like that back in the day, but she figured when you were in love the things you once found disgusting actually became cute. Emma carefully placed the blanket over him and Peter only slightly stirred before burying his face into the pillow, lost to the world. She didn't linger there long because she knew she had things to do so she left Peter in peace before walking out of the office.

Emma made her way across the building but couldn't help but notice how many people were bustling around. Most of them were construction workers who were already fixing all the damage that was done to the compound. She guessed when you were Tony Stark everyone bent over backwards to help you. _More like when you had money everyone bent over backwards to help you_ , Emma thought to herself. Still…Emma was thankful that they were already working on getting the compound back to what it was. The faster everything was fixed, the faster they could build up a stronger defense against Hydra.

She made her way up the staircase, careful not to step on any of the debris as she made her way up the stairs. There was bits and pieces littered everywhere which Emma was careful to avoid as she finally made it back up to the second floor. The first thing Emma noticed about the second floor was that it looked way worse in the light than it had in the dark. Emma made her way down the hallway slowly, taking in all the damage. The damage wasn't as bad as she imagined. It could probably be fixed in a week or two with all the construction guys Tony already had there. It looked like Tony probably had two or three companies working there. There was no telling how much money that was going to cost but with Tony's wealth, she doubted there would even be a dent.

Emma finally made it to her bedroom and she didn't think it looked that bad given the circumstance. It could've looked worse. There were some pieces of ceiling lying across the floor and even the bed while some pictures had fallen from the wall but that seemed to be the extent of it. For some reason she expected the entire room and all her possessions to be ruined. She didn't know why. The explosion happened elsewhere but Emma supposed she always assumed the worst. The blonde didn't waste any time grabbing her Viper Assassin suit along with the additional gear. That's what she came here for, after all.

Emma tuck a dufflebag she had in her closet before stuffing the suit and other items inside the bag to keep close to her in case something happened like last night. She just wanted to have the suit close to her. Emma also took the time to stuff some other clothing and toiletries in her bag because she didn't know when she would have the chance to come back up here. She finally managed to pack up all of her necessities in a record amount of time, but she paused as she looked around the room, feeling more sentimental than usual.

Had it really been over a year since Steve had last been here? It was so much for her to comprehend and somehow it felt even longer than a year since she had seen him last. Emma then remembered the last time Steve had been in her room. It was the day Ross came to talk about the accords and Steve came to inform her about her grandmother's death. They had hugged as they comforted each other over the death of Peggy Carter. So much had happened since that day. The Sokovia Accords, Germany, High School, making new friends, making amends with Tony, and even Peter. All those new things happened, and Steve hadn't been there for any of them. Emma wished that he had because she thought it would make him happy. He was always preaching to her about having a normal life. Emma had always scowled at the idea but maybe just maybe she was kind of happy with a somewhat normal life.

Emma reached in the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out the compass along with the dog tags Steve had given her. She placed the dog tags in a side compartment of her dufflebag but she stopped as she held the compass in her hand. A soft expression came over her face as she stared at the engraving across the surface of it. The Wuthering Heights quote Peter had picked out which was the one that still made Emma's heart race in her chest whenever she read it. She didn't like to think she was a romantic, but she didn't mind if Peter was a romantic. Emma then opened up the compass and admired the picture of her grandmother. She hadn't known the woman that much. Emma had only visited her with Steve on several occasions, but it was still so difficult seeing her so ill. Of course, Emma had faint memories of seeing her grandmother when she was little, but those memories were fading. She just wished that she had gotten to spend more time with Peggy. Emma was sure that Peggy had plenty of knowledge to share and Emma would've loved to have heard it all.

There was a sadness lingering inside her over her grandmother's death, so she subsequently shut the compass before shoving it into the dufflebag. Emma glanced up and it was only then that she saw the photographs that littered the surface of her nightstand. She gently lifted the old photograph Steve had given her of himself and her father before the war. The blonde gently traced her father's face with her finger as she stared at the image of him laughing. He seemed so carefree and happy in the picture and it occurred to her that she had never seen him laugh like that before. She knew a different Bucky Barnes, but Emma would be just as happy if she got to know the happier and carefree version too. Emma knew she would love any version of her father.

"Walking down memory lane?" Emma heard a voice ask from behind her and she immediately turned around to see Tony standing in her doorway. She glanced over his appearance and noticed how tired he looked. She figured that he probably hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Not that she could blame him. Emma had only slept for a couple hours herself. The teenage girl then sighed as she shoved the photograph inside the dufflebag.

"I guess." Emma said quietly and normally she would've said something more rude to Tony but she wasn't in the mood today. There was too much fear and anxiety that overwhelmed her. After last night, Emma didn't know if she could ever feel safe again. Not when she knew that Rumlow was somewhere out there and he was closer than ever to taking her again. This time wouldn't be like the last time he kidnapped her either. The last time he had kidnapped her was when she was a frightened child who didn't know his true monstrous nature. However, this time she knew everything he was capable of which made it a hundred times worse. Emma knew that if he managed to kidnap her again and raping her like he wanted…she just knew that she wouldn't be able to survive it a second time. Rumlow finally getting his hands on her again could be the very thing that just might ruin her for good.

"I've already brought some guys in to fix up the compound. It should all be fixed up within the next week or so." Tony told her as he tried to awkwardly start up a conversation with her. Emma just nodded, and Tony could tell that she had a lot on her mind. He was deeply troubled by her quiet demeanor. There was something that was very off about the teenager although Tony didn't know if he could be surprised. It was clear to him that Emma was scared, and he felt guilty for not calling Steve sooner. If he had called Steve last night when Emma asked him to then maybe she wouldn't be like this.

"That's nice." Emma said but it was clear that she wasn't really paying attention. Tony frowned. Her behavior was concerning.

"How's the kid?" Tony asked, and Emma shrugged.

"He's fine, I guess. He was still asleep when I woke up, but I didn't want to wake him to come up here with me." Emma explained, and this confirmed to Tony that she probably didn't know that Steve and the others were coming back today. He doubted the kid would've woken her up to tell her and he also doubted she would be acting this way if she knew.

"That's good." Tony said as he nodded but he knew he was going to have to be the one to break the news to her. Maybe he would be able to get back in her good graces after the fight they had the previous night. Tony still didn't think he deserved all the credit either. Peter was the one who finally convinced him to get off his ass and call Steve. It seemed like the kid really did have Emma's best interests at heart. Tony was glad in a way because at this least this meant that someone was always looking out for her. Even when people like him were being too stubborn or cowardly to do the same.

"Did he tell you everything that happened during the attack?" Emma inquired curiously, and Tony snapped out of his thoughts as he looked back at her.

"He went over everything. Don't worry about it." Tony told her, and Emma nodded before a more regretful look came over her face.

"Am I in trouble over the thing with that Hydra agent?" Emma asked almost hesitantly. A part of her was afraid to hear the answer. "Ross isn't going to let that go." Tony just shook his head.

"Let me worry about Ross. The Hydra agent's doing fine…unfortunately. He's doing better than he was a couple hours ago and Cho thinks he'll make it out alright." Tony informed her. "We're hoping by tomorrow that he might be awake and alert enough for us to question him."

"That might be difficult." Emma told him honestly. "He's not like the rest of the lowly Hydra agents. This one believes in what he'd doing. It might be a bit harder to get him to break down."

"Something tells me that maybe you have a trick or two up your sleeve." Tony joked as he smirked at her, but he could tell that Emma wasn't in the joking mood. She looked away from him and Tony felt like he might've said the wrong thing.

"I shouldn't have gone that far. I know that deep down but…" Emma trailed off sadly and Tony gave her a curious look. It was rare that Emma was ever vulnerable like this with him. There was no doubt in his mind that she was like this with Peter but never with him. "I just couldn't stop myself. He threatened everything I hold most dear and I just snapped. It's happened before but Papa was always there to hold me back but not this time."

Tony ignored the way she called Barnes her father, which always had a way of making him feel uncomfortable, before he moved closer to her. He awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched but neither of them moved. They were never touchy feely with each other, but they were sometimes willing to try.

"It's okay. We get it. You were scared, and you snapped." Tony told her as he tried to make her feel better about the situation. "It happens to the best of us. No one thinks any less of you for it. Not even Vision and you know how annoyingly self-righteous he is."

"It's not like how it is for you, Steve, Peter, or anyone else." Emma said as she denied everything Tony just told her. "I'm not like any of you. I have all these emotions and feelings inside of me and I try to bury them the best I can but sometimes I can't. I just lose it. It's like when you're boiling water on the stove and leave it on too long. The boiling water overflows and spills onto the stove top. That's what it's like for me." Emma turned away from him again as she tried to blink away her tears.

"What if something happens one day? Peter pisses me off all the time. What if he pisses me off so much that one day I hurt him." Emma said before glancing back at Tony who was watching her quietly, a wave of concern coming over him. "You piss me off all the time too but you're more fragile than Peter. I could hurt you too…or worse. How are you not afraid of me?"

"Because I remember the first time I ever saw you." Tony said as his gaze softened. Emma stared at him with a calculating expression on her face, but she couldn't see a single ounce of fear on his face. "Margot had you in her arms and you just stared at me for the longest time. You even smiled. You were the smallest and cutest thing I had ever seen. That's how I know you could never hurt me or Peter. Not to mention you liked me a lot back then…I was your favorite person which I think makes me safer than Peter at this point." Emma scoffed.

"You never were and never will be my favorite person." Emma told him despite feeling touched at Tony's explanation. She knew he must've had a lot of stories about her parents, but Emma never asked. A part of her didn't want to know because she was afraid that it would make the loss of them more real. Tony laughed, and Emma couldn't help but smile even if the smile was barely noticeable.

"Keep telling yourself that, Mini Cap." Tony told her before he calmed down from his fit of laughter. Emma's smile faded at once too. A more serious look came over his face once he remembered their fight from the night before. Tony sighed heavily before speaking.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night." Tony told her, and Emma just watched him silently, almost curious as to where he was going with this. "You were obviously right about Hydra and everything, but I was too goddamn stubborn to see it. I was so hung up on my own insecurities that I risked yours and everyone else's safety. It's all my fault." Emma furiously shook her head as she disagreed with him.

"No, I get why you didn't want to bring everyone back. I know it's not that simple but I just…well, I guess I just missed them all so much that I didn't really care or want to see the logic behind everything." Emma admitted, and Tony suddenly felt even more guilty than before. Peter was right. Emma really needed the others back because she was really hurting, How long had she been suffering like this? Peter never told him the extent of it and Tony doubted he ever would. There was probably a lot of things Peter didn't tell him about Emma because he was trying to protect her privacy, but Tony still knew that he should've brought Steve back a long time ago.

"I was wrong, Emma. The truth is that I could've brought them back a long time ago." Tony said as he then began to pull out what looked to be a flip phone from his pocket. Emma raised her eyebrows at the sight of it.

"What's that?" Emma asked.

"I know that you've probably never seen technology this old before but this is what we used back in the day to-" Tony started to ramble and Emma immediately cut him off with a glare.

"I know what the hell it is, idiot. I just meant that why the hell would Tony Stark have an ancient looking flip phone." Emma told him, and Tony gave her a slightly guilty look but underneath it he was really afraid about how she was going to react to this. He knew she was probably going to be angry but hopefully not too angry.

"Well, Steve kind of gave it to me." Tony admitted, and Emma stared at him silently for a moment before a confused look came over her face.

"Steve?" Emma questioned. "What do you mean?" Tony sighed before answering.

"He sent this to me all those months ago and I've had it in a drawer of my desk this whole time." Tony hurriedly said, expecting Emma to look angry or surprised…maybe even both but he was perplexed to see that she didn't look phased in the least bit. Tony was relieved that she didn't seem angry, but he was also surprised that she wasn't angry. He figured that she would be hitting him with one of those photographs sitting on her nightstand by now. However, she did no such thing.

"So?" Emma said, and Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean so? I've had this flip phone he gave me to call him if we ever needed him back and I've been lying to you about it all this time." Tony said as he elaborated. Emma just shrugged.

"I'm not a stupid little girl, Tony. I know I freaked out on you about it last night…bringing Steve back, I mean, but I know a lot of things can't be undone with the press of a button." Emma said, and it was true. She really wasn't mad about this and she wasn't even mad about last night. Too many things had happened in the time since they last fought for her to still be angry. Emma didn't really feel like being angry anyways…not now at least. Emma wasn't even surprised that Tony had the phone. Emma doubted Steve would've just dumped her on Tony like that without some kind of way of getting in touch if need be.

"I called him." Tony suddenly blurted. He kind of wanted to break it to her in a better way than that but there wasn't really any good way to break something like that to a person. Emma stared at him for a long moment and at first, she thought she had heard him wrong.

"What?" Emma questioned, her blue eyes wide with desperation. She was desperate for what she thought Tony said to be true. Tony swallowed hard before speaking again.

"I called Steve on the phone. I told him we were in a bit of trouble and he said that he and the others were on their way. They should be here in an hour." Tony told her, and Emma thought that maybe he was joking. She just couldn't find it in herself to believe him. Not when she had been dreaming of this very thing happening ever since Steve had left. She would dream of him and her father coming back for her and taking her somewhere far away from here…somewhere quiet and peaceful where they could all live in peace without the fear of Ross and the Sokovia Accords. Of course, that dream changed over time. She would start dreaming of a reality where they could come back, and everything would be as it once was at the compound but only this time Peter was included too. Emma would dream of Steve and Peter being the complete dorks they were while her father and her laughed at them. While the dream had been nice, Emma didn't think it could ever come true for a long time.

"Are you serious?" Emma asked quietly, still shocked by Tony's admission. The billionaire nodded as a guilty look once again came over his face.

"You were right last night…I was being an egotistical coward. I put my own feelings before your safety and everything that happened after that is my fault." Tony told her, and Emma felt the excitement die down in her a bit when she saw the sad look on Tony's face. Emma frowned. "I really am a selfish asshole." Emma immediately shook her head.

"I didn't mean all those things I said. I was just really angry." Emma told him, but Tony didn't look like he felt any better about himself.

"I promised I would take care of you. I promised your dad if anything happened to him that I would take care of you and I failed him. Your grandfather made me promise him the same thing and I failed him too." Tony said, and Emma didn't know how she felt as she watched Tony Stark become more vulnerable and emotional than she had ever seen him be before. Her throat thick with emotion as she stared at him. "I'm just a huge failure. I don't know why you didn't run away from me months ago. The only person who hasn't failed you is the kid and it was never even his job to protect you."

Emma watched silently as the tears fell down Tony's face. She felt the tears well up in her own eyes as well. At first, she didn't want to say anything or even acknowledge his emotions. She was never comfortable dealing with people's emotions. The sight of someone crying made Emma want to back out of the room and run for the hills. It was even difficult for her to deal with Peter's emotions at the beginning although she was becoming better at comforting him when he needed it. However, Emma knew that she had to approach Tony a different way than she did with Peter. Peter was her boyfriend and Tony was…well, she didn't really know what Tony was to her. She had considered him a nuisance for a long time then an enemy before she finally went back to considering him a nuisance, but their relationship had changed over the past several months. Tony was still a nuisance, but he was more than that at the same time. Emma didn't know what he was to her, but she knew that she cared about him a lot.

The teenager immediately went over to the billionaire and hesitantly rested her hands awkwardly on his shoulders. Tony barely seemed to notice, still caught up in all his mistakes and regrets. He seemed to have a lot of those when it came to Emma Rogers. Emma bit her lip nervously before she crossed the unspoken boundary between them and wrapped her arms around Tony, resting her face against his shoulder. Tony immediately paused as he realized that Emma was actually hugging him. She hadn't hugged him since she was a little girl…since before Steven and Margot were killed. There were a couple differences between then and now. Mostly the fact that Emma was quite a bit taller than she had been back then. Emma was only a couple inches shorter than Tony, but her embrace didn't feel any different. It didn't take long before Tony hugged her back, happy that she had even hugged him in the first place. He knew how difficult it was for her to do things like that. It was difficult for him too, but everything was different when it came to Emma. _She_ was different.

"I forgive you." Emma told him quietly. She didn't really believe that there was anything for her to forgive but she knew that it was what Tony wanted to hear.

"Thank you." Tony said just as quietly before the two of them finally pulled away from each other. Emma just shook her head as she gave him a grateful look.

"No. Thank _you_ for doing this. I know you didn't have to so thank you." Emma told him, and Tony just nodded.

"Don't thank me. I'd thank the kid if I were you. He was the one that finally managed to knock some sense into my head." Tony told her, and Emma gave him a confused look. Emma didn't know what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned but Tony just smiled and shook his head.

"Just ask him." Tony told her before clearing his throat awkwardly, trying to calm himself down from his emotional state. It was a bit awkward for the both of them as it would seem.

"Anyways…I've gotta head back downstairs. We have a lot to prepare for if the others are coming back. Ross also wants a meeting in forty-five minutes." Emma nodded quietly, still in shock from everything Tony had previously told her.

"Right." Emma said shortly, not having anything else to say in that moment. Tony just nodded once more before he began to leave the room. However, Emma stopped him before he could.

"And Tony?" Emma said, and Tony looked back at her. "If you tell anyone about that, I'll cut your balls off in your sleep." Tony just chuckled, not looking frightened or offended by her in the least.

"I wouldn't put it past you." He told her and with that he left the room. Emma just smiled to herself as he left, becoming caught up in the memory of their recent conversation. It was only then that Emma realized what Tony told her.

Steve was coming back.

Emma almost wanted to jump on the bed and squeal in excitement although she knew she would probably look as stupid as Peter if she did something like that. She still couldn't believe it. The idea of Steve coming back was totally crazy, but it was real. He was going to be here in an hour…he was going to be _with her_ in an hour. After a year without seeming him, they would finally be together again. Emma couldn't believe how happy she was. She knew that he was coming back under less than pleasant circumstances, but Emma was just glad something good was coming out of this whole Hydra thing. Her father probably wasn't going to come back unless Steve knew where he was. Last she heard he was in the Cyro-Chamber but maybe he was better now. Maybe Steve knew how they could get him back. For now, Emma would just allow herself to be happy about Steve.

"Emma?" Peter said from behind her and it was then that Emma did something to entirely shock him. She ambushed him with a hug and Peter stumbled back a bit from the impact. He had only just woken up from his nap when he noticed that Emma wasn't in the room with him, so he had gone to find her. He never expected to find her in a state like this.

"He's coming back, Peter." Emma said, her voice full of happiness and Peter's heart couldn't help but melt at the sound of it. She sounded so happy. Peter smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know." Peter said which confused Emma. She pulled away from him as she gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned, and Peter blushed.

"Well, I kind of said something to Tony last night when I filled him in on him on how we handled the attack." Peter said nervously, and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"What did you say to him?" Emma asked, and Peter seemed even more shy as he avoided her gaze. He always did that whenever he feared her reaction to something which made her even more curious.

"I just said that maybe he should think more about what's better for you." Peter said quietly as Emma watched him curiously. "You were right about your dad and grandfather. They could really help out and I know they would want to help if they knew you were in trouble. I just made Tony realized how wrong he was."

"That's it? He just agreed after that?" Emma asked, and Peter blushed even more. She didn't really believe that Peter had asked Tony politely and the stubborn old man just caved in after that. Emma had asked him politely and then not so politely yet Tony hadn't even budged when it came to Steve and the others.

"Well, not exactly." Peter said, sounding even more shy and embarrassed than before.

"What is it?" Emma asked him again and Peter swallowed hard.

"I might've…well, I kind of...um…threatened him." Peter finally said, and Emma stared at him in surprise. Did she hear him right?

"You threatened him? You as in Peter Parker threatened Tony Stark who just so happens to be your dream daddy?" Emma questioned but she thought she was probably very justified in asking that. The idea of Peter threatening anyone was laughable because Peter was the least threatening person she knew. "Although I think your idea of a dad is messed up. Vision seems way more like daddy material than Tony." Peter wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Don't say it like that. It sounds gross when you say it like that." Peter told her, and Emma just smirked at him in amusement.

"That's why I say it." Emma told him before she became serious again. "Now tell me what you did to finally get Tony to do the one thing I thought he would never do. Did you blackmail him? I blackmailed Ross to stay off Steve's trail." Peter made a face at the way Emma so casually brought up blackmail. He wouldn't even have an idea where to start when it came to blackmail. That seemed to be more of Emma's thing than his.

"No, it wasn't blackmail. I just sort of told him that if he didn't bring your grandpa and the others back then I would take you and leave." Peter finally admitted, and Emma watched him in surprise. It wasn't like Peter to go around making threats let alone threats like that. Emma couldn't really picture Peter talking that way to Tony either. Tony who he admired beyond all others.

"No kidding." Emma managed to say, and she was honestly surprised by this new information…and maybe she was even a little turned on as she tried to imagine a threatening and angry Peter. "This is what Tony meant then…he meant that you were the one who did this."

"I think I just made him realize that he shouldn't play around with your wellbeing like that." Peter said quietly, trying to dismiss the idea that he was the one behind this whole thing, but Emma wasn't fooled. She knew it was him. "He was probably already thinking about calling your grandfather anyways. He even-"

Peter didn't finish as he was interrupted by Emma's lips crashing against his. The words seemed lost inside his mind as she kissed him, and Peter couldn't help but respond to her kiss as he held her close to him. The kiss wasn't as passionate and weak in the knees as it usually was when they were alone together, but it was instead one full of emotion and gratitude. The kiss didn't last long as Emma pulled away from him, resting her forehead against his. They stayed there for a minute locked in an embrace and Emma was just thankful to have him. She didn't know what she did to deserve someone like Peter Parker, and she still wasn't sure if she really deserved him, but she was immensely happy with him. He was so good to her.

"Thank you." Emma murmured as she moved back a bit to look at him. Peter blushed but he shrugged her gratitude off.

"You shouldn't thank me, Emma. Tony was the one who made the call. Not me." Peter said, trying to be modest but Emma wasn't having it.

"He only called Steve because of you." Emma told him as she tried to show him how grateful she was. "I know how hard it must've been for you to stand up to him. It couldn't have been easy." Peter looked up at her and locked eyes with her.

"I'd do it all over again if it meant that you could be safe and happy." Peter told her sincerely and Emma only stared at him for a moment before she ambushed him with another hug. He stumbled back again from the impact and the surprise of it all before he held her once more. Peter was starting to think that he should've convinced Tony to do this a long time ago. Emma seemed remarkably happy. More happy than he had ever seen her.

"I love you." Emma told him, wanting to make sure he knew that she did. The expression on Peter's face softened because he knew he would never grow tired of her saying that.

"I love you too." He replied softly just as Emma pulled away to look back at him.

"I could _almost_ marry you." Emma told him with a teasing smile on her face. Peter gave her a look of surprise before relaxing when he realized that she was only messing with him. He should've known. Emma seemed to love teasing him.

"Almost?" Peter asked her in amusement. "What would it take for you to actually marry me?" Emma just shrugged nonchalantly, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I don't know, Parker. There's probably several contributing factors. You can't expect me to want to marry you after only knowing you for a year. I mean…I don't even know what you're like in bed yet." Emma told him flirtatiously, knowing fully well that she was probably making him uncomfortable. Peter blushed a vibrant shade of red.

"You're not funny." Peter muttered as he tried to ignore the way she always got underneath his skin. Emma knew just how to embarrass him but at the same time cause him to think not so innocent thoughts. Especially since they had already talked about taking that next step in their relationship.

"You're so sensitive, Parker." Emma teased as she playfully hit his shoulder, but it was only then that Peter gave her a hopeful look.

"Does this mean you'll actually marry me one day?" Peter asked her, and Emma rolled her eyes. He never learned when to quit, did he?

"This means that I might think about it." Emma said reluctantly, and Peter gave her that goofy grin.

"So yes?" He said, and Emma gave him an annoyed look.

"This means that in ten years I might start to _maybe_ consider it. In all honestly it all depends on one thing." Emma told him seriously and Peter gave her a quizzical look.

"What thing?" He asked her, and Emma gave him a smirk.

"Your winky." She said in a serious voice and Peter glared at her before groaning. He shoved her away which only caused Emma to laugh at him.

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Peter questioned, and Emma just grinned at him.

"Never." She told him, but she noticed that Peter still looked very bashful but for some reason scared as well. She was about to question him about this, but he beat her to it.

"You're going to have to stop talking like that to me now." Peter told her, and Emma raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, and Peter looked at her as though it was obvious.

"You're going to have to stop saying suggestive stuff like that to me since your grandfather's coming back. He'll probably kill me if he finds out about any of the stuff we've done together." Peter told her, and Emma just rolled her eyes. She thought he was overreacting.

"What stuff? All we've done is make out while you've occasionally felt me up. It's not like we've had sex or anything. We haven't even had oral sex." Emma told him bluntly which only caused Peter to blush more.

"See! That's what I mean! He'll kill me if he hears you talking about that." Peter told her as he tried to convince his girlfriend that they had to be on their best behavior now that her grandfather was coming back. "I know this is hard for you to understand but I actually want to make a good impression on him. I want him to like me and he's going to hate me if you keep discussing our non-existent sex life like that." Emma then coughed awkwardly which caused Peter to give her a confused look.

"What?" He questioned as he stared at her and Emma suddenly looked somewhat hesitant which was rare for her. Emma had only just started considering something after learning about the return of her grandfather a half an hour before. She never considered this before but now she realized something she was going to have to do…or to hide.

"About that…I was thinking that maybe we should wait to tell Steve about us." Emma told him, but Peter didn't look any less confused.

"But he's going to be here in less than an hour." Peter stated, still not understanding what Emma was talking about. Emma bit her lip nervously.

"I know but I just don't think it's a good idea to tell him about us right now." Emma said honestly but she was still scared of his reaction. She immediately regretted even making the suggestion when she saw the hurt look on Peter's face.

"You don't want to tell him about us?" Peter asked her, thinking that maybe she was embarrassed of him, and Emma immediately shook her head.

"It's not that I don't want to because I really do, Peter. I've always wanted you two to meet but…" Emma briefly paused as she started to give Peter her logical explanation behind all of this. "I just don't think it would be wise to add this to the huge pile of things we need to catch him up on. We have this whole thing with Hydra to deal with and not to mention Rumlow." Emma looked back up at him and Peter's face was now filled with understanding.

"I'm going to tell him about Rumlow, Peter. I should've told him a long time ago, but I think it's time." Emma stated as Peter listened to her patiently. "I just don't want to overwhelm him with everything. He's going to be shocked enough as it is."

"You're right." Peter admitted reluctantly. Leave it to Emma to think of everything logically even if he wished that she didn't sometimes. "I don't like it but you're right."

"This might be better." Emma said, trying to get her boyfriend to see the bright side in all of this. "He could know you as a person before knowing you as my boyfriend."

"You think he'll really like me?" Peter asked her shyly and Emma smiled before nodding.

"I know he will." Emma told him honestly. "I know this because you're both so much alike. How could he not like you?" Peter nodded as he took this in before a more serious expression came across his face. He realized that Emma and him were going to have to figure out certain things before her grandfather and the others actually came back. They needed to get their stories straight if they were going to temporarily hide their relationship from everyone.

"So how are we doing this? What's our story?" Peter asked her curiously. "If I'm not your boyfriend then what am I to you?"

"Well, I know Steve already knows that the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man are partners of sorts so I guess we'll just be friends…just like the old days." Emma informed him as she carefully glanced back at him for his reaction. He seemed to be listening to her even though she knew he didn't like this. "Which also means setting up some boundaries."

"Boundaries?" Peter questioned, and Emma nodded.

"Boundaries like no sleeping in bed together, no flirting, no holding hands, and definitely no kissing." Emma told him which caused Peter to pout. The idea of not being able to kiss Emma or be affectionate with her publicly was completely mind boggling to him. Peter also didn't want her to sleep alone either. He knew all about the nightmares she had and how him holding her in his arms comforted her. Peter didn't like the idea of her spending a night without him and then having a really bad nightmare only for her to wake up completely alone. He didn't like the sound of that at all.

"How long is this going to be?" Peter asked with that puppy dog look on his face that always made Emma weak in the knees.

"Just until Steve gets settled in. It won't be forever." Emma told him honestly. "I promise it won't be. Just trust me on this."

"I do trust you." Peter murmured as he stared back at her, warm brown eyes meeting ocean blue. Emma just smiled back at him and Peter allowed himself to be happy for her despite the situation. Of course, he wanted to meet her grandfather as Emma's boyfriend, but he knew that this would be for this best. Maybe Emma was right. Maybe her grandfather getting to know him as just Peter would be better than him immediately learning that he was Emma's boyfriend. Either way, Peter was just glad that she was happy. It was all he really wanted.

"How are you taking this?" Peter asked her quietly after a moment. They had been silent for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Emma could feel her heart racing because she knew that it wouldn't be long before she would finally be back in her grandfather's company after waiting so long. Emma was happy but scared too.

"I don't know. It's just been so long." Emma said quietly as she tried to think of what she was even going to say to Steve after being away from him for so long. "I'm beyond happy and excited but I'm also scared."

"Scared? Why would you be scared?" Peter asked her in confusion and Emma shrugged but she looked very worried…as if something was just dawning on her.

"It's just that…well, Steve and I haven't seen each other in a year." Emma said as something that had never occurred to her finally dawned on her. She was so lost in the act of missing Steve that she never considered what it would be like when they were finally reunited. "I know that I've changed a lot in a year and he probably has too. What if he doesn't like how I've changed? What if I don't like how he's changed?" Peter stared at Emma in disbelief.

"Emma, he's your grandfather. He's not going to care if you've changed. He'll still love you the same and you'll still love him the same." Peter told her honestly as Emma looked back at him. "Besides…he'd be a fool to not love you for who you are. I'm completely in love with the person you are."

"Really?" Emma asked in a small voice and Peter nodded.

"Of course." He told her and she smiled, feeling a bit better after Peter's reassurance. Peter was probably right. She was being silly about everything. They were about to fall into another comfortable silence before something else occurred to Peter…something very curious to him.

"What about your dad?" Peter asked her, and Emma gave him a slightly confused look.

"What?" She questioned.

"Your dad…do you think he'll come too?" Peter inquired, and Emma sighed.

"That's tough to say. Last I heard he was still in the Cyro-Chamber who knows where. I suppose Steve would know so he might be able to track him down, but we'll just have see I guess." Emma explained, and Peter nodded as he took in that information. Peter was a bit relieved that it might take a bit of time before he met Emma's father too. He knew it was already going to be overwhelming meeting her grandfather and the rest of the Avengers. Peter couldn't imagine meeting her father at the same time. He might die from his nervousness.

"So this is it." Peter said as he looked at her with a wide smile on his face. He just couldn't believe he was going to meet Emma's grandfather…the one who she talked so much about. It seemed sort of surreal. When Peter pictured meeting Captain America it was never like this. When he was younger he always imagined what he would say to the iconic hero but now he seemed at a loss for words. Of course, Peter never imagined he would be meeting Captain America as his granddaughter's boyfriend…not that her grandfather would even know that he was her boyfriend. It was still pretty crazy.

"Yeah. It seems like some kind of weird dream." Emma said as she smiled back at him. "I've always imagined him coming back but the fantasy always seemed too far away to actually become true."

"But now it is." Peter told her, and Emma nodded happily.

"Yes, it is. I feel happier than I've been in a long time. I mean…you make me happy too, but I've always felt incomplete without him and Papa around." Emma told him carefully, afraid of somehow offending him with her words but Peter understood.

"No, I completely get it. You need them and that's okay with me." Peter told her sincerely. "There's other people in the world that love you and care about you like I do and you don't know how happy that makes me."

"Really?" Emma said, and Peter continued to smile at her.

"Yes." He confirmed before that puppy dog look returned. "I'm just sorry that we're going to have to hide our relationship. That means that it's going to be forever until I can kiss you again." Emma rolled her eyes playfully at her pouting boyfriend.

"You'll get over it." Emma told him although she was honestly going to miss being openly affectionate with him as well. Even though she rarely admitted it, Emma largely enjoyed kissing Peter, but she also enjoyed the small things like hand holding and just him wrapping his arms around her and holding her. Emma figured that they were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship and she hoped that it would always be like this.

"Do you think we could maybe get everything out of our system one last time before he comes back?" Peter asked quietly and at first Emma didn't know what he was asking her. It wasn't until his hand held onto hers, his thumb gently caressing the top of her hand, that she realized what he meant. Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"Peter, we have to go to that stupid meeting with Ross which is in like…fifteen minutes." Emma told him, but he continued to look at her with those warm brown eyes and she knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him. Yeah, pretending not to be completely in love with Peter was probably going to be the most difficult thing she ever had to do.

"I'm just going to miss you." Peter told her, and Emma knew exactly what he meant by that. She was going to miss being alone with him all the time, but she was also happy that Steve was going to be here too.

"I'll miss you too." Emma said softly to him as she rested her hands on his shoulders. They slowly inched towards each other, eyes fluttering shut, before they finally closed the distance as their lips met. The kiss started off soft and slow as they remained locked in each other's embrace, but it wasn't long before the kiss then grew more intense as they poured every emotion they were feeling into it. Emma was communicating how much she was going to miss being like this with him while Peter was communicating the same thing. Peter backed up until he hit the bed and he promptly sat down with Emma following suit by straddling his lap. Once they were comfortably seated, they both continued kissing as they expressed their love for each other without saying any words. Emma with her fingers knotting in his hair and Peter with his hands on her hips as they kissed passionately. Emma was definitely going to miss this, but it was only temporary. Once this Hydra thing was over, Emma could tell Steve just what Peter meant to her and she knew he would love him too. Steve would see just how important Peter was to her.

* * *

"Stark, you've really done it this time." Ross said at the meeting. He was once again in holographic form with a bunch of other UN members as he glared at Tony. It was only a little too unfortunate that the power back and running. The meeting had been in commission for around ten minutes, yet Emma was still filled with the urge to kill him. Peter and Emma were some of the last to arrive at the meeting although they showed up in a disheveled state much to Tony's amusement. Emma blamed Peter.

They were currently in the lab area of the compound since the other conference rooms were currently being reconstructed by the work men. Tony, Vision, Rhodey, Maria, and surprisingly even Nick Fury had shown up for the party. Emma hadn't seen the former Shield director in over two years, so she was a bit surprised to see him there. Well, maybe not that surprised considering that this was Hydra they were talking about. Emma assumed the meeting would grow larger when Steve and the others would inevitably arrive. She tried not to think too much about it but deep down she was still both excited and anxious. Emma's could feel her heart pounding against her chest in anticipation.

"Look at what happened to the facility last night." Tony told Ross seriously. For once Tony didn't seem to be in the teasing mood. "This was the only way to solve the problem. The next time Hydra strikes…well, we weren't going to survive something like that now, would we? Anyone with common sense can see that."

"We would've sent more men to the facility." Ross argued but Tony just scoffed.

"What? So more men can die last night? Yeah, that's a fantastic idea. Let's get all the funerals ready." Tony said sarcastically as he glared back at Ross.

"So your brilliant solution is to bring back a bunch of war criminals?" Ross asked in disbelief. "Stark, I'm about this close to sending your ass to Raft. The fact that you knew how to contact Rogers this whole time is enough to give you a life sentence. I'm talking about treason in the highest degree-"

"Oh, well you just give it a rest!" Emma interjected, coming to Tony's defense which was rare in itself. Everyone turned to look at her, including Ross although he had a look of pure hatred on his face at the very sight of her. Emma was sure that he would probably find a way to threaten to send her to Raft too if he had the time. "I'm getting sick and tired of your petty threats about Raft. Wake up. Your underwater prison isn't that scary after all. A complete moron could break out of that place in ten minutes tops."

"Don't get me started on you, Rogers." Ross said as he sneered at her before looking back at Tony as the billionaire narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm at my wit's end with you, Stark. I accepted it when the government released Rogers into your custody and I even looked the other way when you started mentoring the other kid." Ross briefly paused as he started lecturing Tony who just watched him in silence.

Emma had always thought it was a bad idea to let Ross know of Peter's true identity which was something Peter agreed to months ago. It made sense logically since Ross was hellbent on tracking down any superhero who wasn't registered under the Sokovia Accords and throwing them in prison. It made sense that Tony and Ross came to an arrangement when it came to her and Peter but she knew Tony probably had to pull a lot of strings in order for Ross to not throw them in prison. Even though she understood why Tony and Peter decided to let Ross know, she still didn't agree with it completely. Emma didn't like the idea of Ross knowing that much about Peter. Ross knowing about her was one thing because she knew how corrupt and twisted politicians, especially ones like Ross could be, but Peter was still naïve when it came to things like that. Emma didn't trust Ross at all and she never would.

"We trusted that you were responsible enough to keep watch of these two highly dangerous individuals because of your support of the accords which we're all grateful for. Believe me when I say how much your support means to us…all of your support." Ross said as he glanced at Vision and Rhodey too but pointedly ignored Emma. She rolled her eyes at him because as much as he bragged about being a decorated war hero, he was still a politician underneath. He just had to show everyone how much of a suck up he was. "However, you've crossed a line. These people have warrants out for their arrests. Offering them aid is treason."

"Secretary Ross, I think the current circumstance is more important than the accords. We're talking about Hydra here. We're not talking about just _any_ terrorist organization." Fury told the older man who just scoffed at him.

"Oh, how could I forget about you, Nick. A man who miraculously rose from the dead." Ross said before rolling his eyes and Emma could tell Fury was really struggling not to cuss the man out. Emma had to admire his self-control and ability to remain diplomatic with people like Ross.

"I've been a lot of things in my life. Being dead is just one of many things." Fury said shortly before continuing. "Hydra isn't a threat we can ignore when convenient. Hydra doesn't like to be ignored. The Avengers' Facility is in a sad and almost laughable state so we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Rogers and his followers made their decision the day they refused to sign. They made their choice, the wrong one, and they'll have to live with the consequences." Ross retorted, and Emma looked up at the older man with a blank look on her face.

"You speak like you know from experience, Ross. Why is that?" Emma inquired although it was obvious that Emma knew exactly why that was. Ross just stared at her in shock. "Have you made many wrong decisions yourself? Please share. We're all so very curious." Peter looked between his girlfriend and the Secretary of State curiously. He thought he remembered Emma mentioning how she blackmailed Ross once and he wondered if this was what she had been referring to.

"Okay, let's cool it with the blackmail and arrest threats." Rhodey said to both Emma and Ross as he tried to bring some peace to this discussion. It was clear that the meeting was about to take a very ugly turn if he didn't intervene. "I have to say I'm on Tony's on this one, Mr. Secretary. You haven't seen the full entire state of the place. It's really bad and Fury's right. We need all the help we can get."

"I'm in agreement with the others as well." Vision said quietly from beside Rhodey. He didn't often speak up, but he chose to show his support in this decision. "I think it would be wise if we called for a truce for the time being. The Captain and the others will offer their aide and in return there will be no arrests. There's been truces like these formed in the past during times of war. I don't think we're asking the impossible."

"I don't need a lecture from you, Spock." Ross said annoyance although he was slowly starting to realize that the Avengers that used to be on his side no longer were. Even Rhodey who had admired him in the past didn't seem to care too much about the accords at the moment.

"So what?" Ross questioned as he looked around at all of them. "You've sent for the world's most wanted criminals on a stolen Quinjet to come to the rescue." Emma wanted to roll her eyes again. It's not like her grandfather had stolen the government's property. The Quinjets belonged to Tony who didn't really make it that big of a deal. Emma stole shit from Tony all the time and he didn't even care.

"You know, they're only criminals because _you've_ chosen to call them that right, Sir?" Rhodey pointed out as Ross groaned in frustration.

"My god, Rhodes, your talent for horse shit rivals mine." Ross complained and Rhodey ignored him as he continued to try and diplomatically get Ross to see his point, but Emma knew that would never happen. Ross would never admit how much the Sokovia Accords had failed. He had too much stubbornness and pride to admit that.

"If it wasn't for the accords then the other Avengers would've been right here during the attack. Hydra wouldn't even have been able to infiltrate the compound." Rhodey told him logically. "Hell, they might not have attacked the base in the first place if everyone was here. Hydra knew we were understaffed. They attacked us when we were at our most vulnerable."

"Rhodey's right." Tony said after being quiet for a majority of the meeting. It seemed like he was still working through a lot of things in his mind in regards to the others' return.

"The Sokovia Accords were intended to make the world a safer place but all it's done so far is to jeopardize everyone's safety." Tony told Ross honestly as he realized some of the mistakes he made when it came to the accords. He never meant for everything to end up the way it had. Tony had only been trying to protect the world but in the process, he ended up putting it more at risk.

"If the accords prevent us from protecting the world from bad guys then what's the point?" Tony finally stated, and it became obvious to Emma that Ross didn't like what was going on. Why would he? His whole idea was going up in flames.

"I remember all of your signatures on those papers…each one of you." Ross said coldly but it was clear he wasn't referring to Emma and Peter. He was looking at Tony, Vision, Rhodey, and Maria who he expected to look guilty or ashamed but none of them did. They knew that the accords weren't working out in this situation, so they were doing what was right by asking for help when it was needed. They weren't being blinded by their pride like Ross was.

"That's right…and I'm pretty sure I paid for that. I'm pretty sure we all did." Rhodey said as he walked closer to Ross's hologram. The paralyzed man had a strong look on his face, making it clear to Ross that he wasn't about to back down from this. Tony, Vision, Fury, Maria, Peter, and Emma also had similar looks on their faces. There wasn't a single person physically in this room that was willing to back down. Ross was just going to have to deal with it or arrest them like he always threatened to do. Emma would like to see the old man try.

"And you're having second thoughts?" Ross questioned as he looked back at the four who had signed the accords in the first place. Tony stared back at the older man defiantly.

"Not anymore." He told him firmly. Ross looked like was about to respond, however, he never got the chance as the doors to the lab slid open. It was almost something like a dream when Steve and the others finally walked in. Emma was almost surprised that she hadn't heard them coming or smelled Steve's familiar scent, but she had been distracted, after all. Emma had missed the others as well, but it was Steve who her eyes remained locked onto as he entered the room with the same commanding presence he always had.

At least that was one thing that hadn't changed.

The first thing Emma noticed about him was the beard he had on his face. The very sight of the beard caused her eyes to widen because Emma never recalled him ever going a day or two without shaving. He was the most clean shaven and well kept person she knew. The second thing she noticed was how different his Captain America suit looked. All the stars had been colored in with black sharpie which was highly logical. He had been on the run for the past year, so it made sense that he would try to fly more under radar and especially with the beard too. The suit also looked very worn which didn't surprise Emma either. They hadn't exactly had Tony Stark to give them upgrades on their equipment, after all. Even with all the differences, Emma knew that Steve still looked like Steve to her. Emma couldn't feel more delighted or ecstatic at the sight of him. The smile that made its way onto her face couldn't be helped as she had the sudden urge to run at him and ambush him with a hug.

It had been so long…too long even.

Steve Rogers wasn't entirely sure how he felt when Tony had called him up just a few hours before and asked for his help. He had been worried at first because Tony mentioned that Emma was in trouble, but he had also been happy to be reunited with her at the same time. A year was just too long of a time to spend away from Emma. Especially since he had missed the first thirteen years of her life. He never planned on missing another, but some things were beyond his control.

Even Captain America couldn't control everything as it would seem.

He and the others had been sent a debriefing file on the way back to the Avenger's Facility, so everyone was fairly aware of what was going on with Hydra. There was still a lot of things Steve had questions about, but he expected that the others at the compound could answer them. Steve had been quiet the whole entire ride back to the compound and no one even tried to bother him. It wasn't unlike Steve to be quiet these days. There was a certain sadness he lived in ever since he had been forced to leave Emma behind. That sadness only seemed to increase when Bucky volunteered himself to be placed inside the Cyro-Chamber again. The only brief instances of happiness he had was whenever he saw the Viper Assassin on the news. Of course, Steve was worried out of his mind for Emma and not exactly very approving of her crime fighting but at the same time he was glad to see her even if it was only on TV.

Steve had spent the past four hours eagerly anticipating his reunion with Emma, but nothing could've ever prepared him for the moment he walked into Tony's lab and saw her standing there, staring back at him. He didn't know what he had expected when he saw her again, but Steve was still surprised. Was she this tall when he had last seen her? Was she this beautiful? Steve wasn't sure, but he thought she looked older to him than she ever had before. Sixteen, he reminded himself. She was sixteen now and just two years closer to becoming an adult…a woman. Steve's ocean blue eyes locked onto her identical ones and he so desperately wanted to embrace her…to hold her. He wanted to hold her and never let her go as he apologized over and over again for leaving her alone in the first place. Steve hoped that she could forgive him or at least understand why he did it. It then took everything in Steve's power to finally look away from her and focus on Ross as he remained professional in this difficult circumstance. Steve swallowed hard as he put his own personal feelings to the side. He couldn't allow himself to get emotionally compromised right now. Not when Emma's life was in danger like this.

"Mr. Secretary." Steve said as he locked eyes with Ross's holographic form. Sam, Natasha, Wanda, and Clint all stood behind him loyally as Steve spoke to the older looking man. There were some differences in the other Avengers as well. Sam had grown a beard as well while Natasha had died her hair platinum blonde, a shade that was even blonder than Emma's own hair. Clint had a different haircut going on and although you wouldn't know it unless you talked to her, Wanda had managed to change her otherwise distinct Sokovian accent into a more American and generic one. Although all the Avengers had come back from their previous lives on the run, it was clear that they had seen their fair amount of hardships while they were away. There wasn't a single one of them that didn't look exhausted or worn down.

"You've got some nerve. I'll give you that." Ross muttered as he glared hatefully at all five of them.

"You could use some of that right now." Natasha said smugly as she smirked at the former colonel. It seemed like she was delighted at causing Ross so much stress and grief. At least everyone knew that Natasha hadn't changed much. Natasha Romanoff had always taken great delight in messing with people's sanity. That was something Emma and Natasha had always had in common.

"The world's on fire…and you think all's forgiven?" Ross questioned as he sneered at them. Emma usually would've told Ross to fuck off but she was so lost in the presence that was her grandfather that Loki could've fallen out of the sky and kidnapped Tony, yet Emma still wouldn't have been able to snap out of this happy state she was in.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness." Steve stated coolly as he maintained a stoic expression on his face. It was clear to everyone that he was in full Captain mood in this moment. "And I'm way past asking for permission."

"Hydra just attacked the facility and that's only just the beginning." Steve told him, carefully maintaining his usual calm and rational demeanor. "They'll be back for more soon enough. There's no telling what they have planned but when they make the next move you'll be glad that you had eight Avengers instead of three." Steve briefly paused as Ross watched him silently.

"Hydra almost managed to win last night so we're here to fight." Steve said firmly, and it was clear that he wasn't about to let Ross tell him what he could or couldn't do. He had never believed in the accords, after all.

"If you want to fight us then we'll fight you too." Ross stared at Steve in complete silence for a minute or two and you could hear a pin drop in the room. It was clear that the Secretary of State wasn't amused by Steve's return or his continued defiance. The former colonel then gritted his teeth as he looked over at Tony and Rhodey who had been remarkably quiet this whole time. Both them still in a state of surprise over seeing their friends again after so long.

"Arrest them." Ross ordered, thinking that any one of them would still even listen to him after his continued ignorance.

"Yup. All over it." Tony said and although it was clear to everyone in the room that Tony was only humoring Ross, Tony's sarcasm seemed to go over Ross's head. The billionaire then ended the transmission. Ross subsequently disappeared from the room along with all the other UN members. But no one really complained about the absence of the Secretary of State.

"That's a court martial." Rhodey said light heartedly as he grinned at all the other Avengers. "It's great to see you, Cap."

"You too, Rhodey." Steve said shortly although his gaze was entirely locked onto Emma who stared back at him. The Captain was only half paying attention to all the others as he took in the sight of his granddaughter. The distinguished colonel then walked over to give Steve a quick, friendly hug.

"I'll just get out of the way now. I think there's someone here that would probably murder me if I stand in their way too long." Rhodey said as he then let go of Steve to give both him and Emma some room. Everyone watched in complete and utter silence as the granddaughter and grandfather reunited for the first time in over a year. Emma swallowed hard as she slowly walked over to Steve who allowed a small smile to come over his face as he watched her. It was almost like she was unsure of how to approach him. A part of her still felt like this was some dream that would abruptly end before she even got the chance to hug him.

"Steve…" Emma trailed off as she walked closer to him. Steve could feel himself begin to become emotional over the sight of her. He hadn't realized how much he missed her until she was right there in front of him again.

"I'm sorry I missed your birthday." Steve joked weakly and it was then that Emma wasn't able to hold herself back anymore. She never liked anyone seeing her in a emotional state but she no longer cared. He had been away for far too long for her to care about that anymore.

Emma immediately ran at him and attacked him with a hug. Unlike Peter, however, he was able to hold his ground as she hugged him but mostly because he was used to Emma's unpredictable nature at this point. He was her own flesh and blood, after all. Steve chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close in his arms. The super soldier just stood there quietly for a moment as he took in the warmth of her in his arms again as well as the familiar scent of her shampoo. Emma also took note of his familiar scent among other things as she tried to memorize everything about him. She hadn't taken the time to do that before because she had taken him for granted but Emma swore she would never do that again.

The others watched in silence with similar smiles on their faces as they watched the two reunite. There was seldom anything that gave anyone any happiness these days, but they were glad to see the Captain happy again. It had been a long time. Even Sam seemed to be shedding a few tears as he watched his best friend and his best friend's granddaughter hug each other. Rhodey gave his friend a look of disbelief although he looked mostly amused.

"Are you actually crying, man?" Rhodey asked him and Sam furiously wiped the tears from his face as he blushed.

"They're both happy and it's beautiful. What's so wrong with that?" Sam said as he sniffled. Rhodey just shook his head as he chuckled.

"Nothing…absolutely nothing." Rhodey told him as he continued to smile at the pair. Emma buried her face in Steve's neck as she clung onto him for life. She was afraid that if she let him go, he'd disappear again somehow. Emma wasn't willing to let that happen.

"Steve…I-I've-" Emma then stopped because she was at a complete loss for words. Steve just rubbed her back soothingly as he held her.

"I know, Emma. I know. I've missed you too." Steve told her softly and Emma didn't even try to stop the tears from falling down her face as she stood there with Steve. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she didn't even know where to begin. Well, maybe they would have a lot of time now that he was there. Emma pulled away from him so that she could look up at his face. Despite being away from him so long, she could still see the same gentleness he always had about him.

"I really have missed you, you know." Emma told him quietly and Steve nodded. "I got your present too…the one you sent me."

"You did?" Steve inquired with an amused smile on his face. Emma nodded as she smiled at him through the tears.

"Yes, I loved it. You know me so well." Emma told him, and Steve just wiped the tears from her face as he gazed down at her.

"Sam wanted me to get you a wooden fan or one of those porcelain dolls, but I knew that wasn't you." Steve remarked, and Emma loved that he knew her that well. He might've never completely understood her, but he still knew her. Emma then gave him an amused smile as she gently ran her fingers through his beard.

"What's this thing on your face?" Emma asked, and Steve gave her a confused look before he realized what she was talking about. He just laughed at her reaction to his beard.

"It was necessary. We were on the run, after all." Steve told her, and Emma laughed with him too, sounding quite happy and content to be able to tease him again like she always used to.

"You look like a pirate." Emma told him, and Steve shrugged but he still smiled down at her.

"I don't know. I think I like it." Steven joked, and Emma feigned a disgusted look but she honestly didn't care about the beard. She was just happy to have him back.

"Please never leave me alone with Tony again. I almost murdered him, Steve." Emma said jokingly but her voice seemed to contain no amount of disdain or anger as she mentioned Tony. It was something that only Natasha and Clint seemed to notice but Steve became too distracted at Tony's name for her change of voice to occur to him.

Steve then glanced up and for the first time since arriving he seemed to really notice Tony. The billionaire had remained quiet during the exchange between Emma and Steve but now it seemed like he was no longer able to avoid Steve's attention. The both of them stared at each other silently with the memory of their last encounter flashing through both of their minds. What happened in Siberia was possibly the most difficult thing to ever forget. A lot of things had been done and a lot of things had been said. None of which could really be taken back but the fact that the two of them were standing here at all was a sign that maybe…just maybe…they could find a way to get along. For Emma if no one else.

"Tony." Steve greeted but his voice was much quieter than when he had talked to Emma. Emma watched the two carefully as she tried assessing whether or not they were going to kill each other.

"Cap." Tony said just as quietly but the two of them didn't really seem to say much beyond that. What else could they even say in a situation like this one?

"This is awkward." Sam remarked before smirking and learning over to Clint. "Or should I say Hawkward." Clint just glared at the man before shaking his head.

"Shut up, Wilson." Clint muttered, and he honestly wondered how he had spent this long away from home. It was really a miracle. Rhodey then cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to cut some of the tension out of the room. Everyone knew this wasn't going to be easy but Rhodey honestly didn't think things would be this weird.

"You guys really look like crap." Rhodey told them as he tried to lighten the mood. "Must've been a rough year." Sam just shrugged.

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five-star." Sam retorted, and Natasha smirked as she crossed her arms.

"Well, you guys seem to be doing less than well. I really love what you've done with the place, Stark. Your redecorating skills are phenomenal." Natasha said sarcastically and even Tony couldn't resist to smirk back at her despite the tension in the room.

"I just thought I'd try out a few new things. Knocking down some walls…maybe a new color scheme while we're at it." Tony quipped.

"I happen to think everyone looks more than well." Vision said quietly as he gazed at Wanda with an expression of what almost seemed like endearment. Wanda smiled back at him, something else in her eyes.

"Hey, Vis." Wanda said happily, and Vision returned her smile.

"Wanda." He said softly, and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Excuse me while I go barf." Emma muttered as she tried to keep her food down while looking at the witch and the android. Steve gave her an amused smile. Maybe Emma wasn't so different after all, Steve thought to himself. However, it was then a certain someone made his presence known to the other Avengers.

Peter had been remarkably quiet during the whole reunion. It was mostly because he didn't want to interrupt Emma and her grandfather's reunion but also because he felt shy and nervous. These were the rest of the Avengers he was talking about it, after all. Peter had only gotten to know three Avengers on a personal level. The five other ones seemed intimidating to him, but he was also in awe of them. There were about five million questions that he wanted to ask them but he knew now wasn't the time for that. Maybe he would have time later to admire the Scarlet Witch's weird but unique abilities or to somehow convince the Falcon to let him borrow his wings. For now, he had much more on his mind.

Peter had been staring at Captain America for the past several minutes in complete awe and disbelief. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't even because he was Captain America. When Peter was a little kid, all he imagined was what it would be like to meet Captain America and Iron Man. When Peter had met Tony, he hadn't been nearly as smooth as he thought he would be, but meeting Captain America was different. Peter felt overwhelmingly nervous, but it wasn't because he was meeting Captain America. No. It was because he was meeting Emma's grandfather for the first time. Was this how most boyfriends felt when they met their girlfriend's family? Peter didn't know.

However, Peter was just happy that her grandfather was here now. He had seen how happy she had been to be reunited with him. A smile graced his face from the clear happiness on Emma's face from finally being in her grandfather's arms. She was happy, and it was everything and more Peter had hoped for. From the minute Captain America walked into the room, Peter kept his gaze on Emma as he admired her happiness. She was so beautiful when she was happy. Well, she was always beautiful, but it made Peter happy to see her happy. He knew he was right in convincing Tony to bring them back. Not just to stop Hydra but for Emma to have more support and comfort than what Peter could provide for her. Her grandfather was just what she needed.

"Uh…hi. I'm Peter." Peter said nervously as he approached Steve. It wasn't until then that Steve and the others noticed the teenage boy. The room grew quiet as Steve looked away from Emma to look down at Peter. Peter gulped but tried to remain calm as he introduced himself to his girlfriend's grandfather. He had to remind himself to take deep breaths.

"I-I mean Parker Peter. No, I'm Peter Parker…Sir." Peter stammered as he tried to get the words out. Emma smirked at his nervousness. A nervous and scared Peter was always adorable to her.

Steve stared down at the teenage boy with an expression of both curiosity and confusion. The boy couldn't have been any older than Emma, but he was perhaps the most nervous looking person Steve had ever seen. The boy was a few inches shorter than him, so Steve had to look down at him. His brown eyes seemed wide with some inexplainable emotion and his brown hair seemed slightly disheveled. _That voice_ , Steve thought to himself as he tried to think. Where had he heard that voice before?

"Steve." Steve introduced politely although he still sounded unsure of what to make of the boy. The Avengers who were more than aware of Emma and Peter's relationship watched the interaction between the two curiously. Even Tony had to hide a smirk at the sight of a near trembling Peter Parker. Too bad Darcy wasn't here to get this all on camera. The Avengers, that weren't aware of Emma's relationship with the teenage boy, seemed just as confused as Steve.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain." Peter said as cordially as he could as he reached out and grabbed Steve's hand to shake. A goofy smile then came over Peter's face as he was now close enough to get a really good look at Steve Rogers. He had seen him at the airport all that time ago when they fought against each other, but Steve's mask had obscured much of his face then. However, now Peter could see how much alike him, and Emma looked. The same blonde hair, similar jawline, tall height, and most of all they shared the same exact eye color. Steve had the same ocean blue eyes with small flecks of green hidden in their depths as Emma had. It was Peter's favorite feature about Emma and now he knew exactly where she had gotten her eyes from. Peter couldn't help but feel in awe at the fact that he was standing in front of someone who looked so much like Emma.

"You too." Steve mumbled although he still looked immensely confused at the sight of the teenager. He looked at Tony, Rhodey, Fury, Maria, and Vision questioningly but none of them seemed to be paying attention. They seemed abnormally quiet. "I'm sorry…who are you?" Peter blushed.

"I'm Peter." He repeated before elaborating a little more. "We actually technically already met but I wouldn't expect you to remember me or anything." Steve still looked confused, so Peter continued to explain himself to the Avenger.

"At the airport last year. Remember?" Peter said as he smiled sheepishly at Emma's grandfather.

"I'm Queens and you're Brooklyn." Steve's eyes widened in realization as he looked at the teenage boy. It seemed like that was all it took for Steve to remember him as he stared at the boy in disbelief. Emma bit her lip as she looked between her grandfather and boyfriend. A part of her was terrified that the meeting wouldn't go as well as she hoped. Steve didn't know Peter was her boyfriend, but she still really wanted him to like Peter.

"You!" Sam exclaimed as he stared at Peter in surprise. "You're that little idiot in spandex that shot that gross stuff at Barnes and I. What's your name? Spider-Kid or something?" Peter tried not to glare at the Avenger known as Falcon because he knew how much Emma liked the man. He was still offended by what Sam Wilson said, however.

"I-I'm Spider-Man." Peter tried to say confidently but it didn't come out the way he hoped. His voice kind of broke half way through. Sam smirked at the kid while all the others watched on in amusement.

"Spider- _Man_? What are you like twelve or something?" Sam questioned, and Emma had to force herself not to laugh at Sam. She had really missed him too…more than she realized. "Kid, I hate to break it to you but you don't look you've even hit puberty yet." This time Peter really did glare at the man.

"I'll have you know that I'm _sixteen_. Sixteen!" Peter argued, and Emma could tell that Sam had bruised Peter's ego which was very sensitive. Emma kind of wanted to go over there and hug her little Spider-Twerp comfortingly, telling him that at least she knew how much of a man he was. But she also knew that the very idea of that was impossible. As much as she wanted to tell Steve all about her and Peter, now was not the time. Steve chuckled at the sight of the offended looking teenage boy.

"Like I said before…you have heart, kid." Steve told him honestly and the angry look on Peter's face faded. What did that mean? Did that mean Steve liked him? Peter didn't know. He didn't think they had been acquainted long enough for Steve to approve of him. What did winning Captain America's approval even look like?

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Sam questioned as he narrowed his eyes at the kid. "I thought Em kicked your ass all over that runway."

"Oh, how I've missed you Sam. It's been too long." Emma said as she smiled at her grandfather's best friend who grinned back at her.

"Emma Rogers actually missing someone. Who knew?" Sam teased, and it was Clint that brought the conversation back to Peter.

"I'm with Sam on this one. What's this kid doing here, Tony?" Clint asked as he looked suspiciously at the teenage boy who only blushed in response. Steve momentarily nodded in agreement with Clint. He was barely okay with Emma being involved in this and the Hydra thing happened to concern her, after all. He wasn't sure how felt about another child being involved in this. Especially since this was someone else's child and not his.

"I'm Emma's…" Peter stopped himself before he said what Emma really was to him. Not only would he cause a panic if he brought his and Emma's real relationship up, but Emma would probably be mad at him if he blurted out that he was her boyfriend. "Friend. I'm Emma's friend. I want to help out if I can."

Everyone raised their eyebrows in surprise at the teenage boy's answer. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Maria raised their eyebrows because they were surprised that Peter didn't introduce himself as Emma's boyfriend. Everyone, especially Tony, was dying to see Steve's reaction to Emma having a boyfriend but Peter said no such thing. The rest of everyone else raised their eyebrows in surprise because they were shocked at the idea that Emma had a friend or at least a friend that was her own age. It was no secret that Emma had trouble getting along with people. Especially since Emma had always complained about how much she hated kids her own age in the past.

"You have a friend?" Natasha said to Emma as she gave her an amused look. Emma scoffed.

"What? I can't have a friend?" Emma retorted as she playfully elbowed Peter in the ribs, a wide smile on her face. "Some people, like Peter, happen to find my personality very warm and friendly."

The Avengers, who had been missing for so long, stared at Emma like she was some strange, alien creature. Was Emma actually trying to make a joke? Emma had joked around in the past but usually only around Steve or Natasha. Usually she was very serious and bitter. The sight of Emma casually making a light hearted joke was odd…very odd. There were also the times she teased Tony but that was meant to be mean rather than funny. Natasha looked at the blonde suspiciously because this was something she had seen a bit of before. She had seen a slightly more carefree Emma back when she visited her in D.C. all those months ago, but this was still different. Steve stared down at his granddaughter as he tried to analyze the expression on her face. Now that he thought about it there was something different about Emma now that he was looking at her. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Warm and friendly are the last words I would use to describe you." Sam teased, and Emma smiled at him. Steve admired the way that her smile seemed to actually reach her eyes. Those kinds of smiles were always rare in the past.

"Thanks a lot." Emma muttered as she rolled her eyes at Sam. Steve's fascination with Emma's odd behavior then faded as he looked back at the teenage boy named Peter. It concerned him that another kid was involved in this. Emma being involved in this was bad enough, but she was his responsibility. Who was responsible for this boy? Where were his parents? They honestly couldn't be okay with their son hanging out with superheroes.

"You said your name's Peter, right?" Steve said as he glanced at the kid who eagerly nodded. Peter was touched that Captain America even remembered his name. Seven-year-old Peter would've been losing his mind right now.

"Y-Yes um…Captain. Peter's my uh…name." Peter said awkwardly, and Emma resisted the urge to laugh at him. She couldn't believe he was actually being so formal with Steve. Steve smiled at the teenage boy.

"That's okay. You can just call me Steve." Emma's grandfather informed him politely before the smile faded as he moved onto more serious matters. "I'm just a little bit confused as to what you're doing here, Peter. This is a very dangerous situation. Do your parents know that you're here?" Emma wanted to roll her eyes at the way Steve talked to Peter. He really sounded like the old man he actually was. Steve might've as well of started calling Peter "young man" at this rate.

"My parents are dead." Peter said quietly. "But my Aunt May knows I'm here though. It was kind of tough getting her used to the idea of all of this, but Emma convinced her that I would be okay. She's really good at convincing people to do things." Steve looked very sympathetic as Peter mentioned his dead parents, but he nodded nevertheless.

"She's always been good at that." Steve said softly as he glanced at Emma affectionately before looking back at Peter. "And I'm sorry about your parents by the way."

"It's okay. It happened a long time ago, Captain-I mean Steve." Peter said, blushing as he realized that he had almost called him Captain. Steve smiled at him in amusement before Tony stepped in from there.

"I've been keeping an eye on the kid for the past year. Same with Emma. They're both good kids." Tony told him seriously and Steve took a moment to respond as he tried to think of what he should say to Tony. There was still a certain amount of awkwardness in the air, but they were just going to have to get over it.

"Thank you for that…for taking care of her, I mean. I really am grateful." Steve said quietly, and Tony nodded as he shrugged.

"It's not a problem. Mini Cap isn't so bad and we kind of like each other now." Tony said as he looked back at Emma and winked. Emma scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"Says you. You're still a huge nuisance to me, Tony." Emma said bitterly but mostly just to keep up appearances. She didn't really think Tony was all that bad although she would deny that if anyone asked her. Steve and the others didn't miss the way she called the eccentric billionaire Tony instead of Stark or asshole. She then glanced at Steve.

"Steve, Peter's more than capable of lending a helping hand in this. Believe me." Emma told him sincerely and she knew he didn't like the idea of kids being involved in this, but she rarely thought of her and Peter as children. "We both held our own really well last night. Especially Peter."

"Emma's right. I know you don't know me but Emma's my…friend and I want to help." Peter said, nearly stumbling over the word "friend" again. Ugh! What was wrong with him?

Tony smirked once more at the kid's nervousness. At this point he figured out that Mini Cap and the kid probably decided to hold off on telling Cap about their relationship. He didn't blame them either. There was way too much going on right now. They needed to deal with one thing at a time. However, Tony still couldn't resist putting his two cents in.

"Yeah, Mini Cap and the kid are _very_ good friends." Tony quipped, and the others gave Tony an odd look at his weird statement before placing their focus back on Peter.

Natasha was perhaps the only person who found Tony's suggestive tone suspicious. She gave Tony a curious look before glancing over at Emma for her reaction and it seemed like she wasn't disappointed. Emma was glaring at Tony as though Tony had done something to piss her off. Something was definitely weird about all of this. What was going on around here? By the warning looks the others gave Tony she could also tell that they knew something that the rest of them didn't. Well, this was interesting.

"Emma and I aren't inexperienced. We've been fighting crime for the past several months and we even took down the Vulture together." Peter told Steve pointedly and Emma nodded in agreement.

"Hydra attacked him last night too, Steve. Peter's just as involved in all of this as I am." Emma told Steve seriously. "Besides…I'd rather him be here with us than to go home. He's safer this way."

This time, however, everyone did seem to find something very odd about Emma. Clint and Sam exchanged a look before glancing at Emma, wondering if some kind of demon or alien had taken over her body in the time they were gone. Wanda also seemed mystified by Emma's behavior although she knew better than to look inside the blonde's head again. Natasha just raised her eyebrow at her while Steve gave her a slightly concerned look. Steve was wondering if maybe Emma was sick or something. Emma swallowed hard as she then bit the inside of her cheek to stop from blushing. She was starting to think that she might've said too much.

"Because we're friends and you know…friends are supposed to care about each other's safety. Right, Clint? You care about Natasha's safety, don't you?" Emma asked the archer who seemed even more weirded out by the blonde's odd behavior. He had been happy to see her at first and happy to see that she was in good health but now he was starting to worry about her. Clint had always noticed that she always acted more like her father than her mother but now Emma seemed to be acting more like Margot which worried him.

"Uh…I guess." Clint said awkwardly. In one corner of the room Tony and Rhodey were struggling to stifle their laughter which once again did not escape Natasha's notice.

"Emma's right, Cap." Tony said seriously once he sobered up from his laughter. "The kid's alright. I've taken him under my wing and he's more than capable of taking care of himself." Steve still didn't seem to like it, but he decided not to argue anymore with them on it. Emma had a point. Hydra had attacked everyone last night, so the teenage boy had a right to help out. Steve just nodded but didn't say anything at first. He probably could've gone out of his way to argue with them, but Steve didn't have it in him. He just wanted to appreciate the fact that Emma was standing next to him again after so long. When he didn't say anything, Nick Fury decided to make his presence known. He had remained quiet during the whole exchange but mostly because he wanted to ensure that Tony and Steve weren't about to kill each other. Maria filled him in on some of what happened last year, so he wasn't going risk something like that.

"Right…now that we're all acquainted, why don't we start talking business?" Nick said, and everyone turned their attention to the quiet but serious former Shield director. Peter felt a little intimidated by the older man, but he assumed it was because Nick Fury had an eyepatch. Everyone who had an eyepatch was a badass. That was a well-known fact although he was sure that someone like Natasha Romanoff didn't need an eyepatch to be a badass. Peter wasn't going to lie. He might've been a little bit afraid of the Black Widow. There was probably a reason she got that name. Ned always argued that Emma was probably just as scary as the Black Widow, but Peter didn't think so. Emma was…Emma. She wasn't like that.

"We read the debriefing file you sent us on the way here." Steve said as he nodded in agreement with Fury. "We know about the Hydra attack in Oklahoma City as well as the one here last night. What else do you know about Hydra?"

"They made an appearance several months ago here in New York." Rhodey answered as the conversation then became serious. "A man by the name of Volkov made it his mission to get Emma's attention." Emma sighed heavily as everyone's attention turned to her.

"He was one of the guards at Hydra. I didn't know him that well, only in passing." Emma told them quietly. "He posed as a thief that Peter and I were trying to apprehend. Volkov revealed his true identity before killing his partner and then himself. He said Hydra wanted me back. This was back in November." Peter then felt inclined to mention another incident.

"There was also the time back in January when we caught those weapon dealers." Peter mentioned, and everyone stared at the teenage boy who blushed at the attention before continuing. "There were these ATM robbers that Emma and I were familiar with. They were known buyers of the Vulture's weapons. We had a stake out to catch them in the act in hopes of retrieving their weapons, but they had already sold them."

"They claimed their buyer was Rumlow." Emma added, and everyone stiffened at the name. Peter felt a spike of hatred come over him at the name as well. Every time he heard that name, it made him mad. "Apparently Rumlow knew we were looking for the weapons. He had those idiots send us a message."

"So we know Rumlow has those weapons from Toomes now, right?" Steve stated. He was very familiar with the name after hearing about how the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man had taken the weapons dealer down on the news. Steve didn't like the idea of Emma out there crime fighting but he figured that this was just something he was going to have to deal with.

"Powered by Chitauri technology, right?" Clint inquired, and Emma nodded. Maria then took it from there.

"After Toomes was arrested we started making it a priority to track down and arrest everyone he ever sold those weapons to. We've managed to retrieve a lot, but we can't be sure we've found all the weapons." Maria explained, and Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"But those weapons Rumlow bought from ATM robbers couldn't be the ones used in the attack in Oklahoma and here. The Chitauri weaponry couldn't do the same amount of damage." Natasha told them, and it was then that Tony brought something up on the holographic screen. He used his Stark Industries designed watch to control the screen as he brought up the information.

"McConaughey finally finished doing the tests on the weapons we confiscated from the apprehended Hydra agents here last night." Tony explained as the screen started displaying all kinds of numbers and info. "There was a positive match."

"A positive match to what?" Steve asked, and Tony swallowed hard.

"There was a positive match from these weapons to the ones used in Hydra back in your time, Cap." Tony informed him, and Steve's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Everyone's eyes widened in shock and even Emma felt horrified by this new information as she began to connect the dots. Emma didn't know what this meant. What weapons?

"You mean the weapons powered by the Tesseract? Are you saying that these weapons Hydra has now are powered by the Tesseract too?" Steve asked as he shook his head in disbelief. It was then that Emma began to realize just how bad this was. She tried to think if she ever remembered Hydra experimenting with the Tesseract but she couldn't recall. Emma remembered them experimenting with Chitauri and Dark Elf technology but that was it. She knew for a fact that they experimented with Loki's scepter, but Emma wasn't sure beyond that. "How is that even possible? Thor took the Tesseract to Asgard. It's not even on this planet anymore."

"But the Tesseract was here for almost seventy years before Thor took it away." Emma said quietly, and everyone looked at Emma in a new light. She hesitantly looked up at all of them as she decided to tread very carefully over what she said next. "Hydra was in Shield for all that time too. Couldn't someone have taken the Tesseract and used it to make weapons? No one would've known the difference."

"It's very possible." Fury stated as he considered what Emma said. Shield wanted to use the Tesseract to make weapons, after all, so why couldn't Hydra have done the same. "Someone high ranking would've had to of taken the Tesseract and then erase all evidence of them doing so."

"Who, besides you, could've done that?" Sam questioned, and Fury gritted his teeth.

"I sure as hell didn't do it but a deputy director could've done it." Fury said as everyone collectively looked at Maria. "Maria's out on that one and the only one I had before her was Steven Rogers Jr. and I know for a fact that he never did it. That only leaves one person."

"Who's that?" Peter inquired curiously, and Fury had a grim look on his face.

"Alexander Pierce." Fury answered, and everyone grew very quiet when they heard that name. Emma clenched her jaw at the mention of her, thankfully, dead grandfather. The one who she hated almost as much as Rumlow. Peter looked at Emma from the corner of his eye and he desperately wanted to hold onto her hand to comfort her, but he knew that wasn't an option right now.

"Pierce could've taken the Tesseract out of our high security vault and placed it at one of the Hydra bases." Maria observed aloud. "He could've returned it before anyone ever noticed."

"Like a fucking library book." Fury grumbled. Steve gave him a pointed look for his language use with children in the room before Tony stepped in from there.

"We also know that these weapons are made from Vibranium as well. McConaughey managed to detect Vibranium and we know the weapons T'Challa confiscated from those weapon smugglers also contained Vibranium." Tony informed everyone. "We have a good idea how Hydra managed to use the Tesseract to power these weapons but where in the hell did they get the Vibranium?"

"Hydra's not getting the weapons from within Wakanda." Natasha told them seriously. "It would be almost impossible for them to invade Wakanda. Trust me. No one's getting inside Wakanda."

"What about Ulysses Klaue?" Wanda suggested, and Emma couldn't help but notice that Wanda's accent was almost gone. She supposed you had to lose a lot of things when you went on the run. "Ultron bought a lot of Vibranium from him and I'm sure he might've sold more before then."

"That's a solid theory." Fury stated, nodding his head in agreement with Wanda's suggestion. Emma had to agree with Maximoff there. It was well known that Ulysses Klaue had stolen a large amount of Vibranium from Wakanda and he was known to be the only outside source that had a supply of it. If Hydra was willing to spare a couple billion dollars then Klaue would've been very happy sell it to them just like how he sold Ultron all that Vibranium.

"Is there any word from Hello Kitty by the way?" Tony asked as he referred to the Wakandan king. Emma was also curious about that too. She was sure that if Vibranium was involved, T'Challa would surely want in on all this. Steve looked around at the teammates he had been on the run with for the past year before looking back at Tony and nodding.

"We got into contact with him on the way over here. He's already on his way and he's bringing his sister who's Wakanda's leading technological scientist. She might be able to help." Steve informed Tony and Emma raised her eyebrows at that. She was pretty sure T'Challa only had one sister and that happened to be Princess Shuri who was only her and Peter's age. If she was Wakanda's leading scientist, then she must've been at a genius level.

"What about Lang?" Emma inquired curiously because she noticed that the awkward man known as Ant-Man didn't seem to be here like she expected. "I thought he was on the run with you guys too." Steve sighed.

"Lang wanted to help but he was concerned about his daughter. He's currently trying to work out a plea agreement with the DA. We're thinking he might be under house arrest at the most." Steve explained, and Emma nodded in understanding. She didn't really know Scott that well so it's not like she expected him to come. Especially if he had a family to think about back home. Emma then shot a curious glance over at Clint.

Wait a minute.

Clint had a family to think about as well. Why wasn't he trying to work out a plea agreement with the DA like Scott was? Why was he here? However, Emma decided to put that thought to the side as she focused her attention back on the conversation at hand.

"That's fine. We were only down to three Avengers last night and now we have more than twice that, so I think we might be fine…for now." Emma said calmly, and Steve nodded before a more serious look came over his face. She gave him a curious look before she wondered what came over him all of a sudden that caused him to look like that.

"There's also one other thing we should mention." Steve said solemnly as he glanced over at the others before his eyes finally landed on Tony's face. He wasn't sure how the billionaire was going to take this. "T'Challa's bringing Bucky with him."

The room was so silent after Steve mentioned the fact that Bucky was joining them. Fury looked unbothered by the statement while Rhodey and Maria exchanged uncomfortable looks. Vision was too busy staring at Wanda to notice much else and Tony was very tense. Emma was perhaps the only one to look incredibly excited at the news. She was oblivious to Tony's obvious sign of discomfort as her eyes lit up with happiness and a smile came over her face. Peter smiled himself at the way she reacted to the news, excitement and fear washing over him at the realization that he was finally going to meet Emma's dad.

"Really?" Emma asked softly as she looked at Steve excitedly. "Papa's coming? For real this time?" Steve looked away from Tony and glanced down at his happy granddaughter. He smiled softly at her.

"Yes, he's on the plane with T'Challa as we speak. He's been out of the Cyro-Chamber for a couple months now." Steve informed her as Emma hung onto his every word. "According to T'Challa he's been doing really great now. I guess we have Shuri to thank for that. She was able to erase Hydra's brainwashing." Emma frowned when she heard the last part although she was happy to hear that her father was doing good.

"Erase? Do you think he still remembers me?" Emma asked him, and Steve nodded.

"T'Challa said he asks about you every day." Steve told her, and Emma smiled in return. She couldn't believe this. Not only did she have Steve back, but she was also going to get her father back too. It felt like it had been years since she had seen them both but in reality, it was just one year. Emma never thought she could have everyone back in her life at the same time, but it was happening. Her father, Steve, and Peter were all going to be with her and Emma couldn't be happier. It suddenly didn't matter if Hydra was back with a vengeance because she knew she could get through this now that all of them were back.

Emma couldn't wait to see her father. She couldn't wait to tell him how much she missed him…how much she loved him. They were finally going to be together again after so long. Not to mention the fact that they were going to be fighting alongside each other again. Despite all the terrible things they had done together, Emma still cherished all the time she spent with her father on missions. All the fighting, killing, and sparring they had done made them closer. Maybe Emma could even somehow have convinced him to a sparring session in the training facility like the old days. He was always her favorite sparring partner out of all the others. Steve would never fight her, she had to be very careful with Clint, Maria was fragile too, Sam _thought_ he had to be careful with her, and Natasha was great, but she never compared to her father. Peter was a close second but that was only because their sparring sessions were more on the sexual side…at least to her. Her father, however, was her favorite because he never went easy on her and he was the only opponent that was a challenge to her. Emma just hoped none of that would change.

"I think Bucky will be able to help out a lot in regards to the Hydra stuff. He might know something." Steve said carefully as he then glanced back at Tony. Emma was still lost in the thought of seeing her father again. She almost seemed to be on cloud nine. Peter tried to get her attention by smiling at her in an attempt to show her that he was happy for her, but he went ignored by Emma. It was like he didn't even exist in that moment. Peter smiled in amusement because it was obvious how happy she was. "I hope this is okay with you, Tony."

"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" Tony said awkwardly as he tried to be nonchalant. "Look, you said Barnes is doing good, so I'll take your word for it."

Steve nodded to himself, but he knew that this made Tony very uncomfortable. The super soldier just hoped that the tensions wouldn't rise from here. It was obvious that there was still some unspoken awkwardness between everyone, but Steve knew that they would just have to get over it. For the world's sake but also for Emma's. Her safety and saving the world right now was more of a priority than whatever falling out he and Tony had the previous year.

"Great. They'll be here soon." Steve said in response and Tony just nodded.

"We'll save the rest for discussion later when T'Challa and…Barnes arrive." Tony said as he nearly winced when he said Barnes' name. "The facility is secure for now, so I'll let the rest of you get settled back into your rooms. I should warn you that the explosion last night kind of made a mess of everything so be prepared." Steve and the others all nodded.

"Thank you, we'll just get ourselves settled in then." Steve said and when Tony didn't say anything else, Emma chose to step in.

"I'll show you to your room, Steve." Emma said helpfully although they were both fully aware of the fact that Steve and the others knew perfectly well where their rooms were. She just wanted time alone with him. Steve smiled softly at her and Natasha and the others couldn't help but notice that this was the happiest Steve had looked in a long time.

"I'd like that." Steve told her, and Emma happily linked her arm through his as she led the way to the bedrooms upstairs. The others followed suit with Vision tagging along as he chatted with Wanda who looked perfectly delighted to see him again. Peter watched Emma leave with her grandfather, noticing how she didn't look back at him as she left. Peter didn't even think he minded the way she ignored him. He knew that she was happy and excited to be back in the company of her grandfather. She deserved to have the time to catch up with him. Peter wasn't going to take that away from her. He watched his girlfriend leave with a smile on his face. Everything was starting to look up for them so far. Going up against Hydra was going to be a long and bumpy road but he was certain that this wouldn't damage Emma. Not with her grandfather and father being back in her life.

Peter didn't know what the future would hold but he was just looking forward to seeing Emma at her most happiest.

* * *

"No one really touched your things or anything." Emma said quietly as they entered Steve's old room. The room was still in a state of disarray from the explosion, but it was the same for the most part. "I mean…I haven't even really been in here. I would've cleaned it up if I knew you were coming but Tony didn't tell me until a couple hours ago."

"It's fine." Steve told her as he looked back at Emma before sitting on the edge of the bed. Emma did the same as well. "I think we're honestly just glad to be back in a place that's not filled with rats and cockroaches." Emma looked down as she heard the way her grandfather and the others had been living for the past year. She was no stranger to living in harsh conditions, but she hated to think of one of the few people she loved living that way.

"I'm sorry." Emma said quietly, and Steve just shook his head.

"Don't be. I've lived in worst. You're forgetting what I had to go through during the war." Steve told her, and Emma shrugged.

"Still…" She trailed off before looking back up at him. Emma stared at him for a moment as she tried to memorize every feature on his face. The beard was still throwing her off, but he was still Steve underneath it all. Steve gave her a curious look.

"What is it?" Steve questioned, and Emma smiled before shaking her head.

"I just can't believe you're here." Emma told him, and Steve gazed back at her, feeling the same exact way as she just said she did. How was it possible that she looked this grown up? Steve wondered if she had looked like this last time. Maybe she had looked like this, after all, but Steve was just picturing the scared and angry thirteen-year-old girl from all that time ago.

"Well, I am." Steve replied as he continued to smile at her. "I'm not going anywhere either."

"I hope not." Emma told him, and she suddenly didn't know what to say. There were so many things she wanted to say but didn't know how. She had a tough time trying figure out how to talk to Steve but before she could even decide on what to say, he did the deciding for her.

"So…Natasha told me that Tony enrolled you in high school. Is that true?" Steve inquired even though he already knew it was true. "It's funny. I just can't picture you in school."

If this was a year ago then Emma would've made a face at the very idea of going to school. However, things were different now. School wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Emma would never admit it, but she might've even enjoyed it. It was a few hours in the day where she didn't have to be the Viper Assassin. She could be Emma Lewis…a bitchy teenage girl whose hobbies included brooding and reading Bronte sister novels. She mostly kept to herself with the exception of Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds, and weirdly enough Peter Parker. Emma kind of liked being Emma Lewis and high school helped her find that identity. Natasha always talked about finding new identities and that was fine, but this was different. She happened to like this identity. Emma always thought she was the Viper Assassin above everything else but this past year she had learned that the Viper Assassin was just a part of her. Peter taught her that…he taught her a lot about humanity now that she thought about it.

"Yeah, well, I didn't really want to go at first, but Tony forced me." Emma said as she tried to downplay her true feelings over the matter. "It's okay, I guess. It's filled with idiots but what place isn't filled with idiots?"

"But how do you really feel about it?" Steve asked, and Emma rolled her eyes playfully as she laughed. Steve knew her way too well.

"I guess I like English even though a lot of morons in the class don't even try to understand Hemingway or Poe. It's annoying how little they try but I try not to get too mad. Kids these days are idiots so it's not their fault I suppose." Emma said as she told Steve how she really felt about high school. Steve smiled in amusement because he always found it amusing how Emma never lumped herself in with those other kids.

"Art class is nice too. It's nice to have a goal to reach in art." Emma looked back at him with a small smile on her face. "I won the art showcase this past school year which I guess is pretty cool…not that it matters or anything. It's kind of lame, isn't it?" Steve shook his head as a proud and happy look came over his face at the news.

"No, it's not. I'm proud. Wait…what did you draw?" Steve asked her, and Emma forced herself not to blush because she knew very well what she drew but she didn't want Steve to know. It wasn't inappropriate or anything, but Emma knew that he would find out about Peter if he saw.

"It's tough to describe. I'll show you some other time." Emma told him, and Steve nodded before giving her another curious look.

"You've made friends? Natasha mentioned something about you making friends, but I wasn't sure if I believed her." Steve told her, and Emma smiled before shrugging.

"I actually have, believe it or not. You should be proud of me for that too." Emma said, and Steven chuckled.

"Tell me about them." Steve requested, and Emma knew that she no choice but to tell him. There were so many things she was dying to tell him, but she guessed she could start here.

"Well, there's Michelle. We were friends straight off." Emma said as she began to talk about the small group of friends she had surprisingly formed. "She's great…she just about as cynical and sarcastic as I am which is refreshing. I always thought high school would be filled with annoying, entitled, and spoiled teenage girls who couldn't keep their hands off their phones. Michelle's not like that. I even think she reads more than I do."

"Is that even possible?" Steve joked, and Emma just shook her head, but the smile remained on her face.

"It is funny enough." Emma replied before continuing to talk about her school life. "Then there's Peter and I guess I'm friends with Ned too although probably only because of Peter. That kid is almost as annoying as Parker."

"Wait…that boy and you go to school together?" Steve asked with a confused expression on his face. Emma guessed she forgot to mention that.

"Um…yeah. That's kind of how we met. I mean…on less than formal terms." Emma said almost awkwardly as she tried find a way to talk about Peter without revealing the true nature of their relationship. "Tony actually sent me to Midtown because I think he thought Peter and I could be good friends or something. In a way he was right."

"So you two must be close then?" Steve asked, and Emma's eyes widened slightly because she thought that Steve knew about her and Peter.

"What?" She questioned before Steve elaborated.

"The boy…Peter and you. The two of you must be close. I saw the concerned look on his face back there. He seems worried about you." Steve said, and Emma tried to shrug his comment off.

"He's a great kid. I mean, he's really annoying and everything…not to mention he's a little nerd who can never seem to stop running his mouth but he's okay." Emma said, downplaying the true way she felt about Peter. Steve almost smirked at the way she thought she was complimenting someone. Maybe Emma hadn't changed so much, after all. She was still terrible at complimenting people.

"He seems like a nice young man." Steve commented and usually Emma would've made fun of the way he said that. She would've laughed at him and told him he sounded like a total grandpa, but she didn't. The blonde only shyly looked at her grandfather from under her lashes.

"Do you like him?" Emma asked curiously, and Steve looked back at her. "What do you think of him?"

"He seems nice like I said before, but I only just met him, Emma. I can't really judge his personality now, can I?" Steve said before giving his granddaughter an odd look. "Why do you want to know what I think of him anyways?" Emma blushed as she looked away from him. The sight of a blushing Emma threw him off because Steve didn't ever think he had seen her blush. What was going on with her?

"I um…I don't know. I don't really have many friends, so I guess I just wanted to know what you think." Emma lied lazily but Steve seemed too tired to see through the small white lie. He just nodded as he accepted her lazy explanation.

"If he's your friend then I know I'll like him. Anyone who sees you like I do is alright in my books." Steve told her with a smile and Emma returned his smile.

"Thank you, Steve." Emma told him even though he didn't know why she was thanking him. She then surprised him as she wrapped her arms around him and locked him in an embrace. She buried her face in his chest while Steve sat there in surprise before wrapping his arms around her in return. He held her close in his arms and he was determined to not let her go. Not again.

"I love you." Steve told her, and it was something he always used to tell her when he was still here. Back then she never said it back because she took him for granted but she wasn't about to do that again.

"I love you too, Steve." Emma whispered as she held onto him. "Please never leave me again." Steve shook his head as he rubbed her back soothingly just like whenever she had nightmares. He always knew how to comfort her and make her feel safe. Despite her coldness and distance, Steve was never afraid to show her affection. He always wanted to make sure she knew how much she was loved.

"Never." Steve promised, and Emma just remained there in his arms, basking in the warmth and familiarity of his hug. There was so much they still had to talk about. Emma knew she was going to have to tell him about Rumlow as well as her father when he would return but she decided to wait just a little while longer. Telling the story twice was unnecessary so she would tell him and her father together. It would be better that way. For now, however, Emma would just allow herself and Steve to be happy for this short amount of time. It had been too long since they had been like this for Emma to deny herself of sharing this moment with Steve. Steve was back, and Emma could be happy. Now there was only the return of her father and Emma knew that she could be even happier. Hydra was coming but Emma also knew that she could get through it with all three of the men in her life at her side. Emma just hoped that Steve and her father wouldn't be angry with her when they learned the truth about Rumlow. Only time would tell but Emma knew it was what was right.

It was time.


	76. Chapter Sixty Nine: Part II

**Author's Note: Happy One Year Anniversary, guys! I can't believe it's only been a year since I started this story. It feels like so much longer. I also can't believe I actually manage to finish Part II in time. I literally just finished it and I couldn't wait to get it out to everyone.**

 **I'm also including some lyrics from a song I was listening to while writing the last two parts of this chapter. This chapter is kind of a tear jerker. Well, maybe it's not but I know I cried a lot while writing it. The song also made the last two parts of this chapter super emotional for me too. The song's called 'Stranger Still(Acoustic Version)' by Blossoms and parts of the song kind of reminded me of Emma and Bucky even though the song doesn't have to do with fathers and daughters. I think the song's about a girl who left this guy who's still in love with her but there's a couple lyrics that really stuck with me as well as the longing and sadness conveyed in the song through the music so I'm still using it for this chapter. If you want to you should listen to the acoustic version of that song while reading the last part of the chapter. I don't know about you but I think it made me cry even more when I edited that last scene.**

 **Have you guys seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet? I won't spoil anything but I just want to say that Marvel's super evil for those post credit scenes. But all in all, I really enjoyed the movie. It was nice to have a good laugh after all the shit in Infinity War.**

 **Purplestan: Emma's not going to be super detailed when she tells Steve and Bucky. She was only detailed in telling Peter because she had never really talked about it with anyone to that extent before. It's still going to be super emotional for her though.**

 **Snapplecrackles: I kind of decided what I'm doing with the Infinity War storyline but I'm also not completely sure because I've heard rumors that there's going to be a five year time jump in the next Avenger's movie(rumored to be named Endgame). Apparently they casted a sixteen year old actress to play Scott's daughter Cassie which is why people think this. I do have an interesting idea for what would happen if there was a time jump but that's why I'm in no rush to write the Infinity War storyline. I still have a long way to go so I'm not worried.**

 **Assbitch67: I just want to say it's not going to be forever until Steve, Bucky, and everyone else find out about Emma and Peter. The waiting to tell Steve and Bucky thing until things finish out with Rumlow isn't going to go exactly like they had planned. Nothing ever does. You'll also see a suspicious Natasha again in this chapter. And I know I haven't given Emma and Natasha much time to interact but I was mostly just focusing on her reunions with Bucky and Steve. We'll see more interactions between Emma and Natasha over the next few chapters.**

 **Gilyflower: Thank you for reminding me of that! I also forgot about that and I'll make sure to do something with the Ned comment when I get the chance which probably won't be too long.**

 **extremeninja09: Your comment made me laugh so much! It actually inspired to write a certain part in this chapter which I'm sure will become fairly obvious when you read it.**

 **Blue: Emma and Peter only text each other when they let each other know where the other's at. I don't think they're really a texting sort of couple and Emma's definitely not someone who's into texting if she's anything like me which a small part of her is. It's not that I don't like texting but it's just something I neglect. I just feel like seeing or talking to people in person. The whole constantly checking your phone thing annoys me. I know I sound like the oldest twenty year old but I'm really not great at getting back to people about things in that form. Emma's the same way. Besides she's not really like other teenagers since she doesn't like social media, texting, or doing normal teenager stuff. Emma and Peter also spend a lot of time together so there's really no point in them texting too. However, your review kind of gave me a really interesting idea for the next chapter which I'm really excited to write so thank you.**

 **I was also thankfully able to update the chapter just in time for the anniversary which makes me so happy that things worked out this way. I really want to write the AU ideas someday although I'm pretty sure the first one will make me cry a lot. I also have a couple of other ones I'm thinking of listing on there too although I doubt I would ever do all of them.**

 **alleya02: I know it's been forever since Emma and Steve have been together. I think we've spent more of the story without him than with him. It took a lot of patience but I'm glad I was able to wait this long because I wasn't sure if I could make it. There was a couple instances I just wanted to give in and bring them all back but I've had this storyline planned for so long that I knew I had to stick with the plan.**

 **Darcy showing the videos to Steve and Bucky is eventually going to happen but I'll just say that it's not going to be the way they find out. I have a much funnier and amazing scene planned for that moment. I also know that Darcy hasn't been in the chapters lately, only for like a minute, but she will probably make a return next chapter when she meets Bucky.**

 **Another random account: Sorry but your emotions will probably be more of a mess in this chapter. I honestly didn't even cry writing the last chapter but I did writing this one and it's super hard for me to cry.**

 **Abigail Zimmerman: Thank you so much for the long review! I love super long reviews like these. Yeah, I really wanted to make it clear that this story isn't going to be all about sex. There's honestly probably not going to be more than a couple sex scenes in this whole story. I feel like I'll only include them if they're important to the story. The rest of the time, I'll probably just allude to it if it happens. Emma also only makes sexually suggestive comments most of the time because she's trying to get a reaction out of Peter. She likes making him blush but if he didn't react to the remarks then she probably wouldn't make them. Anyways...thank you for the review!**

e **2: I understand how you feel about the story and especially about the Thor: Ragnarok storyline but I can't rush these things. Especially when it comes to Emma finally being reunited with Steve and Bucky. It's important to the story(and to me) for them to have some time together before the whole world goes to shit again because once we get to Thor: Raganrok we're not going to see Steve and Bucky for a while because Infinity War also happens directly after Thor: Ragnarok. I'm not really in a rush right now but I don't personally feel like I'm dragging things out. Each chapter comes really naturally to me so I never feel the need to drag things out. The pace I'm going is just the pace I'm going so I'm not going to rush things. I'm super excited for the Thor: Ragnarok storyline too but it just requires some patience or else the story would just feel too rushed and then it would kind of be terrible.**

 **Victorie the Posh Totty: Thank you! So glad you love the story and I hope you like the new chapter.**

 **Leosright: I do have a reason for giving Emma the power of flight which will come up more over the next several chapters as we discover more about Howard Stark's super soldier serum. There was never any information about how Howard Stark created the serum, the one Emma was injected with, so I decided to be creative and go with it in this story.**

 **Radioactive88: I was almost finished editing this chapter when I got your review but I'm glad. I just got some sad news right before I read your review and it just made me feel a bit better so thank you. It almost made me happy that you mentioned the beard. Steve's beard is a weird thing for me. I'm not sure if I love it or hate it. Kind of both, I guess. You'll definitely be seeing a lot of that kind of Bucky in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Thank you for all the reviews! I'm kind of proud that I was able to answer most of them but I'm still sorry if I didn't get to you. If you have any questions just PM me. Thanks for all the favorites and follows too. Also, I hope everyone here in the states had a great 4th. I spent the 4th watching Scream Queens on Hulu while dogsitting for my brother. It was actually the best 4th I've had in a while.**

 **I also don't own the lyrics of the song 'Stranger Still' by Blossoms.**

* * *

 _Since you've left my heart, there's a vacancy_

 _Now I'm torn apart while I wait to heal_

 _Say you want, say you want_

 _Say you want me to save you_

 _I'll wait, I'll wait for you_

 ** _-Stranger Still(Acoustic) by Blossoms_**

* * *

"What are you still doing here, kid?" Tony asked Peter when he noticed that everyone else had left the lab. Most of everyone was getting reacquainted with their missing teammates but Tony didn't really have it in him. There was still a tension in the air that he would rather avoid. There was already so much that he had on his mind now. He was pretty sure the others were probably still pissed at him. Tony still remembered the way the others had looked at him in betrayal when he saw them at Raft. He doubted much had changed since then, but this was for the best, after all. Everyone was here to save the world…to save Emma.

"I just wanted to give Emma some time alone with her grandfather." Peter told the older man and Tony couldn't resist smirking at the kid. He was kind of glad for the kid's company even if he wouldn't admit it. It took a load off his shoulders at a time when he needed something like that.

"I happened to notice the thing back there with you and Mini Cap." Tony told him which made Peter blush. "How come you two told Cap you were just friends? Didn't want him to beat you up for playing tonsil tennis with his granddaughter?" Tony didn't think it was possible for the kid to blush more than before, but it was. He now understood why Mini Cap loved teasing the kid so much. The kid was hilarious when he was embarrassed.

"N-No." Peter denied as he stumbled over his words. "Emma just thought it would be a good idea if we waited to tell him about us until all this Hydra stuff is finally over. There's just a lot going on right now."

"I know, kid. I'm just messing with you." Tony told him before raising an eyebrow at him. "I think Cap will be okay with it though…when you guys tell him, I mean." Peter gave him a hopeful look.

"Really?" Peter asked him, and Tony smiled at him.

"Yeah, you're a good kid. I'm pretty sure when Cap was so busy not having a life and planning one for Emma instead, you were probably the guy he imagined for her." Tony said in a light-hearted tone. "Honestly, we all thought she'd end up with Loki so you're definitely a step up."

"Uh…thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter told him although he sounded unsure. Tony then shrugged.

"Of course, I would be more worried about daddy dearest if I were you. Let me tell you that I in no way envy you." Tony told Peter in a joking tone, but he was kind of serious at the same time. "I mean, I have some experience with father-in-laws and let me tell you how much Pepper's dad hates my guts. He'd probably kill me if he thought he could get away with it."

"Yeah but you're you." Peter said, and Tony gave him a slightly offended look.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony questioned, and Peter blushed before elaborating.

"Oh, I just meant that you kind of…well, you…uh…you may have had a not so nice reputation with girls before Pepper." Peter said nervously, afraid of hurting the billionaire's feelings. Tony surprised him by laughing in amusement and shaking his head at the young teenage boy.

"Yeah, I guess I was an idiot in those days. I kind of have to pay for it now with Pepper's dad." Tony told him sincerely. "I doubt that man will ever not hate me."

"Well, I think you're great, Mr. Stark." Peter said loyally, and Tony smiled softly at the teenage boy.

"Thanks." He told Peter before deciding to give Peter a bit of advice for the future. "Let this be a lesson to you, kid. Don't do what I did."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked in confusion and Tony sighed.

"Emma's the only girlfriend you've ever had. Someday when you're older, you might get curious which is only natural because you're so young and inexperienced." Tony told him honestly and Peter looked offended at Tony's remark. He huffed angrily as he crossed his arms.

"Are you saying that I'm going to cheat on Emma?" Peter said angrily, and Tony groaned because he hadn't meant to piss Peter off. He was never exactly tactful when giving out advice which is what he'd been told in the past.

"No, I'm just warning you. There might come a day when you wonder what being with someone else would be like." Tony told him, and Peter shook his head furiously.

"No, I won't. I won't ever want anyone other than Emma. She's the only one for me, Mr. Stark." Peter told Tony firmly and Tony wanted to groan at how little the kid listened to him. It wasn't like he was accusing him of anything. He was just trying give him advice.

"I'm trying to be realistic here, Peter. Emma and you are both so young. You don't know what else is out there which is why I, as someone whose seen all that's out there, am going to tell you that there isn't anything else." Tony told him sincerely and Peter's angry look faded as a confused one took its place. He swallowed hard as he stared at the young, inexperienced boy.

"I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. You're never going to have what you have with Emma with anyone else. Believe me when I tell you that you'll never find another one like her out there." Tony said and there was a look of regret on his face that made Peter stop and listen. "If you ever let her go, it'll be the biggest mistake you ever make."

"I don't want to let her go. I love her." Peter told him softly and Tony nodded. "I'm never going wonder about being with someone else either. I already know there's no one else like her. How can there be?"

"I know you love her, Peter. I'm happy for you two crazy kids but I just wanted to make sure you knew that. I don't want you to ever have any regrets." Tony told him, and it was one of those rare occasions that Peter could tell that Tony really cared. Not just about Emma but about him too. Peter knew he wasn't just saying this for Emma's sake just like those other times, but this was more for Peter's sake.

"I'm going to marry her, you know." Peter said quietly, and he wasn't sure why he was telling Tony this. Maybe he wanted to let Tony know how serious he was about Emma or maybe he just missed having a father figure. If Uncle Ben was still around, Peter knew he would be talking to his uncle about Emma nonstop but he had been lacking in that sort of male figure in his life for so long. Tony looked up at Peter, but he didn't seem surprised, yet he didn't seem unsurprised either. He almost seemed a bit amused.

"Are you now?" Tony questioned, and Peter nodded, feeling very confident about that fact.

"Yes. I know we're young now but in a few years' time, I'm going to marry her. I've already decided this." Peter told him before looking slightly confused as to why Tony wasn't weirded out by this information. "Aren't you going to tell me I'm stupid?"

"Well, I would except for one tiny factor." Tony said calmly before smirking at the teenager. "How does Mini Cap happen to feel about this marriage proposal by the way?" Peter blushed as he shyly looked away from Tony.

"Um…I mean, she's kind of happy about it." Peter told Tony who looked incredibly doubtful.

"Really?" Tony questioned and Peter practically pouted as he begrudgingly told Tony about Emma's actual answer to Peter's idea of getting married.

"No. She actually told me that she's never going to marry me. Emma said that marriage is for lame and boring people like you and Pepper." Peter said truthfully, and Tony couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "Emma also said she would much rather live in sin."

"Yeah, that sounds like Mini Cap. Good luck with that one, kid. She's going to drive you nuts." Tony told him, and Peter smiled at him.

"She's already driven me insane." Peter replied but the smile was still present on his face. "But only in the best way."

"Glad to hear it." Tony said before smirking once more as something else came to mind. "I also wouldn't be talking about marriage too loudly now that her gramps and old man are back. Especially daddy dearest."

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked in confusion. "You just told me that Emma's grandfather will like me." Tony shrugged.

"Maybe but I can't say the same for Barnes. He's literally every guy's worst nightmare for a father-in-law. Pepper's dad is probably not even a quarter as bad as him." Tony told Peter and he honestly meant every word he said. He wasn't going to lie. Tony might've been a little worried for the kid's safety. "I don't know him on a personal level, thank god, and I hope I never do for obvious reasons but from the way Mini Cap always talks about him, I can tell they're close."

"But I don't see why he can't like me." Peter argued. "I'm good to Emma. I love her so much and I would never hurt her either." Tony sighed heavily as he was reminded yet again how young and inexperienced Peter was when it came to these things.

"I know that, kid…and you know that too but you're forgetting one thing." Tony told him, and Peter scrunched his face up in confusion.

"What's that?" Peter asked, and Tony just looked at him as if it were obvious.

"You've stuck your tongue down her throat and groped her boobs and ass on numerous occasions. Why else do you think he'd hate you?" Tony said to him sarcastically and Peter's eyes widened as he blushed in embarrassment once more. He seemed to be doing a lot of that during this conversation. Mr. Stark seemed to be even more blunt than Emma was.

"W-What are y-you talking about?" Peter stuttered as he looked at Tony with an expression of horror on his face. Tony scoffed as he gave Peter a look of disbelief.

"You think I'm stupid, kid? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you and Mini Cap haven't been up to anything naughty?" Tony then rolled his eyes as he continued. "This entire place has cameras everywhere. You and Mini Cap's horny teenage make out sessions in the recreational area during movie night haven't gone unnoticed. You two should really be more discreet."

"Oh…I forgot about the cameras." Peter said quietly as he looked fearfully at Tony who had warned him once against Emma and him inappropriately touching. He thought Tony was going to kill him, but he was surprised yet again to see that Tony appeared amused at the most. "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Tony questioned, and Peter looked at him in disbelief.

"Because you clearly told Emma and I not to do stuff like that." Peter told him, and Tony just rolled his eyes.

"I told you that because that's what an adult is supposed to say to two horny teenagers who live in rooms right next to each other and who seldom have adult supervision." Tony informed Peter in a tired voice. "I didn't think you two would listen anyways because you never listen to me. Especially Mini Cap. Mini Cap does what Mini Cap wants."

"So why haven't you grounded us or anything?" Peter questioned, and Tony almost laughed.

"Me ground Mini Cap? Are you insane? I don't have a death wish." Tony told him, and Peter was starting to think that maybe Tony let Emma get away with a lot of stuff. Not that Peter was complaining or anything. He didn't think he could complain about any of the stuff he and Emma did when they were away from prying eyes…or at least when he thought they were away from prying eyes.

"I also don't know how to ground Mini Cap without her somehow threatening to cut my balls off so I'm just going to leave this for Cap and the Manchurian Candidate to handle." Tony said almost casually, and Peter gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked carefully, and Tony smirked at him.

"You don't think things around here are going to be the same now that they're back, do you?" Tony asked rhetorically before clarifying. "What? You think that you and Mini Cap can go sneak off to do gods know what with her gramps and old man hanging around? You weren't around when Cap was here, kid."

"I don't understand." Peter said in confusion and Tony just looked entirely amused as he stared back at the naïve boy.

"When Cap was here he watched Mini Cap like a hawk. He rarely let her out of his sight." Tony informed him as Peter began to connect the dots. "The days of you and Mini Cap sneaking around with each other to unleash your little horny teenage desires are over. You honestly think that once Cap learns that you two are an item that he'll just let you be around her unchaperoned? He's going to keep a very close eye on you." Tony then sighed before continuing as Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he considered what Tony was telling him.

"I can't even imagine what daddy dearest is going to be like when he learns his precious little girl is in the clutches of a horny teenage boy. I can't stand the guy, but this will definitely be entertaining." Tony then laughed before winking at Peter. "Don't worry, kid. I'll protect you."

"He can't be that bad." Peter said nervously although he didn't sound very convinced himself.

"Look at it this way, kid. This guy obviously has an attachment to Emma and so does Steve. She's the most important thing in their lives." Tony explained to Peter to help him understand that things were different now. "They're both used to having Emma to themselves and they're probably okay with sharing her with each other because they're old war buddies. However, I can tell you now that they're not going to be okay with sharing her with you." Peter gulped as Tony moved closer to him, giving him a serious look.

"You're the kid that wants to get in Mini Cap's pants." Tony told him rationally and Peter opened his mouth to argue but Tony didn't let him finish. "Don't deny it. You're a little goody two shoes but you're still a teenage boy. I was your age once and I know exactly what goes through your mind." Tony didn't waste any time making his point in the discussion.

"Anyways…this also means that they're destined to not trust you or even like you. You make one tiny little mistake and you're dead." Tony told the now scared boy. "They'll probably even get Romanoff, Wilson, and Barton in on it too."

"Why are you telling me this?" Peter questioned, looking scared out of his wits. Tony realized that Pepper was right. He was really bad at comforting people. "I was looking forward to meeting her dad and now I don't know how I feel."

"I just wanted to warn you that things aren't going to be the same around here." Tony said as he shrugged. "I wouldn't really worry about it that much, kid. Mini Cap's crazy about you. She won't let them kill you."

"Gee, that's comforting." Peter said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Tony said smugly, and Peter decided to distract himself from the thought of Emma's father who he was now terrified to meet. He gave Tony a slightly curious look as he brought up something that Tony had been avoiding talking about. Not even Pepper managed to get anything out of him about the subject.

"So, uh…how are you feeling?" Peter asked Tony slightly nervously as he changed the subject. He really didn't want to think about what Emma's dad was going to do to him. Tony gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Tony questioned, and Peter blushed as he nervously fidgeted with a loose piece of thread on the hem of his shirt.

"I meant how do you feel about Emma's dad coming back…especially since…you know…" Peter awkwardly trailed off and Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Since he killed my parents, you mean?" Tony inquired, and Peter swallowed hard before answering.

"Yeah…that." Tony just sighed.

"Am I excited that the guy who murdered my parents is coming here? No. Obviously not." Tony stated before he sighed heavily. "However, I get that it wasn't really him. It was Hydra the whole time."

"It probably still doesn't make it easier seeing him, right?" Peter said sympathetically, and Tony looked down at his hands before nodding.

"No, it doesn't." Tony admitted before realizing that he was just going to have to somehow get over it…at least for now. "But I don't have a choice. You were right last night. This is the right thing to do and this is going to be what's best for Mini Cap."

"Isn't this going to be super awkward for you though…the both of you?" Peter questioned, and Tony rolled his eyes.

"It's already awkward, kid." Tony told him as he shook his head. "Anyways…it looks like I'm just going to have to deal with it."

"I'm sorry." Peter said sadly, and Tony gave him a slightly bewildered look.

"Sorry for what?" Tony questioned, and Peter shrugged.

"For having to do this. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you." Peter said honestly before continuing. "Don't get me wrong. I wanted him to come back because of Emma but I know it can't be easy for you. I'm sorry if I pushed you too far last night."

"You were right to push me. Everyone was right about me sitting on my ass and doing nothing." Tony admitted. "You finally got me to realize what I had to do. Thank you."

"I'm still sorry." Peter told him quietly and Tony gave him a small smile.

"I'll be fine, kid. I mean…Manchurian Candidate and I aren't going to be shooting hoops any time soon, but I'll be fine." Tony said reassuringly to Peter. "Don't worry about me. Your priority right now is Mini Cap, okay? You got it?" Peter nodded although he still looked slightly concerned for Tony.

"Yeah…I-I got it. Emma's safety." Peter told him, and Tony continued to smile at him as he awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.

"Good." Peter then gave Tony an unsure look as he looked up at him.

"Do you want a hug or something? You seem like you might need one." Peter told the billionaire who made a face at Peter's suggestion.

"We're still not there, kid. Don't ruin the moment." Tony told him, and Peter nodded, realizing he probably misjudged the situation. "I'm not Mini Cap. If you want a hug, you better go talk to that girlfriend of yours."

"Right, yeah. Sorry." Peter hurriedly said as they moved past Peter's odd suggestion. There was a silence that then fell between the two of them which made Peter regretful because now he was just left alone with the thought of Emma's dad. Now he wasn't so confident about meeting him anymore. The thought of ever meeting the Winter Soldier again was always intimidating but now that Tony discussed how much the former assassin was going to hate him, he was even more scared. What was he going to do? Tony was right. Emma's dad was never going to like him. Peter was dating the man's daughter and not to mention the fact that he and Emma had decided to take that next step in their relationship. What if Emma's dad found out about that somehow? What if Emma told him about that? Emma never had an understanding over what she could or couldn't share with people…especially people like her dad and grandpa. Peter only realized after that long conversation with Tony that he was doomed. He had a feeling that the Winter Soldier really wasn't going to like him.

* * *

Her heart might've jumped out of her chest as she stared up at the sky. Emma realized in that moment that her father was finally coming…the moment she had been dreaming of for a long time. It had slightly surprised her to hear that her father had been in Wakanda all this time, but she was mostly just happy to have him back. Everyone was waiting outside on the landing pad for Emma's father, T'Challa, and Shuri to arrive. Well…not everyone. The only ones that didn't seem to be around were Tony and Peter. Tony for obvious reasons and Peter because he probably wanted to keep Tony company while also letting Emma spend time alone with her family. Emma really couldn't ask for a more understanding boyfriend.

Vision and Wanda also seemed to not be around, but they were probably having weird reunion sex. She had seen the way they were staring at each other earlier and it was enough to make her want to throw up. Emma kind of also wondered how the hell sex with Vision would work. Not because she was interested herself, gross, but just because she was curious. Did he even have a penis? Could he conjure one up like he conjured up his cape? If so, then was he just like a walking, talking dildo? Could Wanda just tell Vision what she wanted, and he'd make it happen? Emma decided that she would ask Wanda but only to embarrass her although not in an "I hate you" way like it used to be with them. More like in a "I guess I don't hate you" kind of way.

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked her as they stood by themselves a short distance away from the others. Emma shrugged nonchalantly, not at all ashamed by her thoughts. She had half a mind to share her theories about Vision's penis with Peter just to embarrass him. Emma also wanted to ask the android himself to see if she could finally manage to get a reaction out of him.

"Just something to distract myself with. I'm really nervous." Emma said as she kept staring up towards the sky. It was true too. Emma was, in fact, nervous. The only time she had felt this nervous before was when she told Peter she loved him for the first time.

"Why are you so nervous? It's only Bucky." Steve asked her, almost amused at the sight of a nervous Emma. She shrugged.

"I don't know. It's been so long since I've been around him and I'm not talking about that day in Germany." Emma confessed as Steve listened to her. "The only time I had with him was in Hydra…when we killed people. I guess I'm just afraid that we won't have anything in common now that we're not in Hydra." Steve gave Emma a sympathetic look as he rested his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"I'm sure that's not true, Emma." Steve told her honestly. "Bucky and I spent some together before he went into the Cyro-Chamber. He loves you just the same as he did all those years ago. That will never change." Steve then briefly paused before continuing and Emma watched him with her full undivided attention.

"I used to be jealous of you and him, you know." Steve told her somewhat hesitantly and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What?" She questioned, and Steve swallowed hard before continuing.

"I know it sounds stupid…to be jealous of my best friend but it's true." Steve said quietly. "When I woke up from the ice all those years ago, I thought I lost everything. I thought I lost Bucky, Peggy, my son, and even you. It was more painful than you can imagine."

"But then I learned you were alive." Steve told her, a small smile graced his face. "I don't know what I expected when we rescued you. I know it's silly, but I thought you'd come running into my arms and we'd run off into the sunset together. It's naïve, I know." Emma shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"It's not naïve." She said softly but Steve just continued.

"I heard the way you talked about him all the time…how you considered him to be your father. I guess I always wanted you to think of me like that…like a dad." Steve said as he looked almost shyly away from her and it was then that she could really see the similarities between him and Peter. Emma almost smiled at the sight. "But then Bucky and I got to talking about when we were hiding out in Wakanda together. I realized that there was nothing to be jealous about." Emma raised an eyebrow at Steve's explanation.

"I'm happy that you had someone who cared and loved you for all those years when I couldn't. I'm glad Bucky had that too." Steve told her truthfully and Emma smiled at him. She placed her hand in his as she looked up at him with a kind expression on her face.

"I do consider you to be my father as well, you know." Emma told him abruptly and Steve gave her a surprised look. "I don't know why I never called you that, but I guess change is difficult for me."

"What about Bucky?" Steve asked her softly and Emma laughed.

"I don't mind having two fathers, Steve. It's 2017. A girl can have more than one father." Emma told him much to Steve's surprise.

"Yes, but Bucky and I aren't…you know we're not…well, we aren't like that." Steve said as he blushed, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Steve. I know you and Papa aren't gay lovers. I'm aware of that." Emma told him before smirking. "Although you can tell me if you and Papa ever…experimented in your younger days. I wouldn't mind." Steve gave her a disgusted look.

"Don't be gross." Steve told her, and Emma snickered.

"Geez, Steve. I know you're from the 1940s but there's no need to be homophobic. Love is love…attraction is attraction." Emma remarked, and Steve groaned.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Steve told her, and Emma just laughed at him.

"Still…I don't mind having two dads." Emma told him truthfully once she sobered up from her laughter and Steve gave her a sad look.

"I always wanted you to have a mother though. Every girl needs a mother." Steve told her, and Emma shrugged.

"Not me. I never needed a mother. I just needed you and Papa." Emma told him, and Steve smiled at her. He reached forward and gently tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. As the sunlight hit her face, he noticed that his granddaughter looked remarkably pretty. He always thought she looked beautiful but now that she was older he noticed that she had something of a rather womanly beauty about her. It made Steve slightly troubled because it proved to him how much she had grown up. He didn't doubt that she had a lot of boys chasing after her at school. The only thing that brought him some comfort was the fact that he knew Emma wanted nothing to do with those boys.

"Two fathers you'll have then." Steve told her, and Emma smiled at him again. She was about to respond when they heard something in the distance. They both stared back up at the sky and a smile graced Emma's face as she saw an aircraft in the sky. It was a high tech looking one, even more high tech than any of the ones Tony had made. Everyone grew quiet as the aircraft landed and Steve thought it was best to mention something to Emma before he went and got ready to greet the group when they exited the aircraft.

"I should mention something to you, Emma." Steve started to say but Emma was barely paying attention.

"Yeah." She said distractedly.

"You don't have to bow to T'Challa or anything. It doesn't work like that in Wakanda." Steve informed her, and Emma nodded as she took in that information.

"Good. I wasn't going to anyways." Emma said dryly, and Steve gave her a stern look. He swatted her on the arm and she fought the urge to laugh at him. She knew it sounded ridiculous but she kind of missed it whenever he lectured and scolded her.

"I still want you to treat him with respect. He's helped me and Bucky out a lot. We owe him big time." Steve lectured, and Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"I was only kidding. I'll try and be nice to him." Emma said, and Steve gave her a pointed look.

"Be nice to his sister too. She's a really nice girl but she hasn't spent much time around kids her own age. I know you know what that's like." Steve told her seriously, wanting to make sure Emma was on her best behavior around the king and princess. "Just be nice to her and show her around." Emma sighed heavily.

"Fine…I'll be nice to the princess. She helped Papa, so I suppose I owe her." Emma said but she honestly hoped this princess wasn't a prissy little bitch like she always imagined princesses to be like. Emma would be damned if she had to hang around some pampered princess who thought she was better than everyone else. Of course, Emma didn't voice these thoughts to Steve because she knew he'd lecture her again about being nice to people. It was funny how Steve was the only one she'd actually listen to.

"I'm glad to hear it." Steve said as the aircraft finally landed. Emma swallowed hard as she stared at the large aircraft, feeling nothing but the feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. The anticipation of finally seeing her father after so long was almost too much to bear. She couldn't believe it. He was finally here.

The doors finally opened, and Emma saw three figures walk down the ramp. She frowned when she noticed that not one of them was her father. T'Challa came walking down the ramp and onto the landing pad with two women on either side of them. One was a woman who looked to be around T'Challa's age. She was dressed in a very beautiful but intricate looking garment with a large and pretty (at least to Emma) looking spear in her hand. However, the thing that Emma noticed the most was that the woman had no hair. She assumed that this must've been one of the warrior women she had been hearing about ever since Wakanda made themselves known to the public. The woman had an expression on her face that told Emma that she wasn't a woman to fuck around with. Emma resisted the urge to smirk. She was sure the woman might be fun to spar with.

The other woman at T'Challa's other side didn't look to be a woman much at all but instead a teenage girl. This must've been the princess Steve had told her about. Shuri. Emma didn't know what she had expected when she finally met the princess, but it certainly wasn't the girl standing next to T'Challa. The girl was beautiful not doubt but she wasn't dressed in a frilly gown or wearing a tiara. Emma didn't know why she thought she would be wearing a tiara. She knew Thor, who was also a prince, yet he never wore a crown as far as she was aware. Emma supposed what surprised her the most was the fact that the princess looked like any other girl. She didn't dress much differently than herself or Michelle.

"T'Challa." Steve greeted casually, and the king grinned back at Steve as they met on the landing pad. At this point in time, the rest of everyone had joined the party as they gave T'Challa and the two women welcoming smiles except for Emma who just crossed her arms and looked at them suspiciously. She had a reputation to keep up, after all.

"Captain." T'Challa greeted in his thick Wakandan accent and even though Emma was keeping up a tough exterior, she really had to take the time to admire T'Challa's good looks. She teased Peter all the time about how hot she thought the Black Panther was but, in all honesty, the Wakandan king really was attractive. However, Emma still didn't think he was nearly as hot as her little Spider-Twerp. No one was. Besides…T'Challa was super old which was gross. He wasn't elderly like Tony, but he was still old.

"I'm glad you came. Thank you." Steve told the king and T'Challa just nodded.

"Of course, Captain. There's no need thank us." T'Challa told them before smiling at each of the other Avengers. "Despite the circumstance, it's great to see all of you."

"We missed you too, Bagheera." Sam said as he smirked at the king. The warrior woman glared at him while the two royals only seemed to laugh. T'Challa shook his head in amusement.

"Its great seeing you again, Sam." T'Challa said before his gaze finally landed on Emma. His smile seemed to brighten up the moment he saw the blonde girl.

"Miss Rogers, I feel like I already know you. Your father and the Captain have told us all so much about you." T'Challa told her as he greeted the teenage girl. Shuri gave her a curious look as well because this was the girl that Bucky had spent so much time talking to her about. Shuri almost felt like she knew Emma Rogers as well. Emma kept a calm demeanor as she looked at the king carefully.

"Really?" Emma said quietly and T'Challa nodded.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person…or on better terms I should say." T'Challa said as he winced at the memory of him and the blonde fighting last year at the airport. He was slightly ashamed of how he had fought against a child that was the same age as his sister even if he hadn't known it at the time. T'Challa regretted his actions and wished that he hadn't acted so hastily after thinking he knew the truth behind his father's death. He was just glad that he hadn't hurt the young girl in the process.

"Same here." Emma said, still keeping herself at a distance and especially since she didn't really know T'Challa. The man must've been informed of Emma's distrustful nature as he only smiled at her before introducing the two women at his side.

"This is Okoye." T'Challa introduced as he nodded towards the older looking woman at his side. "The head of the Dora Milaje and my most trusted general." The woman only looked at Emma with a stoic expression on her face before giving her a brief nod.

"And this is my sister Shuri." T'Challa said as he gestured to the teenage girl who smiled brightly at Emma.

"My brother's right. We feel like we already know so much about you. Bucky can never shut up about you." Shuri said as she looked up at the tall blonde. Everyone watched Emma interact with the Wakandan royals because they had no idea how she would react to them. Emma was perhaps the most unpredictable person they knew. Everyone just hoped that she wouldn't offend anyone. It was silent for a moment before Emma said anything but when she did everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Is it true that you helped my father?" Emma inquired curiously and Shuri smiled at the girl before nodding.

"Yes, I did." Shuri admitted as she then happily explained just how she helped Emma's father.

"I created a digital representation of his brain using the most high tech of bioscanners in Wakanda so that we wouldn't damage his brain while I attempted to find the problem." Shuri explained as she went into full scientist mode much to Emma's bewilderment.

"It was only then that I could figure out what the damage was which were the trigger words in Hydra's programming. From there I created an algorithm that would reset Hydra's programming and-" Emma interrupted the princess before the girl could ramble more about stuff that was really beyond Emma's understanding.

"I don't care how you did it. I'm just glad that you did." Emma told her bluntly and anyone else might've found the blonde to be rude but Shuri already knew what Emma was like from all of Bucky's stories. "I owe you." Shuri just smiled at the blonde before shaking her head.

"You don't owe me anything. I happen to really like your father. He's good company." Shuri told her and Emma gave her a doubtful look.

"I find that hard to believe. Papa's about as good company as I am." Emma told her, but it was then that she saw someone else walking down the ramp from the corner of her eye. She hadn't forgotten about him, but she had just been distracted by meeting T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri. Everything seemed to stop the moment she saw her father walk onto the landing pad.

He looked different than what she remembered. Well, Emma didn't really know what she expected him to look like after a year. She noticed that he had a different arm than before. The arm seemed to glimmer under the sun as the light hit it. His hair was longer than she remembered, and he also had more scuff than usual although nothing like Steve's beard. There was something else that seemed different about him too. She didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was the fact that he looked healthier than she had ever seen him. There were no bags under his eyes nor was there any tiredness to be seen there. Emma was frozen, but it was only when his eyes landed on her that a huge smile broke out across his face. It struck Emma that she had never seen him look that happy before. She couldn't help but smile back, his smile truly infectious.

"Get the hell out of my way, Prince Charming." Emma told T'Challa as she rudely shoved him aside and sprinted towards her father. Okoye didn't look pleased at Emma's action but Shuri seemed to be laughing hysterically at her brother. Steve tried apologizing for his granddaughter's antics but the Wakandan king just chuckled in amusement.

"Papa!" Emma exclaimed as the pair met each other half way. She immediately ambushed her father with a hug as he also wrapped her in his arms before lifting her up and spinning her around in a circle. Emma giggled as everyone watched in fascination as the two usually stoic former assassins were more emotional than they had ever been seen to be before. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Steve, who knew the real Emma and Bucky, and then T'Challa and Shuri who were lucky enough to see Bucky's softer side.

"Malen'kaya." Her father said in Russian before he set her back down on the ground. He seemed just as happy as she was as he beamed down at her.

Bucky couldn't believe the fact that Emma was finally right here in his arms. He placed his hands on either side of her face as he stared down at her, taking in everything about her. Her familiar long blonde hair, Steve's eyes, and how bright and beautiful her smile was. Bucky also couldn't help but notice how grown up she looked. Was she this tall last time he saw her? Bucky couldn't remember. It was hard to believe that little girl, the one who used to follow him around everywhere, was the same girl standing before him today although she appeared much older than she was back then. Emma was nearly a woman now, he remembered. Sixteen.

Somehow, even with all the years that had gone by, she still looked at him in the same way as she did all that time ago. Even when he was mean to her and told her to go away, she still had that look of love and admiration on her face. However, it was clear to Bucky that Emma wasn't that five-year-old girl anymore. How did time go by so fast? It didn't feel like it was that long ago when she was so small that she hadn't even come up to his waist. Now she was only a couple inches shorter than him. Bucky kissed the top of her head before pulling away to look down at her.

"You really need to stop growing. Every time I see you, you look older." He told her, and Emma just laughed.

"That can't really be helped, Papa." Emma said as she then gave him a curious look as she looked him over. "You look like Father John Misty."

"Father who?" He questioned as he gave her a confused look, but Emma couldn't help but smile at him.

"I really need to show you my iPod some time." Emma told him, and he smiled back at her.

"I'd like that." Bucky told her before the happy expression on his face morphed into one of concern as he remembered just why he was there. "Are you alright? I heard about the attack last night." Emma just shook her head at him.

"I'm fine, Papa." Emma promised as she tried to reassure him. "Everything's fine…or at least it will be now that you're here." Bucky nodded but he still seemed worried.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I'll kill those Hydra bastards if it's the last thing I do." He told her sincerely, his eyes full of promise. Emma sighed but nodded.

"I know." Emma told him because she did, in fact, know. She knew the lengths her father would go so he could protect her just like he knew the lengths she would go to make sure he was safe. There was a time long ago when they were all each other had. Emma would never forget that feeling.

"Buck." Steve greeted as he walked up to the pair. The blonde man grinned at his old friend while Bucky grinned back at him.

"Steve."

"How are you doing?" Steve asked him, and Bucky shrugged before looking at Emma who smiled back up at him.

"I'm doing good…more than good actually." Bucky told him, his arm still around Emma. Steve nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it." Steve told him before a more serious expression came across his face. "Listen, I think it's about time we head inside though. The faster we get this thing figured out, the faster we can end this once and for all."

"Wow, Steve. Way to go dark on us." Emma remarked, and her father gave her an amused look.

"Don't worry. We'll catch up later." He told her, somehow knowing what she was thinking. They had spent so much time together that it was always like that between them. Her father had never spoken much during their time at Hydra, so she learned to communicate with him in other ways. Whether it was by reading his facial expressions or body language, she learned how to read him, and he learned how to read her. They were in sync.

"I guess we should head in then." Emma said in response and Steve just nodded before he walked back in the direction towards the building. Emma and her father followed him as everyone else began to head inside.

As they walked back into the building, Emma could tell that her father was tense. Years of reading his body language taught her this. She knew why he was tense too. It was because he would be standing face to face with Tony Stark for the first time in a year. The last time they met hadn't gone so well so she could only imagine how difficult this was for him. Emma knew her father enough to know that he would never admit to something like that aloud, so she didn't question him about it. She just slipped her hand into his and squeezed his hand comfortingly. He looked down at her and they exchanged a smile as he squeezed her hand back. The two then walked into the compound in each other's company and it was like they were never apart.

* * *

There was a definite awkwardness in the room as everyone stood together in the lab. The Avengers weren't going to waste any time starting another meeting because they didn't have a lot of time on their hands. Hydra was most likely planning another attack and they needed to act fast. Everyone was even more tense than before now that Bucky was in the room. It didn't escape anyone's notice how Bucky and Tony purposefully avoided looking at each other. Emma expected this though. She didn't expect all to be forgotten but hopefully things wouldn't be this bad forever.

"So, Diego Ugalde is the only thing that connects these weapons and Hydra." Steve stated as he looked around at everyone. T'Challa nodded.

"That is who the man claimed to work for when we questioned him about the smuggled weapons." T'Challa confirmed. "I do not know if we should rely on his words. He is a smuggler and a common criminal."

"We've been monitoring his activity ever since you sent us that interrogation video last week." Rhodey told him. "So far he hasn't been doing anything suspicious. Throwing parties and having women over. Nothing weird for a celebrity." It was then, however, that Fury cleared his throat.

"T'Challa might be more right about this guy than you think." Fury stated as he looked around the room. Emma gave him a curious look. "I remember that name coming up in a debriefing of a mission over a decade ago." Natasha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and Maria also looked confused as well.

"What mission?" Natasha questioned, and Fury sighed.

"In 1998, we discovered that Santiago Salazar was selling advanced weapons to numerous crime organizations as well as corrupt governments in Mexico. Weapons that he had obtained for an unknown third party." Fury said, and Emma was even more curious than before but mostly because she noticed the way her father stiffened when he heard the name.

"Santiago Salazar? Are you talking about the drug dealer…like the one that took over for Escobar and the Cali Cartel?" Emma asked, and Peter looked between his girlfriend and the former director of Shield curiously. He always wondered how Emma seemed to know so much about everything because Peter hadn't heard that name in his life. Maybe Pablo Escobar but definitely not Santiago Salazar.

"The very same one." Fury answered but continued to explain how Salazar and Ugalde were reverent to what was going on. "We sent two of our best agents on a undercover mission to try and uncover who was giving the weapons to Salazar. Agent Pierce and Agent Rogers."

Everyone turned to look at both Emma and Steve when they heard the names. The grandfather and granddaughter both looked just as surprised as everyone else at this information. Emma knew that her parents were Shield agents, but she rarely heard anything else about them. Clint's eyes widened realization when he heard this information. This must've been the mission Margot and Steven went on all those years ago. It was so top secret that not even Clint knew what really happened during that mission. Margot only ever mentioned that she and Steven posed as a married couple. She never said anything else and Clint never asked.

"Did you ever find out who was giving him the weapons?" Maria asked him, and Fury shook his head.

"No, we didn't. On the last night of their mission, Rogers was in a meeting with Salazar and potential buyers of the weapons…the night Salazar died." Fury said as he glanced from person to person. "He mentioned that Diego Ugalde, the actor, was one of the men at the meeting."

"Did you find anything on him?" Emma asked, and Fury looked back at her.

"The guy's record was clean. There was no trace of him in any illegal drug or weapons dealing. Nothing in the black market either." Fury told her, but it was then that Bucky stepped in. Bucky who had been rather quiet during the whole discussion until then.

"I remember them." Bucky said quietly, and everyone turned to stare at him. Even Tony, despite how difficult it was. "Salazar and Ugalde. I remember them."

"So, Salazar did work for Hydra then?" Clint mused aloud but Bucky shook his head.

"No, he didn't. He didn't know who Hydra was. They claimed to be someone else but he was eager to sell the weapons, so he didn't ask any questions. His mistake." Bucky informed everyone. Fury just nodded.

"After we discovered the reemergence of Hydra a few years ago, I suspected that they might've had something to do with Salazar, but I could never be sure." Fury added as he looked at Bucky. "You were the one who killed him, weren't you?" Bucky swallowed hard before nodding.

"Yes…I was there that night. The night you mentioned from before." Bucky admitted and Emma just continued holding onto his hand to show her support. Tony rolled his eyes. Was there anyone that this guy hadn't killed? "Hydra ordered a hit on him."

"Why?" Steve asked him, and Bucky shrugged before answering.

"I think it was because of your son, Steve." Bucky told him, and everyone grew very quiet when he mentioned Steven Rogers Jr. Bucky briefly remembered the familiar blonde man from that night all those years ago. They had briefly locked eyes with each other through the darkness before Bucky had run off. It was only now, after everything had become much clearer to him, that he realized that the blonde man must've been Steve's son…Emma's real father. "Your son and Emma's mother were getting too close to the truth and Hydra knew it was too risky to kill them, so they had me kill Salazar to shut him up."

"They would do that? They would even consider it?" Clint asked softly, becoming more involved in the conversation now that he heard Margot's name. "Pierce would do that to his own daughter?" Emma nearly rolled her eyes at Clint's question. She thought he was being stupid for someone who had been a Shield agent for most of his life.

"Pierce had no qualms about sending Rumlow to kill my parents and kidnap me years later so yes…I really don't think he had a problem with it." Emma said bitterly, and Steve gave her stern look for talking to Clint like that. She didn't know why he had a problem with that. She was just speaking the truth.

"What about this Ugalde guy?" Sam asked Bucky. "Do you remember him?" Bucky sighed heavily before nodding.

"Unlike Salazar, Ugalde knew what he was doing. He actively worked as a member of Hydra." Bucky told them as he recalled the first time he met the man. "I was there when Pierce recruited him. He took Salazar's place as Hydra's leading weapons dealer."

"I don't understand." Natasha said as she shook her head. "Was Hydra selling these weapons all along? How come they weren't on anyone's radar until now?"

"Hydra used to sell advanced weaponry in Salazar's day but nothing like the ones used in the attack last night." Bucky explained as everyone listened carefully to the former assassin. "They used to buy weapons from different weapons company. They seemed to like the weapons from Stark Industries in particular." Everyone then turned to Tony who looked almost dumbstruck at this news. Steve raised his eyebrows at the man while Rhodey just gave him a look of understanding.

"Stane?" Rhodey asked him and Tony nodded as he groaned.

"God, that evil old bastard's been dead for almost ten years and he's still haunting me." Tony said before looking back at everyone. "Dad's old business partner, Obadiah Stane, was selling my weapons to a lot of terrorists but I guess it shouldn't surprise me that he also sold the weapons to Hydra."

"I suppose the question we should be asking then is when did Hydra progress to weapons powered by the Tesseract?" Vision inquired, and it was Maria's turn to respond.

"I might actually be able to answer that." Maria said as she looked at Clint and Fury who both nodded in understanding because they were beginning to realize the same thing.

"Seventeen years ago, Shield ordered a raid on an old warehouse of Salazar's. He had been dead for years at the time." Fury said, and Maria continued from there.

"Agent Rogers, who was deputy director at the time, led the raid with Barton and I as well as a scientist." Maria informed everyone before her eyes finally rested on Peter. "Dr. Richard Parker…your father, I believe." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she looked back and forth between Peter and Maria. Even Peter seemed surprised at this.

"You never told me your father worked at Shield." Emma said in surprise, almost hurt at the idea that Peter never told her something that important. Bucky looked in between his daughter and the teenage boy curiously as he noticed the boy for the first time during the meeting. Bucky and the others who had just arrived didn't have much time to get acquainted with any new individuals since the meeting started the second they walked into the room. Bucky wondered who the boy was. He seemed to be someone that Emma was on friendly terms with considering the way she spoke to him. She seemed almost offended that he didn't tell her about his father working for Shield.

"I uh…didn't know." Peter said, still in shock from this information. Emma just stared at him as she tried to understand this. Wait...did this mean their parents knew each other?

"Your father didn't work for Shield. He was on loan to us from the CIA." Clint informed them, but Peter was still confused. "Both your parents were although your mother didn't go on the mission. She was a data analyst, so she stayed behind with Margot." Emma didn't miss the way Clint talked about her mother…how he didn't refer to her as Agent Pierce or Emma's mother like the others did. He just called her Margot.

"That doesn't make any sense." Peter stated, beyond confused at this information. "Uncle Ben and Aunt May told me they worked at a college. They never said anything about the CIA." Maria just shrugged and even Tony was confused by this. According to the information he had retrieved about Peter when the kid first appeared on his radar, Peter's parents did, in fact, work at a college. He never saw anything about them being CIA agents. Yes, this was very suspicious.

"Well, he was a very gifted scientist. He was there to record and study any data we received from the warehouse." Maria said, and everyone listened carefully to what she said next. Peter was still shocked by this information. His parents and Emma's parents had met each other? How could that be? And did May know about his parents being in the CIA? If he did then why didn't she ever tell him? "We found the blueprints for weapons. Ones that I don't think we're much different than the ones in the attack last night."

"You're saying that Hydra made these weapons seventeen years ago?" Steve questioned, and Maria shrugged.

"More than likely. We thought that the blue prints were only plans for the future. Dr. Parker didn't seem to believe that there was a power source capable of powering such weapons." Maria said, and Fury nodded. "Not one made from mankind anyways and in a way, he was right."

"Steven suspected that the blue prints referred to the Tesseract as a power source but back then I wasn't concerned. The Tesseract was locked up nice and safe so why would I?" Fury explained, and Steve just nodded before looking back at Bucky.

"Do you know anything about these weapons?" Steve asked him, and Bucky just shook his head.

"I was only on a need to know basis. They only had use of me when they wanted someone dead." He said darkly, and Tony forced himself to look away from the former assassin as he tried to think of anything other than that video he had seen in Siberia. Now wasn't the time to let his personal feelings get in the way.

"Does this mean that Hydra had these weapons for seventeen years?" T'Challa asked, looking incredibly confused. "I don't understand. Why use them now and not before?" Natasha nodded along with T'Challa's question.

"Yeah, why not use them before? And why would they just give those other weapons to Salazar to sell too? Why didn't they use it themselves?" But it was Emma who answered them this time.

"Hydra's always liked to insight chaos…to reap wars. They thrive in chaos. That's why they gave the weapons to Salazar to sell in the first place or I'm assuming at least." Emma said seriously before continuing. "As for these Tesseract powered weapons…they were saving them for something big." Emma briefly paused as everyone listened to her intently.

"They probably didn't use them during the whole fallout of Hydra a couple years ago because they had Project Insight back then." Emma informed them, and her father nodded in agreement. "Other than Papa and me, Project Insight was their greatest hope. When you guys destroyed Project Insight, you destroyed one of their most powerful weapons. Not to mention how Papa ran away from them and when you rescued me. These weapons are all they have left."

"Are you saying that Tesseract and Vibranium made weapons are Hydra's back-up?" Tony asked her. "Because as back-ups go, you have to admit that it's not bad."

"So, what do they want?" Wanda questioned because she was fairly familiar with Hydra although not as much as Emma or Bucky. "They want to destroy the Avengers? Take over the world? What is it?" Emma shrugged.

"You never know with Hydra. Your guess is as good as mine. We're not going to know what they truly have intended unless they spell it out for us." Emma said and a serious look crossed Steve's face although deep down he was very concerned for his granddaughter.

"Well, we do know one thing." Steve stated as he stared at Emma and Bucky. "They really seem to want you…the both of you more than likely." Bucky shook his head.

"They want Emma more than me. Trust me when I say that." Bucky told everyone because he wanted to make it clear how much Emma was in danger. "You heard the things I told you about Hydra's squad of assassins. They're all gone now so Emma's the only one left. The assassins and Emma were supposed to be better than me in every way. Worse than the Winter Soldier. She's worth more to them than I am."

"But she's a child." T'Challa argued and Emma almost wanted to glare at the king, but her father stepped in before she could. Bucky then held up his arm, the one that wasn't made from Vibranium. He pulled the sleeve up and everyone could see what was hidden underneath. Everyone remarked at the large scar on Bucky's forearm as well as the fact that it looked like a small chunk of flesh was missing. They were surprised at this because everyone knew more than well that Bucky, Steve, and Emma had remarkable healing capabilities. So why hadn't Bucky's wound healed?

"She had a temper tantrum when Karpov backhanded her once." Bucky stated as he continued to show them the wound. Emma blushed because she knew very well what he was talking about. Peter clenched his jaw because he didn't like the thought of anyone hurting Emma in any way and especially when she was just a child. "She had nearly gouged his eyes out when I stopped her. Big mistake. I pissed her off and she bit a chunk out of my arm. She was seven."

"I said I was sorry about that." Emma muttered as her father pulled the sleeve back down before smiling at her. He gently ruffled her hair.

"I know, Malen'kaya." Her father murmured to her and Peter watched the two curiously. It was different watching Emma interact with her father and grandfather. He had never met anyone she appeared to be so close to before. The interactions with her father were actually very interesting to him. The way they held hands and how close Emma stood to him.

There was another thing Peter noticed about Emma's father. It was the fact that he didn't look as scary as Peter thought he would look…especially after that conversation he had with Tony earlier. Bucky Barnes even looked sort of nice…maybe. He seemed happier and more carefree than Peter thought but maybe that was because he was reunited with Emma. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Emma's father looked quite happy. Peter also wondered about the name her father called her. It sounded Russian, but Peter couldn't be sure. He wondered what it meant.

"That's why Hydra liked her." Bucky told T'Challa as well as the others. "She had the looks of a child, but she was far more dangerous than any of our targets could ever imagine. You don't understand how important she is to Hydra."

"So, help us understand, Bucky." Natasha told him as everyone's attention was glued to both Bucky and Emma. Bucky sighed heavily as he spared Emma a glance before looking back at everyone. Peter didn't really think he believed Emma's dad about her. Emma wasn't dangerous. But it seemed like love had made the teenage boy blind to just how dangerous she really was. Emma felt the same way about Peter even if he didn't know it. Emma would never hurt Peter, but she knew that there were ways she could hurt him even though he was stronger than her. It was the same as how Peter was stronger than Emma and could easily overpower her and do whatever he wanted if he desired it. However, they both knew the other would never do any such thing, so they never considered one and other dangerous.

"They invested so much time, money, and energy into her training. They wanted her to be better than me…to be more efficient. I was never enough for them…I had a lot of flaws which is why they always had to wipe my memories." Bucky said sadly, and Emma watched him silently. "I think they were hoping that they wouldn't have to do anything to Emma. That she would be easier to handle but a stronger and better weapon at the same time. They were hoping that a child would be easier to brainwash."

"I thought you said that they didn't want to do anything to Emma to make her comply?" Steve questioned, and Natasha shook her head.

"There's other ways of brainwashing someone without frying their brains. The Red Room had a lot of efficient ways of brainwashing back in the old days." Natasha told Steve. "Back in the thirties, they used to train girls as young as Emma was. They brainwashed them with images discreetly placed in cartoons and books. It wouldn't be hard to brainwash a child."

Emma knew that Natasha had a point. She supposed that Hydra might've brainwashed her in a different way than they had brainwashed her father. They used her father to brainwash her when they realized that the two had formed an attachment. Hydra would threaten him to make her comply with missions and when she completed the mission successfully, they would allow her to spend time training with him as a reward. It was enough to make Emma stay and never even attempt to escape. They had tried to tell her lies about the good she was doing but Emma never paid attention to them. She didn't care about whether or not she was doing the world any good. Her father was the only thing she had cared about back then.

"Look, you have to realize that Emma is important to Hydra." Bucky said as he tried to get everyone to see his point. "They'll do anything to get her back. They believe that they'll be able to get whatever they want if they have the Viper Assassin under their control. Everything Hydra does is a way to get Emma back and when they have her there's no telling what they'll do."

"I know, Bucky. We're all here now so Emma's safety is going to be one of our main priorities." Steve told him because he cared about Emma just as much as Bucky did.

"If they get their hands on her, they'll do to her what they did to me to ensure she never escapes again." Bucky told everyone, looking incredibly panicked and Emma frowned. Usually she would be annoyed by the fact that everyone was talking about her like she wasn't there, but she was mainly concerned about her father. He looked so worried. "They can't take her. We'll never see her again."

"They're not going to get her, Mr. Barnes. I won't let that happen." Peter said determinedly as he spoke up. "I promise." Bucky took a moment to stare at the teenage boy again, not noticing the small smile Emma gave the boy. He really had to wonder…who the hell was this kid? Why was there even some kid at this meeting? However, before Bucky could even respond to the kid's odd statement, Steve took over from there.

"We should form a plan then." Steve announced as he went into Captain mode. "I say we should interrogate the Hydra agent we have in the medical bay to start things off. We should see what he has to say…maybe he'll break. How's he doing?" Tony sighed as he brought up a surveillance video of the agent in his hospital bed. Everyone winced at how badly beaten up and injured the man looked. The Hydra symbol carved into the man's forehead really seemed to confuse them as well.

"He's talking but nothing useful to us. All he's doing is asking for a lawyer." Tony said in a bored voice before he smirked at Emma. "I think we should stick Mini Cap on him. I'm sure he'll talk then." Steve and some of the others gave her a surprised look.

"You did that?" Steve questioned, and Emma shrugged before answering.

"It was self-defense." Emma retorted and somehow most of everyone doubted that or at least that she had to go as far as she did to defend herself. Natasha just smirked at the young girl, impressed by her work, while her father gave her a proud smile.

"That's my girl." Bucky said approvingly as he patted her on the shoulder. Everyone stared between the two, unsure if they should find the encounter cute or creepy. Bucky congratulating Emma was almost as if he was congratulating her on acing a test or winning a soccer game. "What knife did you use?"

"A Ka-Bar but it was his knife. Not mine." Emma told him delightedly, happy that someone was finally proud of her fighting skills for once. "I took it from him. He didn't even see it coming."

"Good." Bucky said as he continued to look proud of her. "I taught you well."

"I know you did, Papa." Emma said as she smiled back at him. Steve had a look of bewilderment and disapproval as he looked in between his best friend and granddaughter. Everyone else just stared in shock at the two. Not sure what to make of this encounter. It wasn't until Tony awkwardly cleared his throat that they brought everything back to the task at hand.

"Right, well…I'm just going to ignore whatever the hell that was and mention that we should probably take another look at those weapons Hydra left for us." Tony said as he looked away from the creepiness that was Emma and Barnes. He could probably go his whole life without seeing or hearing something like that again.

"I'll send for Selvig, Foster, and Susan to come down and have a look." Steve looked up curiously when Tony mentioned Susan because he wasn't aware that she was here at the compound. However, he managed to remain professional and decided that maybe he would have a chat with her later when things weren't so complicated and dangerous like they were now. Tony then glanced in the direction of Shuri as he spoke again.

"Your highness?" Tony said with an almost teasing smile as he gave her a cocky smile. "You care to join in too? I've heard that you're even smarter than the likes of me. I'd like to test that theory." Shuri looked excited at the prospect of finally getting to work with Tony Stark but mostly she was just excited to bash his technology.

"Do you mind, T'Challa?" Shuri said as she looked at her brother. The Wakandan king just chuckled at the excited look on his sister's face.

"Go ahead. This is why you've come along with us, after all." T'Challa told her and Shuri seemed happy at his response. Tony then glanced at Peter.

"You want in on this too, Kid?" Tony asked him, and Peter seemed surprised that Tony asked him for his help in the first place. Tony had never asked him to help out in the lab before. Not to mention Tony was asking him to not only work with him but the princess too. Peter was only a little bit starstruck being around the Wakandan king and princess. He had never been around royalty before. Princess Shuri was also supposed to be one of the smartest people to walk the earth too.

"M-Me?" Peter said as he stumbled over his words before blushing. "Uh…yeah. I'll help. Of course, I'll help, Mr. Stark." Emma gave him an amused look. Her boyfriend was such a dork sometimes.

"Great." Tony said as he nodded in approval.

"What about Ugalde?" Rhodey inquired and Fury sighed before answering.

"Let's leave him be until we get more information from Collins. For now, let's just let him stay comfortable." Fury stated, and Emma had to agree with his plan. "The second he thinks he's under suspicion, he'll be gone, and it may be a while before we find him again." Steve nodded in agreement before looking around the room.

"Are we all in agreement then?" Steve asked, referring to how everyone felt about the next steps they would be taking in this battle against Hydra. Everyone seemed to nod which left Steve satisfied. Tony clapped his hands together as he then wrapped the meeting up.

"Everyone working in the lab with me just stay down here. Everyone else can settle into the rooms on the second floor but I have to tell you everything's a real dump right now." Tony informed everyone as he mostly directed his attention to the people who had never been to the compound before. "There's a training facility on the other side of the compound that should be in tact and there's kitchens literally everywhere so help yourselves."

It wasn't until Tony finished speaking that the meeting was officially over. People then began to speak amongst each other as they were left to their own devices. Emma couldn't help but notice how many people were here now. There was so many compared to last night. She was even becoming confident that they may stand a chance this time. Emma felt a hand rubbing her shoulders and she smiled as she looked up at her father. He returned her smile and Emma couldn't help but feel like she could get used to this…having her father around again and for it to be like this.

"Are you okay?" He asked her softly and Emma nodded.

"I'm better than ever." Emma answered, and it was true. She felt better and even more safer than she had felt several short hours ago when she didn't have her grandfather nor her father at her side. But now they were both here and she was happy.

"Uh…Mr. Barnes?" Peter said hesitantly as he approached Emma and her father. Emma just smiled at Peter in amusement while Bucky just looked at him like he didn't know what the hell he was doing there.

"What?" Bucky said gruffly, clearly not happy at being interrupted during his moment with his daughter. Peter gulped as he stared up at the former assassin. It was clear to him that Bucky wasn't nearly as polite or friendly as Captain America was.

"I uh…well I um…" Peter said nervously, and Bucky gave him an impatient look, clearly not as amused by him as Emma was.

"Well, what the hell is it? Spit it out." Bucky said impatiently, and Peter blushed, clearly not expecting this from Emma's dad. He had considered what Tony told him earlier, but Peter was expecting a first meeting between himself and Bucky to be something like when he met Steve just a short couple hours ago. The meeting with Steve went well but Peter was starting to think that this one might not go as well. Rhodey was somewhere in the background, laughing at a terrified looking Peter Parker. Even Tony, who had less than pleasant feelings about Bucky, couldn't help but laugh at the kid.

"I'm Peter Parker. I just thought I would uh…introduce myself." Peter nearly mumbled and Emma winced because she knew her father didn't like mumbling. He would always scold her when she was little for doing the same thing.

"Why?" Bucky questioned, and Peter suddenly wished he was anywhere other than there. Maybe Peter shouldn't have even come over here. He looked to Emma for help, but she just smirked at him. Peter wanted to glare at his infuriating girlfriend whose greatest hobby in life was seeing him be humiliated.

"It's just that I'm…well, I'm kind of…you see…" Peter said as he continued to stumble over his words before laughing nervously. Bucky looked at Peter like he was something he had never seen before but not in a good way.

"I'm Emma's friend. We're friends and I've always wanted to meet you because she talks about you all the time. I kind of even feel like I'm friends with you too. That's crazy, right?" Bucky looked at the boy in disbelief before looking back at Emma as if he was asking her if this was true. Could she really be friends with _this_ guy? Emma just shrugged.

"We met before. I don't know if you remember me or anything, but we met in Germany." Peter mentioned as he gave Bucky a goofy smile and Bucky looked back at him with a confused look on his face. What the hell was this kid talking about? Bucky was pretty sure he would remember meeting such a fucking weird kid.

"You kind of threw this gigantic metal sign at me and then I threw it back." Bucky's eyes widened in realization before an annoyed look came over his face. The former assassin narrowed his eyes at the boy and the goofy smile fell right off Peter's face.

"You're that little asshole from the airport." Bucky accused, and Peter's eyes widened at the tone of the man's voice. Emma was no longer snickering in amusement as she then looked between her father and boyfriend worriedly. She found her father's attitude towards Peter hilarious at first but now it was starting to get serious. Emma didn't expect her father to welcome Peter into his arms and start calling him son anytime soon, but she still wanted her father to like Peter. This was important to her.

"I-I'm actually Spider-Man but yeah I'm the guy from the airport." Peter said as he tried to laugh off Bucky's glare before completely changing the subject. "I notice that you have a different arm than last time. I think this one looks way cooler…not that the other one wasn't cool but I just-" Bucky then interrupted Peter, soon growing tired of the boy's rambling.

"What's your problem, kid?" Bucky asked him impatiently and Emma swallowed hard before she stepped in from there. She didn't want Peter annoying her father so much that her father snapped.

"Peter's my friend, Papa." Emma said softly as she smiled at her father, trying to calm him down. Her father's expression softened when he looked at her. "He's nice and he's been really good to me while you and Steve were away."

Bucky just stared at Emma as he tried to piece together what she said. He just didn't understand it. Emma was friends with this kid? How could that be? He had only spent about five minutes in the boy's company and he already found him to be annoying. How could Emma stand this kid long enough to consider him to be her friend?

"Right…" Bucky trailed off, still not quite sure of what to make of Emma's apparent friendship with this kid. He also just wanted to get away from the kid. "I think I'm going to go talk to Steve for a few minutes. You don't mind, right?" Emma just shook her head.

"Of course not. Go talk to him." Emma told him before a more serious look came over her face as she realized something she was going to have to do…today. There was really no more time to put it off. It had to be done right now.

"Hey, do you think you guys can meet me upstairs in a little bit? I have something I need to talk to the both of you about." Emma told her father who gave her a curious look before he nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, I'll tell Steve." He promised before he gave her an affectionate look and ruffled her hair playfully. Without another word, her father walked off in the direction of Steve, leaving her and Peter alone. It was only when her father was clearly distracted by his conversation with Steve, that they began speaking.

"Your dad hates me, Emma." Peter said abruptly as he looked at her with a worried expression on his face. Emma turned to look at him before she rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

"Don't be silly, Peter. Papa doesn't hate you." Emma told him, and Peter scoffed.

"Yes, he does. You saw the way he talked to me." Peter told her, and Emma just dismissed his complaint.

"Papa just takes a while to warm up to a person…just like me. I didn't like you when we first met either." Emma said before giving him a flirtatious look. "But now I just want you to make love to me. See? Things can change."

Peter's eyes widened in horror as he then clapped his hand over her mouth before looking around the room to see if her father or grandfather had heard. Fortunately, neither Steve or Bucky seemed to have heard Emma. They were both laughing about something. Emma smirked at Peter, who looked beyond terrified at this point, as she smacked his hand away. He was so cute when he was scared.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" Peter said in a hushed voice as he glared at her. "And I thought you said no flirting." Emma laughed but neither her or Peter noticed that her laugh had managed to get the attention of a certain former Russian spy. Natasha watched curiously as Emma laughed at something the teenage boy said to her, but she was too far away to hear what they were talking about.

"Now what's going on over there?" Natasha said to Clint and Sam who she was standing next to. They both gave her confused looks, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"What?" Clint questioned, and Natasha nodded towards Emma and Peter. They followed her gaze and saw what the now platinum blonde haired woman was talking about.

"Is she actually laughing?" Sam questioned as he frowned at the sight. "What the hell, man? Do you know how hard it is to make her laugh? What's that kid saying that's so funny anyways?"

"She looks happy." Clint observed but Natasha was suspicious.

"Haven't you noticed that something feels a little off since we've gotten back?" Natasha said quietly, and Sam shrugged.

"Are you talking about that awkwardness between Steve and Tony? I think everyone's noticed that, Natasha." Sam said, and Natasha just rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean that…I just feel like something happened here while we were gone. Not the Hydra thing but something else." Natasha said, not really understanding what she was saying herself. "I also feel like the others know something we don't."

"You're just being paranoid, Nat." Clint told her, and Natasha chose not to say anything else, but she was still incredibly suspicious as she continued to watch Emma and Peter interact. Yes, there definitely was something going on here. Natasha just wasn't completely sure what that something was.

"You really know how to make me laugh, Parker." Emma told Peter from their little corner of the room. He pretended to be mad at her, but she knew he really wasn't mad.

"I'm serious, Emma. He really hates me." Peter said before whispering. He looked stressed out by this news. "If he hates me now then how is he going to feel when he finds out about us?" Emma sighed.

"You're being ridiculous, Peter. I already told you that he doesn't hate you." Emma told him once more and Peter bit his lip nervously, looking very scared as a thought crossed his mind.

"What if he makes you break up with me?" Peter wondered aloud, and Emma really thought he was being stupid now. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Stop being so dramatic. Papa's not going to do that." Emma said, sounding very sure of herself. "Even if he did then I wouldn't listen to him. I love him but he can't tell me what to do. I'm almost an adult now and I know what I want…which is you." Peter blushed.

"I don't think your dad would be cool with that." Peter said quietly but Emma looked defiant.

"Well, he's going to have to deal with the fact that there's another guy in my life now." Emma told him, and Peter swallowed hard as he looked back at her.

"I really want to kiss you right now." Peter said quietly, and Emma gave him an amused look.

"You're acting like we haven't kissed each other in days. Are you forgetting the fact that you had your tongue in my mouth this morning?" Emma said, and Peter looked around in fear again as he tried to see if anyone heard her. No one seemed to, but he really needed Emma to stop talking about that if she wanted him to live to see another day.

"I really wish you would stop talking like that." Peter muttered, and Emma laughed again.

"For what it's worth I really want to kiss you too, Parker." Emma told him, and he actually managed to smile and calm down when he heard that. However, his smile faded once he remembered what she told her father before he left.

"You told your father that you had something to talk to him and Steve about?" Peter asked her as he changed the subject. "Is it what I think it is?" Emma knew exactly what he meant when he said that. She smiled before she nodded.

"Yes." She answered shortly, and Peter felt the urge to hug her, kiss her, or just something so that she knew that she would be okay no matter what. But he knew he could do no such thing. Not in public at least.

"I'm proud of you." Peter told her, and Emma felt a bit better about the situation after hearing that. She looked at Peter adoringly.

"Thank you." She said softly, and Peter smiled back at her.

"No matter what happens, I'll still be here for you. You know that, right?" Peter said as his eyes met hers. Emma nodded once.

"I know." Peter seemed satisfied with her answer, so Emma decided to change the subject once more. She was going to tell Steve and her father the truth. There was no other way around it.

"Tony's finally letting you work in the lab with him…that's a big deal, right?" Emma said, and Peter smiled brightly as he felt the excitement come over him at the thought of finally being given an important role in the lab.

"Yeah, not to mention I get to work with Princess Shuri. She's supposed to be even smarter than Tony or Bruce Banner. I mean, she even helped your dad. She's also pretty too." Peter said obliviously as he forgot he was talking to his girlfriend and not Ned. Emma immediately glared at him. Peter's face paled when he realized what he had said to Emma. He laughed nervously as he tried to cover up his mistake.

"O-Of course she's not as pretty as you, Emma. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. Not even a princess can compare to you." Peter said as he sucked up to her and Emma scoffed.

"You're full of shit, Parker." Emma told him, and Peter pouted.

"How come you can say how hot you think T'Challa is, but I can't even make a small, unintentional comment about Shuri being pretty." Peter pointed out and Emma huffed.

"Because when I say how hot T'Challa is, I only mean to tease you. I don't actually mean it." Emma replied. Well, T'Challa was hot but Emma didn't really see him that way. Her cute little Parker was way hotter to her than some silly king. Peter smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I was trying to tease you too." Peter said, and Emma narrowed her eyes at him. He was a terrible liar.

"No, you weren't." Emma said, and Peter wished that he could kiss her so that she could see that she was being silly. Peter understood where she was coming from. He got jealous all the time too. Especially when he saw the way guys like Flash stared at her.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Emma. I really meant it when I said you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Peter said, being his usual cheesy self and Emma found it impossible to be mad at him. Besides… he did seem sincere when he told her that. Emma just didn't like hearing Peter call another girl pretty. Especially a girl who happened to be a princess and one who could understand Peter's interest in all things science way more than she could.

"Just because we're pretending to be just friends right now doesn't mean you can forget that you have a girlfriend." Emma told him, being her bossy self and Peter fought the urge to smile at her in amusement. In all honesty whenever Emma was jealous it really turned him on. He didn't know why but he liked how possessive she could be. She was never that bad when it came to other girls. Only when she thought certain girls were interested in him, but Peter wasn't interested in those other girls. Just her. His girlfriend was crazy, but Peter didn't mind one bit.

"I know, Emma." Peter said as he smiled at her, still clearly amused by her jealous nature.

"As long as that princess keeps her hands to herself then we won't have a problem." Emma said seriously, and Peter felt the distinct urge to grab her and kiss her senseless.

"I only have eyes for you, Emma." Peter told her as he looked at her adoringly. Emma rolled her eyes playfully but smiled at him nonetheless. They smiled at each other for a moment before a curious look came over Peter's face as he looked between her and the Wakandan royalty who were across the room talking to Vision and Wanda.

"How do I even say hello to them?" Peter inquired, and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, and Peter nodded in the direction of T'Challa and Shuri.

"Like is there some formal greeting I have to do when I talk to them…like the Queen of England?" Peter asked innocently. Emma almost opened her mouth to tell him no since Steve said a formal greeting wasn't necessary but then she felt mischievous as she looked at her naïve boyfriend. An idea formed in her head as Emma gave him an innocent look as she answered him.

"Actually, there is." Emma said with a straight face. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of formal greeting?" Peter asked her, and Emma shrugged.

"A curtesy." Emma told him, and Peter stared at her in wonder.

"A curtesy? Really…" Peter trailed off and Emma nodded. "For guys too? I thought only girls curtseyed."

"Steve said it's the same whether you're a girl or a guy. That's how I greeted him and his sister out on the landing pad earlier. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Emma informed him, and Peter also nodded, putting what Emma said to memory.

"Okay. A curtsey…got it." Peter said before locking eyes with her again.

"I guess I'll go now. Good luck with your dad and grandpa." Peter told her sincerely and Emma smiled at him, almost feeling bad for messing with him. Almost.

"Good luck with the science stuff." Peter just smiled at her before he hurried after T'Challa and Shuri. Emma watched him go with a look of extreme amusement on her face. Despite how much she teased him, she knew she loved everything about him. Even the stuff that was annoying. He was a dork, but Emma loved him for being a dork. She only messed with him and teased him because she loved him that much.

"You were talking to that little boy for a long time." Sam remarked suddenly as he went to stand next to Emma, eyeing the teenage boy in the distance. Emma was broken out of her thoughts as she looked up at the man. She almost wanted to tell Sam that there was definitely nothing _little_ about Peter, but she also knew it was probably best that she not mention that.

"So?" Emma retorted, and Sam raised an eyebrow.

"So, I just noticed that it's kind of weird." Sam told her.

"What's so weird about it?" Emma asked him, and he shrugged.

"I don't know. Last year you were beating the shit out of that guy in Germany and now you just happen to be good friends? It's weird." Sam told her, and Emma stiffened before she maintained a calm composure.

"I don't think there's anything weird about it. That's how Natasha and Clint met and they're good friends." Emma said coolly, and Sam raised his hands up defensively.

"Okay, I get it. He's your friend. That's nice." Sam told her honestly although he was kind of a little suspicious after Natasha's remark earlier. "I'm glad you have a friend. Having friends is a good thing."

"Thank you." Emma said quietly but she immediately smiled brightly when she watched her boyfriend finally approach T'Challa and Shuri. She immediately elbowed Sam in the ribs and he looked down at her in surprise.

"What?" He asked her, and Emma nodded her head towards the sight before them.

"Just watch." Emma told him as Rhodey walked up to them. He gave Sam and Emma a curious look as he noticed their gazed fixed on Peter, T'Challa, and Shuri.

"What's going on? What are we watching?" He asked them with interest, but Emma and Sam just shushed him. Rhodey instead chose to watch quietly to see whatever the hell it was that Emma had planned. It didn't take long to see what Emma was talking about as the teenage boy randomly curtseyed in front of T'Challa and Shuri.

"You're highnesses." Peter said politely as he curtseyed and Emma, Sam, and Rhodey began laughing at the scene, unable to control themselves. T'Challa gave the teenage boy a bewildered look while Okoye just looked disgusted. Shuri seemed to find the situation amusing as she tried to hide her laughter.

"That is unnecessary. You do not have to do that." T'Challa told Peter who blushed in embarrassment before turning and looking back at Emma who seemed to be laughing at him with War Machine and Falcon at her side. He glared at her. He knew he shouldn't have trusted her. She just loved messing with him, didn't she? She was such a spoiled little brat. A spoiled little brat he loved but a spoiled little brat nonetheless.

"What are you up to, Emma?" Steve asked as he walked to her, Sam, and Rhodey. Her father joined them too as he gave her a small smirk.

"I've only been here for an hour and you're already getting into trouble." Her father told her in amusement, but Emma just shrugged.

"That was a nice one." Rhodey told her as he grinned at her. "I have to try that out on someone in the future."

"You should try it on Bruce. Thor would never fall for it. He's a prince himself, after all." Emma recommended before giving it another thought. "Maybe he would fall for it. He told me about all those snake pranks Loki played on him so Thor's obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed." Rhodey's eyes sparkled with mischief before he nodded and walked off. It was only when the colonel left that Steve gave her a pointed look.

"You shouldn't talk about Thor that way." Steve told her, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, grandpa." Emma said sarcastically although she was honestly happy Steve was here in the first place for her to be sarcastic with. She missed their banter. Sam and her father snickered at the stern look on her grandfather's face. The stern look then changed as he remembered how much he missed Emma this past year.

"You got that kid good, Em." Sam told her with a grin on his face. He patted her on the back before he left just like Rhodey did. He was probably going off to go talk to T'Challa or maybe even to tease Peter. Emma was then left alone with Steve and her father. The two men looked down at her almost expectantly, but they also concerned.

"You said you wanted to talk to us about something?" Steve inquired curiously, and Emma's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten about that in the midst of pranking Peter. However, she knew she couldn't run away from Rumlow any longer. She had run long enough but she couldn't do it anymore. Telling Peter had been the first step but now she was faced with the prospect of telling Steve and her father. It didn't matter how scared she was, she still had to do it. But Emma knew she could do this…she had to. Rumlow wasn't going to have any more control over her. This was what she had to do. Emma sighed as the smile fell off her and a more grim look took it's place. Steve and Bucky exchanged a concerned look as Emma looked back up at them, an unreadable look in her eyes.

"We should go upstairs."

* * *

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Her father asked as he and Steve both sat on the edge of her bed. The room was still a mess from the explosion, but Emma hadn't had the chance to clean it up.

Bucky couldn't help but look around the room as he sat there next to Steve. He had never seen this part of Emma's life before, so he was curious about what she had been up to these past couple years. There was artwork that looked to be her own that littered the walls. Bucky nearly smiled when he admired Emma's talent for art. She was more like Steve than he imagined. Bucky also noticed an almost library like collection of books on her very large bookshelf. He could see all the classic literature that he remembered Steve burying his nose in as a kid but there was also books that looked more modern. Not to mention the large collection of vinyl records Emma seemed to have next to a record player and he couldn't help but notice all the posters on her walls that featured musicians that Bucky wasn't familiar with. There seemed to be a lot he was learning about Emma just from sitting in her room. He almost wondered whether or not they had anything in common at all, but he stopped when he saw the vintage _Casablanca_ movie poster that hung above her bed. Bucky hid a smile. Maybe they had something in common, after all.

"Uh...yeah." Emma said as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Bucky was snapped out of his thoughts as he and Steve looked at Emma curiously. Steve eyed her nervous gesture, finding it odd because Emma was rarely nervous about anything. He wasn't forgetting the fact that she had been pacing the room just a second ago.

"Does this have to do with Tony or something?" Steve asked her, and Emma looked at him in surprise. "Natasha told me things weren't going that great between you guys last time she saw you." Steve wasn't sure if she and Tony were really okay like he said. He wanted to hear it from her.

"Tony?" Emma questioned before shaking her head furiously. "Tony and I are fine. We made amends or whatever months ago. I just decided that life's too short to hold grudges." Steve gave her a surprised look before he smiled at her. Bucky just looked curious.

"That's great, Emma. I'm proud of you." Steve told her, and Emma felt guilty at his praise. She didn't think she deserved it…not after she had lied to him for so long. Bucky gave her a worried look because he could tell from her body language that something was wrong.

"I um…well, I actually need to tell you guys something else." Emma said as she tried to prepare herself to say this. For some reason it felt harder to tell Steve and her father this news than it was to tell Peter. Maybe it was because she had been hiding this from them for so long. Emma just knew that she had to get through this. No matter what reaction they had to the news.

"Tell us what?" Bucky asked in confusion, looking concerned at Emma's odd behavior. Emma swallowed hard.

"There's something I never told you about what happened to me in Hydra." Emma said slowly as she looked between the both of them, trying to get a clear image of what their reactions were but they still looked incredibly confused. Her father just shook his head before he gave her a sympathetic look.

"Look, Emma, you don't need to say anything else. You and I both know what we went through in Hydra and that's enough." Her father told her softly, thinking that he knew everything that happened to her. "You don't have to say anything else."

"But you don't know!" Emma told him, her eyes welling up with tears. Steve and Bucky both gave the teenage girl concerned looks, not having a clue as to why she seemed so upset. Emma sniffled as she momentarily looked down at the ground, trying to gather the courage to finally tell the truth, before she looked back up at them. Her gaze softened when she looked at her father.

"You weren't there, Papa. They put you in the Cyro-Chamber, remember?" Emma said as she tried to get the words out. "It was when I was thirteen. Right before Steve and the others rescued me."

"What are you talking about, Emma?" Steve asked her in confusion and Bucky looked just as confused. It sounded like Emma was starting to lose it. She wasn't making any sense. Emma shook her head.

"I-It was Rumlow." Emma stated, her throat thick with emotion.

"I don't know what it was that set him off that night." Emma told Steve and Bucky who were still not understanding what Emma was saying. "I don't remember if I said something to him. I know you always told me to not mouth off, Papa, but sometimes I can't help it." Emma then looked down sadly, finding it difficult to look them in the eyes.

"Maybe it was just him. Maybe he always wanted to and something held him back from doing it before but maybe he just couldn't stop himself anymore." Emma said quietly as a tear fell down her face. Steve's heart nearly broke at the sight because he didn't know what was causing her to cry. It was rare that she cried but when she did, it broke his heart. Bucky felt overcome with emotion as well as he watched the scared and hurt look on her face. What frustrated him the most is that she wouldn't say what it was. What was she talking about? What did Rumlow do?

"Jesus Christ, Emma, just tell us. What the hell did Rumlow do?" Her father demanded, and Emma knew that there was no going back from here. Once she told them then that was it. She could never take it back or pretend it never happened. After this, it was more than likely that everyone would know. Emma didn't like the idea of it, but she didn't have a choice anymore. She was done running from her problems.

"He raped me." Emma finally said with as much strength as she could manage. It was silent in the room for a couple minutes after Emma finally confessed the thing she had been hiding from everyone all these years. Her father and Steve stared at her in silence as they tried to process this information. A part of them might've even thought they heard her wrong but the look on her face told them otherwise.

"I-I didn't know what to do." Emma said, explaining her actions when neither Steve or her father said anything. "He came into my room and threatened us, Papa. I just thought it would be easier to let him do what he wanted. I didn't think it would be as bad as it was." Emma then sighed heavily as she began to conclude her confession.

"I just thought you two should know. I have a feeling it's going to come up now that Hydra is back, and I didn't want you finding out from Rumlow of all people." Emma said quietly as she avoided their gaze, looking deeply ashamed.

Steve didn't know what to say…or what to feel as he began the very slow and difficult process of finally discovering the secret his granddaughter had been keeping from him all these years. He could barely process what she just said. Raped. Emma was…raped. Rumlow…Steve could barely think without seeing the face of Rumlow popping up inside his mind. He gritted his teeth as Rumlow's familiar arrogant and burnt up face flashed before him. The image filled Steve with so much rage and disgust but also sadness and pain as he remembered the scared and distrustful look that had been on Emma's face the first time he met her.

Suddenly everything made more sense. How distrusting she had been towards everyone in the beginning…especially men. The way she flinched and gave Thor a terrified look when he got too close to her after they met that first time. The nightmares. Steve remembered how bad her nightmares were and now he was starting to think that maybe her nightmares weren't about the experiments, torture, or killing. Maybe it was about Rumlow all this time. She had always been so defensive and angry whenever he pushed her for information. Steve now knew why.

The super soldier felt sick for the first time in years as he realized what Emma had been through. That man…that _bastard_ had raped his granddaughter. His granddaughter who was only a child…a little girl. Rumlow had done the most grotesque and evil things to Emma who was just an innocent child, her only fault which was that she was born with Captain America's blood running through her veins. Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, Zemo…none of them compared to the evil that Rumlow was.

It was then, however, that Steve's thoughts were interrupted by Bucky who abruptly stood up from the bed. The former assassin had a very dark look on his face, his fists clenched, as he stood there in silence for a moment. Emma looked up at him in surprise, but he didn't give her a chance to say anything as he began to storm off in the direction of the door. The teenage girl felt like she was about to be torn in half from the way her father was walking away from her.

"Papa?" Emma questioned but he kept walking away. Tears began to stream down her face as she watched him walk away from her and ignore her. "Papa, please don't go! I'm sorry!" She then flinched when he slammed the door shut behind him. Emma felt heart broken when she realized that he was angry…at her probably. Why else would he just leave like that without saying anything?

Emma stood there crying as she stared at the closed door, feeling like she had let her father down in some way. She hadn't meant to disappoint him…she just wanted to protect him. She then felt arms wrap around her and she allowed herself to bury her face in Steve's chest as she got his shirt all wet and gross. He held her close to him as he ran his fingers through her hair comfortingly, whispering sweet nothings to her just like he used to whenever she had nightmares. Emma just continued to sob into his chest, fearing that she had somehow made her father hate her.

"It's okay, Emma. It's okay." Steve whispered to her and Emma just sniffled before she spoke.

"Papa hates me!" Emma cried as she clung onto Steve. "He hates me! He can't even look at me!" Steve felt his heart breaking at the way Emma cried. He had never heard her cry like that and he wished more than anything that he could somehow take her pain away and make it his own instead.

"He doesn't hate you, Emma. I promise that he doesn't." Steve told her, but Emma just shook her head.

"You saw the way he left. He's disgusted by me!" Emma said in a sad and tortured voice and Steve felt a couple tears of his own fall down his face.

"No, he's not. He's just confused and angry. That's all it is." Steve told her and he mentally cursed Bucky for leaving like that. He understood that Bucky was shocked and angry about the situation but that didn't give him the right to storm off like that with Emma in the state that she was. Now Emma was convinced that Bucky hated her which couldn't be farther from the truth. Steve knew that Bucky loved Emma as much as he did which was a lot.

"I don't blame him." Emma said, sounding broken. "I'd be disgusted by me too." Steve then pulled away from her so that he could look her in the eyes. He gave her a very stern look even though Emma could see the tears that had fallen down his face. His hands were firmly planted on either side of her shoulders.

"Listen to me, Emma. I never want to hear you say that about yourself again." Steve told her seriously as Emma just stared back at him with wide eyes. He gave her shoulders a little shake when she didn't respond. "Do you understand me?" Emma furiously nodded as she swallowed hard.

"Yes…I understand." Emma said quietly, and Steve's gaze softened as he stared down at her. He tentatively reached a hand up to stroke her cheek softly, a sad look on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me, Emma? Why did you keep this from me?" Steve asked softly, and a guilty look came over Emma's face. "Three years and you never said anything."

"You always loved me…even from the beginning." Emma told him as she stared back at him. "You didn't really even know me, but you still loved me." Emma briefly paused as she forced herself not to break down again and cry again, but she could still feel the tears leaking from her eyes.

"You showered me with affection and love. You hugged me, told me how you loved me, and tucked me in at night. No one's ever done that to me before. Not even Papa." Emma admitted as she bit her lip nervously. "You've always been desperate to make sure that I know I'm loved. As much as I claimed to hate it, I actually appreciated it." Emma then looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling ashamed again.

"I guess I was just scared that it would all go away if I told you the truth." Emma said sadly as Steve looked heartbroken at the sight of her. "I was afraid that you would never look at me the same way again."

Steve melted at the sight of his sad and tortured granddaughter. Someone that had been more hurt than anyone else. The thought that Emma had lived with this secret on her own for the past three years was almost too much for him to bear. It broke his heart to know that she had felt this way this entire time. Steve immediately pulled her back into his arms and held her close.

"Nothing could ever make me not love you, Emma. Especially something that's not even your fault." Steve told her sincerely. "I'll always love you. No matter what. Never forget that."

"I'm sorry I doubted you." Emma told him, but Steve just shook his head.

"You don't need to be sorry about anything right now." Steve whispered to her. "I'm actually proud of you."

"Really?" Emma asked him, and he nodded.

"Yes, I know how hard this is for you. I'm proud that you told me." He told her because he knew this is what she needed to hear. Steve really was proud of her, but he just wished that she had told him a lot sooner. Steve wasn't going to scold Emma for this, however, because he knew she was in a fragile state. He also couldn't pretend to understand that he knew what she was going through. Steve didn't know a thing about the kind of trauma victims of sexual assault went through.

"You're not mad at me?" Emma asked shyly, and Steve just kissed her forehead as he continued to hold her.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong." Steve told her before a dark look came over his face at the thought of Rumlow. "It was that bastard who did. He's the one who needs to pay for this." Emma then pulled back to look up at him. She smiled a sad, watery smile as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Hey, you said a bad word." Emma teased although her voice was still thick with emotion. The expression on Steve's face softened.

"I guess I did." Steve said softly before a more serious and questioning look came over his face when he then recalled something that he thought he had forgotten long ago.

"Wait…is this what you saw when Wanda made us see those things?" Steve remembered how badly Emma had reacted to the mind tricks Wanda had played on them. He remembered the way she freaked out and scratched the hell out of Clint, Thor, and himself. Steve had never seen her so terrified and so haunted as she did then. Emma bit her lip nervously before nodding.

"Yes." Emma said, and Steve suddenly looked angry but not at Emma.

"You mean to say that Wanda knew all this time and she never said anything?" Steve said, raising his voice. Why Emma had always hated Wanda suddenly made sense. The thought that he had spent all this time with Wanda, but the older girl never thought to say anything pissed Steve off. He even a felt a bit betrayed. Emma's eyes widened as she furiously shook her head.

"It's not her fault." Emma said quickly, even surprising herself by coming to Wanda's defense. "I made her promise not to tell anyone and she felt so bad that she didn't say anything. It's my fault. I shouldn't have made her do that. It was wrong of me." Steve calmed down a bit when he saw the guilty look on her face.

"Please don't be mad at her, Steve." Emma said, and Steve swallowed hard before nodding. He could tell that it would upset Emma if he were to be mad at Wanda and he didn't want to upset her anymore.

"I won't. Just don't cry anymore, okay?" Steve said to her and Emma nodded as she buried her face in his chest again and Steve wrapped his arms around her once more. They stood there for what felt like hours with Emma wrapped up in his warm embrace. Even though they had spent so long apart, it almost seemed like nothing had changed. She had spent so long without the presence of her father and Steve in her life that it always felt like there were two pieces of a puzzle missing. They had only been back for a couple hours but now it felt like everything was right in place. Like the missing pieces had never been missing in the first place.

"Do you think you can tell the others about Rumlow?" Emma asked Steve in a small voice. Steve looked down at her in surprise.

"You really want me to?" Steve asked her. "I won't say anything if you don't want me to." Emma just shrugged but she knew the truth of the situation. She knew everyone would find out eventually anyways.

"They're going to find out from him anyways. I know him, Steve. The first chance he gets, he'll brag about what he did." Emma said honestly as Steve watched her. "I'd rather not have everyone be caught off guard by the news. Let's not give him the advantage."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked her, still seeming hesitant. Emma just nodded.

"Yes. I'd do it myself, but I don't have it in me to do this all over again." Emma told him, and Steve sighed but nodded nonetheless. "I know it's asking a lot."

"No, I'll do it but only if you're sure." Steve said to her.

"I'm sure. I don't want to hide anymore." Emma replied, and Steve knew that he would just have to tell everyone else. Emma was right in a way even if he didn't necessarily like it. Rumlow was going to mouth off and tell everyone about what happened, and it was better if no one was caught off guard when he did that. Steve still didn't like it because he could tell Emma was incredibly uncomfortable.

Even though Steve wasn't showing it right now, he was beyond angry. He just hid his anger for Emma's sake unlike what Bucky did. Steve knew it wouldn't do Emma any good to see him ranting about how much he wished he had already killed Rumlow in Lagos last year. It also wouldn't do her any good to hear him tell her how guilty he felt about this because it was his fault, after all.

He was the one who just had to volunteer to be experimented on during the war. Steve just had to serve his country, didn't he? He was so young and stupid back then that he never thought of what the consequences of his decision could be. Look at where it had gotten him. Steve had left Peggy to raise their son all on her own…a son Steve didn't even know he had until his son was long dead. His son and his daughter-in-law who were killed because of him. His granddaughter who had been kidnapped, tortured, and even raped all because she had the misfortune of having the remnants of his super soldier serum in her body. This was all on him. Everything that had happened to Emma in that base, and even all the people she had killed or hurt, was all on Steve. Emma wasn't at fault for any of it. Steve was just going to have to live with the fact that he was responsible for all of that. He became responsible the day Dr. Erskine showed up at the clinic and offered him an opportunity.

"I love you…you know that, right?" Steve whispered to her as he continued to hold her. "I love you so much." Emma just nestled her face against his chest.

"I love you too…dad." Emma said as she blushed, not sure how Steve was going to react to that last part. Steve's eyes slightly widened as he looked down at the top of his granddaughter's head of blonde hair. She didn't look up at him but remained with her head buried in his chest. A smile then formed over his face as he kissed the top of her head once more. He felt beyond elated at the fact that Emma had just called him "dad". It was a feeling that caused him to momentarily forget about all guilt and anger he had inside him. He allowed himself to be happy in that moment solely because Emma had called him dad. This was the best welcome back present he could ever receive.

* * *

Emma left Steve in her room shortly after their little moment. She told him that she really needed to talk to her father and Steve claimed that he needed to discuss something with Natasha although Emma knew he just wanted to give her and her father some much needed time alone. Emma couldn't begin to describe the emotions she was feeling as she walked to the room her father supposedly staying in. She felt a bit better after all the comforting Steve had done but she was still afraid of the idea that her father was angry at her. That was the last thing she ever wanted. Her whole life she had been afraid of disappointing him and now she was scared that she had finally done it for real.

She pushed the door to the room open and stood in the doorway momentarily. Emma had never felt so nervous in her life as she stood there and watched him as he sat on the edge of the bed, his back facing her. She anxiously chewed on the inside of her cheek as she hesitantly walked in and shut the door behind her. He didn't say anything as she walked in, but she knew that he was fully aware of the fact that she was there. When he continued not to say anything, Emma decided to be the first one to speak.

"Are you still mad at me?" Emma asked quietly, and her father looked up at her in surprise, not expecting that question.

"Why would I be mad at you?" He asked in confusion as Emma crawled over across the bed and sat down next to him. She shrugged.

"I don't know. You ran away and ignored me, after all." Emma told him, and Bucky looked down in guilt.

"I'm sorry I did that. I just couldn't control myself anymore. I didn't want you to see me like this." He said, and Emma looked confused until she saw the multiple holes in the wall from where he had more than likely used the wall as his own personal punching bag.

"The wall will be fine. We'll just tell everyone that it was another casualty of the explosion." Emma told him before she gave him a small smile, feeling relieved at the fact that he wasn't angry with her. "Besides…I've seen you do worse." Bucky shook his head at the way she said it like it was a good thing…a funny thing.

"I wish you hadn't." He told her. "I'm a monster. I tried to train you to be one as well which makes me an even bigger one."

"That wasn't your choice. That's what Hydra made you do." Emma told him confidently, but Bucky didn't buy it.

"You've seen all the bad parts of me. All the evil things I've ever done." Bucky said, sounding incredibly lost and confused. "Steve's seen all the good, so I get why he cares but you…you loved me even when you had only seen the evil. I never gave you a reason to love me, yet you did." Emma didn't seem bothered by his statement in the least bit. She just smiled.

"I always knew you cared about me. Deep down." Emma told him truthfully. "You never said it, but I knew it from the littlest things you did. The way you brushed your fingers through my hair when you thought I was asleep. The way you lied to protect me. All the time we spent training out in the forest together and how you held me close when it was too cold, so I wouldn't freeze." Emma paused briefly before she continued.

"I think there was a tiny part of Bucky Barnes hidden inside the Winter Soldier all that time and that's why I loved you." Emma told him, and Bucky looked away from her. It was only then that she noticed the tears spilling from his eyes. It had been hard to see in the darkness but now Emma could see him and his tears. She frowned.

"Are you crying, Papa?" Emma asked in both surprise and concern. She had never seen her father cry before. Not even once. The sight of her father crying really worried her.

"This is all my fault." Bucky told her, referring to what she had confessed to him and Steve earlier. "I was so selfish."

"What are you talking about, Papa?" Emma asked him, and Bucky sniffled. She was still bewildered at this emotional side of her father. It was something she never thought was possible.

"I was too selfish and evil to let you go." Bucky admitted to her. "I should've helped you escape years ago but I didn't want you to leave. I didn't want to be alone. You were the only light I had seen in years and I didn't want to be without you."

"Papa, I wouldn't have left anyways. Not without you." Emma told him as she gazed up at him, tears flooding her own eyes. "I didn't want to be without you either. You were like a light to me too."

"It doesn't matter. I should've let you go because maybe if I did that sick bastard wouldn't have done that to you." Bucky told her, feeling like a complete and utter failure. "But no, I was so selfish that I couldn't bear to lose you. I just wanted to keep you there no matter the cost and look what happened to you."

"I already told you that I never would've left, Papa." Emma said as she then wrapped her arms around him but unlike the times when she was a child, he didn't push her away. He just buried his face in her hair. "Remember what I used to tell you? Partners forever and then a year." Bucky laughed sadly at the familiar words. Words that he hadn't heard in years.

"I never deserved you." Her father said sadly, and Emma just shook her head as she held onto him.

"Yes, you do." Emma replied as she then pulled away a bit, so she could look at him. She noticed that her father looked just like he did the day she first met him. The same long brown hair, the same pale blue eyes, and the same face that she had grown to love. He had looked colder, more robotic, back then but not anymore.

When Emma was a little girl she had always thought he looked like a Disney prince. She used to wonder how handsome he must've looked when he smiled or laughed. Before Emma considered him to be her father, she had always dreamed about marrying him which now seemed ridiculous and gross, but she knew it was only because he was the first person she had ever loved. Granted she didn't understand the difference back then between the love you felt for a father and the love you felt for a lover. She had been so little, after all, but she had always loved him.

Her father had never beaten her to a bloody pulp or called her names…he had only cared about her even if it was in the smallest of ways. Her father had considered her to be like a light to him in that base, but she looked at him the same way. Even though her life at Hydra had been filled with pain and horror, Emma never considered it completely bad because at least she had her father. She didn't think she would ever wish away her time at Hydra because that would mean wishing away her father. Emma would never wish him away. He was the first person that had ever loved her since the death of her parents and he was the first person she had ever loved in return. She loved Steve and Peter too, but her father was the first one.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." Her father told her, and she just kissed him softly on the cheek, his stubble slightly scratching her lips, before she pulled away. Emma snuggled against him like she used to when she was little. She always pretended to be cold, so he would let her, and he would always pretend like he didn't know she was lying.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." Emma told him even though Bucky felt like it was. However, he knew better than to tell her this. It was obvious to him that she was the one who needed the comforting. Not him.

"I won't let him touch you ever again." Bucky promised her, his voice dead serious. "I'll make sure he dies a very painful and long death. He'll regret the day he hurt you. I promise." Emma just held onto him, basking in his familiar scent and embrace.

"Spasibo, Papa." Emma told him softly in Russian because this was normal for them. She had killed for him numerous times in the past and he had done the same for her. There wasn't a bond that was anything like theirs. She knew he would kill for her again because he could tell that she was scared and in pain. There wasn't anything that Bucky wouldn't do for her.

"Vse dlya tebya, Malen'kaya." Her father murmured, and Emma pulled away once more from her. She bit her lip nervously and he gave her a curious look.

"Do you think we can sleep now?" Emma asked him hesitantly. "I'm just tired. I can barely keep my eyes open." The expression on her father's face softened as he looked down at her and noticed that she did, in fact, look exhausted.

"Of course. You've had a very long day." Her father told her, and Emma smiled softly. He then moved away as Emma laid back against the bed, her father making sure her head was resting comfortably against the pillows. He pulled one of the blankets over her, making sure she wasn't too cold. Emma gave him a fearful look as he stood above her.

"Are you going to leave?" She asked, her voice full of fear at the prospect of him leaving her alone. She didn't want to be alone. Not now. Her father just smiled down at her.

"Never again." He said softly as he then laid down next to her and Emma felt like a child again. She smiled in satisfaction as she rested her head against her father's chest.

"I missed you." Emma told him as they laid there in the darkness and suddenly it was like they were somewhere else. They could've been in that forest in Siberia for all she knew because it was just like it was then. Emma had been frightened things would be different between them now. They had spent all those years killing and inflicting chaos that she hadn't been sure if they could be the same now that they were out of Hydra. However, Emma realized that she was wrong. It was never all the killing and pain that made her father and her close. It was the love they both had for each other. The bond. Emma still loved her father as much as she did then, and she could tell he felt the same way.

"I've missed you too." He told her as he wiped the still wet tears from her face. It was then that he gave her more words of comfort. Words that made her safe enough to finally fall into a long and peaceful sleep.

"Know this, Malen'kaya. You can sleep knowing that as long as I'm here no one will ever hurt you again. I'll keep you safe." Her father told her comfortingly and Emma felt safe at his words. She believed him.

Emma didn't respond to his words as she finally allowed herself to close her eyes, finally feeling at peace after so long. They didn't tell each other they loved one and other because that just wasn't them. They didn't need to say it. Emma and Bucky both knew how they felt. There was no doubt about it. Emma was eventually lulled to sleep by her father's heartbeat. Bucky watched her sleep as he tried memorizing all the features on her face. It was so odd seeing her like this now. He had always had the image of a little girl whenever he tried to picture her in his head but now she looked more like a woman.

Bucky allowed a smile to form across his face as he watched the peaceful and carefree look on her face as she slept. For the first time in forever, he finally felt happy. Despite the lingering anger and pain, he felt at what happened to that same little girl he loved so much, he allowed himself to just be happy that he was here with her. They would deal with everything that came with Emma's confession in the morning. For now, he could just sleep, knowing that she was right in front of him. With that, Bucky's eyes fluttered shut as he also soon fell asleep next to Emma.

A father finally reunited with his daughter.

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 **Another Author's Note: I just wanted to let you guys know real quick that I intentionally didn't write a conversation between Emma and Peter this chapter talking about the fact that their parents met each other. They have a lot on their minds right now but they'll have that conversation very soon. Emma just needed to focus on telling Steve and Bucky the truth while Peter also was just so terrified of Bucky that he probably just momentarily forgot.**

 **Translations:**

Маленький/Malen'kaya: Little One

спасибо/spasibo: Thank you

Что-нибудь для вас/Vse dlya tebya: Anything for you


	77. Chapter Seventy

**Author's Note: So this chapter came out sooner than expected. I actually didn't start writing it until about two days ago so this was a really fast chapter for me. It's a little shorter than the previous couple and it's also a filler chapter. There was just a few things that needed to be talked about between the characters in this chapter and I also felt the need to add some fluff since Steve and Bucky have been away for so long. So not much happens in this chapter but I promise more will happen in the next couple.**

 **There's not much Tony in the chapter either but we'll see more with him and maybe even Wanda over the next couple chapters. Shuri's also not in this chapter. This chapter mainly contains Emma, Steve, Bucky, and Peter. Some Darcy in here too.**

 **So I also just want to dedicate this chapter to Wong, my dear sweet rescue guinea pig I adopted almost two years ago who I named after Wong from Doctor Strange. My poor little piggy died unexpectedly last week and it really broke my heart because I loved him so much (still do, of course) which is why it took me a few days before I could start writing again. I didn't want my sadness to affect the story. I love him and miss him so much. Rest in Peace, Wong.**

 **I know some people last chapter were concerned that there was going to be drama between Emma, Peter, and Shuri over the jealousy last chapter but there isn't. Usually when there's a jealous Emma, it's for comedic effect because I think a jealous Emma is the most hilarious thing ever. There's definitely going to be a lot of jealous Emma in this chapter although nothing to do with Shuri. There's this really cute moment with Steve and Bucky where they realize that they're dealing with a teenage girl instead of a former assassin. I hope you guys really like that moment because it's my favorite part that I wrote in the whole chapter.**

 **Asterion98 and BabyPinkPuppy: I'll just answer both of your questions together since they're basically the same. Bucky kind of explains the reason why he was so rude to Peter in this chapter so I won't fully explain. I'll just let the chapter do the talking but I never said that Bucky hated Peter. Peter said Bucky hated him because he was being dramatic.**

 **Other than the reason in the chapter, Bucky was probably annoyed by someone interrupting time he could be spending with Emma. I think after spending so long away from her, he just wants them to catch up and it probably annoyed him that Peter interrupted him. It was also kind of for comedic effect too. I just thought it would be hilarious to see that kind of first meeting between Bucky and Peter. All I'm going to say is that Bucky and Steve will probably have different reactions to Emma's relationship with Peter when they do find out.**

 **p** **lumsforbucky: I actually had that moment with Emma and Bucky, where he's super proud of her for the knife thing, planned for a long time. I guess because I have such a dark sense of humor. Emma and Bucky would definitely be that kind of father and daughter to do something like that.**

 **Another random account: There will definitely be more Tony and Peter moments in the future. I know there hasn't been a lot of them in the past many chapters but I promise there will be more.**

 **We'll definitely be seeing a little bit of the Avengers finding out about Emma's rape in this chapter but we'll see a lot more of it in next couple chapters. Stuff that probably involves, Tony, Natasha, Clint, and Wanda who I feel(other than Steve and Bucky) are the most impacted over this news.**

 **extremeninja09: I'll just say that Emma's not going to be in the arena during Thor: Raganrok. However, if you want more details you can PM anytime you want. You just need to let me know whether or not you want spoilers because sometimes people will ask me for details but not want spoilers and it's also very confusing for me. I've just learned to be more specific with asking about spoilers.**

 **AlexandriaTheGreat09: There will possibly be more Okoye next chapter. Shuri's not in this chapter either but I know for a fact that she'll be in the next one. Michelle and Ned might be coming up as well although I'm not sure if they'll be in the next chapter or the one after yet. I'm not that far ahead yet.**

 **alleya02: There will definitely be no drama with Peter, Emma, and Shuri. I'm not doing the pretty female character trying to steal the other female character's boyfriend storyline again. I feel like I've already done that with Betty so I'm not doing that again and I also love Shuri way too much to do that. I also feel like she's more concerned with her work than boys right now anyways. The only time we will see a jealous Emma will usually be for humor. It won't be serious. Well, there is a seriously jealous Emma in this chapter but it has nothing to do with Peter.**

 **Abigail Z: Thank you for the kind review! I know I haven't updated Rose Garden Dreams and Dry Bite in a while. I want to update Dry Bite soon since the chapter's aren't as long as the ones in STNS but I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. I'm just so busy with one usually.**

 **Mariia: Thank you for the helpful advice. I'm going to apply those changes to the previous chapter once I finish updating this one. I use google translate which I know messes things up so thanks. I really appreciate your help.**

 **Key: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much. I've thought a little about how Emma and Thanos will interact. I've said throughout the story how Emma's has a very different take on how she sees the world versus the other Avengers. She doesn't really believe in good and evil which is why she sees some of the logic behind people like Loki or even Vulture for instance. She can kind of see their point and I think she'll see Thanos's point in trying to prolong everyone's lives by wiping out half the population. The greater good thing. However, she still knows it's wrong even though she sees the logic so she'll still try and stop him with the others(I really don't think I'm giving anything away here in terms of spoilers). I can also see her questioning his logic. Like at some point telling Thanos, "Why not double the resources instead of wiping out half the population?"**

 **Emma also kind of has a weird fascination with villains. She kind of really did have a weird crush on Loki and she's completely fascinated by him even though he killed a ton of people. So when they do finally meet she's not going to hate him for what he did which in turn will fascinate Loki. I can also see her being fascinated by Hela. Emma's a feminist when it comes to female villains. She probably thinks the world doesn't have enough of them. Lol. But I can also see Thanos kind of seeing similarities between her and Gamora because her and Gamora do have a lot in common, after all. Emma will definitely like Gamora and Nebula although I'm not sure how she'll feel about guys like Peter Quill or Doctor Strange. I already have a couple of funny nicknames I can see her giving Doctor Strange in the future. Sorry for all the rambling.**

 **ChanceToBeImmortal: There's not going be very many chapters until the reveal of Emma and Peter's relationship which I'm excited for. It's not in this chapter and I don't want to give away when but it's not far away either.**

 **Guest: That scene where she shoves T'Challa aside to get to Bucky has been in my head forever. Classic Emma.**

 **anonanon: Bucky's definitely going to have a different take on Peter than Steve. That's for sure.**

 **I'm not fluent in Russian which is why there might be wrong translations. I won't know until someone tells me. I think I mentioned towards the beginning of the story that I'm not fluent in many of the languages I use in this story which is why I use google translate. I'm also not sure which version of the Russian language to use. Whether it's the one you mentioned which I originally didn't know if I should use since it's a different alphabet or the other one which makes it easier to kind of sound it out in your head(at least, for me). I'd really like to know since I don't want to offend anyone. I didn't think it was that big of a deal since I didn't use a whole lot of Russian last chapter. I have to be honest that I'm not going to understand a lot of what you mean when you talk about the formal or informal version. I took a bit of French in high school but Russian was never even an option. Like I said, I'm not fluent but I'll try and do better in the future. I only use Russian in the first place because I try and make the story as realistic as possible since Emma spent many years in Russia with Bucky.**

 **I'm more than likely never going to include Ghost in my story. I never like to say never but I really don't see it happening. There's already so many characters in this story and I also feel like I didn't get enough info on her from the movie to do her any justice in here.**

 **JustJoyce: The bit with the knife was included because of my dark humor so no worries.**

 **mac2406: You mean sadly, right? I'd like to think people won't think this story ends badly when it does eventually end. Lol. No, I already know it's not going to end sadly. There will definitely be sad parts within it but it's going to have a sad ending because this is fanfiction and I can write a happy ending if I want to. This story is kind of an escape from a lot of original and real novels whose authors make the artistic decision for a sad ending which I get but sometimes I really do hold out for a happy ending so this story will have a happy ending when it does end. No worries.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. Sorry if I didn't answer all the reviews but I'm just super tired and want to sleep. I just wanted to post the new chapter before I do go to sleep. I did, however, read all the reviews so thanks for taking the time to write them. I really appreciate it. Let me know what you guys think of the new chapter.**

* * *

There was a certain kind of silence that filled the room after Steve spoke. All the Avengers and even Peter, but excluding Fury and Maria, were packed inside one of the newly fixed conference rooms as Steve held another meeting the next morning. Everyone had been confused at first as to just what the meeting was about, but Steve had informed them that it was something that was in urgent need of discussing. It didn't escape everyone's notice that the only two missing from the meeting were Emma and Bucky. There were some others that had stayed in the lab but for the most part everyone was there. Even T'Challa.

However, everyone soon realized that what Steve had to share wasn't good news. It was actually the worst kind of news. Something that hurt everyone to their core because it was true, after all. Emma Rogers _was_ the Avengers' greatest weakness. Steve had a sad, guilt ridden look on his face as he stood there at the head of the table, barely able to look his teammates in the eyes. Everyone else had a combination of shock, anger, sadness, and guilt on their faces yet no one spoke a word.

"Anyways…I think she's right in a way. Rumlow would've tried to use it to his advantage and catch us off guard with that information." Steve said quietly and no one had seen the Captain look as broken as he did in that moment. "Which is why we both thought it was important to inform everyone." Well, that wasn't entirely true. Steve had wanted to keep this private for her sake but Emma was the one who had insisted.

"She would've done it herself but as you can understand, she's not in the best of places right now. I should also ask you to treat her like you normally would. I don't think she would appreciate any more change right this instant." Steve finished and there was still not a peep from anyone. It was silent in the room but at the same time the room was filled with a certain kind of sadness as well.

Sam stared at an intricate pattern in the table, a look of disbelief on his face as he went over everything Steve said once more. He tried to put the pieces together but failed time and time again. Wanda had a guilty look on her face because she knew and had lied to Steve all this time. She suddenly wished that she hadn't but she had felt so guilty over what she had done to Emma in the past that the teenage girl could've told her to do anything and Wanda would've done it. Vision gave the brunette a sympathetic look as he squeezed her hand comfortingly, a gesture he had seen Peter Parker do to Emma Rogers numerous times when the teenage girl was sad.

Rhodey and T'Challa shared similar looks of shock and anger on their faces. Rhodey because he finally understood why the blonde had always been so secretive and distant all these years, the explanation only pissing him off but it wasn't her he was mad at. T'Challa felt angry because although he didn't know Emma that much, she happened to be the same age as his sister who he loved dearly. T'Challa wasn't sure what he would do if someone ever hurt Shuri like that. Maybe, just maybe, he'd let vengeance consume him just like what he promised himself he would never do.

Clint Barton sat there in shock as he stared down at his hands, trying to understand what he had been told. He had felt guilty for the past seventeen years of his life. Ever since he had cut himself off from Margot for juvenile reasons. However, this seemed to strengthen his guilt because Clint felt like he hadn't done enough to help Emma. Saving her from Hydra hadn't been enough and sparing her of the knowledge of how he treated her family wasn't enough either. Margot would be so disappointed in him if she could see him right now.

Natasha sat next to Clint in silence as well as she tried to process this information. She couldn't help but blame herself. Why hadn't she seen it? Why hadn't she seen the signs? The signs were all around her yet Natasha had never seen them. The distance Emma kept herself at…the defensiveness and anger. All the nightmares. Natasha just hadn't seen it at the time and she was disappointed in herself because she should've known. She should've tried to help the young girl who at times reminded Natasha a lot of herself. The blonde then looked up from across the table to notice the same strange teenage boy from the day before. The one who made Emma laugh and the one who Emma called her friend. There was a certain expression of anger and darkness on his face as Steve told everyone the news they hadn't been expecting but she didn't see a trace of surprise on his face. There was no shock or disbelief on his face. Just anger. Natasha couldn't help but find this very suspicious despite the situation.

Lastly, there was Tony Stark. Tony who was staring into space with a lost look on his face. There was no sign of anger or sadness but just a look on his face that seemed to say that he didn't know where he was but deep down there was a deep ache in his chest. An ache at the thought of a little girl, who had the same eyes and hair as her father, in so much pain. He still remembered when she was a little baby. The one Steven Jr. used to hold in his arms and shower with affection and love. To learn that the same little girl had also been raped by that fucking creep was too much for Tony to bear. The guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders because despite all of Emma's reassurances, he was also to blame. They all were. For not finding her fast enough or for him to have spent every night drowning his sorrows with booze and women while Hydra had already kidnapped her and locked her inside a cold dark room. But there was no going back and changing it. It was already done.

"Why did she never say anything?" Sam asked in a broken voice, the first one to speak. Natasha only scoffed before shaking her head.

"Why do you think, Wilson? She was obviously ashamed and scared." Natasha said bitterly, still reeling from the fact that she hadn't noticed anything off about Emma. If she had then maybe she could've helped her.

"I do not understand why she would feel ashamed." Vision mused aloud but still seemed rather sad and hurt by this news. "The man who hurt her should feel ashamed."

"I don't think any one of us are qualified to dig through the trauma of a victim of…sexual abuse." Rhodey said quietly. Hoping there wouldn't be any more discussion on why Emma hid things from them. That's not what they should be debating right now and Rhodey knew that none of them had any experience in that field. Discussing why Emma hid everything from them wasn't going to help a single person right now. There were other things they had to discuss about her instead. Like what this would mean in the grand scheme of things.

"How did we not know this?" Clint asked as he looked around the room for an explanation. Everyone assumed he was so upset by this news because he had children of his own. "I thought Bruce did a medical exam on her when we rescued her from the Hydra base. Wouldn't he have found something like this?" Natasha sighed heavily.

"He would've found signs of sexual abuse if he had done a full and thorough exam." The former spy explained. "He was going to but Emma started freaking out so we decided to leave it at that. We thought she just didn't like being poked and prodded with needles. God, we were so stupid."

"I should've had him do it anyways." Steve said quietly, seeming disappointed in himself.

Peter frowned at the look on Captain America's face. Deep down, the teenage boy felt a bit guilty for knowing everything about Emma but never saying anything. Maybe he should've told Tony because from the way they were talking, it sounded like they weren't just worried about Emma's health but her mental health. Peter had never considered Emma's mental health to be at risk but he wasn't completely stupid. After Emma told him that she had been raped, Peter looked up the trauma surrounding victims of rape. Especially children who been sexually abused so Peter knew that Emma wasn't just okay after that but he also knew that it meant a lot that she even trusted him enough to tell him in the first place so he never pushed her too much.

Peter had been arrogant enough to believe that maybe he was all she needed to help her through what happened but he could see that he was being stupid. Emma and his relationship had been a lot better after she told him about the rape. They had a lot more honesty in their relationship but that didn't mean the trauma she carried with her from the rape was magically cured. Peter knew this because most of the nights he slept in bed with her, he was woken up by her crying as well as her tossing and turning in her sleep. Sometimes when they were fooling around, she'd get scared and beg him to stop which always scared him in return. It didn't happen all the time but it still happened enough which had given Peter some pause when she told him that she was ready for sex. Peter was now wondering if he should've told Tony about Emma a long time but he didn't want to betray Emma's trust. He didn't want her to hate him for telling. Maybe Peter had been too selfish and he hadn't considered what was best for her.

"She would've just tried to attack him or scream at him until he stopped." Natasha told him. "Forcing her to do anything wouldn't have helped anyone." Tony looked up from the table, stepping into the conversation for the first time since it started. He swallowed hard before speaking. The question he was about to ask was unsettling but he knew that he had to ask…he had to know.

"Do we know how often he did this?" Tony asked quietly and everyone turned to stare at him. "Was he doing this for years or…" Tony never said the exact word but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Everyone knew what he meant. They all seemed a bit more sick at the thought of Rumlow sexually abusing Emma for years, some of them didn't even want to think about it, but they had to know. Steve just felt stupid for not asking Emma the day before. He had just been taken by surprise that he didn't even think to ask her something like that. When no one answered Tony's question, Peter took it upon himself to do so.

"He did it once before he left to go to D.C. to help with Project Insight." Peter said quietly, not looking any of the Avengers in the face as he spoke. "She told me it was the first and only time but he promised to come back for her and take her with him so I assume that would've done it again." Everyone stared at the teenage boy in shock and even Tony seemed surprised at the kid's answer. Not so much because of what he said but the fact that he knew anything at all. Although Tony didn't think he could be that surprised. Mini Cap and the kid were very close, after all. Natasha gave the boy a curious look because she was right about before. The boy hadn't been surprised because he already knew. Natasha found it curious that Emma would ever tell this boy such a dark secret when she hadn't even told Steve or Barnes. This was very curious.

"You knew?!" Rhodey asked in disbelief, his eyes narrowing at the teenager who looked up at him in surprise. "You knew all this time and you never said anything?!" Peter shrank back in his seat, unused to being yelled at and by Rhodey of all people. Sure, Mr. Stark had yelled at him on a few occasions but never any of the other Avengers.

"S-She only told me a few months ago." Peter said weakly and this seemed to piss Rhodey off more. The other Avengers couldn't really be angry with the boy since they weren't here during all that time.

"A few months ago?! Well, that would've been nice to know during all that time Hydra was knocking at our door." Rhodey said bitterly as he continued to glare at the guilty looking teenage boy. "It would've been nice to know that Hydra just didn't want her back because of her abilities but because some sick fuck wants to get his hands on her too." Tony glared at his best friend, immediately coming to the kid's defense.

"Give the kid a break!" Tony snapped and Rhodey looked at him in surprise. Peter just looked between the two adults anxiously. "He was just honoring her trust. We all know how hard it is to get Emma's trust. He was just trying to do what's best for her."

"He wasn't the only one who knew." Wanda said quietly, a guilty expression on her face as everyone turned to look at her. She slowly looked up from the table, meeting Steve's eyes. "All that time ago, when I planted those things inside your minds…when I was with Ultron…I looked inside her mind and saw everything." Everyone stared at the brunette in surprise and even Vision was surprised because Wanda had never told him this either. She hadn't told anyone except for Pietro after she had done it but Pietro was dead and had been for years.

"I regretted doing it the moment I did it." Wanda said sadly as she confessed everything to them. "I've never met anyone who was in as much pain as she was. Her mind was a dark and sad place filled with so much pain and suffering. I saw Rumlow there…I saw what he did to her."

"I didn't understand it at first because he was in the form of a wolf. A wolf that was eating her alive but then I looked further into her mind and realized what it meant." Wanda said as the tears pooled inside her blue eyes. Peter looked down at the table because he couldn't imagine what that was like. Hearing Emma talk about what Rumlow did to her was enough to cause him pain but he couldn't really imagine what looking inside her mind was like and seeing everything firsthand. Peter didn't know if he could do that. He might actually break the promise he made to Emma about not killing Rumlow if he ever saw something like that.

"Her mind tries to protect itself from bad memories but if you look far enough, the memories start to show their true forms."

"I'm so sorry, Steve. I know I should've told you." Wanda said as tears fell from her eyes and Vision gave her hand another comforting squeeze. Steve just nodded with a sad look on his face.

"I know, Wanda. Emma told me that you knew and that she made you promise not to tell." Steve said and although he was a bit annoyed that Wanda never said anything he also understood why she hadn't. She already felt bad enough for violating Emma's mind that she was willing to do anything to make it up to Emma. Emma had used Wanda's guilt to her advantage. "I understand."

"There's things I never said that I think I should say now." Peter announced as everyone turned back to look at him. He blushed from the attention but continued anyways. "All those months ago when Volkov killed himself, he might've said something a bit different than just that Hydra wanted Emma back." Tony gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about? I thought that's what you two said that he told you." Tony stated, seeming very confused, and Peter gulped nervously before answering.

"Well, it is but we kind of just left out the fact that he also said that Rumlow wanted her back too." Peter admitted and Tony groaned as he ran his hands over his face.

"Jesus, Kid! This too?" Tony said in annoyance at the fact that there was yet another thing that Peter had kept from everyone. Peter, however, didn't sink back in his seat this time. He crossed his arms and looked at Tony defiantly.

"She told me not to say anything!" Peter argued and Sam gave the boy a look of disbelief. What was wrong with this kid? Did Emma have this kid under some kind of spell or something? Because it sounded like this kid granted her every wish and command.

"So what? You just do everything Emma tells you to do?" Sam questioned as he narrowed his eyes at the teenager. "If she tells you to jump off a bridge will you do that too?" Tony sighed as he stepped in from there before a fight could ensue between the kid and Sam.

"We're not mad, Peter." Tony told him as he tried to think calming thoughts. "We understand that you were trying to honor her trust but we just would've liked to have known these things a little sooner so that we could give Mini Cap more protection." Peter huffed as he gave Tony a stubborn look.

"I can protect her. I was protecting her just fine the other night when everyone else was gone. She's always been safe with me. Always." Peter stated but there was something hidden in his voice. Something that might've escaped everyone else's attention but not Natasha's.

Natasha was fairly confident that she knew what was going on now. The lovestruck look on the boy's face was enough to tell her that. Either she was completely crazy or there was something definitely going on here. Natasha was willing to bet that it was more than just a crush since Emma had even managed to tell this boy her deepest, most darkest secret. The former Russian spy also thought back to the odd conversation the two had in D.C. all that time ago when Emma had asked her about how people like them could love someone. Everything suddenly started to make sense and Natasha was positive that she knew what was going on. Although Steve was oblivious to all of it as he gave the young boy a look of appreciation and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"And we all appreciate the fact that you've looked out for her so well. We really do." Steve told the boy softly as he tried to give the boy some comfort. Mostly because the boy happened to be a good friend of Emma's but also because he was so young. He just thought he was doing what was right for Emma by keeping her secrets. The boy clearly hadn't wanted to lose Emma's trust but sometimes, and Steve knew this best, you couldn't always do what Emma wanted. What Emma wanted wasn't always what was best for her.

"So thank you for that, son. But now we need to figure out what's next or what this could mean." Steve said as then moved away from Peter and looked at all his teammates. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Peter fought the urge to smile at the way Emma's grandfather had called him "son". What did that mean? Did he just say that to everyone or did that mean that Captain America liked him now? Peter really hoped that it meant that Captain America liked him. At least one of Emma's guardians liked him because her father sure as hell seemed to hate his guts for some reason.

"Do you think that this will change things?" T'Challa inquired curiously, speaking up for the first time. Steve nodded solemnly.

"I believe so." Steve said before explaining. "Before we just thought Hydra wanted Emma back for her abilities like Bucky said. Now, however, I think it's Rumlow who wants her back the most but I don't think it's just for her powers."

"He was obsessed with Margot." Clint said quietly and everyone stared at him in surprise. He, like T'Challa, had also been remarkably quiet during all of this. "Margot said they dated in high school but it was just some high school fling that ended not long after it began. She didn't join Shield until after she finished college but she said one day when she was training, he had just showed up. He said it was a coincidence but I don't think that was true."

"You're saying that because he dated her mom in high school, the same woman he murdered years later, that now he's obsessed with Emma too?" Sam asked in disbelief and Clint looked deadly serious.

"You weren't there, Sam. The guy was a creep even back then. He was always lurking around somewhere…eavesdropping. He hated Steven's guts and he tried to get Margot and Steven in trouble when he found out that they were having a baby." Steve raised an eyebrow at that. He wasn't aware that Clint had known his son well enough to be on a first name basis with him. Natasha shook her head at her friend.

"That doesn't make any sense, Clint. Emma doesn't even look like her mother." Natasha told him, remembering a picture she had once found in Clint's house of the former Shield agent. Wanda huffed.

"This man is insane and sick enough to rape a thirteen year old girl. I don't believe he thinks logically about anything." She told Natasha because Wanda knew the version of Rumlow she had seen in Emma's head. She knew the things Rumlow had whispered in the poor girl's ear and she knew how he thought about her.

Steve flinched every time he heard those terms. Rape, sexual abuse, and even sexual assault…he still was trying to accept the fact that his granddaughter, his own flesh and blood, had been raped and there was nothing Steve could've done to stop it. He couldn't go back in time to change things and he couldn't take all her pain and suffering away. Steve wished more than anything that he could. He'd literally give anything to take away all the pain and suffering Emma had been through in her life but he knew none of that was possible. It was all in the past now so he just had to find a way to protect her in the future and ensure Rumlow never gets his hands on her again.

"Which is all the more reason why she needs to be under more protection." Steve stated as he stood there in front of everyone. "We now know that Emma is both Hydra and Rumlow's main focus. This means that she's our top priority right now." Steve briefly paused as a serious look appeared on his face at what he was about to say next.

"Every time they launch an attack, a group of us will go and lend our help in fighting Hydra's forces. But at the same time, a group of us has to remain here so we can ensure that she's not taken." Steve said, presenting himself in full Captain mode once more. "Bucky's right. Every single move Hydra makes in the future is so that they can catch us off guard and take Emma. We just have to ensure that never happens. She should never be alone." Tony nodded.

"Our defenses are almost all the way back up, Cap. We should be good to go in a day or two." Tony told him, sounding more confident than he had the day before. "Besides…we're all here now and I'm pretty sure the Manchurian Candidate's not about to leave Mini Cap's side anytime soon."

"So what now?" Wanda asked Steve and the super soldier sighed heavily.

"I was about to head down to one of the interrogations rooms to see if we can get anything out of Collins." Steve said before looking over at Clint and Sam. "Barton. Sam. You up for this?"

"Yeah, sure. I kind of want to see the damage Em did to this guy up close." Sam joked as he stood up from the table and Clint smirked.

"I'll see if we can't get anything out of him, Cap." Clint said as he also got up from the table. Natasha pouted in her seat next to Clint's now vacant one.

"Not me too? Steve, I'm hurt." Natasha said and Steve gave her a slightly amused look, taking a break from his inner thoughts of guilt and anger.

"I have a feeling the last thing this guy wants to see right now is the Black Widow after his ordeal with the Viper Assassin." Steve told her and Natasha just smirked at him. Tony cleared his throat as he feigned his usual carefree look but it was clear that the news at the meeting had devastated him. Tony Stark wasn't as great of a liar as he thought..

"Well, it's back to the lab for me. All the resident nerds are waiting for us in there." Tony glanced over at Peter. "Come on, kid. That means you too."

"Of course, Mr. Stark." Peter said as he immediately got up from the table and followed his mentor to the door. He glanced in back of him to look at Emma's grandfather, wanting to catch his eye or something but the blonde man didn't look his way. He seemed preoccupied with other things. Peter felt a bit sad at not having more of a chance of talking to Emma's grandfather but he knew that the man had a lot of things on his mind at the moment. Peter, however, didn't notice Natasha's amused gaze on him as he walked out the door behind Tony. Natasha knew there was definitely something very romantic going on between Emma and the boy. She just couldn't wait to confront the teenage girl about it. Maybe it would be good…maybe a little romance around here would take their minds off everything. Natasha could kind of even see what Emma might see in the boy or at least from the perspective of a teenage girl. The boy was really cute, after all. One thing Natasha did know for sure was that she was going to have one hell of a time teasing Emma about this.

* * *

"I drew this one of you, Papa." Emma pointed out as she showed her father one of her many sketchbooks. They were both sitting on the floor of her bedroom, their backs against the bed as Emma told him about every part of her life since they had been apart. Things had been quite peaceful between them since the night before. She could sense that her father was in a lot of pain, still probably reeling from the news Emma told him, but he was remarkably quiet. Almost like the old days. She could tell that he had a lot on his mind but he didn't talk about it. Emma supposed that he had questions but he was too afraid to ask. He wasn't ready for answers now but maybe he would be soon enough.

Emma had also managed to clean up her room from the aftermath of the explosion that morning although she had a little help from her father. It kind of surprised her to see her father do something so mundane as helping her clean but she still enjoyed it. Bucky's eyes fell on the drawing Emma was pointing at and it was a beautifully done charcoal drawing of the both of them from their days at Hydra. Bucky could see himself in full Winter Soldier gear, the mask and goggles and everything, with a small, seven year old version of Emma balanced on his hip as he held her in his arms. It was a beautifully drawn picture but Bucky always hated the Winter Soldier. He just couldn't understand how Emma could draw the Winter Soldier as something so beautiful when in reality he was so ugly.

"You're such a talented artist, Malen'kaya" Bucky murmured as he continued to stare at the picture sadly. Emma frowned when she saw the look on his face.

"You don't like it?" Emma asked him, sounding hurt and Bucky immediately shook his head. That wasn't what he meant, at all.

"No, I-I do like it." Bucky told her, sounding unsure of himself as he then hurriedly explained his reaction to her. "I just don't understand how you can draw the Winter Soldier with such beauty. The Winter Soldier was a monster."

"Not to me." Emma said, sounding very sure of herself as she told him this. "I knew you when you were the Winter Soldier but I saw the Bucky Barnes in you too. I love you both. I'll always accept every part of you. Do you think you can accept every part of me even though I was a monster too?" Bucky looked at her in disbelief.

"You're not a monster, Emma. You never were." He told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Do you think you can accept all the bad parts about me…all the bad things I've done?" Emma asked him and Bucky's gaze softened as he looked down at her.

"Of course." Bucky said softly and Emma just looked back at him, a look of pure love and admiration in her eyes. Bucky never understood why she had always looked up to him so much…why she looked at him like some sort of role model. She had always followed him around and Bucky had never really known why.

"No one will ever understand you like I do." Emma told him sincerely and Bucky knew she was right. Not even Steve could ever understand him. "No one will ever understand me either…not like you." It was true in a way too. Emma had Peter but she knew that Peter would never completely understand everything in her past. He could look past it and not judge her for any of her actions but he wouldn't be able to understand her like her father did.

"Show me another picture." Bucky told her to change the subject. Emma just smiled happily as she flipped the page and showed him all of her artwork. She had drawn a lot of different people which included a lot of drawings of Steve but also other interesting drawings. One of which depicted Tony Stark being eaten alive by a giant snake. Not all of them were of people though. There were some pictures she had drawn of places…things. Some looked quite peaceful and tranquil while there were others that looked darker…scarier. However, there was one picture in particular that captured Bucky's eye. It was another charcoal drawing but this time it wasn't of him. It was a drawing of someone, a boy, fast asleep on a bed next to a window which showed the light from the moon streaming in. What gave Bucky some pause was the fact that the drawing of the sleeping boy had such detail attached to it. Bucky also thought that he might've seen the boy before but he wasn't sure why. There was something familiar about the boy in the drawing but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Who's this?" Bucky asked her and Emma immediately blushed when she realized he was staring at the drawing she had done of Peter forever ago which also happened to be the winning piece for the art showcase. Emma immediately flipped the page to a less suspicious picture she had done of a snake trying to murder Betty Brant.

"Oh, that was nothing, Papa. Just something I saw in a movie once." Emma hurriedly explained and Bucky narrowed his eyes at the nervous look on her face. He had never known her to be a nervous person.

"Right…" Bucky said, not completely sure if he believed her and he was about to question her about it more when Steve walked into the room. Emma immediately set her sketchbook down to give Steve her full attention.

"So…how did everyone take it?" Emma asked as Steve leaned against her bookshelf. Steve had a grim look on his face before answering.

"Not well as you can imagine but we're working through it." Steve said although the expression on his face softened a bit once he looked at Emma. "I am glad that you told me. You know that, right? I'm proud that you did." Emma shrugged like she didn't care even though she did.

"I should've done it a long time ago." Emma said quietly and her father just wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. Steve then gave his granddaughter a rather curious look when he remembered something else from the meeting.

"That boy…the one you said you're friends with. Peter. He said that you told him about this." Steve said and her father looked at her in surprise. Emma chewed on the side of her cheek anxiously, afraid that she might've hurt her father and Steve's feelings somehow. She took a deep breath before she started to explain herself to them. She didn't want them to think that they weren't as important to her as Peter was because that wasn't true at all.

"I-I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about how I could tell this boy something about myself that I never even told the two of you." Emma stated before she looked at her father and then glanced at Steve. "It's just that…I was going through a lot in that period of time. The nightmares were getting bad and I just couldn't deal with it alone anymore. I needed to talk to someone about it so I confided in Peter because I knew that I could trust him." Steve nodded in understanding because he suddenly understood why Emma confided in a boy he barely knew. It was because she was lonely and just needed someone to talk to. Steve understood but he felt guilty that he wasn't around for her to talk to.

"It's okay, Emma. I get it." Steve said and Emma was just relieved that he didn't seem hurt by this news. "I'm just glad you had someone you could confide in while we were gone."

"What's with that kid, anyways?" Bucky muttered as he glared at the floor. Both Steve and Emma looked at him in surprise. "Ever since I've got here, he's just always trying to insert himself in every little conversation."

"You only spoke to him for like, five minutes." Emma pointed out, confused as to why her father seemed to have a problem with Peter. She would understand it if her father knew that her and Peter were dating but he didn't. Her father just knew him as this random kid who rambled on for like five minutes the day before. Bucky just shook his head.

"I didn't like the way he talked to me yesterday." Bucky grumbled as he remembered the confident look on the kid's face during the meeting before trying to mimic Peter's voice by talking a couple octave's higher. " _They won't get her, Mr. Barnes. I won't let that happen. I promise."_ Emma almost wanted to laugh at the way her father made her boyfriend sound like some kind of sixth grade boy scout but she knew she couldn't do that. Peter was her boyfriend and as his girlfriend she was supposed to stick up for him even if her father and Steve didn't know he was her boyfriend. Besides…Emma was the only one allowed to make fun of him.

"Okay, Papa. What's your problem with Peter?" Emma questioned and Bucky was taken back by her annoyed tone. Even Steve was. Bucky didn't think he had ever heard Emma take an annoyed tone with him before.

"What?" He questioned.

"You barely spoke to him yet you seem to hate him for some unexplained reason." Emma said and her father sighed. A sad look then crossed his face and Emma immediately felt sorry for the way she talked to him.

"I don't hate him. I guess I just didn't like what he was implying." Her father, sounding both guilty and hurt. Emma and Steve were beyond confused at this point but Bucky explained anyways. "He just said all that stuff like I'm incapable of protecting you. I know the others blame me for not getting you out of Hydra sooner and they probably blame me even more now. They don't think I'm capable of keeping you safe."

"No one believes that, Bucky." Steve told him and Emma nodded in agreement.

"Peter doesn't believe that either, Papa. He didn't mean it like that…I swear." Emma reassured her father, careful not to spill the beans on her and Peter's relationship. "He just cares about me a lot…as a friend. I know he doesn't think of you that way. He just wants to help out in any way he can."

"And you did help Emma get out of Hydra." Steve reminded him as he gave his friend a comforting smile. "You're the one who sent us her file and her location. I never would've found out about her if it wasn't for you." Bucky just nodded but still looked a bit sad.

"I just wish I had done more." Bucky told them and Emma hugged her father, wanting to communicate to him that none of it was his fault. They were both victims of Hydra and in the end he had done the right thing by helping her leave. It didn't matter how long it did or didn't take him. It spoke volumes to Emma that he loved her enough to let Steve find her and take her in, knowing that it would be a long time before they would see each other again. Emma pulled away and Bucky felt a lot better than he had before. Mostly because every time Emma hugged him, he felt like a good person. He only wished that he had been more affectionate with her during their time at Hydra but the Winter Soldier had never cared much for affection then.

"Papa, you've done more than enough." Emma told him simply. They stared each other for a moment, ocean blue meeting pale blue as they seemed to speak through emotions rather than words. Emma and her father were never the most vocal pair, after all. Talking was never their thing…well, it was never _his_ thing. Emma had done most of the talking back then. She gave him one last smile before she looked up at Steve, feeling the sudden need to change the subject. "Did you talk to Collins?"

"Yeah, what did he say?" Bucky asked his friend, also wanting to talk about something else…anything else. Steve had a disappointed look on his face so they both knew that he wasn't about to tell them any good news. He sighed heavily before answering.

"No, I'm afraid not. Collins basically told us to take him to Raft." Steve told them, sounding very annoyed by the lack of progress he had made with Collins.

"You're not going to give up, right?" Emma asked curiously and Steve shook his head.

"I'm hoping to try again later. Hopefully we'll turn it up a notch and bring Natasha in." Steve told them and Emma was pretty sure Natasha would be able to get information out of the guy. Natasha was supposed to be a very good interrogator. Bucky, out of his gloomy state from before, smirked at Steve.

"Well, if you ever need my help, you only have to ask." Bucky told him and Steve chuckled.

"I think I'll save you and Emma for last. Worst case scenario." Steve told them both and they all laughed. Emma gave her grandfather a smug smirk.

"I'm just happy to be included at all." Emma told him and Steve couldn't help but smile at her, just happy to be back in her company after so long. Emma's smirk then faded as she suddenly remembered what she had been about to show her father before Steve strolled in. She pulled out her yearbook from her first year of high school.

"Hey, I was about to show Papa my yearbook from last year. Did you want to see it too?" Emma asked her grandfather who only smiled back at her, clearly happy to have the honor of seeing such a thing.

"Of course." Steve said and Emma and Bucky immediately made room for him on the floor next to them. Steve sat down next to Emma, leaving her in the middle, between him and Bucky. She smiled as she opened the yearbook to show them. Steve realized that it had been a while since he had seen a yearbook. The last yearbook he had seen was the one from when he and Bucky were in high school and that was many years ago. A similar look was on Bucky's face and Steve could tell that Bucky was thinking the same thing. The two men exchanged a smile which escaped Emma's notice as she flipped to the page that showed the Academic Decathlon team.

"Is this the club Nat told me you joined?" Steve asked her as he looked at the picture curiously. Bucky stared at the picture as well as his eyes rested on the image of Emma with her nose buried in a book standing next to a girl who also had her nose buried in a book, both of them not even glancing at the camera.

"Yeah. I know it's stupid and lame but Mr. Harrington said it would look good on my college application." Emma told him and Steve looked up at her in surprise, another smile making its way across his face. A smile that might've been similar to the goofy one Peter had whenever something made him happy.

"College? You want to go to college?" Steve asked her and Emma shrugged as if this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"I was thinking about going to art school when I graduate. There's a couple of really good ones in the city so I don't think I'll have to leave." Emma said and Steve wanted to ask her what had brought this on because the Emma he knew from a year ago had laughed at the idea of going to college. What had changed in a year? Steve didn't know but he also didn't want to ask because he was afraid she'd change her mind.

"That's good, Emma. That's really good." He told her softly and Emma just nodded before she started to name some of her friends from the picture.

"There's Michelle." Emma said as she pointed to the frizzy haired girl with her nose buried in a book. Steve assumed that this was the same Michelle she had him about the day before. "She's the current captain of the team. She's pretty smart, I guess."

"Oh and there's Peter and Ned. Ned's okay, I guess, but I mostly just put up with his shit because he's Peter's friend although he's nowhere near as annoying as Parker." Emma said, downplaying the fact that she actually did consider Ned to be a close friend to her as well. Bucky couldn't help but notice that she insulted the same friend she had defended less than five minutes ago. Bucky and Steve both stared down at the image of Peter and the one she called Ned in the picture. They were standing a ways away from Emma and Michelle but unlike Emma and Michelle, who both had their noses buried in books, the two boys were happily smiling at the camera. Steve also couldn't help but notice how all the students photographed in the picture were wearing bright yellow blazers. Steve assumed this was the uniform and he would love to one day see Emma wearing the uniform in person. Bucky was just mystified at the fact that Emma was doing normal teenage stuff with teenage friends. He was happy for her…beyond happy actually.

"There's Flash but I hate him." Emma said as she pointed out Flash Thompson, a short Hispanic boy with a cocky grin on his face. Bucky already didn't like him because of how smug the guy looked. "He's such a little asshole."

"Language." Steve scolded and Emma rolled her eyes while her father just looked amused.

"But he is, Steve. He's always hitting on me in a way that _he_ thinks is attractive but really isn't. He doesn't realize that he's just embarrassing himself." Emma told him and Bucky's smile fell off his face when she said that. The idea of a boy, any boy, hitting on Emma was enough to make Bucky want to strangle the life out of any boy who dared to look at his daughter in a less than appropriate way. "Anyways…I tried to convince Peter to let me throw him off the Washington Monument but he said that he didn't want to commit murder with me because murder's bad. Boring!" Steve glared at her but the furious look faded from Bucky's face when he heard her say that. He smiled at her again. It was a proud smile because he knew he taught his daughter well. If Steve wasn't there, Bucky would probably tell her how proud he was of her. Maybe he'd tell her later.

"Emma, that boy shouldn't talk to you like that but you can't kill someone just because you don't like them." Steve lectured and Emma sighed. She kind of wished she could but she knew she couldn't just say that to Steve. Her father, yes, but not Steve.

"I know, Steve. Peter gives me the same speech all the time." Emma told him as she rolled her eyes before she deepened her voice in an attempt to mimic her boyfriend. " _Emma, we can't kill Liz's father because Liz is our friend. No, Emma, you can't just kill Flash even if he's a terrible person. Emma, you can't kill Betty either. Emma, stop beating up that drug dealer. You're going to kill him. Emma, you can't just buy weapons from black market dealers."_ Steve and Bucky both stared at the teenager in amusement, not used to hearing her joke around like this. She just sighed tiredly.

"He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes." Emma muttered but she didn't include the part where she usually said, _'but I love him'_. Steve shook his head as he chuckled in amusement.

"Well, I'm glad you've made some friends. Especially Peter. He seems very nice." Steve told her before giving her another pointed look. "I just wish he could be a positive enough influence to get you to stop swearing." Emma just smirked at her grandfather.

"No boy, not even Peter, can change that." Emma said and it was probably the first honest statement she had made about what Peter meant to her since everyone had gotten back. Steve gave her another amused look as Bucky then noticed someone else in the picture. There was a girl standing next to the teacher in the picture. She was a very pretty looking girl with dark skin and soft, delicate features. The girl had a kind smile on her face as she smiled at the camera.

"Is this your friend too?" Bucky inquired curiously and Emma looked down at the picture and saw who he was talking about. Both men watched as the teenager's face scrunched up in disgust with an unreadable emotion in her eyes as she scoffed.

"Liz Allan?" Emma questioned bitterly. "Yeah, right." Steve and Bucky shared a confused look before looking at Emma.

"Why? What's wrong with Liz Allan?" Steve asked her in concern, not understanding the disgust in Emma's voice. "Was she mean to you?" Emma crossed her arms as she…pouted? Steve couldn't be sure if she was pouting. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen her pout. Bucky might've seen her pout when she was a little girl but it had been a long time.

"No, she was just so annoyingly nice. It was revolting to see." Emma muttered as she looked away from the image of Liz. It's not like Liz was an awful person or anything. Emma knew that. It was just that she had always been jealous of Liz Allan because Peter used to be so over the moon about Liz. Liz was all he used to talk about and she still remembered all the times he drooled over her in the cafeteria. It was annoying and Emma didn't really see what the big deal was about the girl. She was just so boring…and nice. Totally not Peter's type. Emma liked to think that she was Peter's type because she was obviously the more interesting and adventurous type than boring ole' Liz Allan. Not to mention Liz was way too old for Peter anyways. Who wanted an older woman when they could have a younger one like "ahem" Emma was.

"Not to mention she was super old and not that hot anyways. She was actually really hard to look at…kind of like Medusa. You'd turn to stone if you looked her in the eyes. She was that hideous." Emma said as she went on about how ugly Liz Allan was. Bucky stared at Emma like there was something wrong with her. He couldn't tell if Emma was joking or what. She was acting very odd. Steve just gave the teenager a look of disapproval.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Emma. I raised you better than that." Steve told her and Emma rolled her eyes. "Besides…this girl isn't hideous. She's a very nice looking young woman."

Steve right away could tell that he said the wrong thing as Emma glared at him. It was the same look on her face that Peggy had when she caught him kissing that woman at the base…the same look as when she shot that gun at him and he had to use his shield as defense. Peggy was right. He still didn't know a thing about women. Whatever this was, it was clear to both Steve and Bucky that Emma had something very personal against the kind looking girl in the picture.

"Not you too. Why is everyone so in love with Liz Allan?" Emma grumbled as she crossed her arms. "Well, you'll never meet her anyways because she moved away to Oregon. Greatest day of my life the day that girl moved away. She should stay away too if she knows what's good for her." Steve and Bucky stared, almost afraid of the way she was acting. She wasn't scary like Viper Assassin scary but she was scary like teenage girl scary which was something they weren't used to when it came to Emma. Bucky was the bravest one as he approached Emma first and decided to change the subject from Liz Allan. Whoever Liz Allan was, Bucky could tell that Emma really didn't like her. Bucky was smart enough not to ask why. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he carefully approached this situation.

"Why don't you show me your yearbook photo and we can all forget about this _terrible_ and _hideous_ Liz Allan girl." Bucky said slowly as he emphasized the words "terrible" and "hideous". He gave Steve a look, signaling for him to go along with this. Steve nodded furiously and thankfully Emma wasn't paying attention.

"Really?" Emma asked quietly and Steve smiled at her.

"Yes, let's look at your picture instead because you're way prettier than Liz Allan. A thousand times prettier." Steve said weakly. He wasn't as good at lying as Bucky was. It had always been that way. Even when they were just kids. Not that he was lying by saying Emma was prettier because she was prettier than any other girl. She was his granddaughter, after all, but Steve usually didn't say rude things about people. Especially people he didn't know like this Liz Allan girl. Fortunately, Emma seemed way too distracted to notice Steve's odd behavior.

"Obviously." Emma stated, seeming happy that Steve and her father were on her side. She then flipped the page from the image of Liz Allan. She spent the rest of the time showing Steve and her father pictures from the yearbook. Whether it was her yearbook picture, the picture of the art showcase she had won, or the school trip to D.C. last fall. Emma showed them everything and talked them through all the adventures her and her classmates had been on. The adventures were nothing like any Avenger missions but they were far more interesting to Steve and Bucky then some boring mission.

The only thing Emma neglected to show them was the page in the yearbook dedicated to the Academic Decathlon's trip to London which featured a picture that would threaten Emma's secret. The inscription of the picture read, ' _Here are sophomores Peter Parker,16, and Emma Lewis, 16, in a romantic pose in front of Big Ben in London during their school trip for the Academic Decathlon in February'._ The picture showed Emma wrapped up in Peter's arms as he held her close to him, his eyes closed in content as he kissed her cheek and her face lit up in happiness as she laughed at him. Yeah, some things were definitely meant to be kept for later because she was sure her father and Steve wouldn't buy the little white lie that Peter was her friend if they saw that picture. They weren't that stupid. So Emma showed them everything else and they spent an hour laughing and talking together despite the severity of the situation. It was almost like they were a family. Well, no.

They _were_ a family.

* * *

"Susan, it's been a while." Steve stated as he and Susan were reunited for the first time since that kiss from over a year ago. The reunion was slightly awkward as everyone ate lunch in one of the many working kitchens inside the compound. Not everyone had made it to lunch. Just Sam, Darcy, Susan, Emma, Steve, her father, and Peter. She suspected Peter was just there because he wanted to see her and she felt the same. They hadn't spoken or seen each other since yesterday afternoon anyways which was unusual because they were usually attached at the hip.

"Yes, it has." Susan said softly as the two stared at each other. Emma and her father just stared at the two as they ate their lunch.

"I have a feeling that this is going to get really awkward." Emma mentioned to her father who just nodded in response.

"I have the same feeling." Her father replied as they continued to watch the awkwardness between Steve and Susan. Emma didn't really spend much time with Susan but only because she felt like Susan was more serious and less fun than Darcy. Darcy basically let Emma do whatever she wanted which Emma appreciated. Not that Emma didn't like Susan but Emma didn't like being told what to do. Jane giving her and Darcy disapproving looks was bad enough.

"What is this? Some kind of daddy/daughter assassin day?" Darcy Lewis asked as she took a seat across from Emma and Bucky. The brunette then took a long look at Emma's father and she had to say that she wasn't disappointed…although all those pictures of the guy didn't do him any justice. Bucky Barnes was even hotter in person. Why was she always attracted to the bad boys? Well, she wasn't so sure that Emma's father could be considered a bad boy anymore. After his time in Wakanda she knew that he was doing a lot better or at least according to Shuri, that is. Shuri who happened to be a princess and T'Challa's sister. Darcy just wanted to say how amazing she thought it was that she had met three members of a royal family in her lifetime. Meeting Thor had been kind of amazing the first time around but T'Challa and Shuri too? Wow.

However, Darcy was slightly more interested in Bucky Barnes who was all kinds of good looking.

"No, this is a 'Watch Steve Miserably Fail to Flirt' day. Isn't that right, Papa?" Emma asked her father before turning to look at him only to see that he was discreetly checking out Darcy. Darcy was not an unattractive woman with her wide blue eyes, long brunette hair, and curves. She probably didn't look too unlike the women from her father's time. However, the last thing she expected to see was her father checking out a woman. Emma didn't know how she felt about this.

Sam made a face of disgust at the way Bucky was subtly checking out Darcy's cleavage. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was the image of Barnes trying to get it on with Darcy. Emma sat there in silence as she stared at the two with an unreadable look on her face. Peter, who was sitting next to Sam, also seemed a little disgusted by the scene but he was also kind of surprised to see Emma sitting there with a face void of all emotion. She didn't look disgusted but she didn't look happy either. Peter couldn't tell what she was thinking as she just sat there and watched her father and Darcy, looking...dumbfounded. Yes, dumbfounded was the word. It then hit Peter that he didn't think that he had ever seen his girlfriend look dumbfounded by anything before.

"Uh…yeah." Bucky said as he looked at Darcy distractedly, not sure what to make of the mysterious woman sitting in front of him. Emma frowned.

"Papa, this is Darcy. Darcy…Papa." Emma introduced hesitantly and Darcy smirked as she learned forward, taking Bucky by surprise.

"Do you want me to call you daddy too? I can if you want." Darcy asked flirtatiously and Bucky actually blushed. He really…blushed. Emma didn't think she had ever seen her father blush before. It was shocking to see but also troubling. Wait…why was it troubling? Darcy just laughed at the expression on the man's face.

"Relax, I was just joking." Darcy told him and Bucky just awkwardly cleared his throat as he changed the subject, still not used to how forward women could be in this day and age. However, Bucky thought that he just might like how forward they were.

"Emma was telling me that she's been staying with you in the city while she goes to school." Bucky mentioned, trying to be more serious and suddenly Emma's felt invisible. It was a feeling she never had before when she was around her father and it scared her. "I guess I should thank you for looking out for her." Darcy just shook her head.

"It's not a problem. Emma's a handful but this past year's been fun. More excitement than just hanging out around boring Jane and her lame science stuff." Darcy said and Bucky seemed a little taken back by the woman's odd sense of humor. Not in a bad way but he was just a little…curious he guessed you could say. Emma felt her heart race as she looked between the two adults but her heart wasn't racing the usual way it did whenever Peter kissed her or held her. This was different. Emma was worried but she had a feeling why as she looked at the interested look on her father's face. Steve had always told her how much of a ladies man her father was back in the day. Why should it surprise her that he was very much interested in the female sex now that he was back to being Bucky Barnes.

"Well, I still appreciate it." Bucky told her and Darcy just shrugged.

"It was nothing. Besides…I'm sure you and Steve can catch up by seeing the little video diary I made." Darcy said and the amused look fell right off Emma's face. She had almost forgotten about the videos. "It shows everything. Emma's first day of school, the Homecoming dance, and it even shows Emma and Peter's first-" Emma then kicked the leg of Darcy's chair, causing the brunette to fall to the floor with a loud yelp. Bucky and Sam immediately went over to help Darcy, looking very concerned but Peter knew that Darcy just hadn't fallen out of her seat by accident. He looked at his girlfriend who didn't look to be the least bit guilty.

"Are you alright?" Bucky asked the woman who only nodded. Emma rolled her eyes at the way everyone came to Darcy's rescue. Geez, all the woman had done was fall onto the floor. They were acting like she had been shot or something.

"Yeah, Darcy will be fine. She's just a huge klutz." Emma said without emotion. The two men carefully helped her up and Darcy actually blushed as Bucky's eyes met hers. He seemed to have um…really strong hands. Not to mention the muscles on him were kind of hot. She wondered what he looked like without a shirt on. Probably even hotter. Bucky Barnes really was a DILF as it would turn out.

"Uh…thank you." Darcy told him, seeming more shy than ever.

"Don't mention it." Bucky told her, giving her that warm and charming smile that Emma was slowly growing accustomed to seeing him make. Darcy seemed to almost melt from the sight of the smile but Emma didn't seem too pleased as she narrowed her eyes at the two. She thought she was the only girl that could make him smile. Now he was smiling at Darcy? Emma didn't think she liked this. She was fine with him having a one-night stand to maybe release tension, after not having been laid for probably seventy years, but she didn't like the thought of him paying attention to a girl who wasn't her. Emma had only just gotten him back. She didn't want Darcy, of all people, taking her father's attention away. Her father was hers and hers alone.

"Papa…Sam. You should go help Steve with Susan." Emma said in that bossy tone of hers that always amused Peter. Peter didn't really understand the look on her face as she looked between her father and Darcy. Well, he did know that look but that was a look he had only seen her make when she was jealous. But why would she be jealous? Peter didn't understand. "At this rate he won't get laid for another seventy years."

"Em's right. Steve's not looking too great over there." Sam stated as he glanced over at a blushing and stuttering Steve Rogers. Bucky reluctantly tore his gaze from Darcy, still mystified by the odd brunette woman who probably knew about his past but still didn't seem frightened.

"Yeah, I guess." Bucky said as he and Sam started to walk over to Steve and Susan. Emma didn't miss the way her father snuck a glance back at Darcy from other her shoulder and the sight made Emma more annoyed than before as she clenched her fists. The blonde then turned to glare at Darcy who still seemed to be staring at Emma's father. Emma stepped in Darcy's line of sight, blocking her view.

"What do you think you're doing?" Emma snapped once she was sure her father was out of ear shot. Darcy looked at her in confusion.

"What?" Darcy asked her and Emma huffed in annoyance as Peter went to Emma's side, ready to mediate the situation if it got too much out of hand. He could tell Emma was really pissed for some reason. Peter was just glad that it wasn't him that she was mad at this time.

"You almost told him about Peter and I, you moron." Emma stated as she looked at the woman like she was stupid.

"I don't get it. Why is that a problem?" Darcy asked her and Emma groaned.

"In case you haven't noticed there's kind of a lot going on. Hydra, Rumlow, Ugalde, Tesseract powered weapons, and let's not forget the fact that I had to tell everyone that I was raped." Emma said darkly and a sympathetic look came over Darcy's face as she remembered being informed a few hours ago of the news. The news had devastated her which was to be expected since her and Emma had gotten a bit close this past year but Darcy just felt bad that Emma hadn't felt like she could talk to her about that. She wished that she had done more to make Emma feel like she had more people to talk to…to trust, but it was obvious that she had confided in Peter so Darcy was happy that at least Emma had someone she was able to talk to even if it wasn't her.

"I heard about that. I'm really sorry, Emma." Darcy said, sounding a bit sad but also not knowing what was the right thing to say to someone in a situation like this. She had tried acting normal around her before because how else was she supposed to act? She didn't think Emma would appreciate her coddling or pitying her. Darcy was afraid for the person who ever did pity Emma because the blonde made it clear that she hated pity. Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Look, whatever. I just kind of didn't want to drop Peter and I's relationship on them too and give them a heart attack." Emma said and Peter nodded in agreement.

"Emma's right. I think it's best if we wait to tell them. Now's not the best time." Peter said in a much nicer way than Emma.

"I would just appreciate it if you could hold off on showing them the videos for now." Emma muttered as she tried to take a leaf out of Peter's book and also be nice but being nice wasn't easy for Emma to do. Especially considering the way Emma had seen Darcy and her father staring at each other earlier. Darcy nodded, seeming more agreeable than usual.

"Yeah, sure. I can do that." Darcy told them, still sounding distracted as she tried looking past Emma to catch another glimpse of Emma's hot DILF of a dad. Emma narrowed her eyes at the brunette as she crossed her arms. Peter looked worriedly in between the two because he knew Emma was mad but he just didn't know why.

"Another thing, Lewis." Emma said with a sharpness to her voice. Darcy looked up at the tall girl in surprise because it was rare that Emma ever referred to her by her last name. "Keep your hands off Papa." Darcy just stared at the girl in surprise and so did Peter. That was literally the last thing Peter expected to come out of her mouth.

"Excuse me?" Darcy asked, thinking she had heard Emma wrong but the girl's glare was unwavering.

"Papa's mine. He's not yours." Emma said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't care if you have sex with him but Papa having a relationship is the last thing he needs right now. He's very fragile and delicate and I won't have any woman, even you, messing around with his head." Darcy laughed because she really didn't know what else she could do.

"Hold on, Em. First off, if I see a man with a hot bod then I'm definitely going to look. No one can stop me." Darcy told her as she tried to laugh off Emma's remark. Peter just realized that he would probably never stop trying to solve the mystery that was Emma Rogers. The Winter Soldier being fragile and delicate? Yeah, right. That was the last two words Peter would use to describe that man.

"Second, I was just checking your DILF of a dad out. I'm not going to marry him or anything. Geez, I'm not you. I don't obsess over marrying the man of my dreams."

Emma decided to ignore that snide little comment as she moved on with her little speech although a dreamy look had come over Peter's face. Did Emma really dream about marrying him? He kind of hoped so. Sometimes he dreamed about their wedding. Emma in a pretty white dress like in _Say Yes to the Dress_ as she walked down the aisle to him. Ned would, of course, be his best man and Emma's father and grandfather would both walk her down the aisle. Captain America would give him a proud smile before going off to sit in the front row next to Tony and May while Emma's father would smile happily at him, clapping him on the back and telling him just how much Peter was the perfect son-in-law. Emma would then forever become Mrs. Parker which was Peter's dream and they'd live happily ever after in a big mansion with a really cute dog and loads of children that all looked just like Emma with pretty blonde hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes. Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes would come over to babysit when he took Emma out on date night and everything would be perfect. Peter could just see it now.

"Papa belongs to me." Emma hissed, disrupting Peter's romantic daydream. Darcy looked at the blonde in disbelief. "He was mine first and I won't let anyone take him away from me."

Peter couldn't believe what was really happening right now. It seemed like his daydream had made him more out of touch with reality than he thought. Were Emma and Darcy really fighting over the Winter Soldier? That seemed kind of insane to Peter. He understood that Emma was probably protective over her father like he was protective over May but he would never get jealous if Aunt May showed interest in a guy. Peter would be happy for her even if it was kind of awkward.

"Emma, your dad's not a possession." Peter tried to tell his girlfriend politely. "I mean, you wouldn't expect him to say that about you, right? You wouldn't want him to feel that way about us." Emma just clenched her jaw.

"That's different." Emma told him and Peter wanted to groan because she could be so stubborn sometimes. He loved her but she was really stubborn. Emma gave Darcy a sharp look.

"Just stay away from Papa." Emma told her before storming off.

Darcy watched her walk away in shock but at the same time she still didn't feel threatened. Darcy knew that Emma didn't mean any threats but it was still perplexing how possessive Emma was over her father. She supposed since Emma and her father were all each other had left in Hydra that they had a very close bond but it was still alarming how attached she was to the man. Peter gave Darcy an apologetic look as he followed Emma out of the room. Her father and Sam were much too preoccupied with Steve and Susan to notice her sudden departure but not Steve. The super soldier watched her leave with a curious look on his face. Especially as he watched Peter run after her. He narrowed his eyes at the sight as Bucky and Sam attempted to be his wingmen with Susan. What was going on around here?

* * *

"Emma! Emma, wait up!" Peter called but he didn't catch up to her until she was in the recreational area of the compound. He found her there, leaning against the wall, as she stared out the window. For a moment he wanted to be mad at her for being so mean to Darcy but it wasn't until he heard her sniffle that the angry look fell off his face and a more sympathetic one took its place. Peter didn't hesitate in wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Emma buried her face in his neck as he held her in his arms.

"Emma, why are you crying?" Peter asked her softly and Emma shrugged.

"I don't know." She muttered and Peter pulled away to give her a look. She looked embarrassed like she always did whenever she cried even though Peter repeatedly told her that she had nothing to be embarrassed about. He tentatively wiped the tears from her face because he knew the truth.

"Yes, you do." Peter told her and Emma sighed heavily, looking somewhat guilty.

"I just got Papa back. I've spent so long without him." Emma said quietly and Peter nodded although he wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"I know, Emma. But he's here now. You don't have to spend any more time away from him." Peter said to her but Emma didn't seem so sure.

"I do if Darcy makes her move on him." Emma grumbled and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Are you seriously jealous of Darcy? He's your dad, not your boyfriend. _I'm_ your boyfriend." Peter tried telling her but Emma almost seemed to be pouting.

"But I don't want some woman stealing him away from me when I've only just gotten him back. I just missed him so much." Emma admitted and Peter finally understood her actions. "There's so many things I want to do with him and so many things I want to tell him. I'm just afraid he'll ignore me and forget about me if there's another woman in his life. It's bad enough that Steve's already preoccupied with Susan. Not Papa too."

"Emma, I'm sorry but you're being ridiculous." Peter told her and Emma looked back at him in surprise.

"What?" She questioned and Peter just chuckled.

"Your dad's not going to forget about you, Emma. He loves you." Peter told her honestly, trying to make Emma see the sense in all of this. "He's also not just going to fall in love with Darcy at first sight. I mean they did seem to be sort of interested in each other but that doesn't mean they're in love. Darcy looks at every guy like that and your dad…well, I don't know about him but he doesn't love Darcy. That's insane. Besides…we didn't fall in love at first night, did we?" Emma just scoffed.

"No, you were too busy drooling over Liz Allan." Emma told him and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Peter said before speaking in a more serious tone. "Emma, you need to realize that you're father missed you as much as you missed him. You're his main focus right now and you have no reason to be jealous." Emma sighed heavily.

"I guess I was overreacting a little." Emma said reluctantly and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"A little?" Peter asked her and Emma rolled her eyes before laughing. Peter was just happy that he finally managed to get her to laugh. "You just need to calm down. Your dad's here now and he's not going anywhere."

"You're right. I know." Emma admitted and Peter was just surprised that she was saying that he was right because she never admitted anyone was right. Except for maybe herself. "It's just hard not being possessive of him when he's been away for so long."

"I know but he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Okay?" Peter said reassuringly and Emma just nodded, knowing deep down that her boyfriend was right. She was being ridiculous. Was she actually being jealous of Darcy because her father had shown a small amount of interest in her. Of course, he'd show interest in Darcy. It had been who knows how many years since her father had probably had sex. It had probably also been a while since a woman showed interest in her father despite knowing his past. Emma wanted her father to be happy, after all. So she supposed that even if he managed to start dating someday she'd be happy for him. It would kind of make her a hypocrite if she couldn't be happy for him.

Emma knew there was a lot of women out there that would probably be interested in her father. Serial killers in prison got married all the time. Hell, even Ted Bundy managed to knock up some woman while in prison and Emma knew her father wasn't a psychopath like Ted Bundy. He was just a brainwashed former assassin for Hydra. A totally different scenario. Not to mention her father was way better looking than Ted Bundy. If Emma could manage to find someone insane enough to fall in love with her then she supposed her father could too and Emma wanted that for him. She needed to be open to the idea of that but she also needed to be okay with it.

"So…have you heard anything from May? Is she doing okay?" Emma asked him softly as she changed the subject. Peter didn't mind the change of subject because he realized that she understood what he told her. He wanted to ask her to maybe apologize to Darcy but he knew his girlfriend too well to think that she would actually apologize too. It was enough that she had talked through her feelings. Peter appreciated the fact that she no longer threw up any walls anymore when it came to feelings. They had worked past that and their relationship was one full of trust and honesty.

"She's really worried and I haven't exactly told her about _everything_ that happened." Peter told Emma and she gave him a concerned look.

"Maybe you should…considering everything that's happened. Peter, this is a really bad situation we're in. She has a right to know how much danger you're in." Emma told him and Peter knew she was right but that wasn't the half of it.

"I know she does but…" Peter trailed off and Emma raised her eyebrows at him.

"But what?" Emma questioned and Peter shrugged but he had a sad look on his face that immediately made Emma desperate to know what the problem was. She hated it when Peter was sad since usually he was so happy and optimistic. "Peter, what's wrong?"

"Our parents knew each other, Emma." Peter stated, reminding Emma of something she had nearly forgotten about. In the midst of her father and Steve's return as well as telling them about the rape, she hadn't had time to process the information about their parents. "They worked on a mission together. No one ever told us that before. Not until now."

"I know, Peter. It's all very…odd." Emma admitted, also finding the situation strange just like Peter did. She also found it strange that Clint had talked about her mother in such a less than formal way. "The fact that all these people knew about it is even more odd."

"Do you think May knows, Emma?" Peter asked her and Emma looked at him in confusion.

"Do you mean do you think she knows about our parents?" Emma asked and Peter shook his head.

"Well, no. I meant do you think she knew my parents were in the CIA?" Peter said, looking a bit hurt at the thought May and Ben might've known about this all along. Peter didn't want to think that they had just been lying to him all this time. "They always told me that my parents worked at Columbia University. Nothing about the CIA. My parents were supposed to be boring. Just two boring people. Their jobs were never of any interest to me."

"Do you remember anything about them?" Emma asked him softly and Peter sighed.

"Not really. I mean…sometimes it's like a picture inside my head but I'm not sure if it's a memory of them or if it's a picture I've seen." Peter told her and Emma knew how he felt. She still had some memories of her parents but the memories were very blurry. They were more like images than actual memories and they were memories that should've held no importance. Memories like of her mother brushing her beautiful long red hair in the morning or her father shaving. They were memories that probably didn't make a difference in the grand schemes of things but they were also the only memories of her parents that she had that didn't consist of their murder.

"It probably sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Peter mumbled and Emma just smiled softly at him as she shook her head.

"It doesn't. I promise." Emma told him honestly and Peter gave her a hopeful look.

"Really?" He asked her and Emma just nodded.

"Really…it's like that for me too." Emma said and Peter seemed more encouraged now that he knew Emma felt similar to him. One of the reasons he thought that they could relate to each other so well wasn't just because they were teenagers with super human abilities. It was also because they both had dead parents they lost at a young age. They both knew what that kind of loss was like. The part of themselves that always felt missing…the sense of wonder at what life could've been like had their parents never died. The utter feeling of pain as the years went by and the memory of their faces became nothing more than a question mark in their minds. Peter had always been close with Ned…and Aunt May tried to understand but Emma was the only one that could truly understand that part of him.

"I have this memory of them tucking me into bed at night. Mom kisses me on the forehead and dad turns off the light. I'm not sure how real it is but it's all I have of them." Peter told her and Emma could see the tears flood those pretty brown eyes of his. Her heart melted at the sight and she desperately wanted to find some kind of way to stop the tears. Peter crying always broke her heart. "It's just hard for me to believe that they apparently had this secret life. The CIA? What were they even doing in the CIA?"

"Maria said your father was a brilliant scientist? Maybe he worked in the science department. He probably wasn't an agent or anything, Peter." Emma told him in an attempt to try and comfort him. "The lie wasn't that much of a stretch."

"But my mom too? A data analyst? What does a date analyst even do? What does that mean?" Peter said but it was clear he wasn't asking her. He was just trying to make sense of everything.

"I don't know, Peter. Your parents had secrets and secrets that probably died with them. Just like my parents." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head.

"I just can't believe that our parents really knew each other. Can you believe that?" Peter said, trying to wrap his mind around all of this. "We're…we're who we are to each other and they happened to meet seventeen years ago. Seventeen years ago? Wait…that would've been just before we were born." Emma looked at him in disbelief.

"What are you trying to say?" Emma questioned and Peter swallowed hard as he looked back at her.

"I'm trying to say that our moms could've even been pregnant with us when they met. Maria said they both stayed behind on the mission, after all. They probably met and stuff." Peter explained and Emma gave him a disgusted look.

"Ew! Are you trying to say that we met in the womb? That's the most disgusting thing I ever heard in my life." Emma said and Peter shrugged.

"Well, it wouldn't be _in_ the womb since we're not twins or anything. It would be _through_ the womb." Peter explained and Emma still didn't look any less disgusted.

"Yeah, because that's so much better." Emma said sarcastically and Peter actually looked a little happier than before. He seemed even excited despite the disbelief of his parent's real occupations.

"You know what this means, right?" Peter asked her, a hopeful gleam in his eyes. Emma gave him a confused look.

"What?" Peter gave her his usual goofy smile and Emma was just happy to see him smiling again.

"We're soulmates." Peter told her and the happy look fell off her face. She gave the excited looking teenage boy a disgusted look.

"Why are you being so gross today?" Emma asked him but the goofy smile didn't fade from Peter's face. "Soulmates aren't real, you idiot. That's just something people read about in those lame vampire books and I'm not talking about the cool vampires who drink human blood and sleep in coffins. I'm talking about stupid ones that drink bunny blood and sparkle."

"Well, I didn't believe in them either. Not until I fell in love you." Peter said, being his annoyingly usual cheesy self. Emma just scoffed.

"Do I look like I read Nicolas Sparks novels, Parker?" Emma deadpanned as she rolled her eyes at him. "No, because I don't buy into that shit like some fucking moron. I'm not some stupid bimbo for you to spout all your Ryan Gosling bullshit onto." Peter just smiled at her adoringly as he ignored her cynicism like always.

"You're my soulmate, Emma." Peter told her sincerely, meaning every word as he gazed back at her. He always made her feel a bit scared whenever he talked like that. Not because she didn't love him just as much as he loved her but because hearing how much someone loved you was still taking some getting used to for Emma. Steve did that to her too. Peter and him were a lot alike in that way. They didn't mind telling a person how they really felt. "I think the fact that our parents met each other is a sign. It's a sign that we were always meant to find each other…to be together."

"I don't know if I believe in that mystical shit, Parker." Emma told him truthfully as her gaze met his. "But I don't believe in coincidences either. I know I could never fall in love with anyone else."

"Me neither." Peter told her happily. Emma had always believed that Peter could easily fall in love with someone else because of her own insecurities but she completely believed him in that moment. She felt the urge to kiss him senseless or to hold on to him and never let go but she knew such an action would be risky. There was a difference between talking in hushed voices and kissing. She wasn't willing to risk it all just for a quick kiss. Even though she thought it would be completely worth it.

"Are you going to ask May about your parents?" Emma asked him abruptly, wanting to get her mind off the urge she had to kiss him. Peter's smile faded the slightest bit from his face but the look of adoration never faded from his eyes even when Emma brought up the topic of his parents again. He just shrugged before he answered her question.

"I don't know. I guess, but I'm kind of afraid." Peter told her quietly and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What are you afraid of?" Emma asked him and Peter sighed before looking back up at her.

"That she and Uncle Ben knew all this time and lied to me." Peter confessed. Emma gave him a sympathetic look.

"Hey, I get it. Okay? Adults lie to us all the time. I'm sure there's a lot of things Steve and Papa don't tell me because they think it's for my own good. God knows how many times Tony's lied to me. But just remember…" Emma said as she gently held onto his hand. "Whatever the answer is, May never meant to hurt you. When the people who truly love us lie, they never do it to hurt us. I lied to everyone for years but I never did it to hurt them. I never intended to hurt the people I did but I only ever wanted to protect them."

"Are you trying to say that May lied to protect me? Protect me from what?" Peter asked and Emma just shrugged.

"That's a question that only she can answer." Emma told him and Peter never got over how wise she was. It was like she had an answer for everything. When they argued it was annoying but in a situation like this, it was strangely comforting.

"I guess I'll just have to ask her then. Maybe I'll mention everything that's going on too." Peter mumbled and Emma smiled at him, happy that he was considering her advice but the smile fell off her face at what he said next. "I just don't have a good feeling about this, Emma. Both of our fathers were on that mission at Salazar's warehouse and now both of our parents are dead. Your parents died at the hands of Hydra and mine…" Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Your parents died in a plane crash though. Isn't that what you told me?" Emma asked him and Peter just shook his head slowly.

"I don't really know what I know anymore. I thought my parents were one thing and here they are another. Maybe they didn't die like how I thought either." Peter told her and Emma had to agree with him there. It was very peculiar that both of their parents were involved in this thing with Hydra's weapons and now both were dead. Peter's parents dying might not be just another coincidence. There might be more to this than they both realized.

"We can ask Maria to look more into their deaths if you want. Maybe she can find something." Emma suggested because it was the only option she could think of but Emma doubted that Maria would be able to find anything. If Peter's parents happened to die like Emma's did, which meant at the hands of Hydra, then there would be no such record of their deaths being anything suspicious. Hydra was good at covering their tracks. Too good.

"Maybe." Peter said and she could tell that he was still deeply troubled. Emma wanted to take his trouble away…to make him as happy and carefree as he usually was. His optimistic spirit even had a way of rubbing off on her even though Emma didn't consider herself to be a optimistic person. She just hated seeing him like this and she wished she had answers for him but she just didn't. Emma barely knew more than a few facts about her own parents who were almost as much of a secret to her as Peter's parents were to him.

"We'll figure this out, Peter. I promise." She told him as she then wrapped her arms around him without hesitation. Peter allowed himself to be comforted by his girlfriend's embrace as he wrapped his arms around her too, holding her close to him. He buried his face in her long blonde hair, the sweet scent of her familiar strawberry and coconut shampoo bringing comfort to him as well. She always had a way of making him feel better in the worst situations. She didn't even have to say a word. All Emma had to do was be close to him and Peter could feel better even if everything wasn't looking so great for him.

"Thank you." Peter whispered in her ear in a voice that made Emma shiver but not from the cold. She just held onto him tighter, trying to communicate to him that everything was going to be okay. She just wanted him to know that.

Unfortunately, it right around then that Steve Rogers chose to walk into the room. The super soldier had been looking around the compound for his granddaughter ever since he watched her storm out of the kitchen. He had looked for her in her bedroom and even the training facility but he couldn't find any sign of her. It wasn't until McConaughey informed him that she was in the recreational area of the compound that he was finally able to find her but he never imagined he would find her like this…in the arms of her little friend.

Steve watched them curiously for a moment because he thought Emma might shove the boy away or yell at him but she did no such thing. In fact, it seemed like she was hugging him back which perplexed Steve even further. He had never known his granddaughter to be the hugging type. She had only hugged him a handful of times so you could imagine his surprise watching her hug the boy who she said was her friend.

"Emma?" Steve said as he awkwardly cleared his throat. Emma and Peter jumped apart at the sound of her grandfather's voice. Peter blushed a vibrant shade of red as Emma wildly searched Steve's demeanor, trying to see if they had been discovered. Emma didn't know what she would say to him if they had.

"Steve." Emma said in surprise as she tried to hide all emotion from her face. She didn't want to give anything about her and Peter away. Now definitely wasn't the time for that. They had way more things to worry about like Peter's parents.

"I saw you run off. I didn't know where you were." Steve said slowly as he looked between the two teenagers in confusion. What was going on with those two and more importantly…what was going on with Emma? She had been acting so strange ever since he had gotten back. Sam told him that she was a teenager and she was bound to go through some changes in the time he was away but Steve still felt odd about Emma's odd behavior. It wasn't the fact that she seemed so different as it was that she seemed incredibly nervous. Steve never knew his granddaughter to be a nervous person but she seemed like she needed to get something off her chest and Steve had a feeling this wasn't about the rape.

"Sorry. Peter and I were just talking about our parents and things got a little emotional." Emma told Steve in a clear and an even tone, trying to regain her composure. It wasn't like she was lying. That's what her and Peter had been talking about, after all. Peter nodded furiously, indicating that this was the truth.

"Sorry if I kept Emma away from you for too long, Mr. Rogers." Peter apologized politely, using his boyish charm. The only thing was that Emma didn't think Peter knew he had any sort of charm. It just came to him naturally which was something Emma always admired about him. Steve looked a bit taken back by Peter's politeness, knowing fully well that most teenagers Peter's age weren't polite like he seemed to be. Steve was almost reminded of the manners that he had been brought up on which caused him to look at the boy in a different light. Steve didn't really know much about the boy other than he was Emma's friend and apparent crime-fighting partner. Not to mention that he went to school with her too. Steve kind of wanted to get to know the boy better because he knew that the boy obviously meant a lot to Emma.

"Uh…that's fine, Peter." Steve said awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say to the two teenagers. "You can just call me Steve, you know." Peter already knew this because Emma's grandfather had said the same thing to him the day before but Peter wouldn't feel right calling her grandpa Steve. Emma's grandfather was basically her other dad and Peter felt really awkward being so casual with him. Especially since Steve didn't even know he and Emma were dating.

"Okay." Peter said quietly, seeming shy all of a sudden. Emma gave him an amused smile because she always thought he was adorable when he was being all shy and bashful. Peter really didn't know just how cute he was. The teenage girl didn't appear to be aware of the look of adoration on her face as her grandfather stared at her. Steve narrowed his eyes almost suspiciously as he tried to pinpoint what exactly was going on between the two teenagers.

"I thought you might like to show me some more of your artwork but if you're busy…" Steve seemed to emphasis the word "busy" with a strange kind of hesitance. Emma swallowed hard because she knew he was suspicious. She doubted he had already formed a conclusion but the suspicion was beginning to form. Steve wasn't stupid.

"No, I'd be happy to." Emma then glanced at Peter as if she was making sure he was okay with her leaving. She didn't really want to leave him alone in a time like this. "Is that okay with you, Peter?" Steve continued to look at the two in confusion because he never knew Emma to be someone who asked permission to do anything. However, Peter just smiled and nodded.

"Of course." He said and Emma seemed satisfied by the smile on his face. Peter was letting her know that he was going to be okay. She felt a little better about leaving him to go spend time with Steve.

"I guess I can show you this painting I did last spring. I've only recently dabbled in oil painting but I like it way better than Acrylic or Water Painting. I'm not sure if I'm any good at it though." Emma told Steve, seeming a little nervous to show him some of her newer artwork. Peter just smiled.

"She's being modest, Mr. Rogers." Peter told Steve, once again not using his first name. "Emma's like an art prodigy. She's amazing." Emma blushed at her boyfriend's praise and Steve just watch the two…he didn't know the word for it. Compliment each other? Be nice to each other? Steve wasn't entirely sure.

"Peter, I'm not an art prodigy. Besides…you don't know anything about art. How can you judge how good of an artist I am?" Emma said to him and the teenage boy just shrugged.

"Well, it goes to show how great of an artist you are if you've managed to make me, someone who's always found art to be a bunch of shapes and colors, interested in it." Peter told her and Steve started feeling like he was intruding on something. It was almost like he wasn't in the room and he was watching from a distance. The way Emma and Peter interacted was different than how Steve had ever seen his granddaughter interact with anyone before. It was like she and Peter were in their own little world.

Steve realized then that the two teenagers were close. Well, they had to be close, didn't they? Emma told him one of her biggest and darkest secrets so that had to mean something. Steve didn't mind Emma having friends. In fact, he was very happy that she seemed to have friends now. However, Steve noticed that Emma and this friend seemed a little too close if you know what he meant. Steve almost wanted to say that they seemed a little…cozy. But that couldn't be true, could it? Emma and this boy couldn't be anything more than friends. Steve might've suspected that the boy had something of a crush on Emma. That much was obvious from the way he looked at her but there was such a slim chance that Emma could ever reciprocate something like that. She made it clear in the past that she had no interest in boys or romance. Emma had actually seemed against the very idea of romance. Steve didn't think she was likely to just become the normal teenage girl that Steve had always wanted her to be. No, the two were probably just friends and Steve was overeacting. Natasha and Sam were always telling him how overdramatic he could be at times. Yes, that just had to be it. Emma and the boy were friends. Nothing more.

"I'd love to see this painting." Steve told her and it seemed like he had broken Emma and Peter out of whatever world they had been locked in. She blinked a couple times as if she was just remembering Steve was in the same room as them and Peter blushed once more.

"I guess we should head over there then." Emma announced as she hurriedly walked over to Steve before linking her arm through his. It was like all that time they spent together, when they were still living in the tower together, never went away. They used to be like this all the time and maybe some things didn't change. Either way, Steve forgot all about the strange way his granddaughter seemed to act whenever she was around the boy named Peter Parker.

"Well, it was nice talking to you again, Peter." Steve told the teenage boy who only seemed to blush more when Emma gave him a secret smile that escaped Steve's notice.

"Uh…y-yeah. It was nice talking to you too, Mr. Rogers." Peter told him and Steve supposed that the boy was set on calling him that. Steve wasn't so sure he minded. It wasn't often that you found a teenager who was so polite and treated people with respect. Steve had to admire the boy and whoever raised him for that. Steve just smiled at him before he led Emma away. Peter watched them go, feeling happier than he had before. He thought he could get used this. Emma having her grandfather and dad back seemed to be a blessing because she seemed all kinds of happy. Just like he had hoped.

* * *

It was only a short while later, when Steve was busy admiring her oil painting on canvas, that she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Emma expected it to be Michelle or maybe even Ned, both of whom she hadn't spoken to in days, but she was further surprised when she noticed that it was just her boyfriend. She was a bit confused as to why he was texting her when he was residing in the same building as her but as soon as she read the text she knew why.

 **Peter:** _I didn't get a chance to tell you this before your grandpa came but thank you. You always know how to make me feel better._

He sent another text right when she finished reading the first.

 **Peter** : _P.S. I love you. I think that's the name of a Gerald Butler movie but I really do love you._

Emma held back a laugh at his dorky text message. It wasn't often that she and Peter texted. Not having grown up around things like social media, texting, or normal teenager stuff, Emma wasn't a huge fan of it all. She really only used her phone for her music or when she needed to let someone know something important. It made her different than Peter who was at times glued to his phone. However, she told Peter from the beginning that she wasn't going to reply to his texts if he wanted to text her about stupid and pointless things. He was only to text her in case of a life threatening situation.

Peter had, of course, ignored her rule at first and proceeded to send her a bunch of pointless gifs but he soon realized that Emma was stubborn when she never, not once, responded to a single text of his. Emma was too busy to waste her time staring at a phone all day and night, waiting for a reply. Peter eventually gave up on getting her to text him and accepted the fact that Emma would rather speak in person than text on the phone. Not that he minded. He'd rather have the real thing anyways. The two spent so much time together anyways so they barely noticed the fact that they never texted. But in a time like this, Emma could see the value of texting Peter. Their relationship was currently a secret again and texting seemed to have it's benefits. Especially when it came to being able to say whatever she wanted to him without any consequences. This would just have to do until the truth came out about them. So without further thought, Emma's fingers skated across the surface of her phone as she finally texted him back.

 **Emma:** _I love you too, Spider-Twerp._

She then texted him again because she just had to let him know that she was still Emma Rogers, after all. Emma couldn't let him forget a thing like that.

 **Emma:** _P.S. I'll seriously dump you if you've seen that lame ass sappy Gerald Butler movie._

Then another.

 **Emma:** _Scratch that. I'll dump you if you've seen ANY Gerald Butler movie._

And like always, he never took her seriously.

 **Peter:** _Ok, Emma._

That smug little bastard.


	78. Chapter Seventy One

**Author's Note: I know it's been a while but I've been distracted lately. This chapter is shorter than normal but the next chapter is probably going to be a lot longer. I'm so excited to write the next chapter because I've had it planned out in my head for so long and it's finally going to happen. Another reason it's been taking me so long to write this chapter is because I've been trying to catch up the versions of STNS on Quotev and Wattpad to this one. It's still going to take a while because I just posted chapter fifty so I have over twenty chapters to go now.**

 **I was also working on an alternate universe fic to Some Things Never Sleep which is a real world fanfiction featuring the MCU actors and even the actress who plays Emma. I was kind of wanting to write an alternate universe fanfic for STNS so I thought why not. I've had a lot of fun writing it and I'm only five chapters in. I posted it on Quotev and Wattpad because I think there's a policy against posting celebrity fanfics on here. If it's something you're interested in I'll post a link here so you can find it. If you're not interested then just keep reading this one. It's just a fun little project I've been working on and it's a lot more light hearted than this one. I'm not sure if the link works or not but just in case it doesn't the story's called 'Matter of Time'.**

 **So I know I got mixed reactions about this Darcy/Bucky thing but I just wanted to make sure you guys know that I can't make everyone happy. This isn't going to be a focus of the story or anything so it'll be somewhat easy to ignore but I just can't make everyone happy. I'm not going to stop writing a certain part because someone tells me to. I'm just writing what I want. I'm sorry if you guys don't like it. Thank you.**

 **I also noticed that I've gotten a lot of new readers these past couple weeks so I'm really happy about that and welcome to 'Some Things Never Sleep'.**

 **Matter of Time Quotev link: story/11150717/Matter-of-TimeTom-Holland-Fanfic/1**

 **Matter of Time Wattpad link: story/156253220-matter-of-time-tom-holland-fanfic  
**

 **I also want to thank everyone who gave their condolences over Wong's death. It was sort of hard the first few days but I'm doing way better now. I still miss him but I'm fine now. You guys are so nice.**

 **plumsforbucky: Emma kind of found the reason behind Bucky's weird instant dislike of Peter last chapter but he's probably not going to like having to share her with Peter when he finds out Peter's her boyfriend. It's going to be a little difficult for Steve and Bucky to come to terms that they're not the only ones in her life anymore.**

 **Radioactive88: I cried writing the chapter before last so much. I think I kind of cried writing the chapter where Emma told Peter about the rape but I definitely full on cried when she told Bucky and Steve. That was really hard to write. I was afraid Bucky crying would a little out of character but then I realized that him and Emma are really close so of course he'd be heart broken at hearing what happened to her.**

 **You fill see Tony's reaction to the rape in this chapter. The others are walking on eggshells around her so you won't see much from them for a little while.**

 **Asterion98: Well, Peter's just kind of obvious about his interest in Emma which we see even more of in this chapter. Natasha's just super observant which was why it took her very little time to find out there was something going on between Emma and Peter. Steve's not quite there yet. He can tell Peter's interested in Emma which doesn't surprise him because he most likely figured that there would be a lot of boys who were interested in Emma. However, Steve still doesn't know that interest is reciprocated. Bucky's just plain blind when it comes to that stuff.**

 **Helenabelle2: That will definitely come up in the next few chapters.**

 **Another random account: I love long reviews so it's really no bother. The only thing I think I can answer without giving too much away is Emma calling Steve dad. She'll probably only call him dad in really vulnerable moments between them...for now. Eventually she'll start saying it more but not just yet.**

 **BabyPinkPuppy: The scene where Emma trash talks Liz wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Deep down she knows Liz didn't do anything wrong but it's just Emma being Emma. This was more of a comedic scene. And I obviously know that Peter's type is the sweet and innocent type but Emma's just trying to convince herself that she's better than Liz which again is a bit of comedic relief.**

 **Just because they never met in the movies doesn't mean people can't ship them. That's kind of the point of fanfiction. I kind of ship Darcy with various different MCU characters but only because she's one of my favorite characters. I love Kat Dennings and I really miss her in the MCU.**

 **I never liked Bucky's long hair either but for some reason in Infinity War he looked really hot with long hair. It just looked super wavy and I don't really know what conditioner he used but it looked really nice on him so I'm kind of thinking I should just keep it. I usually don't like guys with long hair and I didn't like Bucky's hair in Winter Soldier and Civil War but Bucky's hair in Infinity War was really nice.**

 **I just want to make sure that you know (as a writer) just because my character says or believes something doesn't mean that I do too. I just wrote Peter saying something that cheesy because he's kind of a cheesy person and I felt like it was something he would say if he was as in love as he is in my story. Peter's also really young and he was lucky enough to find Emma kind of on his first try so it makes sense that he believes that. I think if he was older and had been in a couple more relationships, he probably wouldn't believe that as much. Emma doesn't believe in soul mates because she's too cynical. The only reason she thinks she could only fall in love with Peter and no one else is because she doesn't believe she's capable of falling in love all over again since she didn't believe she was even capable of it the first time. Infinity War is definitely going to take it's toll on Emma.**

 **And um...I didn't threaten to piss you off so...I don't really know what to say to that because that's kind of all together intense. I admire your passion for the story. But I'm also originally from Texas so I'm pretty confident about holding my own and I also took a self defense class last quarter. Lol. Don't mess with Texas.**

 **anonanon: I still haven't changed the formatting in this chapter because I had already written it but I plan to go back and eventually change it when I can.**

 **moocella: Definitely to both. However, that's not how they find out about Emma and Peter. Everyone will probably get shown those videos later.**

 **livelifelong2001: I don't have plans for Bucky and Steve meeting Principal Morita yet but maybe I'll eventually fit that in somewhere. Who knows. I know that Emma knows that her principal's grandfather was in the Howling Commandos so maybe she'll mention that to them at some point.**

 **amber: Emma's car will make a reappearance soon. In a few chapters more than likely.**

 **brainless19: I don't think it would be too OOC because he's sort of like old Bucky again who had a lot of girlfriends but it will definitely be a while before he starts up a relationship. He just got back and he probably wants to focus on Emma right now. So Emma's going to be his main priority right now which sucks for Peter. Lol.**

 **Sorry for not answering all the reviews but I just really wanted to update because it's been a while. So thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Let me know what you think of the new chapter and I'll try to have the next one out faster than this last one.**

* * *

Tony woke up with a hangover the next morning. It had been a couple days since the attack on the compound but also only a day since he learnt the news of what really happened to Emma in that Hydra base. Hence the drinking. He didn't know how long it had been since he had a drink but he knew it had been a while. Tony had stopped drinking when Emma came into his custody and when he started looking after Peter too. He knew that he needed to be responsible because he had a couple kids he needed to look after. However, after last night, Tony definitely knew he needed a drink but one drink turned into several drinks until Tony was so drunk that he could barely remember where he was. He scoffed at himself in disgust because this was exactly the same thing he had done when Steven and Margot had died. This was the same exact thing he did that got Emma into this mess in the first place. What a great help he had turned out to be.

A useless drunk.

The billionaire got up from the couch in his office and he winced when he felt the pounding headache in his head. He groaned because the light was too bright. God, how much had he drank last night? He glanced over at the floor and noticed the empty bottle of scotch. Had he really drank the whole thing last night? Tony couldn't really remember. It had been so long since he consumed that much alcohol. Usually Tony had been trying to live a little healthier now that he was older and had more responsibilities. Green tea had really turned out to be his friend as well as those green smoothies that Rhodey always made fun of him for. But that seemed to all go out the window last night after reeling from the news that Steve gave the team. Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly, his whole body aching from spending the whole night on the couch.

"McConaughey, can you block the sun out or something? I feel like I'm dying." Tony grumbled.

"Right away, Mr. Stark." The AI system told him as the sunlight was automatically dimmed from all the windows in the office until it was dark. Tony finally stood up from the couch, wincing as all his bones creaked. He was really getting old, wasn't he? He grabbed his signature sunglasses from the floor which were lying next to the empty bottle of scotch. He put the sunglasses on, sighing in relief as the enormous amount of light was significantly decreased.

Tony left the office, knowing that if he stayed any longer then he would only try to pop open another bottle of scotch. He walked past everyone in the lab who were all busy at work analyzing the Hydra weapons. Peter paused in his conversation with Shuri as he noticed the billionaire pass by. Tony's haggard appearance didn't give Peter a good feeling although he knew exactly why Tony felt like that. A part of Peter wanted to go after him but he also knew that Tony wanted to be left alone. He could tell by the way Tony pointedly ignored everyone that the billionaire didn't want to be disturbed.

Peter also felt like he didn't know what to say to Tony. Would Tony be mad at him for knowing about Emma but never saying anything? Tony didn't seem mad at him yesterday but Peter really didn't know. He hated disappointing Tony because, in a way, Tony was the sort of father figure he had lost when Uncle Ben died. Although Tony and Uncle Ben were nothing alike, Peter really cared about Tony and he wanted to impress him. Peter just felt like he might've let Tony down by not telling him about Emma. Peter hadn't meant to let Tony down but he wanted to protect Emma. Besides…it was never his secret to tell. Emma had to decide when she was ready to tell everyone her secret and she made that decision yesterday. Peter was just proud that she had finally made the decision.

"Peter, come look at this." Shuri said in her thick Wakandan accent. Peter was still getting used to being around someone who was basically a prodigy but also a princess at that. Although Shuri insisted that he not treat her any differently than he would treat any other friend of his, Peter was still left amazed by the teenage girl. He also felt out of his depth around her because she was probably twenty times smarter than him. Peter was also sure that she was even smarter than Tony which she had made perfectly clear the previous two days as she showed the billionaire all the different ways he could improve his technology. Tony pretended to be offended but Peter could tell that he was really impressed and he knew just how hard it was to impress Tony Stark. It was nearly impossible.

"What is it, Shuri?" Peter asked as he went to stand next to her. The princess's gaze was intently focused on the holographic screen which was pretty dated in comparison to her technology back home but Shuri couldn't really complain now of all times. She stared at the numbers and words on the screen in amazement.

"I've never seen anything like this before. The energy levels are off the charts." Shuri said in astonishment as she stared at the readings of the energy levels from the weapons. Peter could definitely see what Shuri meant. This was way beyond even the weapons that Toomes had made from Chitauri technology.

"This is all coming from just one of the singular weapons?" Peter asked as he tried to piece everything he was seeing together. However, Peter felt like this was beyond his understanding and Peter liked to consider himself very smart.

"Yes, I mean…if this is just from one weapon, I can't imagine what the energy levels would be like from where this all came from." Shuri replied in response and Peter nodded.

"If Hydra was to put all these weapons together they might be able to create a sort of…uh…" Peter trailed off, unable to come up with the right answer but he didn't have to as someone spoke for him.

"Gateway." Erik Selvig answered grimly as he stood behind them. Peter and Shuri looked up at him in surprise. "That's what the Tesseract was capable of doing. I know…I saw firsthand."

"You actually saw the Tesseract in person?" Peter asked in amazement and Erik shrugged. He didn't like to think back to that time in his life very often but mostly because there was a lot of blank spaces there because of what Loki had done to him.

"I saw enough of her to know that these weapons are nothing to be messed with." Erik said gruffly as he looked back down at the two teenagers. He had been hesitant at first towards the idea of working with teenagers in a lab but he soon learned that the kids could hold their own. They were both astonishingly intelligent and well versed in all things science. Erik knew that the both of them had bright futures ahead of themselves.

"The Tesseract has the power of interdimensional travel. With the Tesseract you could travel anywhere in the universe." Erik said and Peter's eyes widened at the very idea. That was literally the coolest thing he had ever heard anyone say. He almost smiled until he heard what Erik said next.

"Just remember. That gateway opens both ways just like an actual door." Erik told them seriously which caused both Peter and Shuri to exchange worried looks. "With enough power Hydra might be able to achieve the same thing."

"Do you think the weapons here are enough to mass that kind of energy level?" Shuri asked Erik curiously. She wasn't well versed in the knowledge of the Tesseract. Shuri doubted that anyone except for Erik Selvig himself could consider themselves well versed in it since the Tesseract's properties were still a mystery. However, she was happy to learn from such a distinguished Astrophysicist.

"These weapons? No. Not even close." Erik told them as he glanced up at the readings on the screen. "But this is only a fraction of what Hydra has. If they had a lot more Tesseract powered weapons then who knows? This is why Thor took the Tesseract back to Asgard."

"Why's that?" Peter asked curiously and Erik really had to admire how innocent and naïve the boy was. Erik had been naïve too until Thor popped up into his life and threw everything he thought he knew out the window. He momentarily glanced over at Jane and Susan who were hard at work extracting the power source from within the weapon. It was a dangerous process but Jane and Susan knew what they were doing. Darcy sat in a chair with a bored look on her face as she played Candy Crush on her phone but every once in a while she would cast a worried look over at Jane. It was hard to believe that it was just a few years ago that they were driving through the New Mexico desert as they tried to collect data for their research. Everything changed when they hit Thor with that car and now, many years later, they were here. Somehow still all together. Erik then turned his attention back to the two curious teenagers.

"Because the Tesseract was not meant to be handled by mortal men." Erik told them sincerely. "Our meddling with the Tesseract is what brought Loki to Earth in the first place. Hydra's Tesseract powered weapons could prove to be equally as catastrophic."

"So what do we do, Dr. Selvig?" Peter asked him and the grim expression on the man's faded as he looked upon the hopeful expressions on Peter and Shuri's faces. He smiled softly at them.

"We get back to work and find a way to track down the other weapons." Erik stated as he became more serious in an effort to get back to work. "When I studied the Tesseract all those years ago, I discovered that it emitted low levels of gamma radiation. I'm hoping that maybe the weapons might-" Erik said but Shuri eagerly finished the sentence from him when she realized what he was getting at.

"Also emit gamma radiation?" Shuri said in excitement as Erik smiled in amusement at her.

"It's possible that they might. The Tesseract had low levels that Dr. Banner and Stark were able to track when they were looking for it back then." Erik explained to the two teenagers. "I know these weapons are just a small fraction of the power the Tesseract possessed but even a small, almost minuscule, level of Gamma radiation could be helpful."

"Unfortunately Dr. Banner's not around to help us this time which would've been nice since he's the world's leading expert in gamma radiation." Shuri said to Dr. Selvig and Peter nodded in agreement. Shuri didn't have the firsthand experience with gamma radiation, her only knowledge coming from what she had read, and Peter was much the same. He only knew about gamma radiation because of all the dissertations that Dr. Banner had written in the past. Erik nodded but he already had an idea.

"That's true but Dr. Banner might've left us something useful from when he and Stark were tracking the Tesseract the first time." Erik said before elaborating. "If we use spectrometers and calibrate them for Gamma Rays then I can use the tracking algorithm Dr. Banner created for basic cluster recognition."

"Spectrometers?" Peter said in confusion. "We need more than a few spectrometers to be able to find Gamma Radiation. The other Hydra weapons could be anywhere in the world right now. We have no idea where to even start to look."

"I have a lot of colleagues around the world. I'll give them all a call and see if they might be able to put their spectrometers on the roof." Erik mentioned and Shuri nodded in agreement. "At least this way we might be able to narrow the location down.

"I'll call my lab back home and do the same." Shuri added and Erik glanced back at Peter.

"Go tell Helen, Jane, and Susan to call everyone they know to get them to put their spectrometers on the roof. We're going to need all the help we can get." Erik told Peter who nodded furiously before he ran off to do what he was told. It was clear that they might not have a lot of time before Hydra made another move and they needed to find those weapons before Hydra could kill anyone else…before they could get Emma. Peter wasn't about to let that happen.

* * *

Tony watched her as she sat in the recreational area with Sam and Pepper. Steve and Barnes were missing but Tony could only assume that it was because the two war buddies, Rhodey, and Romanoff were hard at work trying to track down any sign of Hydra using every wirelessly accessible camera they could. Anything that was connected to a satellite would prove to be useful to them. They hadn't had any luck so far but hopefully soon. However, it was clear to Tony that they didn't want Emma involved in this. Which was why they probably sent Sam to distract her and Pepper probably joined in too because Tony knew she was really devastated by the news everyone learned the day before. She clearly wasn't the only one.

The three individuals lounged around on the couch as they watched an action comedy which happened to be Sam's favorite kind of movie. Emma had never cared much for those kinds of movies but she always loved Sam's commentary when he watched movies. He would always criticize the character's actions and clothing which had a way of bringing a smile to Emma's face. Emma thought the movie was more stupid than funny but she liked the way Sam made it funny himself. Pepper looked annoyed by his talking but Emma didn't mind. Boy, had she missed Sam. He was one of the funniest guys she knew.

Tony stood there as he quietly watched Emma as she laughed at something Sam said. His eyes glistened as he watched the way the laughter lit up her entire face. She looked so happy which made the knowledge of her rape even more heartbreaking. All these years Emma had lived with this secret, feeling like she couldn't tell anyone, and Tony had sat on his ass for all those years, never doing a damn thing. He had always known she was hiding something but he never expected it to be something like this. If he had known that she was raped…well, Tony didn't know what he would do. Maybe he would've tried harder to track Rumlow down or maybe he would've hired a therapist that was an expert with dealing with people who were victims of sexual assault. Tony didn't know the first thing about what Emma had gone though. He didn't think anyone at the compound did. Tony had never felt so utterly useless in his life as he did in that moment.

As Tony watched her in secret, he couldn't help but think back to the little toddler he had visited on several occasions. She obviously hadn't remembered him from those visits and Tony understood why. She had been so little at the time, after all. However, he remembered all those visits which is why it broke his heart even more to learn about all the terrible things that had happened to her. Back then she had always been happy to see him. She was always giggling and smiling. There was never a day that went by when he had seen a sad look on her face. Emma had been the happiest little girl there ever was with two parents who loved her more than life itself.

But things were different now. Everything that happened in that base had changed her right to the very core. Her smiles were rare and her laughter was even more rare. That same little blonde girl in pigtails that he had once known was left bitter and broken with a cynical outlook on life. She no longer rambled on endlessly about how horses were the best thing ever created and she didn't squeal in delight whenever she saw him walk through the front door. Hydra had completely broken her spirit and destroyed the little girl he used to know. Tony didn't know just what it was. He didn't know if it was all the torture, experimenting, killing, or even the rape. Maybe it wasn't one of those things versus the other. Maybe it was just a combination of all those things put together. Tony didn't know for sure but he knew that Emma had been hurting for a long time because of them.

It wasn't like she was nothing like she used to be. There were many moments where he could see bits and pieces of that happy little girl depicted in the teenager. Usually it was only when she was around Peter who seemed to bring out the best in her. Steve and Barnes seemed to make her happy too so Tony was glad that she seemed a little happier now that they had been returned to her. Maybe this was part of the reason Peter had begged him to call Steve. Tony now understood Peter's actions better than ever. It wasn't just their help in finding Hydra that they needed. They also needed a stronger support system for Emma because this was more than Tony could have ever of comprehended.

It made him sick to know what Rumlow had done to Emma. It was a whole new level of evil that not even someone like Loki could steep to. Tony had met his fair share of evil scum in his lifetime but no one like Rumlow. The thought of Rumlow, a man even older than himself, doing those things to Emma made Tony sick to his stomach. Tony knew it wasn't from the alcohol either. That fucking sick pedophile had raped and traumatized the same little blonde girl he so fondly remembered. Tony was left feeling angry and hateful at the thought of the things that had been done to Emma. He felt like taking Rumlow and blowing him up until there were nothing but ashes left. The fucking pedophile.

"Guys, I think I'm going to go to the kitchen for some water." Emma told Sam and Pepper after she noticed Tony standing a distance away. They had locked eyes and Emma figured that Tony probably wanted to talk. She hadn't exactly been looking forward to talking to him about this and especially since she felt guilty for not telling him about the rape herself. Emma didn't know why but she felt like he didn't deserve to be told with everyone else. She should've taken him aside and told him but after telling Steve and her father about it, Emma didn't think she had the energy. "Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good, Em. You go ahead." Sam told her and Pepper shook her head. Emma just swallowed hard as she got up from the couch, making her way into the kitchen. She knew Tony would follow her.

Emma grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets but she couldn't help but feel so useless at the same time. She'd rather be helping her father, Steve, and Natasha track down Hydra but they were adamant that they didn't need her help. Emma could kind of see the sense in that. Even having everyone in the conference room just waiting for one of the cameras around the world to snap a photo of Rumlow or another Hydra agent wasn't going to make this go any faster. Emma didn't have the capabilities of helping out in the lab where Peter was either. Vision and Wanda were walking around outside as they caught up with each other and killed time in the process. T'Challa, Okoye, Maria, and Clint were training in the training facility across the compound. Emma wanted to train too but she was waiting for Natasha and her father to join her but they were currently busy right now. Emma just felt like there was way more that she could be doing in the meantime. She wanted anything that could distract her from thinking about Hydra and Rumlow right now.

"Mini Cap, I think the glass is full enough." Tony said from behind her and Emma snapped out of her thoughts. She looked down and noticed that the water was overflowing so she instantly turned the faucet off. God…what was wrong with her these days?

"I uh…was distracted, I guess." Emma said quietly as she turned back around to face the billionaire. She slowly took a long sip from the glass, still looking as distracted as before. Tony looked at her in concern because it was almost like she was somewhere else. She seemed distant…far away.

"You doing okay, Mini Cap?" Tony asked hesitantly as he looked at her in concern. Emma sighed heavily as she shrugged, avoiding eye contact with him. She didn't really know what to say to him. She didn't really know what to say to anyone now that they all knew her secret.

"I'm fine considering all things." Emma said but Tony knew that wasn't the half of it. "I mean, everyone's walking on eggshells around me except for Peter but it could be worse."

"You could've told me, you know." Tony said quietly and Emma looked back at him. There was a guilt ridden expression on Tony's face which she didn't understand. It wasn't his fault that this happened. It wasn't anyone except for Rumlow's fault. Everyone was acting like they had played a part in her rape but it wasn't true. There was nothing any one of them could've done no matter what they convinced themselves off.

"I could barely tell Peter." Emma told him and Tony shook his head.

"I could've gotten you help…I could've done more to help you." Tony said but Emma wasn't convinced.

"This was a very intimate and dark secret of mine. I used to blame myself all the time and I was so ashamed." Emma told Tony as she tried being completely honest with him. "Telling anyone about what Rumlow did terrified me. It was one of my greatest weaknesses…until I talked to someone with similar life experience. She finally made me wake up and see that it wasn't my fault. When I was hiding this part of my past, I was only protecting him. I wasn't protecting myself."

"Who is this person?" Tony asked, curious to know who had helped Emma through something like this. It couldn't have been anyone around here.

"She's just a friend. Anyways…it took a lot for me to even work up the courage to tell Peter." Emma told Tony as he listened to her intently. "This secret was tearing us apart and I no longer had a choice. That's why we were fighting all those months ago. He knew I was keeping something from him and I was scared that he'd leave me if he ever found out."

"Peter would never do that. He's hopelessly in love with you. I've never seen anyone more in love in my life…except for you maybe." Tony said as his gaze softened.

"I know he wouldn't now but I was being stupid. The rape made me feel worthless and shameful. I saw myself that way so I thought everyone else would see me that way too." Emma said and Tony felt a lump in his throat from the sadness on the young girl's face. "For most of my life I was trained to be the best there ever was. I was a perfectionist of sorts. Rumlow raping me damaged my self-esteem. He created all these insecurities and made me view myself as someone none of you would even want to be around."

"Emma, I would never, not once, think about you like that. It wasn't your fault. He's a sick fuck that needs to be torn apart into a million pieces or have his fucking dick cut off or something." Tony told her, his eyes flooding with tears. Despite the sad circumstance, Emma laughed a little at Tony's creative ideas for Rumlow's death. "I don't know. I'm sure we can come up with something."

"We could have him tied against the wall and then set him on fire before watching him burn alive." Emma suggested as she attempted to make Tony feel better about the situation. He stared at her in surprise. "We could kill him and then chop his body into a million pieces before dumping the remains in a swamp for the gators to eat. My favorite one is decapitating him and then stuffing his own tiny dick in his mouth. I feel like that's the best one…it's kind of symbolic."

"You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" Tony said and Emma smiled softly before nodding.

"Kind of." Emma admitted before they both grew serious once more.

"You could've still talked to me if you wanted." Tony told her sadly and Emma shrugged.

"I know. I was just scared, I guess. I've gotten a little better." Emma said as she gazed back at him. "Peter's really helped me. I mean, I don't think he could ever understand but he's been so patient and kind. I know my self-esteem's still low so I get jealous easily because of my insecurities but he never gets mad at me. He just accepts me for who I am."

"I'm glad." Tony said, happy that at least she had someone she could talk to about all this. "He's a great kid."

"I know he is." Emma said softly as she smiled fondly at the mere thought of Peter. "He's been so supportive through all of this. My nightmares are still really bad so I know that I probably wake him up every night but he never gets angry. He's been a great comfort to me when I need it most." She then blushed when she realized that she had admitted to Tony that she and Peter slept in the same bed together which was something Tony had threatened Peter not to do. However, she was surprised that Tony didn't look the least bit surprised or angry.

"I'm not shocked, Emma. I know you and Peter sleep in the same bed together." Tony told her much to her astonishment. "I never thought you'd listen to me anyways. I actually don't care what you two kids do together. As long as you feel happy and safe." Emma smiled at him.

"He does make me feel safe and happy. He makes me feel more than that too." Emma told Tony who just nodded.

"Then I'm happy for you." Tony said before he smirked at her. "Although I can't say the same for Cap and Daddy Dearest when they find out. Something tells me they're going to be more 1940s about this."

"I don't doubt that." Emma said but she was really just thankful that Tony had been so understanding of her needs. He never tried to stop Peter and her from sleeping together even if that meant that they were doing less than appropriate things together which they weren't. He just wanted her to be happy and Emma felt touched. The smirk faded from Tony's face as he looked back at her.

"Never think that there's anything you can't tell me. I don't want you to be afraid of telling me anything." Tony told her sincerely, wanting her to know that even if he goofed around all the time that she could still talk to him if she needed to. Emma just nodded.

"Okay." Emma said and Tony's gaze softened once more as he looked at her. It was so hard not to think of the small blonde girl he used to know when he looked at her. The image of her youthful face, long blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes broke Tony's heart.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Emma." Tony said and he seemed like he was apologizing to her a lot these days. Emma just shook her head.

"It's already done. I know this feels new for everyone else but this happened to me a long time ago." Emma informed him as she tried to make him feel better. "I still have my issues but I've learned to live with it since then. It could be worse. At least I'm not with Hydra anymore."

"And Hydra will never get you back." Tony told her seriously. "I'll make sure of it." Emma smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, Tony." Emma said and she hesitated for a moment before she decided to hug him again. This hugging thing was still a foreign concept to her and especially when it came to Tony. She wrapped her arms around him and just held onto him as Tony slowly returned the hug. He never understood why she was trying to make him feel better when he was the one who messed up. He did blame himself for this and he knew some of the others felt the same way. Tony just wanted there to be a way for him to somehow fix this. A way for him to erase all the pain and suffering in her past so she wouldn't have to live through it. He didn't understand how she managed to live through it all but still be as strong and brave as she was. Here Tony had been whining about wormholes and caves when Emma had been through so much worse. He felt like an asshole.

"Please don't thank me." Tony told her as they stood there in silence. He pulled away so he could look at her face and Emma looked at him in concern. She frowned when she saw the guilty look on his face. "I don't deserve it."

"I don't blame you for any of it. I don't blame anyone for it…except for Rumlow." Emma told him and Tony just shook his head.

"I just feel like I should've known that you were still alive…like there was more I could've done to prevent everything that happened in the past." Tony told her and Emma didn't know why he always did this. She didn't know why he felt so much guilt. It wasn't like there was anything he could've done. Tony wasn't clairvoyant yet he suddenly seemed to think he was.

"There's nothing to be done. What happened to me already happened." Emma told him softly. "The only thing we can do now is to stop Hydra once and for all to make sure Rumlow doesn't do that to another girl."

"You're right. I know you're right but I just feel like I've done a shitty job of protecting you." Tony told her and Emma just shook her head.

"I don't need your protection, Tony. It's not your job." Emma told him and Tony swallowed hard because he knew the truth even if Emma didn't.

"It is my job. It's always been my job…as your godfather." Tony told her with a sad look on his face. Emma looked at him in surprise although she wasn't sure why she was so surprised. It made sense, didn't it? She knew that Tony had probably grown up around her biological father. The way Tony sometimes talked about her parents made it clear to Emma that he knew them. The comment her cousin Daniel had made all those months ago, when she visited her grandmother's grave, suddenly made more sense.

"What?" Emma questioned despite being fully aware of what Tony just told her. He sighed.

"Your parents made me your godfather after you were born." Tony elaborated before going on as Emma carefully watched him. "In case something ever happened to them. I didn't want to because come on…I'm the last person anyone would want taking care of their children." Tony paused briefly as he sighed heavily before he continued.

"But Steven was adamant. He said there was no one he trusted more." Tony said as he smiled softly at the thought of Steven. "I loved him, you know. Your father was like a brother to me. Steven was always there for me when my dad wasn't. He did all the stereotypical dad stuff like teaching me how to throw a ball and taking me to the zoo. I'm just sorry he never got to do those things with you. However, he loved you very much. Both of your parents did." Emma didn't really know how to feel after hearing that. She didn't smile but she didn't cry either. She just had a confused look on her face.

"I don't remember them anymore. Not really. It's all just pictures to me. It doesn't feel real. _They_ don't feel real." Emma said quietly as Tony stood there and patiently listened to her. "I always knew you probably knew them but I never asked because I didn't want to know. I was afraid that it would make them more real to me and then I'd really feel the loss. I've already lost so much in my life."

"I know you've lost a lot but I just want you to know that they were real people. Real people who loved you more than you'll ever know." Tony told her as a sad look crossed his face. "Which is why I feel like I failed them."

"Stop saying that you failed. You say that all the time and it's not true." Emma said, trying to be honest with Tony which was rare for her. Tony looked at her curiously as Emma sighed heavily. "You try and that's all I can ask for. The same goes for everyone else."

"You're a good kid." Tony told her as he smiled at her softly. Emma didn't really know if she completely believed him about that but she believed that he believed that.

"You're okay too, I guess." Emma told him because she was still Emma Rogers, after all, and complimenting people wasn't her strongest skill.. He just continued to smile at her as he patted her gently on the shoulder.

"Just ask me and I can tell you all about your dad…whenever you're ready." Tony said and Emma just nodded as she returned his smile.

"Maybe someday I'll take you up on that." She replied and with that, their conversation seemed to be over.

There was still a lot of hurt feelings on Tony's part over what happened to Emma but she was right in a way. It had already happened and there was nothing that he could do about it. The only thing he could do was capture Rumlow and stop Hydra once and for all. Tony knew he had to look forward from now on but he still couldn't help but wish that this hadn't happened to her. She was just a girl…a child. Children were to be protected and hidden from evil like this yet Emma was hurt in the worst way. Tony didn't know how he was going to live with the knowledge of what happened to her but he knew what he had to do to keep Emma safe. Hydra had to end. They were notorious for always finding a way to come back, it was their motto, but Tony wanted to find a way to make sure they stayed dead. Hydra needed to end because he didn't want Emma living her life constantly looking over her shoulder. She deserved better.

* * *

Later in the day Emma's father finally joined her in the training facility. It seemed like Steve had opted out but she wasn't surprised. Even back when Steve and her lived in the tower, he never wanted to train with her. He was too afraid of hurting her so she trained with Natasha, Clint, and Sam instead. Emma supposed Steve and Peter were more alike than she had ever thought. The idea of somehow hurting her had always made Peter scared of sparring with her. However, Emma knew that her father didn't have any of those fears. He never held back during their days in Hydra. Her father used to tell her that people in the real world wouldn't hold back against her so why should he? Emma just hoped that his philosophy hadn't changed from that.

The training facility was fairly full as Emma and her father both cautiously scanned the room. T'Challa and Okoye were both caught up in a training session of their own as they sparred against each other. Emma watched with interest as the warrior woman showed her king who was boss. The woman's fighting style was a lot different than the one her father taught her. Her father was most proficient in close quarters knife fighting so Emma considered that one of her highest levels of skill but he had also taught her a few other methods as well. Women, at least normal women, were supposed to be less strong than a man so they had to make up for that difference in strength using other methods. Speed, reflexes, and improvising. Her father had taught her to use any method necessary to win which also meant fighting dirty and turning anything into a weapon. Although Okoye's style of fighting was different, and not as dirty, she was clearly faster and slightly more focused than T'Challa. The warrior woman ended the fight as she managed to knock out T'Challa's legs from underneath him. It was a move he clearly didn't see coming as he fell to the floor with a grunt. His general stood over him with a proud smirk on her face.

"You froze again, didn't you?" The woman asked in her thick Wakandan accent. T'Challa just groaned as he sat up from the floor.

"I didn't freeze." T'Challa said in annoyed tone. Emma had an amused smirk on her face as she watched the two Wakandans.

"I want to fight her." Emma said, her eyes lighting up with excitement at the very idea. Her father gave her an amused look.

"She might just give you a run for your money. She's good." Bucky told the blonde who glared at him.

"Are you saying that she's better than me?" Emma asked him and Bucky just chuckled at his daughter as he ruffled her hair.

"Never. I taught you everything I know. How could she be better?" Her father said to her with a proud look on his face and Emma smiled at him, happy that she could make her father proud. Sam looked in between the father and daughter with a disturbed look on his face. Peter, who had also came down to the training facility, also looked deeply disturbed by his girlfriend's dad. Peter didn't really know what a dad was supposed to be like but he didn't think he had ever met one that would be proud of Emma's assassin skills in the way Bucky was.

"You guys are so creepy." Sam told them but neither Emma nor Bucky seemed the least bit offended. Emma rolled her eyes at the man before turning back to face her father.

"Can we fight now, Papa? I want to show you how much better I've become since we last saw each other." Emma told him in an excited voice. Everyone else in the room, including Natasha who had just walked in, observed the pair with an odd look on their face. It was strange how Emma seemed just like a regular sixteen year old who wanted to show her father a good grade she got on a test. It was even stranger when Bucky smiled down at her.

"Of course, Malen'kaya." Bucky told her. "We should warm up first though. It might not have been a long time for you but it's been a while for me."

"Should we get the knives, Papa? Remember how much fun we used to have with the knives?" Emma said to her father and her father gave her an amused smile before shaking his head.

"Not this time. We should just keep it simple for now." He told her and Emma had an almost disappointed look on her face as she nodded. As if she was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to get into a knife fight with her dad. However, she seemed to brighten up a moment later when she remembered that they would still be sparring.

"Next time then." Emma said to him as they both moved to the main section of the training facility, taking up the spots that T'Challa and Okoye had since vacated. Peter, Sam, and Natasha watched them curiously. The Viper Assassin and Winter Soldier's partnership had been legendary during their time at Hydra but all three of them were curious to see how they fought against each other.

Peter's head slightly tilted to the side as he watched his girlfriend warm up for the training session. She leaned forward as she stretched and Peter was left in a sort of trance as his eyes rested on Emma's legs. She was wearing those work-out leggings again. The ones that clung to Emma's body like a second skin. Peter had always loved Emma's legs which seemed to go on for miles. He wasn't sure why he seemed to have a thing for her legs. Maybe it was because of all those skirts she always wore. Even when they weren't dating his eyes always seemed to be glued to her legs whenever she passed by him in a skirt. At the time he scolded himself because it wasn't cool to sexually objectify your best friend. However, Emma wasn't just his best friend anymore. She was way more and she told him that she didn't mind him looking at her that way. Peter was kind of proud of the fact that Emma looked at him the same way too. He wasn't alone in his feelings.

The teenage boy's eyes ran up his girlfriend's backside, taking a moment to appreciate that too, before his eyes stopped on the area of bare skin that showed off her midriff as she stretched. Her shirt rode up a bit as she continued to stretch and Peter was left in a strange kind of stupor as he stared at Emma's soft and pale skin. At the moment, she seemed oblivious to the fact that she had his attention. Emma was too excited and focused to pay any attention to Peter's staring. However, there were two people who were more than aware of Peter staring at the blonde. In fact, they found Peter's staring to be more interesting than the fact that the Viper Assassin and Winter Soldier were about to fight. They were so interested in Peter's staring that they watched him watch Emma. Sam shook his head in disbelief as he glared at the kid who was ogling Emma and smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Peter exclaimed in surprise as Sam smacked him. He had had just been reminiscing about the other day when Emma had allowed him to stick his hand under her shirt and feel her up. Her skin was so soft and smooth under his touch. His less than appropriate thoughts had then been interrupted by Sam's hand. The teenage boy glared at the man as he rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell was that for?"

"What do you think you're doing, Spider-Boy?" Sam said sarcastically as he continued to glare at the sixteen year old boy who he had just caught eye fucking his best friend's granddaughter. "I'm not an idiot. I saw what you were doing."

"I wasn't doing anything." Peter said as he lied horribly. Sam clenched his jaw while Natasha just smirked. Whatever was going on between this kid and Emma, whether it was a summer fling or something more, was slowly coming more and more to light. It wouldn't be long before everyone else figured out the same thing she did. Natasha honestly had no idea how Emma thought she could ever keep this a secret. This boy was clearly a horrible liar and wouldn't know what the definition of discreet was even if it hit him in the face.

"Oh, so I was just mistaken when I saw you taking her clothes off with your eyes." Sam accused as he crossed his arms. Peter blushed as he tried to deny what he had been doing.

"I wasn't! I swear!" Peter insisted but Sam wasn't buying it.

"In your dreams, kid. It's never going to happen. Emma will cut your hands off before she lets you touch her." Sam told him, seeming confident in what he was saying. Peter smirked at the man as he said that because it already happened. Emma was his girlfriend and she actually seemed more than fine with him touching her. She even enjoyed it when he touched her…she enjoyed it a lot actually. However, he remembered what Emma said about running his mouth all the time. She'd probably kill him if he let out the truth about their relationship.

"What hell are you smirking at, Spider-Boy?" Sam demanded as he noticed the stupid little smirk on the kid's face. Peter forced the smirk away as he tried to push thoughts of what him and Emma did when they were alone together out of his mind.

"Nothing." Peter said innocently and Sam just narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the smug little bastard.

"I've got my eye on you, Spider-Boy. One wrong move and you're dead." Sam threatened as he poked Peter's chest, trying to get his point across. Peter tried to pretend he didn't know what Sam was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Wilson." Peter said as he tried to lie like Emma but unfortunately he didn't seem to be as skilled at lying as she was. Sam scoffed.

"Mr. Wilson, my ass." Sam grumbled as he then walked off to go watch Emma and Bucky's sparring session from the other side of the room. He couldn't stand to be around that smug little bastard for one more second. What was up with the stupid smirk on the kid's face anyways? What did he have to be so smug about? Emma wouldn't touch that little dork with a ten foot pole. She was too smart to become involved with some stupid little kid.

"My advice for you is to be careful where you look when you're around Steve and Bucky." Natasha told the teenage boy with a small smirk on her face. Peter looked at the woman in surprise. He didn't know what she was talking about. Careful where he looked?

"W-What do you m-mean?" Peter stuttered, taken back by Natasha's random statement. Natasha just continued to smirk at the boy. In a way she kind of reminded him of Emma when she smirked like that.

"I'm just telling you to keep your eyes to yourself whenever Steve and Bucky are around." Natasha told him innocently but her smirk spoke volumes. "If Barnes catches you staring at Emma's ass like that he'll probably try to kill you. Try and be more discreet." Peter blushed vibrantly as he started to panic.

"I-I wasn't staring…I mean, I'm not-" Peter stuttered and Natasha just shook her head at him.

"You're a terrible liar, Peter." Natasha told him before she went to join Sam on the other side of the room. Peter could only watch in disbelief as the older woman walked off. She actually knew about them? She knew there was something going on between him and Emma? Oh god, Emma was going to be so pissed at him. She was going to withhold their alone time together, wasn't she? Damn it. It was already difficult enough with them hiding their relationship and now this too.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Bucky asked her with a cocky smirk on his face. "May I remind you that I'm the experienced one." Emma scoffed but she smiled at her father nonetheless.

"May I remind you that I'm the more superior one." Emma retorted, referring to the fact that her super soldier serum was far more advanced than his. Bucky just chuckled.

"That means nothing compared to experience." Bucky told her before giving her a knowing look. "Don't even try those dirty little tricks of yours. That pretending to be hurt thing doesn't work on me. It never has." Peter crossed his arms as he heard Emma's father say that. He was a little bitter at knowing that her father was too smart to fall for those tricks Emma liked to pull. Peter fell for those tricks of hers every single time. How could he not?

"We'll see about that." Emma told him before she got into position. Her heart was beating fast but only because she was excited to finally fight with her father after so long. Bucky got into the stance too as he tried to prepare himself to attack her. He was a little hesitant because he remembered how vicious Emma could be when sparring. She loved to win and she would resort to any means necessary to win. He was glad she was that way because that's what he taught her.

Bucky grew close to her and Emma let him at first. He moved slowly at first, closing the distance between them, before he attacked first and threw his fist in the direction of her face. Emma anticipated this move and quickly ducked his punch. However, Bucky also seemed to count on her dodging the attack so he took advantage of the situation and threw another punch but only this time he hit her in the ribs. Emma winced from the strength of his punch and she knew that he wasn't holding back like Peter always seemed to. Emma was more than ecstatic about this.

Bucky went to hit her again, with his vibranium arm, but Emma quickly grabbed his wrist with both hands. His vibranium arm was strong and she even struggled quite a bit as he held it away from her. In her midst of struggling, Bucky quickly hit her with his other arm and Emma stumbled to the ground.

However, she was quick to recover as she rolled over and got back on her feet. Bucky stalked over to her but before he could reach him, she charged at him and kicked him harshly in the stomach. Bucky instantly fell to the floor from the force of her kick.

"Need some help, old man?" Emma asked smugly as Bucky quickly got up from the floor. He glared at his smug daughter.

"I'll show you who's an old man." Bucky grumbled as he quickly went at her again.

Emma teasing her father was just another strategy of hers. He used to be cold and calculated but he was different now which she had been counting on. He had the old Bucky Barnes' short temper so Emma knew the best way in defeating him was taunting him so that she could piss him off. His movements would be sloppier if he was pissed off. This was actually something that her father hadn't taught her. It was something Natasha taught her instead.

"Can you even punch anymore? Or have you forgotten that as well?" Emma mocked and Bucky growled as he threw another punch at her but she quickly dodged it.

Her strategy in pissing him off seemed to be working since his movements were remarkably sloppier. This teasing thing was a different strategy than what she normally used against Peter. She knew her father wasn't as scared of hurting her as Peter was because her father knew that she wasn't fragile. Emma treated her father the same way because she knew he wasn't fragile either.

"I don't remember you being this annoying." Bucky muttered as he tried to land another punch but Emma dodged it once more and countered it with a hit to his jaw. He grunted as he stumbled back from her punch. She really didn't hold back with that one, did she?

Emma took advantage of his state of surprise as she roughly pushed him to the floor with all the strength she could muster which was a lot. Bucky grunted as he hit the floor. It seemed like he had the upper hand in the beginning but now Emma was really kicking his ass. It was a blow to his ego that he was currently getting his ass handed to him by a sixteen year old girl but he knew Emma was a lot stronger than she looked. He knew that better than anyone.

Bucky didn't have time to get back up as Emma pounced on him. He groaned in pain because she was heavier than he remembered her being. It shouldn't have been a surprise since it had been years since they had done this. She immediately landed multiple punches to his ribs with enhanced speed. Her fist moved so fast that it was almost a blur.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

The rapid speed she used when punching him would've shattered the ribcage of a normal human but Bucky was positive that he would just be very bruised in the morning. Bucky then used all the strength he could gather to throw her off of him. She fell harshly to the ground. Bucky didn't waste any time retaliating as he hovered over her and attempted to pin her down to the ground to end the fight. He was actually able to hold her there for a while. Emma struggled underneath him as Bucky used all his strength to hold her there.

"That new metal arm of yours is pretty strong." Emma told him as she struggled against his strong grip. Bucky smirked at her.

"I know…I think I like it." Bucky told her and Emma just smirked back at him.

"Too bad it's not strong enough." Emma told him with a snide tone and Bucky's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What-" He started to ask but he never got to finish as Emma immediately kneed him in the groin harshly.

Bucky grunted as she immediately flipped him over so that he was the one on the ground. He tried to recover quickly but Emma stopped him as she managed to get her arm around his neck. Bucky tried to get up but Emma immediately threw one of her legs over his to keep him locked into place. The more he struggled, the more Emma tightened her grip as she kept him locked in a chokehold.

"Surrender." Emma told him softly and Bucky continued to struggle in her unbelievably strong grip. He didn't want to admit defeat. Bucky had a feeling Sam would make fun of him if he surrendered.

"No." He managed to utter and Emma just tightened her arm even more around his neck. Bucky was really struggling to catch his breath at this point as he tried to get out from under her.

"Don't embarrass yourself, Papa." Emma said and Bucky made a face of disdain by the smugness he heard in her voice. She was just as smug now as she was back then. It was nice to know that some things hadn't changed.

"You're a real brat, you know that?" Bucky wheezed as he tried prying himself from her grip. It was too bad that Emma had him sitting on his vibranium arm because he could really use the thing right now. Sam and Peter were unsure whether or not they should step in at this point. Bucky really seemed to be struggling for breath. Maybe this was going too far. Natasha, however, looked very entertained.

"Admit that I won." Emma told him and he just knew that she was smirking again. Bucky gritted his teeth as he finally began to cave into her. It looked like he had probably embarrassed himself anyways. Sam was sure going to give him hell for this one.

"Fine. You won." Bucky finally relented and a satisfied smile came over Emma's face. She loosened her grip around his neck before she leaned over and gently planted a kiss on the tip of his nose. Nothing would be alarming if it hadn't been for the chokehold she had her father in less than fifteen seconds before. Sam and Peter watched the scene in utter shock while Natasha just looked at Emma and Bucky curiously. Emma got up from the ground and Bucky followed suit as he also stood to his feet.

"You've gotten stronger since last time." Bucky said, sounding impressed with his daughter. Emma smiled at him.

"Or maybe you've just gotten weaker." Emma told him and Bucky just shook his head in amusement before Sam came up to the both of them.

"What's this, Barnes? You just got your ass handed to you by a sixteen year old girl." Sam said as he snickered at the former Hydra assassin. Bucky glared at him.

"She's a very strong sixteen year old girl in case you haven't noticed." Bucky grumbled.

"Whatever, man. That was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. You don't know how rich you just made me…although I think Barton's probably pissed he lost the bet."

"You were betting on us?" Bucky questioned incredulously and Sam just grinned at him.

"Yes but that's not the point. The point I'm making is that Barton was stupid enough to believe that you could actually beat Emma." Sam told him as he threw his arm around Bucky's shoulders. Emma's father eyed the man's arm like he secretly wanted to chop it off. Sam then led Bucky away as he continued to tease him about his defeat. Emma watched her father in amusement but wasn't left alone long before Peter walked up to her. She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. He only spoke to her when her father and Sam were far enough away that they wouldn't hear them.

"You did really great back there." Peter told her, breaking the silence. Emma looked over at him, her smile morphing into a smirk.

"Well, maybe this will teach you not to be so fragile with me next time we train. I can handle myself." Emma told him and Peter rolled his eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Emma. I don't hold back." Peter denied and Emma scoffed.

"I'll believe that when I see it." She told him and Peter knew that he was never going to convince her that he wasn't holding back. In a way she was right. It was just impossible for him to ever use his full strength with her. She was fragile compared to him and Peter didn't want to ever hurt her.

"I still think that you were amazing just now. Sometimes I forget what you're capable of. You really destroyed your dad." Peter told her quietly and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a bad thing?" Emma asked him curiously and Peter just smiled before shaking his head.

"No. I was actually…." Peter said before trailing off. Emma gave him a curious look.

"You were what?" She questioned and Peter blushed, looking embarrassed before finally answering her.

"I was a little turned on." He said very quietly before avoiding her gaze. Emma gave him a disgusted look.

"You were turned on by me fighting my father?" She questioned and Peter's eyes widened before he furiously shook his head.

"No. Not that." Peter was quick to deny before explaining himself. "I wasn't turned on by you fighting your father in particular but I was more turned on by you…um…just taking down a guy twice your size. It was really cool, I guess. It was even uh…sexy." Emma gave him an amused look as he seemed to retreat into himself, thinking that she must've thought he was weird now. She just couldn't believe he actually said the word "sexy". It wasn't like her cute little Parker to be confident enough to tell her that he thought she was sexy but Emma thought she liked this more confident side of him.

"You're into some kinky shit, Parker." Emma told him and Peter blushed more.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I was just-" Emma interrupted his rambling as she laughed at him, taking the teenage boy by surprise. However, he didn't think there was ever a day that went by that Emma didn't do something to surprise him.

"Relax, Peter. I'm just teasing you." Emma said, her eyes gleaming with humor. "If it's any consolation, I happen to find you very sexy too." Peter stared at him in bewilderment. Emma found him to be…sexy? He obviously knew that she was attracted to him but she thought he was sexy as well. Peter didn't really think there was anything about him that was sexy.

"Really?" Peter asked in surprise and Emma nodded unabashedly.

"You know when you're at your sexiest?" Emma inquired and Peter gave her an odd look.

"Not really." Peter said, still not understanding what went on inside Emma's head. He doubted he ever would.

"When you're concentrating so hard on something that there's a little crease that forms in between your eyebrows and your tongue pokes out of your mouth." Emma said nonchalantly and Peter just stared at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe she really said what he thought she just said. That wasn't sexy. That was actually the least sexy thing Peter had ever heard of. Peter didn't even realize that he did that yet Emma apparently liked it.

"Really? That's what turns you on?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged. That was the weirdest thing Peter had ever heard.

"Pretty much." Emma said although that wasn't entirely true. She also thought it was pretty hot when Peter took a command of a situation but she didn't want to tell him that. She didn't want to give him any ideas. "It's not like you're one to judge, Parker. You just admitted that me fighting men twice my size gives you a boner. That's a pretty weird turn on."

"Emma, why do you have to be so gross about it." Peter complained and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Let's just call it what it is, Peter." Emma told him and Peter just glowered at her.

"I'm regretting even mentioning that one to you." Peter told her and Emma gave him a curious look.

" _That one_? What do you mean _that one_?" Emma asked him and Peter blushed again. "What else turns you on?"

"I don't want to say." Peter told her and Emma grew closer to him, causing Peter to gulp. He knew what she was trying to do. She was going to try and seduce him into telling her. That's how she did a lot of things. Well…she wasn't really going to _try_ and seduce him into telling. She was probably going to be successful in seducing him. Peter nervously looked in the direction of her father, remembering the warning Natasha had given him earlier, but he noticed that Emma's father was too preoccupied with laughing at something Sam and Clint said to him. Thank God.

"Please, Peter. For me?" She asked him softly, looking at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Peter knew he was a goner. She was just so hard to say no to sometimes. Emma had him completely wrapped around her finger and she knew it too. He then mumbled his answer but Emma couldn't quite understand what he was saying. "What was that, Peter?"

"I said that I like it when you're bossy too." Peter said quietly, looking very embarrassed but Emma just thought he was cute. It was true though. Peter really did like it when Emma bossed him around. Ned would probably make fun of him for it but Peter loved how bossy his girlfriend could be at times. Well, she was bossy all the time but Peter loved her for it. Emma just smiled at him as she rested her hands upon his shoulders. Peter wanted more than anything to just grab her and kiss her senseless. The urge was overwhelming as she looked back at him.

"If you want I can boss you around right now." Emma said flirtatiously and Peter swallowed hard. He really wished she wouldn't flirt with him like that with her father in the room. It was obvious that Emma's father wasn't paying any attention to them but this was still dangerous. He wanted nothing more than to rush her off to his or her room so that they could be alone together. It wasn't a foreign concept. Whenever their flirting had taken a turn like this, they usually always hurried off to one of their rooms for privacy but that just wasn't possible now.

"Emma, don't do this to me right now." Peter whined and Emma feigned a sad look.

"Oh, is my poor little Parker horny? I'm sorry." Emma teased and Peter realized then just how evil his girlfriend could be. She was really going to get him killed if she kept flirting with him like that. He wasn't going to be able to stop himself from grabbing her and kissing her until she was dizzy which would only cause her father to kill him right where he stood. However, before Peter could say as much, their flirting was interrupted by someone unexpected. Well, someone unexpected to Emma at least.

"If I were you two I would turn the flirting down a notch." Natasha told the both of them seriously. Peter blushed in embarrassment while Emma just stared at her in surprise. "The sexual tension in the room is really thick and the only reason your father hasn't sensed it is because apparently he's blind and stupid."

"What?" Emma questioned, still shocked from Natasha basically telling her that she knew about the relationship. The platinum woman just smirked at the two teenagers.

"You are two of the most obvious people I've ever met. I figured out your little secret in two days." Natasha told them, looking amused. "Really, Emma. I'm disappointed. I thought you were more discreet than that."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Emma said coolly and Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Right. Well, I'm not going to tell anyone or anything so don't worry." Natasha reassured them before continuing. "I'll just look the other way the next time your boyfriend decides to stare at your ass for ten minutes straight." Natasha then walked away, as if nothing had happened, leaving the two teenagers by themselves. They both stared after her for a moment before Emma turned to Peter who looked like he wanted to crawl inside a hole and never come out. The words that then came out of her mouth made him really wish that he was somewhere else.

"You were staring at my ass?"


	79. Chapter Seventy Two

**Author's Note: So here it is! The chapter I've been planning since I basically started writing this story. I'm so excited to finally have written this chapter although I should warn you that there's kind of a steamy scene in this chapter but it's still really important to the chapter as I'm sure you will soon find out. This chapter's way longer than the last one so it might take me a little while before I'm able to update again although nowhere as long as the last chapter took.**

 **I just want to mention I was listening to a lot of Vance Joy while writing this chapter as well as the chapter I posted on my AU fanfic. I'm not sure why I never gave Vance Joy a full listen because I really love him. He's so talented.** **I was also watching a lot of the show 'Mom' while writing this. I've been really obsessed with the show lately since it's so hilarious. Allison Janney is my new favorite actress. I loved her in 'I, Tonya' but she's even better in 'Mom' which I didn't think could be possible.**

 **Snapplecrackles: I'm actually not that smart when it comes to science stuff. I stole a lot of that stuff from what Bruce Banner said in the first Avengers movie when they were trying to locate the Tesseract. I just figured that the Tesseract powered weapons would have some similarities to it's power source so the Avengers could track down the weapons in the same way. I'm actually terrible at anything math or science related. I didn't know it was national Spider-Man day when I last updated but it seems like that update worked out perfectly.**

 **Blue: I've actually given some thought as to how Emma reacted when she first got her period. I'm going to eventually write a one-shot for that scenario eventually in my companion piece 'Dry Bite' which I haven't updated in a while but plan to. I'm thinking that she was probably oblivious to it since Hydra wasn't likely to give her too many details about the female anatomy. It did happen when she was with the Avengers so you can imagine that it would come to her as a surprise since she was pretty clueless. She probably would've been really freaked out and scared. Again, I'll probably write a one-shot about this in the future.**

 **In future chapters, Emma will discuss her issues over the rape more with Bucky and Steve. I think that everyone's just walking on eggshells around her right now because they don't know want to say or do to make her feel better. None of them have much experience when it comes to that kind of trauma. After this Hydra business is over, a therapist will probably be brought in at some point and it's probably for the best because a lot of the Avengers go through traumatic events. A therapist might do everyone some good.**

 **ChanceToBeImmortal: I cannot express how much I love Anthony Mackie! He's the funniest man on earth and I seriously don't know why he doesn't do more comedies. He's an amazing dramatic actor but I want to see him in a comedy as a lead character. My dream, and I've said this multiple times in the past, is for the Falcon and Bucky to have a buddy comedy together in the MCU. It'll probably never happen but a girl can dream. Never ask me about Anthony Mackie because I could go on forever about him.**

 **Abigail Z: I'm going to buy Infinity War when it comes out on DVD but I'm not sure if I can watch it again. It's the saddest movie ever. Maybe once I see Avenger's 4 and see everything that's happen then it'll be easier but it just leaves you with a super sad feeling afterwards. Not that it's terrible or anything but it's just really sad.**

 **Mabel: Thank you so much! My only advice for new writers is to never rush anything in your story. Just take your time and pace yourself. I made the mistake of rushing certain plot points and events in my earlier stories which always made me quickly bored of the story and then I didn't want to write it anymore. So just take your time no matter how much you want to get to the finish line. Also don't let anyone get you down or tell how to write your story. Just write what makes you happy. Good luck with your writing.**

 **anonanon: I actually did consider a Bucky/Jessica pairing early on in my story before ultimately deciding against it. I kind of wanted Jessica just to be Emma's friend but not her father's girlfriend too. I felt like that would complicate things and Emma wouldn't feel comfortable with going to her for advice anymore. Jessica being Emma's friend and mentor was the choice I made although I totally get what you mean about Jessica and Bucky being an interesting pairing. She will eventually get to meet Steve, Bucky, and maybe some of the others too but not for a while. We've got to get through this Hydra stuff first.**

 **Wakanda 4ever: Thank you! I know there hasn't been a lot of Peter/Tony moments recently but I promise those will be more frequent now that everyone's back. Tony's probably feeling really isolated right now with everyone back and there's still a lot of tension so Peter will kind of be there to comfort him so their father/son relationship can strengthen. There will be way more moments in the future so not to worry. Ned and Michelle are going to meet the rest of the Avengers eventually. I'm just not sure when. I'm not sure if it'll be before the events of Hydra end or if it'll be after. I'm still planning everything out.**

 **Anna: I'm glad you've read the AU I posted to this story. I've been having such a good time writing it and I'm going to try and post another chapter soon. I do plan on eventually doing more AU stories to this fanfic. I have a couple ideas that I posted on my profile page that you can check out if you want. I haven't given thought to a gender swap version of 'Some Thing Never Sleep' but maybe I'll think about it. That sounds really interesting.**

 **Thank you guys so much for all your reviews, favorites, and likes. I'm hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.**

* * *

A couple days later all the Avengers were about to have a meeting inside one of the working conference rooms. Emma and Peter were there too seeing as this kind of concerned the both of them. Well, not Peter according to Steve but Emma made it clear that she would tell him everything that happened in the meeting anyways. Erik Selvig and the other scientists in the lab had just managed to locate an astounding amount of gamma radiation from the spectrometers and they were supposed to discuss that with the others as soon as the meeting started. Emma was seated a couple seats down from Peter as she sat in between her father and Steve.

It had been a couple days since Natasha had made it known to them that she was aware of their relationship. She hadn't said anything to Steve or her father about them yet but Emma still didn't trust her. Emma was then taken from her thoughts as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. The teenager immediately took out her phone and looked down at her phone but the fought the urge to smirk when she saw who it was. Emma discreetly glanced over at Peter who also had his phone out. He blushed as she looked at him knowingly before he returned his attention to his phone.

 **Peter:** _I miss you._

 **Emma:** _How can you miss me? You're literally sitting two seats away from me._

Emma couldn't believe how much of a dork her boyfriend could be sometimes. It's not like they were spending the summer away from each other or anything. Their rooms were right next door to each other and they saw each other every day. Emma looked back down at her phone once more when another text popped up on her screen.

 **Peter:** _You know what I mean._

 **Emma:** _I don't think I do. Maybe you should explain it to me._

Peter glared at his girlfriend who just loved making life harder for him. Everyone in the room was chatting amongst each before the meeting began so the two teenagers didn't think they were bothering anyone as they texted back and forth.

 **Peter:** _I miss being able to kiss you and hold you. I miss holding your hand. I even miss cuddling in bed together. I especially miss telling you how much I love you._

 **Emma:** _Geez, Parker. Who knew you could be this clingy?_

Peter glared at her from over his phone again. It was just like her to make fun of him when he tried to be romantic. Emma didn't seem to have a romantic bone in her body. However, his mind was changed when he saw another text she sent him.

 **Emma:** _On a more serious note, I really miss you too. Especially in bed with me._

Peter frowned but not because he knew Emma didn't mean the text in a dirty way. Especially considering they couldn't sleep in the same bed together anymore now that her father and Steve were back. Peter frowned because he was afraid that she was left alone with her nightmares. He liked being there for her whenever she had a nightmare so she knew that she was safe but unfortunately he couldn't be there for her now.

 **Peter:** _How are the nightmares? Are they bad?_

 **Emma:** _They seem to be worse now that I know Rumlow's after me again but Papa's been a great help…although I don't really like cuddling with him like I do with you._

Peter was still worried about her because she was having nightmares but he knew he would only annoy Emma if he expressed his concern so he just smiled as he changed the subject to something else. His fingers danced across his screen as he quickly responded to her text before pressing send. Emma smiled when she saw his text.

 **Peter:** _I hope you like cuddling with me more than your dad. I'm your boyfriend, after all._

 **Emma:** _Maybe when the others are distracted we can find some time to be alone together again. I was being honest when I said I missed you._

A goofy smile came over Peter's face as he eagerly texted her back. He wondered what Emma had in mind for when they were able to have some time to themselves. A wide range of possibilities ran through his mind and there was quite a few that made him blush.

 **Peter:** _What do you have in mind for when we're alone?_

Emma smirked as she didn't hesitate in texting him back.

 **Emma:** _I don't know. I just want to show you how much I miss you. Maybe I can also show Little Peter how much I miss him too._

Emma knew that she went a bit far with that last text but she thought the wide eyed look on Peter's face was worth it as he stared down at his phone in shock. The teenage boy slowly looked up from his phone and looked at his girlfriend who was smirking at him. He swallowed hard before he looked back down at his phone.

 **Peter:** _Emma, don't do this now. We're in a meeting surrounded by a bunch of people…including your dad and grandpa._

 **Emma:** _Don't be ridiculous, Peter. Steve and Papa have no idea what's going on. They're fucking clueless. Look at them. We could probably have sex on top of the table right now and they still wouldn't have a fucking clue._

Peter realized that Emma was right. Not about the weird, blunt comment she made about them having sex on top of the conference table but the other stuff. Her father and grandfather were chatting with each other happily as they laughed about some old memory one of them brought up about their childhood. They were both completely oblivious to Emma and him texting not so innocent things to each other. Peter was also just going ignore the comment about sex on top of the conference table because he didn't need to think about that right now. He already imagined having sex with Emma in a million different places so he didn't need to add another place to the list. Emma briefly paused before sending another quick flirty text.

 **Emma:** _Anyways…do you not like the name I gave Little Peter?_

 **Peter:** _What?_

 **Emma:** _The name I gave Spider-Man's fun stick._

Normally Peter would blush and tell Emma not to say those kinds of things but he decided to surprise her by playing along for once. He also didn't know about the other weird and creepy nickname she gave his penis. It was no secret that his girlfriend was insane. Peter came back with a response that was just as suggestive as Emma's.

 **Peter:** _There's nothing little about it._

Emma stared in surprise at the text on her screen, not believing her eyes. Was Peter actually flirting back with her? It wasn't as if he never flirted back but it was seldom that he was as confident as the text message suggested. That was a whole new level of confidence because Peter normally wasn't that dirty. Emma kind of liked this side of him though. She quickly texted him back.

 **Emma:** _Well, now I'm interested._

Emma paused again as she pondered whether or not she would text the next thing that came to mind. She eventually decided to fuck it and just send the message. It's not like she was exactly bashful about anything anyways.

 **Emma:** _But I think I might have to see it for myself. I'm not sure if I believe you._

Peter did blush this time as he read Emma's text. He glanced over at her but she wasn't even looking in his direction. She had her phone still in her hands but she was laughing at something Sam was telling Steve and Bucky about. It was like they weren't even having this secret and very private discussion. The idea kind of excited Peter as he texted her back.

 **Peter:** _Maybe we can arrange something then._

Emma actually did blush this time at Peter's suggestion. They always flirted with each other but it never usually went this far. Emma was surprised that it had gone this far this time. This was a first for them but Emma liked it. Maybe they should text more often. Emma liked his side of Peter. Who knew he could have such a dirty mind? Certainly not her.

"Who are you texting?" Steve asked Emma suddenly after noticing she had her eyes glued to her phone. It was kind of odd to see Emma pay such attention to her phone. She normally never bothered with the thing unless music was involved. Steve watched her curiously because she kind of looked like a normal teenage girl as she sat there glued to her phone. Emma immediately locked the screen at Steve's random question.

"No one." Emma said shortly as she quickly shoved her phone back in her pocket. This only made Steve more suspicious. He raised an eyebrow.

"I just saw you texting someone." Steve pointed out and Peter blushed vibrantly in his seat on the other side of Steve. The teenage boy was also quick to shove his phone back in his pocket which didn't escape Natasha's notice. He tried to remain as unsuspicious as possible but it was kind of difficult when he was sitting next to Captain America himself who also happened to be his girlfriend's grandfather.

"It was no one." Emma said vaguely and Steve narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"It wasn't no one. Who were you texting?" Steve asked, starting to become a little frustrated with his granddaughter. He had just been curious at first but it was now slowly becoming obvious that Emma might've been hiding something from him. Emma shrugged.

"It's not really any of your business." Emma said quietly and this seemed to piss Steve off more. He stared at her in disbelief. Emma didn't really know why she had said that to Steve. Maybe she was just being a little defensive lately but it had also been a long time since Emma had someone around who had the authority to tell her what to do.

"Of course it's my business! Who are you texting?" Steve demanded to know and his raised voice caught the attention of Bucky as the former assassin looked away from Sam, glancing at his best friend and daughter curiously.

"What's going on?" Bucky questioned and Steve clenched his jaw, in that same way Emma did when she was angry, before looking at Bucky.

"She's been texting someone for the past half an hour but she won't tell me who it is." Steve informed him and her father looked at her in surprise.

"Emma, who are you texting?" He asked her and Emma rolled her eyes as she groaned.

"God, you two are so dramatic. It's just a friend. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Emma retorted and Steve scoffed.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady." Steve scolded and Emma pouted because she hated it when he talked to her like that…like she was a child. All the Avengers watched Steve and Emma in amusement. It was weird how normal they looked as Steve lectured Emma. He looked like a normal father and she looked like a normal but moody teenage daughter.

"I wasn't taking a tone." Emma grumbled and Steve glared at her.

"I just want to know why you're being so secretive. What are you hiding?" Steve questioned and Emma glared back at him. It was kind of fascinating to Peter as he watched her and her grandfather argue. Normally she would've cussed a person out if they talked to her like that but she did no such thing as she sat there glaring back at Steve.

"Steve, I think you're being a bit paranoid. Emma's not hiding anything." Bucky said, trying to diffuse the tension as he looked between Steve and Emma. He then smiled softly at his daughter and it was clear to anyone who could see that the man was blinded by the love he had for her. In Bucky's eyes Emma was a perfect angel who could do no wrong. Sure he knew what she was capable of but in his eyes Emma was still the innocent wide eyed little girl he remembered from all those years ago.

"She won't tell me who she's texting." Steve said stubbornly and Clint rolled his eyes from across the table.

"Steve, she's a teenager. Teenagers don't want to tell us everything." Clint explained and Emma fumed at being talked about like she wasn't there. Teenager? Emma knew she was technically a teenager but that didn't mean she acted like all the other idiots at school. "Cooper doesn't even like telling his mom and I about his day at school."

"I'm still here, you know." Emma muttered, reminding Steve that she didn't appreciate the way he talked about her like she wasn't there. T'Challa cleared his throat awkwardly from the head of the table.

"Perhaps we should start the meeting." T'Challa suggested and everyone turned their attention away from Steve and Emma. Steve gave Emma a pointed look, indicating that they would be talking about this later, before he also glanced at T'Challa who then nodded towards Dr. Selvig and the other scientists who were standing next to him. The older, Swedish born, scientist cleared his throat as his eyes rested upon everyone else looking back at him. The room was packed with everyone you could imagine. The only people that weren't in the room were perhaps Darcy and Pepper who weren't as involved in this as everyone else was and Maria and Fury who were overseeing surveillance footage in another room.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, we've spent the past two days setting up spectrometers all around the world to help us detect gamma rays from the weapons." Erik announced as everyone grew quiet enough to listen to him. "We didn't get anything for a while…until some friends of Jane's, at an observatory in Mexico, set up their spectrometers. We were able to detect Gamma Radiation with the spectrometers just outside Mexico City. From the readings and Dr. Banner's algorithm we can confirm that this is more than likely the weapons we've been looking for."

"Mexico City? That's where Diego Ugalde lives." Rhodey mentioned.

"We can't assume anything right now." Steve told him before looking up at Erik. "You really think this place you've located is where the weapons are?"

"We're positive, Captain." Erik replied, looking dead serious. "The energy levels can only come from the weapons powered by the Tesseract. There's nothing else on this planet that would emit the same amount of gamma radiation."

"So we know that this is where at least some of the weapons are." Natasha reaffirmed as she looked down at the table, trying to get a grasp on the situation at hand. They needed to think about how they were going to do this. It was clear that they would have to be cautious in how they proceeded.

"We know that there's at least part of the collection of weapons Hydra has at this base. We can't be positive that they have all the weapons there." Susan added.

"It doesn't make much sense for Hydra to keep all the weapons at one base." Emma's father said quietly. "T'Challa's already confiscated the ones in Tanzania, we confiscated the ones here, and now there's some in Mexico. It could be likely they have more hidden elsewhere."

"Where?" Sam asked Bucky and the former Hydra assassin shrugged.

"I don't know. I doubt they're at any of the bases Emma and I are familiar with." Bucky told him as everyone else listened to him as well. "After D.C. they probably changed a lot of things. They most likely moved into new and different bases."

"The ones in Sokovia, Siberia, and Argentina are all done for. That's for sure." Clint told them and Steve just swallowed hard before he brought the conversation back to the task at hand.

"Let's just focus on the weapons we've found for now. We can worry about the rest after we retrieve these weapons." Steve told them in a captain like fashion. Emma almost smiled at Steve's voice of authority . It was nice having someone like that for guidance again. Tony sure as hell didn't know how to take over that kind of role in the group.

"What's the plan, Cap?" Tony questioned and it was one of the rare instances that Tony actually talked to Steve. They hadn't really had a one on one conversation with each other since Steve returned. Things were still a little tense but they were both willing to look the other way for Emma. "Should we attack now?"

"No. It's too late now and we can't strike at night anyways. Especially since we have no idea just how many weapons they have at this base." Steve said seriously as he relayed his plan to them. "We should gather some intel tonight from the agents you have stationed in Mexico City and then we'll strike tomorrow during the day. We'll be able to catch them by surprise that way."

"There's only one other thing we have to consider." Natasha said aloud as she looked around the table. "Who's going and who's staying? Obviously Cap and I are going. Who else?"

"Count me in." Sam said as he grinned at them, almost seeming excited at a chance to take down more Hydra assholes.

"I will go. Hydra has vibranium from Wakanda in their clutches so it's my job to make sure we retrieve all the weapons." T'Challa announced before looking at Okoye. "You shall stay with Shuri here at the compound. She will be safe under your watch."

"I don't need protection." Shuri argued but she went ignored by her brother. Okoye didn't look like she agreed with T'Challa's suggestion either.

"But my king-" Okoye started to say but T'Challa silenced her with a firm look.

"That's an order." T'Challa stated with a voice that told Okoye that there would be no challenging his order. The woman just fell silent although it looked like she didn't feel comfortable with leaving her king to protect himself. However, T'Challa wasn't about to leave his sister behind to fend for herself. She needed Okoye more than he did.

"I'll go too." Emma's father said quietly and Emma nodded in agreement.

"So will I." Emma added, following her father's lead. Wherever her father went, she was going to go too. She wasn't about to let him go wander off and get himself killed. He needed her. Emma just never anticipated all the protests that would circulate the table. Her father didn't seem to have much trouble with the idea of her going but Steve definitely seemed to have a problem with it. However, before Steve could even voice his protest, someone else did before him.

"You're not going anywhere." Peter Parker said loudly, his voice stronger and more confident than usual. Everyone looked down the table at the teenage boy who no longer looked the part of the shy, nervous teenage boy they had come to know. No, he looked more defiant and sure of himself than what they were used to. Emma slowly turned to look at her boyfriend, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Excuse me?" Emma said, not quite believing what Peter had said. Peter took a deep breath before meeting Emma's gaze from a couple seats away.

"I said that you're not going anywhere." Peter said, more confidently this time, and you could hear a pin drop in the room. Emma clenched her jaw at his words as her glare became colder. Sam gulped, feeling a bit scared for the kid because Emma looked pissed. It didn't help that Sam had seen the way Emma had taken down her father the other day so Sam didn't think she would hold back against the kid. "We all know that Hydra wants you. You're their main target. It wouldn't be smart for you to show up on their doorstep."

"That's not your decision to make." Emma told him coldly and Peter forced himself not to back down. He knew she was getting mad at him but her safety was more important to him than her being mad.

"It is when your own personal feelings are clouding your judgement." Peter accused and Emma abruptly stood up from her seat, causing the others to glance up at her in surprise. Steve and Bucky watched Emma in surprise because it wasn't often that she became that angry. She was usually calm and collected…a master at suppressing her emotions. Emma had at times argued with Steve but she had never looked as furious as she did now. Steve wasn't sure he had ever seen Emma lose her temper like this. He was a bit speechless at the sight of her. Bucky hadn't seen her angry in years so this was also a surprise to him.

"Are you suggesting that I'm emotionally compromised?" Emma questioned in disbelief and Peter stood up from his seat as well, fixing Emma with a defiant glare.

"I'm not suggesting it. I'm saying it." Peter told her seriously and Tony sighed heavily as he watched the two teenagers begin to argue. _Here we go again_ , he thought to himself. Those two were always bickering about something. Tony just hoped that Emma didn't slap him or throw a textbook at Peter again. Peter had mentioned the last time he and Emma had fought so he knew this time wasn't going to be pretty either.

"You want to get your revenge and that's clouding your judgement. Hydra's expecting you to show up at that base. They're probably betting on it." Peter told her and Emma was becoming more and more pissed off by the minute. Since when the hell did he start to use logic? God, she really had corrupted him, hadn't she?

"I'm going on that mission. This concerns me…probably more so than anyone here. I have a right to go on that mission." Emma told him in a cold and even tone. Peter scoffed.

"Are you really going to play into Hydra's hand like that? Rumlow's waiting for you, Emma. He's counting on you showing up at that base." Peter argued and Emma gave him a furious look.

"Don't talk to me like I don't know what I'm doing. You don't need to tell me what Rumlow wants. I know better than anyone else what he wants." Emma retorted. "I'm going on that mission and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I already told you that you can't go on that mission. I won't let you." Peter said stubbornly and Emma looked at him incredulously, furious at the very idea that he thought he could tell her what to do. Who the hell did he think he was?

"You won't _let_ me?" Emma questioned and some of the others winced. Especially Tony who knew better than to say something like that to a romantic partner. He knew what Peter was getting at but the young boy was just going about it the wrong way. Pepper would probably murder him in his sleep if he ever talked to her like that. Unfortunately Peter was still learning about women so he was just going to have to learn from his mistakes.

"I don't know if you're aware of this, asshole, but you're not my daddy. You don't get to order me around and tell me what to do." Emma told him furiously.

"I do when you're being too stubborn to know that you're in danger." Peter argued and everyone stared in fascination as they continued to argue. Sam raised an eyebrow because it was almost like the two teenagers were an old married couple. The others were just stunned that Emma was actually arguing with someone. There were times she got mad at Tony as well but she never got this mad.

"I know this is news for you, Parker, but I'm not some little damsel in distress. I don't need you to protect me and save me all the god damn time. I looked out for myself for the majority of my life, way before you came along, so I don't need Spider-Man to coddle me like some pathetic, helpless little girl." Emma ranted at him, furious that he was treating her this way. Peter glared right back at her. "If you wanted a damsel in distress then you should've held out for Liz Allan instead."

"Oh my god! You bring up Liz Allan every single time. Are you always going to hold that against me?" Peter retorted but Steve and Bucky just really wanted to know who this Liz Allan girl was. They knew that she used to go to school with Emma and they knew Emma didn't like her for some reason but they really didn't know anything about her other than that. Why did Emma keep bringing her up?

"I am not staying behind for this mission. I don't care what you say. This is my decision. Not yours." Emma told him venomously and Peter fumed with anger.

Why was she so stubborn sometimes? Couldn't she understand that this was exactly what Rumlow wanted? If she went on the mission then he'd take her and torture her before doing to her what Hydra did to her father. Peter wasn't going to let that happen. He didn't care if Emma hated him for it or not. Her life was in danger and Peter wasn't going to stand by and let herself get kidnapped. The teenage boy stood his ground as he walked closer and closer to her until he was standing mere inches from her. Emma gritted her teeth as she saw the stupid little arrogant look on his face…a look that told her that Peter thought he could order her around like she was his property.

"You're not going anywhere." Peter told her angrily. "I don't care if I have to lock you inside the panic room. You're not going." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she stared back at her stupid boyfriend. The surprised look then quickly morphed into one of pure fury but Peter wasn't afraid of her. He wasn't going to let her scare him.

"You asshole!" Emma shouted, infuriated by Peter's arrogance. He actually thought he could just lock her up like a prisoner? Why was he such an asshole sometimes?! He wasn't the boss of her. Emma could do whatever the hell she wanted and there was nothing Peter could do about it. God, he really knew how to piss her off. A part of her wanted to slap the arrogant look right off his face. He was so infuriating.

"How dare you think you can just lock me up like I'm some kind of animal! If you lock me up I'll never forgive you!" Emma yelled at him and it was then that Steve decided that it was probably time for him to step in. Honestly, he probably should've stepped in a long time ago but he and everyone else was just so caught up in watching Emma and Peter argue. Steve had never seen anything like it before. He never knew Emma to be so short tempered.

"How about if everyone just calms down?" Steve said as he stood up from his seat to stand in between the two teenagers. Emma was still heaving with anger but she didn't say anything else as she continued to glare at Peter and he continued to glare back at her.

"Now, Peter, I appreciate your concern for Emma but her safety isn't your responsibility. That responsibility lies with me and Bucky." Steve told Peter seriously and Peter didn't look too thrilled at what Steve said. He did feel that Emma's safety was his responsibility. He'd been making sure she was safe when her father and grandfather we're too busy being on the run. He was the one who looked out for her. He was the one who was there for her whenever she had her nightmares. He was the one who loved and comforted her. Peter thought he had a say in Emma's safety.

"But you're also not going on this mission, Emma." Steve said as he then turned to Emma. She gave him a look of disbelief.

"I can't believe you're siding with him." Emma snapped and Steve gave her a bewildered look, not sure what to make of this newfound temper of hers.

"I'm not siding with anyone." Steve said carefully and Emma just shook her head.

"So you're going to have me locked up then? Like a common prisoner? How is that any different than what Tony did?" Emma questioned and Tony made a face at her statement.

"I resent that." Tony interjected but he went ignored.

"No one's locking anyone up but I can't let you go on this mission." Steve told her seriously. "Peter's right. You're Hydra's main target. They'll be expecting you to show up at the base which is why you have to stay here. Some of us will stay behind to keep watch but you're not going on this mission, Emma. I'd be a fool to let you go."

Emma couldn't believe this. They were treating her like some kind of child…like she was some fragile doll that needed to be coddled. She felt helpless…weak. Emma hated the feeling more than anything. She was more than capable of taking care of herself even though all the idiots in her life seemed to think she was a damsel in distress. She had always known Steve and Peter were a lot alike but maybe they were _too_ much alike. They both annoyingly loved saving the damsel in distress. It probably gave them boners or something. Emma then turned to her father, expecting him to come to her defense.

"Papa? Aren't you going to say something?" Emma said to Bucky who looked torn. He swallowed hard as he tried not to let those pretty blue eyes of her get to him. Even when he was still the Winter Soldier, Emma had him completely wrapped around her finger. He had always had a soft spot for her but now wasn't the time. He had to think of her safety. He had to do the responsible thing.

"I have to agree with Steve on this one, Emma. Hydra's hellbent on getting you and everyone would only be worrying about your safety the whole mission." Her father said much to her disbelief. He was actually siding against her? He'd never done that before. Never. Not once. They were always in it together on everything. "The smart thing to do would be for you to stay here at the compound with some of the others to make sure Hydra doesn't try to sneak around behind our backs."

"I thought we were partners." Emma stated, sounding hurt and Bucky winced.

"We are, Emma. You're just not thinking clearly right now. You're being fueled by your fear and that's understandable but you know deep down that this is the only way." Bucky told her but Emma wasn't hearing it. Fueled by her fear? Really? She couldn't believe how everyone was ganging up against her. She was the one that Hydra wanted yet she wasn't allowed to do anything about it. What if Steve, her father, and Peter went on the mission and they got themselves killed? There wouldn't be anything she could do about it…it would be all on her. Emma groaned in frustration as she then fixed all three of the annoyingly arrogant men with a heated glare.

"God, why are men such controlling assholes?!" Emma snapped before she started walking away from them. Steve glared at her while Peter and Bucky just looked surprised that she was so angry with them. They were only trying to help her, after all. Bucky was especially surprised because Emma had never been mad at him like that before. There was that time when she was little but her emotions had been all over the place back then. She hadn't really been mad at him. He couldn't recall a single time that she had talked to him like that. The surprise wore off on Peter's face because that definitely wasn't the first time his girlfriend had been mad at him and he doubted it would be the last either.

"You stop right there, young lady. You don't get to talk to us like-" Steve started to lecture but he was cut off as Emma stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. The super soldier was left starting at the door in bewilderment, not believing she had actually walked out on him like that. They had always bantered and argued on occasion but nothing like that. Emma was legitimately angry and Steve didn't know what to do. The other Avengers looked both mystified and amused at the odd exchange.

"Welcome to the joy of parenthood, Cap." Clint joked as he leaned back in his chair and smirked at both Steve and Bucky who looked bewildered but also slightly scared of the sixteen year old's behavior. It wasn't that they were scared of her because of her assassin past. No, they were scared of her because it was never more clear to them than in that moment that Emma was a teenager.

Steve had thought he had it easy these past couple years since Emma had always listened to him but maybe parenting wasn't as easy as he thought. Steve wasn't sure but he knew he felt out of his depth. He glanced over at Bucky, hoping that Bucky would somehow reassure him but his best friend looked just as terrified. Steve sighed heavily because raising a teenage daughter was going to be way harder than he thought. He really wondered how Peggy managed not just to raise one child but three. Steve had always respected his former lover but now he respected her a hell of a lot more. Peggy Carter was one hell of a woman.

* * *

Emma was sitting on the edge of her bed sulking as she tried to calm down from the fight she just had with her father, Steve, and Peter. It wasn't really a surprise that all three of those men could drive her insane but she just hated the fact that Steve and her father had only been back for a few days and she was already fighting with them. She just couldn't believe the nerve of them. They were all going to keep her locked up inside the compound just so they could coddle her like she was a five year old.

Peter was even right alongside them in trying to protect her like she was made from glass. He didn't get to tell her what to do. He was her boyfriend. Not her father. Although Emma didn't even like the fact that her father thought he could tell her what to do either. What the hell was up with that? He talked down to her like she was a child. He hadn't ever done that before. They were usually…partners or colleagues but now he made it clear that he was the adult and she was the child. She was used to it with Steve but not her father.

Emma was still processing everything from the meeting when Peter came by her room. He was the first and bravest one to come check up on her. Her bedroom door was already open so Peter just lingered there in the doorway with a torn look on his face. He felt both guilty and scared as he began to approach his furious looking girlfriend. Peter knocked on the doorway as he smiled hesitantly. The smile fell right off his face when he noticed the death glare Emma gave him. He swallowed hard as he began to walk into her room, closing the door behind him.

"Are you here to take me to my cell?" Emma asked bitterly and Peter winced at the iciness he detected in her voice. Yeah, she was definitely pissed. Peter shook his head.

"No, I just came by to check on you. Everyone's worried about you, Emma." Peter told her as he slowly approached the bed she was sitting on. He took a seat next to her and Emma just stubbornly looked away from him.

"They don't need to worry. I'm not a baby." Emma said coldly and Peter tried to reach over to hold her hand but he frowned when she snatched her hand away from his abruptly. She glared at Peter angrily. "Don't touch me."

"Emma, please don't be mad at me." Peter begged because he hated it when Emma was mad at him. However, at least this didn't seem as bad as the last time she was mad at him. Emma hadn't thrown his backpack at him yet. "I'm sorry about saying I was going to lock you inside the panic room. I swear I didn't mean it."

"How do I know if you're lying or not? What if this is part of everyone's plan to lock me up and hold me prisoner? What if you're trying to trick me?" Emma questioned, seeming very paranoid. Peter gave her a hurt look.

"Emma, you can't think I would actually do that…that I would lie to you like that?" Peter said in disbelief and Emma crossed her arms, a stubborn look on her face.

"I don't know what to think anymore. You seemed to be in cahoots with Steve back there." Emma said suspiciously and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Cahoots? Emma, I'm not in cahoots with anyone." Peter told her, desperate to make her somehow forgive him.

"You, Steve, and Papa all ganged up on me back there. I thought you were supposed to be on my side. Not theirs." Emma argued and Peter shook his head.

"I am on your side." Peter promised.

"Then why are so hellbent on keeping me prisoner? You're supposed to support me. Not stand against me." Emma told him pointedly. "Instead you're just ordering me around like I'm your property." Peter glared back at her.

"Oh, so you can boss me around all the time but I can't boss you around? Glad to see that it's a two way street." Peter argued and Emma sneered at him.

"I thought you liked being bossed around. Didn't you say that it gives you a big boner?" Emma retorted and Peter groaned in frustration. He knew she was going to use that against him some day.

"You can be a huge bitch sometimes, you know that?" Peter snapped but he immediately regretted it when he realized what he had said to her. Did he really just call her that? Peter didn't know why he called her a bitch. Maybe it was because she had pissed him off so much at that point. Sometimes Emma could really bring out the worst in him. Emma just watched Peter in surprise because he had never called her a bitch before. She was fairly positive that he probably thought it to himself on occasion but he never actually said it aloud. Emma didn't know if she angry or impressed.

Peter's eyes flooded with tears which immediately made Emma feel guilty for getting so mad at him in the first place. Wait…why should she feel guilty? He was the one who was walking around here and ordering her around like he owned her. Emma just wanted to make it clear that Peter didn't own her. Yes, she belonged to him but that was only by choice. Not because Peter made it so. She belonged to Peter and Peter belonged to her. They belonged to each other but only because they wanted to. Emma liked belonging to Peter but only because it gave her comfort and made her feel close to him. However, when he started making decisions for her and treating her like a child then that was when she began to feel a little suffocated.

"I'm sorry, Emma." Peter apologized, seeming very upset and the angry look fell off her face. "I didn't mean to call you that. I-I don't know why I said that."

"It's um…okay." Emma said slowly, bewildered by how upset he looked. She felt a bit guilty because she had said a lot of nasty things to him earlier. Emma didn't remember how many times she had called him an asshole during the meeting. She didn't understand how Peter could feel so upset at calling her a bitch once when she had called him a lot worse.

"No, it's not. There's no excuse for calling you that." Peter told her and she looked down, feeling a little ashamed. Yes, Peter had ordered her around but she shouldn't have called him those things. "I'm just…well, I'm scared, Emma." Emma immediately looked up at him when he said that.

"Scared?" Emma asked in confusion. "Scared of what?" Peter's gaze softened.

"I'm scared of losing you. It's just that Rumlow keeps getting closer and I'm worried that he'll somehow get his hands on you." Peter said, voicing his deepest fears. "I can't just stand by and let you walk into danger. If something ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do."

"Peter, nothing's going to happen to me." Emma told him but Peter didn't look convinced.

"I had a nightmare the other night where he got you. He brought you back to Hydra and I never saw you again." Peter said and Emma just watched him, feeling sad for giving him so much grief earlier. He was just concerned about her. Emma didn't know why she always reacted so poorly to people's concern. Maybe it was because she was still getting used to people being concerned about her. "When I woke up and you weren't there I even thought it was real for a minute or two…until I remembered we weren't sleeping in the same bed anymore."

"Peter, I'm fine. I can take care of myself. You of all people should know that." Emma tried to tell him but Peter still seemed worried.

"I'm sorry if I came off as controlling but I'm just scared of losing you." Peter told her honestly and Emma didn't hesitate in wrapping her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. He nestled his face against her neck, letting the sweet smell of her shampoo bring him some comfort. She soothingly rubbed his back as she attempted to comfort him.

"It's okay, Peter. I understand." Emma said, suddenly not angry anymore. How could she be angry at him for caring about her? Besides…it was difficult for her to stay angry at him. Peter Parker was her both her greatest weakness and greatest strength. Peter pulled back to look at her. His eyes looked sad and afraid as he looked at her. Emma found that she could possibly drown in those big brown eyes of his.

"Can you promise me something, Emma?" Peter asked her and Emma knew that Peter could've asked her for anything in that moment and she would've given it to him. His warm brown eyes had a way of reducing her to nothing but teenage mushiness. He probably could've asked her to marry him and she would've said yes even though Emma was still disgusted by the fact Peter wanted to get married. He was such a romantic that it made her sick sometimes.

"What?" Emma asked and Peter put her hands in his as he looked back up at her.

"Can you promise me that you won't go on this mission?" Peter asked her quietly.

"Steve and Papa aren't going to let me go anyways, Peter." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head.

"I know that but please just promise me you won't go sneaking off behind everyone's back to go on this mission. I know you." Peter told her and he was right, Emma realized. He did know her. "I just want you to promise me that you'll stay here at the compound." Emma supposed she could do that…for him.

"Okay, I'll promise to stay here but only on one condition." Emma told him and Peter took a deep breath before nodding. He didn't know what Emma was going to ask but he was going to prepare himself for it. He'd do anything to make sure she was safe.

"What condition is that?" Peter asked her and Emma's gaze softened.

"I'll only stay here if you stay with me too. I don't want you going on the mission either." Emma told him sincerely and Peter felt relieved. He was planning on staying at the compound anyways to make sure she was safe. Peter was just glad Emma was agreeing to stay.

"Of course, Emma." Peter said as he smiled softly at her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good. You're not the only one. I also don't know what I would do if anything happened to you, Peter." Emma told him and Peter just ran his thumb over the back of her hand, his touch gentle yet warm and tender.

"Nothing's ever going to happen to me, Emma." Peter told her, sounding sure of himself. He then leaned forward to press a gentle kiss against her cheek as if he were trying to reassure her.

"I'm sorry I called you an asshole earlier. That was uncalled for." Emma said, sounding guilty at the way she had verbally attacked him earlier.

"It's fine. I kind of was being an asshole." Peter said as he smiled at her. "Sorry for calling you a bitch. I never should've disrespected you like that." Emma just smiled at him in amusement.

"Well, in all fairness I really was being a bitch." Emma told him and Peter just continued to hold onto her hand, ecstatic at the fact that he and Emma had seemingly made up.

"I'm just glad we're not fighting anymore. I hate it when we fight." Peter told her and Emma just smiled sadly at him.

"I hate it too." Emma murmured and it was only then that she realize how close their faces were. Her eyes rested upon his lips and she felt the sudden urge to kiss him. It had been so long since they were last alone like this. Well, not really. It had just been a few days but it felt like it had been longer than that. This keeping their relationship a secret thing was really taking a toll on her. She wondered if it was the same for him too. "I miss you."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here." Peter told her in a whisper and his eyes kept darting towards her lips every once and a while too.

"I mean that I miss you in the way I said I did in the texts." Emma said softly to him and Peter blushed, his eyes widening a bit.

"Oh..." He trailed off, knowing exactly what she meant. He missed her like that too.

Emma closed her eyes and then pressed her lips against his, kissing him softly. Peter's eyes fluttered shut as well as he returned the kiss. The kiss was soft and slow at first. It was like a reunion after spending so many days apart like that. It may have seemed crazy that they could miss each other this much but they were young and in love. Everything felt like forever to them. Peter paused for a moment as he felt the feeling of hesitation come over him. He stayed there for a moment, lips mere centimeters from Emma's. Emma looked at him from under her lashes.

"What is it?" Emma asked him and Peter swallowed hard.

"We're not supposed to be doing this. I thought you wanted us to be low profile right now?" Peter said although he was cursing himself for saying that. He shouldn't be questioning this. Who in their right mind would question their girlfriend in this kind of situation? It had been so long since they had been like this, after all.

"But we're alone." Emma told him and Peter knew that Emma was going to make this very difficult for him. He was beginning to throw all reason and logic out the window. "There's no one here, Peter. They don't have any clue about us."

"Natasha knows." Peter said quietly.

"Natasha's not going to tell. She's not like that." Emma told him honestly. "We're safe, Peter."

"Okay." Peter said softly and it really didn't take much to convince him. He quickly crashed his lips against Emma's again but this time there was much more passion and desperation. He made sure she knew how much he missed her through the kiss. Emma kissed him back with just as much passion, her hands around the back of his neck as she tried pulling him closer to her. Peter paused only briefly in the kiss as he slowly pressed her back against the bed so that she was lying down. Emma could feel her heart beating fast in her chest. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach as Peter climbed on top of her and resumed kissing her.

Emma's eyes fluttered shut in content as he kissed her and she immediately knotted her fingers in his hair which she knew he loved. Peter groaned against her mouth but he didn't stop kissing her. He instead carefully ran the tip of his tongue along the edge of her parted lips. Emma always appreciated the fact that he was so careful and slow with her…that he asked for permission with every little thing he did even if he didn't ask aloud. She then granted him entrance and he slipped his tongue inside. He was gentle at first as he lightly brushed his tongue against hers and Emma slowly began to feel desire pool in her stomach as the kiss intensified.

She moaned against his mouth as their tongues seemed to begin a dance of sorts. Emma's hands fell down onto his shoulders and her grip tightened as she tried to pull him even closer to her. They were only a few minutes into one of their notorious make out sessions but she could already feel him against her. He wanted her. But Emma wanted him too. That much was obvious to her as his hands roamed her body while he continued kissing her, his tongue dancing against hers. They had already decided that they were ready for sex but deep down they both knew that now was neither the time or place. Emma wished that wasn't the case because she wanted to be with Peter more than anything. She just felt so sexually frustrated from all this waiting around and teasing each other. A part of her wished that they were adults because they wouldn't have to be as careful and secretive about this as they were now.

Peter finally removed his lips from hers as he then began to lead a trail of kisses down her jawline and then to her neck. He kind of wished that they hadn't started something they couldn't finish because Peter already knew that he was going to have a massive hard-on from this with no way to fix it until he relieved himself in a bathroom or something. It's not like Emma and him could have sex right here and now. The compound was filled with people and not to mention there was still a couple things they needed to discuss. However, Peter couldn't really stop himself either. Emma was entirely too tempting.

Emma stiffened when he suddenly rolled his hips against hers. It wouldn't be the first time but Emma always felt a bit hesitant at first when he would do that. It was just a reaction but when she remembered it was him, she felt safe. She rolled her hips against his in response and they entered a steady rhythm with each other. Peter knew this was going way too far and not to mention the risk but it's not like Peter had enough self-control to think responsibly and stop while they still could. He was only sixteen, after all, and Emma didn't seem inclined to stop either.

"Peter." Emma moaned which only caused Peter to move faster against her. He moved down her neck, sucking on a part of her neck that he knew was her weakness all too well. Emma felt flushed, her breathing heavy from the sensation of everything. She knew deep down that they should stop soon but she wasn't really think logically at the moment. Peter seemed to have the effect on her sometimes. So she just decided to enjoy the love and affection he was showering her with because it might be the last time for a while. It's not like they could make a habit of this with Steve and her father at the compound. Although…Emma really didn't want to think of them right now.

* * *

Bucky Barnes was overcome with guilt and sadness as he walked down one of the lengthy hallways. He knew that he was ultimately doing what was best for Emma but that didn't mean that he liked her being mad at him. His heart still ached from the look of betrayal Emma gave him earlier. She had never looked at him like that before. When she was a little girl she had always looked at him in admiration or love. Even when he was a monster she never looked at him that way. Bucky was only trying to protect her by keeping her at the compound. This was the only way to protect her from Hydra and…Rumlow. Bucky wasn't there the last time she needed protection so he was going to try and be there now. It would never erase what happened but at least she would be safe this time around.

Bucky made the decision to go check up on her despite how angry she probably was. He knew from past experiences that an angry Emma was not a pleasant sight. Back then she had always been mad at someone else so he couldn't help but tread very carefully now that she was mad at him. Bucky didn't need her to bite another chunk out of his good arm. The first time had been bad enough. He was just going to have to be very careful. Steve hadn't thought it was a good idea for him to approach her so soon but Bucky didn't want to let her sulk in her anger for too long. Besides…she had spent long enough cooling off from her anger.

He slowly and quietly opened her door, afraid that if he knocked she would tell him to go away. Bucky walked into the room, expecting to see his daughter sulking or pouting as she normally did. However, he never expected to see what he did.

In reality Emma and Peter looked like young lovers entangled in a moment of passion so much that they weren't aware of anything outside the bubble they were currently living in. But in Bucky's eyes all he could see was a sadistic teenage boy sexually assaulting his daughter. He saw the teenage boy, who had claimed to be Emma's friend and who claimed to care about her, taking advantage of her as he pinned her against the bed and rubbed himself against her. In Bucky's head it looked like Emma was struggling against him even though that's not what she was doing in reality.

It took a second before a furious look replaced the shocked one on Bucky's face. He felt ready to kill which was a feeling he hadn't felt since his days as the Winter Soldier. Bucky clenched his jaw as he quietly stalked dangerously over to the couple on the bed which also wasn't unlike his days as the Winter Soldier. Bucky didn't even hesitate as he grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, ripping him off of Emma, before abruptly throwing him across the room with little ease. Peter went flying across the room before hitting the wall and falling to the ground, moaning in pain from the unexpected attack.

Emma quickly sat up on the bed, her eyes wide with surprise as she glanced between her injured boyfriend and her furious looking father. What the hell was going on?! One minute she and Peter were happily kissing…among other things and then suddenly Peter was thrown off of her. Emma just couldn't comprehend what was going on. Everything went down so fast that she was still trying to process it.

Bucky looked down at his daughter in concern, the angry look morphing into one of sympathy when he saw her disheveled appearance. That fucking kid had really roughed her up, hadn't he? Bucky knew that Emma didn't have much of a chance against the kid either. He still remembered the way the kid had fought against him and Wilson at the airport all that time ago. It was no secret that the kid was really strong. Well, Bucky didn't care how strong the kid was. He was going to kick his ass and maybe do worse. Bucky wasn't angry back then but he was furious now and his newfound fury was definitely going to fuel his fight against this little asshole.

"Are you okay, Emma? Did he hurt you?" Bucky asked in concern and Emma just wordlessly shook his head, still not understanding what was going on. Wait…did this mean her father wasn't mad at her?

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Emma told him, sounding beyond confused. Bucky just quickly covered her up with a blanket, making sure she felt safe and comfortable.

"Good." Bucky said before his face turned more serious. "Don't worry. I'll take care of him." Emma didn't know what he meant as her father slowly turned around and started slowly walking in the direction of Peter. She had no idea what was going on.

Peter groaned as he tried getting up from the floor. Emma's dad had really thrown him hard. How did he not even hear her father come into the room? Why did he even let Emma make him think it was safe for them to do any of those things? Well, Peter hadn't really been thinking with his head, had he? No, he was thinking with something else. Peter stumbled a bit as he once again attempted to get up from the floor but Emma's dad was really strong. Peter was also pretty sure Emma's dad had grabbed him with his vibranium arm.

"What do you think you're doing, you little sick fuck?" Bucky hissed as he stalked towards Peter like a lion would stalk its prey. Peter's eyes widened as he looked up at the tall and imposing man. This didn't look like the nice and charming Bucky Barnes that Peter usually saw whenever the man was with his daughter. Peter was starting to feel like he was looking at the Winter Soldier right now.

"M-Mr. Barnes. I-I d-don't know-" Peter stammered but Bucky just interrupted him.

"Don't try and make excuses. I saw what you were doing to her." Bucky said and Peter was taken back by the hateful look on the man's face. "After all Emma's been through, you come along and try to do the same thing Rumlow did. You really are a sadistic little asshole."

"Mr. Barnes, I-I wasn't-" Peter tried to say but Bucky wasn't having it. He already thought he knew what he saw.

"You're dead." Bucky snapped and Peter gulped as he tried backing up against the wall. He didn't know what to do. He had never been this scared in his life. Not even when he and Emma went up against the Vulture and not even when Emma was mad at him. When Emma's dad said he was going to kill him, Peter really believed him.

"I-I can explain. I s-swear!" Peter tried to say but it was then that Emma's dad reached out and grabbed him by the throat. The teenage boy's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as Bucky then held him up against the wall. A part of him figured that he would fight back but he'd probably only piss Emma's dad off even more. Peter didn't know if he should try getting out of Bucky's grip or if he should just wait for Emma to explain things. Speaking of which, she was really taking her time in doing so.

"Papa, wait!" Emma exclaimed as she quickly got up from the bed. She had mostly been in shock for a couple minutes there as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. It was only when her father wrapped his hand around her boyfriend's throat that she realized that this wasn't going to go well. Of all the scenarios she imagined when Peter finally met her father as her boyfriend, this wasn't one of them.

"I've got this, Emma." Bucky said he glared at the teenage boy who was starting to struggle for breath.

"Papa, please don't hurt him." Emma begged as she tried getting him to stop.

"You don't have to protect him, Emma. Don't worry. He'll never touch you again." Bucky told her and Peter really hoped that Emma could do better than that because her father was going to kill him. Is this what boyfriends usually went through when they met their girlfriend's dad? If so then every single movie, Peter had ever seen, had it completely wrong. This was a million times worse than when he met Liz's dad. Why did dads always seem to hate him?

"Stop!" Emma tried to tell him as she attempted to pull her father off of Peter. Bucky struggled as his daughter then hopped on his back in a desperate attempt to help her boyfriend. He didn't understand what his daughter was doing. Why was she trying to stop him?

"Get off of me, Emma! I'm kind of busy right now!" Bucky tried to tell her but Emma immediately wrapped her arms around his neck before she proceeded to fly them back across the room. The sudden action caused Bucky to finally let go of Peter. Emma flew them back into the wall on the opposite side of the room, not caring if she hit her head in the process. She was just desperate to keep her father and Peter apart. Bucky grunted as he landed on the ground a distance away and Emma winced as she hit her against the wall. Peter was coughing as he tried to catch his breath. Emma's dad had a really strong grip although that wasn't really surprising.

Suddenly both Steve and Tony ran inside the room although Emma thought they were a bit too late. The two men had both been on the floor below when McConaughey mentioned that there was a struggle going on in Emma's room. Everyone had feared the worst, thinking that Rumlow had come for Emma. However, none of them expected to find only Emma, Peter, and Bucky in the room. Steve looked around in bewilderment as he noticed Emma's friend coughing on one side of the room while Emma and Bucky were on the other side of the room on the floor. Bucky didn't seem to notice Tony or Steve as his anger returned at the sight of the teenage boy. He tried to get up from the ground to attack the boy again when Emma jumped on him once more in a desperate attempt to keep him from attacking Peter yet again. Steve watched his best friend and granddaughter struggle on the floor, not having the slightest clue as to what was going on.

"What the hell is going on here?" Steve demanded to know and it seemed like Bucky finally noticed his presence as both he and Emma stilled. Peter didn't waste any time going to Tony's side as if he thought the billionaire could protect him. That told Tony what was going on. Tony figured that Bucky probably caught the kid feeling up Emma and now he wanted to kill him. God, those kids couldn't keep their hands off each other. Teenagers were so horny.

"That little asshole was trying to rape our daughter." Bucky hissed as Emma tried to keep him from getting up and attacking Peter. If it was a different situation then it would be quite a funny sight to see. Emma pulling at her father's hair and trying to pin him down just so he wouldn't murder her boyfriend.

"What?" Steve questioned in surprise and Bucky continued to struggle against his daughter. He didn't understand why she was trying to stop him from killing that asshole.

"I caught him rubbing himself against her like a fucking pervert." Bucky said as he continued to glare at the kid. Peter blushed and he wished that he could go hide somewhere because everyone was staring at him. Tony looked a little amused at the situation but Emma's grandfather looked anything but amused. The tall man narrowed his eyes at Peter and the teenage boy gulped.

"You were doing what?" Steve said in a low voice, his fists clenching in anger. Okay…maybe it just wasn't Emma's dad who was scary. Maybe her grandfather was a bit scary too. Peter looked up at Tony, hoping that the man would protect him because Peter didn't think he could take on Emma's dad and grandpa by himself.

"Guys, stop. Peter wasn't doing anything wrong." Emma told them both as she finally relented and got off her father. Bucky was too distracted by her statement to just go and attack Peter the instant he was free so he stayed there on the ground instead. Her father gave her a concerned look and Steve gave her a similar one too.

"Emma, you don't have to protect him. You're safe now." Bucky told her and Steve nodded in agreement.

"Just tell us what happened." Steve told her and Emma wanted to groan in frustration because it was so irritating that the men in her life seemed to think she was really that helpless. This wasn't what they thought it was. She couldn't believe they thought Peter would try and rape her. Well, she guessed that they didn't really know Peter much at all and they were still reeling from the news of what Rumlow did but still…

"He wasn't doing anything I didn't want him to do." Emma finally said, hoping that she would get the message across to them. There was complete silence in the room as both her father and Steve stared at her, disbelief on their faces. Tony looked like he was enjoying this way too much while Peter just made sure to stick close to Tony's side.

"Excuse me?" Steve asked in disbelief and Emma sighed.

"Peter and I are kind of…well, I guess we're kind of a thing now." Emma told them and Steve and Bucky still weren't understanding what she was trying to say.

"What do you mean you're a thing now?" Bucky questioned and Emma supposed that there wasn't an easy way to tell them this. She guessed that she was just going to have to come out with it.

"I mean that we're together…or going steady as they said back in your time." Emma said, trying to lighten the situation with a remark about their old age but she could tell it did little to help the situation. Both Steve and her father just stared at her silently, trying to piece together what she just said. For a moment they thought she was joking…that this whole thing was just a joke. Emma couldn't be serious…could she?

"Emma, I'm not understanding any of this. Are you saying that you and this boy are…dating?" Steve asked her and Emma didn't miss the way he winced when he said "dating". "Since when? Now?"

"No, we've been together for about six months." Emma corrected and Steve nearly choked on his own breath when he heard that. Six months? That was half a year! Steve didn't even think he had ever been in a relationship that long and he was positive that Bucky hadn't either. Speaking of Bucky, the former Hydra assassin didn't seem to be taking this well either. He looked like he was slowly going insane.

Bucky was trying to process the fact that Emma was saying that she was in a consensual relationship with the boy he had caught dry humping her. Why was she in a relationship at all? She was only sixteen. She was just a little girl. Sixteen was too young to date and especially to date a horny teenage boy like that. Bucky didn't want to imagine what the boy would've done had Bucky not stopped him.

"Mr. Barnes…Mr. Rogers." Peter said, reminding the two of them of his presence. "I just want you to know that I respect and love your daughter. I would never do anything to hurt her."

"Love?" Steve questioned, sounding both horrified and shocked. Tony didn't know whether or not he should feel amused or concerned for Steve. He got that this was a lot to take in and Steve didn't exactly find out in the most ideal way. Catching your granddaughter in bed with a boy couldn't have been the best way to find out that she was dating that same boy for the past six months and that they were in love. It was definitely a lot to take in.

"Yes, I love Emma and I fully plan to marry her so you don't need to worry. I'll take care of her and love her for the rest of her life. I promise." Peter said sincerely, sounding more confident than he did a second ago. Emma just rolled her eyes at him while Tony face palmed. Steve looked like he might have a stroke while Bucky just looked he was going to be sick.

"That's too much, kid. Way too much." Tony told him before smiling as best he could at Steve and Barnes. He really thought if the kid kept running his mouth like that then he was going to get himself killed. "Anyways…it looks like you three need to have a family discussion so I think the kid and I will just head out. See you guys at dinner."

"Wait a second." Steve said slowly as he narrowed his eyes at Tony. "You don't seem surprised. Did you know about this?" Tony cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Kind of." Tony told him and Steve scoffed.

"Kind of? Well, did you or didn't you?" Steve questioned and Tony sighed.

"Fine. Yes, I did know. You think Barnes is the first one to walk in on something? They're teenagers. They can't keep their hands off each other." Tony explained and Emma glared at him because he really wasn't helping the situation. Steve looked furious with Tony while Bucky just seemed to be glaring at Peter.

"You knew about this all this time?" Steve asked in annoyance and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Of course I knew. Who do you think introduced them?" Tony retorted and Emma didn't know what Tony was trying to do. He was only pissing off Steve more and more.

"Are you saying you intentionally set my teenage granddaughter up on a date with this boy? She's a child, Tony." Steve said angrily and Tony scoffed.

"I didn't know they were going to start dating. I thought they'd be friends. It's not my fault that Mini Cap started seducing the kid. He's a teenage boy. He's not exactly going to say no." Tony said and Emma just looked down at the ground. This was so embarrassing. She was now starting to think that she would've been better off telling them when they first returned.

"Are you calling my daughter loose?" Bucky said scathingly. Tony fought the urge to start a fight with the man…for Emma's sake if no one else. He really didn't need much of an excuse to start something with Barnes but it seemed like there were bigger issues at hand.

"I'm not calling her loose. I'm just saying that I didn't intend for them to start dating. I thought Mini Cap would find him annoying." Tony told them honestly.

"Hey!" Peter interjected and Tony just shrugged.

"Sorry, kid, but it's true." Tony then looked back at the three individuals now standing a distance away. "So as I was saying, I think me and the kid should leave. You three have a lot to discuss. Come on, kid. Let's go."

Tony then threw his arm around Peter's shoulder, starting to lead the boy out of the room. Tony needed to get the kid out of there as quickly as possible before Barnes tried to murder him again. Steve wanted to argue against the two of them leaving but he didn't. The million questions he had for his granddaughter started to take priority.

As Peter left the room, he cast a worried glance in Emma's direction. He hadn't wanted to leave her alone but Tony seemed insistent on him leaving. _I love you,_ he mouthed to Emma which was something neither Steve or Bucky missed as Emma just nodded before blushing and avoiding eye contact with her father and Steve. Tony shut the door behind himself and Peter and suddenly Emma was left alone with Steve and her father. There was an awkward silence for a couple minutes and it was clear that no one knew what to say. Emma decided that she was probably going to have to be the first one to speak. God, the shit she did for Peter.

"Surprise!" Emma exclaimed, trying to be cheerful about this as she miserably failed at smiling. Her smile looked more like a grimace. Steve and Bucky didn't appear to be amused.

"What's going on, Emma? What is this?" Steve questioned as he looked back at her with a serious look on his face.

"Okay, there might've been a couple things I left out since you two returned." Emma admitted and her father gave her a look of disbelief.

"You think?" He said sarcastically before shaking his head. "Emma, I don't understand this. You can't really be…with that guy, can you? Please tell me this is some kind of joke."

"It's not a joke. He's my boyfriend." Emma told them and both men flinched at the mere mention of a boyfriend. "We've been together for a while now. I'm sorry we didn't tell you before but I thought it might've been overwhelming. I just wanted to tell you about Rumlow so I thought telling you about a boyfriend as well would be too much."

"Emma, I appreciate that you were trying to protect Bucky and I." Steve started to say gently, not willing to upset his granddaughter yet again. "But you can imagine that this isn't a better scenario. You should've just told us from the start." Emma sighed.

"I know that now. I just…I don't know. I wasn't expecting you to come back so soon and I panicked a little, I guess." Emma told them and Steve nodded, understanding her a bit better, before a concerned look came over his face.

"Emma, you're not leading this boy on, are you?" Steve asked hesitantly because he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Emma was in a relationship with someone. The same Emma who made sure everyone knew that she was never going to date a stupid boy. That was the Emma he had left behind a year ago, after all, so Steve didn't think it was that strange that he expected to come back to that very same Emma. "Because this boy really seems to love and care about you. He was even talking about marriage. Emma, if you don't feel the same way about him then you should let him know."

"I'm never going to marry him." Emma said abruptly and both Steve and Bucky had relieved looks on their faces.

"Thank God. It's not that serious then." Steve said in relief but it was what Emma said next that would cause both Steve and Bucky's jaws to drop open.

"You didn't let me finish. I'm never going to marry him because marriage is for losers like Tony and Pepper. Cool people live in sin like what Peter and I are going to do." Emma told her father and grandfather nonchalantly. "He also wants me to have his Spider-Brats but that's never going to happen either. Kids are gross and annoying."

Steve felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Kids?! That boy wanted to have kids with Emma?! His Emma?! No…this couldn't be happening. She was just a girl. She was too young to be a mother. She had her whole life ahead of her. Wait…what? Living in sin? What did she mean by living in sin?

"Emma, this isn't funny." Her father told her, his voice shaky and Emma groaned in annoyance.

"I'm not trying to be funny, Papa." Emma told him before pausing briefly as she looked at the both of them. "I'm in love with Peter."

"Be serious, Emma. No more playing games." Her father said to her, desperate to believe that she was lying or messing around with him. Emma glared at him.

"I'm not playing games. I love Peter and he loves me. He's the only one I'll ever want and you two are just going to have to deal with that." Emma told them firmly and Steve and Bucky looked at her in concern. Bucky thought his daughter might've been on drugs for a minute before he realized that drugs wouldn't have an effect on her anyways. No, this was something else. Steve swallowed hard before locking eyes with his granddaughter.

"Emma, you're very young. I get that you might care about Peter a lot but you can't be sure that you're in love. You're too young to understand what love is." Steve tried to tell her as kindly as he could but he could see it was no use. Emma scoffed as she got up from the ground where she had been sitting and turned away from them. It was clear that she was angry. She was silent for a moment before she responded to Steve's statement but when she did, it was clear that Steve wasn't going to be able to talk her out of anything.

"Don't you dare think you can tell me what I don't or do feel. I know what love is and I know that I love Peter." Emma said stubbornly and Steve sighed.

"Emma, what you're talking about is a very big commitment to make. I'm just wondering if you've thought everything through or not. You haven't even known him for a year." Steve told her and Emma scoffed.

"And you're one to give advice on love? The man who still pines after the woman he lost to time several decades ago? Thanks but no thanks." Emma snapped and a hurt look came over Steve's face. Bucky glared at her.

"Don't talk to your grandfather like that. He's trying to help you." Bucky scolded and Emma clenched her jaw.

"Well, you're not one to give advice either. Steve told me about all the women you fucked back then so don't lecture me about my love life." Emma threw back and Steve gave her a furious look.

"Watch your language." He said and Emma sneered at him.

"No, I won't watch my _fucking_ language. You two think you can just come back here after all this time and tell me how to live my life? I don't think so." Emma said and she was really starting to get pissed off. She knew her father wasn't likely to accept her relationship with Peter but she thought Steve would. Obviously she was wrong.

"We're your parents. We tell you to do something and you do it." Steve said angrily, quickly becoming frustrated with Emma's disobedience. Why wasn't she listening to them? Why was she fighting with them?

"I don't think I like you with this boy." Bucky stated as he stood up from the ground, crossing his arms. "I saw what you and him were doing earlier." Steve narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he was suddenly reminded why they were in this situation in the first place.

"Yeah…what were you and that boy doing in bed together, Emma?" Steve asked her and Emma wanted to roll her eyes. Typical. They were going to freak out just because she and Peter were in the same bed together.

"Well, that boy has a name which is Peter." Emma told them pointedly before continuing. "We were just fooling around. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal. You're giving him the wrong idea about you. What else is a boy to think when you get into bed with him?" Steve told her and this time Emma didn't resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Grandpa. I didn't realize it was still 1945 and slut shaming was still a thing." Emma said sarcastically and both her father and grandfather glared at her.

"Boys that age only expect one thing, Emma. Sex. Letting him do those things to you is basically telling him your legs are open for business." Bucky hissed and Emma resisted the urge to smirk at her father's harsh words.

Maybe she'd remember to tell Peter that her legs were open for business…or rather they were open for him. She'd love to see the blush on his face when she told him that. Emma, however, decided that it was probably best that she didn't tell Steve and her father about her plans to have sex with Peter. She could tell they were super 1940s and weren't cool with her becoming sexually active. Emma didn't think Steve and her father were sexist but maybe they were only acting this way because it was her. Either way, Emma was probably never going to come to them for advice about sex. Not that she wanted to anyways. The last time they had sex was probably in the 1940s. Emma didn't really think they were experts on the subject. She probably knew more than them at this point which was sad. No, Emma was just going to continue to go to Jessica for advice and maybe Darcy too.

"Peter's a gentlemen, Papa. He'd never pressure me into having sex." Emma told him and Bucky scoffed.

"Yeah, right. He sure looked like a gentlemen when he was dry humping you with his tiny little prick." Bucky said bluntly, causing even Steve to blush at his harshness. Emma wanted to tell her father that she knew for a fact that Peter's penis wasn't tiny. While Emma had yet to see it, she had felt it against her enough times to tell that it was in no way tiny. Quite the opposite actually. Emma wondered if that had to do with the spider bite or if it was just him. No that it matter either way. It still worked out great for Emma in the end. However, Emma didn't think bringing up Peter's penis size was going to help the situation.

"He would've stopped if I wanted him to stop." Emma said as she shrugged nonchalantly, signaling to Steve and Bucky that she didn't mind what Peter and her had been doing earlier which only horrified the both of them. Bucky clenched his jaw as he glared but he wasn't glaring at Emma. He was glaring at the reminder of that smug horny kid as he spotted a mark on his daughter's neck that the little asshole had left behind. Bucky suddenly wished the kid was back in the room again so he could strangle him some more.

"This has to end." Bucky said, putting his foot down.

"What?" Emma questioned, not sure what her father meant. Even Steve seemed a bit confused as to what Bucky was talking about.

"You and the kid…it ends right here and now." Bucky told her, his voice full of authority. Emma's eyes widened in disbelief. Did her father really say what she thought he just said? "This thing you two have going on is too serious for someone your age. At this rate he'll up getting you pregnant in high school. Is that what you want?"

"Do you think that boy would really stay with you and take care of you then?" Bucky continued to tell her harshly and Emma's eyes began to flood with tears at her father's cruel words. "He'd probably leave you as soon as he could for another gullible pretty face and Steve and I would be left to pick up the pieces."

"Peter wouldn't do that. He said he'd love me forever." Emma said weakly but Bucky didn't back down. He wanted to make his daughter see reality and not live in this fantasy world this kid seemed to keep her in.

"He's a teenage boy, Emma. He makes up things so he can get what he wants. I know. I did the same thing when I was his age." Bucky told her and Steve was starting to regret taking this approach to Emma. They were only upsetting her. This much was clear to Steve.

"Peter would never lie to me. He's my best friend." Emma argued and Bucky glared at her, unwilling to back down. They were both as stubborn as each other. It seemed like Emma had picked up more than a few things from Bucky although Steve could be pretty stubborn too at times. Maybe it was a Rogers thing as well.

"This is going to end right now." Bucky said firmly and Emma shook her head, tears running down her face.

"Why?" She questioned.

"Because I said so." Bucky hissed angrily, furious that Emma was questioning any demand he made. Emma glared at him, not caring if she was crying. She wasn't going to let him boss her around. Emma loved Peter and as much as she loved her father and Steve she wasn't going to give him up for them. She wouldn't give up Steve and her father for Peter either although she knew Peter would never want that from her.

"You just want me to be alone and miserable like you two." Emma cried bitterly and Steve felt guilty for upsetting her like this. That was never his intention. He just didn't realize until now that this boy was very important to her. He could see that Emma really was in love with Peter. It was obvious to him now. Everything suddenly made more sense. Emma's odd behavior, how close she and Peter seemed to be, the way he looked at her, and how concerned he seemed for her back in the meeting. Peter was probably the one Emma had been texting during the meeting as well. It was literally staring him in the face the entire time but Steve had been too blind to see it. He thought that maybe Peter had a thing for Emma which wasn't a surprise to him but he didn't think Emma felt the same. It was clear that he had been wrong.

"You're just mad because I found someone who loves and cares about me and you can't stand it. You'd rather me be alone forever." Emma told them scathingly. "You don't even care if he makes me happy."

"I'm trying to look out for you!" Bucky said in response, fuming with anger at the thought that Emma wasn't even listening to him.

"Oh, so I guess it was cool when we were killing people but when I'm actually trying to make a life for myself you suddenly want to put a stop to it." Emma said in disbelief before shaking her head. Bucky was hurt by her statement but he tried to push his feelings to the side as he tried to get Emma to see reason.

"I made mistakes in the past. I'm not denying that but I'm trying to do right by you." Bucky told her but Emma was too angry to listen to him. He wanted her to break up with Peter and he didn't even care that she loved Peter. She didn't know why he was doing this to her. "You're too young for this and I don't think he's right for you."

"You don't even know him." Emma argued and it became clear to her what he really meant. She could see it written all over his face as he stared back at her. "It's not him, is it? You don't think anyone's right for me. You really do want me to be alone and miserable." Emma was hurt by the fact that her father actually felt that way. He didn't even know Peter yet he didn't want him in Emma's life. Her father didn't want her to be with Peter even if Peter made her happy.

"You're too young." Bucky repeated but Emma already had her answer. She couldn't stop the tears as she cried at her father's cruelness. Bucky was taken by surprise at the sight of her tears over something he had previously considered trivial. This was just a boy, after all. Could Emma really be so overdramatic about a boy?

Steve immediately went to Emma's side and embraced her. He soothingly rubbed her back as he held her in his arms, trying his best at comforting her. Emma buried her face in Steve's chest as she continued to cry and Steve whispered sweet nothings to her. He then glanced back up at Bucky who was still staring in shock at Emma. Steve glared at his best friend, not believing how far he took it with Emma. Steve was apprehensive about Emma and this boy too but his apprehension wasn't worth making her upset. Bucky opened his mouth to speak but Steve stopped him before he could.

"Walk it off." Steve told him heatedly and Bucky was about to argue but Steve shook his head. He pointedly looked at the door, signaling for Bucky to leave. The former assassin didn't look very inclined to leave but he left anyways, fuming with anger that Emma so easily ignored him. It was like his opinion didn't matter to her at all. Bucky slammed the door behind him and Emma just clutched on to Steve harder.

"It's okay, Emma. He's gone." Steve whispered to her and he even found that he was pissed off at his best friend for doing this. This was the second time Bucky had left Emma a crying mess in Steve's arms. He didn't know what was going on with his friend these days. Although…Steve didn't know if he could really be surprised. While Bucky had always been good at charming women, he had always managed to upset them with his stubbornness. This was why Bucky had never managed to keep a woman back in their own time. He was always doing something to piss them off and it looked like he had pissed off Emma too.

"I thought this was what you wanted for me." Emma said sadly as she pulled away to look up at him. Steve frowned at her cheeks which were glistening with fallen tears.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked her and Emma shrugged but her eyes were still flooded with tears.

"I thought you wanted me to fall in love…you know, find someone and have a normal life. Stuff like that." Emma elaborated and Steve sighed heavily as he wiped the tears from her face.

"I meant when you were older, Emma. When you were in college…an adult." Steve told her sincerely. "I didn't mean when you were still a kid and I certainly didn't mean with someone like Peter."

"What do you mean someone like Peter?" Emma said as she narrowed her eyes at him and Steve was quick to explain himself.

"No, I just meant that I wanted you to find someone…normal. Some who doesn't have-" Steve said but Emma interrupted him.

"Someone who doesn't have powers?" She replied and Steve nodded silently. Emma didn't seem angry at his explanation as she went on to tell Steve how important Peter was to her. Maybe if she could make him understand then he wouldn't be so against her having a boyfriend. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him, you know. I didn't want to but it just happened. It was just like what you said it was with my grandmother…I just knew." Steve stayed silent as he listened to her describe her feelings for Peter Parker.

"I felt so alone and sad after you and Papa left. I missed you both so much and I was really miserable and mean to everyone. Peter knew how mean I was but he didn't care. He wanted to be my friend anyways." Emma said as she smiled softly at the thought of the early days of her and Peter's relationship. It was hard to believe that it hadn't even been a year since they officially met. It felt like so much longer. "I thought he was really annoying at first. He was nosy and you know how much I hate nosy people." Steve smiled at that because he really did know how much she hated nosy people.

"Anyways…I eventually found out he was Spider-Man although it wasn't that hard. He trusts way too easily." Emma said before continuing. "We encountered some guys who had gotten a hold of weapons made from Chitauri technology so we decided to form a truce. I pretended to be in it for myself but he saw through me…even back then. He wasn't really even afraid of me like most people would be."

"So you were just friends first?" Steve inquired and Emma nodded, a smile on her face.

"Yes. It's easy to be friends with Peter. He's so easy to talk and so understanding. There's no judgement whatsoever." Emma explained before she continued to walk Steve through her and Peter's complicated relationship. "I don't know. I never really had friends before. I mean, I had you and everyone else but it's different."

"You never had friends your own age." Steve said in understanding and Emma nodded once more.

"Exactly. I told myself that I had only formed an alliance with him for a common goal but I began to see him as a friend." Emma said truthfully and she realized that this was the first time she told anyone the whole story behind how her and Peter got together. "I think I was starting to see him as more than a friend but I was in denial back then. I had this belief that having feelings for him would only hold me back."

"Emma, that's not-" Steve began to say but Emma stopped him.

"I know it was wrong but it's what I thought. I'm not totally sure what Peter thought of me back then. He claims to have loved me from the start but I know that's a bunch of bullshit. He only had eyes for Liz Allan back then." Emma said as she rolled her eyes at the mere thought of Liz Allan. Steve decided to ignore her cursing for the time being as he smiled at her.

"So that's the infamous Liz Allan I keep hearing about?" Steve said and Emma sighed. Steve just watched her in amusement. He now understood the dislike she seemed to have for the girl. It wasn't Emma being mean but it was jealousy. It was an emotion he had never seen her have before.

"Yes. He always fawned all over her and drooled whenever she wore a skirt. It was revolting and pathetic to watch." Emma told him before continuing with her story. "There was a time that I pushed him away too. I got scared because I knew I was starting have feelings for him and I was terrified. You weren't there at the time and I had no idea what to do so I thought running away was the solution."

"You were going to run away?" Steve asked in concern and Emma shook her head.

"I never ended up doing it." Emma told him seriously. "Peter and I were brought together by the Vulture. The incident only brought us closer than ever. I realized I loved him not long after that but I was too scared to tell him how I felt. I didn't know it at the time but Peter felt the same way. He was too scared to tell me he loved me because of rejection and I was too scared to tell him because I didn't think I was good enough for him."

"Emma, you'll never not be good enough." Steve told her softly, not liking the way she thought of herself. "In fact, I think you're too good for any boy. You're my best girl."

"Thank you, Steve." Emma said quietly and Steve gave her a curious look.

"So how did you two get together then?" He asked her and Emma just smiled.

"It sort of happened during a fight. We were arguing about something that was meaningless and he blurted out that he loved me. I didn't say anything because I was scared so we didn't speak for a couple weeks." Emma explained to him as Steve listened to her intently. Emma also made sure to leave out the Betty Brant incident because she didn't think Steve would appreciate the fact that she had thrown a teenage girl into a locker full of snakes. He probably wouldn't see the humor in that. "I never liked changed but I missed him so much and I hated hurting him so I gave in with some convincing from Darcy.

"Darcy knew about this?" Steve asked in surprise and Emma gave him a look.

"Steve, literally everyone at the compound knows this. The only ones that don't know are the ones who just got back…like you and Papa." Emma told him and Steve realized that he was being stupid. Of course, everyone knew. Steve highly doubted that Emma would've been able to hide this from everyone at the compound for six months. "So I finally told him how I felt and the rest is history, I guess."

"Just like that?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow and Emma nodded.

"Yes…I mean, we've had our bumps in the road and everything. It hasn't all been perfect. Especially with what happened with Rumlow." Emma admitted and Steve watched her carefully. "I had been hiding a lot of secrets from him and he could tell. We almost broke up because I was being so secretive. I don't know why but I thought he'd leave me if I told him about Rumlow but he didn't. When I finally told him he was so supportive and understanding. He's never made me less than because of what happened."

"He's good to you then? He treats you well?" Steve inquired quietly and Emma's eyes lit up with excitement. She was starting to get the feeling that Steve might be accepting of her and Peter's relationship, after all.

"Yes, Steve. He does…he's a great boyfriend. The best actually." Emma told him but Steve's questioning wasn't over.

"He takes you out on dates? He does romantic stuff?" Steve asked and Emma nodded.

"Yes, he's very romantic and he takes me out on dates all the time." Emma told him honestly.

"He holds the door open for you and pulls out your chair?" Emma smiled at Steve. He really hadn't changed in all the time he had been away. He was still the gentlemen from the 1940s.

"Always." Emma said softly and Steve just nodded to himself. He swallowed hard as he considered everything Emma just told him. It was a lot but he knew that Emma really loved this boy so he supposed he was just going to have to accept that. It seemed like Emma wasn't just his best girl anymore but she was someone else's best girl as well. Steve was a little scared of what this would mean because he never thought Emma would grow up this fast. He thought he'd have more time before some boy stole her heart but this seemed to all be happening now. It looked like Steve was just going to have to accept the fact that there was another man in Emma's life now. Well, technically it was a boy but he was still going to have to get used to sharing her with someone else.

"You really love him then? You can't be without him?" Steve asked her and Emma just nodded.

"Steve, he's the only one for me. I can't ever see myself being away from him. I know I'm young and all but I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life. It's aged me." Emma told him truthfully. "Peter brings me peace and happiness. I feel like I can have the life you always wanted for me with him and I even want that life for myself too but only if it's with him." Steve smiled softly at her because he could that she was head over heels for this boy. He couldn't help but notice being in love was a very becoming look for her. She seemed much more happy than what he was used to. Steve remembered what that was like once upon a time.

"Okay." Steve stated and Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Okay?" She questioned and Steve nodded before taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"I think I can be okay with this." Steve told her and Emma's face lit up with happiness as she looked back at him.

"Really?" Emma said hopefully and Steve smiled back at her, liking the fact that she looked happy. He would much rather her be happy than sad and if Peter made her happy then Steve could get over the fact that Emma was growing up so fast.

"Yes. If he makes you happy and treats you well then I don't see why I would have any issue with you having a…boyfriend." Steve told her even though the word "boyfriend" was still a little tough to get used to where Emma was concerned. He was going to have to get used to Emma having a boyfriend and it would take time but Steve was confident that everything was going to be fine. Sure, Bucky had caught Emma and her boyfriend in a compromising position but maybe Tony was right. Teenagers were hormonal and they did things like that. Steve was just going to have to keep an eye on them to make sure they weren't up to anything inappropriate.

"Thank you, Steve." Emma said as she ambushed her grandfather with a hug. Steve chuckled at her as he hugged her back.

"Anything for my best girl." Steve murmured to her. He always knew that someday she would fall in love but he never expected it to be this soon. However, Steve was just happy that she had found that person for her. He only wanted her to be happy. "Of course, this also means that we're going to have to set up boundaries." Emma pulled away to look at him.

"Boundaries?" Emma questioned and Steve nodded solemnly.

"Yes, if you're going to be in a relationship with this boy then there has to be rules." Steve told her and Emma didn't know if she liked the sound of that.

"What kind of rules?" Emma asked hesitantly.

"Well, the door has to always remain open. I don't care what the circumstances are but I don't ever want to see the door shut." Steve told her firmly which was the same rule Tony gave them but Emma had a feeling that, unlike Tony, Steve was actually going to enforce this rule. "Also, when you move back into the townhouse for school then you're going to have a curfew."

"A curfew?" Emma questioned and Steve nodded.

"He has to have you home by nine." Steve told her and Emma gave him a look of disbelief.

"Nine? Nine's way too early." Emma argued and Steve gave her a pointed look.

"You're lucky that I'm even letting you go out with this boy considering what Bucky saw earlier." Steve told her and Emma realized that Steve had a point. At least Steve seemed to be on her side on this one.

"Fine." Emma said begrudgingly.

"He also has to always tell me where he's taking you. I need to know where you're going to be."

"But Steve that's so embarrassing." Emma complained. How the hell were she and Peter supposed to have sex now? Ugh! Steve was such a cockblocker.

"Well, you're the one who wanted a boyfriend so this is how it's going to be." Steve told her seriously and Emma just sulked.

"I also don't want to catch you two kissing. I don't want to see it, Emma." Steve said and Emma rolled her eyes.

"What and you thought I wanted to see you and Susan frenching last year? Peter and I are going to kiss, Steve. What do you else do you think we do?" Emma retorted and Steve gave her a pointed look.

"Well, I don't want to see any of it." Steve argued before giving her a more stern look. "I especially don't want to catch him in bed with you. You're too young for sex."

 _It's not like I'm some innocent virgin_ , Emma thought to herself. Not to mention this time Emma actually wanted to have sex and it was completely her decision. However, Emma knew better than to argue with Steve over this. He was actually being accepting of her relationship with Peter unlike her father. No, Emma would probably just go behind his back and have sex with Peter anyways. That's what most teenagers did. What Steve didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"I guess that's fair." Emma mumbled and Steve nodded, satisfied that Emma wasn't going to fight him on this.

"Good." Steve replied before continuing. "I also want to have a long talk with Peter."

"That's fine." Emma said before she gave him a small smile. "I know you'll really like him, Steve." Steve smiled at her softly.

"I'm sure I will." Steve told her and Emma suddenly grew more serious as the harshness of Steve's rules suddenly became insignificant next to the problem she was facing with her father. Emma had momentarily forgotten about her father until that moment…her father who was against her being with Peter even though he didn't even know Peter.

"What about Papa? He doesn't want me to be with Peter." Emma said worriedly and Steve just shook his head as he gave her a reassuring look.

"Bucky was just surprised, Emma. He didn't mean what he said. He says a lot of things he doesn't mean." Steve tried to tell her but Emma still looked hurt by her father's rejection of Peter.

"He seemed really angry." Emma told him and Steve gently tucked a strand of her loose blonde hair behind her hair affectionately. He looked down at her lovingly, silently cursing Bucky for upsetting her so much.

"It's not you. He just has a lot of things he has to figure out for himself. He'll come around. Don't worry." Steve said reassuringly but Emma still seemed concerned.

"I don't want him to hate Peter…I don't want him to keep us apart. I just want him to like Peter." Emma said, still looking worried out of her mind.

"He's not going to keep you and Peter apart." Steve told her firmly, realizing that Emma was more like a teenage girl than he thought. Although he was glad she was finally acting like a kid instead of the adult she always pretended to be. "I won't let that happen. You and Peter can be together. I'll have a talk with Bucky. Everything will be alright." Emma finally seemed comforted by Steve's words as she smiled at him contently before hugging him once more.

"Thank you, Dad." Emma told him, once again slipping up and calling him dad. Steve only smiled as he held her close to him, secretly thrilled that she had called him dad again. He just hoped this became a more frequent occurrence. Steve didn't mind her calling him dad.

"Don't mention it." Steve said softly as he gently ran his fingers through her blonde hair. He continued to hold her before he decided to remind her of a small detail he still hadn't forgotten. "I hope you know that this still means that you're not going on that mission tomorrow."

"I know." Emma said quietly and Steve raised an eyebrow.

"You do?" He questioned and Emma just nodded as she remained in his arms.

"I promised Peter I wouldn't go. He's right. It would be stupid of me to go on the mission when Hydra's targeting me." Emma told him truthfully and even though she couldn't see it, Steve was smiling in relief. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe this Peter guy wasn't so bad, after all. He finally got Emma to do the impossible which was to stay behind on a mission. Steve even might've been starting to like Emma's boyfriend just for that reason alone.

"I'm glad." Steve told Emma. It was silent again as they stood together in her bedroom but it didn't take him long before he broke the silence with another reminder. "I also hope you know that whenever all this Hydra business is over, you're grounded." Emma pulled away to look at him in surprise.

"What?" She questioned and Steve gave her an amused look.

"You lied to me and Bucky about your boyfriend, talked back to us, and you were even caught in bed with that same boyfriend." Steve told her pointedly and Emma groaned in frustration.

"I already told you we weren't doing anything. We were just fooling around." Emma said in an annoyed tone but Steve just continued to smirk at her.

"Don't worry, Emma. I'm sure Peter and I can have plenty of interesting conversations while you're grounded. I'm especially sure that he'll love taking a look at the baby pictures your grandmother left me." Steve said mockingly and Emma found that she really didn't like her grandfather when he was being evil. She playfully glared at him.

"Right and maybe Susan will love to see those educational videos Captain America made. I especially loved the one about Sex Ed. I learned a lot about my body from that one." She told Steve smugly which caused the smirk to fall off his face. Emma then proceeded to do her best imitation of her grandfather in the educational videos she watched in school. " _So your body's changing. Believe me, I know how that feels._ " Steve just laughed nervously as he blushed before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss against her forehead.

"Let's just call it even." Steve told her quietly and Emma laughed.

Emma didn't know why she was so scared to tell everyone about her and Peter. Well, her father was actually evidence as to why she didn't want to come out with it but Steve made it painfully obvious how easy it was to tell him things. Maybe Steve was right. Everything would work itself out. Her father was mad now but maybe he'd get over it. Emma was just glad Steve was seemingly approving of the relationship. She was more than confident that Steve would like Peter even more when he got to know him a bit. Steve and Peter would get along wonderfully. It was just her father she was worried about.


	80. Chapter Seventy Three

**Author's Note: This chapter's a little shorter than the previous ones but the next one will probably be longer. Anyways, I just thought I'd update in honor of Sebastian Stan's birthday.**

 **I also want to tell people not to binge-watch _Handmaid's Tale_ all at once which I've been doing during the past two days. It's an amazing show but super depressing and not the kind of show to watch by yourself one episode after another. I really love it though but it has this really sad effect on you. **

**emmagnetised: I just want to make it clear that Steve and Bucky aren't sexist. They were only being that way because it was Emma. They're just incredibly protective of her. Especially Bucky. Emma doesn't really care about their slut shaming either way. She thinks they're being stupid anyways.**

 **scrapingskies: I think Bucky would've reacted a little differently if he hadn't seen what he saw. It was a little too overwhelming and terrifying for Bucky. Bucky's still going to be an ass in this chapter but he'll come around eventually. I'm glad you like the new story. I'll try to have a new chapter out soon. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day.**

 **extremeninja09: I don't think Emma would be okay with Peter and Bucky sparring for that reason. It would kind of be like she was their property or something. The reason Ross hasn't come knocking down their door is sort of explained a bit in this chapter. He's probably a little bit hesitant at the moment considering all the people currently staying at the compound.**

 **nathan19bane: I can't believe it's been almost a million words either. This is the longest thing I've ever written and we're not even at the other storylines I have** **planned for it yet. There's still along way to go.**

 **Bashsister23: A meeting between Steve, Bucky, and May will happen but I can't exactly say when because I don't really know. There's a lot of stuff going on with Hydra right now. I'm not sure if I'll wait until after all that stuff's over or before. I'm still trying to figure some things out. Hopefully I'll know for sure soon.**

 **Lovelybaka: I'm always happy to gain a new reader. Bucky's still not going to cope with Emma and Peter in the way we want him to but he'll come around soon. Just not in this chapter. He needs a little more time. Although...I really recommend you watch the Marvel movies because they're the best thing ever. I might be a little biased since I'm obsessed with them but you should definitely give them a try.**

 **CheekyLove: I'm not sure if I'll include the characters from Cloak and Dagger. I haven't caught up with the show in a while. I've missed a few episodes. There's already so many characters in this fanfic and I don't feel comfortable writing Tandy and Tyrone since we haven't seen much of them yet. I do really love the show though.**

 **Wakanda 4ever: I wasn't going to write a Stucky ship in this story because I really love their friendship throughout the movies. I'm also too much of a fan of Steve and Peggy which is one of my favorite Marvel romances. I know it obviously can't work out which is super sad but Steggy forever. Steve and Bucky probably do need to get laid. At least Emma thinks so that they focus on something other than her and Peter. She's very possessive of them but I feel like she would let that go in order for her and Peter to have some time alone.**

 **A Guest I guess: Emma, Peter, and Shuri will have more interactions in the upcoming chapters while the others are away on the mission. Emma might be a little suspicious of Shuri at first but she'll come around. Emma's really suspicious of new people.**

 **Mabel: They will find out what Emma did to Betty soon but I won't say how.**

 **Abigail Z: I'm not sure when I'll be able to update Rose Garden Dreams. I'm literally always working on this fanfic so it's not really possible right now. I do want to continue the story but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance.**

 **Anna: I might go into a little more detail over Peter's origins but I'm not sure when. Peter doesn't talk a lot about that time in his life because he wasn't the person Emma loves now and he's afraid she might feel differently. He's talked about it a little with her but not a lot which I'm guessing is what you mean. She also doesn't talk to him a lot about Hydra and all her more violent missions probably for the same reason as he has. There's probably going to come a point soon where they have a more serious talk about their pasts.**

 **Purplestan: Your question will be answered in this chapter funnily enough.**

 **Caribou: So glad you're enjoying the story. I didn't always write such long chapters but it's kind of turned into that now. My writing's improved a lot since I first started writing the story. I'm actually trying to re-edit the earlier chapters. Nothing major. Just some minor errors and typos.**

 **readeratheart8128: I'm always happy to get a new reader! The reason Emma loves vinyl and old movies is probably because I do. People don't watch old movies anymore which is sad. I saw this Paul Newman movie called 'Harper' recently and it was the funniest movie I had seen in a while. Mostly there's just the stoner humor kind of movies(Seth Rogen movies for example) around now which I don't find that funny. Harper was classically funny. I wish there were more leading men like Paul Newman around too. Paul Newman was so cool. He's got great pasta sauce too.**

 **anonanon: A table of contents actually sounds like a great idea and I'll try to do that when I get some time on my hands but I'm not sure when that will be.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I'm sorry for not answering every review but I did happen to read them all so thank you. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

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Bucky couldn't get the image out of his mind. Emma with…that boy. The image kept causing the bile to rise in his throat and Bucky didn't even know he could still get sick like that. It wasn't so much of what he caught Emma and the boy doing…well, that was kind of a problem too but his point was that Emma had a boyfriend. This was something Bucky could've never have predicted. A boyfriend. Why did Emma have go and get herself a boyfriend? Bucky just didn't understand it.

The only thing that had kept him going these past couple years on the run was the thought of Emma. That she was somewhere out there waiting for him. Bucky always dreamed of the day that he would be able to return to her. He never imagined he'd ever get the chance without somehow being arrested. Now, however, he was free to be with Emma…at least until Ross came for him and Steve.

Bucky remembered spending the entire plane ride from Wakanda to the compound going over what he was going to say to her. Of course everything left his mind when he saw her standing there next to Steve on the landing pad. It was so unbelievable how much she had grown up. He could still remember the first time he ever saw her even though there was still a lot of regret and self-loathing he had left over from that first meeting.

Emma had been so small back then. She hadn't even come up to his hip at the time. Her eyes were so wide with innocence and fear. Bucky knew he was partly to blame for corrupting her…for teaching her how to take lives and inflict pain and horror. He knew he had been brainwashed but he still regretted it.

This was why it hurt him so much to find out what Rumlow did to her. Bucky was supposed to be there for her. He was supposed to protect her but he hadn't been able to. Hydra had him under their control. They put him in the Cyro-Chamber which Rumlow had been counting on and the pervert made his attack. Rumlow had probably been waiting for Bucky to be put back in the Cyro-Chamber. That sick fuck had been biding his time. Bucky wondered how long Rumlow had been waiting to strike. The very thought made Bucky sick to his stomach.

The guilt was eating away at Bucky because there was nothing he could do to fix what had been done to her. He hadn't been there for her when she needed him most which was something that was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Now that he knew she was with that boy it just made it a million times worse.

How was Bucky supposed to protect her from the depravity of men if she was so adamant about ignoring him. What if that boy did the same thing that Rumlow did to her? Why did Emma seem so attached to the boy that she would stand against him and ignore his command? She always listened to him in the past. Emma had never even defied him once yet she did it so easily over some boy.

"Have you calmed down since last night?" Steve asked Bucky as he stood in the doorway of Bucky's room. The former Winter Soldier, now White Wolf, had been staring out one of the large glass windows as he brooded in a manner not so different than Emma. Bucky clenched his jaw but refused to look back at his friend, still angry that Steve hadn't backed him up last night.

"Is Emma still with that boy?" He retorted and Steve rose an eyebrow.

"Yes." He replied.

"Then no." Bucky stated stubbornly as he continued to glare at his own reflection in the glass window.

Steve sighed tiredly before walking into the room. It had been a long time since him and Bucky fought like this and he wasn't counting the time Bucky was still under Hydra's control. Steve didn't think Bucky and him had been angry at each other over something since they were kids. Even then, it was probably something trivial. However, it didn't surprise Steve that they were in disagreement over Emma. Steve wanted to be more strict with Emma and raise her to be a normal person. Bucky seemed to encourage her bad habits and was way more laidback about her behavior…except for this instance where he seemed anything but laidback.

"I hope you know you embarrassed yourself last night." Steve told him and Bucky glared at his best friend.

"Embarrassed myself? Me?" Bucky asked in disbelief. "Was it not our daughter who was caught in bed with some horny idiot?"

"You overreacted." Steve told him seriously and Bucky scoffed. "We both did."

"I did not overreact! Considering everything that's happened to her, I think I was justified in what I did and said." Bucky argued, not seeming to regret last night even a little.

"I talked to Emma after you stormed off…which you seem to be in a habit of doing these days. She told me about Peter and how they came to be…and I think I'm okay with it." Steve admitted and Bucky stared at him in disbelief.

"What?!" He questioned and Steve nodded, holding his ground against his best friend.

"She really loves him, Bucky. You should hear the way she talks about him. It's love and I think he might be good for her." Steve explained much to Bucky's disbelief and horror. "Of course, I need to have a long conversation with him before I can be completely okay with it but I think this is a good thing."

"How is it a good thing? She's only sixteen and you didn't see what I saw. They weren't having sex but they weren't too far from it either." Bucky said and Steve forced himself not to flinch at the thought of Emma having sex.

"This is why I'm making rules for them. They're teenagers so of course they're going to be curious about sex." Steve told Bucky as he tried to talk his best friend into accepting Emma's new relationship. "All we have to do is to keep a close eye on them. It's that simple."

"I don't trust him." Bucky snapped and Steve fought the urge to groan in frustration at his friend.

"This is why I'm going to talk to him…to get to know him a bit. So I can see if he's trustworthy before I make any hasty judgements." Steve told the former Hydra assassin but the man just shook his head stubbornly.

"He'll just feed you a bunch of lies so he can have his way with Emma." Bucky said and this time Steve actually glared at him.

"What's your problem? Did you hear what Emma said? He makes her happy." Steve told him, feeling a bit annoyed by his friend's attitude. "You have to be willing to try to get to know him better."

"Emma's sixteen. She doesn't know what she wants." Bucky argued and Steve scoffed.

"Wasn't it you the other day who was telling me to go easy on her? To trust her judgement because she's had to grow up a lot in her short life?" Steve threw back at him and Bucky gritted his teeth.

"That was before I saw her in bed with some stupid kid. Now I don't trust her judgement at all." Bucky stated, showcasing just how stubborn he could really be at times. Steve forced himself not to blow up at his best friend as he tried to proceed calmly.

"Look, I don't like the idea of Emma having a boyfriend at her age either. She's really young for this kind of commitment but there's nothing I can do now." Steve told him, a sincere look in his eyes. "We were gone when she needed us most but Peter was here. He's been there for her when we couldn't be."

"So?" Bucky said although Steve could see a look of regret on his face. Maybe Bucky was starting to cave in, after all.

"So I'm just saying that we have to accept this. We have to accept this because he makes her happy." Steve told him solemnly as Bucky just listened to him silently. "We were gone for a long time, Buck. A year is a long time in a teenager's life. You were gone longer. Her life was never going to be the exact same as when we left."

"You're actually accepting this? Despite everything that's happened to her." Bucky asked him quietly and Steve nodded.

"I have to accept this _because_ of everything that's happened to her. She's had a sad and miserable life." Steve said and he could start to feel himself get a little choked up at the thought of everything that happened to Emma. Things that Steve would always blame himself for. "I've tried to make her as happy as I could in the past but there was always something missing. This boy offers her something we never could…normalcy." Steve paused briefly before he elaborated.

"I tried to give her that but how could I in a place full of superheroes and constant danger? This life she has now is better for her. She has friends, school, and a…boyfriend. She even wants to go to art school." Steve said as he smiled at the thought of Emma going to college. "Do you know how many times I tried to convince her to consider college? It's a goal of hers now."

"She doesn't seem as angry and bitter anymore either. Granted, she still loves to argue with people but she wouldn't be Emma if she didn't argue." Steve said as Bucky watched him carefully. "I'm not sure what it is. If it's having friends, a somewhat normal life…or even this boy who she's in love with now. But I'm convinced that this could be good for her."

"You might be able to accept this but I can't. You've gotten to spend years with her outside of Hydra. I've barely had a week." Bucky told him, sounding terrified and Steve just looked at him incredulously. "You and her are all I have left." Bucky then paused for a moment before a more serious and almost angry look crossed his face.

"Her and this boy…I won't have it. I can't accept it." Bucky told him adamantly. "I waited years to see her again. I deserve to have time with her and I'm not going give her up for some stupid kid that'll never understand her like I do. He doesn't deserve her. She's too good for him." It was silent for a moment before a furious look crossed Steve's face as he glared at Bucky.

"You're a lot more selfish than I remember." Steve told him angrily and Bucky, in the midst of his anger, gave Steve a confused look.

"Excuse me?" He questioned and Steve just shook his head in disbelief.

"You would rather break Emma's heart than have her be happy with this boy. She has a chance at a normal life but you don't care." Steve told him and Bucky was taken back by how pissed Steve sounded. He hadn't seen him this angry since…well, since they were back in their own time.

"That's why I think she should stay away from him. She'll only end up getting hurt." Bucky argued and Steve scoffed.

"You're not thinking of her. You're only thinking of yourself. This isn't the Bucky Barnes I know. The Bucky Barnes I know wouldn't be such a selfish bastard." Steve told him and Bucky glared at him.

"I'm not the same person anymore. Neither are you." Bucky retorted and Steve heaved with anger. He didn't understand how Bucky could be so selfish. Yes, Steve was concerned about Emma and this boy but that didn't mean he was willing to hurt her just so she wouldn't grow up so fast.

"That might be true but at least I'm not willing to break Emma's heart just because I'm afraid of letting go." Steve told him and Bucky glowered at him but didn't get a chance to say anything as Steve continued. "You don't know a thing about parenting, Bucky."

"What are you-" Bucky started to say but Steve interrupted.

"Parenting is about putting your child in front of your own interests. It's about doing what's best for them. It's not about what _you_ want." Steve lectured as Bucky just stared back at him.

"I haven't gotten enough time with her." Bucky said quietly and Steve just shook his head sadly.

"I hope you know how selfish you're being. You're not thinking of Emma. You're only thinking of yourself." Steve said sharply and Bucky looked away from him stubbornly. It became clear to Steve then that Bucky was still as stubborn as ever. He wasn't going to back down.

"I won't allow it." Bucky told him and Steve clenched his jaw.

"I don't care because I _am_ allowing it." Steve told him much to Bucky's disbelief and anger. "Emma's my flesh and blood. I'm going to talk to this boy soon and if I approve of him then I'm going to let it happen with or without your approval." Bucky's eyes widened in disbelief before his eyes narrowed into another furious glare.

" _Your_ flesh and blood?! I raised her in that base! I loved and cared for her!" Bucky told him furiously and it was clear to Steve that Emma had picked up a lot more from Bucky than he originally thought. They seemed to share almost the same temper. Emma really did learn a lot from him…which was kind of unfortunate in this particular circumstance.

"I protected her! I know I messed up a lot but I did the best I could. I love her like she's my own. She's just as much of my daughter as she is yours." Bucky argued passionately.

Steve swallowed hard as he saw the unshed tears in Bucky's eyes. It was clear to him that Bucky loved Emma just as much as Steve did. He really hated fighting with Bucky but he had to do this for Emma. He had to do what was best for her and he honestly believed that this boy and the new life she had made for herself was good for her.

"Then start acting like it." Steve told him harshly. "I'm going to go talk to Peter and while I'm doing that I want you to think about how selfish you're being." Bucky didn't say anything as he just glowered at Steve. If it was another circumstance it would've been amusing since Bucky resembled a pouting child.

"I also hope that you don't think you can attack that boy or yell at Emma again. I don't want Emma seeing that kind of behavior from you." Steve told him almost like a parent would scold a child. "You should at least have some of your dignity intact so she doesn't lose all respect for you if she hasn't already."

"You really need to grow up, Bucky." Steve told him seriously. The blonde super soldier shot his best friend one last scathing look before he turned around and stormed out of Bucky's bedroom.

Bucky watched him leave with a bitter look on his face, a million thoughts going through his mind as he brooded over what Steve told him. He couldn't believe Steve was actually on that stupid kid's side. How the hell did that little dork get everyone wrapped around his finger? First Emma then Steve and now he had even heard some of the others saying nice things about him too. Not Sam which meant that this was probably the first time Sam and him actually agreed on something. That was a miracle in itself.

However, Bucky was unwilling to budge in his opinion on Emma's relationship with that boy. Steve might've been stupid enough to trust this kid but Bucky wasn't that naïve. That boy was up to no good and Bucky didn't trust him one bit with his daughter. _What a smug little asshole_ , Bucky thought to himself. The way he seemed so sure he was going to have Emma all to himself. Bucky felt himself trembling with anger at the memory of the kid mouthing "I love you" to his daughter. Bucky always knew something was wrong with that boy. He just didn't understand why no one was listening to him.

* * *

 _"_ _The sky looks so blue here. It's beautiful." Emma murmured as her and Peter laid across the soft lush green grass, staring up at the blue sky. There didn't seem to be a single cloud in the sky and it was a perfect day. The weather wasn't too hot nor was it too cold. The soft breeze in the air was enough to make it even a little bit peaceful. Peter smiled at Emma as he looked over at her._

 _"_ _Yes, but I think you're more beautiful." He told her softly and Emma rolled her eyes like she always did whenever she thought he was being cheesy and ridiculous._

 _"_ _You're a dork, Parker." Emma told him but Peter just grinned at her._

 _"_ _But you love me anyways, don't you?" Peter said teasingly and Emma smiled at him, torn between being amused or adoring._

 _"_ _Maybe." Emma retorted although the smile on her face told him all he needed to know. Peter was about to lean over to kiss her when he felt a heavy weight on one of his fingers. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he lifted his hand up to examine it. Peter was mystified by the Ring Pop resting on his hand. Strawberry…his favorite flavor._

 _"_ _Emma, when did I get this Ring Pop?" Peter questioned and Emma raised an eyebrow at him._

 _"_ _When we got married, dumbass." Emma told him and Peter quickly turned back to look at her in shock. He thought he might've misheard her…at least until she lifted up her own hand where a Blue Raspberry flavored Ring Pop rested on one of her fingers. Peter watched her as she smiled and showed off the Ring Pop. It was then that he realized what this was._

 _It was a dream._

 _Peter knew this was a dream because he knew there was no force on heaven or earth that could make Emma actually wear or eat a Ring Pop. He doubted that she even knew what it was and he could just picture the look on her face if he ever gave her one in real life. No, this was a dream. The Ring Pop proved it._

 _"_ _Married?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded._

 _"_ _Yes." She confirmed and Peter just shook his head in disbelief._

 _"_ _When did we get married?" He asked her and she gave him an odd look._

 _"_ _Yesterday. Don't you remember anything, Parker?" Emma said to him but Peter was just confused. He was more than sure this was a dream because Emma made it pretty clear in real life that she would never marry him. Peter wasn't hurt or anything by her rejection because he knew he had years to convince her to marry him. However, it was kind of cool that they were supposedly married in this weird dream._

 _"_ _Where?" He asked her and she rolled her eyes at him._

 _"_ _The Millennium Falcon. Where else?" Emma told him and Peter fought the urge to jump up and down in excitement. Him and Emma got married on the Millennium Falcon? He knew this only a dream but this was already the best dream he ever had. Did Han Solo officiate the wedding? Peter hoped so._

 _"_ _Where we are we now then?" Peter asked her and Emma just looked at him like she thought he was being ridiculous._

 _"_ _On our honeymoon, of course." Emma informed him with a small smile on her face._

 _"_ _So you're my wife? You're Mrs. Parker?" He asked her and Emma nodded._

 _"_ _Duh. We just got married. What do you think?" She said sarcastically being her usual self. Peter had a goofy smile on his face as he looked back at her. Even though he knew it was only a dream, Peter was going to enjoy this as much as possible. However, it wasn't until then that Peter realized that she was wearing the dress from their first date. He had always loved that red dress and wished that Emma would wear it again. He'd ask her but he felt too shy._

 _"_ _I like your dress." Peter told her quietly and Emma just smiled at him like she already knew this._

 _"_ _I know you do." Emma said as she then proceeded to suck on the Ring Pop. Peter watched her intently, afraid that he would miss something if he happened to look away from her right now. He watched the way her lips wrapped around the Ring Pop and admired the way the blue from the Ring Pop stained her lips. Now Peter really knew it was a dream. There was no way this was real._

 _"_ _You shouldn't do that, Emma." Peter told her and Emma smirked at him as she pulled the Ring Pop away from her lips._

 _"_ _Why not?" She asked him._

 _"_ _Because it does things to me, Emma. You do things to me." Peter said honestly and Emma then moved closer to him with a teasing look on her face._

 _He swallowed hard as she learned in closer to him. She gently pressed her lips against his, kissing him soft and slow. Peter mentally groaned at the taste of her Blue Raspberry Ring Pop which was still on her lips. Peter realized in that moment how insanely hot it was when Emma sucked on a Ring Pop. He kind of wished she'd do that in real life but he had a feeling she'd either tell him to fuck off or laugh. He never knew with Emma._

 _"_ _You know this is our honeymoon, right? You don't have to hold back anymore." Emma said flirtatiously when she pulled away to look at him. Peter could feel his heart hammering inside his chest. He realized that dream Emma was just as much of a flirt as real Emma. Peter knew her too well._

 _"_ _A-Are you sure, Emma?" He asked her nervously, his eyes wide and Emma nodded with a smile, seeming sure of herself. Peter blushed although he felt the excitement coursing through his veins._

 _"_ _Make love to me, Peter." She whispered to him._

 _"_ _Okay." Peter said quickly and he didn't need to be told twice as he gently placed a hand on either side of her face before moving in for another kiss. This kiss was more heated than the last one. It really didn't take much at all for Peter to get turned on at this point. Especially when Emma unzipped his pants._

 _"_ _You're so beautiful." Peter told her in between kisses and Emma returned each of his kisses with an equal amount of passion._

 _"_ _I love you." She told him, sounding a bit breathless from all the kissing. Peter smiled against her mouth._

 _"_ _I love you too." He said softly and the two young lovers began taking their clothes off. Since this was only a dream, Peter had to use as much imagination as possible since he hadn't seen Emma naked yet. Using his imagination Once they removed all articles of clothing from each other, Peter looked at her…all of her. Emma looked back up at him, a look of love on her face._

 _"_ _You're beautiful." He told her and Emma smiled at him softly._

 _"_ _You've already said that." She told him and Peter smiled goofily at her again._

 _"_ _Well, it's true." Peter said as he leaned down to kiss her again and just like that, he started making love to her. As they moved together Emma moaned softly which drove Peter crazier with desire. It was a sound that Peter could never forget from their many steamy make-out sessions. Peter was so distracted by him and Emma finally being together that he didn't even care if it was a dream. He just knew that this was the best dream he ever had._

 _This wasn't the first time Peter dreamed of him and Emma having sex although this was the first time he dreamed of them having sex on their honeymoon. Sometimes when they had sex in Peter's dreams they were in really cool places like Disneyland or Naboo but never were they married in his dreams. This was the first time._

 _Peter also had to be pretty creative about the dreams since he had never actually had sex before. He usually just based it off stuff he saw in movies. Either way, dream Emma seemed to enjoy it a lot so Peter guessed he was doing something right. Peter was so caught up in him and Emma making love. He barely even cared about the fact that they were having sex outside in the open and none of it was real._

 _He was so caught up in Emma, matter in fact, that he didn't even notice that they weren't alone. A figure walked upon the young couple as quiet as a mouse in the night. Peter only paused in his movement when he heard a swishing sound behind them. He stopped what he was doing and Emma stopped kissing him, looking up at him in confusion._

 _"_ _Peter, what's wrong?" She asked him quietly, looking concerned._

 _Like it was straight out of a horror movie, Peter slowly looked behind him and Emma only to see something from his worst nightmares. It was none other than Jason Voorhees, Hockey mask and Machete in all, standing there looking down at them. Peter could even hear the iconic and terrifying theme music playing in the background._

 _Oh, no. Why did he have to have sex with Emma in this dream? People who had sex in horror movies always ended up getting murdered. God, one look at Emma in her red dress and every logical thought went out of his head. Well, she didn't even have to wear a pretty dress to do that. The moment her dad walked in on them was evidence enough of that._

 _"_ _Who the hell is that, Peter?" Emma asked, sounding frightened. That was odd. He didn't really know Emma to be the type to be frightened of a serial killer from a horror movie. Peter was the one who should be scared. Him and Ned had seen Friday the Thirteenth when they were little even though they weren't supposed to. Peter had nightmares about the movie for a month. He had to sleep on Aunt May and Uncle Ben's bedroom floor for a very long time. Which was probably why Jason Voorhees was in his dream. Maybe Emma's fear was only a projection of his own fear?_

 _"_ _What do you want?" Peter asked demandingly as he got off of Emma and positioned himself in front of her even though he really just wanted her to protect him instead because he was terrified. It was kind of ridiculous he was still terrified of Jason Voorhees even though he had super powers that could allow him to easily kill the villain. The childhood fear never went away, he guessed. Jason Voorhees waved his machete through the air threateningly before actually speaking in an un-Jason Voorhees like manner._

 _"_ _I told you to stay away from my daughter." He said in a familiar voice and Peter stiffened when he heard the voice. Why the hell was Jason Voorhees referring to Emma as his daughter? Wait…why the hell did that voice sound so familiar?_

 _"_ _Uh…what?" Peter said in confusion._

 _"_ _But instead I catch you having sex with her." He continued to say, ignoring Peter. However, it was what happened next that surprised Peter like nothing else. Jason Voorhees took off the hockey mask revealing none other than Emma's father._

 _"_ _So I guess I'm going to have to kill you now." Bucky Barnes told him, a look of pure evil in his eyes. Peter's eyes widened in fright as he looked at someone who was a lot scarier than Jason Voorhees. It was clear to him that this nightmare was a lot more terrifying than any Friday the Thirteenth nightmare he had before._

 _"_ _Emma, tell him to-" Peter started to say as he turned to look at her but he stopped when he saw that she was no longer where he had left her. His eyes quickly scanned the area around him but he couldn't see any sign of her._

 _"_ _Emma?" He asked, quickly becoming even more terrified by the second. Where was Emma? Where did she go? There couldn't possibly be a worse moment for her to disappear. Who was going to save him from her dad now?_

 _"_ _I'm going to make sure you never lay your hands on my daughter again." Her dad told him and Peter knew he was really screwed now. There was no Emma to save him this time. Bucky swung the machete through the air threateningly and Peter didn't waste any time getting up from the ground before breaking into a sprint._

 _Peter ran as fast as he could but he didn't seem to run as fast as he wanted to because he could hear Emma's dad right behind him with that machete. Peter had never been more terrified in his life than right in that moment as he ran naked through the night with Emma's dad chasing him down with a machete. Why was her dad so scary? Oh, that's right. Because he was only a former assassin who had probably murdered hundreds of people but who also wanted to break his streak of goodness to murder Peter too._

 _"_ _You can't run away forever, you little asshole!" Emma's dad yelled and Peter was running for his life. He was going to be killed for having sex with Emma. He knew she would get him killed one of these days. Well, Peter wasn't going to lie. Emma was totally worth being murdered over. He was a hundred percent sure of that._

 _"_ _Parker?!" Peter heard Emma's voice say in the distance. He just didn't know where she was._

 _"_ _Emma? Where are you?" He asked in confusion. He really needed her now. Her dad was dead set on killing him._

 _"_ _Parker, wake up!"_

"Peter, wake up!" Emma said and Peter immediately woke up from his nightmare, struggling to catch his breath and his eyes wide with fear. Peter wildly looked around the room trying to spot any sign of her dad. Where was he? Where was the machete?

"Where is he?!" Peter demanded as he continued to search for her father. Emma gave him a confused look even though she was very concerned for him. He was sweating really bad and he looked scared out of his mind.

"Where is who, Peter? Are you okay? You're sweating so much." Emma told him and she felt his forehead in concern. She was scared that he was sick or something. Peter just shook his head.

"Your dad, Emma! He was trying to kill me again!" Peter said, still scared beyond belief. "He was Jason Voorhees and he was chasing me down with a machete and I was naked then he-" Emma immediately interrupted his rambling as she always did.

"You mean you had a nightmare?" Emma said and it was obvious by her tone that she thought he was being ridiculous. Peter searched his bedroom for any sign of her dad but he couldn't see him. Emma was the only one in his room as she sat on the edge of his bed looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I don't know. Where's your dad? Is he here?" Peter asked, still searching the room for her father. Emma just shook her head.

"Peter, Papa's not here." She told him but she was still very worried about him. He wasn't one to have really bad nightmares. She was the one who always had the bad nightmares.

"Where is he?" He questioned and Emma just scoffed.

"Hell if I know. He was being a real asshole last night so I don't care to see him any time soon." Emma said bitterly and the terrified look faded from his face. A concerned look took its place.

"What?" He said and despite the angry look on Emma's face, he could tell she was hurting inside.

"Did you guys fight last night?" He asked. Peter didn't know what happened with Emma, her father, and grandfather last night. He had tried waiting up for her but then it got so late that he fell asleep.

"I tried to tell him what you mean to me…that it wasn't what he thought." Emma informed Peter and he could tell she was sad. Her eyes weren't as happy as they had been last night when they were alone together. "He wouldn't listen to me."

"So is that it?" Peter asked her, his eyes wide with fear again but this time he wasn't scared of his nightmare. He was scared at the thought of losing Emma. "Do they not want us to be together"

" _Papa_ doesn't want us together." Emma told him and Peter felt hurt. He was hurt by the fact that Emma's dad didn't think he was good enough for her. Emma's dad thought he was undeserving of her. Her dad didn't like him. Peter wasn't used to not being liked. Adults always trusted him and the teachers at school thought he was a model student. No one had ever disliked him the way Emma's dad did and it made him feel like shit.

"So he's forbidding us from being together?" Peter asked her and Emma quickly shook her head.

"Well, not exactly. While Papa was being an ass and stormed out of the room, Steve and I had a long conversation." Emma told him seriously and Peter stared back at her, trying to decipher what she meant by that.

"About what?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged as she locked eyes with him.

"About us." She said quietly. "I told him everything about us. How we met, how we got together, and how much I love you."

"And what did he say?" Peter asked and Emma shrugged.

"He seemed to be okay with it." Emma said truthfully and a hopeful look came into Peter's eyes.

"Really?" He said hopefully. Emma nodded. "He's okay with us being together."

"I think so." Emma told him and Peter smiled before he wrapped Emma up in a hug. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, momentarily forgetting about her father.

"Emma, this is good news." He told her as he then chastely kissed her before pulling away to look at her. Emma was happy to see the goofy smile on his face. She could tell this news made him happy. "Your grandfather approves of us."

"Not so fast, Parker." Emma told him, trying to get him to calm down a little. "That's actually why I'm here."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked in confusion and Emma sighed.

"He wants to talk to you." Emma said seriously and Peter swallowed hard. He couldn't tell if this was a good thing or bad thing yet. Captain America wanted to talk to him? Peter didn't think he had spoken to him much other than the first time they met. He always wanted to talk to the older man but he had been scared he'd spill something about him and Emma. Although that didn't seem to be a concern anymore.

"Me? He wants to talk to me?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"I guess he just wants to get to know you better. He seemed okay with us last night though so I think we'll be alright." Emma said to Peter and he nodded, still seemingly overwhelmed by this news.

"When does he want to talk?" Peter asked, not knowing what else to ask in a time like this. Emma shrugged.

"He said he was going on a jog before the mission and he wants you to join him." Emma said seriously and Peter looked a bit taken back by the suddenness of it all. A jog? He was going to go on a jog with Emma's grandpa? Peter also realized that Emma's grandpa was probably one of the few grandpas in the world who was in shape enough to go on jogs.

"When exactly is this jog?" Peter inquired.

"Now." She replied and Peter's eyes widened.

"Now? Now as in right now?" He asked her and she nodded.

"He sent me to tell you." Emma informed him and Peter swallowed hard before nodding. Okay, so this was really happening. Emma's grandfather was going to give him the dad talk. He kind of already got the dad talk from Tony but Peter didn't think that counted. Tony obviously never enforced any of the things he told him.

"So I'm supposed to go now? Well…does he seem mad? Like your dad?" Peter questioned and Emma shook her head.

"No. He seems concerned which is why I think he wants to talk to you." She said to him and Peter nodded once more. "Although don't think he automatically trusts us. He sent Natasha with me. She's waiting outside your bedroom door which is supposed to remain open at all times, I guess."

"Why is she here?" Emma rolled her eyes.

"To make sure we're not having sex." Emma told him and Peter blushed at her blunt statement.

"Oh…" Peter said awkwardly.

"Anyways, I should probably get going so you can have that talk with Steve." Emma told him as she got up from the bed. Peter looked up at her, a worried expression on his face.

"What do I even say to him, Emma?" He asked her and she just looked down at him thoughtfully.

"Just be yourself, Peter." She told him honestly.

"What if he doesn't like who I am?" Peter told her and Emma smiled softly at him.

"He will and even if he doesn't it's not going to change how I feel about you." Emma told him as she looked at him lovingly. "I love you, Peter Parker." Peter smiled back at her.

"I love you too, Emma Rogers." He told her, not feeling as frightened as he did before. He really wanted her grandfather's approval but he also knew it wouldn't mean the end of them even if he didn't get it. He'd still have her in the end and she'd have him too.

"Rogers, you better not be having sex with your boyfriend in there." Natasha called from the hallway. "Steve's not going to like that." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm coming." Emma told her in an annoyed tone.

"I really hope you're not." Natasha said teasingly and Emma couldn't believe Natasha actually said that with Peter in the room. God, that woman always loved embarrassing her and she was going to milk this boyfriend thing for all it was worth.

"You're so funny." Emma said as she started to leave the room although she noticed Natasha's sexual innuendo went right over Peter's head. Her boyfriend could be really innocent at times which Emma found adorable. Right before Emma left the room, however, she turned back to look at him as she remembered something he said earlier.

"Hey, what did you mean earlier when you said you were naked?" Emma asked him and Peter gave her a slightly bewildered look.

"What?" He asked her, completely confused.

"You said you were naked in your nightmare. Why?" Emma asked bluntly and Peter blushed, knowing fully well why he had been naked in the nightmare. He hadn't told Emma but the nightmare hadn't been entirely a nightmare. The first part was actually great…perfect even.

"Um…no reason." Peter lied horribly and Emma looked at him as she processed his answer for a moment. It only took her about two seconds to know he was lying. Emma wasn't sure why he was lying but she knew he was. She gave him an amused smirk.

"Sure, Parker. Whatever you say." Emma told him, giving Peter one last smile before she walked out the door. He heard her and Natasha chatting amongst each other as they walked down the hall but Peter couldn't help the feeling of worry and fear that washed over him.

It finally hit him. He was going to have to face Emma's grandfather. Peter inwardly prayed to whoever was listening up there for Emma's grandfather not to kill him. He just hoped that someone heard him because he actually wanted to live long enough to tell Captain America how much he loved his granddaughter. Hopefully her grandfather listened.

* * *

"You're not half bad, Peter." Steve Rogers told the teenage boy as their finished their morning jog. He had spent the past hour running multiple miles and Steve was impressed at how well Peter could keep up. The only people who could keep up with him tended to be Emma and Bucky. However, Peter seemed to run just as fast.

"Thank you, Mr. Rogers." Peter told him politely as he struggled to catch his breath. Peter could truthfully run faster than Captain America, which he found out that morning, but he mostly held himself back in the jog. He didn't want to risk somehow insulting Emma's grandfather. He wanted to get on his good side. Although…he noticed that her grandfather didn't seem to have any trouble catching his breath like Peter seemed to be doing. He noticed that with Emma too although sometimes when they were alone together he could make her breathless. Not that he should be thinking about that right now. The earlier part of his nightmare, the good part, was still stuck in his head as it would seem.

"Please call me Steve." The former super soldier insisted as he looked down at the boy. Peter gave the man a nervous look.

"Are you sure?" He asked hesitantly and Steve gave him a kind smile. He could do this. He could be nice to this boy despite what Bucky walked in on. Emma was in love with this boy so he could try and get along with him for her sake. Maybe this boy wouldn't so bad…hopefully.

"Of course." Steve promised and Peter smiled at him, feeling a bit better than before. So Emma's grandfather didn't seem to be angry. That was a good sign. Steve then grew more serious as he decided to finally have his talk with Peter. There wasn't really any way around it. "Walk with me, Peter."

"Oh um…okay." Peter said, a little taken back. Steve started walking and Peter didn't have any other choice but to join him. Peter followed him although he felt incredibly nervous. He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know if Steve would like him or hate him.

"I'm not going to lie you, Peter." Steve said, not wanting to beat around the bush. "I'm not completely sold on this relationship between you and Emma. Don't get me wrong. She seems happy and that makes me happy too but I can't be sure this is what's best for her. Not until I talk to you at least."

"That's okay. I understand." Peter told him quietly and he did understand in a way. He was sure this was all so very overwhelming for Emma's grandfather. To come back and find her here with a boyfriend that he didn't even know. Peter didn't blame him for being worried.

"We had a long talk about the two of you last night." Steve informed him as they continued to walk. "She told me everything."

"She did?" Peter asked him although he kind of already knew what Emma told Steve…or the gist's of it at least. Emma only told him a few details about her talk with Steve.

"Yes." Steve replied.

"Is Emma in trouble?" Peter asked worriedly and Steve gave him a curious look. "I wouldn't want her to get in trouble because of me."

"Emma might be looking at a grounding when this is all over but she'll be okay." Steve assured him although Peter still felt bad at getting her into trouble.

"I just don't want you guys to be mad at her because of me." Peter told him and Steve was even more curious now. This boy seemed worried about her even though Steve knew that Emma didn't care whether or not they were mad at her. Emma did what Emma wanted.

"I'm not mad. I promise." Steve told him sincerely and Peter stared at him for a moment before nodding. Steve sighed. "I just…well, I'd like to know how you feel about Emma. She already let me know how she feels so I just want to get some more perspective on this whole situation." Peter swallowed hard.

"I suppose that's fair." Peter admitted before he prepared himself to give Emma's grandfather an honest answer. "I don't know what else to tell you other than the fact that I'm completely in love with your granddaughter."

"Are you now?" Steve asked, still looking curious and Peter nodded confidently. There wasn't a lot of times that he felt that confident but there was nothing he was more confident about than the love he had for Emma.

"Yes. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to marry her." Peter said before he blushed. "Sorry. I know that seems crazy but if it helps you feel any better, Emma doesn't want to marry me so it probably won't happen for a while." Steve gave him an amused look.

"Yes, she told me the same thing last night." Steve said as he continued trying to figure the boy out. "But in all honesty, I guess I'd like to know why." Peter gave him a confused look.

"Why what?" Peter asked him and Steve shrugged.

"I want to know why you love her." Steve told him and Peter looked at him in surprise. He certainly hadn't been expecting a question like that although Peter felt kind of offended by her grandfather's question.

"What do you mean why I love her? How can I not love her?" Peter questioned, sounding offended but Steve just gave him an amused smile.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Peter. I just want to know…for my own sanity." Steve told him. He didn't mean anything by his questioning. He just wanted to know if this boy really cared and love Emma like he claimed to. He just wanted to be sure.

"I love her so much, Mr. Rogers." Peter told him seriously and Steve could see that he went back to ignoring his plea to call him Steve. "She's such an amazing person…your granddaughter, I mean. She's the best person I know." Peter only briefly paused before he continued while Steve listened to him avidly.

"Emma always says the right thing. She loves people and things more passionately than anyone I've ever met." Peter told him honestly and Steve felt a bit choked up because he was starting to realize that this was really happening. Emma and this boy were the real deal. It was becoming so clear to him in that moment as the boy talked that there was doubt in his mind that the boy was completely in love with Emma. " She can be so kind too. Emma doesn't show many people but she's nice. Just don't tell her I told you that." Steve chuckled a bit at Peter's last comment.

"She's beautiful and funny too but for some reason she loves me. I don't know why but she does." Peter said to Steve as Steve stared back at him thoughtfully. "Sometimes she can be really stubborn and she also loves to argue but I love her more for it. I don't know what I did to deserve her but I'm just glad that it's me she loves."

Steve realized then that this boy was head over heels in love with Emma. He knew that Peter's feelings were as genuine for her as Emma's feelings were genuine for him. Steve just heard everything he needed to know. Peter really did love her and that's all that Steve could ask of him. He just wanted her to be loved and for her to be happy. It was difficult to think that this meant that he would have to let her go eventually…that she wasn't going to be his forever but he knew that this was what was best for her. This was what Steve wanted for her, after all. He just wanted her to be happy.

"Tell me about yourself, Peter." Steve said as he changed the subject. Peter was immensely confused. He didn't know what Steve wanted from him.

"What do you want to know?" Peter asked him and Steve shrugged.

"Your hobbies, your family…life after high school." Steve listed off and Peter nodded furiously. He had no idea where this was going. He didn't know if this meant that his answer about Emma was good enough. Peter had no idea what was going through Steve's mind. Maybe he was just as tough to figure out as Emma was. Peter wasn't sure.

"I uh…live with my Aunt which I think I mentioned before." Peter told him and Steve nodded. Steve also recalled Peter mentioning that his parents were dead too. Steve knew how hard it was to lose your parents. He knew Emma knew how hard it was too which might've been something that helped the two bond.

"May, right?" Steve inquired and Peter smiled.

"Yeah. May's great. She's the best actually." Peter told him. "She's been really happy about Emma and I."

"You have an uncle too or…" Steve trailed off and a sad look crossed Peter's face.

"Aunt May and Uncle Ben both raised me. Uncle Ben was really amazing. Everything I could've asked for in a father." Peter said before his tone became more sad. "He died about a year and a half ago. It was a mugging."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Steve said sincerely and Peter shrugged.

"It was a while ago." Peter told him. "I still miss him but it gets easier after a while. Besides…I still have May and now I have Emma too. I do wish that she could've met him. He would've loved her."

"Still…I know how hard it is to lose people." Steve said, looking very sympathetic. Peter just nodded before he decided to change the subject. It was hard talking about Uncle Ben. It was even hard talking about him to Emma which was why he didn't do it often.

"I like science." Peter told Steve suddenly and the man gave him a confused look. "You asked what my hobbies were…I like science. I'm interested in a lot of different fields but mostly chemistry and physics. I'm thinking about majoring in one of the two in college."

Peter was mostly making the last part up. He hadn't given much thought towards college. He knew now that he wanted to go. Peter didn't before because he thought his whole entire life was going to be Spider-Man. However, Emma, among other things, made him realize that he was also Peter Parker. He realized that he desired a normal life too.

College seemed to be a good way to go and not to mention it would allow him not to be a homeless superhero bum who'd mooch off of Tony Stark for the rest of his life. Emma deserved a lot better than that and so did Aunt May. He wanted to go to college, maybe work for Tony, hopefully marry Emma, and then they'd buy a nice house with a yard so their kids and dog could have fun and play. Peter had always wanted a house with a yard. He never had one.

"That's great. What college are you going to go to?" Steve asked him and Peter tried not to wince because he honestly had no clue. That's the same question the counselor at school asked him and Peter really didn't know. Tony suggested MIT but Peter didn't think he wanted move that far away. His whole life was in New York. Home, Spider-Man, May…Emma. Besides…there were a ton of great schools in New York. Columbia, Empire State University, and those were only the top two that Peter thought he'd apply to.

"I'm not sure. Either Columbia or Empire State." Peter told him nonchalantly. "I'm still thinking about it."

"That sounds amazing but I have to be honest with you, Peter. I was never really science oriented…even in high school." Steve told him with a smile on his face. Peter smiled back at him.

"I know it sounds lame but it's fun to me. I mean, it's super useful to me too. That's how I made my webbing." Peter told him and Steve realized that this kid must've been really smart. No wonder he caught Tony's attention.

"That's impressive." Steve told him and he meant it. Then he chuckled once he thought of something.

"What is it?" Peter asked him and Steve just shook his head.

"It's funny to me that you're so interested in science when Emma's the exact opposite." Steve told him and Peter smiled in amusement.

"She's really smart though. You should see her on the Decathlon team. She's such a great addition especially when it comes to language, history, English, and art." Peter told him, boasting about his girlfriend's intelligence even though he was momentarily forgetting the fact that this was Emma's grandfather who was well aware of his granddaughter's intelligence. "I've actually kind of been tutoring her in chemistry this past school year. If she really pushes herself, she can really do anything. She's good at math and science when she wants to be."

"That sounds a lot like Emma." Steve remarked quietly and Peter smiled softly.

"She's the smartest person I know." Peter said, agreeing with Steve. Steve sighed because he thought he heard enough. Now it was time to be serious with the boy. He needed to make sure that Peter knew the seriousness of this situation.

"So, Peter, if I'm going to be okay with this I just want to make sure you know a few things." Steve told him seriously and Peter's eyes widened before he nodded furiously. Steve was going to be okay with this? Peter could hardly believe it.

"Okay. What should I know?" Peter asked with a calm and steady voice. Well, he faked a calm and steady voice. Fake it until you make it.

"I want you to be sure that this is what you want." Steve told him, no longer smiling as he looked down at Peter. "I know that Emma might be difficult for someone your age to love. Well, I just want to make sure that you're not going to leave when it gets too hard."

"I wouldn't do that!" Peter argued defensively. Steve hadn't meant to insult him. He just wanted to make sure Peter was serious about all of this…that he thought everything through.

"I'm only asking because if you change your mind someday along the road, I don't know what it'll do to Emma." Steve said, locking eyes with Peter in an attempt to convey how serious he was about this. "She's been through a lot. More than the average person. It's miracle that she's survived all that and still managed to maintain her sanity. She's strong but I'm afraid that she's grown very attached to you. If you leave it might break her heart."

"Mr. Rogers, I'm not going to leave her." Peter told him fiercely, his eyes narrowed into a glare. He wanted to somehow convince Emma's grandfather that he was here to stay. "She's stuck with me. I love her and I'm not going anywhere. You and her father aren't going to scare me away. I'll be here for as long as she'll have me."

Steve was silent for a moment as he watched Peter silently. Peter thought he might've gone too far for a moment as he looked back at Steve, his anger fading. However, it was true. As scary as he might've found Steve and Emma's father to be, he wasn't about to leave. Emma and him were in this for the long haul. He wouldn't stay away from her just because they told him to. As long as Emma would have him, he'd be there for her. Peter was then surprised to see a smile come across Steve's face.

"I'm glad to hear it then." Steve told him and Peter just stared at him. "I guess I approve then. Not that Emma would care whether or not I approve. She'd still do whatever she wanted at the end of the day."

"You mean you're okay with me dating Emma?" Peter asked him, eyes wide with hope. Steve nodded.

"Yes. You seem like a nice young man and I think you're good for her. Just don't prove me wrong, Peter." Steve told him and Peter nodded furiously.

"Of course, Mr. Rogers." Peter told him seriously. "I promise that I won't let her down."

Steve just continued to smile at him, finally satisfied with the knowledge that Emma was happy and that she found a good guy. He had been worried that Peter might not have had the best intentions when it came to Emma but he was glad he was wrong. Peter was a good person. Steve could see that now.

"I believe you." Steve told him honestly before growing serious once more. "But I should warn you, Peter. There are going to be rules now that I'm back. Especially after what Bucky witnessed yesterday in Emma's room." Peter blushed but he nodded nonetheless.

"That's okay. I completely understand." Peter said, fully intending to follow any rules Emma's grandfather gave him. He was just lucky Steve seemed to approve of him.

"I already told Emma this but I want to make sure you know that I better not catch you in bed with her again." Steve said sternly. "I know you're young and in love…and teenagers are curious but I won't have that kind of behavior from you."

Peter was a bit taken back by Steve's statement. It was almost like he was accusing Peter of seducing Emma or talking her into something. Still…Peter didn't say anything because he was Emma's grandfather and he was fully within his right to tell Peter what not to do. Peter just wondered if Steve knew deep down that Emma was just as "curious" as he was. He looked at the older blonde man who looked slightly disturbed. Peter realized then that he did know. Steve just didn't want to think of Emma wanting that.

"All I ask is that you act like a gentlemen and treat her with respect. That means no inappropriate touching, no taking her out all night, and no closing the bedroom door. Understand?" Steve said demandingly and Peter was quick to nod his head.

"Yes, Sir." Peter told him but Steve didn't stop there.

"When school starts again and we go back to the city, Emma's also going to have a curfew." Steve informed him. "If you take her somewhere I also want to know where."

"Yes, Sir." Peter repeated and Steve locked eyes with him, trying to see whether or not he would back down. Much to his approval, the teenage boy did no such thing.

"Good." Steve told him, a smile coming back over his face. He then extended his hand and Peter looked down at it in confusion at first. "You're a good kid, Peter."

"Um…thanks?" Peter said, sounding unsure and Steve nodded towards his extended hand. Peter finally got the picture. "Oh, right. Sorry."

Peter then shook Steve's hand and didn't fail to notice how firm of a grip the man had. It was like he was really trying to squeeze all the bones in his hand or something. However, Peter just decided to tough it out. Steve was just doing his job as Emma's parent. He didn't blame him.

"We should go back to the compound. I still have to leave for that mission." Steve told him as he subsequently let go of Peter's hand.

"Yeah, we should start heading back." Peter agreed. Peter and Steve then began walking in the opposite direction, heading straight for the compound. It was quiet for a while before Steve finally spoke up again.

"While I'm gone on this mission you'll look out for Emma, right?" Steve asked him as he looked over at the teenage boy. "Not that she can't take care of herself but I just want to make sure there's someone who'll watch out for her. Someone who will make sure that she doesn't do anything stupid."

"Of course, Mr. Rogers." Peter told him honestly. "I'll always look out for Emma. She's safe with me."

"Thank you, Peter." Steve told him and Peter just smiled at him.

"You don't have to thank me." Peter said happily and he turned his attention to the path in front of them, looking away from Steve. Steve just looked at the boy and he found himself smiling as well. He was right. This would be good for Emma. Maybe Steve didn't have to worry so much, after all.

* * *

"Look, they're walking now." Sam said as he practically pressed his face up against the window. The others were in similar positions as they all looked out the window, spying on Peter and Steve. Emma just shook her head in disbelief as she looked through one of Darcy's stupid fashion magazines. Emma wasn't really interested in the magazine but she just needed a distraction from the idiots she lived with.

"It doesn't look like he wants to kill him. I think it might be going good." Darcy observed.

"True but maybe Steve's just testing the terrain first before he goes into Captain mode." Natasha told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You guys are a bunch of pathetic losers, you know that?" Emma told them bitterly. Sam, Clint, Darcy, and Natasha stood there watching Steve and Peter outside. Emma couldn't really believe that Natasha was a part of this. She thought she was smarter than that.

"Well, forgive us if this is the first real entertainment we've had in a while." Sam told her as he looked back at the blonde who was sitting on the couch. "Life on the run can be pretty boring believe it or not."

"I'm sure it is." Emma muttered and Sam finally turned away from the window to smirk at her.

"I'm just shocked by all of this." Sam told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at him, finally looking up from her magazine.

"Shocked by what?" She asked him and he gave her a smug look.

"That you were able to get yourself a man." Sam told her teasingly. "Who would want to date you? I have to seriously judge that boy's sanity." Emma sneered at him.

"You're hilarious, Wilson." She said sarcastically but Sam didn't seem bothered by the look on her face.

"In all honesty, I'm actually surprised you would date _him_." Sam told her pointedly and Emma gave him an odd look, not knowing what he meant. "Come on, Emma. He's a little creep. I caught him staring at your ass the other day."

"So?" Emma said and Sam just stared at her.

"What do you mean so?" Sam said to her in an agitated tone. "That boy obviously has more on his mind than just his chemistry homework. Steve mentioned something about Barnes catching you and your little boy toy in bed together." Emma groaned in frustration.

"Oh my god. You guys sound like a broken record player." Emma complained as she closed her magazine. "I already heard the same stuff from my father so I don't need to hear it from you too."

"Relax, kid. I'm only asking." Sam said as he began to realize that she was a little sensitive where the boy was concerned. "But if that boy ever messes around or anything. Let me know. Barton and I can take care of him just fine." Emma scoffed.

"Peter knows better than to mess around. Trust me." Emma said, sounding more than confident with herself. Emma would never hurt Peter even if he did do something, which she knew he never would, but those hypothetical girls were a different story. No girl would get their grubby little hands on Peter. Not while Emma was around.

"I don't doubt it." Sam told her although he was still in a bit of shock that Emma was actually dating the boy. No wonder the kid looked so smug the other day.

Clint just watched the blonde silently as he tried to gather his thoughts on the situation. He had been very quiet during all of this but only because he was thinking about what Margot would've thought of all of this. Would she be happy? Maybe. Margot was a generally happy person and he could see her getting all excited because Emma was dating. He imagined the bubbly redhead helping her daughter pick out the perfect outfit for her date. She'd ramble on about what her first date had been like and Emma would just smile and nod. That was what it would be like in a perfect world but this world wasn't perfect. This world no longer had Margot in it.

"We should get going for the mission." Steve announced as he and Peter walked into the room. Everyone stopped and looked at them.

"He's still alive?" Sam asked him and Steve just chuckled as he patted Peter on the back.

"Peter's a good kid. He'll do just fine." Steve said as he smiled down at him. Peter smiled back at him and Emma was just relieved that things seemed to have gone well between the two of them. Even though she was sure that Steve would love Peter, a part of her had been afraid as well. Emma would still be with Peter no matter what but having Steve's approval would be nice. She was glad to see that Peter seemed to have it.

"I'm not going." A voice announced. Emma narrowed her eyes at her father who stood in the doorway of the room, casting a suspicious glance in Peter's direction. The smile fell right off Peter's face and was replaced with a cautious look. Peter didn't know if he was going to attack him like last night or not.

"What?" Steve questioned as he looked back at his best friend.

"I'm not going on the mission." Bucky said as he still stood in the doorway. He looked between Emma and Peter as if he were emphasizing his point. "I think I'd rather hang around and keep an eye out."

"If you're sure." Steve said awkwardly and Bucky nodded. There wasn't anything in the world that would let him leave Emma alone with that boy. Bucky wasn't going leave her alone with him. He didn't trust him.

Emma couldn't believe the nerve of her father. He was actually going to hang around the compound just to spite them. Why was he being such an asshole? Why couldn't he just accept the fact that Peter was a part of her life now? She always knew he wouldn't be exactly happy about it but she never thought he'd actually go this far. She just didn't understand him.

"I'll take his place then." Tony said as he walked past Bucky into the room. Steve stared at him in surprise.

"Really?" Steve asked and Tony nodded as he smiled although it came out a bit forced.

"Yeah, I was thinking about going anyways. Mini Cap mentioned that it was about time I got off my ass and actually did something for a change." Tony told him and Steve nodded, casting an amused look in Emma's direction before looking back at Tony.

"Are you sure? Ross is probably going to realize that you're not keeping us captive here if you go with us on the mission." Steve told him and Tony shrugged.

"Ross can go to hell." Tony told him and Steve just nodded.

"Right so we've got Sam, Maria, Natasha, T'Challa, Vision, Rhodey, and you which means…" Steve trailed off as he did a head count of who was staying and who was going. "Emma, Peter, Clint, Wanda, Okoye, Fury, and…Bucky will be staying here."

"Is that alright with everyone?" Sam asked as he looked around the room.

Everyone in the room collectively nodded as Peter quickly went to sit down next to Emma on the couch. He gave her a comforting smile before slipping his hand into hers and giving it a squeeze. Emma smiled back at him but Bucky didn't appear to be that amused. He glared at the two teenagers as he clenched his jaw. He made a promise to himself that he wasn't about to break. Bucky was going to stay at the compound to ensure that Emma was safe. From Hydra as well as that boy.

* * *

"Steve, wait!" Emma said as she ran to catch up to her grandfather. Everyone was already boarding the Quinjet as Emma ran across the landing pad. He turned around in surprise to see her running towards him with his shield in hand.

"Emma?" He said. Natasha only briefly eyed the two before she decided to board the Quinjet with everyone else and give them their privacy. Emma stopped once she reached him.

"I wanted to give you back your shield." Emma told him as she held out his shield to him. Steve eyed the familiar artifact carefully before he looked back up at her.

"I can't, Emma. It's yours now." Steve told her and in a way that was true. Everything Steve had was hers. She was his granddaughter, after all. The shield belonged to her just as much as it belonged to him.

"No, it's not. It's Captain America's shield and I'm certainly not Captain America." Emma told him and a sad look crossed Steve's face.

"I'm not sure if I am either." He replied in a melancholy tone. Emma frowned.

"Of course you're Captain America. What are you even talking about?" Emma questioned and Steve swallowed hard before locking eyes with her.

"I've let a lot of people down, Emma. I'm not sure if I made the right decision. I let everyone down. The Avengers…you." Steve told her solemnly and Emma just shook her head.

"You didn't let me down." Emma told him honestly. "You were only doing what you felt was right."

"But you don't think I was right?" Steve asked her and Emma just looked back at him.

"I do think you were right. I'll always believe in you, Steve." Emma said softly. "I just wish that we could've done everything differently." Steve nodded.

"I do too." Steve whispered and Emma allowed herself to give him a small smile.

"Besides…red, white, and blue aren't really my colors." Emma told him and Steve laughed.

"No, they're not." Steve agreed and Emma just smiled at him.

"So take it." Emma said as she handed the shield over to him. Steve hesitantly took it from her hands and held it in his own. It had been over a year since he had last held it in his hands and the last time hadn't been a pleasant experience. He noticed that it still had the scratches from T'Challa's attack. Steve didn't really realize that he had missed the shield until now.

"Thank you." Steve said as he finally tore his gaze from the shield to look back down at her. Emma continued to smile at him.

"Don't thank me. It was always yours." Emma said to him and Steve just nodded, grateful to have his shield back at last. A more serious and worried expression came over Emma's face as she prepared herself to say what she really wanted to say.

"Please be careful." Emma said to him in concern as Steve looked down at her. "I don't want something happening to you on this mission. I almost lost you once."

"I'll be fine, Emma." Steve promised.

"Just please be careful." Emma pleaded and Steve's gaze softened as he nodded at her.

"I will. Don't worry. Nat will take care of me." Steve told her and Emma just smiled before she hugged him. Steve took a step back in surprise. He was still getting used to this side of Emma…the side that seemed to have no problem with hugging. He quickly returned her hug, taking comfort in the feeling of Emma in his arms, before he leaned down and kissed her forehead softly.

"I love you, Steve." Emma told him and he smiled softly at her.

"I love you too." He replied, completely meaning it. Emma looked up at him with the same blue eyes he had.

"Thank you for what you did with Peter. I really appreciate it." Emma told him and Steve just shook his head.

"He's a nice guy. I like him." Steve told her which made Emma all the more happy. Steve liked him. Steve liked Peter. This was the best news she had received in a while. It almost made her forget the fact that her father didn't feel the same way.

"Thank you." She said again and Steve just gave her a loving smile.

"You stay safe too." Steve made her promise.

"I will." Emma told him. He just nodded at her as he gave her one last look before turning around and walking up the ramp of the Quinjet. Emma watched him leave, feeling both happy and worried. Happy that Steve had been so accepting of Peter but she was also worried for his wellbeing. She had only just gotten him back and she was so scared of losing him again.

The door to the aircraft shut a moment later and Emma was quick to back away as the Quinjet began to take off. _He would be okay_ , she told herself. Steve knew what he was doing and not to mention he wasn't in it alone. Tony, Vision. Natasha, Sam, T'Challa, Maria, and Rhodey were on that Quinjet with him so she was sure Steve would be safe. They would retrieve the weapons and whoever was at that base then they'd be back in no time.

Some of the others thought Rumlow would be at the base but she doubted it. He was never one to hide in plain sight. She knew him too well for that. Rumlow had something that he was saving for them. He wasn't about to show them all his cards quite yet. No, he was hiding somewhere like the little sewer rat he was. Wherever he was, it wasn't going to be at that base in Mexico. He was waiting for her somewhere else.

For now, as it would seem, she was going to have to go back inside the compound and wait until everyone returned. Emma hated sitting and waiting but she had promised Peter…and Steve. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was crossing paths with her father. He was being an ass and Emma preferred for him not to be one. It looked like Emma was just going to have to put up with her father's behavior until he decided to finally remove his head from his ass.

Who knew when that would be.


	81. Chapter Seventy Four

**Author's Note: I'm so, so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. Somehow the first part of this chapter got deleted and I couldn't recover it from my laptop. I was just so frustrated at that point that I needed a break from the story. It wasn't until I watched _Father of the Bride,_ which reminded me of the current dilemma Bucky has with Emma and Peter, that I felt inspired to write again. I actually was so inspired from the movie, which I hadn't seen in forever, that it's heavily referenced within this chapter. **

**I'd also like to mention that I've started two new fanfics which I know is kind of wrong since I haven't updated _Rose Garden Dreams_ or _Dry Bite_ in forever but I was just feeling inspired. The first one is called _Sweet Dreams_ and is a Doctor Strange fanfic while the second one is called _One Word From You_ and is a Tony Stark fanfic. I'm mainly going to be focused on One Word From You and Some Things Never Sleep right now although I do have plans to update Sweet Dreams and Dry Bite soon. I really have no clue when I'll update Rose Garden Dreams but hopefully in the foreseeable future.**

 **Another BIG ANNOUNCEMENT for this story. After some thinking, I've decided to end Some Things Never Sleep after Part III. Don't panic or anything because I'm going to be starting a sequel immediately after this one ends. The sequel will cover the events of Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War but it'll take a short while to reach both storylines since I want to make a smooth transition but also give Emma some much needed time with Steve and Bucky before shit goes down. However, we still have some ground to cover right now in the story with Rumlow and Hydra so it'll still be a while before STNS ends. I'm just going to say that I might be finished by Christmas. I don't think it'll take that long but you never know. Everything I write always ends up being longer than I ever intended so Christmas might be a reasonable deadline.**

 **This chapter is a lot of fluff but things will pick up more in the next chapter. We'll see bits and pieces of the mission, Emma using her detective skills, and maybe even some more Shuri in the next chapter. I'm so excited.**

 **So I'll be answering the reviews from last chapter at the end of this one since there's a lot and I didn't want to make a super long Author's Note. Please note that I also don't own _Father of the Bride_ but just have a love of all things Steve Martin. **

**Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. Please let me know what you think of this one. Thank you for your patience.**

* * *

The waiting around part was slowly killing her. Steve and the others had only been gone for an hour but Emma was overcome with worry. She and Peter sat on the couch as they watched a movie in the recreational area but Emma wasn't really paying attention to the movie. Her thoughts were almost entirely consumed by the mission the others were currently on. Peter gave her a concerned look.

"Emma, what's wrong?" He asked her and Emma just shrugged, trying to act like she wasn't worried out of her mind.

"Nothing." She denied but Peter knew her better than that. He could tell she was worried about her grandfather and the others. She couldn't hide that from him.

"It's not nothing. I know you're worried about him. It's okay to be worried." Peter told her as his gaze softened. "I'm worried about Tony too."

"I just hate sitting here and waiting around like this." Emma admitted, feeling frustrated. "I feel so useless."

"At least you're safe." Peter pointed out and Emma scoffed.

"I feel like a coward." Emma said and Peter just shook his head.

"You're not a coward, Emma. Rumlow's looking for you and you're safer here than going on a mission." Peter told her seriously. "You're a target whether you like it or not."

"I know. I just hate not being able to do anything." Emma told him and Peter nodded in understanding.

"I know you do but they'll be back soon enough." Peter said reassuringly but Emma still felt nervous. "Hopefully they'll be able to find Rumlow and they can throw him in Raft if they don't kill him first."

"Rumlow's not going to be at the base." Emma told Peter, a darker look on her face. "He's hiding somewhere else. I know he is." Peter swallowed hard before nodding.

"Well, we'll deal with that when we get there too." Peter said comfortingly as he tried not to let himself worry too much about her. If he was worried then he knew Emma would be worried as well. "You're safe here with me."

"I don't need you to protect me." Emma grumbled and Peter rolled his eyes because she was so stubborn.

"I know you don't but just let me keep you safe for my own sake. It would make me feel better." Peter told her, looking at her with those warm brown eyes. Emma knew she was going to cave in and play damsel in distress…for the time being at least.

"Fine." Emma finally relented and he just smiled in satisfaction. The smug bastard. Either way, Emma decided to change the subject to something way less serious. If she sat there thinking about Steve for the next who knows how many hours then she'd drive herself crazy.

"So how did the talk with Steve go? He didn't scare you too much, did he?" Emma asked him and Peter just smiled before he shook his head.

"No, it went really well." Peter told her honestly as she gave him a curious look. "I mean, he was super strict with his rules but he was really nice. I think he might like me. I'm just happy that he seems to approve of me."

"I'm happy he likes you too." Emma said as she smiled at him before thinking of something else. "You know we don't have to follow those rules, right?" Peter gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"The rules he made about us not having sex. We can have sex whenever we want." Emma told him, sounding self-assured, and Peter's eyes widened as he blushed.

"I-I don't uh…know, Emma. He made it really clear what I could or couldn't do." Peter told her as he remembered how stern Steve looked when he laid down the law. He could see that he was now entering dangerous territory. Peter wanted to follow the rules Steve gave him so that Steve could trust and like him but on the other hand…sex with Emma. Enough said.

"Peter, he's my parent. He's supposed to say stuff like that." Emma said as she tried to make a point. "He wouldn't be doing the whole parenting thing if he didn't threaten you so you won't have sex with me."

"What? So you're saying that he secretly wants us to have sex?" Peter asked sarcastically.

"Well, of course not. I'm just saying that he's supposed to tell us not to have sex and then we're supposed to go behind his back and do it anyways." Emma replied nonchalantly as she rested her hand on his arm and looked straight at him. Peter swallowed hard as he tried not to notice the way she looked at him and touched his arm gently. He knew what she was doing. She really knew how to manipulate him when she wanted to…not that he was complaining. He was only all too eager to listen to what Emma was saying.

"Emma, he actually likes me and he even accepted me as your boyfriend. I don't want to screw that up by making him hate me." Peter said but Emma still didn't seem bothered.

"Peter, he won't hate you because he won't find out. What Steve doesn't know won't hurt him." Emma said as she continued to convince Peter that they could still take the next step in their relationship. "This is our life we're living. Not his."

"I guess you have a point." Peter finally admitted although he didn't think it would take much for Emma to convince him that they could still have sex like they talked about. Every time he and Emma were alone together he desired her that much more.

"Good." Emma said happily and Peter blushed once more as another question came to mind. It was a question that had been bothering him for a bit but he had forgotten to ask during all the recent events. They had kind of been dealing with a lot lately so it was no wonder that he had forgotten.

"So um…when do you think it will happen?" Peter asked nervously and Emma looked back at him curiously.

"When will what happen?" Emma asked him and Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"When we…make love for the first time." Peter said, trying to be as romantic about it as possible. Emma smiled at him because he was so cute.

"After this whole thing is over. When it's still summer." Emma told him thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how I'll get away from Steve and Papa now that they're back but I'll find an excuse."

"I don't know if I have to hide it from May." Peter said although he felt excited at the fact that him and Emma having sex wasn't so far away. Well, he was nervous too but definitely excited. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to tell her about it or anything when it happens but she kind of gave me a talk not that long ago."

"A talk?" Emma questioned in amusement as she raised an eyebrow. Peter nodded.

"You know…the normal stuff. She just said that now that I have a girlfriend she wanted me to know that I should be really careful and use protection." Peter told Emma, still feeling a bit embarrassed at the talk May gave him. "I think she already thinks we're having sex."

"I can't imagine having that same conversation with Steve or Papa." Emma said because she honestly thought her father and grandfather would have a heart attack if she tried to talk to them about condoms. It was kind of annoying that they were so overprotective. Emma was sure if she was a guy they'd probably be cheering her on or something. It demonstrated a double standard.

"Please don't have that conversation with them. If you love me and want me to live long enough to make love to you then don't talk to them about that." Peter begged jokingly and Emma laughed.

"I won't, Peter. I promise." She said as she smiled at him. Emma was glad that he could make her laugh like that despite everything that was going on. Sometimes it was like he was the only one who could make her laugh in such a serious circumstance. They finally both calmed down from their laughter as the conversation took a more serious turn. There had been a question resting on Peter's mind ever since the night before. Emma frowned when she saw the troubled look on his face.

"Emma?" He said softly.

"What is it, Peter?" She asked him in concern.

"Does your dad really hate me?" Peter asked her hesitantly. Emma sighed heavily as she remembered her father's stubborn attitude.

"My father doesn't hate you, Peter." Emma told him as her gaze softened as she looked at him. Peter with his warm brown eyes and Peter with his sweet and caring demeanor. "No one could ever hate you. You're so kind and caring. You're the nicest person I've ever met."

"Your dad doesn't seem to think so." Peter said sadly and Emma just hugged him, trying to convey to him that she didn't care what her father thought. She still loved him at the end of the day. She then pulled away from him to look into those warm brown eyes she loved so much.

"Papa's being an asshole. Don't pay any attention to him." Emma told Peter seriously. She hated it when Peter was sad and she didn't want her father's attitude getting him down. "Papa has a lot of issues he has to work through on his own…like getting his head out of his ass for example. That's an issue he really needs to work on."

"I just want him to like me." Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"You don't need his validation, Peter." Emma tried to tell him but Peter gave her a scared look.

"Emma, I'm scared of him." He finally said to her. "He tried to kill me and in my nightmare too. He'll probably try to kill me again when I least expect it. He's so scary, Emma."

"He's not going to kill you, Peter. Don't be ridiculous." Emma told him but Peter didn't seem to believe her.

"He already tried to last night. That's how much he hates me." Peter said worriedly and Emma frowned as she remembered her father attempting to strangle Peter.

"He didn't hurt you too much, did he?" Emma asked in concern and Peter shook his head.

"Not any more than Toomes." Peter told her and she nodded but she still looked concerned. Emma just rested her head on his shoulder as she snuggled up against him. Emma slipped her hand into his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

"My poor little Parker." Emma said softly as she remained close to him. "Don't worry. I'll protect you from him." Despite how terrified Peter still was of her father, he kind of liked the attention he was getting from Emma.

"I don't need you to protect me." Peter told her, repeating the same phrase she told him, with a smirk on his face. Emma just playfully rolled her eyes.

"Fine…how about this?" Emma told him as she lifted her head to look back at him. "You can protect me from Hydra to satisfy your male ego while I'll protect you from Papa because I actually want to have sex with you one day and we can't do that if he kills you."

"Very funny, Emma." Peter told her before smiling sheepishly at her. "But I guess I can work with that." A mischievous look then came across Emma's face as she remembered something she had almost forgotten. She loved thinking of new ways to embarrass her boyfriend and Emma just remembered the perfect thing.

"Hey, Parker." Emma said as she smirked at him. "You know what Papa said to me last night when he was being an asshole?"

"No. What?" Peter asked hesitantly even though he was kind of scared to know the answer.

"He told me that I shouldn't let boys into my bed because it tells everyone that my legs are open for business." Emma told him and Peter's eyes widened as he felt nervous under her gaze.

"Oh…well, that's kind of sexist and not okay. Did he upset you?" Peter asked in concern and Emma just continued to smirk at him as she rested her hand against his chest. Peter felt like his heart was going to explode with how fast it was beating.

"I wanted to tell him that my legs are only open for you. No one else." Emma said flirtatiously before she kissed him chastely on the neck. Peter wondered if it was hotter in the room than it was before. He wasn't sure.

"God, you're such a flirt." Peter told her, pretending to be annoyed with her even though he wasn't. Emma laughed as she pulled away from him.

"Am I embarrassing you, Parker?" Emma asked him.

"No. It's the opposite actually." Peter told her and Emma loved the way he blushed and averted his gaze when he got all shy like that. She just loved how shy he was.

"Aw…is your winky getting all excited again?" Emma asked him teasingly and Peter glared at her as he shoved her away from him. She just laughed at him once more and despite how much she was annoying him, he was happy to see her laughing. Her laughter was so beautiful and made her seem so happy. He loved seeing her happy.

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Peter asked her, still pretending to be annoyed with her.

"Never." Emma retorted and Peter just shook his head in amusement at her as he smiled. Peter was about to respond but before he could he sensed a presence in the room. He turned to look at the doorway and flinched when he saw Emma's father standing there. He was still having flashbacks from the night before as well as from his nightmare. Peter wondered how long he had been standing there. Hopefully not long.

"What's so funny?" Bucky asked them but he wasn't looking at Emma. No, he was glaring at Peter. The smile fell off Emma's face once she noticed the way her father glared at her boyfriend. Great. She had almost forgotten about him.

"Nothing." Emma said shortly. Bucky just clenched his jaw at his daughter's answer as he walked into the room. He didn't want to leave those two alone for a second. Bucky knew that little asshole was up to no good. He could just tell. Bucky then took a seat in an armchair across from the young couple.

Emma stared at her father with an unamused look on her face while he silently stared back at her as he randomly picked up one of Darcy's Cosmopolitan magazines as if he were going to read it. She doubted her father even realized what magazine he had in his hands as he flipped through the pages, never tearing his gaze away from Emma. Peter worriedly glanced between his girlfriend and his girlfriend's dad as they seemed to be locked in some kind of intense staring contest. Peter was really freaked out by this point.

"Okay, let's go, Peter. I can't spend another moment in this room." Emma said bitterly as she got up from the couch and practically dragged Peter with her. Bucky gave them both a suspicious look.

"Where do you think you're going?" He hissed as she began to walk past him, her hand around Peter's wrist as the teenage boy tried to avoid looking at her dad.

"Away from you." Emma retorted as she glared at him. She momentarily glanced at the cover of the magazine in his hand. "Just keep reading your magazine and do tell me about the 'Perfect Sex Positions for Pegging Your Man' article when you're done. I'm sure it's very educational."

Emma then hurriedly dragged Peter out of the room with her. Peter gave her a confused look, not having a clue as to what she was talking about. His mind was far too innocent. Bucky was horrified and bewildered at what just came out of his daughter's mouth. It wasn't until she left the room that he had time to look down at the magazine he was holding in his hand. Bucky threw the magazine away from himself as he looked at it in disgust. People actually read that garbage? What moron would leave that lying around for Emma or that sex crazed boy to read?

"Hey, why'd you throw my magazine on the floor? That's rude." Darcy Lewis said as she walked into the room. She gave him an amused look and Bucky just stared back at her, blushing at having been caught with such a magazine. Back in his day that magazine would've been considered pornographic.

"I wasn't reading it…if that's what you're thinking." Bucky muttered but Darcy had already caught him.

"Whatever you say, Barnes." Darcy said teasingly. Bucky didn't know her that well but he could already tell that this woman was going to be a lot of trouble. Maybe even more so than Emma which was saying a lot.

* * *

Emma had just left Peter who was getting a quick bite to eat in the kitchen. Her boyfriend could eat a lot but not nearly as much as Emma. Emma's super soldier appetite rivaled his but she was done eating for the moment. She had a lot on her mind and she wanted some time alone to think things through. Emma had a lot of questions that she had never managed to think of until now. There were still questions that lingered from the few words Collins had said to her during the attack on the compound. The Hydra agent had more to tell. Emma knew that much. She just needed to find a way to get him to talk and Emma might've had a few ideas on how to do that.

The blonde was about to look at the surveillance footage of Collins in one of the empty conference rooms when she noticed the conference room wasn't empty, after all. She spotted Wanda in the conference room alone, staring out one of the windows, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Emma paused in the doorway, not expecting to see the woman. She wanted to quickly back out of the room but it was too late. Wanda had already noticed her.

"Sorry." Emma said carefully as Wanda looked back at her. "I didn't know anyone was in here." Wanda just shook her head as she smiled softly at her.

"That's alright. I was just leaving anyways." Wanda told her as she started to leave the room.

Emma watched her silently and it wasn't until that moment that she realized how much of an asshole she had been to Wanda. Yes, Wanda had violated her when she played those mind tricks on her but that was years ago. Not to mention Wanda was only trying to get revenge. Emma couldn't blame her for that. Wanda and her brother had lost everything in Sokovia and not to mention Wanda had lost her brother later on as well. Emma kind of felt like an asshole for being so mad at her. She felt…bad. She wished that she had treated Wanda better and she was filled with regret and guilt at not having done so. God, what was Peter doing to her? Since when did she feel bad for other people?

"Wanda, wait." Emma said as she stopped her from leaving. Wanda looked up at her in confusion.

"What is it?" Wanda questioned and Emma sighed heavily before walking up to the brunette. This was really hard for her to do. Emma didn't make a habit of apologizing to people Sure, she apologized to Peter all the time for a lot of the stupid shit she said but she loved Peter. Emma _maybe_ liked Wanda. Maybe.

"I've been a huge bitch to you, haven't I?" Emma said bluntly, taking the Sokovian by surprise.

"What?" Wanda asked and Emma knew this was going to be a lot harder than she originally thought. Admitting you were wrong was never easy. Especially if you were Emma Rogers.

"I've been really terrible to you and I've never had an exact reasonable reason as to why. There's no excuse for the way I acted." Emma said honestly as Wanda just watched her in bewilderment.

"Emma, I don't understand." Wanda tried to tell her but Emma just shook her head.

"I wasn't fair to you. The truth was that it was never really you I was angry with." Emma told the girl honestly. "I was angry with myself over everything that happened and I was ashamed that you saw what Rumlow did."

"I should've never done that to you. You were just a child." Wanda told her, her gaze softening. "I knew better."

"You were just trying to do what you thought was right. You were angry over what happened to your parents and country." Emma told her, not even bothered by the fact that someone had referred to her as a child. Normally she'd be annoyed but not now. "Your actions were patriotic which is more than what I could ever say for myself."

"I still deserved it." Wanda tried to tell her but Emma knew that wasn't true.

"You didn't. It was wrong of me to take all my anger and bitterness out on you. You've been through a lot. We both have. I'm the one who should've known better." Emma told her which was her attempt at an apology. Emma was never exactly good at those kinds of things. "It's just that…well, what happened with Rumlow has been something that's haunted me for every day of my life. I'm more afraid of him then I'd like to admit."

"You don't need to be afraid anymore." Wanda told her softly. "Everyone's here now. We'll make sure he never gets his hands on you again."

"I'm still sorry for the way I treated you." Emma said softly and Wanda just smiled back at her.

"And I'm sorry for what I did." Wanda replied, a kind look on her face. "Can we just forgive and forget?"

"I think I can do that." Emma told her, relieved that Wanda was accepting her apology. A part of her had been worried that Wanda would refuse to hear her out. Emma wouldn't have blamed her if she walked out that door because she had acted like a real asshole.

"So does this mean we can be friends then?" Wanda asked her, happy that Emma was willing to put their troubled past behind her. Emma just smirked at the brunette.

"Not so fast, Maximoff." Emma said teasingly and Wanda was just relieved that there was no anger or malice in Emma's voice. "I don't move that quickly. Just ask Parker."

"Well, what about being _friendly_ with each other?" Wanda suggested, smiling at the blonde. Emma just nodded.

"Sure. Why not." Emma said as she agreed with the Sokovian on something for once.

"Great." Wanda said happily and Emma was just relieved that apologizing to her had been that easy. That Wanda was kind enough to accept Emma's apology and was willing to move on from their bad past.

"So what now?" Emma asked her and Wanda shrugged.

"We can talk if you want. Catch up with each other, maybe." Wanda suggested and Emma gave her a slightly revolted look.

"Ew…why?" Emma asked her and Wanda just gave the teenage girl an amused look.

"Because that's what people do." Wanda said before giving the blonde a curious look as she decided to ask her something that had been plaguing her mind for the past day. Honestly, she wasn't the only curious one either. She knew all the others were curious about this as well. "So Peter…your boyfriend. How did that happen?"

"So…Vision. _Your_ boyfriend." Emma retorted and Wanda blushed shyly.

"He's not my boyfriend." Wanda argued and Emma raised an eyebrow. "We're just friends."

"Really?" She questioned doubtfully. "Because everyone else knows for a fact that there's something going on between you two. Hell, I noticed the sexual tension years ago."

"I'm becoming very uncomfortable where this conversation is going, Emma." Wanda tried to tell her but Emma ignored her.

"So…how does it work?" Emma asked her abruptly. Wanda gave her a confused look, not having a clue as to what Emma was talking about.

"How does what work?" Wanda said in response and Emma smirked at her.

"His penis. How does it work?" Emma asked her, feeling both curious and mischievous about the subject.

"What?!" Wanda questioned in surprise but Emma just nonchalantly continued the conversation like they were talking about hair and make-up.

"I used to think he probably didn't have one because he's an android but then I thought about his cape." Emma said thoughtfully. "He could just conjure a cape like it was nothing so he could probably conjure up a penis like it was nothing too."

"I am so not having this conversation with you." Wanda told Emma, appalled by how casual she was about this. "This is not a conversation to have with a sixteen year old girl."

"Come on, Maximoff, I thought we were friends." Emma said as she pretended to pout before that annoying smirk returned to her face. "Can he make it any size you want? If he can then I take back all the times I called him a useless purple hobgoblin with no care for personal space."

"You're more disgusting then I remember." Wanda mumbled and Emma just laughed.

"This is what girlfriends do, right? They talk about their boyfriend's packages and share bedroom secrets." Emma told the Sokovian girl, knowing that she found just the right buttons to push to make Wanda uncomfortable. Emma's greatest skill was making people uncomfortable. "Like Peter, for example…I have yet to see his package but I have a feeling that it's definitely not small like Tony's probably is. I mean, we all know Tony's definitely compensating for something but I know for a fact that Peter's not compensating. He doesn't have to. Trust me."

"I'm going to leave now. I refuse to discuss this with you." Wanda told her as she started to leave the room. Emma only smirked as she watched her leave.

"I thought we were gal pals, Maximoff." Emma said sarcastically and this time Wanda didn't respond. She just walked out the door without looking back and Emma snickered to herself. Yeah, she definitely knew how to make the Sokovian woman uncomfortable. That's for sure.

"Now…time to get to work." Emma said as she suddenly grew more serious and took a seat at the conference table. She had her fun with Wanda and made amends as well but there was really serious matters to attend to. Especially if she wanted to get Collins to talk although Emma didn't think she would have that difficult of a time getting anything out of the man. She knew he was scared of her and for good reason. Emma just had to lean on him a little. But first she needed to grab some more intel from the interrogation videos where Steve _attempted_ to interrogate the Hydra agent. Not that she didn't respect her grandfather's methods but Steve was a bit old fashioned. Emma, however, had interrogation tactics which were far more successful. Although…she didn't think Steve would agree with her about that. Oh, well.

Steve wasn't here right now, was he?

* * *

"What's up with you?" Darcy asked Bucky randomly as they sat in the recreational area. Darcy had taken control of the remote and switched the channel over to one that was currently playing a Steve Martin movie. The brunette woman noticed how quiet the former assassin was being as he sulked in silence. He almost reminded Darcy of Emma whenever she sulked. Their sulking face looked exactly the same which led Darcy into thinking that maybe Emma had picked up on a few things from the extremely attractive looking man. God…she still couldn't believe this guy was a dad. Technically he wasn't Emma's biological father but still.

Who knew dads could be so hot?

"Nothing." Bucky grumbled as he pretended to watch whatever film Darcy was watching but it wasn't like he was paying attention anyways. Darcy gave him a look because she honestly didn't believe him.

"Really?" She questioned doubtfully. "Because you've been glaring daggers at Steve Martin for the past half an hour and I don't think it's Steve Martin you're mad at."

"I don't even know who that is." Bucky told her and Darcy's eyes widened in surprise. Wait…was it entirely possible that someone in the universe didn't know who Steve Martin was? Well, Darcy supposed it was but in Darcy's mind it was a cruel crime against the universe to not know who Steve Martin was.

"You don't know who Steve Martin is?" Darcy questioned, trying to see if she heard him right.

"No." Bucky confirmed and Darcy just shook her head in disbelief.

" _The Jerk_? _Three Amigos_? _Planes, Trains, and Automobiles_?" Darcy questioned and Bucky just shook his head.

"I was kind of in Hydra for over seventy years so I didn't really have the time to watch many movies." Bucky said sarcastically and Darcy noticed that Emma must've gotten her annoying sarcasm from him too somehow.

"Well, that's no excuse. You've been out of Hydra for over three years so that's plenty of time to catch up." Darcy pointed out much to Bucky's amusement. He momentarily was able to forget about the whole ordeal with Emma and the boy.

"My sincerest apologies, ma'am." Bucky said sarcastically once more. Darcy only briefly smiled before choosing now as a time to somehow help Emma in her dilemma with her father. Despite how Darcy sought not to take life too seriously, she did care about the blonde's feelings. Darcy had come to think of the teenager as a little sister this past year. She even thought they had become quite close. Emma was definitely a difficult person to live with but Darcy loved her. Besides…it wasn't like Darcy was easy to live with either so she was glad that Emma somehow put up with her too. They seemed to put up with each other, actually.

"So you know what this movie's about?" Darcy said as carefully as possible. Bucky gave her a curious look, allowing her to distract him from thoughts about Emma and that horny little asshole.

"No. Not really." Bucky said, seeming unconcerned with the plotline for said movie. Darcy tried to be as casual as possible about this since she knew she was treading into dangerous waters with this topic. She didn't really know Bucky that well so she didn't want to overstep her boundaries or anything like that.

"Well, Steve Martin plays this dad, right? Diane Keaton plays the mom." Darcy said as she started to explain the movie to Bucky like he knew who these actors were. "The wife of Brad Paisley plays their daughter who went off to school or whatever somewhere in Europe. I don't really remember where or why but that's not what matters." Darcy briefly paused before continuing although she felt kind of nervous because she knew she had Bucky's full attention.

"Anyways…their daughter comes back home, after spending so long away, which is exciting and stuff, I guess. Like, Steve Martin is super excited because she's his little girl and everything. He has a son too but no one really cares about the son so whatever." Darcy said, rambling in the way that always annoyed Emma but only seemed to amuse Bucky. "So she comes home and everyone's super happy but then she drops the biggest bomb ever." Darcy paused dramatically as Bucky watched her intently.

"She tells everyone she's getting engaged to this random guy she met while she was in Europe." Darcy informed him and Bucky's eyes widened in surprise, finding himself completely immersed in Darcy's take on the movie they were watching. "Steve Martin completely freaks out. Because she's his little girl and everything but also because it means he has to let go which is terrifying for him."

"It doesn't help that the guy is perfect either. He comes from a really nice family, has a promising career, and he also adores Steve Martin's daughter." Darcy told Bucky and it was beginning to become clear to him that maybe she wasn't just talking about this Steve Martin guy. "I think it makes Steve Martin hate him even more."

"So what did this Steve Martin guy do then?" Bucky inquired curiously. "Did he take the guy out? Put his body in the trunk of his car and then dump him somewhere no one would ever find him?" Darcy just stared at the man in disbelief. Yeah, she definitely knew where Emma got her weirdness from. She always knew it wasn't from Steve. Steve wasn't that weird.

"No…because this film is a comedy and not a biopic about a serial killer." Darcy told him before continuing to try and make a point. "Steve Martin actually comes to realize that this guy makes his daughter really happy and he has to let go because she's a woman now."

"I know what you're trying to say." Bucky told her as he gave the brunette a suspicious look. "You're trying to say that I should just be okay with that sex crazed idiot being around my daughter. Well, that's never going to happen. Not as long as I'm around."

"Look, I heard about what you did to Peter last night. No offense but that's kind of fucked up." Darcy told him honestly. "I mean, I've heard of overprotective fathers but I've never heard of a father trying to actually murder his daughter's boyfriend. That's a new one."

"You don't know what she's been through." Bucky told her with a serious and stubborn look on his face. "There's no one that knows her better than me. Not even Steve. We've seen the same things, done the same things, and after…" Bucky trailed off as he swallowed hard, a certain thought coming to mind as he tried to bring himself to utter the very thing that had been causing him great pain ever since Emma sat him and Steve down, finally telling them everything.

"And after all the shit she's been through, I don't want to risk her ever getting hurt again." Bucky said, surprising even himself by how honest he was being with Darcy. He wasn't sure why he was being honest with her. Maybe he just hadn't had the time to explain himself very well. Between the shock of finding Emma with that boy and then arguing with Steve, Bucky barely had enough time to process his own feelings over the matter.

"Peter's not going to hurt Emma." Darcy told him, sounding very sure of herself. There was actually nothing she was more confident about. "He adores your daughter. He's hopelessly in love with her and not to mention he's totally corny. Like, buying her a huge teddy bear and box of chocolates for Valentine's Day kind of corny. It's kind of lame but very cute at the same time."

"Is there anyone that doesn't like that kid?" Bucky asked bitterly as he crossed his arms. Darcy just rolled her eyes before continuing her defense of all things Peter Parker.

"I've seen their relationship from the beginning. I've seen it since Peter was nothing but some nosy kid Emma was weirdly suspicious of." Darcy told the stubborn man. "I've seen them fall in love and all that mushy shit. They really are the mushiest couple for being superheroes and all. It's definitely not something you'd expect from the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. Well, maybe you'd expect it from Spider-Man but definitely not the Viper Assassin."

"You can't tell me that she really loves that idiot?" Bucky said, still not believing that Emma could really be in love with that kid.

"You think she's incapable of love?" Darcy asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I'm saying." Bucky denied. " I'm saying that I think someone must've hit Emma over the head with Steve's shield for her to even be in the same room as that kid."

"That's rude." Darcy told him. "I don't get your problem with him. Peter's a nice kid and he's completely devoted to Emma. You're actually lucky."

"Lucky?" Bucky questioned in disbelief. "I'm lucky because some teenage asshole's been dry humping my daughter for who knows how long? That makes me lucky?" Darcy stifled her laughter before she continued. Despite how hard she was trying to convince Bucky that Peter was a good kid, she was kind of enjoying the fact that Emma had an overprotective father. It was pretty ironic that the big, bad Viper Assassin had an overprotective daddy. Darcy even thought that the Avengers should have their own reality show like the Kardashians because there was so much drama going on around the compound. Especially this drama with Emma, Peter, Steve, and Bucky. People would eat that shit up. Fuck the Kardashians.

Darcy really needed to get Ryan Seacrest on the phone for a new reality show idea...like now.

"I just mean that your daughter's boyfriend could be a lot worse. You should've seen the guys I dated in high school." Darcy told him as she tried to get Bucky to see the bright side in all of this. "I dated this one stoner who used to sell porno magazines out of his locker. A real keeper right there." Bucky thought that was all she was going to say until Darcy continued listing all the boys she _ever_ dated in high school.

"Then there was Kenny Benson who was a total ass. He slept with basically the whole school and not to mention a lot of the moms of girls he slept with. I found out only a little too late." Darcy said as Bucky watched her in horror. Not because he was horrified by Darcy but just because he was realizing that these were the kinds of boys that Emma was surrounded with in high school.

"Of course, let's not forget about Oliver Warner. He literally thought of nothing but sex and was obsessed with me." Darcy told him and Bucky found himself growing more and more scared of Emma in high school with boys like that. "I'm not even kidding. He used to show up to my house in the middle of the night when I was asleep and watch me through the window. He'd just stand there with his little video camera, eating a bunch of grapes all night as he watched me sleep. Sometimes he'd do more than just watch…if you know what I mean."

"You dated that guy?" Bucky asked her with wide eyes. Darcy just shrugged.

"He worked at Blockbuster and got free movie rentals. Why _wouldn't_ I date him?" Darcy informed him like that explained everything. Bucky just shook his head as he tried to shrug off Darcy's disturbing response.

"Is there a point to all this? Why are you telling me this?" Bucky questioned and Darcy just smiled at him.

"I'm telling you this because I want you to know that Peter's not a bad guy." Darcy said as she sought to convince Bucky that Peter wasn't that bad. "He's a good student with amazing grades and not to mention he's a huge science nerd. You would not believe how smart this kid is. He's like a little boy genius or something."

"And I care about this why?" Bucky said with a bored look on his face and Darcy sighed but still didn't let his attitude get her down. She was more than used to that attitude with Emma so this definitely wasn't her first rodeo.

"You need to care about this because he's a good influence on Emma. He actually makes her care about school and living a normal life." Darcy told him, her gaze softening. "She never wanted to go to art school before he came along. Emma scoffed at the very idea of any sort of college but now she's making all these plans and having life goals. Why do you think that is? It's certainly not because of me."

"Is it even what she really wants?" Bucky questioned doubtfully. "It sounds to me like she's changing who she is for him."

"I don't think she's necessarily changing _for_ him but she's changing _because_ of him." Darcy corrected without hesitation. "I think he makes her want to be a better person. Love does that to people…or so I heard."

"I saw what he was doing with her last night. You can't tell me that he's that nice of a kid." Bucky argued.

"They're teenagers. Teenagers are famously horny so you can't blame them for trying to get off with each other. At least they weren't actually having sex." Darcy said as she dismissed Bucky's concern. The former assassin flinched at Darcy's bluntness. That was something he definitely didn't want to hear.

"If that asshole thinks he can pressure Emma into having sex with him then he has another thing coming." Bucky said in a low and dangerous voice and Darcy laughed at him. He looked at the brunette in confusion as she laughed.

"Peter's not pressuring Emma into having sex." Darcy told him and Bucky continued to look at her in confusion.

"What? How do you know" He questioned and Darcy just rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Barnes. I think we both know that Peter's definitely not the one who wears the pants in that relationship." Darcy told him, sounding confident in the fact that Emma wasn't being pressured into having sex. Bucky still didn't seem to know what Darcy was talking about so she hurried along in her explanation. "The kid practically worships the ground she walks in. Peter's also way too much of a gentlemen to ever think of doing something like that. I'm pretty sure his aunt would murder him too."

"She needs to get in line." Bucky muttered and Darcy just sighed as she tried to wrap this whole thing up.

"You're being way too hard on Peter." Darcy told Bucky seriously and Bucky looked at her in surprise.

" _I'm_ being too hard? Me?" Bucky questioned. "He's the one who can't keep his hands off _my_ daughter."

"Peter's not a huge asshole like most high school boys are. Peter Parker is as rare as they come." Darcy told him, completely believing every word she said. "I know for a fact that he's hopelessly in love with Emma. As far as boyfriends for your daughter go, you really can't do better than Peter Parker. He's the nicest guy around and treats your daughter like a queen. So stop trying to kill him."

"That kid's up to something. I know he is." Bucky grumbled, still being as stubborn as ever. Darcy groaned as she looked back at him but then she realized something. Maybe this wasn't about Peter. Maybe this wasn't about Peter at all. Maybe, just maybe, this was about something else entirely.

"Unless…" Darcy trailed off as she smirked at Bucky. Bucky gave her a questioning look.

"Unless what?" Bucky asked her.

"Unless this isn't about Peter and Emma dating but instead it's about Emma growing up and leaving you behind." Darcy said as she gave him a knowing look. Bucky pretended like he didn't know what she was talking about.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Bucky muttered and Darcy just continued to smile at him because she thought he was being cute. He was a former assassin, that was true, but right now he was just a dad that was afraid of losing his little girl. Who knew Bucky Barnes and Emma Rogers could be a normal father and daughter.

"That's why you're acting like a dick. You're just scared of Emma leaving you." Darcy said as she came upon this new revelation much to Bucky's embarrassment. "Barnes, you shouldn't be ashamed of feeling like that. Every dad is scared of their kids growing up and leaving."

"I'm not scared." Bucky grumbled as he glowered at Darcy in a very Emma like fashion. However, Darcy didn't believe him. Not for a second.

"I know it must be terrifying for you but Emma's not going anywhere. She's still sixteen so it'll be a while before she grows up and leaves the nest." Darcy told him, sounding self-assured. Bucky sighed heavily as he gave up the act and became serious with the brunette woman.

"I just…I only just got her back after not seeing her for a long time. Even back in Hydra I wasn't the father she needed and I had hoped that being out of Hydra would mean that…" Bucky trailed off as he found that he was at a loss for words but Darcy picked up the slack.

"That you could make up for lost time?" She suggested and Bucky just looked at her sadly before nodding.

"Yes. I thought that Steve and I could have her to ourselves for a while before things changed…before she grew up and wanted to spend time away from us." Bucky said, looking quite miserable as he did so but Darcy didn't look sympathetic. She just looked at the former assassin in disbelief.

"Do you know how stupid you're being right now?" Darcy asked him and Bucky looked at her incredulously.

"What?" He questioned and she just shook her head.

"Emma doesn't want to spend time away from you. You have no idea how much she missed you and Steve. She was miserable for the longest time." Darcy told him much to Bucky's shock. "I mean, Peter was able to make her happier. Not to mention her going to school while having a normal life also kind of made her happy but she was always incomplete."

"Really?" Bucky asked quietly and Darcy nodded.

"Yes. She missed the both of you so much." Darcy said as Bucky listened to her intently. "You could tell she missed you guys because she acted like a real asshole while you were gone. She was an asshole to literally everyone. Me, Tony, Jane, Peter, Vision, Rhodey…basically everyone."

"I didn't know she was that sad. I just thought she'd be used to me being away at this point." Bucky said sadly and Darcy really felt bad for him at that point. She could tell he loved Emma despite how much of an ass he was acting towards her and Peter.

"I don't think so, Barnes." Darcy told him, her gaze soft as she looked at the man…a very beautiful looking man but still a man. God, she really needed to sort out her priorities at this point because now wasn't the time to fawn over Emma's dad. "I think that it was just as hard for her to be away from you as it was for you to be away from her. Peter was there for her but he could never replace you and Steve."

"I just don't know what to do." Bucky said as he felt more confused than ever before. "How can I just be okay with Emma and this kid? I saw too much last night and now I don't know what to think. I'm afraid that he'll hurt her somehow."

"Look, I get that this is really difficult for you. Probably even more than Steve because you've been around her since she was a little girl. You've watched her grow up more than the rest of us have." Darcy started to say to him and she felt like she was on the verge of getting him to come around to the idea of Emma and Peter. Emma was so going to owe her for this. "But eventually you have to kind of let go and hope that you raised her right. I mean, you basically raised her to be a master assassin, one of the deadliest ones in the world, so if this kid fucks up then he's dead. You should take comfort in that."

"That actually makes me feel a little better." Bucky admitted reluctantly and Darcy grinned at him. She then grabbed the remote that was lying in between her and Bucky on the couch.

"Now I'm going to rewind this movie and let Steve Martin give you a little father-to-father heartfelt talk." Darcy told him as she started rewinding the movie until they were at the beginning. "You actually need to see this movie because you're totally Steve Martin in this scenario and you could learn a valuable lesson from this movie."

"If you say so." Bucky said, not sounding entirely convinced but his mind was soon changed as they arrived back at the beginning of the movie which showed Steve Martin staring into the camera as he gave a monologue that Bucky could relate to. In fact, Bucky never felt as emotionally connected to any movie as he did this one but he knew it was only because he understood. Bucky completely understood what this Steve Martin guy was saying. As a father he understood what Steve Martin meant.

 _"_ _You fathers will understand."_ Steve Martin said as he continued to stare into the camera, completely capturing Bucky's attention. _"You have a little girl, an adorable little girl, who looks up to you and adores you in a way you never could have imagined."_

 _"_ _I remember how her little hand used to fit into mine."_ Steve Martin said as he recollected memories that all father could relate to…even former assassin fathers like Bucky. _"How she used to love to sit on my lap and lean her head against my chest."_

 _"_ _She said I was her hero."_

 _"_ _Then the day comes when she wants to get her ears pierced and wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater."_ The actor said as the conversation took a more sad turn. _"Next thing you know she's wearing eye shadow and high heels."_

 _"_ _From that moment on you're in a constant state of panic."_ Steve Martin said and Bucky really didn't get how this was supposed to make him feel better. He was only feeling worse at this point.

 _"_ _You worry about her going out with the wrong kind of guys."_ The gray haired actor continued to say. _"The kind of guys who only want one thing and you know exactly what that one thing is because it's the same thing you wanted when you were their age."_

 _"_ _Then she gets a little older and you quit worrying about her meeting the wrong guy and you worry about her meeting the right guy."_ Steve Martin said, laying down the truth that Bucky hadn't wanted to admit to himself until that moment.

 _"_ _And that's the biggest fear of all because…"_ The actor only briefly paused before finishing his statement. _"Then you lose her."_

Darcy looked over at Bucky and was shocked to see that the scary assassin, formerly known as the Winter Soldier, actually had tears in those blue eyes of his. She supposed that this movie had a way of reaching all kinds of fathers across the world. Even ones who used to be assassins. She knew she couldn't called Bucky out on the tears and teased him but she thought it was best to approach this the same way she approached an emotional Emma. Which meant that Darcy knew better than to call Emma out on her emotions. Darcy learned that lesson from the time she teased Emma about Peter being her boyfriend. Vision had to stop Emma from murdering her so Darcy decided to just let it go this time. It was probably better if she just let Bucky have his moment.

The pair spent the rest of time watching the movie in silence, laughing at all the appropriate parts but remaining silent during all the more emotional ones too. While Darcy adored the movie because she adored all things Steve Martin, she knew she could never relate to it as much as Bucky seemed to. Bucky who watched the movie with a look of understanding on his face but also at times looking quite thoughtful too. Darcy wished that she had Wanda's ability in that moment so she could know what he was thinking.

 _Father of the Bride_ seemed to have given Bucky a lot to think about. It was kind of a silly movie but at the same time it was a movie that made Bucky rethink his previous actions. The main character, Steve Martin, was easy for Bucky to relate to. The man was as equally suspicious of his daughter's fiancee as Bucky was suspicious of his own daughter's boyfriend.

It was only through the movie that Bucky realized how ridiculous he was being but even more so because Bucky knew Emma was capable of taking care of herself. The daughter in the movie might've been a bit ditzy in Bucky's opinion but that marked a difference between the daughter in the movie and his own daughter. Bucky knew Emma was more than capable of taking care of herself and that she wasn't some helpless woman who needed saving. This begged the question of why Bucky was so worried in the first place.

 _"_ _I was no longer the only man in my little girl's life. I was like an old shoe, the kind we manufacture, and get all excited for and then after a few years…discontinue."_ The actor's words echoed inside Bucky's head even after that particular scene was done and over. He wasn't able to forget the words throughout watching the film. _"That was me now: Mr. Discontinued."_

As much as Bucky hated to admit it, maybe Steve and Darcy were right. Maybe he was being selfish about this whole thing. Maybe he disliked Peter so much because Bucky was scared that Emma was going to spend all her time with Peter and forget all about him. Nothing frightened Bucky more but now he was realizing that he was being ridiculous just like Steve Martin in the movie. Not to mention Bucky wasn't going to have to completely let go. She was a teenager so that meant that there would still be a couple years before she'd officially be an adult. Bucky still had time with her.

Besides…Steve was right.

Bucky needed to put Emma's happiness ahead of his own. Even if that meant being somewhat okay with her dating that kid. He still didn't like the kid but for some reason the kid seemed to make Emma happy. Bucky supposed that maybe, just maybe, he could be okay with this if it meant Emma was happy and if it would stop her from being angry with him.

By the time the movie was over, Bucky realized that he needed to do some self-evaluating. For that to happen he was definitely going to need to spend some time alone as he got all his thoughts in order. As the credits for the movie rolled, Bucky didn't hesitant from getting up from the couch. Darcy shot him a questioning look.

"I think I need to get some fresh air." Bucky stated but that didn't help ease Darcy's confusion.

"Oh…do you want me to come with you?" She asked him and he shook his head.

"No, I think I need to be alone right now. I've got a lot of thinking to do." Bucky told her and Darcy's eyes widened in realization before she quickly nodded her head in understanding.

"Right. Of course." Darcy told him. "Think away."

"Thank you." Bucky told her as he locked eyes with her. It was clear he wasn't just thanking her for giving him some privacy either. He was thanking her for a lot more too. Darcy just swallowed hard, blushing, as she nodded.

"No problem." Darcy said, feeling a bit shy for a change. She knew it was probably a bad idea for her to feel this attracted to Bucky but it's not like she could help it. He was weirdly attractive for a former assassin but Darcy was no stranger to hot guys. The Avengers was entirely composed of hot guys...and hot women too. She had actually been trying to get Tony to agree to the Avengers doing a calendar like those really hot firefighters. Unfortunately that was a hard pass from Tony who only looked at her like she was insane. That was saying a lot too because you must've been pretty fucking weird for Tony Stark, of all people, to find you strange.

Maybe she'd try again next year.

However, Darcy didn't expect to not only be attracted to the insanely hot Bucky Barnes but also to have a real moment with him. Like, she just had a really serious, heart felt conversation with him which was a new one for Darcy because it was rare that she was ever serious. She mostly used humor as a defense mechanism…at least that's what a therapist told her when her mom and dad took her to one of those family therapy sessions when she was little. Still…Darcy didn't really believe that she was capable of giving advice yet she had seemingly given out advice to both Emma Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Two of the deadliest assassins in history. Maybe Darcy was only good at giving advice to assassins.

Maybe this was a sign that she needed to sit Natasha down for a talk too.

"I'll see you around, Lewis." Bucky said as he gave her a small smile. Darcy felt her heart skip a beat at how even more handsome he looked when he smiled. How was that even fair? This guy was already the prettiest guy she had ever seen but Darcy probably shouldn't look too hard at him. Emma had already threatened her about the Bucky thing so maybe Darcy shouldn't look now. She didn't want to end up on Emma's shitlist. It was the one thing Bucky Barnes, Peter Parker, and Tony Stark all had in common so Darcy knew that it wasn't a list anyone wanted to be on. Darcy still remembered what Emma did to Betty Brant too and who knows what would've happened to Liz Allan if the poor girl stuck around.

Rule #1: Never try to take Emma's man.

Rule #2: Never check out Bucky Barnes' ass in front of Emma.

Rule #3: Never threaten to kill Bucky Barnes(I'm looking at you, Tony).

Rule #4: Never make fun of Steve Rogers. Only Emma has the right to do that.

Darcy knew that those were some rules to live by if you ever crossed paths with the teenage anti-hero. Unfortunately Darcy had already broken at least one of the those rules. Rule #2. So that was strike one and Darcy hated to think what could happen to a person if they broke all four of those rules. Probably nothing good and probably a fate worse than Betty Brant's fate. Darcy didn't want to end up like Betty Brant. She really hated snakes.

"See you later." Darcy finally said as Bucky gave her one last smile before turning around and leaving the room. She relaxed against the couch the moment he left, processing the long conversation they had. God, that man was almost as stubborn as Emma.

Almost.

All Darcy knew was that Peter really fucking owed her because she just made him sound like an angel. She just hoped he didn't do anything to piss Bucky off because it was obvious that the kid was already walking on thin ice with the guy. It wasn't really Peter's fault but it just so happened that Peter picked a girl with the world's most overprotective, terrifying father. The Winter Soldier as your in-law was probably most people's nightmare. Darcy had to give him credit though. Most guys would run for the hills but Peter still stuck around. That had to count for something.

Darcy just hoped that things worked out between Bucky and the young couple. Lord knows that Emma already had enough shit on her plate without all the men in her life fighting over her. In other circumstances it might've been kind of hot to have Captain America, The Winter Soldier/White Wolf, Spider-Man, and Iron Man all fighting over you. Just throw in a pool full of jello and it would've been Darcy's ultimate sexual fantasy. In this circumstance, however, it was the opposite because no girl wanted her two dads, godfather, and boyfriend fighting over her. Darcy imagined this circumstance sucked for Emma.

The only thing Darcy could hope for now was that Bucky would come to the conclusion that it was better to accept Peter as Emma's boyfriend rather than have Emma be mad at him. They had been apart for far too long for their possessiveness over each other to get in the way of their happiness. Darcy knew, maybe more than anyone, that Emma really needed Steve and Bucky right now. Steve and Bucky just needed to be there for her during these difficult times. It was no secret that Emma needed her fathers and Darcy was talking about the both of them. Emma couldn't do this without them.

They just needed to get their shit together and they needed to get it together right this instant.

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 **Author's Note: So I just came upon this realization while editing this that Emma and Wanda are a lot like April and Anne from Parks and Recreation. It just became obvious to me as I was re-reading that part. Emma and Wanda making amends was a long time coming but I'm really happy that we've gotten to that part. Now all that's left is Bucky and Clint.**

 **Snapplecrackles: The idea for Peter's dream came from just me trying to think of what kind of dreams Peter must have. Emma tends to have a lot of nightmares and her head's a really dark place at times but I kind of imagine Peter's head to be filled with candy, unicorns, carnivals, Star Wars, and Emma. Just a lot of nice and happy things. The darkest nightmare in his head was Jason Voorhees because that's from a scary movie he probably watched as a kid so it was always there in his head subconsciously. I also thought it would be funny for him to be scared of Jason Voorhees even though he could completely take Jason Voorhees out if he wanted. I mean, Peter's probably like a million times stronger than Jason Voorhees but that's a movie he was scared of in his childhood so he's still kind of scared of it which is why he associated it with something else he's terrified of. Emma's dad.**

 **magnoliasunset: They'd probably either have that ringtone or the imperial march ringtone. I actually used to have the imperial march ringtone for my older brother, funnily enough. Maybe Bucky could have the Friday the 13th one and Steve could have the Star Wars one. Wait...now I have to think of one for Tony. What would the ringtone for Tony be? Probably something annoying like the Full House theme song.**

 **AH17A: I'm not going to have the Infinity War storyline until the sequel which is a decision I've recently made. Thanos isn't going to officially show up until the Infinity War storyline but there might be brief hints of his presence a little sooner than that but still not until the sequel.**

 **JustJoyce: I'm so excited to devise a list of artists for you to listen to. Like...expect a really long list because I'm obsessed with music. Not like I sing or anything because I'm not that talented but I just love listening to music. It's really inspiring. So here my list. It'll mostly be alternative rock/pop and I might throw in some mainstream alt rock/pop artists just in case you don't know them. You might know them but I'll throw them in anyways. This list is in no particular order by the way and it's basically for anyone who wants some music recommendations.  
**

 _1. **Florence + the Machine** \- I basically love everything Florence Welch. She can do no wrong in my opinion. Don't even ask me to pick a favorite album because I love them all equally and for different reasons. Florence + The Machine is seriously underrated. It's a crime that Florence Welch hasn't won any grammys because I think she's one of the best songwriters._

 _2. **Marina and the Diamonds** \- So I'm throwing in the more mainstream ones in first. I have to say that I love all Marina and the Diamonds albums but my favorite has to be her debut one 'The Family Jewels'. I just picked that one because I love every single song on it. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on that though. You'll like her if you like Indie Pop. _

_3. **Young the Giant** \- Pretty much anything of theirs is really good. You can't go wrong with them._

 _4. **The Head and the Heart** \- I can't really pick a favorite album of theirs because I just love all their work. You'll like them if you like folk/pop music. If you like the Lumineers you'll probably like them or the Strumbellas which are another really good band. _

_5. **Lana Del Rey** -I'm sure everyone knows how much I love her. Her music's pretty depressing, I will admit that, but it's also very real and she's just an amazing songwriter. She kind of reminds me of Jim Morrison that way. Not that I'm comparing them but they're both beautiful songwriters who write about pretty depressing topics. _

_6. **The Wombats** -I think I've mentioned them in this story before. They're another alt rock band. I think they just put out a new album out but again, I don't think you can go wrong with them so I'm not going to pick a favorite album. I imagine if you happen to like Young the Giant, you'd also like the Wombats. They also probably have my favorite name for a band. They have the best music videos too.  
_

 _7. **Blossoms** \- I feel like Blossom is more obscure than a lot of the other bands on here which is really unfair because I'm really obsessed with their new album. I will admit that I haven't listened to their earlier stuff that much but I've listened to their new album numerous times. 'Cool Like You' is one of my favorite albums of the year. They have an eighties sound to their music that I'm really in love with. I'm especially obsessed with the song 'Stranger Still'. I just can't stop listening to that one. _

_8. **The Aces** \- The Aces are pretty new. They put out their debut album 'When My Heart Felt Volcanic' a couple months ago. They're not a girl band but a band that just so happens to just have female band members. Their music is more pop than rock but it's not Taylor Swift or Shawn Mendes pop. They're inspired a lot by Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson so there's definitely times where you can hear that in their music but it's also their own sound too. I actually considered that album my album of the summer. It just sounds like summer to me._

 _9. **HAIM** -I'm pretty sure it's clear how obsessed I am with HAIM. I talk about them all the time. They're my favorite band and I just can't get over them. I saw them in concert which is something I'll never stop bragging about. It's probably the only thing I really brag about. They only have two albums 'Days Are Gone' and 'Something To Tell You' although 'Days Are Gone' has to be my favorite because it's also one of my favorite albums of all time period. _

_10. **BORNS** \- He's definitely indie pop. He's got two albums 'Dopamine' and 'Blue Madonna' but 'Dopamine' is my favorite. I guess the first album is always your favorite album...usually, at least._

 _11. **Jade Bird** \- She's folk, Americana, and maybe a little bit old school country. Anyways...she's got the most amazing voice and not to mention she's actually a real, genuine musician. Like, she doesn't have any auto tuning or anything. Her music is real and a hundred percent genuine which I think gives her a fuller sound. She doesn't have a full album yet because she's still pretty new but she's got a couple EPs which are really good._

 _12. **Billie Eilish-** I feel like a lot of people probably know about her at this point but I'll put her on this list too. For someone so young, she's super talented. _

_13. **Maggie Rogers** \- I guess I would describe her as indie pop too. I don't believe she has a full length album either but she does have an EP.  
_

 _14. **The Broods-** I'm a big fan of their first two albums. I haven't listened to any of their new stuff yet so I'm not caught up to date with all things Broods. They're this brother-sister duo from New Zealand and I would describe their music as indie pop too. I'm realizing how much indie pop I listen to. If you like Lorde, you'll probably like them. I'm not just saying that because they're both from New Zealand but because their music is slightly similar. I also saw the Broods in concert when they opened for Ellie Goulding which was awesome. _

_15. **Dua Lipa** -I'm pretty sure everyone knows Dua Lipa but I'm still putting her in here. She's mainstream pop and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. There's still a lot of mainstream pop I listen to because I like it and it's fun. I feel like a lot of people are snobbish about music but I think I have an open mind. I don't really care for Taylor Swift anymore and I'm not into Shawn Mendes(I tried but I can't get into his music! Don't kill me! I know he has a huge fanbase!) but I still like artists like Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus(I know people still roll their eyes at Miley but she can really sing. Just listen to her cover of 'Summertime Sadness'), Harry Styles, and The Weeknd. Dua Lipa's a really amazing singer and I just love her debut album so much. I feel like she, along with some other artists, really got snubbed at the Grammys. _

_16. **Sigrid** -I feel like Sigrid is kind of mainstream pop too but I still think her music is kind of indie pop. She's got an amazing, almost Adele like voice, and her music's amazing. I don't think she has a full length album out yet, don't quote me on that, but she's got a lot of singles out._

 _17. **Twin Shadow** \- I'm not sure how to describe Twin Shadow. He's definitely alternative but I'm not sure whether to call it alternative pop or not. On his new album 'Caer' he does this awesome song with HAIM called 'Saturdays' which is probably the only reason I ever found him in the first place because I love all things HAIM. He's seriously talented though as I've discovered when listening to all his albums. _

_18. **Father John Misty** -A lot of people apparently don't like Father John Misty for some reason but I really love him. Maybe people don't like him because he's the most modern version of a hippie that we have. I've just always been a fan of sixties era/summer of love kind of music. If you like that music you'll probably love his music too. I've been listening to his new album a lot these days and I know that I'm going to find a way to incorporate 'Just Dumb Enough to Try' into this story. I just listened to that song and pictured this really cute moment with Emma and Bucky. So hopefully everyone will be seeing that soon. _

_19. **Fitness** \- They only have one album out so far but I think they're brilliant. I think they're sort of similar to Twin Shadow on a couple of their songs so if you like Twin Shadow you'll probably like Fitness too. I actually named Matter of Time after their song 'Matter of Time' because I just fell in love with the song so much and I thought it fit the story perfectly. _

_20. **Vera Blue** \- Definitely alternative pop and I'm really not sure who I could compare her to. She just has this real folk sounding voice mixed with some pop music and I just think people need to give her a listen. Literally no one I know has ever heard of her but I really love her and I think she's underrated._

 _21. **Vance Joy** \- This is the guy who sang 'Riptide' which is probably one of his biggest hits but I just think he has one of the greatest voices in music right now. I'm really obsessed with both of his albums._

 _22. **Tom Odell** \- His music's also amazing! He's a singer-songwriter type with a beautiful voice. I think his first album is slightly better than the second one but both are really good. 'Another Love' is another favorite song of mine ever since I heard it many years ago when it first came out. It's a song that can make you cry so be forewarned. _

_23. **Mitski** \- I saved the best for last. **THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION.** Sorry, I just wanted to make sure people heard about Mitski because I need more people to know about her. I only discovered her a few weeks ago and I seriously wonder how I spent the past few years without her music. She's been around for a while now and I'm just disappointed in myself for only now discovering her. She's has a few albums out but my two favorites are 'Bury Me at Makeout Creek' and 'Be the Cowboy'. There's this one song she has called 'First Love/Late Spring' which I think is one of my favorite songs ever. I know it's a little soon for me to say that but you really need to hear this song. It gives me goosebumps and I love it so much that I named my Tony Stark fanfic after it because I related one of the lyrics to the story. There's also a lot of songs off "Be the Cowboy' which I'm in love with. 'Pink in the Night', 'Come into the Water', 'Why Didn't You Stop Me?', 'Old Friend', 'Remember My Name', 'Me and My Husband', 'Nobody', 'Washing Machine Heart', and I could go on forever. Basically every song of hers is a masterpiece. I'm even thinking about naming the sequel to this story after one of her songs too because I really connected the lyrics of one of her songs to Emma and Peter. A lot of people also don't like how different her new album sounds but I like that it's unlike anything I've ever heard before. Every album of hers has a different sound which I think is brilliant. Mitski is definitely one of the most talented musicians out there right now. She's an indie rocker so if you love indie rock then I think you'll really like her. Even if you don't like indie rock you might still like her. _

_I know that list was long and scary but that's how invested I am into music. I could go on and on about a lot of those musicians. I hope I don't sound like a crazy person for writing that much which is why I saved this for the end of the chapter and not the beginning or else you never would've read the new chapter. If you want some oldie recommendations then I give those to you too if you want. This is just some of the newer stuff I listen to._

 **Purplestan: I would really like to tell you what Rumlow's going to do but I don't want to pull a Mark Ruffalo or Tom Holland and spoil everything for everyone. You'll find out soon enough although not _that_ soon. **

**Athena05: You'll probably find out soon enough about Clint, Natasha, and Margot. Emma and Clint are eventually going to have a talk but not in this chapter or the next one. Soon though. There's just a lot of stuff happening right now but it'll probably happen about two chapters from now.**

 **Another random account: I haven't made any firm decisions on the living situations when school starts back up. I think I might have an idea but nothing's set in stone yet.**

 **Bronzelove: I'm so happy to find a Florence + The Machine and Jefferson Airplane on here. I'd say that both of them are my favorite bands but I have hundreds of favorite bands.**

 **Anna: Ha! That would be cute. I feel like Emma would be both disgusted and scared of the baby. She's already said how disgusting she thinks they are in the past but maybe Peter with a baby would change her mind. I'm not sure how to work that scenario into this one. No one really has a baby but maybe one of her cousins on her grandmother's side of the family will drop in for a visit or maybe Nathaniel Barton will drop by too.**

 **Guest: The Rumlow storyline was always going to be resolved before Ragnarok or Infinity War storylines. I never find that overlapping is a good idea for a story so there's nothing to worry about.**

 **Radioactive88: Yeah, Peter's definitely in for a wild ride now that he's officially Emma's boyfriend to her family. I guess everyone kind of has a crazy family and that could not be more true for Emma. Steve and Peter are probably going to get along really well in the future but Bucky and Peter not so much. They'll probably have their moments but Bucky's not going to take him fishing or other in law bonding adventures.**

 **I also love Peter and Tony's relationship right now. They're both not on the best of terms with the others so they're kind of in the same boat. This will probably make them even closer because they're going to have to stick together now that Steve and Bucky are there.**

 **alice. willow: I'm not sure if I'll include the venom storyline in the STNS universe but maybe I'll eventually make an AU story about it. Who knows.**

 **artemis7448: Congrats on your training and I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to update.**

 **Lovely One: I mean, I'm not sure if Emma and Peter are really soulmates. I know Peter said they were but that's because he's corny. I don't believe in soul mates myself but thank you and I'm glad you love Emma and Peter together so much. I do too or else I probably wouldn't be writing a story about them for this long. I hope you enjoyed the Bucky/Darcy moment in this chapter and hopefully there will be more in the future.**

 **Cassie-011: Ever since I first started writing this story over a year ago, I always had that same scenario planned where Bucky walks in on them. That was probably one of my top five favorite chapters to write.  
**

 **JaRhonda: I totally get what you mean about some stories being too slow burn. I love slow burn stories except for ones when you wait all that time and the couple only gets together in the last chapter then the end. I don't mind waiting but I'd just like to see the characters being an actual couple. Not just them getting together. I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much by the way.**

 **knarl: I'm so happy to see a review from you. I feel like it's been a while. I definitely did the parallel thing on purpose though. It just makes sense to me why Emma and Bucky are a bit possessive over each other. They were all each other had in that base so they're very attached to each other. Glad you loved the story and I'll try to update soon although I think I might update one of my other stories before I do another update for this one.**

 **nathan19bane: I didn't write (One-Sided) Emma/Peter. I actually wrote (One-Sided) Emma/Loki because Loki will probably be crushing on Emma pretty hard(or whatever the Asgardian/Frost Giant equivalent of that is). He'll definitely meet his match in Emma but Emma only has eyes for Peter so hence why the crush will be one-sided. It's not going to be creepy or anything. It's just this admiration he'll have for her because he's never met someone like Emma before. They're going to be good friends although they're the kind of friends who would never trust each other.**

 **I just want to say to the guest reviewer and ShoniWake that I will be using the correct Russian and German translations you gave me to correct some of the chapter. I won't be able to do this anytime soon, however, since I don't have a ton of time but maybe when this story's over I'll go back and use your translations to correct the mistakes in previous chapters when I'm re-editing the story. Thank you for the translations.**

 **Thanks to all the readers of this fic. You guys have been super supportive and nice during my much needed break from this fic. I'm happy you've been so patient. I'm also sorry that I didn't respond to every review but I really wanted to get this chapter out and I had five pages of reviews. I read all the reviews though and appreciated them all. I'll try to have the next update out soon.**


	82. Chapter Seventy Five

**Author's Note: Here's Chapter Seventy Five. I know I've been taking a long time with these past two updates but I've been busy job hunting as well as working on my other stories. I'm going to try and update sooner this time but I'm not making any promises. This chapter has a lot of fluff and humor in the beginning but takes a more serious turn a little before the half way point. A lot of Shuri in this chapter. I think part of the reason this chapter took so long is that there's a certain point I want to reach in this story but I have to get to that point first which made it hard to write this chapter when I really just want to get to that part of the story. I'm not sure if that made any sense or if I'm just mindlessly rambling at this point.**

 **So I know this is really strange as a Marvel fan but I think I'm going to see _A Star is Born_ this weekend rather than _Venom_ which I also want to see. I'm just really obsessed with music and the music in the film is probably music I would listen to in real life. I've also listened to 'Shallows' like a hundred times. It's so addicting and I'm also so excited for the movie. I never used to be a fan of Lady Gaga but her last album was really good and this movie looks amazing. I'll definitely be seeing _Venom_ later though. **

**Did you guys hear about Loki and Scarlet Witch getting their own shows on Disney's new streaming platform? I'm so excited. Marvel also mentioned a lot of other characters from the MCU getting their own shows too so I hope this means Bucky and Sam will be getting their own shows as well. Nebula getting her own show would be cool too.**

 **I saw the _Captain Marvel_ trailer and I'm super excited for the movie! It looks so great and March could not come sooner. I'm also impatiently waiting for the Avenger's 4 trailer but I have a feeling that's not coming out until December or January. We still don't know the title yet. I'm thinking it'll be something like Avengers: Endgame or Avengers: Eternity War. Only time will tell, I guess.**

 **I also just wanted to add that I'll be updating my other story _The Palace_ next which is a rewrite of _Undisclosed Desires_. Then I'll be updating _One Word From You_ and definitely this one after that. I'm just really inspired for all three stories right now. **

**Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. Let me know what you think of this chapter.**

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"What are you doing?" Peter asked as he perched himself on the edge of the conference table, watching Emma stare at one of the holographic screens intensely. He had just returned from the kitchen only to find his girlfriend otherwise distracted. Emma barely glanced up at him from the screen as she fast fowarded through the footage of Steve interrogating Collins. She hadn't found anything of interest yet. Emma wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for but she knew that she would know it when she saw it.

"I'm looking at the interrogation to see if there's anything that might be useful." Emma explained briefly before a confused look came across Peter's face.

"Wouldn't Steve or Natasha have already found something useful though?" Peter asked her and Emma just shook her head.

"Well, they weren't in Hydra. They don't know what to look for." Emma told him. "He might've let something slip by mistake. Something that could've gone over Steve and Natasha's heads."

"That makes sense." Peter said as he watched Emma focus on her work. He curiously observed her serious demeanor as she remained focused on her task and watched the footage from the interrogation. Her jaw was clenched as her ocean blue eyes remained set on the screen. There was also a determined look on her face as she went over the footage. Peter couldn't help but utter the first words that came to mind as he continued to look at her.

"You look like your grandpa." Peter blurted and Emma finally tore her gaze away from the screen to look at him in surprise.

"What?" She questioned, believing that she might've misheard him. Peter blushed before explaining himself.

"You just seem so focused and determined. Like…you're in captain mode like Steve." Peter said with a goofy smile on his face. Emma gave him a disgusted look.

"Ew…gross." Emma said, clearly revolted by Peter's observation. "I don't even know what you're talking about. Steve and I look nothing alike." Peter looked at her in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You and Steve look _so_ much alike." Peter informed her, not believing that Emma didn't think she and her grandfather shared any similarities. "You guys could pass as brother and sister."

"Stop being disgusting." Emma said, somehow horrified at the thought that her boyfriend thought she looked like Steve. "Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for Steve's sperm and everything because it eventually led to my existence but I don't think we look anything alike."

"Are you blind?" Peter questioned because the traits she shared with her grandfather were so obvious to him. "The hair, the eyes, and I think you both even kind of smile in the same way. It's actually nice because I've never met someone who looks so much like you."

"Never tell me that I look like Steve again. I swear I'll dump you and then I'll make-out with T'Challa in front you." Emma threatened and Peter playfully glared at her but he knew she was joking deep down. His girlfriend had the strangest sense of humor.

"T'Challa's not even that good looking." Peter retorted, being the mature person he was. Emma just smirked at him.

"Don't worry, Parker. I would totally cheat on him with you behind his back. He might have tons of money but you're way hotter than him." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head but he couldn't help but smile at her although he knew what she was doing. She was trying to change the subject because for some reason she didn't want to think that she and Steve looked alike.

"Maybe when Steve retires, you could be the next Captain America." Peter suggested and Emma wondered if he was trying to piss her off on purpose because it was definitely working. "It would be so cool, Emma. You could have a cool outfit like him and then have an even cooler name. Like, maybe Miss America…or Madam America…or Lady Liberty. Basically anything patriotic."

"I've never thrown up before but if you keep talking like that I think I might." Emma deadpanned as she gave her boyfriend an annoyed look. "I will never be the next Captain America. That's the lamest thing I've ever heard you say and you say a lot of lame and stupid things." Peter rolled his eyes at her.

"What's so lame about Captain America? He's literally the first Avenger. An actual living legend." Peter told her, ignoring the other half of her insulting statement. He was used to that from her by now.

"Geez, Parker, if you love him so much why don't you have sex with Steve instead of me?" Emma said sarcastically. "He really needs to have sex anyways. He's gone over seventy years without it. Steve must be more sexually frustrated than a landowner from the Victorian era." Peter just gave her a knowing look despite her disturbing remark about her grandfather.

"What's this really about, Emma?" Peter asked her, seemingly not as phased by her blunt sarcasm as he usually was. Emma sighed heavily. Why did he know her so well?

"I don't know. I guess I didn't really think about it before since Steve was gone so long but the whole Captain America thing is kind of intimidating." Emma admitted much to Peter's surprise.

"I don't understand." Peter told her, trying to piece together what she was saying.

"He's famous for doing the right thing and having all these morals. He's like you." Emma told him honestly. "I'll never be able to live up to that. A couple years ago I thought I'd probably leave Avengers tower and try to take over the world or something."

"Why would you want to take over the world?" Peter asked, despite himself and Emma looked at him like he was stupid.

"Why _wouldn't_ you want to take over the world? You could do anything you wanted and no one could tell you what to do." Emma explained and Peter was beginning to think his girlfriend was scarily good at deciphering a super-villain's mindset. "I could ban chocolate and _Game of Thrones_ and then watch the world implode."

"You would be the most evil dictator in history. Worse than Loki would've been." Peter said, horrified that anyone would ever think of banning _Game of Thrones_.

"Thank you." Emma said before smirking. "Don't worry. I would still let _you_ watch _Game of Thrones_."

"Really?" Peter asked her and she nodded, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. He decided that he really loved how evil his girlfriend could be. She was really hot when she was being evil and telling him all her evil plans if she ever took over the world.

"Yes…for sexual favors." Emma told him suggestively. Peter swallowed hard as he became momentarily distracted by Emma's suggestive tone. It wasn't until he remembered what they were talking about before that he realized what she was doing.

"Wait a second." Peter said, breaking out of his less than appropriate thoughts about Emma. "You're trying to distract me from what you were talking about before."

"It's not my fault that you have the attention span of a dog." Emma told him uncaringly and Peter just shook his head.

"Wait, what were you saying about not being able to live up to Steve? Is that what this is about?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed, knowing that she couldn't really distract Peter anymore. That was saying something too because Peter was the easiest person to distract. He had a super short attention span.

"I don't know." Emma said as she shrugged. "He's famous for being a little goody two shoes and I'm a former assassin who's murdered a lot of people in cold blood. I don't know what the others will expect from me because I'm never going to be like Steve. I'll never even be half the Avenger he is."

"I don't think that's true." Peter told her softly and Emma looked back at him in surprise. "I think you're going to be an amazing Avenger and I don't think that has anything to do with Steve. You're amazing on your own."

"I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like I'm the black sheep of the family…kind of like he's Thor and I'm Loki." Emma told Peter, still not convinced but Peter was adamant about convincing her that she was a great person. He knew she was more than likely going to have her doubts since Hydra had made their return known. A lot of bad memories were bound to return but Peter didn't want her thinking any less of herself.

"You used to do bad things, that's true, but it was never your fault. They forced you to do those things." Peter told her as he convinced her of what he already knew.

"But I still did it." Emma pointed out but Peter wasn't having it.

"It doesn't matter. You're not a bad person. You're good." Peter told her with a determined look on his face. "I think you're actually one of the strongest people here."

"What?" Emma asked doubtfully and Peter nodded furiously.

"Yes. With everything you've been through and done, you still want to do the right thing. You still want to help people." Peter told her as Emma just watched him silently. "I don't think you're like Loki because Loki did bad things and he didn't care about who he hurt. You're not like that. You care."

"I don't-" Emma started to say but he didn't let her finish.

"You can say how much you don't care all you want but I know you. I know that you care about people and you want to do the right thing." Peter told her and Emma could tell he really believed that. She mentally, and begrudgingly, admitted that he was right although she would never admit that aloud. "I think it says a lot about what kind of person you are…that you were able to come from such a dark place and overcome everything to become the person you are today."

"I guess." Emma said as if she didn't really believe him but it was important to Peter that she knew this about herself.

"You're going to be a great Avenger someday, Emma. I can already see it." Peter told her, looking proud of her but also quite sure of himself. "There's going to be little girls across the world who will look up to you and want to be like you. There probably already are."

"Gross." Emma told him but it was clear that she didn't seem quite as disgusted as she pretended to be. Peter just smiled at her as her gaze then softened. "But thank you."

"You don't need to thank me." Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"Yes, I do. You always seem to believe in me. You don't think I'll screw up and make a mess of everything." Emma told him and Peter just gently pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering and affectionate.

"If anyone thinks that of you then they clearly don't know you at all." Peter told her softly and Emma smiled back at him, touched and weirdly bashful by how much Peter thought of her. He always saw good in her somehow. Emma used to think no one could ever love her because of all the bad things she had done but here was a boy who knew everything she had done and accepted that part of her. She didn't know what she had done to deserve Peter.

"You're going to be an amazing Avenger too." Emma told him sincerely. There was actually no doubt in her mind that Peter would be a great Avenger. He was inherently good. There was nothing about him that was bad. He was probably the only one out of all the people at the compound that had never taken a life. "I think you'll be a great leader too. Who knows? Maybe you'll even lead the team someday."

"I don't know if that would ever happen." Peter said shyly as he blushed. "I mean, it would be cool and everything but I'm not sure that Mr. Stark or anyone would-" Emma just rolled her eyes at him as she interrupted him.

"Just take the compliment like a man, Parker." Emma told him. "I don't care if I have to put Steve back on ice or break Tony's kneecaps. You'll lead the Avengers someday."

"You would put your grandpa on ice for me?" Peter questioned incredulously and Emma shrugged.

"Not for long. Just long enough for him to be considered missing and for you to be put in charge." Emma told her boyfriend. "Besides…Steve needs to retire anyways. He's almost a hundred, you know. He should do what other old people do like crossword puzzles and chess. Tony's pretty old too. He should start thinking about retirement too."

"Mr. Stark's not old. He's only forty seven." Peter told her and Emma just nodded.

"That is old, Peter." She pointed out and Peter just looked at her in disbelief. "He's really fragile and delicate. I'm always worried about him having a stroke on a mission or something." Emma only briefly paused before continuing.

"How embarrassing what that be if he had a stroke while we were going to head-to-head with Loki?" Emma asked and it was clear she was back to being her regular self as she made fun of Tony. "I'd hate to think what Loki would think of us if that happened. I, for one, want to make a good impression on Loki when I hopefully meet him someday." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I can tell you're just being mean." Peter said, knowing that Emma was back to being mean towards Tony. It seemed like despite all her and Mr. Stark had overcome in the past, she would never stop giving the older man a hard time. She was probably the only one who had balls enough to tease Tony Stark. "And I also just want to say how disturbing it is that you have this weird fascination with Loki. Especially considering the fact that the guy's dead."

"That's what Loki wants you to think. I'd bet good money that he's alive somewhere ruling over some realm full of morons." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"You know most teenage girls have a crush on Harry Styles or Zac Efron yet your crush is on Loki." Peter complained and Emma just smirked at him.

"Well, Harry Styles and Zac Efron wish they were as cool as Loki." Emma said, engaging in the usual banter her and Peter always did. The circumstances they were currently in were dire but it was nice to have a short break from all the drama to just be their normal selves.

"Tell me again how an intergalactic terrorist is a cool person?" Peter asked her and Emma didn't hesitate in answering him.

"He's only the best liar in the whole universe and he plays hilarious tricks on people all the time. Then there's the fact that he always has something up his sleeve and he almost accomplished taking over the world." Emma said as she began to list off all the reasons why she thought Loki was cool. Peter never liked the fact that she thought Loki was cool since she literally thought nothing was cool. Jessica Jones seemed to share that same acclaim on Emma's list of coolness although Peter didn't get that either. Jessica Jones was a thirty something year old alcoholic that was really mean and rude.

"Then there the most important thing of all." Emma continued to say and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"What is that?" Peter questioned.

"Steve and Tony hate him." Emma told him with a mischievous look on her face…a mischievous look that would probably make Loki himself be proud. "They get all angry and annoyed whenever I talk about how much better off we'd be if Loki had taken over the world. It's hilarious."

"You're so weird." Peter told her softly with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you." Emma told him, not caring if her boyfriend thought she was weird or not. He already knew how weird she was.

"If Loki ever pops up again, I'm going to make sure you two never end up in the same room together." Peter told her jokingly but also kind of seriously. "I'm not sure if you'd kill each other or fall in love at first sight."

"Probably the first one." Emma told him honestly as she gave Peter an affectionate look. "I only have eyes for you, Spider-Twerp. Besides…Loki's super old. I'm not just talking actual age but he looks old too. He looks like he's Steve's age and that's super gross."

"I believe you." Peter told her, the smile on his face unwavering. He missed this banter he usually shared with Emma. They hadn't had the opportunity to have a lot of these moments lately but he was glad they were able to hang out like this. Even with Hydra on the horizon. It was nice just to feel like things were back to normal…even if it was just for a moment. Peter was then about to say a bunch of other mushy things to his girlfriend when someone unexpectedly walked into the room.

"There you are, Peter. I've been looking for you everywhere." Shuri said in her thick Wakandan accent as she walked into the conference room. Emma and Peter were broken out of the moment as the princess came into the room with a tablet in her hands but it was clear it wasn't Stark Industries issued. It looked far more advanced than Tony. _At least there was one reason to like the princess_ , Emma thought to herself. She made Tony look like an incompetent moron.

"Hey, Shuri." Peter said as he happily greeted the other teenager. They had worked in the lab together quite a bit over the past few days and Peter even liked to consider them to be friends. Not to mention he thought Shuri was probably one of the coolest people he had ever met. Excluding Emma of course. Peter was sure Emma would get mad and withhold making out with him if he said that.

"I was going to give you an update on those spectrometers." Shuri told him before noticing Emma sitting there beside him. She stared at the blonde in surprise for a moment as Emma stared back at her with a blank look on her face. Shuri hadn't expected to see the blonde but she supposed it made sense since apparently Peter and Emma were together. She had to admit that this place was a lot more interesting than back home. There was all kinds of drama going on around here. "Oh…hello, Emma."

"Hi." Emma said, being her usual reserved self when she was around people she didn't know.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked as she looked in between the couple.

"Yes, I was just about to murder Peter and collect his life insurance." Emma deadpanned, which was her way of testing Shuri, and the princess just stared at her, not understanding what she just heard. Peter blushed as he looked from his crazy girlfriend and then saw the confused look on his new friend's face.

"She's kidding." Peter said as he smiled nervously at Shuri before turning back to playfully glare at Emma. "And you couldn't collect my life insurance. We're not married and we're also not related." Emma just shrugged.

"I'd find a way." She told him, sounding unbothered by his reasoning, and Peter just shook his head at her before turning back to a wary looking Shuri.

"Anyways…what's the update on the spectrometers?" Peter asked, trying to get the conversation back on topic. Shuri, still a bit weirded out by Emma's odd statement, looked back down at the holographic tablet as she read off the readings she found down in the lab.

"Uh…right. Well, I actually found something very interesting." Shuri said as she then brought up some kind of chart that was way too science-cy for Emma to even try to understand. _Nerds_ , Emma thought to herself as she then went back to looking at the interrogation footage. "I've detected more levels of gamma radiation from the spectrometers."

"Where?" Peter asked her as he looked at the charts before his eyes widened in surprise when he read the numbers from the holographic screen. "Woah…these are higher than the ones we found in Mexico. You ran the correct the algorithm, right? The one Dr. Selvig used for basic cluster recognition?" Okay, Emma wasn't going to lie. She was a little turned on by her boyfriend saying a bunch of nerdy science stuff. Emma had no idea what he was talking about but it was hot.

"I don't make mistakes. Of course I ran the algorithm." Shuri told him as they continued to analyze the gamma radiation readings.

"So where is this, exactly?" Peter asked as he continued to stare at the screen in fascination. Shuri slowly turned to look at him.

"Here." She said softly and Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he looked from the screen back to Shuri and then back to the screen again.

"Here?" He questioned in disbelief.

"It's probably just gamma radiation from the weapons we confiscated from Hydra." Emma said as she dismissed the oddness of the situation. Shuri immediately shook her head.

"I thought so too but look at the levels of gamma radiation. It's more than what we've seen before." Shuri said as both her and Peter continued to marvel at the numbers they were seeing.

"What could this be? It can't just be the weapons." Peter told Shuri and the princess, for once, didn't really have an answer.

"I'm not sure. Do you know if Stark has a project he's working on with gamma radiation? Did Dr. Banner perhaps leave something behind?" Shuri asked Peter and the teenage boy just shook his head.

"I don't think so. This must be something else." Peter said and it was then Emma found something interesting on the screen. She had to replay the moment in the interrogation video a couple times to know for sure if she had something.

"Hey, nerds, get over here. I have something." Emma said without removing her gaze from the screen. Peter and Shuri finally looked away from the tablet to go look at the holographic screen Emma was looking at. It was then that something finally occurred to Peter.

"Wait a second…these interrogation videos must be on a secure channel. Did you hack into Stark Industries?" Peter asked her, finally realizing how weird it was that Emma was even able to look at those videos in the first place.

"Why are you so shocked? I was in Hydra for nine years." Emma informed him. "When you and Leeds were doing arts and crafts in Kindergarten, I was learning how to infiltrate government databases to bring down nations and inflict chaos."

"I just didn't think you could hack Stark Industries. How did I not know this about my girlfriend?" Peter questioned and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You sound so surprised. It's not like I'm Steve who can't even figure out how to answer his phone." Emma said sarcastically before her tone become more serious. "And I actually couldn't hack Stark Industries until a couple months ago. I told Tony to show me how in case he ever got kidnapped and I had to use the Stark Industries database to save his life."

"Really?" Peter asked in surprise and Emma smirked.

"Yeah…like I would save him if he got kidnapped. Idiot." Emma said but Peter just rolled his eyes. It was amazing how much she denied that she cared about Tony. "He actually bought it so here we are. I knew he'd be useful to me in some way."

"This is exciting." Shuri said despite the blonde's weird comment about Tony Stark. "Sort of like espionage in all those American movies Baba used to watch. Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise." Emma scoffed.

"That short little asshole wishes he was as good as me." Emma told her as her eyes remained focused on the screen.

"So what did you find?" Peter inquired curiously.

"At first, I wasn't sure. Collins really held his own against Steve in the interrogation. I thought he was a sniveling coward but I guess he's just a sniveling idiot." Emma remarked before moving on. "He was very tight lipped until he said something that captured my interest."

Emma then started to replay a clip that caught her attention earlier. It didn't seem like anything at first but something Collins said captured her attention. Peter and Shuri both leaned in closer to look at the video. They could see Emma's grandfather in the footage interrogating the Hydra agent although it was clear that Steve was getting frustrated with the man.

 _"_ _We know you know where Rumlow is. Make this easier on yourself by telling us the truth."_ Steve demanded as he glared at the pale, sickly looking man sitting in the chair in front of him.

 _"_ _What are you going to do to me, Captain? Beat me? Torture me?"_ The man questioned. _"Your psychopath of a granddaughter already did that so you'll have to do better than that."_

It was clear that the man's statement pissed Steve off as the super solider clenched his jaw but restrained himself from attacking the man. Peter knew how he felt because he also felt pissed off by the man's statement about Emma. Shuri couldn't help but stare at the man in the video in bewilderment. Not because of what he said but because of the disturbing looking scar on his forehead. A scar that looked incredibly familiar. _Hydra's symbol_ , she realized.

" _Tell us where Rumlow's hiding or maybe I'll bring her down here for round two."_ Steve threatened even though Emma knew he was just bluffing. He didn't want Emma anywhere near Agent Collins or anything to do with Hydra. Steve was keeping her in the dark but Emma wasn't surprised. He had always been that protective of her.

 _"_ _Oh, Captain, we both know you would never do that."_ Collins said mockingly. _"Nothing that would ever hurt your poor precious little viper…forgetting the fact that she's a killer. God, all that power and you let it go to waste."_

 _"_ _Where the hell is Rumlow?"_ Steve asked in a heated tone and it was obvious he wasn't messing around anymore but it was also clear that Collins wasn't exactly intimidated by Steve. The man just leaned forward in his seat with a smirk on his face.

 _"_ _Tell me why you're so adamant about finding Rumlow, Captain."_ The man asked Steve who just stared back at him. _"Is it truly because you want to end Hydra once and for all or is it for something different?Maybe it's not justice you want. Maybe it's just revenge."_

 _"_ _Where is he?"_ Steve demanded, his eyes narrowed into a glare. Emma could tell it was a struggle for Steve not to lose his temper.

 _"_ _Maybe the question you should be asking isn't_ _ **where**_ _is he but_ _ **what**_ _is he."_ Collins told Steve smugly but Steve just continued glare at him as he went on questioning him. Emma thought what Collins said was suspicious so she decided to remember it and come back to it later.

 _"_ _You know what? I might not bring Emma down here for round two but maybe I'll bring Romanoff…or Barnes."_ The man's face fell when he heard Steve's threat. Even Emma had to admit that she was surprised at how menacing and threatening her grandfather could be. That was a new one. _"They're a lot better at interrogations and they even have a bone to pick with you…especially Barnes. I'm sure you're aware of the close bond between him and Emma."_

 _"_ _I've certainly heard about it."_ Collins admitted as he swallowed hard.

 _"_ _Then you should know that he's not so pleased with the fact that Hydra's trying to place their claim on Emma. In fact, he's a little disgruntled by the whole thing."_ Steve said, the threat clear in his tone. Emma was kind of excited at the prospect of an evil Steve. He was definitely taking a page out of her book. That was for sure. Emma couldn't be more delighted.

 _"_ _Don't threaten me with the Winter Soldier."_ Collins hissed, pretending not to be afraid but it was clear that he was. _"He was in Hydra for longer than you ever knew."_

 _"_ _Well, he's not anymore."_ Steve retorted. The man just scoffed, deciding to take a shot at the captain while he still could.

 _"_ _How does it feel, Captain? How does it feel to think that you had buried Hydra all those years ago only for them to keep popping back up in your life."_ Collins said as he smirked at the blonde man. _"Not only did we kill your son, daughter-in-law, and your friend Stark but we also took your best friend and granddaughter, making them into our own weapons. How does that feel that we did all of this right under your nose?"_

 _"_ _You're not the one asking the questions here."_ Steve snapped at him and Emma frowned. She wanted to tell Steve not to lose his cool. Not to let his emotions get the better of him. This is what Collins was trying to do. He was trying to provoke him.

 _"_ _Your son and daughter-in-law never even saw it coming. They were clueless."_ Collins said, clearly taking delight in pushing Steve's buttons. _"The only ones who did see it coming sought to warn them but we took care of that long ago in a so called "accident". You'll find that accidents are a common occurrence in Hydra."_

That's when Emma ended the video clip. She had seen this part of the interrogation and knew that it didn't get much more interesting than this. Steve would only glared at the man hatefully before realizing that Collins was never going to give it up. He'd leave the room in anger while Collins would smirk in delight at having officially pissed Steve Rogers off. He might've been successful in pissing Steve off, something that wasn't hard to do in Emma's experience, but Emma was successful in getting something else.

"That last line." Emma said as she looked back at a confused and befuddled Peter and Shuri. They clearly didn't catch the unsettling remark that Collins made but Emma didn't blame them. They weren't as experienced at picking up small little details like she was. Emma liked to think that nothing escaped her notice although sometimes that wasn't true. This time, however, she did catch the telling remark Collins unknowingly made.

"What about it?" Peter questioned, clearly not picking up on the double meaning in Collins' words. He could tell that Emma caught something between the lines of what Collins said but he just didn't know what. Shuri paid close attention to the blonde, feeling more and more like she was part of some kind of spy movie.

"The only ones who did see it coming sought to warn them." Emma said as she repeated what Collins said but Peter still didn't understand. "Peter, he just told Steve that someone tried to warn my parents about Hydra."

"Yeah?" Peter questioned, still confused and Emma took a deep breath before diving deeper into an explanation. She could feel her heart racing in her chest because this was big. This was so incredibly big and she would get Peter to see how big it was too.

"This means that someone knew about Hydra years before Steve and Natasha stumbled upon it. My parents died in 2005 but to my knowledge they had no idea Hydra existed." Emma said as she deeply considered the secret that Collins unknowingly gave them. If Steve hadn't been so pissed off at the time he probably would've pick up on that line too but her grandfather's greatest weakness was his emotions. "This information means that someone somehow discovered Hydra's existence and sought to warn them like Collins said."

"Who were these people then? The people who knew about Hydra?" Peter questioned and Emma just shook her head.

"I have no clue." Emma admitted. She hated admitting that she didn't know something but it was true. She was really stumped. Who could've possibly have known about Hydra? "Hydra must've found out that someone knew about them. Collins said they took care of it and made it look like an accident."

"An accident?" Shuri asked, speaking up for the first time since watching the video. Emma only spared her a brief glance before nodding, a troubled look on her face.

"Meaning that Hydra took them out. You'll find that Hydra's really good at making hits look like accidents." Emma informed her as she kept going over that last line Collins said in her head. "That's what they did with my parents and that's what they did to Tony's parents too."

"So they never were able to warn your parents, after all." Peter determined and Emma shrugged.

"I assume not. Otherwise I probably would've never ended up in Hydra." Emma said as she then thoughtfully considered Collins' odd statement.

An accident…Hydra was good at making accidents happen. Emma knew this but for some reason the word "accident" stuck out in her mind. Accident. Her parent's death had been a so called accident which wasn't too different from Peter's parents death except that Peter's parents death was an actual accident…wait. Emma's eyes widened in realization as she began to consider something that hadn't occurred to her until that moment.

"Your parents." Emma said abruptly as she looked back at her boyfriend who just looked confused at this point.

"What about my parents?" Peter questioned and he wasn't the only one who was confused either. Shuri looked absolutely perplexed by Emma's odd thought process.

"We just found out your parents worked for the CIA, right?" Emma asked even though she knew the answer. "We also found out that at some point our parents met each other."

"Yes…where are you going with this, Emma?" Peter asked her and Emma swallowed hard before answering.

"Think about it, Peter. Your parents secretly worked for the CIA which no one apparently knew, right?" Emma inquired and Peter nodded.

"I asked Aunt May and she was just as confused as I was." Peter responded and Emma nodded before she continued to explain her theory to both Peter and Shuri. It was a new theory but Emma thought she might've been on to something.

"Right. So don't you think it's a little convenient that our parents both died a year apart from each other?" Emma said and suddenly Peter realized what she was saying. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he didn't know how to feel about this. He felt both scared and anxious at the same time. "Your parents worked for the CIA and my parents worked for Shield, Peter. They probably both carried a lot of secrets with them."

"You think their death wasn't an accident? You think Hydra might've had them killed?" Peter questioned, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Emma's gaze softened as she looked back at him, a sympathetic expression on her face as she spotted the tears welling up in his eyes. She immediately got up from her seat to move closer to him, ignoring the fact that Shuri was in the room with them. Emma immediately placed her hands in his as she looked him in the eyes.

"I think it might be a plausible theory, Peter." Emma said as gently as she could. Peter just nodded to himself as he tried to take this new information in.

"Could this not just be a conspiracy theory?" Shuri questioned as she looked from her new friend to his girlfriend. Emma looked back at the princess as she was reminded once more of the girl's presence in the room.

"There's only one way to find out." Emma said as she then glanced back at the holographic screen. "McConaughey?"

"Yes, Miss Rogers?" The AI system responded as Emma took a deep breath before speaking. She cast another concerned look in Peter's direction before returning her attention to the task at hand. If she was right then this whole thing could be a lot bigger than she ever thought.

"Could you look at the report of the plane crash involving Peter's parents?" Emma asked hesitantly. Peter nodded at her that it was okay but she still felt hesitant over the whole thing. In all honesty Peter just wanted to find out if this was true. If his parents' death hadn't actually been a freak accident but an assassination.

"Of course." McConaughey said before the AI system started pulling up various articles involving the plane crash. The three teenagers stared up at the articles upon articles of information.

"It says here that the plane crash was due to engine failure." Shuri pointed out but Emma wasn't buying that.

"Hydra has connections everywhere. They're masters at covering things up. Someone could've sabotaged the plane or maybe a corrupt TSA agent let a suicide bomber through. " Emma told her as she continued stare up at the screen. Peter just looked at the screen silently, not knowing how to feel or react. He felt overwhelmed by everything but he soon found comfort in Emma as she silently slipped her hand into his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "McConaughey, cross reference all the data from these articles and see if it matches up with any files Romanoff leaked during Hydragate three years ago."

"Right away, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her as he went to work. Peter and Shuri glanced over at her curiously so Emma began to explain her actions to them.

"A lot of data was leaked courtesy of Natasha after the first fall of Hydra three years ago." Emma informed them as they listened to her intently. "There's still a lot of Hydra files floating around out there. By cross referencing all the files on the plane crash with Hydra files we might be able to find the link that will piece this thing all together."

"This is insane." Shuri said excitedly as she stared at the blonde in wonder. "You're an actual spy…like a real spy. I mean, my brother's girlfriend Nakia is technically a spy but you really take it to the next level."

"Um…thank you?" Emma said, not sure if Shuri was complimenting her or not.

"It's a compliment." Shuri said reassuringly and despite the situation at hand, Peter allowed himself to feel proud of his girlfriend. He was also trying to distract himself from the thought of his parents. The last thing Peter wanted to believe was that his parents' death wasn't an accident. He didn't even want to think of the possibility their death was caused by Hydra. He _couldn't_ think of that right now.

"Emma's really talented at spy stuff. The best, really." Peter told Shuri and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how much of a dork her boyfriend could be.

"Anyways…" Emma said loudly as she tried to get Peter and Shuri to focus on the task at hand. "The results should be up here momentarily." Emma was right too. It only took a moment before the results of the search came up on the screen.

"There's a match." Emma said as her eyes focused on the screen before her. Sure enough, McConaughey came up with a match between reference points. Out of all the information collected from the plane crash and Hydra's old data files, there was one connection. Just one but it was enough to strike suspicion in both Emma and Peter.

"Who is that?" Peter questioned as he also looked at the screen. Emma just shook her head as she looked at the picture of a man.

"William Huntington. " McConaughey told them. "He worked as an aide to Senator Leonard Stern from 2002 to his death in 2004 when he died in the plane crash."

"Senator Stern was a known member of Hydra." Emma said quietly as Peter and Shuri looked back up at her. "I never met him personally but I know he took a lot of bribes from Hydra. He helped Hydra maintain their discretion and he got a paycheck in return."

"It makes sense that this man also worked for Hydra since he worked closely with Senator Stern." Shuri observed. Emma just shook her head as she looked at the screen. The man displayed on the screen wasn't very old. He looked to be in his mid twenties with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Emma didn't know what he was doing in Hydra but she supposed everyone had their reasons. Emma was there because she was kidnapped but she stayed because she wanted to survive. Other people were there because they genuinely believed in Hydra's cause for whatever insane reason.

"He's on file in Hydra's data banks." Emma noted as she pointed at the screen. The file McConaughey was currently showing them was a file that documented all the Hydra agents and spies living in the US. Huntington was seemingly one of the many government spies, his name not too far down from Senator Stern's name.

"So does this mean…" Peter trailed off as he watched the screen in horror. He hadn't really wanted to believe it before. It was too difficult for Peter to even begin to process but he could no longer deny the evidence as he stared up at the screen. The stoic expression fell off Emma's face at Peter's quiet voice. A look full of sympathy and concern came over her face as she turned back to him. She didn't want this to be true either. She wanted to be wrong about this but it didn't seem like she had the luxury of being wrong in this circumstance.

"This means that it wasn't engine failure that caused the plane to crash, Peter." Emma said as gently as possible. Usually she wouldn't be so gentle about something like this. She'd be as blunt as possible but this wasn't just anyone. This was _Peter_. "It's too much of a coincidence. Your parents were CIA agents and they happened to be on the same plane as a Hydra spy when it crashed."

"Uncle Ben and Aunt May always said they were in a rush when they left." Peter said as he recalled one of the many times his aunt and uncle talked to him about his parents death. He sounded slightly out of it as he spoke, still in a state of shock from this piece of news. "They didn't even tell them where they were going. Something about visiting my mom's family."

"They must've known something." Emma said thoughtfully as she considered everything they learned so far. "They must've stumbled upon something in a mission and realized that something was amiss."

"Maria said that they weren't field agents. Dad was a scientist and mom was a data analyst." Peter tried to tell her but he knew Emma was right deep down. He knew that this was too big of a coincidence for it not to be Hydra.

"They had to of known something. Something that no one, including your uncle or May, would've known about. They kept their jobs secret for a reason." Emma told him as she tried to think of a way they could learn more about this. They now knew that Peter's parents death more than likely wasn't an accident but they still didn't know what they had died for. Emma just knew that his parents must've known something. There was no other explanation.

"How do we find out what Peter's parents knew? They can no longer answer that question themselves." Shuri said, glancing between Emma and Peter. Emma took a deep breath before answering, her eyes cautiously glancing over Peter in concern. He had gone very quiet since this whole revelation came up and Emma knew he obviously had a lot on his mind. She didn't know what he was thinking and that scared her.

"Maybe they left something behind." Emma said as she finally glanced over from Peter and locked eyes with Shuri. Peter also snapped out of whatever trance like state he was in to look at Emma.

"Like what?" Shuri questioned and Emma sighed.

"Think about it. If I had a lot of dangerous intel on my hands and if I was getting on a plane then I would know the risks." Emma said seriously which caused Peter's eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

"What are you saying, exactly?" Peter questioned and Emma didn't hesitate in answering him.

"I'm just saying that maybe your parents had an idea about what they were getting into. Maybe they left something behind in case something ever…happened." Emma finally told him and she fell silent as she allowed both Shuri and Peter to have time to process that information.

"Where would they have left something like that?" Peter questioned in confusion. "Ben and May took me in the second the plane crash happened. I think I lived in an apartment with my parents before but that was years ago." Emma swallowed hard as she looked back at him.

"Does May have any of your mom and dad's things at your apartment?" Emma asked him, her gaze gentle as he locked eyes with her. Peter nodded slowly.

"Uh…yeah. I-I mean that Aunt May kept some things of theirs for me. She thought I might want them someday." Peter explained and Emma nodded as she took this in.

"So you're saying that there could be a box of their things sitting somewhere in your apartment?" Emma questioned carefully, knowing that Peter was still in a delicate state of mind. He was answering her questions but she knew this whole conversation was taking a toll on him. Peter had just learned something both startling and shocking. She was sure that this was incredibly hard for him and she knew she was going to need to talk to him about this later. When they were alone…just to make sure he was okay although she doubted that he was really okay.

"Yes. Somewhere." Peter confirmed and Emma nodded to herself once more. A more determined look then crossed her face when she realized what they needed to do. She was positive that Peter's parents knew something and there was only one way to find out what that something was.

"We need to go to your apartment." Emma said suddenly and both Peter and Shuri looked up at her in surprise.

"What?" Shuri questioned but Emma didn't look fazed.

"We need to go to your apartment, Peter. We need to look through all the things your parents left behind." Emma said as she took command over the situation. It was clear that she needed to because Peter was taken back by the news of the death of his parents. Not that she blamed him. "There might be something there that could give us more insight into this thing with Rumlow. There's no telling what they knew."

"Do you mean that we should get the others to go to the apartment when they get back?" Peter inquired and he had to admit Emma had a point about his parents' things. He had never gone through their things before. Peter wasn't sure why. He barely remembered them. Their faces were blurry to him at best so maybe he didn't feel that connection with them. Or maybe he was just afraid that he would find something out about them that would ruin the picture he had in his mind. Either way, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice anymore.

"No. We need to go now." Emma said as she shook her head. She knew it was a crazy idea with Hydra on the loose out there and she also promised Steve that she wouldn't do anything crazy but she didn't have many options right now. This was an urgent matter. "We can't be wasting anymore time. We just can't. Who knows when Hydra's going to attack next."

"You're saying that we should go alone?" Peter asked incredulously and Emma moved closer to him, her gaze unwavering.

"I believe that your parents left something for someone to find. Where else would they leave that something to find?" Emma explained to Peter. "They wanted to warn my parents. You heard Collins. Your parents left something for my parents to find and now they're all dead. The only people who can find it is us."

"But how are we going to go with your father and everyone else here?" Peter asked her seriously and Emma was just relieved that he was agreeing to her plan. It's not like they were doing anything completely dangerous. Emma only planned on them searching his apartment for something his parents left behind. Although…there was always a danger when it came to Hydra. "McConaughey will rat us out the first step we take outside the compound." Emma realized he had a point.

"Tony only showed me how to hack into the Stark Industries database here at the compound. He never showed me how to hack into the security system." Emma said as she tried to think of a way to bypass the security system. "I guess he's not _that_ stupid."

"I might be able to." Shuri said in a small voice. Emma and Peter both collectively looked back at her. Shuri shifted her weight onto her other foot under their gaze. "I created a lot of the security measures back home in Wakanda. I'm not sure but I don't think the security system here is quite as advanced as the one back home. If it was then Hydra never would've broken in." The princess then smirked before adding a snarky comment.

"If Mr. Stark is nice to me then maybe I'll help him upgrade his _dated_ security system." Shuri said almost smugly and maybe, just maybe, Emma could like this girl. She sure made Tony look like an idiot which was amusing to Emma.

"You really think so?" Peter inquired before frowning. "I don't know if we could ask you to do that, Shuri. I don't want you to get into any trouble because of-" Emma then interrupted her boyfriend.

"Let's not do anything hasty." Emma told Peter before looking back at Shuri. Shuri swallowed hard as the blonde looked at her in an almost calculating way. It unnerved her the way the girl looked at her…almost like the girl was looking _through_ her instead of _at_ her. "What do you want?"

"What?" Shuri questioned in confusion but Emma was unfazed by her confusion.

"I know you're not doing this free. No one does anything for free so I'll clarify." Emma said as she crossed her arms and leaned in closer to the princess. Shuri was tempted to take a step back but she held her ground instead. She was a princess of Wakanda, daughter of King T'Chaka, and it didn't matter if she was standing mere inches away from the famous Viper Assassin. Shuri wasn't going to let herself be afraid. "What. Do. You. Want?" Peter wanted to scold Emma for being so rude to Shuri but the princess didn't let him step in. She held her ground and spoke on her own behalf.

"I just want to help." Shuri admitted as Emma patiently and curiously listened to her. "My brother is the Black Panther and one of most honorable and respected kings that Wakanda's ever had. Okoye is one of the fiercest warriors that's ever graced Wakanda. I just want to do my part."

Emma could kind of understand where Shuri was coming from. While her grandfather was no king, Emma still came from a large family of people who she wasn't sure she could ever make proud. Her grandparents, parents, and maybe even Tony…her godfather. All of them were notorious do-gooders and that was a lot to live up to. She nodded as she reluctantly caved in.

"Okay." Emma said and Shuri looked relieved but not before the serious look on Emma's face morphed into a knowing one. "What else do you want?"

"Huh?" Shuri questioned and Emma shrugged.

"What else is it?" Emma asked her. "Come on. I'm not stupid. Just tell us." Shuri sighed heavily before also divulging the one thing she had been working up the courage into asking.

"I want to come with you guys to the apartment. T'Challa and Okoye never let me go anywhere. I was lucky they even let me come here." Shuri said honestly, seeming slightly annoyed and frustrated by the fact that her brother never let her do anything. Emma smirked.

"So the princess wants to go for a ride along?" Emma said teasingly but Peter didn't look as amused by this. He looked very worried.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Peter said as he frantically looked between his girlfriend and new friend. "This is already risky enough."

"We're not heading into a fight, Peter. Let her come." Emma said without her eyes leaving Shuri. "Besides…there's no other way we can get out of here without someone bypassing the security system." Peter sighed when he realized she was right.

"Fine. I guess you can come but you can't leave Emma or I's side. Okay?" Peter told Shuri who only rolled her eyes at him.

"You sound just like my brother." Shuri told him before she took a seat in the chair Emma was previously sitting in at the conference table. It was time to get to work on that security system although Shuri didn't think it would take her long to hack into it. Mr. Stark's technology was child's play to her.

"Careful, Peter. You're starting to get as boring and lame as Steve." Emma teased her boyfriend who glared at her. He then crossed his arms as a more serious look came across his face.

"How are we even going to get back into the city? It'll take us a while to get back there." Peter told Emma as they watched Shuri get to work. She seemed too focused on the task at hand to pay them any attention at that point.

"It'll take a couple hours before we even get into the city." Emma told him, already formulating a plan in her head. "We'll take my car. If I really push the speed limit we can cut the travel time in half."

"Breaking the law?" Peter questioned in amusement at her remark about pushing the speed limit. Emma just smirked at him.

"Sometimes you have to break a couple laws to save some lives." Emma told him which was way different logic than what Peter typically thought with. That was the difference between him and Emma. Emma didn't mind breaking laws, never giving the law too much thought, while Peter tended to be more hesitant over the matter.

"Don't you mean that sometimes you've gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette?" Peter asked her with an amused look on his face. Emma's smirk was unwavering.

"No." She deadpanned.

"Well, let's try and not break too many laws today." Peter tried to tell her but he could tell by the mischievous look on her face that she wasn't going to listen. Like always.

"Whatever you say, Spider-Twerp." Emma teased and Peter just shook his head at her in amusement.

"It's also probably going to take a while for us to go through the entire apartment." Peter told her and Emma nodded in response. "I don't know if we'll have enough time before the others realize that we're not here."

"They're probably going to realize it sooner or later." Emma replied, wanting to make Peter know that they more than likely were going to get into trouble for this. "We just need a head start. Hopefully Shuri will give us that head start."

"It's just going to take a while. Aunt May will be at work but I'm not sure if we'll be done by the time she gets home." Peter told her and Emma nodded.

"We might need a little help." Emma said knowingly and Peter immediately caught her meaning.

"Ned and Michelle?" He asked and Emma gave him a short nod.

"I didn't want to involve them in this mess but we need to find whatever it is your parents left behind before the others stop us…or before we catch any unwanted attention." Emma told Peter seriously. "I don't think it's wise for us to spend too long away from the compound."

"I agree." Peter replied even though he was feeling guilty already at the fact that he would be disobeying Emma's grandfather. He already promised the man that he wouldn't let Emma go running off but here he was running off _with_ her. This was needed. He knew that. His parents died for something and Peter deserved to know why. He deserved answers.

"I'll text Michelle. You text Ned." Emma told him and Peter nodded in agreement but before they could pull out their phones, Shuri stopped them. The Wakandan princess turned back around to face them with an excited look on her face.

"I was able to bypass the security system. It didn't take as long as I thought." Shuri said after frowning as a thought popped into her head. "Which really makes me concerned for the state of Mr. Stark's security system."

"How long do we have?" Emma asked.

"Three hours before the security system reboots and the AI system informs the others of our absence." Shuri told them formally. "That is unless they don't go looking for us already although I don't think they will. Okoye thinks I'm in the lab."

"My father will assume that I want some space. I think the coast is clear." Emma said in response before turning to look at Peter. He swallowed hard before nodding once.

"Let's go then."

* * *

"Steve, you and Nat are in the clear." Sam said through the earpiece as Steve and Natasha approached the mansion in Mexico City from the south side while T'Challa and Maria approached the mansion from the north side. The Avengers had just arrived at the perimeter of the mansion after a short flight on the Quinjet. It was tough to say that the Quinjet ride had been quite awkward. Tony and Steve locked inside a confined space together was no easy task. There was a lot of awkward silences filled with small talk from their teammates but it was difficult to ignore the elephant in the room. An elephant that Steve and Tony still hadn't really addressed.

"T'Challa, you guys are in the clear too." Rhodey said through the earpiece as he flew alongside Sam. Tony and Vision were up in the sky too as they surveyed the mansion to make sure everything was safe. So far, so good. There didn't seem to be hardly any security at Diego Ugalde's mansion. It wasn't completely surprising for a movie actor to not have guards flooding the place. He wasn't Beyonce or anything but everyone still expected there to be a ton of security. Hydra was obviously stashing some of their weapons at this place, after all.

Steve and Natasha halted as they rounded one of the corners of the mansion. The front door was just yards away and they knew once they broke the door down then it was nothing but gunfire from there on. They needed to be prepared which Steve was sure was on T'Challa and Maria's mind as well as they approached the back door of the mansion. Natasha already had her gun out as her body tensed and waited for the signal.

"I'm seeing four hostiles positioned near the front door. Armed with AR-15's." Tony said as Friday picked up on the heat signatures within the mansion. "Be ready when you kick down that front door, Cap."

"There's two guys at the back entrance too. Also armed." Rhodey informed T'Challa and Maria.

"Got it." Steve said through the earpiece as he and Natasha quietly made their way closer to the front door.

"We hear you loud and clear, Rhodes." Maria also said through the earpiece. Natasha looked back at Steve with a stoic expression on her face.

"On your signal, Rogers." Natasha told him and Steve gave her a short nod. A more serious and determined look crossed the captain's face as he went into, what many would call "Captain Mode". The super soldier immediately kicked the door down without much effort but his minimal effort seemed to do the trick.

The door went flying off it's hinges from Steve's super strength and managed to hit one of the guards head on, sending the guard down to the floor under the weight of the guards on the other side of the door didn't hesitate to step into action as they began shooting at Steve and Natasha.

Steve held out the shield in front of Natasha and himself. Natasha fired her glock at one of the men, hitting him without missing, and Steve immediately threw his shield, in a Frisbee like manner, at one of the other men who immediately got knocked to the ground.

The shield had just managed to come back to Steve as the remaining guard in the foyer of the mansion raised his gun up to shoot Steve. Steve caught the shield midair and didn't waste any time in defending himself against the man's impending attack. He dodged a bullet with the shield before catching the man off guard and landing one swift punch to the man's jaw which instantly knocked the guard out cold.

Steve didn't bother putting his shield away after that. There was no telling how many more guards were in the mansion. They needed to be ready for anything. Natasha's stance didn't change either as she walked alongside Steve while they cautiously made their way past the front of the mansion.

"Did you get hit?" Steve asked the platinum blonde haired woman quietly. Natasha shook her head.

"Nope. You?" She inquired and Steve also shook his head before speaking into his earpiece to alert the others in the sky of their status.

"Four guards down. The south side of the mansion is clear." Steve told the others before he took a short amount of time to observe his surroundings. The mansion was large and extravagant as was expected from a famous movie star like Diego Ugalde but it was perhaps the most lavish place Steve had ever seen. It was even more extravagant and ridiculous looking than any of the places Tony owned.

While Tony had his fair share of expensive lodgings like the compound, his previously owned tower in the city, and his now destroyed mansion in Malibu, none of them were quite like this mansion. Tony's lodgings were always high tech and somewhat modern looking but this mansion was…gaudy with all the sculptures and art work adorning the walls. The colors were bright and blinding. The mansion looked something more like the Palace of Versailles than anything Steve had seen before. Not to mention the numerous portraits Ugalde had painted of himself that also adorned almost every wall within the place.

"Two guards down near the back entrance." The Wakandan king informed them as he finally responded to them. "North side is clear."

"I'm getting heat signatures upstairs." Rhodey told them. "They must've heard you because they're coming your way."

"Five guys. All armed." Tony added.

"What's the plan, Cap?" Natasha asked him and it didn't take long for Steve to formulate a plan. This was his calling, after all, and despite the situation, Steve even felt a bit relieved to be back as team leader. He knew this was probably only a temporary thing but still. It was nice to have his old team back even if it was only for a short while.

"The staircase is located in the west wing of the mansion." Steve told her as well as the rest of his teammates through the earpiece. "I say we approach the staircase from our side while T'Challa and Maria approach the staircase from their side. An ambush."

"Sounds great, Cap." Maria told Steve. "We'll see you in a few seconds."

"Good." Steve replied before he and Natasha headed towards the west wing of the mansion. They moved slowly and discreetly as they maneuvered through the now quiet mansion. Steve knew they needed to be careful. They had incoming and only time would tell when the rest of Ugalde's guards decided to attack. Tony and Rhodey mentioned that the men were descending down the stairs so Steve remained focused in the moment. He knew there wasn't much time before a fight broke out again.

Natasha and Steve then ducked behind a couple of marble pillars as they finally reached the grand and lavish looking staircase. Steve peeked his head around the corner of the pillar as he assessed the situation. He spotted T'Challa and Maria rounding the corner on the opposite side of the staircase but Steve motioned for them to stop when he noticed the guards descending the staircase. He quickly formulated a more elaborate plan as the guards started to reach the bottom of the staircase.

"Nat and I will take the three on the far left. You take care of the rest." Steve whispered into the earpiece. He only got a brief nod from both T'Challa and Maria, indicating that they had received his message. The signal for the ambush seemed to come in the form of Steve throwing his shield in the same Frisbee like manner as before. The shield hit one of the men, sending him to the ground, and then it was all out war.

Taking down five low level guards was an easy task for the heroes. It could've been done even sooner had Tony, Rhodey, Sam, and Vision joined them on the ground but that was unnecessary. Steve, Natasha, Maria, and T'Challa were more than enough to ambush these guards.

One of the guards raised his arm to shoot at the direction the shield had come from but T'Challa had already ambushed the man before he could fire the weapon. The Wakandan king took the man down with minimal effort and Maria shot the other man who tried raising his weapon as well.

Natasha ran at one of the other guards and threw one of her widow bites at the unsuspecting guard. The widow bite immediately shocked him with electrical currents and sent him falling to the ground. Steve took care of the remaining guard as he swiftly dodged one of the man's bullets and landed a harsh kick to the man's stomach, sending the man flying into one of the walls before being knocked out cold.

All four of them stood amongst either the dead or knocked out bodies of the guards. That was almost too easy. Steve wondered why Hydra wouldn't give more guards to Ugalde who was obviously stashing Hydra's weapons within the mansion. It was all so strange. Something didn't seem right. Steve didn't know what didn't feel right but he was sure something was off about all this.

"Are there any more hostiles?" Steve said into the earpiece.

"That's a negative, Cap." Rhodey replied right away. "I'm getting a couple heat signatures from one of the rooms upstairs but I'm not detecting any weapons."

"It's probably Ugalde." Sam added and Steve just nodded as he took in this information before turning to face the others.

"We'll go in then." Steve said as he then gave them a more serious look. "Don't let your guard down. Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing."

"I agree." T'Challa told him and Maria gave Steve a questioning look.

"In the mean time we should have Stark, Rhodes, Wilson, and Vision do a sweep of the place for the weapons. Something tells me Ugalde might not be forthcoming with the information." Maria told Steve and the super soldier nodded in agreement before speaking into the earpiece once more.

"Maria's right. You four look for the weapons while we retrieve Ugalde." Steve said, taking command of the situation once more.

"On it, Cap." Rhodey told him as he and the others presumably flew from their collective spots in the sky to investigate the mansion. Natasha raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Ugalde's probably hidden the weapons really well in this place, Steve." Natasha told him logically. "You want me to lean on him a little bit?" Steve took a deep breath before responding.

"Only if you have to." Steve said, giving her his permission to use more force if necessary. Natasha nodded, a satisfied look on her face as she, Steve, T'Challa, and Maria started making their way up the stairs.

The upstairs portion of the mansion was just as nice as the downstairs portion. Every section of the mansion seemed artfully designed and decorated. Probably by the country's leading interior designers but Steve really wouldn't know anything about that. He was still having a hard time believing that a famous actor was caught up in all of this. Although…he had to admit it was also pretty smart on Hydra's part to involve an actor. No one suspected a famous actor. Maybe it was even kind of ingenious to make a Hollywood actor a weapons dealer.

"The door to your left." Rhodey said into the earpiece as they neared one of the bedrooms in the middle of the long hallway. Supposedly the heat signatures were coming from that room in particular. Steve only spared his teammates a short glance before he braced himself and then kicked the door open. Just like the front door downstairs, the force behind Steve's kick managed to send the door flying off it's hinges. A small yelp could be heard through the room as Steve, Natasha, T'Challa, and Maria infiltrated the large and lavish looking bedroom. Steve's eyes immediately darted over to a massive walk-in closet inside the room. The door was closed but Steve knew what he heard.

They didn't waste any time before heading over to the closet, ignoring the rest of the room. It was obvious where Diego Uglade, the cowardly little weasel, was hiding. Steve narrowed his eyes as he kicked open that door as well. Diego, along with a couple women in the room, screamed in fright at the abrupt and violent action. Steve and the others didn't hesitate in fixing their weapons on the people hiding inside the closet.

Diego Ugalde was a handsome enough man, his looks which probably won him dozens of parts in his life time, with flashy and designer level fashion tastes. People called him the Mexican George Clooney. However, he didn't look to be all smiles like all those magazines would have you believe. Right now he looked scared out of his mind as he sat in a corner, almost curled up into a ball, while he was huddled around four beautiful and scantily clad women who looked just as frightened. Steve was guessing that they must've interrupted something.

"Get off the floor." Steve practically growled as he stomped his way into the walk-in closet. Diego Ugalde's eyes flashed with fright as he frantically shook his head.

"No hablo ingles!" Diego practically cried and Maria scoffed.

"Yeah, right. I saw that movie he did with Matt Damon." She said in annoyance before she turned and glared at the man. "You speak English more than well."

"Get. Off. The. Floor." Steve repeated, his glare furious as he looked down at the man. It was enough to frighten even the bravest of individuals. Natasha thought he looked a lot like Emma in that moment.

"I-I don't know what you want." Diego stuttered as he quickly did what Steve asked and stood up from the floor. Steve's glare was unwavering.

"Maria, take Mr. Ugalde's companions out of the room." Steve said quietly, without looking away from Diego. Maria just nodded as she gestured for the women to get up from the floor. The scared bunch of women wasted no time in following Maria out of the room. Steve waited until Maria and the women left before he started his questioning. The Black Panther and Black Widow positioned on either side of Captain America was a very chilling sight to be seen. Diego gulped as he backed himself up against the wall.

"Where are the weapons?" Steve asked silently and he really hoped the guy answered him at this point because Steve was starting to think his patience was running out. Especially considering the fact that Emma was involved in this.

"W-What weapons?" Diego questioned, playing dumb. Steve stormed over to the man and only stopped inches in front of him.

"Don't play games. We know the weapons are here. Tell us where." Steve demanded.

"Come on, man. They'll kill me if I tell you." Diego whined and Steve growled in frustration. The super soldier hit the wall behind Diego in anger causing the man to whimper.

"If you don't tell us where then you'll be wishing you were back in Hydra's company _._ " Steve threatened and Natasha was surprised by the dark look on Steve's face. She supposed she should've known. This was about Emma, after all. Steve always tended to act protective over the young girl. Everyone did but especially Steve since Emma was all he really had left. He loved her more than life itself and Natasha knew Steve was still hurting from the news of Emma's rape. Steve didn't talk much about it, no one did, but Natasha knew that he had a lot of pain and guilt pent up inside him.

"You wouldn't do that. You're Captain America." Diego spluttered, laughing nervously as he did so.

"There's a lot of things I wouldn't do up until now but Hydra's taken a lot from me. I'm done playing nice." Steve said in the same dark and threatening tone. "So why don't you test me if you're feeling so brave?" Diego seemed to consider this for a moment but there was something in Steve's eyes that convinced him to not push his luck. It was obvious Steve Rogers wasn't in the mood for games.

"If I told you where they were could you promise me safety from Hydra? Protection?" Diego asked quietly with a hopeful look in his eyes. Steve raised his eyebrows at the short man. It really didn't take much for him to turn from Hydra now, did it?

"I can promise you a cell inside Raft." Steve retorted and Diego seemed to really consider that for a moment. He considered it because it was either a prison cell or being killed by Hydra. Sure, Diego would have to say goodbye to his lavish lifestyle but Diego also didn't want to die. Diego considered himself to be a survivor that way. If he got a prison cell inside Raft then at least he'd be free from Hydra's fury. Unlike a lot of Hydra fools, Diego wasn't willing to die for their cause. His business with Hydra was just money to him.

"They're in the basement." Diego told Steve. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Really? In plain sight?" Natasha questioned and the actor shook his head.

"They're hidden within the walls of the house. They've never really been used. Not for some time, at least." Diego said as he spilled everything without hesitation. "Hydra only gave me a small supply to keep here. They thought they would be safe here."

"Who thought they would be safe here?" Steve asked him and Diego swallowed hard before answering.

"Alexander Pierce." He finally said. Both Steve and Natasha exchanged a look before returning their attention to Diego. "He's the one who recruited me too."

"Do you know how many weapons are left?" Steve asked him, a serious look in his eyes as he dug for information. However, he was disappointed when Diego shook his head although who knew if this man was even telling the truth half the time.

"Besides the ones here and the ones confiscated in Tanzania? No. I don't know." Diego said honestly as he tried to get on their good side. "I was only in charge of these ones."

"So there's more?" T'Challa questioned, speaking for the first time in the interrogation. Diego nodded.

"There's a lot more. Rumlow keeps them with him. Wherever he goes, the weapons go." Diego said and Steve nostrils flared in anger at Rumlow's name. He clenched his jaw before responding to Diego.

"And where is Rumlow?" Steve asked him and Diego could tell there was no more dancing around the subject of Rumlow. He could see that this was more than just saving humanity for the captain. This was personal. Diego knew why too. He knew what Rumlow had done to the captain's granddaughter. Everyone knew about what Rumlow did at Hydra. The man had a weird and unsettling obsession with the former assassin. It wasn't news to Diego.

"Hydra Headquarters." Diego said quietly and T'Challa furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"And where is that?" T'Challa questioned and Diego shook his head before locking eyes with Steve.

"I meant that he's at the original Hydra Headquarters…in the Swiss Alps." Diego said quietly and Steve's eyes widened, betraying his shock. Natasha turned to look at Steve because she knew why this was surprising news. Diego was talking about the original Hydra Headquarters. The same one Steve, the Howling Commandos, and even Peggy Carter infiltrated all those years ago during the second world war. The same one he fought the Red Skull in before Steve was forced to stop him from inflicting death and chaos upon the entire world…right before Steve crashed the Valkyrie into the ocean and vanished for the next seventy years where he woke up to the love of his life having moved on with her life, a dead son, and a granddaughter who had been tortured and made into a weapon. It was the place where his life had taken a very, very bad turn.

"How is that possible? That base was destroyed years ago." Natasha said, speaking when Steve seemed otherwise occupied with his thoughts.

"Hydra started rebuilding it again in the nineties. Pierce wanted to commemorate Johann Schmidt's devotion to Hydra with the base." Diego explained and Steve must've clenched and unclenched his fists several times before he finally collected his thoughts and composed himself. He swallowed hard before looking back at Diego.

"T'Challa would you please take Ugalde to the Quinjet?" Steve asked quietly. T'Challa just nodded before he did as the captain requested. He could tell Steve needed a moment to himself.

"Of course, Steve." T'Challa said to the troubled looking man before roughly grabbing Diego and shoving him forward. The actor glared at the king.

"Hey, watch it! I already gave myself up." Diego told T'Challa heatedly but he went ignored as T'Challa continued to roughly push the man out of the room until they were both gone from the closet. Natasha turned to Steve, the moment they were alone, with a concerned look on her face.

"Where are you, Steve?" Natasha asked him worriedly as she tried to assess what emotional state her friend was in. Steve just shook his head as he looked at her.

"It's exactly where it all started, Nat." Steve told her, sounding highly disturbed by what he just learned. "I've somehow gone into a complete circle. It's history repeating itself."

"Rumlow's doing this on purpose. He chose that base because he knows what it means to you." Natasha told him, trying to get him to calm down but Steve wasn't listening at this point.

"That was the day I lost everything. Peggy and Steven." Steve said softly as his blue eyes filled with unshed tears and it was clear he was somewhere else…somewhere deep in his thoughts and regrets. "I could've had a nice life after the war with Peggy and our son. Maybe things could've turned out better." Steve only briefly paused before he continued.

"Maybe Steven wouldn't have died and maybe Emma wouldn't have ended up in Hydra. She could've been happy and innocent from this kind of world. Maybe she wouldn't have been…" Steve trailed off as he tried to force himself away from darker thoughts. The memory of Emma's face full of pain and hurt, her cheeks wet with tears as she cried, when she told him the very same secret she had been hiding all these years was a hard memory to push away. Steve shut his eyes as he blinked away the tears.

"Maybe she'd have both her parents and maybe she'd be more worried about her chemistry final rather than Hydra." Natasha said as she crossed her arms and fixed Steve with a hardened gaze. "It still doesn't make a difference. It's already been done and we're here now. We're here to make sure that Hydra stays dead this time and we're here to make sure Emma never falls into their or Rumlow's hands ever again."

"But-" Steve started to say but Natasha just interrupted him.

"We can't undo what's already been done. Yes, something very bad happened to Emma and maybe if you hadn't crashed that plane in the ocean things might've turned out differently." Natasha paused very briefly as she gave Steve her very honest opinion. "But you still can't change what happened, Steve. We can't worry about the past anymore. We've got to focus on the future. Emma's future."

"What we do now is the only thing that can fix her future. Having these regrets and guilt filled thoughts about the past won't do that for her." Natasha said as she finally wrapped up her pep talk. Steve swallowed hard before nodding.

"I know. You're right." Steve said as he smiled at Natasha but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're always right, Nat." Natasha smirked at him but she was just glad that she managed to get him to stop having those thoughts.

"I know I am." Natasha said teasingly before a more serious look crossed her face. There was obviously a lot they were still processing from that interrogation. There was a lot of new information they needed to take in account and address. "So…what's going to happen next?" The smile fell off Steve's face as he sighed tiredly.

"We're going to need to return to the compound and formulate a new place to infiltrate Hydra Headquarters. I also need to see if we can find some old blueprints of the place." Steve told her and Natasha nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." She replied as they began to leave the walk-in closet. There was definitely a lot of planning they needed to do if they were going infiltrate Hydra Headquarters. There was no telling how many people were at the base and there was also no telling how many weapons Rumlow had at the base either. Maybe another interrogation with Diego would tell them everything they needed to know.

"Cap, we've got those weapons." Tony said through the earpiece. "George Clooney here really seems to have quite the stash. I'm talking about a huge disturbing amount of sex tapes and drugs."

"Good. We've got Ugalde." Steve told him, ignoring the comment about sex tapes and drugs because it was just Tony being Tony. It was so easy to forget all the tension between them in the midst of a mission but Steve was sure they would be going back to the way they were before as soon as they got back on that Quinjet. Things were awkward to say the least. "We're heading back to the Quinjet."

"See you there." Tony replied before cutting out. Steve immediately noticed that he had Natasha's attention as he turned to look at her.

"It's easy, isn't it?" Natasha inquired and Steve didn't know what she meant at first. Not until she said the next thing. "To forget everything that happened since the airport. It's almost like how it was before."

"Yes, it is." Steve agreed and Natasha then turned to look straight ahead of them as they walked down the lengthy upstairs hallway of the mansion.

"How long do you think that's going to last?" She asked him but she didn't say it cynically. No, Natasha almost seemed thoughtful. Steve just swallowed hard as he averted his gaze from her face.

"I don't know."

* * *

 **So here's a response to the reviews. There's a lot so I'm not going to answer every single one of them but I have read them all and thank you so much. You guys are the best.  
**

 **artemis7448: I'm so jealous that you got to see the Aces. I love them so much. Hopefully they go on a tour of their own soon enough so I can see them.**

 **Purplestan: Darcy's weirdly the wise one in this story. I just love her so much. Weirdly enough, someone on a different website I posted this on actually complained about her being in this story. It was so weird. Well, it wasn't so much that she was in the story but it was how she was in it since Darcy and Jane's never interacted with any of the Avengers in movies. I mean, this is fanfiction which is why I didn't understand the complaint. I included a bit of fluff in the beginning of this chapter but I can't promise there will be much more fluff. Not right now, at least. There will be moments here and there but not fluff filled chapters.**

 **glagla60800: Steve Martin's super famous here. He's probably one of my favorite comedians ever. The guy's just naturally funny and never has to try too hard to be funny. I kind of miss his kind of comedy which is really absent in an age of Seth Rogen kind of humor. He's a national treasure here in the states.**

 **Haha. I don't think I'll do the Avengers calendar because it doesn't fit the tone of the story although it would really be funny. I just wrote that as part of Darcy's weird sense of humor. Michelle and Ned will be meeting the Avengers kind of soon but I can also say for sure that they'll be in the next chapter. It's been a while since they were in the story but I just figured that Peter and Emma wouldn't involve them in this mess since it would be unnecessary and they also don't want them getting hurt. It's kind of necessary now though.**

 **Peter has been talking to May on the phone but it was just safer for her to be back home in Queens and it was safer for Peter to be at the compound during all this Hydra business. I haven't decided yet if she'll show up before this Rumlow thing is resolved. I'm still debating that.**

 **emmamagnetised: I love Parks and Rec so much. I'm not going to lie. Some of Emma's humor is partially inspired by April Ludgate's humor. April and Ron Swanson are two of my favorite TV show characters of all time. And Steve Martin can cure anything. That man could probably bring families together.**

 **Athena05: I'm not really going to focus on Bucky and Darcy. It's still a thing but it'll just be happening in the background but they do kind of have a certain chemistry in this story.**

 **I think I might've heard of that song but it's been a while. I'm from Texas so I grew up listening to a lot of country music but I don't listen to country music that much anymore. Mainly just nineties country music although I've always loved Carrie Underwood. She has one heck of a voice.**

 **ThatMysteriousSlime: There's also a comment Peter made in this chapter about a resemblance between her and Steve. It's just that Steve and Bucky are two of the most important people in her life which I wanted to convey. One through actions and one through looks.**

 **I love Vera Blue! I'm so surprised you know of her because you're the only person I've come across that actually knows of her. She's so underrated and I just feel like they should be playing her songs on the radio all the time. I've lost track of the times I've listen to 'We Used To' and 'Magazine'. I love 'Regular Touch' too.**

 **readeratheart8128: I'm flattered that my story could help you through your day. That really means a lot to me. I also cried a tiny bit while incorporating the Steve Martin dialogue into the story because Bucky being a dad always seems to make me emotional. His whole relationship with Emma gives me warm fuzzy feelings. They're just so adorable.**

 **Inheritance1990: That's a really good idea. I've planned out a lot that's going to happen already but I haven't written anything yet. I'm just taking it chapter by chapter. I'm not sure if it'll fit in with where I'm going but I'll see. Maybe I'll use the Peter getting hurt storyline in something else. Thanks so much for the idea! I really appreciate it!**

 **hjp-and-hjp: Glad you liked the chapter! Please don't get fired though. Peter would really hate it if you got fired on his and Emma's behalf although Emma probably wouldn't care. Peter would be fine with that since he cares enough for the both of them.**

 **shiroryuu012: Glad you liked the chapter. I'm always happy to get new readers.**

 **Snapplecrackles: I think you might've misunderstood me a bit when I was talking about STNS and the sequel. Some Things Never Sleep is definitely going to end around December but the sequel isn't going to end in December too. I'm not that fast. The sequel will start immediately after STNS ends and there's going to be another sequel after that. Maybe another sequel after that too. I don't know. I haven't planned that far ahead but the journey of Emma and Peter isn't anywhere close to being over. I'm not going to drag things out or anything but I just love writing them so I'll write their story as long as it makes me happy. I'm glad you liked the chapter.**

 **Guest: Everyone's going to see the videos Darcy took but I don't know when. There's a lot happening right now so maybe when this mess is all over or maybe I'll make a one-shot about it. We'll see.**

 **bonitalito: I never wrote the moment but Emma probably just stole the picture back from Darcy the first chance she could. I can't imagine Emma would let Darcy have the picture that long. She really missed her father, after all. That would be a hilarious moment though if Bucky somehow found the picture in Darcy's possession. Good luck explaining that one, Lewis.**

 **ShySlytherinGirl: I always love getting new readers so I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Reviews like yours always make me happy because I've been writing this story for so long that it's still so incredibly nice to get new fans of the story. It has been taking me a while to update lately because I've been busy with other things but thanks for your understanding. I really appreciate it.**

 **JustJoyce: Okay, so I mistakenly called Broods the wrong name. It's just Broods. Not THE Broods so just drop THE. It's weird that you didn't find Fitness on Spotify because I found them just fine. They're not the first thing that comes up so did you look under the artist section on the page? Yeah, there's a lot of mainstream pop that I don't like but there's still good stuff in there. For instance, I never liked One Direction but I thought Harry Styles debut album was really amazing. It was real, genuine music and just entirely different from his stuff in One Direction. I finally saw him as a real artist instead of a member of a boy band. Lady Gaga too. I was never a fan of her music but she came out with her last album _Joanne_ and I was just blown away by everything about her. I realized how talented she really is. **

**So I know I also gave you a ton of artists to work with last time but I thought I'd drop a couple names I forgot to mention because it's really been bugging me the past week or so. Other people can check them out too although I'm rushing through this so I'm not going to give a description this time around.**

 **1\. Lord Huron**

 **2\. Bleachers- This was recommended to me by another reader of this story.**

 **3\. Snail Mail**

 **4\. Japanese Breakfast**

 **5\. The 1975**

 **6\. Car Seat Headrest**

 **Okay, okay. I'm officially done...for now.**

 **EmperorTrump: I'm glad you noticed that about Peter. I like writing him standing up for himself because usually he's kind of shy about that kind of thing. I think when he feels passionately about something, he will say something even if it's to Tony who he really loves and admires.**

 **Another random account: There will be a sequel and probably another sequel after that so it's not the end of Emma and Peter. There probably won't be an end to Emma and Peter for as long as I take pleasure from writing stories about them. I'm not sure if I'll ever not enjoy this. This is the first time I've been this motivated to write a story and to continue to do so.**

 **There definitely will be a more flirty Peter in the future. Probably after they have sex or "make love" as Peter likes to say. I just think there's a certain amount of confidence that will come from that so there will definitely be a more flirty Peter soon and even more so in the sequel.**

 **BabyPinkPuppy: I see Elle Fanning as Emma all the time too. Definitely not weird...unless that makes me weird.**

 **I know most guys probably don't just have sex on their minds but Bucky's just super overprotective when it comes to Emma. He just automatically thinks the worst of Peter which is understandable considering what he walked in on. Peter will eventually get Bucky to see that he genuinely loves and cares about Emma although I think Bucky will probably never have a warm, fuzzy relationship with Peter. He'll just eventually accept Peter.**

 **Florence and the Machine is amazing. Florence Welch is one of the best vocalists and songwriters in music right now. There's just something about her music that really touches you. I can't even name a favorite song much less an album. Maybe a different song off every album. 'Blinding' off _Lungs,_ 'What the Water Gave Me' off _Ceremonials_ , 'Which Witch' off _How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,_ and 'The End of Love' off _High as Hope._ She just has so much good music. There's not a single song she's ever put out that I've disliked.**

 **Thanks again for all the reviews!**


	83. Chapter Seventy Six: Part I

**Author's Note: Wow...it feels like it's been forever since I've updated and I think it has been forever, actually. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to update these past couple chapters. It's just that I know there's a place I want to get to with this story and it's really hard doing everything in between. Not to mention I've been working on some of my other stories like One Word from You and Matter of Time. I'm going to try being faster with updates with this story.**

 **I'm not sure what my update schedule is going to be. I think I'm going to update One Word From You next which I planned to update sooner but I got writer's block on the last part of the chapter. However, the chapter's almost finished so that should be updated soon. I'll update Matter of Time , my celeb AU fic to STNS, after that which isn't featured on here but is on Quotev, Wattpad, and Archive of Our Own. Lastly, I'll update this one before updating the Palace. I also have plans of updating Dry Bite soon too. That's sort of a rough outline of my update schedule. Nothing's exactly set in stone yet.**

 **I also just wanted to mention my recent visit to Funko Headquarters. I don't know how I never went there before because it's not that far from where I live. If you're ever in Washington state then you really have to check it out because it's like Funko city in there. Everything you can ever imagine. I got a couple Spider-Man Homecoming Funkos and a Marvel Studios 10th anniversary chrome Loki Funko. Anyways...it's a really amazing place if you're a fan of Funko.**

 **glagla60800: Emma talking about Loki is kind of building up until the real thing happens which still won't be for a while. I'm still really excited though. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Emma/Peter/Michelle/Ned/Shuri team up in this chapter. There's not much time for pleasantries but there's a couple cute moments in between all the seriousness. There's some more of a dark Steve in this chapter too. Tony as well.**

 **emmagnestised: When do teenagers ever listen, right? Tony, Steve, Bucky, and T'Challa are definitely not going to be happy in this chapter. I haven't left a review on your story in a couple chapters but I'll be sure to leave one tomorrow. I've just been a bit swamped lately.**

 **Athena05: I'm not sure yet about a Steven Rogers Jr. cameo. I'll probably have to wait until the movie comes out to know. Maybe there's a one-shot or something in the future.**

 **Snapplecrackles** **: There's definitely still a lot of things they have to work through which you'll see in this chapter. So they're still healing. I don't think Doctor Strange will make an appearance until the sequel. I'm still undecided about whether or not he'll show up in STNS. I might do a one-shot later involving him, Emma, and Peter. It's just a cute, funny idea I got inside my head but I probably wouldn't do it until after this story ends. I'm glad you're really loving Mitski by the way. I love her too and more people should know about her.**

 **Samquinn: The Hellboy movies are probably the only Del Toro movies I haven't seen. I think I saw the first one a long time ago but I don't really remember it. I don't think it's likely I'll write that an Abe/OC fanfic since I'm not very familiar with that universe and I'm not starting up any new fanfics right now. I just have too many and I really want to focus on the ones I've already published. I'm glad you liked the chapter though.**

 **JustJoyce: You're welcome for the list. It's kind of funny because I feel the opposite about Harry and Niall. Harry's album first and then Niall's. It's even funnier because I've never liked One Direction but I'm a really big Harry Styles fan away from that. It's just the kind of music I would listen to no matter who it was. 'Meet Me in the Hallway' and 'Ever Since New York' are a couple of my favorite songs.**

 **I'm glad I'm writing everything in character. I always worry about that. Especially with characters like Tony and Vision who I find really difficult to write. I'm also sort of dreading writing Thor and Loki as much as I'm excited for it. They're just all really difficult characters to write so I'll definitely need to brush up on my Thor and Loki before writing a Thor: Ragnarok storyline.**

 **Mabel: Thank you so much! That means a lot and I'm so happy you like my writing. That's a really big compliment. I have thought about writing a book. I'm thinking about writing a book with a story similar to Emma and Peter's story. Kind of like a romance but it would mostly be a drama.**

 **I definitely know what it's like to not stick to one idea. I've bounced between stories for so long and I even have a difficult time with this one. I just have so many ideas and I never know how to settle down with just one. There's several stories I've written in the past where I started but never could finish. I think you just have to find the right idea. With Some Things Never Sleep I was just really passionate about the story, the characters, and all the relationships within it. I really fell in love with writing this story which is why I think I stuck with it for so long. I kind of feel the same way about One Word from You which is my other story on here.**

 **BabyPinkPuppy: I'd say your brother has no taste but in all honesty he's probably just saying that to piss you off. I know because my brother used to pull the same stuff with me to make me mad. He loved annoying me. Thankfully, he's gotten past that and has matured fairly well...it only took him until he was thirty.**

 **hjp-and-hjg: Sorry it's taken so long but hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait.**

 **Mcduffie145: So glad to see that you're back and reviewing. I always liked your reviews. Especially the ones about music. I know music hasn't been a part of this story for some time but hopefully my love of music can be featured in this story some time soon.**

 **CJ993: The other Avengers are definitely not going to be impressed with Emma, Peter, and Shuri taking off. Okoye's going to be in deep shit with T'Challa for letting Shuri out of her sight but Emma, Peter, and Shuri are going to be in even deeper shit with the others for taking off. It did need to be done and hopefully the others will see that when they make their return.**

 **Thanks for all reviews, follows, and favorites on this story, guys. It really means a lot. Please leave a review and let me know what you think about this chapter. I'll try to be faster with the next update. I'm feeling more inspired for this story lately.**

* * *

"Emma, do you really need to drive this fast?" Peter questioned as his fingers dug into the seat. Emma, Peter, and Shuri were currently driving into the city in Emma's very fast Audi that Tony had given her for her birthday. She hadn't driven it in a while but she had no problem racing down the road to arrive at Peter's apartment before anyone noticed they were missing. They weren't going to have a lot of time and she knew Steve and her father would probably find out they were missing before they returned but they didn't have a lot of options here.

"If we want to make it to the apartment before Steve or Papa try to stop us then I need to drive fast." Emma told him as she sped down the road. The car had a police tracking system that would alert them if law enforcement was nearby. They didn't have time to get pulled over, after all.

"I'm fine with it." Shuri said nonchalantly from the backseat. "In fact, you can go faster if you want to." Emma just smirked at her through the rear view mirror as she pushed her foot against the gas pedal as requested. Peter swallowed hard as the car accelerated.

"Why do I feel like I'm being ganged up on?" He questioned and Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"Relax. We're not going to get caught. I have a lot of experience with avoiding the law." Emma said as if that was supposed to make him feel better.

"That's very comforting." Peter said sarcastically.

"You worry way too much, Parker." Emma replied, remaining very calm despite the current situation. Emma's calmness was something Peter found both admirable and annoying. Admirable because she could remain calm even in the most extreme situations and annoying because Peter didn't have that same skill. "Besides..if we get caught, I'll take care of it." Peter gave her an appalled look.

" _You'll take care of it_?!" Peter questioned in disbelief. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'll _take care_ of it." She said suggestively and she sighed heavily when she saw the look on his face. "Don't worry. No one's going to die. If worst comes to worst I'll knock them out and leave them in a ditch. They'll wake up sooner or later."

"You're not leaving anyone in a ditch!" Peter argued, horrified at her statement although he didn't know why he was shocked. Emma wasn't the most practical and conventional of people. "No one's getting hurt either."

"I'm trying to cover our asses here, Parker." Emma said, defending her idea but Peter wasn't having it.

"You're not going to knock out some poor cop who's just doing his job and leave him in a ditch." Peter told her but Emma didn't look like she was changing her mind.

"Well, he shouldn't try and stop us from achieving our mission. We're trying to save the world here, after all." Emma retorted and Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"How the hell is he supposed to know that we're saving the world?" He questioned, not even realizing that they were arguing about a hypothetical situation. Shuri just watched their bickering in amusement, her eyes going back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. _This was even more entertaining than when T'Challa and Nakia bickered_ , Shuri thought to herself..

"I don't care. He just needs to stay out of our way." Emma said stubbornly and Peter wanted to growl in frustration because it was impossible trying to win an argument with this girl. She was annoyingly stubborn, Peter thought she was more stubborn than him, and somehow she always thought she was right.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone." Peter told her in an authoritative tone which caused Emma to narrow her eyes at him.

"I thought we discussed you not thinking you can tell me what to do." Emma told him in a bitchy tone which only drove Peter crazier.

"Yes, we did. Only I'm not inclined to follow that rule when I think you're being unreasonable." Peter argued and Emma rolled her eyes once more.

"Yes, Steve. I'll be a good girl." Emma said sarcastically and Peter glared at her. She was really insufferable sometimes. However, before Peter could respond to her sarcastic comment, Shuri interrupted them.

"How did no one know that you two were a thing? You bicker like an old married couple." Shuri told them which caused Peter to blush while Emma remained uncaring. "We need to focus on finding whatever Peter's parents left behind. Isn't that the goal?"

"Yes, of course." Peter told Shuri, immediately cooling down from his argument with Emma. He had momentarily forgotten Shuri was in the backseat and he was a bit embarrassed to know she witnessed one of his and Emma's famous fights. "Sorry about that."

"Did anyone ever tell you that it's incredibly rude to eavesdrop." Emma said instead of apologizing like Peter had. Anyone who knew Emma knew that she rarely apologized for anything. Peter gave his girlfriend a pointed look while Shuri gave her an incredulous look.

"You were arguing right in front of me." Shuri pointed out and Emma shrugged.

"Roll down a window then. Play iSpy. I don't care." Emma retorted and Shuri found herself perplexed by Emma Rogers. She had never met someone who was so unapologetically rude. Maybe it was because everyone in Shuri's life had been so polite to her because of who she was. She never interacted with someone like Emma who obviously didn't care about upsetting her or not. It was surprisingly refreshing.

"Be nice." Peter told her and Emma just glowered as she sped past a couple cars that were going too slow on the road for her liking. She didn't mean to be such a bitch. She was just on edge with all this Hydra stuff going on. Emma was also nervous about what they were going to find at Peter's apartment which was saying a lot because Emma didn't like to think of herself as a nervous person.

It didn't take long before they finally arrived at Peter's apartment in the city. Emma managed to snag a parking space for herself and thank god since they didn't have much time to spare. She didn't wait long after she parked before she quickly climbed out of the car, Peter and Shuri following suit. Ned and Michelle were already waiting for them at the front of the apartment building. It wasn't until then that she realized it had been a long while since she had seen them last...since the beginning of summer, actually.

"Oh my god! Peter! Emma!" Ned exclaimed in relief when he saw them. Peter gave him a small smile before Emma just glared at him.

"Could you be any louder? Alert the whole neighborhood of our presence, why don't you." Emma snapped sarcastically but Ned just smiled at her, more than used to Emma's usual unpleasant attitude.

"It's good to see you too, Emma." Ned told her as Peter grinned at his friend, happy to see his best friend in trying times. It felt like so much had happened since he had last seen Ned and Peter didn't even know where to begin with telling him everything that happened in their brief absence in each other's lives.

"Who's this?" Michelle asked abruptly, not bothering to greet her friends, as she gave Shuri a suspicious look. Ned's eyes widened in recognition as he looked at the famous princess in surprise. Shuri looked between the teenagers awkwardly, feeling a bit out of her comfort zone since it was rare that she ever spent any time around kids her own age. Now that Shuri thought about it...she really didn't have any friends her own age. The only people she really spent time with were Okoye and T'Challa. How lame was it that Shuri's best friend was her older brother?

"Oh, this is-" Peter started to say but Ned interrupted him.

"You're Princess Shuri...of Wakanda" Ned said in awe as he stared at the teenage girl. Shuri just stared back at him, unsure of how to respond while Michelle just raised an eyebrow. "Oh my god! You guys are gone for a month and you become friends with royalty?!"

"Just call me Shuri. Please." The princess insisted to Ned, looking a tad embarrassed by the teenage boy's enthusiasm. Emma just gave Ned an unimpressed look.

"Maybe we should head inside." Emma suggested quietly as she carefully looked around them, slightly suspicious that there might be someone tailing them. She wasn't talking about her father either. "It's not exactly safe for us to be out in the open like this." Ned frowned.

"Why isn't it safe?"

* * *

"We didn't want to involve you guys in this but we really don't have a choice at this point." Peter told them when they were situated inside the living room of his apartment. May was currently at work which proved to be fortunate since Emma honestly doubted that May would be okay with them out and about on their own with Hydra out there. Peter's aunt had been okay with him staying at the compound since it was safest place right now for him but she definitely wouldn't be okay with the both of them alone on their own.

"Peter, I don't get it. What's going on?" Ned asked him, looking both troubled and annoyed. "You never answered any of my texts. You just went off grid without any explanation ever since summer began."

"You didn't answer any of my texts either." Michelle said as she looked at Emma. The blonde sighed heavily as she decided to inform her friends of the current situation despite her better judgement. Peter and her had agreed a while ago to keep them out of it but it didn't look like that was an option anymore. They were in desperate need of help if they were going to get through this in time.

"Something happened at the compound last week. Something that Tony and Secretary Ross have been working hard on keeping out of the news for fear of a widespread panic around the globe." Emma started to explain slowly to them. Both Ned and Michael exchanged a look before they looked back at Emma, Peter, and Shuri in concern. Emma only paused briefly before she gave them the news.

"Hydra attacked the compound." Emma told them, a serious look on her face. Ned's mouth dropped open in surprise and even Michelle managed to look surprised at this news.

"What?" Ned questioned as he looked at Peter for confirmation and Peter only nodded slowly.

"They came for Emma and they almost got her too." Peter explained to them, looking extremely troubled by the thought of his girlfriend almost being kidnapped by Hydra. "There wasn't much of a team left at the compound for us to hold them off. She came so close to being taken. We were really unprepared." Emma just grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"But I wasn't taken." She told him softly before turning back to face Ned and Michelle. "They came close but it was an unsuccessful attack."

"Wasn't…" Michelle trailed off, being her usual observant self. "You said there _wasn't_ much of a team. Wasn't as in past tense." Emma sighed.

"In the whole aftermath of the attack, we decided as a collected group that seeking help was the best course of action to prevent Hydra from attacking the compound again." Emma said quietly and Michelle's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you saying the others are back?" She asked her friend and Emma slowly nodded much to both Michelle and Ned's astonishment.

"My grandfather and the others have returned to help us. Shuri and her brother came with them too." Emma reluctantly admitted.

"What about your dad?" Michelle asked her and Emma nodded.

"Papa's returned too." She told them and Ned looked positively delighted by the news of the return of the Avengers.

"That's so cool! When can we meet them?!" Ned asked. "I've always wanted to meet Captain America. I mean, being best friends with his granddaughter is one thing but Captain America is a whole other thing." Emma glared at him.

"We're not friends. I only tolerate you because of Peter." Emma said scathingly although everyone knew that she was only lying to herself. As much as the young girl hated to admit it, she did have friends and people she cared about. Even Ned. "However, if you tell anyone about any of this, I swear, Leeds...Hydra will be the least of your worries."

"You can't meet the others right now." Peter said, intervening from there and giving Emma a pointed look before focusing his attention on Ned. "I think the only reason Ross hasn't arrested them yet is because he wants the Hydra problem taken care of. If anyone finds out they're out and about then he'll be forced to take action." Ned sighed heavily.

"I get it. My lips are sealed." Ned said, silently pouting that there was yet another thing he couldn't tell anyone about. First it was the Spider-Man thing and then it was the Viper Assassin thing. Now it was the Avengers are all back kind of thing.

"We're only telling you this because we're facing a huge problem." Emma told them as she looked between Ned and Michelle. "We've recently come across intel that suggests that Peter's parent's death was more than a little suspicious."

"What?" Ned questioned, looking very confused and Peter just sighed heavily before nodding.

"My parents didn't work for Columbia, Ned. They were CIA agents." Peter told Ned who gasped and Michelle who looked at Peter in surprise. "They worked with Emma's parents on a mission with Shield a long time ago...a mission that may or may not have involved Hydra."

"This all sounds a little too much like those Bourne movies." Michelle said quietly. Emma decided to step in from there because she could tell from the look on Peter's face that this was going to be hard for him to explain. He was still trying to process everything they learned this afternoon which was obvious.

"We were doing some more extensive research this afternoon and discovered a connection between Peter's parent's plane crash and Hydra." Emma informed them all with a heavy heart. "A known member of Hydra was on that same plane. We think he might've had something to do with the plane crash."

"You're saying that Peter's parents' death wasn't an accident?" Michelle said, still sounding shocked by this new information. Emma and Peter exchanged a look before she nodded.

"We believe so. Yes." Emma confirmed before moving on. "We think that they might've known something that got them killed. Whether that has anything to do with Hydra, we don't know although I have a good feeling that Hydra might have a lot to do with this."

"So what are you two doing here if Hydra's on the horizon and looking for you? Wouldn't your grandfather and everyone else be keeping a tight leash on you?" Michelle asked Emma and she swallowed hard before answering her friend.

"Steve and most of the others are currently on a mission chasing down a known affiliate of Hydra. We managed to sneak away from the others with some help from Shuri." Emma told her, giving the Wakandan princess a somewhat thankful look, before looking back at Michelle. "We have reason to believe that Peter's parents might've left something behind for someone to find."

"Something about Hydra?" Ned questioned and both Emma and Peter nodded.

"Yes." Peter told him, looking a lot more serious and melancholy than he normally looked. "We think that whatever they knew scared Hydra enough to kill them. Emma thinks they might've left something behind in case something ever happened to them."

"It makes sense if they were these secret agents you say they are." Michelle said as she nodded in agreement, taking all of this in.

"Our point is that we need to find whatever they were hiding and we need to find it fast." Emma told Michelle and Ned. "We don't have much time before the others notice we're gone. Whatever Peter's parents knew might help us a lot in taking down Hydra too. It has to be somewhere in this apartment. It just a matter of _where_ in the apartment."

"Are you saying that you want us to help you on your super secret mission with the Avengers?" Ned asked in awe and Emma rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ned to be completely tactless in a very hard and difficult situation for Peter. Peter swallowed hard before nodding, giving his friend a weak smile.

"Yes. We need help finding whatever my parents were hiding." Peter told Ned with a certain amount of directness that was unusual for the otherwise shy and at times awkward teenage boy.

"Where should we start then?" Shuri asked Peter, moving the conversation forward because she knew that it wouldn't be long until Okoye discovered her absence. Peter cleared his throat awkwardly before nodding once more.

"Right. I guess we should split up. I'll look in Aunt May's bedroom, Shuri and Michelle can look in the living room, and Ned can search my room. Anything that looks suspicious, let me know." Peter told them and they all seemed to be in agreement over this course of action.

"I'll help you look in May's room." Emma said softly and Peter just nodded as the group started to split up. Shuri and Michelle started up a conversation, an attempt to get to know each other, as they began to search the living room for any possible clues while Ned silently went to Peter's room, determined to find whatever they were looking for.

Peter didn't say anything to Emma as he quietly walked into his aunt's room to begin the search. Emma watched him for a moment as he immediately started looking under his aunt's bed. She could tell without him saying anything that something was deeply troubling him and she knew exactly what that something was. There was no question in her mind about what was troubling him. She swallowed hard as she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her, as she prepared herself to apologize which wasn't something she did often. However, Peter was an exception to her no apology rule. Emma knew he put up with a lot where she was concerned so she was always apologizing for something she did.

"I'm sorry." Emma said quietly and Peter looked up at her, clearly not having any idea as to why she was apologizing.

"Sorry for what?" Peter questioned as he started pulling things out from underneath his aunt's bed. Emma bit her lip nervously before continuing.

"I'm sorry for being a real bitch to you back in the car. I shouldn't have picked a fight with you." Emma said, apologizing for their bickering fest back in the car. Peter just shook his head.

"It's fine. I think we're all a little on edge right now considering our situation." Peter said, brushing off her apology. Emma just took a seat on the edge of the bed, a look of concern on her face as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Some a little more than others." She murmured as he paused in his searching. "I never got a chance to ask how you're doing." Peter just sighed as he slowly sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. He shook his head and shrugged.

"I don't know, Emma. I just learned that my parents death wasn't an accident and they were these people that had a lot of secrets. I'm wondering if Aunt May and Uncle Ben even knew them at all." Peter said, sounding stressed out and horrified by the situation at hand. "I'm wondering if there was any part of them that wasn't a lie." Emma was disheartened by the sad look on his face.

"That's not true, Peter. They had secret lives, yes, but they loved you very much." Emma told him softly.

"How do you know?" He said bitterly and Emma just smiled as she grabbed his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Because you're you and I know that they were good people because they're a part of you." Emma told him honestly. "My parents had secret lives too but I don't doubt that they were good people underneath it all."

"My life's just so fucked up, Emma." Peter finally said, tears flooding his brown eyes in a way that broke Emma's heart. "My parents are both dead at the hands of Hydra and my uncle was murdered in a mugging. Where do I even go from here?"

Emma immediately threw her arms around Peter and embraced him. He instantly nestled his face in her neck in response, taking comfort in the scent of her hair as well as her embrace. Peter just cried as she held him there, releasing all the emotions he felt ever since he learned of the truth behind his parents' death earlier. She didn't say anything as she held him, rubbing his back soothingly in comfort. It absolutely killed her to see him like this and she wished that she knew of a way that could take his pain away but she didn't. All she could do was hold him so he could let it all out.

"It's okay, Peter." She whispered softly and Peter finally pulled away to look at her, his cheeks still wet from the tears.

"I'm sorry for crying all over you. I must seem like a pathetic loser." Peter said, feeling slightly emasculated by his crying in his girlfriend's arms. He didn't want Emma to see him as a child who had no control of his emotions. As weird as it sounded, he wanted her to view him as a man which he didn't think she would do if she saw him crying like this. However, Emma just gently wiped the tears from his face with a compassionate look on her face.

"You're not a pathetic loser, Peter. You never have been." She told him truthfully. "It's okay to cry. I cry all over you all the time."

"Yeah but you're the-" Peter said before he stopped himself but Emma just gave him a knowing look.

"I'm the girlfriend, you mean." Emma stated and Peter blushed.

"I didn't mean it like that." Peter told her, hoping that Emma didn't think he was being sexist by saying this. "I just...well, I know that you think that I'm sensitive and not-"

"I like how sensitive you are." Emma said, interrupting him and Peter just stared at her in surprise.

"What?" He questioned and Emma just shrugged before she looked back up at him.

"I like how sensitive you are because I know you're being honest with me." Emma told him honestly, her gaze softening, much to Peter's astonishment. "You're my sweet and sensitive little Parker. I wouldn't have you any other way." Peter blushed once more at his girlfriend's honest proclamation.

"It's still embarrassing." He muttered and Emma shook her head.

"No, it's not. You're always tell me it's okay for me to cry and talk about my feelings with you and I just want you to know that you can do the same thing with me. It's a mutual kind of thing." Emma told him, wanting to make it clear that he could be vulnerable with her if he wanted and not ever feel bad about it. "You're not just my boyfriend. You're my best friend too. I'd like to think you feel the same way about me."

"I do." Peter said softly as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry, Emma. This is just really hard for me. Uncle Ben was one thing but mom and dad are a whole other thing." Emma just nodded, a sympathetic look on her face.

"I know, Peter, but we'll get through this together." Emma told him softly. He managed to smile at her when she said that.

"Thank you." He replied before looking back at Emma, a look of pure wonder and confusion on his face. "Sometimes I wonder what life would've been like if none of them had died."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked him and Peter shrugged.

"Do you ever wonder about how different your life would be if your parents hadn't died?" Peter asked her and Emma just stared back at him, honestly taken back by his question. She swallowed hard as she considered his question.

"Sometimes." Emma admitted and Peter immediately became curious since it was rare Emma ever talked about her parents. "It would mean that I would never have been kidnapped by Hydra, never would've been tortured, never forced to kill and lie, and Rumlow would've never raped me. I would've been innocent and ignorant of all the bad things in the world."

"So you think about it a lot then?" Peter inquired and Emma shrugged.

"Not really." Emma told Peter quietly. "Just when I remember something about them. Like a memory from before Rumlow came and killed them."

"What do you see?" Peter said, referring to what she saw in this imagination of a life involving her parents.

"I don't know. It's so hard to imagine." Emma admitted as she looked back at him, blue eyes meeting brown. "A life with them in it, I mean. I'd probably be an entirely different person. I probably wouldn't be much different than Betty and her stupid little friends...which absolutely disgusts me but it's the truth."

"So you're saying that you don't want a life with them in it?" Peter questioned, immensely confused by what Emma was saying. She shook her head.

"No. That's not what I'm saying at all." Emma told him before elaborating. "A life with my parents would've been great." Emma only paused briefly before continuing as Peter patiently listened to her.

"A family would've been nice and it also means that Steve would've never had to wake up from his seventy year sleep alone." Emma told Peter with a thoughtful look on her face. "We would've been there for him and although it sucks that Tony would've been a bigger part of my life than I would like, maybe everything would've turned out better for everyone involved."

"But?" Peter asked as he raised his eyebrows at her. Emma just sighed.

"But it also means that I wouldn't have known or loved Papa like I do now. It hurts thinking about a life where I don't have him in it." Emma told Peter, being more honest with him than she usually was with anyone. Even Steve. "It means that I might never have met you and I'd probably still be stuck in bum-fuck nowhere in Oklahoma."

"We might've met though." Peter said quietly. "Through Tony and your grandpa." Emma just shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I wouldn't be the person I am now." Emma told him as she continued speaking. "Despite all the terrible things I've done and the terrible thing that have been done _to_ me, I don't think I'd want to be anyone else. I don't want to be like Betty, Liz, or Cindy because they're sheep and I don't want to be a sheep."

"I don't want to be like that. They live in their little bubbles, oblivious to what goes on in the world around them. They have no idea what the real world's like." Emma told Peter as she shook her head at the very thought of being anything like those other girls. "It's a good way to live but also a terrible way to die."

"You're saying everything happens for a reason?" Peter remarked, not at all taken back by Emma's dark and bitter behavior. It was just the usual sort of thing from Emma.

"I don't know." She admitted before continuing. "I just know, that despite how much my parents loved me and how much I still think about them, I don't think I would want any other life but this one. I'm happy."

"Really?" Peter asked her, a hopeful look in his eyes and she nodded.

"I have Papa and Steve...even the rest of the Avengers. I know I pretend to find them annoying but I do consider them to be my family." Emma told him and Peter smiled teasingly at her.

"Even Tony?" Peter questioned, knowing how much Emma pretended to hate Tony although that was actually far from the truth. "Do you consider Tony to be family too? You love him?" Emma glared at him.

"No." Emma grumbled and Peter just laughed, feeling a bit better than he had several minutes ago. Emma had a way of doing that. She had a way of getting his mind off things.

"Come on, Emma." Peter told her, giving her an annoyingly smug look. "You know you can tell me how much you love Tony." Emma mumbled something under her breath and Peter raised his eyebrows at her.

"What was that?" Peter asked her and Emma continued to glare at him before speaking a bit louder.

"I said that maybe, just maybe, I find him tolerable when he's not being an annoying asshole." Emma begrudgingly admitted. Peter just grinned at her because he knew that was basically Emma's way of saying that she loved Tony.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Peter questioned teasingly and Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyways...what I was saying before was that I'm happy with my life now and especially with Steve, Papa, the others, and especially with you in it." Emma told Peter on a more serious note. "I love having you in my life, Peter. I don't think I would trade you and everyone else for anything. My life hasn't been ideal, I know that, but I like where it is now."

"I guess I kind of see your point." Peter said quietly, becoming more serious as he took in everything Emma was telling him. "I mean, sometimes I wonder what everything would've been like if my parents hadn't died but then I realize I wouldn't have gotten the life I had with Aunt May and Uncle Ben." Peter only paused briefly before continuing as Emma listened to him.

"I know that I lost Uncle Ben too but I loved every moment I had with him. There was a lot of good memories despite never having my parents around." Peter told her as he reflected on all the happy memories he had of him and his uncle. "But I also see your point too. Everything happens for a reason and maybe I wouldn't have what I have now. Maybe I wouldn't have met Tony...maybe I wouldn't have even met you."

"We can't deal with hypotheticals, Peter. It's not healthy." Emma said, telling him something she should've told him sooner. "We'll just drive ourselves crazy if we sit here and think about what-if scenarios."

"I know but I still wish that Uncle Ben could've met you." Peter told her honestly and Emma smiled softly at him.

"I wish I could've met him too." Emma told him and Peter looked at her adoringly.

"He would've been so happy for us." Peter said as he rested his hand on her knee, looking into her eyes. "He would've loved you. Uncle Ben would've said I was the luckiest guy in the entire world to get a girl like you." Emma felt overwhelmed by everything Peter said and despite how much she claimed to hate mushiness, she always felt reduced to a puddle of teenage girl sappy feelings whenever Peter talked that way.

"And _I_ would've told him that I was the luckiest girl in the entire world to get a guy like _you_." Emma replied as she slowly leaned in for a kiss, her eyes fluttering shut as Peter closed the distance. Like always, she felt intoxicated by the taste of his lips and it was almost like it was just them and them alone in the room. It was like they could escape their world of problems just for a moment and not worry about what was waiting for them outside in the real world. They paused in their kiss and lingered there just for a moment, their foreheads resting against each other.

"We'll end this together." Emma whispered to Peter as they continued to linger there in their embrace. "We'll get Hydra for killing your parents and mine, torturing Papa for all those years, and for everything else they've done. We'll get them for everything. I promise."

"Thank you." Peter told her quietly and she knew that it wasn't just the promise he was thanking her for. He was thanking her for making him feel better and for listening to him.

"You don't have to thank me. I love you and you need to know that there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." Emma told him as they still remained there in each other's arms. "You have my heart. You always will."

"I feel the same about you, Emma." Peter told her softly. "You've had my heart from the beginning and not to mention you have me completely wrapped around your finger. Not that I feel bad about that. No, not for a second."

"You're not mad because I used to be in Hydra?" Emma asked him hesitantly and Peter immediately pulled away to look at her. Bewilderment was written all over his face as he stared at her, observing the guilty look on her face.

"What?" He asked her and Emma shrugged, still looking troubled.

"I used to be in the organization that killed your parents. You would have a right to be mad." Emma pointed out and Peter shook his head furiously.

"An organization that killed your parents too." Peter told her before continuing. "A organization that kidnapped you and did terrible things to you. You didn't have a choice, Emma. Besides...my parents death happened well before you were even in Hydra. Of course, I would never blame you."

"If you're sure." Emma said quietly and the look on Peter's face softened before he leaned in, kissing her in a gesture of reassurance. His lips lingered there for a moment before he pulled away.

"I'll always be sure." Peter said as he looked back at her. "I love you too, Emma." Emma gave him a small smile, letting him know she appreciated his kind and forgiving nature. Peter didn't feel like there was anything to forgive but Emma felt that he was forgiving her just by loving her. He shouldn't but he did and she would be forever grateful.

"We should probably get back to looking for whatever your parents left behind." Emma said, changing the subject. Peter nodded in agreement as they pulled away from each other.

"You're right." He told her as they then went back to looking through everything in May's room. There was still a lot to do and they didn't have much time left. Emma was just glad that she and Peter were able to talk things through. Peter really needed that and Emma really needed to be sure that he was going to be alright. This was difficult for Peter to wrap his mind around, Emma knew that, but this was a first step into moving forward and making sure the people responsible got what was coming to them. Hydra was going to pay for what they did.

Emma was sure of that.

* * *

The Avengers landed their Quinjet on the landing pad of the compound as soon as they were able. The apprehension of Diego Ugalde had gone as swiftly as expected and while Steve had already gotten what he needed out of the man, he was sure Natasha and the others would want to question him more before Ross got his hands on him. Steve had glanced at Tony on the way home who was still alarmingly silent which was unlike him. _Silent on way there and silent on the way back_ , Steve observed.

He should've known.

The minute they stepped off the ramp and onto the landing pad, Natasha and Sam whisked Diego off to one of the prison cells within the compound. The same area where Agent Collins was being held. Steve stepped off onto the landing pad, expecting Emma to be there waiting or at least ambush him with a hug, but there was no sign of her there. He frowned but he dismissed it as her already wishing him goodbye on the landing pad so she probably didn't see the sense in greeting him this time too. Emma was probably just inside, hopefully making amends with Bucky.

"Steve, I think we might have a problem." Clint told him which was the first thing that was said to Steve as he walked into the compound. The worried look on the man's face was troubling enough to cause Steve some concern.

"What is it, Clint? Is Emma okay?" Steve asked, his mind immediately going to Emma. Clint had a very grim look on his face as he looked up at Steve, preparing to be lectured or yelled at in the very least.

"That's the thing, Cap." Clint told him and by this time the others were drawn into the conversation as well. Rhodey, Vision, T'Challa, and Maria seemed very confused while Tony looked as worried as Steve felt. "We don't where Emma is." Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Steve asked, his tone cold as he narrowed his eyes at Clint who just winced before continuing.

"We've been looking for her for the past half an hour and we can't find her." Clint explained and Steve began to feel his heart rate increase as he began to panic. "We've searched all over the compound and even the forest outside. There's no trace of her."

"That's impossible." Tony stated as he took a step forward, his jaw clenched. "McConaughey was set on high alert. He would've alerted everyone the moment she took a step outside the facility."

"That's what we thought but when we asked him, he just said that she's inside the conference room which she's obviously not in." Clint replied and Steve was really starting to worry now. Could this be another ploy of Hydra's? Could they have somehow snuck into the compound and taken her right under everyone's noses?

"It's not just her that's missing." Okoye said as she walked down the stairs and onto the main level of the compound where the others were currently standing. "There's no sign of Shuri either." T'Challa's eyes widened as he looked at the general in alarm.

"Shuri? How can this be?" T'Challa asked demandingly and a guilty look crossed Okoye's face.

"The last I checked she was inside the lab. She assured me that she was fine so I decided to do a training session in the training facility." Okoye explained, looking like she regretted ever listening to the princess. T'Challa fumed as he took in this information.

"I told you to watch her, Okoye." T'Challa said, sounding more angry with her than he had ever been before. The Wakandan general looked very ashamed of herself at disappointing her king. Especially with him glaring at her the way he was.

"What about the kid?" Tony asked, looking very worried as he suddenly thought of Peter. "Where's the kid in all of this?"

"Peter's missing as well." Wanda announced as she went to stand next to Clint. "I checked the place from top to bottom and he's gone."

"When did you realize they were missing?" Rhodey asked them quietly and Clint sighed heavily.

"Not that long ago. We were going to gather them up for a meeting for when you guys got back but we couldn't find them anywhere." Clint explained. "Barnes and Fury are searching the forest right now for them but we haven't heard back from them yet."

"Someone had to of hacked McConaughey." Tony told everyone as he took out his Stark phone so that he could have a look at the state of the AI system. "It's the only explanation. I need to reboot the system and fast."

"I gave you guys one job." Steve said quietly as he looked between Wanda, Clint, and Okoye. "I only asked that you looked after Emma while I was gone because she's the top priority. She's the one Hydra's after…and yet you let her go." Steve continued as he glared at everyone. He didn't raise his voice, keeping his voice the same steady calm as before. Somehow that made it worse.

"Do you know how much danger she could be in right now?" Steve questioned as he sat in his anger and panic. "Did you forget what Rumlow did to her the last time he had her in his grasp?" Wanda and Clint seemed to join in on Okoye's guilt and shame as they avoided Steve's gaze.

"I'm so sorry, Cap." Clint apologized, knowing how much he had fucked up. How could he have let Emma go? How could any one of them have done this? They were supposed to protect her yet they let her get away from them just like that. Steve just sighed heavily.

"Let's just see what we can do to locate the children." Steve finally said as he went back into captain mode, trying not to let the fact that Emma was missing and in danger throw him into too much of a panicked state. He couldn't afford to be emotionally compromised right now. Emma couldn't afford that either.

* * *

They ended up in the conference room a short while later and this time they had the whole team there. Bucky, Fury, Natasha, and Sam joined the rest of them as they strove to solve the mystery of a missing Emma, Peter, and Shuri. It was clear the whole entire team was on edge as they frantically tried to figure out where the kids were. Tony had just gotten the AI system up and running again.

"McConaughey, who hacked you and the security system? Was it Hydra?" Tony asked the AI system the moment the system was working again.

"No, sir. It was actually Princess Shuri who compromised me and the security system. She's very skilled." McConaughey told Tony and the others who all looked perplexed by this information.

"Why would she do that?" T'Challa questioned, confused by the fact that his sister had hacked into Tony's AI and security system. He didn't know why Shuri would do such a thing.

"I believe that she, Mr. Parker, and Miss Rogers wanted the security systems to be down so no one within the compound would be aware of their disappearance." McConaughey told them and both Steve and Bucky seemed even more confused by this information.

"Wait...are you saying that Emma and the others left willingly." Steve questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Rogers. They were in a hurry to leave." He elaborated and Natasha took over from there.

"Why would they leave the compound? What would drive them to leave?" Natasha questioned and Sam nodded.

"Yeah, it's not exactly a good time to go cruising around with Hydra out there waiting to snatch Emma up." Sam said sarcastically.

"If it helps I could bring up the files and information Miss Rogers, Mr. Parker, and Princess Shuri were looking at before they left." McConaughey suggested and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Please do. That would be a great help, McConaughey." Tony said sarcastically as the AI system began to bring up all the information Emma and the others had been looking at earlier. The Avengers all looked immensely confused as they looked up at the holographic screen in front of them. All they could see was the interrogation footage from a couple days ago as well as old Hydra files.

"This makes zero sense." Maria remarked as she skimmed the random and scattered info on the screen. It was like a massive puzzle to their eyes. Apparently Emma, Peter, and Shuri were the only ones who figured out the answers because the Avengers couldn't piece it together right in that moment. Maybe with a little time but the answer definitely wasn't instant.

"What about video feed from this room before they left?" Okoye questioned, trying to be helpful in an otherwise tense situation. "Maybe that could give us a clue as to where they went."

"Princess Shuri seems to have erased my video feed from this room." McConaughey informed them and nearly everyone in the room groaned at that unfortunate information.

"How could they have left?" Bucky asked, looking immensely confused as he looked around the room. Despite his confusion, he felt very guilty and worried over his daughter's absence. He was supposed to watch her yet he let his own emotions and anger over her and her boyfriend get in the way. Now Emma was missing and it was all his fault.

"They couldn't have left by foot. We would've found them already." Bucky continued to say. Tony cleared his throat awkwardly but he still refused to look at Barnes. He instead looked at the other team members with a guilt ridden look on his face.

"Well, I kind of know the answer to that one." Tony said, more quietly than usual. Everyone turned to look at him.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked him and Tony shrugged nonchalantly before answering.

"I may or may not have bought her a car for her sweet sixteen. I thought a car was a good idea for her." Tony told everyone and Steve just stared at him in shock before his shock quickly morphed into anger. Angry at the thought that Tony was so confident in the idea he could just up and buy Emma a car without his permission. Knowing Tony, it was probably a very expensive and lavish car too. Damn it. He was gone for one year and Tony thought he could call all the shots in Emma's life.

"You bought my granddaughter a car?" Steve asked slowly and Tony nodded.

"She had just turned sixteen and successfully gotten her driver's license so I thought it was the right thing to do." Tony told Steve formally, urging himself not to give in and feel bad for doing what he did. "I sure as hell wasn't about to get Peter a car. The kid's great but he's a shitty driver."

"What makes you think you had the right to get Emma a car?" Steve asked as he glared at Tony. It was clear to everyone in the room that the case of a missing Emma was quickly turning into a battle between Tony and Steve. It was only a matter of time before they finally let loose and had the talk that was long overdue. Tony just scoffed.

"I don't know. Her dad only made me her godfather. Maybe that's why." Tony said sarcastically. Steve just shook his head at him in disapproval and Tony hated the way he looked like his son when he did that.

"You didn't think it might've been a bad idea to get her a car? You didn't think you were just giving her a tool so she could get up to her usual shenanigans?" Steve questioned and Tony gave him an incredulous look.

"Shenanigans? Boy, you really are the ninety nine year old man they say you are, aren't you?" Tony said in his usual sarcastic tone and Steve glared at him.

"Can you stop making jokes for one second?" Steve questioned, looking quite furious at the billionaire. "I left Emma in your care because I thought you could handle the responsibility. I come back and she's got a car so she can go god knows where with her boyfriend to do god knows what."

"I honestly doubt Mini Cap left to go play tonsil tennis with the kid in the backseat of her car. We've got bigger problems right now and she knows it." Tony told him and Steve tried not to think of that as he stood firm in his argument against Tony. He was a bit pissed off too that Peter let her go like that after Steve specifically told him to watch her. It seemed like Emma had everyone wrapped around her finger these days which could prove to be very dangerous. People had to learn to say no to her...for her own protection if nothing else.

"Do you even know where Emma is half the time? Do you even care?" Steve questioned angrily and this time Tony glared right back at him.

"Oh, are you asking me if I keep her locked up in her room like a prisoner like you did? I'm sorry if I didn't track her every single movement. I'm sorry if I didn't track her menstrual cycle either." Tony ranted angrily as Steve just fixed him with the same glare as before. "I'm sorry that I decided to give her some freedom because she's sixteen and probably doesn't want to feel like she's being suffocated. I figured that she probably got enough of that from you."

"I'm trying to protect her because nearly everyone in the world is after her." Steve argued, not liking what Tony was insinuating about him. "She's in danger and right now the most important thing is keeping her safe."

"Well, if you're so concerned about her safety then why did you leave?" Tony argued back and Steve clenched his jaw.

"You know why." Steve retorted and Tony just shook his head at him.

"You didn't have to leave. If you really loved Emma then you would've stayed and signed the accords." Tony told him seriously and Steve scoffed.

"I didn't sign the accords _because_ of her. I didn't sign the accords because I knew I would be signing away her freedom and rest of the world's freedom too for that matter." Steve responded, looking beyond pissed at this point while all the other Avengers just watched the two egos argue. It was a long time coming and most of everyone knew that there was a lot left unsaid between the two. They needed to get it all out so that they could move forward. "She just spent nine years under Hydra's control. I wasn't about to let her be under someone else's control. She doesn't deserve that."

"How do we even know that Emma's the one who left? Maybe that boy took her. Maybe he's behind this." Bucky said, speaking for the first time in this whole conversation. He usually remained quiet whenever Tony was involved because of guilt and shame but he could no longer stay quiet where Emma was concerned...and to think he was just beginning to accept the idea of her having a boyfriend and then this happens. Tony slowly turned to the former assassin, a look of cold fury in his eyes as he locked his gaze with Bucky for the first time since that fight in Siberia.

"You don't get to speak right now." Tony hissed angrily as he glared hatefully at the man Emma considered to be her father. A man Tony didn't believe was at all deserving of that title. Not like her real dad anyways. Not like Steven. "You actually don't get to speak at all and especially about the kid."

"I think I have a right to be concerned where Emma is involved." Bucky said quietly, trying to force himself to remain calm in the face of Tony. He knew the man had a right be angry and a right to want to kill him but Bucky was just concerned about Emma right now. She was the priority.

"Oh, and you're supposed to be father of the year?" Tony questioned sarcastically before sneering at the man. "Daddy Dearest who taught his little girl how to murder, lie, and steal? Yeah, great job you did."

"I know you have your issues with me being here but-" Bucky started to say but Tony interrupted him, fixing the man with a furious look.

"Issues?" Tony questioned incredulously. "Issues like you murdering my parents, you mean? Yeah, I guess you could say I have issues with you." Bucky swallowed hard, this situation quickly becoming more and more difficult for him, before responding because he was forced to face everything he had feared ever since he stepped out of Hydra and into the real world. He had been forced to think a lot about his past during these past couple years and the memories of what he had done still haunted his dreams.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else you want me to say…I don't know what else I _can_ say." Bucky said, trying yet failing to make amends with the billionaire even though he knew he never could. "I never wanted to hurt your parents. You have to know that. Howard was my friend. I wish I could go and take it all back but I can't."

"You're damn right about that." Tony said as he gave Bucky a revolted look, trying to ignore the haunted look in the former assassin's pale blue eyes. "The only reason you're here and not dead or at Raft is because of Emma. Peter too, actually. He was the one who convinced me to bring all of you back here so you should be thanking him instead of trying to kill him." Bucky looked taken back by this information but he didn't say anything as he fell silent. _He, at least, had the decency to look ashamed of himself_ , Tony thought bitterly to himself.

"Ladies, you're all beautiful but let's get back to finding Emma." Natasha interjected quietly as she attempted to bring the conversation back to the task at hand. Everyone else seemed to be in agreement even though Steve and Tony were still heaving with anger while Bucky just looked guilty. It was clear this conversation was long from over but it had to be put on hold while they tried to find Emma, Peter, and Shuri.

"Nat's right." Sam said as he looked between the three men with a grim look on his face. "The kids are missing and we're sitting here arguing amongst each other. This is exactly what Hydra wants." Steve finally tore his gaze away from Tony and fixed it on his teammates. He nodded solemnly as he collected his thoughts and forced himself to calm down.

"You're right. Let's get back to work." Steve announced, trying to remain professional despite just having gotten into another huge argument with Tony. It seemed inevitable that they would fight after everything that happened between them but it still came as a surprise. Steve just suspected that they put off the conversation for so long that it was bound to explode in their faces eventually. Steve just hoped that all this arguing didn't have a negative impact on Emma.

* * *

"I think we found something!" Shuri announced from the other room. Emma and Peter been had pouring over all the contents of May's belongings for the past hour. It might've felt a tad invasive if they weren't currently in a life and death situation. Peter just assumed May would forgive him eventually when this whole thing blew over. It's not like they found anything yet anyways.

Emma and Peter exchanged a puzzled look before they quickly got up from the floor and headed for the living room, exiting May's bedroom in the process. They made their way down the hall and out into the living room where Michelle, Shuri, and Ned were currently searching through a cardboard box filled with an assortment of things. The group of teenagers had only been in the apartment for about an hour but an hour felt a little too long right now. She knew that Steve and the others were probably back at the compound by now and she also knew they probably noticed the absence of three teenagers. Emma was just glad that she left her phone at home and she was also glad that her car had stealth mode so Tony wouldn't be able to track them in time. Emma was just hoping they would find what they were looking for soon so they could go back before they got into any more trouble than they already were in.

"What is it? What did you find?" Peter asked eagerly as they approached their friends. Michelle just looked up at them, a look of surprise on her face which was odd since it was rare that she ever looked that surprised. Nothing ever seemed to faze the teenage girl, making her a bit similar to Emma in temperment. However, she looked away from the box and over to them.

"We haven't found much but I think this box belonged to your parents, Peter." Michelle told him and both Emma and Peter looked down to read the scribbling on the side of the box.

Richard and Mary.

That was the scribbling that must've been written hurriedly in messy sharpie handwriting. Peter assumed that Uncle Ben was the one who labeled the box since the handwriting was a lot messier than he knew May's writing to be. There didn't seem to be much inside the box. Some little knick knacks that probably belonged to Peter's mother, framed photographs, and his father's old briefcase. Peter's eyes immediately went to the briefcase and it was like he couldn't look away from it. Emma watched quietly as her boyfriend slowly walked over to the box and picked up the briefcase with trembling hands.

"This looks really familiar." Peter remarked as he looked the brown briefcase up and down, holding it carefully in his hands. The initials 'RP' were embroidered across the front of the briefcase so there was no doubt in Emma's mind that this briefcase belonged to Peter's dad. "I think I might remember him with this briefcase. The memory's distant and fading but I think I remember."

"Is there anything else in the box?" Emma asked Ned, Michelle, and Shuri who were watching Peter worriedly as he looked at his father's briefcase. Shuri swallowed hard before shaking her head, tearing her gaze away from Peter to look at Emma.

"Nothing that we're looking for." Shuri told her quietly and Emma nodded solemnly as she then cast a worried look in her boyfriend's direction. She didn't know how to approach him like this so she just went to stand next to him instead. Emma looked at him carefully, trying to figure out how to comfort him in this situation. She knew it was hard for him to be here looking through his parents things but she just wanted him to know she was there if he needed her.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked quietly. Peter nodded furiously as he continued to look at the briefcase, taking a glance inside it's contents as well.

"I'm fine." Peter told her as he began to pull out the few pieces of paper left inside. A couple sheets of paper were filled with lab notes that just consisted of mathematical equations and other scribbling. There was even a piece of paper that was clearly a shopping list Richard Parker had left in the bottom of his briefcase. Peter could feel tears prickling his eyes as he read his father's handwriting.

 _Milk._

 _Eggs._

 _Bread._

 _Diapers._

Peter realized that this shopping list must've been from when he was still a baby. It was so weird to think that there was a time where his parents had been alive and when they had all been a family together...where they had been happy. This shopping list, as simple and trivial as it may have seemed, was evidence of that. It was evidence of the time in Peter's life he so desperately tried to remember.

"I don't see anything in here that seems relevant to what we're looking for." Peter said as he finished looking through the contents. A suspicious look then crossed Emma's face as she looked at the briefcase.

"If your dad was smart then he would've kept whatever he was hiding in a secret compartment." Emma told him and Peter gave her a confused look. "May I take a look?" He swallowed hard before nodding and handing the briefcase over to her.

"Yes." He told her and Emma carefully took the briefcase from him, giving him a sympathetic look, before she began to look through contents for herself. Emma began to feel around the bag, trying to find anything that told her that there was a secret compartment within the bag. She was about to give up when she noticed the seam near the front of the bag. Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"The seam." She announced much to the curiosity of the others as she pointed at the amateur sewing along the seam of the briefcase. "It's very shoddy sewing. It looks like someone was in a hurry." Emma looked up at Peter again, an unsure look on her face.

"Can I?" She asked, nodding to the suspicious looking seam. Peter immediately understood what she was asking and he nodded as well.

"Go ahead." He told her and Emma nodded once more, looking somewhat guilty, before tearing into the briefcase and pulling the seam apart. It didn't take much for Emma to tear it apart and with the abrupt action, something fell out of the briefcase's secret compartment much to everyone's surprise.

"What the hell?" Ned uttered as he watched what looked like a journal fall into Emma's hand from the secret compartment. Emma dropped the briefcase in surprise as she stared at the journal in her hand. Peter didn't even move to catch the briefcase as he stood in shock too. Emma's eyes rested on the sticky note attached to the leatherbound cover of the journal.

"What does it say?" Michelle asked curiously and Emma looked back up at them, still in a state of surprise. The look on her face was both bewildered and alarmed.

"For Steven and Margot Rogers' eyes only." Emma said quietly, looking very disturbed by the message on the sticky note. Peter's eyes widened as he also looked over Emma's shoulder at the note and sure enough that's the message that was scribbled across the sticky note in his father's messy handwriting.

"So Peter's parents _did_ leave something behind for Emma's parents to find." Shuri remarked to herself.

"I'm still surprised by the fact that your parents knew each other. This is crazy." Ned said quietly, trying to get his mind around all this.

"They left behind a journal." Michelle said quietly. "Why a journal?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Peter said as he nodded to Emma. She took that as a sign that she should finally open the thing up and read what it said. Only...she was a little scared of what she was going to find. It must've been something big to get Peter's parents killed. Even so, she knew they needed to find out at some point and they really didn't have any more time to waste.

"Okay…" Emma mumbled as she flipped to the first page of the journal and began to read the messy handwriting of Peter's dad. Only time would tell all the secrets Peter's parents had died with. The only way to discover said secrets was by reading the journal. Emma braced herself as she read the first journal entry which actually appeared to be some kind of log.

* * *

 _March 11th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I've stopped filing reports for the CIA. I no longer feel safe in doing so which is why I'm writing this away from prying eyes and keeping my own private log of events I'm currently witnessing. My wife and I were assigned to an undercover operation. I must admit I'm not used to the field but the CIA was adamant about us being assigned to this mission with our covers never having been blown._

 _We're currently working an illegal weapons operation but I can't help but feel like something is very wrong. The men and women we've seen in the criminal underground don't seem like the normal people we've seen involved in these dealings. Something's very off about this. I can't help but think back to the mission you and I went on when we raided Salazar's old warehouse._

 _-Dr. Richard Parker_

* * *

 _March 14th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I no longer trust the CIA and I absolutely don't trust Shield. We've only been about a week into our mission and I've seen familiar faces from Shield. They don't seem to recognize us and our cover hasn't been blown yet so I assume we're safe. Something's definitely going on here. I'm not sure what yet but there's definitely moles within the different branches of government that have ties to illegal weapon dealers. I've also seen Diego Ugalde, the actor, involved in these meetings who I remembered was a known associate of Santiago Salazar._

 _Something doesn't quite add up yet but I'm still figuring it out._

 _-Dr. Richard Parker_

* * *

 _March 17th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I'm afraid I have some very grave news to tell you. With Mary and I's mission, we have discovered the existence of Hydra, an organization your father was believed to have buried decades ago and even died for. We discovered this tonight as we attended one of their so-called meetings and were recruited to their cause. I'm afraid this undercover mission goes deeper than I ever believed. I don't feel comfortable relaying any of this to the CIA or even Shield. Hydra has moles everywhere and I don't know who to trust. You're the only one who I think I can trust which is why I'm leaving this journal for you in the hope of you someday finding it._

 _Hydra is real, Agent Rogers, and it's bigger than anyone could've ever imagined. They never died with the Red Skull. In fact, they've thrived in the absence of your father. They've been alive for decades and they're even more powerful than before. I'm afraid your father didn't know the half of it. This is really bad. You don't even know._

 _-Dr. Richard Parker_

* * *

 _March 25th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I'm writing this to let you know that you're in immediate danger. While Mary and I were invited to a dinner at Diego Ugalde's house, Mary was able infiltrate Ugalde's private office where a lot of Hydra meetings take place. It appears that you, as well as your daughter, are of great interest to Hydra because of your lineage. Mary's taken pictures of several surveillance images taken of you and your family. Young Emma in particular. We're still trying to put the puzzle pieces together but I feel like you should be aware of the interest Hydra has taken in you and your family._

 _-Dr. Richard Parker_

* * *

 _March 28th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I'm writing again to tell you that Mary and I have made a shocking discovery. During another Hydra meeting, we've managed to copy various Hydra files onto a flashdrive. After reviewing the contents of the files, I have to admit that it's not you Hydra has taken interest in. It's your daughter. Hydra has dangerous and disturbing plans for her...like nothing you could ever comprehend. I'm desperately hoping you'll find this journal before it's too late because Emma is in grave danger. I fear for her wellbeing as well as you and your wife's lives._

 _Hydra is making plans to assassinate both you and your wife when the time comes before taking Emma. Emma's their target. They wish to integrate her into something called the Viper Assassin Program which is supposed to be the successor to something called the Winter Soldier Program. I haven't looked into either program too much, Agent Rogers, but I have reason to believe Hydra was also involved in the death of Howard and Maria Stark. Stark was developing some kind of super soldier serum in an attempt to replicate your father's serum. Hydra plans to use the last of this serum on your daughter._

 _The plans they have for her are insane, Steven. You need to get her away fast. I wish I could send this to you right now but I fear Hydra would intervene and find this journal. It's too dangerous right now. Just read the files on the flashdrive and I'm sure it'll make more sense to you than it ever did to me. There's so much that I really fear for your daughter's safety._

 _-Dr. Richard Parker._

* * *

 _April 12th, 2004_

 _Agent Rogers,_

 _I think this will be my last entry, Steven. I believe Mary and I have been found out. Nothing's happened yet but I think they're on to us. I know I can't go to the CIA because I believe they have moles there yet I don't feel comfortable going to Director Fury. I'm not completely sure how deep this Hydra thing goes but I know there's not a lot of people I can trust right now. I'd go to you but I have no idea where to find you._

 _Mary and I have decided that the only option is to turn this information over to Alexander Pierce. A trusted and respected politician in his field as well as Margot's father. I'm not sure if we can trust him but if the answer's no then I guess you'll be reading this journal now. I hope you can get you and your family to safety. Everyone's in danger and this thing is a lot bigger than the both of this. I don't know if we'll ever come out of this the same way._

 _Good Luck,_

 _Dr. Richard Parker_

* * *

Emma stopped reading after the sixth and final entry. There wasn't a lot of entries and Emma could tell this journal was more of a log during Richard Parker's time working undercover. He knew that it would be too dangerous to try and get word to Emma's father so he used the journal instead. Hoping that one day Emma's parents would somehow come across it and the flashdrive. Emma's eyes were filled with tears as she looked up from the journal and at the others. All of them seemed shocked and horrified to hear Richard Parker's account of some of the last days of his life. Emma glanced over at Peter and noticed how a single tear streamed down his face. The sight broke her heart.

"Alexander Pierce? Who's that?" Ned questioned, the first one to speak and the first one to break the brief pause of silence.

"Emma's grandfather." Michelle said softly and Ned's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Emma swallowed hard before elaborating.

"My _other_ grandfather and Hydra's top leader and operative until Fury killed him during the take down of Hydra three years ago." Emma informed him and she didn't feel comfortable looking at Peter in that moment. She didn't feel comfortable because she now knew that her grandfather, as much as she hated him, had a hand in the death of Peter's parents.

"He also had his own daughter and son-in-law killed before kidnapping Emma and torturing her in that base for nine years." Peter said, breaking his own silence as he looked over at Emma with eyes filled with tears. Despite having learned everything about his parents' last days on earth, he chose to remain strong in this circumstance and also to make sure that Emma knew that he didn't blame her for her grandfather's evilness. Emma allowed herself to feel a little relieved as he looked at her. "He was a monster."

"So Peter's parents were killed for everything they knew." Shuri remarked as she looked over at Emma and Peter. "They found out about Hydra and they found out that Hydra wanted Emma so they killed them."

"They made a mistake in trusting Alexander Pierce and it cost them their life." Peter determined and Emma nodded.

"They were trying to do good by helping my parents and me." Emma said quietly, looking quite sad by the cause of Peter's parents' death. "Which is why we need to look at this flashdrive right now and see what they were trying to tell my parents all this time."

"Emma's right." Peter said softly as he looked back at his girlfriend. "We can't let my parents or her parents die in vain. They all died at the hands of Hydra and we need to see this thing through...for their sake if not just for our own."

"And we need to avenge them too, right?" Ned interjected despite the tense situation. Everyone turned to stare at him, looks of disbelief on everyone's faces. He blushed from all the attention.

"You know...because you guys are almost Avengers now and everything." Ned explained and Michelle just rolled her eyes at the dark haired boy who she hated admitting was her friend.

"Do everyone a favor and shut up. Now's not the time for your lame Avenger puns that no one finds funny." Michelle told him and Ned glared at her.

"Well, excuse me for trying to diffuse the tension in the room." He retorted and Emma sighed heavily. Sometimes she couldn't believe she was actually friends with that dork. He was worse than Peter sometimes.

"Just do something useful and get Peter's laptop. We need to plug in this flashdrive." Emma ordered and Ned knew from the impatient look on the blonde's face that she wasn't messing around. He knew better than to argue with the blonde so he got up from the couch and hurried over to Peter's bedroom to retrieve said laptop. Emma took the time to look back at Peter who looked a little worse for wear.

"Are you alright?" She asked him softly, concern in her blue eyes. Peter swallowed hard before shrugging. Michelle and Shuri were otherwise occupied as they discussed some theories they had about what they just heard.

"I knew that Hydra had them killed. I was prepared to hear as much." Peter told her honestly. Emma's gaze softened as she looked at him.

"It was still difficult to hear. You can't deny that." Emma told him and Peter nodded.

"I know but I knew what I was going to hear. It's in the past and all we can do now is to not let them die in vain. Your parents too." Peter said and Emma nodded, knowing he was right in a lot of ways. Both of their parents were dead because of Hydra. They couldn't change that but they could still make Hydra pay and stop Hydra from inflicting the same damage on someone else's family.

"We'll get them." Emma said, sounding very sure of herself.

"I know." Peter replied, looking very sure of himself as well. It was true. They were going to get Hydra before they inflicted any more damage on humanity. Hydra was a parasite that needed to be terminated for good. There was no other way around it. "What about the Viper Assassin Program?" Peter said, changing the subject as he remembered something Emma had read from the journal earlier.

"I didn't know there was a Viper Assassin Program. Hydra always told me I was part of the Winter Soldier Program." Emma told him honestly, looking just as confused by this as he was.

"A Viper Assassin Program suggests that they had plans for more than one Viper Assassin." Peter told her and Emma nodded.

"I know how it sounds." Emma admitted as she tried to figure out more of Hydra's secrets but she was no closer in putting all the pieces together.

"This thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger." Peter observed and Emma nodded in agreement.

"You don't have to tell me." Emma murmured but before Peter could respond, Ned rushed back into the room with Peter's laptop in hand. He immediately dropped the laptop on the coffee table. Emma and Peter didn't waste any time getting over there as Emma took the journal with her. She perched herself on the edge of the couch with Peter taking a seat next to her before she opened the journal and flipped to the back of it where she had seen the flashdrive before. It had been duct taped to the back and Emma easily ripped off the tape as everyone eagerly circled around the laptop.

"I wonder what's on the flashdrive." Ned said in wonder and Michelle scoffed.

"I don't know. Why don't we wait and find out." Michelle said sarcastically and Ned huffed.

"Sorry. I'm just curious." Emma rolled her eyes at the bickering pair before she plugged the flashdrive into the laptop and anxiously waited for it to pop up on the screen. Her eyes widened in anticipation as she finally spotted the files on the flashdrive. Emma didn't wait to start combing through all the files and she was astonished by how many there were just waiting to be read. There was a whole list of them much to everyone's surprise.

 **Howard Stark's Super Soldier Serum.**

 **The Viper Assassin Program.**

 **List of Known Hydra Operatives.**

 **The Winter Soldier Program.**

 **Location of Known Hydra Bases.**

 **Diego Ugalde's Weapon Dealings.**

 **Rogers Family.**

 **The Winter Viper Project.**

"Oh my god!" Peter remarked as he stared at the screen in shock. Everyone else seemed to be in a state of shock as well. "Look at all these files. These files must be stuff that was deeply embedded in Hydra for years. This is all intel we've never even seen before. I don't think Tony or Mr. Rogers know about any of this."

"We need to get this back to the compound. The others need to see this." Shuri said as she immediately got up from the couch to go grab her things. Peter, Michelle, and Ned all followed her as they began to chat excitedly amongst each other over having found something that would help the Avengers in the long run. Emma didn't move to join them as she remained sitting on the couch, staring at the computer screen.

Something else had her attention.

There was a lot of interesting stuff on the flashdrive. Between the Viper Assassin Program and Howard Stark's Super Soldier Serum file, Emma knew everyone was going to be more than occupied. However, it wasn't those two files that had Emma's attention. It was something else entirely. In fact, it was the last file on the flashdrive that made Emma more curious than anything about what she was seeing. She couldn't stop herself as she clicked on the file and waited for it to pop up on her screen. And when she finally started reading the contents of the file, her eyes widened in both shock and horror.

While her boyfriend and friends were busy celebrating in the success of the mission, Emma was busy reading the file that held her absolute interest. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. Deep down Emma knew this was just part of Hydra's sadistic and twisted plans that never came to be but she still couldn't help but feel horrified by what she was reading. Tears started to pool in Emma's eyes as she read the words some Hydra sick fuck typed up into the file.

"Emma, are you ready to go?" Peter asked her as he looked back at her. "We should really get going. The others are probably looking everywhere for us by now." Emma forced the tears away before she nodded furiously, a fake smile on her face. Peter seemed to be too distracted by their successful mission that he didn't even notice.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Emma replied as she tried to pretend like everything was alright but it really wasn't at this point. This whole circumstance with Hydra was bringing up things that Emma really wished she had never known. She didn't _want_ to know.

"Let's go then." Peter told her and she nodded once more as she quickly exited out of the file. Emma swallowed hard as she did something she probably wasn't supposed to do. Something that was probably protecting Hydra but Emma didn't care. She hadn't meant to protect Hydra. In her mind she was only protecting her father. Without another thought, she dragged the mouse over and deleted the Winter Viper Project file.

Some things were better left unknown.

* * *

To be continued...


	84. Chapter Seventy Six:Part II

**Author's Note: I feel like I've been apologizing a lot lately over taking so long to update but I really am sorry. It's just that the past couple chapters have been really hard to get through because I just want to get to a certain part of the story so my excitement has been making my motivation to write the in between chapters really difficult. This chapter was probably the most difficult to write because it's the chapter right before shit finally goes down which is why it took me forever. I also don't want to force myself into it so I just paced myself over the past month, writing here and there whenever I was free from my other stories or free from holiday stuff. I originally wanted to update this yesterday but Christmas decorating got in the way. Anyways...I don't think it'll take me long to write the next chapter because I'm super excited about it but it still may be a couple weeks because it's going to be really long and I don't want really see myself being able to split everything up into parts...unless you want me to. If I don't split it up into parts then it won't take as long so I don't really know what to do. Just tell me what you think, actually. That might be really helpful.**

 **I'm trying to think of any new artists I've been listening to recently because I know I always recommend stuff but all I can currently think of is Khalid. He's not very new but he's new to me. I love his music and I can't believe I didn't listen to him before now. I've lost track of the amount of times I've listened to '8teen' and 'Therapy'.**

 **Who's excited for the Avenger's 4 trailer? I'm dying to know when they'll release the trailer. I first heard rumors about a Black Friday release and then everyone thought last Wednesday would be the day but another rumor was that it was coming out today but there's still nothing. I, however, am holding out hope that it'll come out this Wednesday. I've never been more anxious for a movie trailer in my entire life.**

 **glagla60800: I know Peter crying is super sad. It's sad for me to write too but he's not really a tough and overtly masculine guy. Peter's really sensitive which I think is cute but he's also really young so he doesn't have as much of a handle on his emotions. You'll also find out some more about what was on the USB drive in this chapter. I'm not really going to answer the rest because the chapter kind of explains itself.**

 **Thank you for giving me the author's name by the way because that was a really popular title to go by. I'm so glad you told me about it too because I'm already on the sequel and I love it. There's also this other Bucky/OC story I came across last week called 'Chasing Memories' and I'm really in love with that one too. I read the whole thing in a night when I was kind of being lazy about updating this fic so you can blame the brilliant author of that story for the late update on this one. I really recommend it if you don't already know it. It's a Steve's sister story but it's not cliché. It's actually really amazing.**

 **Tyninja1: I'm always super happy about getting new fans of the story so thank you for reading. Shuri's in the story a little bit in this chapter but I'm not sure how often she'll be in it once this whole Hydra thing is over. Maybe a lot of facetime from Wakanda. I also kind of want Emma and Shuri to bond over the ridiculousness of their family. Like, I could picture Shuri showing Emma that video of T'Challa getting thrown across the room from that suit in the Black Panther movie while Emma would show Shuri videos of Steve doing those lame educational videos. They'd probably share a lot of laughs.**

 **Mabel: So there won't be any interaction between Michelle, Ned, and the Avengers in this chapter. There probably won't be any interaction for a couple chapters because there's a shit ton of stuff going on.**

 **LittleGinger1216: Thank you so much! That means so much and I'm so glad you like the story as well as Emma and Peter together. It's even hard for me to read other stories with a Peter/OC pairing because I think a part of me believes that Peter and Emma are real. Well, they're real to me, at least. I'm so happy you've enjoyed the story so much. That means a lot so thank you.**

 **JustJoyce: I honestly don't remember if I started the story with the idea of connecting the deaths of Peter's parents and Emma's parents together but I'm glad it turned out that way. It really worked out for the plot of the story. It's also not so much understanding the motivation behind Loki's character but just the language he uses when he speaks. It's very eloquent. I can sort of write Thor but I'll probably have to rewatch all the movies with Loki in it to get it just right. Or maybe I'll just watch Ragnarok again since that's the version of Loki that'll be in the sequel. I honestly think if Emma was a guy she'd probably be just like Loki because Loki's main problem is that male ego he and Thor seem to share. Emma's selfish and manipulative at times but she also doesn't have a thirst to prove herself and show up Steve like Loki who always had this desire to prove he was just as good and if not better than Thor. She just doesn't give a shit about that. She only cares of being worthy enough to be Steve's granddaughter.**

 **Thanks for your support by the way. Sometimes reviews like that kind of make me doubt myself but I have to remember that everyone has different opinions and I have to just write what makes me happy.**

 **Another random account: I would absolutely love to see your fanart of the Iron Viper Suit. That's amazing! I'm really flattered you went to the trouble of doing that. It means a lot.**

 **moocella: Darcy will show them the videos but I'm thinking of just including it after things cool down so it'll still be a couple chapters away.**

 **iamalive0: I'm so happy get another fan of the story. Your review means a lot to me and I'm glad you love Emma so much. I really love writing her so it always means a lot when people love her just as much as I do. I feel like I might've PM'd you about story suggestions but I'll just put down my recommendation again. The only one I can really think of currently is the Flower Lady and the Pest(or it's called something similar). It's a super slow burn and it's in it's early stages but it's also really good.**

 **Emma: I actually hadn't heard of Skip Wescott so I had no idea that was ever in the comics. It's really sad but I also understand that Marvel was trying warn kids about being careful and wary of certain people.**

 **I know I didn't answer a lot of reviews but a lot of them were questions about the Winter Viper Project and I decided to just let the chapter speak for itself rather than spoil anything. I also just really wanted to update the chapter which I'm sure you understand. Once again, sorry that I've been slow with updates recently. I plan to do a quick update of One Word from You next and then another update of STNS right after.**

 **Thanks for all your reviews and please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

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"Where the hell were you?" Steve said demandingly, a harsh glare on his face as the three teenagers walked into the conference room. The moment they arrived back at the compound Steve, Tony, her father, and the others were waiting outside for them with furious looks on their faces. Emma would be lying if she said it wasn't something she expected.

The moment they stepped out of the car, Steve practically dragged her into the building. Michelle and Ned were with them too but even Ned, in all his excitement of seeing Captain America and the other Avengers, shut up because of the pissed look on Steve's face. It was a look he often saw on Emma's face so he knew better than to open his mouth and say anything. Pepper, Susan, and Darcy made sure Emma and Peter's friends stayed out on the main floor of the compound while the others made sure Emma, Peter, and Shuri were alright...or yelled at them in the very least.

It had been a tough car ride on the way back to the compound. Emma had a lot on her mind and she knew Peter did too. Ned seemed awfully chatty as usual but no one else really seemed to be in the mood to talk. Emma knew Peter was probably thinking a lot about his parents and Hydra but something else was on Emma's mind. Something that was severely bothering her even though she deleted it.

The Winter Viper Project.

Emma knew Hydra was sick but she never thought they would ever go that far. However, she shouldn't have been surprised. All Emma and her father were to Hydra was possessions. Hydra never saw them as actual human-beings. Even so, it still made Emma just sick to think what would've happened to her father and her had they stayed at Hydra.

Well, Emma knew exactly what.

The file she deleted explained everything in more detail than she cared to know. Hydra's plans for Emma and her father were sadistic and just plain sick.

Hydra planned for Emma and her father to have children together.

That was their plan all along. When Emma got old enough, they would force her and her father into a room together while they hoped for the best. It made sense now that Emma thought about it. Emma and her father were the only ones in Hydra that had survived the super soldier serum even though their serums were different. No other human had managed to survive the serum so it made sense that Hydra would try to create more super soldiers in the only way they could. It was just that even the vaguest thought of Hydra's plans for her and her father made Emma sick to her stomach.

"Look, I get that you're pissed but save your anger until all this is over." Emma told her grandfather calmly.

"I think saying that we're pissed is the understatement of the year." Tony said, looking equally as angry as he glared at both Emma and Peter.

"Do you even know how close we came to raiding the city?" T'Challa said, a dark look on his face as he glared at his sister who didn't seem to have something to say for the first time in her life. "Okoye and I were worried sick."

"I know what it looks like but I promise Emma, Shuri, and I were doing something really important while you were gone." Peter said defensively, a little scared of how pissed Mr. Stark looked.

"I thought I told you to make sure Emma was safe?" Steve said coldly as he turned to glare at Peter. A glare of her own crossed Emma's face as she looked between her grandfather and boyfriend.

"Make sure I was safe?" Emma questioned incredulously. "What the hell do you-" Peter laughed nervously as he interrupted her before she got mad at him. He didn't know why Emma's grandfather was trying to get him in trouble. Didn't he know how scary Emma was when she was mad? Not to mention the fact that she didn't let him so much as touch her when she was angry at him. It probably wasn't Peter's largest concern right now but still.

"Mr. Rogers, we found out something really big while you were away." Peter said as he tried to explain his and Emma's actions before they got into anymore trouble. Hopefully the team would be understanding and not as angry when they found out what Peter and Emma knew.

"You better have found out where Rumlow takes his shit or you'll never see the light of day again." Tony told the boy angrily. "I'm going to be calling May too. I'm sure she'd like to know the insane shit her nephew has been up to."

"Hydra killed Peter's parents." Emma said bluntly, hoping that would calm their anger and bring their attention to a more important matter at hand. Everyone fell silent at Emma's words.

Almost the whole team was in the conference room at this point. Tony, Steve, and T'Challa had been the only ones speaking but mostly because all of them were responsible for the teenagers who escaped the compound. Bucky was responsible for Emma too but he was honestly a little scared to yell at her. He was already on thin ice with her and he kind of blamed himself for letting her get out of his sight. Steve trusted him to keep her safe and he let her go.

"What?" Tony questioned, not believing he heard the girl right. Emma knew she had to say it because she wouldn't be able to get their attention and make them listen any other way. Peter sighed.

"Emma watched Steve's interrogation with Collins and noticed something that stuck out." Peter tried to explain before looking over at Emma to elaborate a bit more.

"He mentioned that someone tried to warn my parents about Hydra but Hydra stopped them." Emma mentioned, drawing Steve, Bucky, and Natasha's curious eyes while the others just looked confused. Steve remembered that Collins mentioned something like that but he hadn't considered it very important at the time. Not when he was trying to get info about Rumlow's whereabouts. "I thought it was suspicious and then I thought about Peter's parents who mysteriously died in a plane crash. They were secretly in the CIA and their names have already come up in this matter numerous times."

"So Emma cross referenced a list of passengers from that flight with a leaked list of known affiliates of Hydra." Peter told them, his eyes wide as he told them everything they had been up to in the past few hours. "We found a match in the form of a man named William Huntington. He was an aid to Senator Stern who was another member of Hydra."

"Trust me, I'm more than aware of the fact that Stern was a member of Hydra. It makes a lot of sense, actually." Tony quipped before giving the teenagers a confused look. "What does this have to do with you two going out and about while Hydra's on the move?" Emma scoffed.

"Haven't you been listening to anything?" Emma said before explaining herself further. "It's no coincidence that a member of Hydra just so happened to be on the same flight as Peter's parents, two CIA agents, who we believed were about to blow the whistle on Hydra."

"How do you even know that Peter's parents knew anything about Hydra?" Clint questioned, voicing everyone else's thoughts.

"We weren't sure how they would know either so Emma thought if my parents did know something then they would've hidden it somewhere for her parents to find." Peter explained as he then pulled out his dad's journal, that he had been storing inside his hoodie, and tossed it onto the table much to everyone's surprise. "That's why we left to go to my apartment. Aunt May has a lot of my parents' things around the apartment."

"Michelle and I found Mr. Parker's old briefcase in a closet in Peter's apartment." Shuri said, speaking up for the first time since they walked into the conference room. Her brother still seemed angry but he listened to her silently nevertheless. "He kept the journal inside a secret pocket in the briefcase which Emma managed to find."

"He and my mom went on a mission for the CIA." Peter explained to the Avengers as each of them passed the journal around to each other, making sure that everyone had a chance to look at the contents. "They soon discovered Hydra's existence inside various government agencies and became so paranoid that they never even reported their discovery to the CIA. My father kept journal entries in the hopes that if anything happened then someone could read the journal and find out about Hydra."

"The journal entries are addressed to my parents." Emma said quietly when Peter finished speaking. "They found out Hydra's plans for me and wanted to warn my parents before it was too late. They just placed their trust in the wrong person...Alexander Pierce."

Nearly everyone in the room winced when Emma said the name. Alexander Pierce was a sadistic monster who had his own daughter murdered before having his granddaughter tortured and made into a weapon. Nick Fury killing the man wasn't frown upon in any form around the Avengers.

"They also left us a flashdrive containing a lot of Hydra files we've never seen before." Peter said as he nodded towards Emma, indicating for her to show them the flashdrive. She took it out of her pocket and tossed it on the table much like Peter had tossed the journal onto the table. "We didn't really have a chance to look at any of the files. We wanted to get back to the compound before we ran into any trouble."

"There's stuff about the super soldier serum that Howard Stark created, Diego Ugalde, and the Viper Assassin program on there. Basically everything about Hydra is on this flashdrive." Emma informed them and Steve held the flashdrive in his hand, curiously looking at it before glancing over at Emma.

"This could be really useful." Natasha said quietly. "We just captured Ugalde and he gave us the location of Hydra Headquarters where Rumlow is also located. This might give us some more intel in what we can expect." Emma wasn't exactly surprised that they had captured Ugalde since more than half the team went on the mission. They probably retrieved a shit load of those weapons too.

"Not that we don't appreciate the length all three of you went to so you could get us this information but do you know how dangerous it was for you to leave the compound?" Steve said carefully. He didn't look as mad as before but it was clear that Emma was going to be grounded for a long time after this whole thing was over.

"Steve, we knew none of you would've let us do this. I didn't know how long your mission would take so I didn't want to waste any time." Emma told him truthfully and her father shook his head, speaking for the first time in the conversation.

"Emma, you don't know how badly Rumlow wants you. You put yourself at risk going out there. They could've taken you at any moment." Her father told her and Emma stared at him, not knowing what to say to him. They hadn't been on the best of terms ever since her father tried to forbid her from seeing Peter.

"Emma was safe with me." Peter told him protectively and it was clear that Bucky didn't care much for his answer but he didn't say so. He didn't want to make it worse between him and Emma.

"What and we're just supposed to trust you when you say that?" Sam said doubtfully. "We don't even know you, kid."

"I don't need protection. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." Emma said as she glared at Sam.

"Obviously you're not if you would do something so stupid as to go back into the city with Hydra on the loose." Tony pointed out and Emma shifted her glare over to him.

"Hydra almost completely destroyed the compound. It doesn't matter if I'm here or out there." Emma said in response. "Everywhere's dangerous."

"Perhaps we should take a look at the flashdrive Emma and Peter retrieved for us." Vision said carefully as he looked between all the angry heroes. He was usually the only logical one in a situation like this one. Much more logical than the others, at least.

"Vision's right." Wanda said in agreement, giving the android a small smile before nodding towards the flashdrive which was still lying on the table. Everyone seemed to calm down a bit after that, their focus turning to the problem at hand. Tony just sighed as he took the flashdrive and immediately plugged it into the USB port on the table. It didn't take long for McConaughey to download all the files from the tiny device.

Some of the other Avengers at the table couldn't help but be reminded of the time they were in a similar situation when Bucky sent them a flashdrive which eventually led them to Emma. Last time there was a lot less of them and two of those Avengers were noticeably missing this time. However, there were more this time around and they were going to need everyone if they were going to go up against Hydra again. This time Hydra was nearly as big as last time.

This time the Avengers wanted to make sure that Hydra went extinct. No more heads to take the others' place.

It didn't take long for the files to start popping up on the holographic screen. Everyone in the room was driven speechless and curious by the amount of information displayed on the screen in front of them. It was almost too much to comprehend as their eyes darted across the screen. The files contained more information than they could ever imagine.

"There's so much here." Maria Hill mused as her eyes remained glued to the screen. "Look at all these files. I haven't seen this much intel since Hydragate."

"Winter Soldier Program, Viper Assassin Program, Ugalde, Hydra Base Locations…" Natasha said as she read the files as well. "This file basically has everything."

"Howard Stark's Super Soldier Serum." Tony murmured as he found himself unable to look away from the screen. Emma was just glad to see that she managed to erase the file about her and her father from the flashdrive. It was gone and she could prevent everyone else from knowing. There was no use in them knowing anyways.

"Wasn't that the one that-" Clint started to say but Emma didn't let him finish.

"The one that Hydra injected me with? Yes." Emma finished for him as everyone turned to look at her. "I never knew what was in it. I just knew that it burned."

"And it's what got my parents killed." Tony mumbled as he cast a dirty look in Bucky's direction before looking back at the file. Bucky pretended that he didn't see the look but everyone knew that he had. Emma didn't really appreciate the look but she knew that it was already extremely difficult for Tony just to be under the same roof as her father. Telling him to like her father would be asking too much.

"Do you know what's in it?" Shuri couldn't help but asking, looking between Emma and Tony. Tony only glanced at Emma for a second before looking at everyone else at the table. Emma just remained silent.

"I looked through all of dad's research, anything that could've pointed us in a helpful direction, but I've never found a single thing about this super soldier serum." Tony explained to everyone. "There's no evidence that he was even working on the serum. The only evidence is Mini Cap."

"Do you know anything about the serum?" Steve asked Fury who he had never really thought to ask before. Maybe it was because the last time he had seen the former director of Shield, they had been up against Ultron so the question never occurred to him until now. Fury just cleared his throat before shaking his head.

"Howard never told Shield about any serum he was working on. Whatever he was doing, he was keeping it to himself." Fury said and Natasha nodded as Tony started to comb through the file, looking for any details that could give him an inkling as to why Emma was of such value to Hydra. They needed find out what made her different from Steve and Bucky. Whatever difference there was, that's what made her more valuable than the two combined.

"Makes sense. Maybe he didn't totally trust Shield. Maybe he thought the only one he could trust was himself." Natasha said just when something got Emma and everyone else's eyes. The blonde narrowed her eyes as she read something very interesting on screen...something that proved to her that maybe Howard Stark was a little too much like his son.

"Or maybe he knew what he was doing was wrong and he didn't want Shield to find out about it." Emma said much to everyone's confusion but she nodded towards the screen where a whole treasure trove of information was listed. "Just look at what he was doing."

And everyone's attention was taken away by the very clear picture of the Tesseract in all it's glory. Not only was there a photo of it in the file but there was also a diagram with notes attached to it in what must have been Howard Stark's handwriting. The file was filled with Howard's notes which clearly told the story of what Emma's super soldier serum contained.

Suddenly everything made sense.

Emma's flying abilities...her very fast healing factor as well as her speed and strength which was superior to Steve and Bucky's speed and strength the more she aged. This was why the Viper Assassin was the more advanced version of the super soldier. This was why Hydra was after her. They had spent a lot of time, money, and effort on her so they very much wanted her back. Rumlow for other reasons but Hydra as an organization wanted her back more than anything.

"I don't understand." Bucky said in confusion as he stared at the screen. Everyone else seemed as equally confused. He tried to recall his memories from that time but everything was blurry. Shuri had fixed him in a lot of ways but his mind still had some work to do. He knew there was a lot he didn't want to remember from his time in Hydra so maybe that was the problem.

"Did Howard Stark experiment with the Tesseract like Hydra experimented with the Mind Stone?" Wanda said, the first one to utter what everyone else was thinking.

"That's what's running through Emma's veins?" Steve questioned, looking more worried than ever. "The Tesseract? Howard made his very own super soldier serum using the Tesseract?"

"It explains a lot. Hydra must've gotten a whiff of what he was doing and went after the serum to make something better than the Winter Soldier." Bucky said quietly although he looked quite sad.

It was then that they heard someone laughing amongst all the shock and confusion. Everyone turned to look at the person in question only to see that it was Emma herself. She had been pretty quiet since she made the discovery of what was truly hidden inside her but it wasn't until she started laughing that people remembered that she was still in the room. Peter looked at his girlfriend in concern because it was rare that she ever laughed but it was also pretty odd that she chose to laugh in a serious circumstance like this one.

"Emma?" Peter asked in concern as he stared back at her, a worried look in his brown eyes. Everyone else looked just as concerned, probably thinking that the blonde had finally lost her mind...if she hadn't already. Emma, however, just shook her head as she looked at Tony of all people.

"I'm your dad's Ultron." She said, a sarcastic smile on her face. "Don't you see how ironic this is?"

"What are you talking about?" Tony said, not quite understanding what the blonde was saying. She sighed before answering.

"I always wondered where your love of messing with shit you don't understand came from. Now I know." Emma told him and Tony swallowed hard as he looked back at the tall blonde, a wave of different emotions washing over him.

"You're not my dad's Ultron, Emma." Tony tried to tell her but Emma scoffed.

"Aren't I? He was experimenting with the Tesseract, which was well beyond his understanding, and now we're all here in this situation." Emma said as she looked around at everyone. "Isn't it messed up that I didn't know what was even in my body until five minutes ago. I had no fucking clue that I had Tesseract energy inside me. What does that even mean?"

"Emma, calm down." Steve tried to tell her because he knew she was panicking. She always got angry and frustrated when she panicked. Steve knew that for a fact.

"I can't calm down." Emma argued as she tried to remain calm but it was becoming incredibly difficult to remain calm in a situation like this one. "I can't calm down because apparently Tony's dad had the brilliant idea to mess with an Infinity Stone. That's what Thor called them, right? The Tesseract and the Mind Stone, I mean."

"There's no need to panic. We're going to figure this thing out, okay?" Tony tried to tell the blonde but she wasn't listening.

"No one knows what this means. What does having that kind of power even entail? Will it kill me? Make me sick?" Emma said cynically and Peter started to panic himself.

"Emma, don't say that." Peter tried to tell her, not liking what she was saying at all. He didn't want to think of Emma getting sick from the Tesseract energy. He had to admit when he first learned the news, he thought it was kind of cool. The fact that Emma basically had the power of the Tesseract, the super cool cube thing Loki used in his attempt to take over the world, running through her veins was awesome. He was sure Ned would think it was the coolest thing ever too. However, the other stuff didn't occur to Peter until Emma mentioned it. This could actually be very bad.

"Well, it's not good." Emma said, ignoring the worried look on her boyfriend's face. "You do know that Hydra took hundreds of samples of my blood while I was there, right? Who knows what the hell they did with those samples."

"You think that they might have experimented with your blood samples?" Vision inquired and Emma shrugged.

"Rumlow has something up his sleeve. That's why we haven't seen him yet and that's why Hydra broke Dr. List out of Raft. Rumlow's just waiting until the last second to show all his cards." Emma told them, a deadly serious look in her eyes. "Maybe this is what he has waiting for us."

"I just don't understand how your serum was made using Tesseract energy." Shuri said in confusion. "The Tesseract emits low levels of gamma radiation. It actually explains the readings Peter and I found within the compound which must've come from you. How could you have been able to survive those levels of gamma radiation? You should be dead."

Emma honestly hadn't thought of the gamma radiation part of it. It didn't occur to her until then that her serum being infused with Tesseract energy would also mean that the serum contained gamma radiation in it too. Probably nowhere near as high as Bruce's levels of gamma radiation but still.

"It's because Steve's serum was passed down to her." Tony said quietly as everyone looked back at the billionaire. "Think about it. All the other assassins at Hydra were driven insane by the serum. They psychologically couldn't handle the new serum but maybe they couldn't physically handle it either." Tony only briefly paused for a second before continuing.

"Steve's serum was probably washed down by the time it got to Emma but it was still there." Tony explained to everyone. "Even before Hydra, Emma couldn't get sick. It was impossible just like it was for her dad. Emma wasn't going to get radiation poisoning or cancer because she can't."

"She's immune to cancer? Can someone even be immune to cancer?" Rhodey questioned in surprise as Steve just looked at his granddaughter who was remarkably quiet during all of this. Peter seemed concerned too but he was a little relieved to hear that it was impossible for Emma to get sick. He supposed it would be reassuring for everyone to hear that their significant other couldn't get sick. Peter hadn't known that about Emma but he supposed it made a lot of sense. She couldn't get drunk either so it made sense that she couldn't get sick.

"My dad used to believe that Steve's blood could be the cure for the common cold." Tony said as he answered Rhodey.

"Shouldn't we have known Emma had even low levels of gamma radiation in her bloodstream?" Natasha questioned incredulously. "Wouldn't have Jarvis found that in his scans when we first brought her back to the tower three years ago?" Tony immediately shook his head.

"There's a loophole in that. Jarvis only would've alerted us of that if he found the gamma radiation to be a threat to her health." Tony told her as everyone took in that explanation. "The same way McConaughey never alerted us to any levels of gamma radiation Wanda or Vision might have from the Mind Stone."

Everyone had to admit that made sense. They never thought of Wanda or Vision having any levels of gamma radiation in them but if Emma did then it was likely they did too since the Tesseract and Mind Stone were very similar. In other words, maybe Emma wasn't too different from Wanda and Vision.

"So Rumlow has his hands on this serum?" Sam said, finally bringing the conversation to yet another problem they were facing.

Steve nodded solemnly although he was still immensely worried about what this could mean for Emma. He always knew Emma had the potential to be a lot more stronger than him but he never knew it was to this extent. Could the ability to fly really be the extent of her abilities if her serum was infused with Tesseract energy? Steve doubted it but now wasn't the time to muse about how much more danger Emma would be in if people discovered the true contents of her super soldier serum.

"This means we have to act fast but cautiously." Steve said, a serious and determined look on his face as he began to announce the plan he had in mind for going up against Hydra. "Ugalde gave us the location of Hydra Headquarters where we believe Rumlow and a large number of other Hydra operatives are located at. The Swiss Alps. The same location as the old Hydra Headquarters Red Skull built."

"I never knew Rumlow to be nostalgic." Bucky said dryly and Emma had to agree with her father on that. No, this was something else. Rumlow definitely had something in store for them and it wouldn't surprise her if it was her serum.

"He has something planned for us. I think we all know that which is why we have to be extra careful." Steve informed the group of superheroes. "He'll be expecting to catch us off guard in whatever way he can."

"When are we heading out for the mission, Cap?" Clint finally asked and this question seemed to be on everyone's minds as well.

"It's already in the early hours of the morning. Some of us are functioning on zero hours of sleep right now." Steve said calmly but Emma could tell he was on edge right now. All of them were. "Go get a couple hours of sleep and then we'll get ready to leave at dawn."

"Sounds like a plan, Cap." Tony said, the first one to speak out of the rest of them. It was clear this conversation was over since they learned what they needed to learn from the flashdrive. Natasha and Steve were probably going to stick around to look at the remaining info on the flashdrive but everyone else wasn't needed that much.

Everyone nodded amongst each other as they began to file out of the room but Emma still stood in the middle of the room, trying to process everything she just learned. It was a lot for anyone to comprehend but for Emma it was even more difficult. Just when she thought she knew everything there was to know about herself, there was even more. First with the Winter Viper project and now with Tony's dad using the Tesseract to experiment with her super soldier serum. She was even more of a freak than before. Emma just never knew that was possible.

"Emma, are you alright?" Peter asked his girlfriend in concern and Emma was finally broken out of her thoughts. She glanced up at him and noticed that he wasn't the only one who looked concerned either. The other Avengers, the ones who hadn't left yet, looked worried as they stared back at her. Tony. Natasha. Rhodey. Clint. Steve. Her father. Wanda. Vision. Sam. Peter. Everyone who knew her best also knew that not even _she_ could handle everything at times.

"Yes, I'm...fine. I'm great." Emma said hurriedly but Peter could tell that she certainly didn't feel fine. He knew her well enough to know when something was bothering her. Peter could already tell that the news of the true origin of her powers was taking a toll on her. In fact, Emma had also been acting weird ever since they left the apartment. Peter was starting to think that maybe it wasn't just the Tesseract thing. Maybe it was something else too.

"Emma, do you need a moment to-" Steve started to say out of concern but the blonde just shook her head before he could finish as she started to abruptly leave the room. She couldn't take being in the room for a second longer. Not with everyone staring at her like that...like they didn't know what to make of her.

"I need to go." She managed to mutter as she walked out of the room. Both Steve and Peter made a move to follow after her but Bucky and Tony stopped them. Bucky just shook his head at Steve as he rested his hand on his arm, stopping his friend from intervening while Tony was a little more vocal in his transgressions of stopping Peter from going after her too.

"I think she wants to be alone right now, kid." Tony told the teenage boy quietly but Peter furiously shook his head.

"No. Emma needs me right now. She-" Peter started to say but Tony interrupted him.

"She _needs_ to be alone right now." Tony added, looking Peter in the eyes as he made sure the boy understood him. "Emma just needs time to process this by herself. She'll be alright."

"Emma will always be alright. She can take care of herself." Bucky told Steve quietly and he knew this better than anyone else. Steve couldn't help but listen to the words of his long time best friend who probably knew Emma best. Peter listened to him too for that matter.

"Just give her some time, Steve." Natasha told the super soldier to try and ease his mind a little. "Let's look at the flashdrive in the meantime. We're leaving for the mission in a few hours so we should gather all the intel we can in the meantime. Who knows when we'll get another opportunity like this." Steve slowly nodded although he didn't like this one bit.

"You're right. Let's check out that file about the Hydra operatives." Steve said with his eyes still glued to the door his granddaughter had just walked out of. He didn't seem too keen on letting Emma go like that but he knew that Bucky and Tony had a point. She just needed time to process it all.

"Lets go get you something to eat, Peter. You must be starving." Tony told the teenager, wanting to get the kid's mind off Emma but he knew that was going to be an impossible task. Peter was always worried about Emma. Especially now with everything about Hydra going on.

"I uh-I don't know, Mr. Stark. Emma-" Peter started to say but Tony stopped him before he could protest anymore. He threw his arm around the young boy's shoulders and began to lead him out of the room. It was for the best, really. He knew better than anyone else that Emma didn't like to be pushed. She just needed a little time to process everything and then maybe she could sit down and have an actual conversation with Peter, Steve, and Bucky.

"It'll be okay, kid. You'll see." Tony told Peter as he quickly began to lead him out of the room. Bucky watched them go with a thoughtful look on his face. Thoughtful because he was slowly realizing that maybe the boy did care about Emma, after all. After the talk with Darcy and now seeing the boy with a worried look on his face, he was realizing that Peter might not have been just a sex crazed idiot, after all.

Maybe there was more to him.

* * *

Tesseract.

Emma tried to process the name as she came to terms with this new information. She knew more than well what the Tesseract was. Loki's attack on New York was enough to make her more than aware of what it was. She also knew that it was an Infinity Stone. Thor informed everyone as much before he took his leave to find the other Infinity Stones. And to think that Emma had something like that in her body. The weapons powered by the Tesseract were one thing but those were just chunks of metal put together by engineers. Emma was a person yet she had the same thing in her that those weapons had.

Gamma radiation too? It made sense that she probably had gamma radiation in her bloodstream as well since the Tesseract emitted low levels of gamma radiation but it was such an alarming thing to hear. She knew that meant that she wasn't completely different from Peter who also had radiation in him. Although...Peter's radiation came from a spider bite while Emma's radiation apparently came from an Infinity Stone. The same Infinity Stone that opened that giant portal in New York when Loki launched his attack all those years ago.

It certainly explained how her powers were different from Steve and her father but Emma just didn't think she liked the idea of something like that inside of her. She mentally cursed Tony's dad for fucking with things he didn't understand. Why did he have to be so much like his son? Why couldn't he have left things alone? Experimenting with things beyond human understanding never had any good results. Emma was evidence enough of that.

God...what would Peter even think of her now? He already knew she was fucked up to begin with but now it seemed like she was even more fucked up than before. Who knew what this Tesseract thing meant. She might not be able to die from radiation poisoning but what other side effects did it have? Was she capable of doing more than just flying? Emma didn't know. There was so much that she still didn't understand about herself. She just hoped the others didn't feel as afraid of her as she felt afraid of herself.

"Redwood. Knox. Pecan." Emma started to say to herself as everything suddenly felt so overwhelming to her. Jessica had given her the advice of repeatedly saying street names from her childhood whenever she felt like she was about to fall off the edge. Of course the advice was intended to be for whenever Emma's PTSD about the rape got really bad but she thought it might apply to this situation too. "Redwood. Knox. Pecan."

"What does that mean?" Emma immediately turned around when she heard the voice from behind her. She relaxed a bit when she saw that it was only Clint. The blonde just shook her head as she turned back around to stare out the window of the empty conference room they were in. There seemed to be an abundance of empty conference rooms around the compound. Probably because there hadn't been a lot going on until this Hydra thing started up again.

"Nothing. I was just talking to myself." Emma said quietly, feeling a little bit awkward being alone in a room with Clint. Not because she thought he was creepy or anything but just because she had rarely been in a room with him without any of the others. Emma didn't think she had talked to him for more than a couple minutes either. He wasn't an Avenger she was very close to but it wasn't by choice. Clint was just never around long enough for her to establish that kind of relationship with him. She assumed it was because he had kids and maybe he thought she was dangerous too. Emma didn't blame him for that. She _was_ dangerous.

"I didn't think you were someone who did that." Clint said observantly and Emma just shrugged.

"Well, I don't do it often." Emma told him softly before looking over at the older man. "Why are you here anyways? Did Steve send you?" Clint just shook his head.

"I came here on my own volition." Clint informed her. "You look like you might've wanted someone to talk to."

"You're wrong. Talking to someone is the last thing I need right now." Emma said, giving him a doubtful look. "If you want to discuss your concern about the serum Tony's genius of a dad created then I'm not in the mood."

"That's not what I wanted to talk about." Clint tried to say but it clear that Emma was in a less than pleasant mood right now which was to be expected.

"I don't need you lecturing me about the running off thing either. I already have Steve and my father for that." Emma added and Clint was getting a little overwhelmed at this point because he didn't know how he was going to say what he wanted to say. It was a conversation he had practiced in his head for the past sixteen years. He used to think he would be having this conversation with Margot but it was too late for that now but maybe he could have this conversation with her daughter.

"That's not it either." Clint tried to tell her and Emma just gave him a confused look.

"I don't understand you. For the past three years I can literally count the times we've talked on one hand which I understand to a point." Emma said, thinking she knew the reason why Clint had always kept his distance from her. "I mean, I didn't expect all the Avengers to automatically like me. I knew one or two might be cautious. I'm not stupid. I know that I was an assassin for a terrorist organization. I've murdered a lot of people."

"That's not why I stayed away from you." Clint said, feeling more and more guilty the longer he stood there in front of her.

"I don't even know why you're here." Emma said, ignoring his comment. "Shouldn't you be at home with your wife and kids? Lang went home to _his_ daughter."

"I can't go home, Emma." Clint told her softly. "I have a lot of unfinished business."

"You're not making any sense." Emma said, looking more confused than ever. "Are you on something, Clint?" Clint sighed heavily before finally telling her the thing he should've told her a long time ago.

"The reason I've stayed away from you is because you make me think of Margot." Clint finally said much to both his and Emma's surprise. She didn't completely understand what he was saying at first. It was just so unexpected and random that it was probably the last thing she expected to hear from Clint.

"What?" Emma asked in confusion, clearly thinking she had misheard him or at least misunderstood what he was saying. Clint sighed once more before elaborating because he knew Emma was either going to listen to him and accept his apology or she'd hate him forever.

"Your mother. I knew her." Clint tried to explain and Emma didn't seem bothered as she nodded in response.

"I know. You were both in Shield. It only makes sense. You knew my dad too." Emma said, not knowing why Clint was making such a big deal out of this. He just shook his head.

"No, I meant that I knew her in a bigger way than that. She was more to me than just another agent." Clint attempted to explain to her much to Emma's horror.

"Are you saying you had sex with my mom?" Emma questioned, her eyes wide with fear and disgust. Clint's eyes widened in surprise as well as he furiously shook his head. "Ew. Gross. Why would you even tell me something like that? Just keep it to yourself. Wait...is this your way of telling me that you're my real dad?"

"Of course not. That's not what I meant either." Clint said nervously, blushing a bright red, as he remarked at how difficult this was. He didn't think it was possible for him to embarrass himself further so he just continued without thinking too much about it. "It wasn't like that with your mom and I. She was my friend...my best friend, actually."

"You're saying that you were friends with her?" Emma asked in confusion, feeling very perplexed by the situation at hand. Clint nodded slowly.

"She kind of took me under her wing when I first came to Shield." Clint mentioned with a soft look on his face. "She was my partner."

"I thought Natasha was your partner." Emma said, still not totally wrapping her mind around what Clint was telling her. She remembered the close friendship of the archer and former assassin. There were a great amount of famous tales of the two's adventures. During their Shield days, Natasha and Clint were inseparable. Emma couldn't deny that the two worked well together either.

"She is but your mother was my partner before I even knew Natasha." Clint explained to her and Emma scoffed, still in disbelief over this news.

"I'm sorry but did everyone secretly know my parents? First Tony and now you. Is Bruce going to walk in here someday telling me that he's secretly my uncle too?" Emma said sarcastically although she was just really frustrated at this point. Sometimes she felt like the whole team was keeping secrets from her and it was entirely exhausting. Emotionally wise anyways.

"I know this is a lot and you've been through a lot too but I've been holding this in for a while and...well, you just need to know." Clint said as he then went on to explain his relationship with her mother. "No one really believed in me when I first got to Shield. I mean, Fury recruited me but no one else really spared me a second glance. I was a high school drop out...just some circus freak, really." Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise at that. She hadn't known that about Clint. Well, she barely knew Clint but still. All Emma knew about Clint was that he had a wife and kids.

"Your mother though...Margot. She didn't look down at me. She just took me under her wing without any complaint." Clint said as he smiled fondly at the memory of Margot's kind and encouraging smile on his first mission. "Margot was very kind. Maybe too kind to be a Shield agent. I always thought she'd be a better kindergarten teacher or nurse. Her bedside manner was always great although she was very chatty. Just ask Maria and Fury and they'll tell you the same thing."

Emma usually didn't like hearing stories about her parents. She usually just liked to forget about them if she could because it hurt a little bit to know that she would never know them like Tony or Clint apparently had. Emma even felt a little envious of the people who knew her parents. It was much easier to forget about them and be grateful that she had Steve and her father. Emma loved Steve and her father more than anything. So much that she didn't want to imagine a life without them in it. However, Emma still had a lingering fascination about her parents. She supposed any orphan would.

"I loved your mother but in a more brotherly way." Clint said, breaking Emma out of her thoughts as she looked back at him.

"I don't understand. You've barely said more than a few words to me in the entire time we've known each other." Emma said, still very much confused and Clint sighed heavily.

"Your mom and I had a falling out before you were born." Clint informed her much to Emma's surprise but she remained silent as she listened to what he had to say. The sad look in his eyes didn't escape her notice. "I was a really stupid and selfish kid back then. Your mother was all I had left. My family died a long time ago and I was never great at making friends so she was kind of like my family in a way, I guess."

Emma could tell that this was really difficult for him to talk about. He was being vulnerable with her and Emma understood how difficult that was. She always hated being vulnerable as well. This was obviously a hard topic for him to talk about so she wanted to respect that and just listen quietly.

"When she told me that she and your father were quitting Shield and moving away, I got scared. I was terrified of being alone." Clint admitted, looking quite guilty as he did so. "She assured me that I could visit whenever I wanted but I was so angry. I ignored her for years, thinking that someday we'd make up but I wasn't ready. I wasted all that time being angry and then she was gone."

"You mean she died." Emma said softly and Clint nodded sadly before continuing.

"I realized that I'd never be able to tell her how sorry I was." Clint said quietly and Emma just stared at him.

"That's why you've avoided me all this time?" Emma asked incredulously, not believing that these words were coming from a grown man's mouth. "That's ridiculous. What happened between you and my mom has nothing to do with me."

"But it does." Clint argued, still feeling the guilt resting heavily upon his shoulders. "Maybe if I hadn't stayed away from you and your parents then they'd still be alive. Maybe you never would've been taken by Hydra. Maybe you wouldn't have been…"

"Raped?" Emma finished for him after he trailed off. Clint's gaze hardened as he looked back at her as if the mere word was some kind of trigger word for him. Emma thought that was remarkably stupid of him. The word should've been a trigger word for her. Not him.

He wasn't the one who had been raped so she didn't think he deserved to be so angry about it. She actually didn't think anyone but her was allowed to be angry about it. All the men in her life were contemplating ways of killing Rumlow and wallowing in their own guilt but Emma was sick and tired of it. Emma didn't think they had the right to be angry and guilty over what happened. Only she did. She was the only one that was actually there, after all. Emma understood why they were angry but she hated them thinking she was a broken and damaged damsel in distress waiting to be saved by them. That wasn't who she was.

"I just had this same conversation with Peter. I don't deal with 'What-If' scenarios. Neither should you." Emma told him, sounding wise beyond her years. "My parents blood is on Hydra's hands. No one else's. I don't blame you for their deaths and while I didn't know my parents that well, I know they wouldn't blame you either."

"I know but I just…" Clint trailed off again, trying to find the right words to say. "I guess what I'm asking for is forgiveness."

Emma felt odd as she looked into Clint's pleading blue eyes. She felt like she also had this conversation with Tony last year. Wasn't it strange that both her mother and father meant so much to these two men who were now strangely a part of her life too? She never would've imagined something like this in a hundred years. Her dad had meant a lot to Tony but it turned out that her mom meant a lot to Clint as well. Now here they all were gearing up to go into a fight together to avenge their deaths. The world really was a small place.

"You already have it, Clint." Emma told him and it was true. There was nothing for her to forgive him for but she knew it was what he wanted to hear.

"Thank you." He said softly and Emma gave him a small smile.

"No problem." She managed to say, not knowing what else to say. There was a brief moment of silence between them before Clint spoke up again. However, what he said ultimately surprised Emma.

"Your mom was a really good person, you know." He mentioned much to Emma's curiosity. "The best, really."

"I've heard as much." Emma said, sounding unsure. Not because she didn't think her mother was a good person but because she usually didn't tend to dwell on the subject of her parents too often.

"I really mean it though." Clint said seriously as he remembered Margot's kindness and her light while he talked about her to her daughter. He just found it sad that he had to tell Emma these things about her mother because she would never know otherwise. Sometimes he even felt guilty for knowing Emma because he knew Margot never really got the chance. "Every good decision I made was because of her. Laura and the kids, Natasha, The Avengers...everything."

"Natasha?" Emma asked in confusion and Clint nodded.

"That day when I came face to face with the Black Widow, all those years ago, was the first time since your mother's death that I was faced with a tough decision. My orders were to shoot on sight but when it came to down to it, I just couldn't." Clint explained to Emma who watched him in fascination. "She was just a kid at the time and then I thought about what Margot would do. She wouldn't have killed the girl. Margot would've helped her so I did the same."

"Margot helped me when no one else would so I knew I had to help Natasha because one else would either." Clint said, a distant look in his eyes. "It's why I joined the others for the fight in New York even after Loki's mind control took a toll on me. I knew Margot would've stepped in and helped out."

"Maybe she wasn't the reason you made all those decisions." Emma told him quietly. Clint looked up at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Clint asked her and Emma shrugged nonchalantly although she was anything but nonchalant.

"You said every good decision you made was because of her but maybe it wasn't." Emma said as she explained her words. "Maybe you didn't make those decisions because of her. Maybe she just made you want to be a better person and that's why you made those decisions...because you're a better person now."

"I uh...never thought of it that way before." Clint said, still taking in the blonde's wise words.

It was in that moment that he realized that perhaps she wasn't her mother's daughter or even Steve's granddaughter. Perhaps she was her own person. Perhaps she was just Emma Rogers because he couldn't find a person to compare her to. Maybe comparing her to her mother had been his problem all along and especially since they weren't much alike. While Margot had always been full of advice, she had never been as eloquent as Emma was. She always struggled to find the right words to say and hilariously failed in doing so sometimes.

"I think everyone should have a person that does that to them." Emma said, seeming a bit more shy than usual. Clint raised an eyebrow at the way she glanced down at her shoes. That didn't seem like Emma very much even though Clint didn't know her on a personal level.

"Do you?" He questioned even though he felt like he knew the answer to that already. No one could seem to stop talking about Emma and her new boyfriend. Even Clint had to admit that he was still a bit in disbelief over the fact that she had a boyfriend. Margot's daughter seemed very moody and even unpleasant at times. She wasn't very nice either but everyone still loved her. Emma was everyone's soft spot which made a lot of sense. She was Cap's last living relative as well as the daughter of Margot and Steven Rogers Jr., after all.

This was why everyone was a tad bit overprotective of her. It seemed only logical that the Avengers could be reunited because of her but because of their overprotectiveness everyone was still a little wary over her boyfriend. At least he, Steve, and Sam were while Bucky was a whole other level of protective that was kind of scary to watch. Clint and Sam had been tempted to scare the kid but they decided not to because they were positive that Bucky already terrified the teenage boy. Clint actually pitied the kid a bit.

"Yes, I do, actually." Emma said quietly and Clint smiled at her.

"I'm glad." He told her before a more serious look crossed his face. "I guess we should all catch some sleep before the mission."

"You're probably right." Emma said as she returned his smile. She was then taken by surprise at the hopeful look that suddenly came across the archer's face.

"How about a hug for old time's sake?" Clint asked and Emma gave him an odd look.

"Old time's sake? I barely know you." Emma retorted, not liking the idea of hugging Clint who she barely knew. She wasn't really a hugger. Maybe where Peter was involved but that's only because he was her boyfriend.

"Then just a hug in memory of your mother." Clint said as he held out his arms, signaling that he was going to hug her whether she liked it or not. Emma just sighed heavily before going over to the older man and awkwardly stepping into his arms. He smiled at the grumpy teenager as he embraced her, patting her on the back as Emma stood there silently. She reluctantly wrapped her arms around him too but it was only for a brief moment. Clint thought he almost imagined it.

"If you tell anyone about this then I'll kill you." Emma threatened once they pulled away but Clint didn't take her seriously. He just smiled at her in amusement.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me, Rogers." Clint said before he finally stepped away and went to leave the room, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders from Emma's forgiveness. He knew she didn't understand his guilt that much but it still meant the world to him that she forgave him for the way he left things between himself and her mother.

"Hey, Clint!" Emma called out as he was about to leave the room. He turned back to look at her with a curious look on his face. She bit her lip nervously which was something Clint didn't think he had ever seen her do. A mixture of sadness and warmth came over him as he remembered that it was something he had seen Margot do on occasion. Maybe she _was_ her mother's daughter but just in a smaller way than he would've originally imagined.

"Yes?" Clint questioned as he raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind. Emma finally took the final step in approaching a topic she was always unsure about. That topic was the one about her parents.

"Do you think that you could maybe tell me something about my mom?" Emma asked hesitantly and Clint could tell she was curious although she also was seemingly scared. It was like she wanted to know but didn't want to know at the same time.

"Like what?" He asked her and Emma shrugged, trying to think of something to ask him. Something she didn't already know about her mother.

"What kind of music did she like?" Emma asked after careful consideration. Clint smiled at her again but it was clear that he wasn't smiling at her question and instead at a memory. Emma could tell from the distant look in his eyes.

"Your mother listened to the corniest eighties music you could ever possibly imagine. From Foreigner to Bonnie Tyler. Her music library was just full of that stuff." Clint told the curious teenager happily and Emma smiled at his answer, somehow feeling amused by her mother's music taste which sounded very different from hers. "I used to always make fun of her for her awful taste in music. She used to carry around this CD player everywhere she went, this was before MP3 players and iPods of course, and I could always hear Kim Carnes or Journey blaring from her headphones. Margot never left anywhere without that stupid CD player."

"Thank you, Clint." Emma said softly once she processed that new information. "I really appreciate it." Clint returned her smile as he nodded at her.

"Of course. Just let me know if there's anything else you want to know. I'll always be here if you need me." Clint promised her and Emma could tell he meant it. She knew that they weren't necessarily close and he was only doing this because he loved her mother but Emma appreciated his kindness. Despite how weird it was that people cared about her, it was still nice knowing that she had people around her like that.

"Okay." Emma said quietly and it was a short response but it seemed to be enough for Clint as he finally gave her one last smile and nod before vacating the room, leaving Emma with a lot to think about. Today hadn't turned out to be the best day for her. She was still processing all the information she learned from the USB drive but the vulnerable moment she shared with Clint was enough to bring her spirits back up despite the inevitability that she was finally going to face Rumlow after all this time.

Even so, Emma felt something different from before as she recalled Clint's earlier guilt over everything that happened to her in that Hydra base which included her rape. She recalled the reactions of all the men in her life to her rape. Steve. Papa. Tony. Clint. And Peter especially. All of them were angry and filled with guilt over everything that had happened...that they somehow couldn't have prevented it or they couldn't have saved her from that fate.

Emma wasn't an idiot.

She knew that those same men just weren't looking to infiltrate this Hydra base to stop Hydra once and for all. They also wanted revenge against Rumlow. They wanted to make him pay for what he had done to her and they wanted to right a wrong so she would never have to end up in Rumlow's hands again. She understood their anger and she even understood their guilt to a point.

But it wasn't their revenge to seek.

It was hers and hers alone.

Emma had spent years wanting to kill Rumlow for murdering her parents. She learned a lot from him while she was in Hydra but it was only so that she could use everything he taught her against him. Emma knew what seeking revenge felt like but she just didn't know what it was like to finally get it.

The former assassin had to admit that she lost her will to seek said revenge for a while. The rape threw her off. He invoked a certain type of fear in her after that and Emma became afraid of him. She still was afraid too but she wasn't going to let her fear control anymore. Not when all those men, the ones she held most dear, were at risk. Emma wouldn't let her fear jeopardize their lives.

It was time to finally seek the revenge she had been dreaming about since the day Rumlow killed her parents. Emma really hoped the sick fuck was happy wherever the hell he was because this was going to be his last day on earth.

Rumlow was already dead as far as she was concerned.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So another quick message. I'll try to be a little bit faster with the next update. I'm super excited for the next chapter. There will be a lot more discussion Emma has with the others about the origins of the super soldier serum too. I also know the others didn't really acknowledge Peter's parents' death in this chapter but they were really caught up in the flashdrive. However, there will be a cute moment with him and Tony in the next chapter so don't think I forgot because I definitely didn't.**

 **Thanks for your patience and please leave a review.**


	85. Chapter Seventy Seven

**Author's Note: Okay so I'm going to leave a quick(or not so quick because I have a lot to cover) author's note here at the beginning and then another one at the end answering a bunch of reviews.**

 **I know I apologize a lot for not updating like I used to but this chapter was legitimately a big one. It was actually going to be over 60,000 words long and I was 40,000 words in the other day when I realized that this could in no way be just one chapter. There was too much going on and I didn't want it to be a novel of a chapter so I found a good end point and ended it at 20,000 words. So it's still a giant chapter so take your time with it. Anyways...that's why it took so long and I'm in no way stopping writing the story which some people actually believed. Also, if you want updates on the progress on my stories, I'll try to leave little messages on my profile about that. Or just PM if you want to know how the progress is going.**

 **That being said, I'm also putting all my other stories on hold right now. I want to focus on Some Things Never Sleep. It's nearing the end but there's still going to be several chapters before I end it. This is my main priority right now and I've been working a lot on it.**

 **The next update is going to come a little sooner which I know for a fact because I'm close to finishing it. I just have to write four more scenes in the chapter and then it's done. I'll probably have it ready in a few days or next weekend at the latest.**

 **Another announcement is that I've given the sequel an official name. I had a working title before but the official name is 'North Star'. I'm excited for it because it's going to be so much fun to write. I'm excited for whenever I finally get to that Ragnarok storyline. I was worried about having to stop writing after the Infinity War storyline because I didn't know what was going to happen but I've been so slow lately that I'm not worried anymore. That wasn't intentional by the way. I know some people thought I was purposefully dragging this out but that's not true. Life just kinda got in the way.**

 **I just want to thank Another random account for a ton of stuff this chapter. She definitely got me more inspired to write with all the amazing and beautiful fanart she sent me. The new profile picture I put up of Emma and Peter's upside down kiss was actually done by her and it's just one of the many amazing art work she sent me. She also did the cover for the sequel which is so amazing. I was seriously worried about making that cover because I'm terrible at making covers but she's so good. So I already have a cover so there's no need.**

 **I'm also going to recommend a couple Peter Parker stories I've read lately that I've really fallen in with. There's this one here on called 'Affinity War' by ForASecondThereWe'dWon. It's a Peter/Michelle story but it's so good. There's not a lot of Peter stories I've found that I liked because I'm really picky but that's definitely one of my favorites.**

 **Secondly, there's 'Serenity' by spideypeach on Archive of Our Own. I think it's just on there but it might be on Wattpad too from what the author told me. I know it's not here on though. This is a Peter/OC story involving an OC that's a mermaid. Seriously a genius idea. Anyways...it's amazing and deserves a ton of recognition. Both fics do, actually.**

 **I'd like to also let you guys know that you can always give me constructive criticism as long as it's nice with good intentions and not mean. I learned recently from a couple readers that I've apparently been making a huge grammar error for all a million words of this story. I would've liked to have known this a long time ago because I'm always learning new things and ways to improve my writing. I'm majoring in Culinary Arts so I definitely know I'm not an expert when it comes to things like grammar which I've always had a bit of trouble with ever since high school. So if you guys have pointers for me when it comes to grammar then that would be great. I'm planning on re-editing the entire story anyways...eventually.**

 **I'm going to thank Maggie Rogers for finally finishing this chapter because her new album definitely helped me through my writer's block. You should seriously give her a listen if you haven't yet and you like indie pop. If you love Vera Blue then you'll definitely love Maggie Rogers.**

 **Two major MCU trailers have come out since I last updated. Endgame and Far From Home. Endgame gave us so much but told us so little. Far From Home seems to have the same tone as Homecoming so I'm already excited to write the storyline when that comes along. It's weird to see Jake Gyllenhaal in that kind of role but he's a really good actor so I'm excited to see what kind of villain(or hero) Mysterio will be. Peter's so adorkable as usual so I'm excited to see more dorkiness from him.**

 **Lastly, thanks to all my very patient and tolerant readers for putting up with my slacking off lately. I know it's been really infuriating waiting for a new chapter but just thanks for being so patient. We're at over a million words now, guys! That's so incredible. Over 1,600 followers and 1,360 favorites too which is amazing. You guys are so amazing and thanks for all the reviews as well. I really appreciate it.**

 **Now I'm going to finally finish rambling(I seriously don't blame you if you skimmed through this message) and let you read. Please let me know what you think of the chapter. The next one is almost done so just keep that in mind for a very minor cliffhanger at the end.**

* * *

 **Hydra Headquarters**

 **Location: Swiss Alps**

Rumlow felt better than he had in years. Even better than before he got crushed during all the chaos in the fall of Hydra a few years ago. There was no doubt in his mind that this good feeling he had might've had something to do with the serum Dr. List made using Emma's blood.

Dr. List's experiment had gone well...or as well as it could.

Rumlow had been in more pain than he felt in a long time. He didn't think he could feel pain anymore but this was a different kind of pain. His head had felt like it was going to explode during those first few hours and it had felt like there was fire in his veins as well.

It was the first time he felt anything in over three years.

"Rumlow-er-I mean, Crossbones," Jorgen Nygard said nervously as he walked into Rumlow's office.

He wasn't sure what to call Rumlow these days.

The last time someone had called him Rumlow, they ended up with a bullet in their head and this was another Hydra agent they were talking about too.

Jorgen was now Rumlow's second in command.

The Norwegian Hydra agent had never worked his way through the ranks so fast but with Collins taken prisoner by the Avengers, and several other Hydra agents either dead or taken prisoner as well, Jorgen was one of the few qualified agents to take the position.

Although...Jorgen didn't really know that he liked the job. He had to spend way more time with Rumlow than he liked since Rumlow scared the hell out of him.

"What?!" Rumlow snapped as he turned to look at the tall but lanky man.

The man nearly shrunk back in fright but he seemed to muster what little courage he had left as he prepared himself to inform his superior of some pretty unfortunate news. It didn't necessarily help that Rumlow looked more terrifying than ever.

His Crossbones attire, that he seemed to wear daily as he impatiently waited for an attack from the Avengers, was sinister looking as always. However, his appearance was also drastically different.

Underneath the metal helmet he was wearing, and all the armor, was what looked to be a monster.

After Rumlow had undergone the transformation from the serum Dr. List made, using the Viper Assassin's blood, he looked even worse than before. The serum did little to heal his previous scars from the building falling on him all those years ago. The serum, for some unknown reason, seemed to make Rumlow even worse.

His eyes were scarily bloodshot, save for his dark brown irises, and his dark hair was falling off in clumps with several bald spots now encompassing his head. The older man's teeth were rotting. His teeth had actually started falling out a few days ago. Rumlow's skin was also a very pale sickly color but that wasn't the worst part.

His skin seemed to be rotting off...almost like decaying flesh.

Despite Emma's blood making Rumlow increasingly stronger, faster, and even a bit bigger, there seemed to be severe side effects that no one had predicted.

Not even Dr. List.

Rumlow resembled something more of a zombie or horribly disfigured creature than an actual super soldier. Dr. List theorized that this was due to radiation poisoning from Emma Rogers' blood. He summed it up as much after analyzing Rumlow's blood samples that were contaminated with radiation.

His blood cells were evidence enough of that.

It didn't help that Rumlow was suffering from not just nose bleeds and constant puking but bleeding from the ears and eyes as well. Everything that came out of him was blood and rot. Finally, Rumlow resembled what he truly was on the outside.

A monster.

Dr. List didn't live much longer after that.

"I'd just like to tell you that we received word that Diego Ugalde was captured from his home in Mexico City a few hours ago," Jorgen said nervously, afraid that he might set Rumlow off. "We have limited intel at the moment but we believe this is the Avengers' doing."

The grumpy expression then seemed to fall off Rumlow's face as he stared at Jorgen. An almost gleeful and excited look came over Rumlow's face at this news. It was almost like this was good news to Rumlow instead of bad news like what it was to Hydra. Jorgen didn't know what this meant but he couldn't help but feel highly disturbed by the expression on Rumlow's face.

"The Avengers, huh?" Rumlow said, the smirk on his face widening and showing off his rotting teeth in the process. Jorgen grimaced at the sight. He could feel the bile rising in his throat just from being around Rumlow. Rumlow wasn't a pretty sight these days and not to mention there was a certain odor around him too. The smell vaguely reminded Jorgen of death and decay.

"Yes, sir. That's what I've been told." Jorgen answered awkwardly and he tried to ignore the chills running up and down his spine as a more sinister look came over the disfigured man's face.

"It looks like they finally put the puzzle together, didn't they? It took them long enough." Rumlow muttered and Jorgen gave his superior a confused look.

"Sir?" Jorgen questioned.

"Don't you see, Nygard? Diego, Collins, and all the others were bait. I wanted them to get caught because it meant that it would bring her closer to me," Rumlow explained to a still confused Jorgen who was pretty sure that this was never in the plans.

Who would risk most of their men and weapons just for the sake of one girl?

Granted the Viper Assassin was one very powerful and impressive girl but still. Rumlow was betting what was left of Hydra on this and Jorgen didn't think he liked it. He wasn't sure all the others would like it either if they knew.

"I agree that the Viper Assassin being returned to us would be highly beneficial but I don't think it's worth the Avengers coming here and destroying what's left of Hydra," Jorgen said, trying to reason with the insane man but it was no use. "If the Avengers have Ugalde then that means that they're on their way here as we speak. Ugalde would've ratted us out the first chance he got if they leaned on him enough."

"Hydra is nothing without the Viper Assassin." Rumlow snapped, clearly not listening to a word Jorgen said.

"Brock," Jorgen started to say, a serious expression on his face. He didn't utter the ridiculous name Rumlow gave himself but, instead, his actual name. "The Avengers are going to come here and they're going to annihilate us."

Jorgen only paused briefly before continuing.

"I've heard whispers that some of the other Avengers are back this time. The elder Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, Maximoff, Barton, and even Barnes. I've even heard talk that the king of Wakanda is involved in this," Jorgen informed Rumlow who was listening but not caring about any of it. "There's been no word of any arrests so I can only assume that the United Nations is letting them do the dirty work to get rid of us before they step in. This is a no-win scenario. They're the only ones who will win."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Rumlow said, still looking unbothered by the fact that the most Avengers, there's ever been, were coming for them. Jorgen wasn't sure if Rumlow was delusional or…

Jorgen's eyes then widened as he looked at Rumlow.

He stumbled across the sudden realization that Rumlow was aware of all of this. He was aware that the Avengers were going to either kill everyone or arrest them. Rumlow knew they didn't have a chance but he didn't care. He was going to use everyone as bait anyways if that meant that it might bring her here.

Rumlow knew this was going to be a suicide mission but he was so obsessed with the girl that he was willing to risk everything to be in the same room as her.

That thought scared Jorgen the most.

"Let them come here," Rumlow finally said, a huge smirk on his face. "This just means that they'll bring her to me."

"Sir, I still don't think-" Jorgen started to say but Rumlow interrupted him, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Now we just wait. Everything will fall into place as planned," Rumlow said and Jorgen could only gulp as he watched the monster of a man.

All Jorgen could think about was how Hydra was going to make it out alive this time?

Maybe they would. Maybe they wouldn't.

He just hoped that Rumlow hadn't damned them all.

* * *

"You not hungry, kid?" Tony Stark asked his young protégé, Peter Parker, as they sat in one of the lunch rooms of the compound.

Peter had a lost look on his face as he allowed his mind to process everything he learned that day.

His parents' death, Hydra's involvement in it, and even the newfound origin of his girlfriend's powers.

It seemed like today was leaving its toll on Peter but he was sure that it had to be a lot worse for Emma who was discovering things about herself that she didn't even know. He just wished that she wouldn't have run away from him like that. She obviously needed to talk but, like always, Emma seemed to be against letting people help her.

"I'm fine, Mr. Stark," Peter said, sounding a bit, unlike his usual upbeat self. Tony frowned but he didn't blame the kid. Everyone had been through a lot recently and none more than Peter and Emma. Tony sighed as he set down his green smoothie, wiping his mouth, before looking over at the teenager.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Pete," Tony told him sincerely, causing Peter to glance up at him with a conflicted look on his face. "I know what it's like thinking one thing about your parents' death and then finding out another thing."

"I guess Hydra got them both." Peter murmured softly and Tony analyzed the look on his face, trying to figure out what was the right thing to say in a situation like this. Tony didn't really have a lot of experience with comforting others, after all. Emma and Pepper had proved time and time again that he was bad at it.

"It wasn't easy finding out the truth behind my parent's death at first. Hell, it's sure not easy having their killer under my roof…" Tony trailed off and Peter gave him a curious look.

"But?" Peter inquired and Tony shrugged.

"But I think I'll get through it...eventually," Tony told him and he meant it too. "So will you."

"I don't know," Peter said, a sad look in his brown eyes. "I used to think I knew everything about them. I even thought they were boring people. Now I realize that I was wrong."

"People have secrets. My dad obviously had some pretty big fucking secrets and your parents did too," Tony told him and Peter realized that maybe Tony was right. Peter obviously had a pretty big secret, after all, and Emma had kept the Rumlow thing a secret for so long. Maybe everyone did have secrets.

"I don't want to be like that. I don't want to have secrets," Peter told his mentor suddenly. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"You're keeping a pretty big secret from the whole world, Peter," Tony informed him. "I don't know if you're aware of that or not."

Peter, however, shook his head.

"I meant that I don't want to keep secrets from the people I love," Peter clarified. "I especially don't want to keep secrets from Emma."

"Peter, you're not the type to keep secrets," Tony said as he looked at the teenager. "I think Mini Cap knows that too."

"I just don't want to be like them," Peter said quietly. "They could've told Uncle Ben and Aunt May about what they were doing but they didn't."

"I think they were trying to protect them...and you too," Tony said, not wanting Peter to have a bitter image of his parents. Tony, at times, looked at his own parents that way so he certainly didn't want that for the young and optimistic teenage boy. Peter didn't deserve that.

"Now this whole thing's even affecting Emma," Peter told Tony, moving the conversation forward. "Maybe if they had told Fury from the beginning and trusted him then she wouldn't be going through this. Did you see how upset she was?"

"Yes, I did," Tony admitted, a sad look crossing his own face as he tried to wonder about how Emma must've been feeling right about now. He wondered if she was pissed at him because of his father's mistakes or if she was even scared. Maybe both.

"She's already been through so much. It's not fair for her to have to deal with this too," Peter told him with a worried look on his face. "She must be so scared right now. Emma won't even talk to me either."

"Emma's just trying to wrap her mind around all this. It's a lot for anyone to comprehend," Tony told Peter as he tried to comfort him about Emma. "Sometimes she has to be alone with herself."

"She can talk to me. Emma doesn't have to be alone," Peter said, looking even a bit hurt at the thought that Emma didn't want to talk to him. "She always talks to me when I'm feeling down like that. I can do the same for her."

"I know you can, Peter. Mini Cap knows that too but…" Tony trailed off as he tried to find the right words to say. "She's a bit like me, I guess. Sometimes we just need to sort through things on our own before we want to talk about them with others. Just ask Pepper or Rhodey."

"I guess I get it," Peter said even though he didn't like it.

Emma was different from him.

Peter always needed to talk but Emma made it more than clear in the past that she was perfectly fine with not talking about her feelings. She had gotten a lot better about sharing things with him lately but he just wished that she'd come straight to him with her problems. Peter just wanted to help her sort through her issues. Her problems weren't just hers to deal with alone anymore. They agreed to be partners a long time ago so that meant that Peter wanted her to feel like there wasn't anything she couldn't come to him about.

"She'll be fine in an hour or two," Tony promised him.

"I know," Peter said before an uneasy look came over his face as he remembered another problem he was going to have to face. "I just don't know what to do about Aunt May."

"What do you mean?" Tony questioned, a frown coming over his face.

"Uncle Ben and Aunt May didn't really even know my parents. I already told May that they didn't work for the university and she was shocked," Peter explained to Tony.

"My uncle died not even knowing who his brother really was."

"You'll both get through it," Tony promised, giving the teenage boy a small smile. "You're a lot stronger than you look, kid. That's for sure."

"Thanks, Mr. Stark," Peter told him and although he still didn't look like he quite believed the older man, he was grateful for Mr. Stark's reassurance nonetheless. "I'm still worried about May though."

"I know," Tony started to say. "Which is why she's on her way here as we speak."

"What?" Peter questioned in confusion. Tony nodded.

"I figure since Leeds and Jones are already here then it might be a good idea to get your aunt here as well," Tony explained to him. "We don't know what's going to go down with Hydra. Although the compound isn't in the best of shape right now, it's still better than anywhere else."

"Okay," Peter said, feeling a bit better now that May was going to be safe at the compound.

"It just the best option...considering everything else, I mean," Tony told him and Peter nodded.

"Thank you, Tony," Peter said quietly, looking a bit shy as the billionaire looked at him in surprise. It wasn't very often that Peter called him by his name and not "Mr. Stark".

"Don't mention it, kid," Tony said as he gave him another small smile which seemed to soften up his gaze as he looked down at Peter over from the chair next to him.

The billionaire then seemed to swallow hard as he almost hesitantly reached over and patted the teenage boy on the shoulder. However, it wasn't like the other times he patted Peter on the shoulder. It wasn't awkward and uncomfortable like those times.

He patted Peter on the shoulder in a way that a father would pat his son on the shoulder in a moment of comfort and reassurance. It was very fatherly and Peter felt his heart skip a beat for a moment because it had been so long since he had something like that.

Not since Uncle Ben.

Peter almost forgot what it felt like until now but he welcomed the feeling and welcomed the kindness and affection his mentor gave him.

"Everything's going to be alright, Peter," Tony told the boy reassuringly and Peter gazed back at him, looking at Tony in a new and different light.

He tried to be like Emma.

He tried not to let his emotions get the best of him and while he seemed to manage, for the most part, Peter still held back tears.

He wasn't sad or upset. Not now, because the way Tony looked at him, his fatherly gaze on him, made Peter feel as if everything really was going to be alright. Not just Emma and his parents, but Peter too. Peter felt like he was actually going to make it out of this nightmare and he was going to be okay in the long-run. All he needed was Tony's reassurance and it seemed to be enough to put him in that frame of mind.

If Tony noticed the tears in Peter's eyes then he didn't mention it nor did he tease him about it like he would've done with anyone else. Tony, himself, felt a bit emotional at the new step he seemed to be taking with Peter because it really made him wonder.

How could this have been so difficult for his father?

How could being comforting and reassuring to a young boy in a moment turmoil be so difficult for his father to manage?

It wasn't difficult.

Tony didn't think so, at least.

Tony decided that this would remain another mystery he would ponder for the rest of his life about his father but never understand. Because it was easy, after all. It was so painstakingly easy to just...be _there_ for somebody. Not just Emma but Peter too. It was easy to be there for them and it made Tony realize that maybe he wasn't totally like his father. Maybe there were differences. Maybe Howard Stark and Tony Stark could be two separate people. Tony could at least try. If not for himself then for Peter.

Tony thought he could manage that much at the very least.

* * *

Emma was making her way to her room to get a couple hours of sleep before the mission or maybe just to do anything but think of everything she learned from earlier.

Between learning the origin of her abilities, Clint's connection to her mother, and the thing about her father, Emma was feeling a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't just those things either that had her in over her head. It was her newfound strength she felt in finally facing Rumlow and ending things once and for all. Emma found a new determination within herself to ignore those feelings of fear to save everyone she loved from Rumlow's wrath. She wasn't sure if she was going to be okay but she just knew it was something she had to do.

The blonde was about to head to her room when she noticed the door of her grandfather's bedroom opened.

Emma paused in the doorway as she saw her grandfather sitting on the edge of his bed, his back turned to her. She didn't say anything as she quietly watched him while she leaned against the doorway. He had an unreadable look on his face, looking down at a framed photograph in his hands. As Emma cast her eyes downwards a bit she could see that it was her grandmother.

This was something she never understood about her grandfather.

After all this time, it was clear he still felt a lot for Peggy Carter.

She knew he constantly imagined a life in which he never went down in the ice...that he even longed for such a life but he never said so aloud. Emma could tell when he remembered something from before the ice. A faint smile would cross his face and he'd get a distant look in those blue eyes that were so much like her own. She knew he was reminiscing, but then he'd snap out of it a moment later and change the subject to something else. It was clear he still felt a bit out of place here and he missed her.

Her grandmother, she meant.

Of course, there was Susan but it was clear to Emma that while her grandfather flirted, in his own weird way, with the young scientist, he was still hung up on Peggy.

Emma wished it wasn't that way.

Now that she found some happiness for herself, she only wanted Steve to find that same happiness. He deserved it more than anyone she knew.

"Do you still miss her that much?" Emma asked quietly even though she already knew the answer. Steve flinched in surprise before turning around to look at her.

"You're so good at doing that. I'll never understand," Steve said as he smiled at her softly. Emma took that as an invitation to enter his room.

"It's more like a bad habit now than anything else," Emma explained before sitting next to him on the bed and giving him a curious look. "You didn't answer my question though."

Steve sighed as he momentarily glanced back down at the picture.

"You already know the answer to that, Emma," Steve told her quietly and Emma looked down at the picture of her grandmother.

She didn't really know her grandmother that well. Other than the visits to the nursing home she lived in, Emma didn't really have many memories of her. Emma didn't even remember her grandmother from before Hydra killed her parents. All she knew was a very sick and confused old woman in a room that reeked of a hospital. Emma always hated going there, it smelled just like the lab where Hydra would poke and prod her with needles, but Steve forced her to go. He said that it would cheer her grandmother up although Emma didn't know how. It wasn't often that Peggy remembered her during her last few months.

Emma was torn.

She admired Peggy Carter who was historically a badass woman that fought her way through sexism and misogyny to get to where she wanted to be. Peggy was truly a feminist icon and while Emma didn't care much about sexism, only if it got in the way of something she wanted, she did admire her grandmother for defeating all odds and making a name for herself. A name that separated herself from becoming known solely as Captain America's Baby Mama. History books didn't just know her for her relationship with Captain America but for all the achievements she made in her lifetime too.

This was why Emma rarely associated that woman with the weak one she saw in a hospital bed.

It was like they were two completely different people.

One was strong and empowered while the other was weak and vulnerable.

Emma supposed that her grandmother was just an ordinary human, after all. Eventually, people got old and died. Emma knew this more than anyone but she still had trouble trying to figure out why Steve couldn't move on from her grandmother. Her grandmother had been dead for over a year now but it was like her ghost was still haunting Steve.

"She moved on with her life, Steve. She wanted the same for you," Emma tried to tell him but she knew that it was no use.

"Sometimes it isn't that simple," Steve said with a slightly haunted look in his eyes.

"It could be," Emma suggested to him but he just shook his head.

"You know who you remind me of sometimes?" Steve said and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It seemed that because of her young age and relation to Steve, she was always being compared to someone. Whether that was Steve, Natasha, her father, or even Loki. It was almost like she was destined to be compared to other people.

"No," Emma said instead of saying something sarcastic like she wanted to. Steve's gaze softened as he looked down at his granddaughter.

" _Her_ ," Steve told her much to Emma's surprise.

"What?" Emma questioned and Steve nodded solemnly as if this was something he truly and deeply believed.

"I've always known that it was never me that you were like," Steve said as he explained his observation in more depth. "You were never even like Natasha or Loki like some of the others believe."

"I don't think I know what you're talking about, Steve," Emma tried to tell him but Steve just smiled as he went on.

"Don't get me wrong. You're you and there's no one else like you out there but…" Steve trailed off as his eyes met hers.

"There was always something that bothered me about you," Steve said as he continued to confuse Emma. "You reminded me of someone but I could never guess who for the life of me."

"I used to think that maybe it was Bucky because he's the one that we bonded over from the beginning," Steve stated as he told her about his previous deductions about her. "Then I thought perhaps it was Natasha. It would make sense...you and her, I mean. There are so many similarities there that not even I could argue with."

"Then there's Tony," Steve said as he let out a laugh and Emma's eyes widened in surprise. She just didn't know whether or not to be disgusted or surprised.

"Sometimes when we argue, like we always seem to do, I feel like I'm arguing with him."

"I'm not like Tony," Emma finally managed to say. She didn't really know how to say anything else and it seemed like he suspected as much as he gave her a knowing smile. Steve then continued to explain himself to her.

"However, I realized that you only share some of our qualities because you're the best of us," Steve told her seriously as Emma watched him. "You, like most children, observed us from the start and some of our habits, both good and bad, rubbed off on you. It only makes sense."

"I don't understand the point you're trying to make, Steve," Emma said, still as confused as ever.

"I'm telling you this because all the traits you might share with us all is because you're a child, if there ever was one, of the Avengers," Steve informed her kindly and Emma started to wonder if Steve considered this to be a good thing or a bad thing. "We've rubbed off on you in both good ways and bad ways so we can only hope for the best now. We can only hope that we've done right by you because you're growing up so fast, Emma. So fast that it scares me."

"But even through all that fear of you growing up, I only realize now that it was never us who you reminded me of from the beginning," Steve said as he seemed to get a little choked up which was strange for the man who was so well put together most of the time. "Ever since you came into my life, you reminded me of someone and it was always on the tip of my tongue but I could never figure out who. Even when it was staring right in my face the whole time."

"Peggy?" Emma questioned, still not understanding how she could remind Steve of his lost love and her grandmother. Peggy had been a good person, unlike Emma. Someone that Emma quite often even forgot she was related to because of the kind of person she was and the kind of person her grandmother was. They could not be any more different...or could they?

"I didn't realize it until right about now," Steve admitted as he glanced away from Emma to look back down at the picture of his lost love. "I actually didn't realize it until I saw the way that boy looks at you when you walk into a room."

"You mean Peter?" Emma asked him and he nodded silently.

"I only know because I looked at her the same way whenever she walked into a room," Steve said and Emma could see the emotion in his eyes as he remembered her grandmother. "She had a kind of presence about herself that could just turn heads like that and that's why I understand the reason Peter's drawn to you. It's because you and her are alike in that way."

"It's nothing that rubs off on you nor is it something you observe and learn," Steve explained to her much to Emma's surprise. "It's a trait you inherited from her."

"You're also tough like her," Steve told her honestly as Emma felt a bit choked up herself from this conversation about her grandmother. "I always wondered how you went through everything you did but still managed to come out on top. I know now that it's because you're tough. You don't break."

"You're tough too, Steve," Emma tried to tell him but Steve just smiled sadly before shaking his head.

"Not like her," Steve told Emma truthfully. "Not like her because she was able to pick up all the pieces after what I did to her and manage to not just raise my son but to move on from my death."

"I can't even find it in myself to have an actual relationship with someone," Steve confessed to his granddaughter much to both his embarrassment and shame but it wasn't because he didn't have a girlfriend. It was because he didn't have his life together for Emma. "I know I also haven't done right by you."

"What are you talking about, Steve? You've done everything for me," Emma told her grandfather, a bit angry that he would even suggest such a thing.

"I haven't though. I'm not a good parent like she was," Steve said, his expression could only be described as being crestfallen. "I don't know how she did it."

"You're not a bad parent," Emma told him honestly. "You're an amazing father to me. You always have been. It's like it comes so easy to you."

"I always wondered how you were just able to step in those shoes when I came into your life," Emma said as she remembered how Steve made her transition between Hydra and the real world easier for her than it should've been. He had always been so patient and understanding. "Anyone else, especially Tony, would've cracked under the pressure."

"It wasn't so easy," Steve admitted to her and Emma looked back at him curiously. "I had a lot of help from the others. Natasha, Thor, Bruce, and Clint offered me a lot of advice."

"I actually don't know how I didn't know back then that Clint was a father. It should've been so obvious," Steve said as he chuckled a bit at the thought. Emma was just glad he was cheering up a bit.

"Tony didn't give you any advice?" Emma inquired with a teasing smile on her face and this time a more carefree smile crossed Steve's face.

"Nothing that was helpful and appropriate," Steve retorted and Emma laughed which was the first time she had probably laughed since learning that the world was playing some kind of cruel joke on her. "He once suggested making you clean the windows outside the tower as a form of punishment. Tony said you'd be okay because you could fly."

"Okay, I really don't feel bad about all the awful pranks I used to play on him," Emma said but she didn't look angry. She might've been angry to hear Tony's suggestion a year ago but now she was just amused by the billionaire's antics. "Remember that time I tied him up in that chair and held him hostage while you, Thor, Natasha, and Clint were on a mission?"

"How could I ever forget?" Steve said as he laughed at the memory of walking into a room, after a mission, and seeing Tony tied up while Emma watched television as if the whole thing was normal. He hadn't been amused back then but now the memory just made him laugh.

"I made him watch as I poured all his booze down the sink. You should've seen how angry he was," Emma said as she just looked back at the memory with fondness.

"I know. I had to pay him back for all that alcohol. It wasn't cheap either," Steve stated before a look of wonder came over his face. "Although, I always wondered how you were able to tie him up like that."

"I asked him if we could play a game so I picked one that would feed his ego," Emma explained almost proudly as she remembered how she tricked Tony Stark into playing a game only _she_ found amusing. "I was Iron Man and he was Loki. Little did he know it was actually the other way around."

"Natasha and Sam never let him forget that," Steve told her and it was true. Sam still brought up the topic almost every other month.

"Thor and Clint almost pissed themselves with laughter too," Emma reminded him and Steve nodded.

"I grounded you for a month for that one," Steve said as their reminiscing started to come to an end because they both knew that things were a lot different now.

Things might not even be the same again even though the Avengers were back together. Emma knew, despite the fact that almost everyone was back, that it didn't feel like it did back then.

Everyone felt divided.

Now that everyone had been through so much, she kind of missed the time she spent in the tower with the others. She really missed Thor and Bruce too even though she would never admit it.

Emma missed telling Thor how much cooler Loki was than him but she also missed hearing his playful laughter when she told him that. His large booming voice had once been annoying to her but now everything seemed empty and quiet without hearing his voice from several rooms down the hall.

The teenage girl also missed teasing the very cautious and shy Bruce Banner who always seemed to be scared of her. Not because she was an assassin but because she was a child and he feared that she'd provoke him into turning into the hulk. Emma, for some reason, liked that he wasn't scared of her because of her past but was instead scared of her because of her young age and mischievous nature.

He was also perhaps the nicest of all the Avengers.

Next to Vision, of course.

Emma now realized that she had taken all that time for granted.

Everything was so much simpler back then when Thor stuffed his face with Pop Tarts before proudly announcing that Pop Tarts were the most delicious confection he had ever eaten in his life.

Back when she sparred with Natasha and Clint in the training facility of the tower while having lunch with Bruce as she teased him about how boring and lame science was just to rile him up a little bit.

Emma also longed for those movie nights she had with Darcy, Sam and Thor as Sam annoyingly, but hilariously, narrated each movie while Thor loudly cheered whenever the cliched hero saved the day and defeated the villain. Emma would always root for the villain which would amuse Thor more than it seemed to annoy him much to Emma's dismay.

Then there were the times that she would have hour-long discussions with Steve about the books she read and afterward he'd tell her a funny story about her father or an affectionate one about Peggy.

Of course, there was also all the pranks she played on Tony too as she had fun tormenting the much older man. He always threatened to kick her out of the tower but no one ever believed him.

It wasn't just those things she missed either.

What she missed most were those nights they had dinner together as some sort of dysfunctional family unit.

Steve and Tony would be bickering as they normally did as Tony teased him about being a grandpa and Steve glared at him before telling him to grow up. Natasha and Clint would have some kind of silent, in sync communication between them as they ate, not unlike the communication Emma and her father seemed to share, and stayed out of Tony and Steve's arguments. Pepper would roll her eyes at her ridiculous boyfriend while Bruce would cast his gaze downwards at his plate as he moved his food around with his fork back and forth, probably asking himself how this was his life now.

Thor, Rhodey, and Sam would be oblivious to Tony and Steve's argument as they debated amongst each other who had the most heroic and bloodshed filled adventure as of late.

Somehow it always ended up being Thor which was never surprising.

Darcy would tease Jane about the astrophysicist and her Asgardian boyfriend being very loud the night before as Jane blushed furiously.

It then occurred to Emma that she had never felt very much a part of the odd dysfunctional dynamic the others seemed to have with each other.

Don't get her wrong.

She did felt like she was part of the very weird superhero family which was the first time she had felt that way since her parents died. However, it was only now that she realized that their family was ever growing and changing. The family she remembered was only the beginning because now she imagined everything differently.

Emma could see Wanda and Vision somewhere in there as well as they were wrapped up in their own little world, ignoring the antics of the others.

Maybe a visiting T'Challa would be having a laugh with her father who was sitting to her right. Instead of Bruce sulking on his own maybe Shuri would invite him into an intellectual conversation about the very thing Emma used to tease him about. Okoye would then interrupt Thor, Sam, and Rhodey's dick measuring contest with a story of her own which would put all their own tales of adventure and battle to shame.

This time Emma didn't picture herself as a lone observer to this group of very interesting people.

No, she pictured Peter there right next to her.

She would flirt with him in that way she usually did just to see him blush and watch him stumble through a cute response before he'd remark to her about how they lived in a tower filled with crazy people. This was the first time where Emma could see herself as being an active member of this team of misfit people from all backgrounds.

It wasn't until now that she realized that with all these people, she felt a true sense of belonging which she didn't understand until now. Not until all the Avengers were divided and everything felt emptier without that same familiar feeling of kinship. Now Emma was beginning to wonder if it could ever be like she imagined.

It was becoming a little too clear to her that the answer might be no.

After this Rumlow business was over then it was highly likely that things would return to how they were before Tony made that phone call to bring everyone together.

The reason he called wasn't that he missed Steve and the others, after all.

It was for professional purposes only.

"What is it?" Steve asked her as he noticed the faraway look in Emma's eyes. She snapped out of her thoughts at his question. The blonde swallowed hard before shaking her head.

"It's nothing. It's just that I…" She trailed off as she tried to find the exact words to express how she was feeling. "I just miss how everything used to be."

"I do too," Steve said softly.

Emma, sensing that this was a topic they couldn't allow themselves to get too emotional over right at that moment, decided to change the subject as she reached into the pocket of her jacket and took out the one thing she almost always carried with her.

"I still have this, you know," Emma told him and Steve looked at her hands only to see something very familiar.

The compass.

"Oh," Steve said, his mouth not being able to form any other words.

Emma gingerly placed the compass in her grandfather's hand.

Steve felt the sensation of cold metal against his skin as he turned the compass over to examine it. It felt like it had been so long ago when he passed the compass along to Natasha to give to Emma. He felt like Emma could've used it. Steve knew how alone she must've felt so it only made sense to give her something that might've given her some comfort in his absence.

It was only as it glinted under the light in the bedroom that he realized that there was something different about the compass.

Something there that wasn't there before.

An engraving.

 _'Whatever souls our made of, yours and mine are the same-To E from P'_

"I wasn't really thinking when I let Peter put the engraving there," Emma confessed as she carefully watched the expression on her grandfather's face. It was occurring to her just then that her grandfather might not have appreciated what she and Peter had done to his compass. "I'm really sorry, Steve. We shouldn't have done it."

"No, it's fine. I just wasn't…" Steve started to say as he trailed off, analyzing the inscription there. "Well, I wasn't expecting it."

"Peter took me to an old movie theater that was showing _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ for our first date and I guess he got really inspired," Emma mentioned and Steve tried not to act like it was weird that Emma had a boyfriend now. He fully accepted it but it was still going to take some getting used to.

"I don't think I've seen that one yet," Steve said to Emma which made sense. There was probably a lot of films Steve hadn't yet seen. Spending seventy years in ice could do that to a person.

"Well, you should. Audrey Hepburn's really great in it and not to mention beautiful," Emma told him quietly. "I actually don't think there was ever a movie where Audrey Hepburn wasn't beautiful."

"I liked her in _Sabrina_ ," Steve added and Emma gave him a small smile.

"Me too," She said softly and it was then that Steve flipped the compass open to not only see the picture of his lost love but another picture next to it too. It was a picture that Steve hadn't yet seen.

Emma in Peter's arms with Big Ben in the background.

 _This must've been from her trip to London_ , Steve thought to himself.

He vaguely remembered looking at her school website and seeing the announcement about the decathlon team's trip there.

Steve would do that frequently.

Check up on her using the school website.

Sometimes he didn't see anything about her but there were times where a picture would pop up of her on the home page. A small slideshow put together on the school website for that month. One time Steve had seen a picture of her in what must've been her art class. She wasn't looking at the camera but she seemed to be in deep concentration as she focused on her drawing. Steve printed the picture out at a library in Sweden and kept it with him all the time.

However, this was different from that.

Steve knew this much as he observed the picture now placed alongside Peggy's picture. He stared at the young couple who were clearly in love with each other. Steve could tell from the way they gazed at each other.

He traced the happy smile on her face with his finger as he tried to remember her ever looking that happy. Steve knew that he had seen her smirk countless times or even seen her force a smile to please him and the others but it was rare that he had ever seen his granddaughter look so carefree.

"You look so happy here," Steve remarked and Emma just shrugged, downplaying her feelings for Peter.

"He forced me to take the stupid picture," Emma said nonchalantly. "He said that he didn't have a lot of pictures of us together so I just did it to shut him up."

Steve knew this was a lie.

He knew it was a lie because why else would she put the picture of them together in the compass and carry it around with her everywhere?

Steve knew why.

She put the picture in the compass for the same exact reason he put the picture of Peggy in his compass all those years ago.

It was so that he could carry her close to his heart at all times and she'd always guide him to where he needed to be. Steve had always hoped Emma would someday find someone like that for herself. He never had any doubts about some boy falling madly in love with her but he did have his doubts about her falling in love with someone. Steve had hoped but he was unsure if she would let herself to do that but he now knew that she had and for that he was glad.

"He gave me this necklace too," Emma said quietly and Steve looked back at her, before glancing at the necklace around her neck. She was fiddling with an emerald green heart-shaped pendant as Steve stared at it. He noticed her penchant for wearing the necklace, not seeing her without it ever since he arrived at the compound, but he assumed it was just some necklace Tony or Sharon had gotten her for her birthday or Christmas.

"He's always giving me stuff," She said casually but he could tell by the look in her eyes that something bothered her about this. "I'm not really good at giving people gifts. I always worry that the stuff I get him is crap in comparison since he's very romantic and sentimental while I'm neither of those things."

"I don't believe that," Steve said as he tried to argue with her but Emma wasn't trying to put herself down. She was just stating a fact.

"This was his mother's necklace by the way," Emma said as she ignored his interjection. Steve gave her a surprised look. "He said his father gave it to his mother when he knew she was the one."

"It looks beautiful on you," Steve remarked because he didn't know how to process the fact that Emma was "the one" for someone now. It wasn't just that he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Emma now had a boyfriend, but that she was in a very serious relationship now too. Things had always been serious with Peggy but Steve and Peggy never said so aloud. Everyday back then might've been their last so Steve was going to wait until the war was over to propose to her.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

"I know you think I'm really young," Emma said as she looked back down at the compass and photograph in her grandfather's hands. "Everyone seems to think that high school romance never lasts, which might be true in some cases, but this isn't puppy love."

"If it is puppy love then I can't imagine what it'll feel like when we're adults," Emma said softly and Steve completely believed her when she said that. The gravity of it all scared him a little bit but he was honestly happy for her despite everything.

Despite everything bad that's happened to her, she was making a life for herself. Not just with Peter but with the friends she had, school, her art, and possibly even college. Emma seemed happy with this life too which in turn made Steve happy.

"I'm happy for you, Emma," Steve told her truthfully. "And for the record, I don't think you're too young. You've always been older than you seem so I know this isn't something that you'll outgrow. You rarely let people in but the people you do let in stay."

"Thank you for understanding, Steve," Emma said as she gave him a small smile before it faded once something suddenly occurred to her. Steve noticed the change in emotion immediately and became concerned.

"What is it?" He questioned and Emma just shook her head as she looked back at him.

"I think I just realized what you meant about not being able to move on from my grandmother," Emma stated as she locked eyes with his. "If something ever happened to Peter, I don't think I could ever move on from him either. I'm in too deep now."

This was true.

The more Emma thought about it, the more she knew that losing Peter the way Steve lost Peggy would ruin her. The dorky teenage boy had wormed his way so far into her once cold heart that she didn't think she would ever recover from losing him. It sounded melodramatic and something like every teenage girl in the world would say about their boyfriend but Peter was different. He was her best friend too but he had also helped her through a lot of obstacles in her life in such a short amount of time. They had been through so much together that it left them connected in a way that was more than just the simplicity of being boyfriend and girlfriend.

This was the reason she had to stop Rumlow before he got to Peter or any of the others. She wouldn't let Rumlow take Peter from her too. Not like he took her parents, her childhood, and her innocence. Emma hadn't been able to save herself but she could still save Peter because if Rumlow hurt him or...killed him, it would destroy her.

Rumlow had ruined her life in many ways but he wasn't going to ruin this for her too. She knew Peter would do anything for her, even if it meant getting himself killed for her, but she didn't want that for him. The world needed Spider-Man more than it needed the Viper Assassin anyways. Spider-Man was a hero and the Viper Assassin was...well, Emma didn't completely know but she just knew that Rumlow needed to be gone once and for all.

He needed to pay for everything he had done to her.

This was his retribution.

"I pray that you'll never know that kind of pain," Steve said sincerely, not accusing her of being silly or ridiculous for saying such a thing but instead believing her when she told him about her feelings. If Emma hadn't been so deep within her thoughts then she would've appreciated this gesture more.

"How are you feeling despite everything?" Steve inquired, referring to the news of the origin of her powers. Emma pushed the thoughts of vengeance out of her mind as she shrugged.

"I don't know," She told him. "I don't think I know what to feel."

"That's understandable," Steve said in response. Emma sighed heavily as she tried to express what she was feeling but it was hard. Especially because there was no guideline about how to react to news like this.

"It's just that every time I think I know who I am, something else happens and then I'm left feeling like an idiot," Emma said quietly and it was the only thing she thought she could say that would explain how she felt about this whole thing. "I'm confused, annoyed, angry, and maybe even scared. There's no in between emotion for me. It's just a flood of many different feelings that I'm unsure about sorting out."

"I know this is tough...well, maybe I don't actually know but I know that you'll get through this," Steve said, fully believing in his granddaughter's strength. "As I said before, you're tough so I know you'll survive."

"Yeah, I just have energy from an Infinity Stone flooding through my veins. Probably not a big deal, right?" Emma said, joking about her predicament for the first time. Steve stared at her in surprise for a moment before cracking a smile.

"Probably not," Steve said in response.

"Who knows. Maybe this would make Loki want to be friends with me," Emma said as if she were trying to see the bright side of all this. "He had an obsession with the Tesseract, didn't he?"

"That's not funny," Steve said despite chuckling at Emma's antics. Maybe not everything had changed, after all. They were still able to talk like this just like they had before the accords.

"You know that I'm going with you guys on this mission, right?" Emma told him after they both calmed down from their laughter and grew more serious. Steve sighed heavily before nodding.

"I'd rather you didn't but I know there's little I can do to stop you. You're really stubborn," Steve told her and Emma allowed herself to smile once more at that.

"I think that's the one trait I got from you," Emma told him playfully but there was seriousness in both of their eyes.

"It must be a Rogers thing," Steve declared before looking at his granddaughter with a more tired look on his face. "Just promise me you'll stay on the Quinjet as back-up, Emma. I don't want you running around the Hydra base and possibly getting yourself killed in your emotional state."

Usually, Emma would've grown angry at him for accusing her of being in an emotional state but she refrained from doing so this time. She'd never get herself on the Quinjet if she started a fight with Steve now of all times. Emma knew how to pick your battles and this was one she'd save for another day.

"Okay," Emma said, agreeing to Steve's demand for once. Not because she was actually going to listen to him and stay on the Quinjet but because she knew it was what he wanted to hear. He really should've remembered the last time he told her to stay behind as back-up.

Emma wasn't good at being back-up.

"It's going to be okay, Emma," Steve said reassuringly but it became clear that he just wasn't speaking to her. He was speaking to himself too. "We'll get him and he'll pay for everything he's done. I promise."

"I know," Emma said quietly. She knew this because she was going to make sure Rumlow paid himself. Emma just needed to figure out a way to get to Rumlow before the others could intervene. Emma still wasn't completely sure but she knew she'd figure it out.

She'd figure it out because she had to...to finally end this and move on.

Boy, she was going to love seeing the look on Rumlow's face when he realized that the girl he helped trained for all those years and raped was also going to be his demise.

Emma heard that he couldn't feel pain anymore because of nerve damage.

Hopefully, she could change that.

* * *

Steve made his way down to the lab of the compound after his talk with Emma. He knew this whole ordeal with Hydra and Rumlow had been tough on her but Steve also knew she'd get through it. Emma was resilient like that...just like Peggy was.

The mission was soon to start now that he, Tony, Natasha, and Bucky came up with a clear and well thought out plan to infiltrate Hydra's newly found base. Of course, there was much debate over what they were going to do just like in the old days. Tony didn't seem too thrilled to hear Bucky's input but for once he kept his opinion to himself.

This wasn't about them, after all.

It was about Emma.

Steve walked into the lab which seemed to be empty for the most part. Rhodey told Steve that Tony had designed a newer suit for him during everyone's absence so Steve went to retrieve it. However, he didn't really expect to be left alone in a room with Tony when he finally made it down to the lab.

Steve was about to leave the lab before Tony noticed him, but it was too late.

It seemed like Tony already had.

"You here for the new suit?" Tony inquired, being quieter than usual. Steve noticed there wasn't a trace of smugness or excitement on his face this time around. Not like before whenever Tony proudly unveiled a new device or feature to one of the suits he created.

This made Steve feel even more guilty than he already felt.

"Yeah, Rhodey told me to come down here," Steve explained to Tony even though he didn't really have to explain to Tony why he was there. Tony probably already knew.

Tony nodded solemnly as he got out of the chair he was sitting in and walked over to the opposite side of the lab. The billionaire nodded for Steve to follow him so the super soldier did so without argument.

"It's nothing too fancy," Tony said as a secret compartment came out of the floor and rose up to meet their height. There was an assortment of new gadgets and suits that were now on full display.

Steve could see a new Black Widow suit with material that was much more resistant than the material for the suit she wore now.

A new and improved bow and arrow for Clint while there was also a more combustible but equally powerful looking version of Sam's wings.

Steve even saw a high tech looking belt of some sort sitting next to the other prototype weapons for Thor.

There seemed to be new weaponry and suits for all the Avengers, even the ones who had been on the run for the past year, which made Steve think that Tony must've kept himself busy.

Tony keeping himself busy wasn't a good thing either.

He knew what Tony was like when he locked himself in the lab for days on end. It had been better when Bruce was still around because, at least, Tony hadn't been alone in the lab, but no one knew where Bruce was.

At least Pepper seemed to be back in the picture now.

That reassured Steve of Tony's well-being but his concern still wasn't dismissed.

"I came up with a few different prototypes of a new shield for you," Tony told him as he started combing through the latest invention he created for the absent Avengers. "Something a little more from this day and age, at least in my book, and something that might give one of those Hydra assholes a little jolt when you play ultimate frisbee with their faces."

Steve watched in surprise as he stood in front of a new shield which was both like and unlike his old shield that had seen better days.

It was the same round shape as before but the colors were different now. Instead of the iconic red, white, and blue of his old shield, the new shield just featured a red, white, and black color scheme without the iconic star in the middle. It was different but Steve didn't think it was unwelcomed either.

He carefully lifted the new shield off its mantel and felt it's weight under his grip.

"Very lightweight," Tony commented as he anxiously watched Steve's reaction to the new shield. "I know that was never really a problem for you or Emma with that nifty little serum of yours, hers a little niftier than yours as it would turn out, but it's lightweight even for the rest of us."

Steve moved his arm forward and backward as he tested the weight of the shield.

True to Tony's words, it really was lightweight.

"I designed it to give out electric shocks, not unlike Romanoff's Widow Bites," Tony informed him as Steve continued to observe the shield. "It's highly durable and resistant against gunfire."

"Shuri even gave a little input since she came down to the labs. She added energy absorption and manipulation," Tony couldn't help but add. "Princess Genius actually even made me look like an old person around technology. I hate to say it but I think I finally met someone smarter than me, Cap."

"I just can't believe you're admitting that there's someone smarter than you," Steve pointed out as he gave the billionaire an amused look. Tony shrugged but the smile on his face was unwavering. He didn't seem angry or annoyed that there happened to be someone smarter than him. It was quite the opposite, actually.

"Well, there is and her name is Shuri," Tony admitted before shaking his head. "God, forty-six and outdone by a sixteen-year-old kid. I've gotta tell you, Cap. These kids are really showing us up at this point. Pretty soon they won't need us anymore."

"That's the point, isn't it?" Steve inquired and it was pretty clear that they weren't just talking about Shuri at this point.

Steve wasn't stupid.

He spotted the dynamic between Tony and Peter from the start. Steve knew what kind of relationship they had.

"We try to teach them to the best of our abilities and hope that someday they'll be better versions of ourselves."

"Who knew parenting would be the thing we finally bond over," Tony remarked in his usual unserious manner but it was clear to Steve that Tony wasn't all jokes right in that moment. He didn't fail to notice that there was a more tiredness and seriousness to Tony than they ever had been before. Steve knew that he was probably partially to blame for that. "Me with the Spiderling and you with Mini Cap or wait...what was that name Bruce liked to call her? Evil Twin or Steve No.2?"

"Evil Steve," The super soldier corrected with a small smile on his face.

It used to piss Steve off when Bruce would refer to Emma as the evil version of him. Bruce didn't do it in a joking manner like Tony, but he used the nickname as if he actually thought she was the evil version of her grandfather. Steve couldn't really blame him though. He knew how much Emma could stress a person out even if said person didn't have massive anger issues like Bruce famously did.

"Right. Evil Steve," Tony said as he smiled at the memory. "He was so terrified of her. Poor Banner. It's a wonder how she never got him to turn into the Hulk."

"I wonder about that too sometimes," Steve agreed and Tony looked back down at the shield that was still in Steve's hands. He felt the sudden need to steer the conversation in another direction. Sometimes Bruce's absence was still a little too fresh in his mind. Tony would've really liked to have had Bruce by his side during everything that happened with the accords.

Although, maybe Romanoff was right.

Maybe he wouldn't have been on his side, after all.

"I hope you like the shield," Tony said as he changed the subject. "I know it's not vibranium but vibranium is a little hard to get your hands on. I'm trying to work out something with T'Challa and Shuri but all my tech is outdated compared to theirs so I'm not sure if I have anything to bargain with. Wow...I finally know what Justin Hammer felt like. I never thought I'd see the day."

"No, it's amazing, Tony," Steve said in the midst of Tony's usual rambling. It seemed like some things really didn't change. He was even surprised that Tony had designed this shield for him in the first place. He thought he'd be the last person Tony would want to design a weapon for after everything they've been through. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"I know it's not dad's either but…" Tony trailed off, still feeling a bit guilty at the way he left things between them in Siberia when he took back Steve's shield. Steve just gave Tony a conflicted look before taking a huge risky step in finally reacting to the unspoken tension between them ever since he arrived back at the compound.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Steve finally said much to Tony's surprise. The super soldier took a deep breath before continuing. He knew Tony had a penchant for interjecting so he might as well speak while he still had the floor.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about Bucky and your parents. I told myself that it was better if you didn't know but that's not true. I didn't want to tell you because it was better for _me_ if you didn't know and that wasn't right," Steve said sincerely as Tony soon grew uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading.

"We don't need to talk about this now, Cap," Tony tried to tell him, not wanting to start another argument with Steve but the iconic hero just shook his head as he went on.

"No, we do because we're about to go out there and I don't know what's going to happen so you need to hear me out," Steve replied and Tony fell silent as he looked back at Steve. "I know I hurt you. You can deny that all you want but I know I did. I hate the way we left things between us and I know things can't be the same again because of what Bucky did-"

"That's not why I'm mad," Tony said as he interrupted Steve's apology. A confused look crossed Steve's face.

"What?" Steve questioned and Tony just shook his head.

"I said that's not why I'm angry. It's not because of Barnes," Tony said much to Steve's bewilderment. "Well, I guess a part of it is because he did kill my parents but it's more than that."

"I don't understand," Steve said in confusion and Tony took a deep breath before responding. It wasn't easy for the billionaire to talk about his feelings. The action was actually immensely hard for him but he realized he needed to do this. For closure if nothing else. Tony had been haunted by these feelings of anger, betrayal, regret, and guilt for the past year and now was finally his chance to get it all off his chest.

"My father never ceased to remind me that you were his better creation," Tony finally told him as Steve listened with a conflicted look on his face. "From the time I could walk, he was always talking about how great you were."

"I lost track of the number of times that old man told me the story of the day you walked into the lab. He told it so often that I could recite it right here and now if I wanted," Tony said bitterly as he continued with his story. "He could've been in love with you for all I knew since you were such a fucking saint in his eyes."

"Tony, I wish it hadn't been like-" Steve started to say but Tony stopped him.

"Just let me tell the goddamn story, Steve," Tony said in annoyance as he dismissed Steve's interruption. Steve immediately fell silent at that. "Then there was his precious little Steven Jr. The apple of his eye because he was the son of his greatest creation."

"I always resented Steven too," Tony admitted as Steve watched him carefully. He knew it was rare that Tony ever talked about Emma's dad and his son. Steve tried asking him about his son after the whole incident with Loki years ago, but Tony said that they weren't that close.

Of course, Steve knew that was a lie because why else would his son make Tony Emma's godfather?

Why did Peggy have so many pictures of his son and Tony together?

Steve tried bringing up the subject of his son countless times after that, but each time Tony would get snippy or excuse himself from the room. He learned from Pepper and Rhodey later on that Tony had taken Steven Jr.'s death very hard so Steve gave up trying to get Tony to talk about him. Steve always hoped Tony would come to him someday and initiate that conversation but it never happened.

Now, however, it seemed like the conversation was taking place but not in the way Steve would've imagined.

"Dad treated him more like a son than he ever treated me," Tony said as he told Steve the history of his complex relationship with Steven Jr. "It didn't help that Steven was so nice all the time. He wasn't unlike you in that department. He was so perfect that I wanted to punch him in his stupid ruggedly handsome face."

"Which now makes me realize that the more time I spent around you, the more I started seeing you as him," Tony said, being honest with Steve for the first time in forever. A wave of emotions came over Steve as he watched Tony let his walls down for the first time. "I think I forgot you were two different people."

"I mean, yeah, I resented him for my entire life because he was the guy who stole my dad from me but I…" Tony swallowed hard as he fought the urge to shed tears. He was a grown man, for crying out loud. He shouldn't be crying right now. Tony inhaled through his nose and looked back at Steve who looked equally emotional right now. "I still loved him. Maybe it wasn't so different from what you and Barnes have. For a long time, he was the only one who cared and so when he died, or when Hydra killed him, I was alone."

"Everything that happened in Siberia made me realize that you're not him. You're not his replacement and neither is Emma," Tony said as he finally let everything out. This was difficult but he knew it needed to be said. "When you told me that you knew what Barnes did to my parents, I felt betrayed. Not just by you but by him too. I realized that you weren't him and it hurt a lot.

"I wish I'd handled things differently but I was just so angry at you for lying to me about my parents and for reminding me that one of my best friend's is still dead," Tony said as he finally wrapped up his angry and emotional rant.

When he was done he looked away from Steve, unable to meet his eyes at the present moment.

Things were quiet between the two Avengers after that. Tony had given Steve a lot to think about and a lot to process while Tony was still coming down from his emotional state. Steve was at a loss for words because he never knew that was the way Tony felt. Not in all his five years of knowing the famous billionaire. Steve always just thought Tony was mad because he lied to him and protected Bucky but he could now see that it was so much more than that.

"I didn't know that was the way you felt," Steve said quietly as he tried to form his thoughts around what else he could say to Tony.

"I never wanted you to know," Tony said in response and Steve nodded slowly, a thoughtful and melancholy look on his face.

"I can see that now," Steve said as he finally apologized for something he hadn't realized he had done until now. "Look, Tony, there are things that I can't fix. I can't fix things between you and your dad while I also can't change the fact that I'm Steven's father. I wish I could make it easier for you, I really do."

"But I am sorry for everything. For all the pain I've caused and so much more," Steve said sincerely as he apologized to an unusually quiet Tony. "I know I haven't been a good friend to you lately and I know I've betrayed you in a way I might not ever fix, but I just want you to know that I still think of you, and always have thought of you, as my friend."

"I'm sorry too if it's any consolation," Tony said because he knew he wasn't the only one at fault either. "I've always treated you a bit shittier than I've treated everyone else. I kept you at a distance because of how much you look like him but it wasn't fair to you.

"It's not fair for me to blame you for things you can't change either," Tony spoke softly as he did a rare thing of apologizing. It wasn't often that he did so but it was odd that he seemed to be doing a lot of apologizing to people with the last name Rogers lately. "I understand why you helped Barnes and I know what he means to you. I'm not going to get in the way of that again. My father talked about him a lot too and I know he would've understood Barnes' circumstance had he lived."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've always considered you to be my friend too," Tony said before deciding that was a little too mushy. He had a reputation to keep up, after all. "I mean, I still want to punch you in your perfect teeth but just a little less now," Tony quipped as he offered Steve a small smile.

A wave of relief washed over Steve at Tony's quip because he realized that they were moving forward.

They got everything off their chests but now it was time to leave some things in the past. It was what they both wanted but also what they both needed.

It was clear that nothing would ever be quite the same again but they were still willing to move on and be teammates once more. This was a huge step in making things right between them and they were both happy with the end results.

"Should we shake hands now or…" Tony trailed off, not knowing what the next move to make was. Steve smiled at the slightly shorter man.

"I think we're at a point where a hug wouldn't be out of the question," Steve said much to both of their surprise. Tony shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I already told the kid this but I'm not much for hugging, Cap," Tony told him and Steve just shook his head.

"For Emma then," Steve told him and Tony stared at him long and hard for a moment before releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Tony remembered the times Steven would wrap him up in a big bear hug as Tony felt like he was being crushed to near death. He just hoped that this wasn't the same kind of experience as that.

"Okay," Tony said quietly and Steve gave him a small smile before reaching forward and embracing his old friend. It wasn't a very long hug and it was also a very manly one. It lasted maybe five seconds as they patted each other on the back awkwardly before parting.

"Let's not tell anyone about this," Tony told the blonde man. Steve gave him an amused look but nodded nonetheless.

"Whatever you say, Tony," Steve told him and Tony could've sworn Steve was smirking.

Actually smirking.

It occurred to Tony then that Steve looked a lot like his son and granddaughter when he smirked. A smirking Steve wasn't a common occurrence so it was definitely something Tony would have to get used to.

"So uh...do you want to take a look at the new suit? It's more stealth mode. Not unlike your suit from your days at Shield," Tony inquired as he changed the subject. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he moved towards the new gear he had been showing Steve earlier. Steve smiled as he nodded, following the billionaire as they went down a new path of forgiveness.

"Sure," Steve told him as Tony started pointing out all the modifications of the new suit while Steve listened patiently. He was just happy that things were looking a bit up despite the current situation they were.

At least Steve could go into this fight against Hydra, hopefully the last one, knowing that he and Tony wouldn't part again on bad terms.

This gave him hope for not just his future with Emma but with the Avengers as well.

"Congratulations on your engagement by the way," Steve told Tony sincerely, taking a step in this new direction. "We heard about it in the news. I'm happy for you and Pepper."

"Thanks, Cap," Tony said, smiling genuinely for once. "We haven't set a date yet but we were thinking some time next year."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Pepper's parents got married in the summer, you know. A summer wedding could be nice."

"I think so too."

* * *

Everyone seemed to be gearing up for the big mission. Various agents were busy loading up the Quinjet with numerous weapons and equipment for the Avengers' mission.

The first one as a complete team for a long while.

Emma felt like she did a couple years ago as she watched Steve and the others getting ready for a mission. Only this time she would be going with them.

Not all the Avengers were going.

Steve didn't want to use all their resources and he also wanted to make sure some people stayed behind in case Hydra tried to infiltrate them while they were gone. Not to mention there were a lot of civilians staying behind which would include May, Michelle, Ned, Darcy, Pepper, and the majority of their scientists at the compound. There was no telling if Hydra knew whether or not they were coming. Emma knew that Rhodey, Vision, Maria, Fury, Okoye, and Sam were staying behind to protect the compound while everyone else would be going on the mission. Emma and Peter included.

Emma was dressed in her Viper Assassin suit which she hadn't worn since before this whole mess started. She knew Peter was somewhere around the compound getting ready for the mission as well. Emma hadn't spoken with him since the meeting but she knew she'd eventually have to talk to him. Probably to apologize about storming away earlier. Emma hadn't meant to but things became a little too overwhelming in that meeting.

The discovery of the origin of her powers terrified the hell out of her but mostly because she didn't know what it meant for her. The thought of having any kind of power associated with one of the Infinity Stones made Emma uneasy. She supposed she wasn't all that different from Wanda in that sense but a lot of people were terrified of Wanda. Emma knew she was already controversial in the news with her former past in Hydra. Some people didn't like how the Viper Assassin was granted immunity so she could only imagine what they'd think if they knew her powers came from an Infinity Stone.

The Space Stone as Thor called it.

The stuff of legends.

"You're leaving then," Michelle said as she broke the blonde out of her thoughts. Emma turned to look at her friend who also seemed to be curiously watching people move in and out of the building as they loaded the Quinjet.

"It would seem so," Emma said in response.

"This is weird," Michelle said as she looked around the compound which seemed to be heavily occupied by a large assortment of the Avengers at the present moment.

The young girl had already met Vision, Rhodey, and Tony but now she seemed to be staring at a bunch of other heroes she had yet to meet. It was only a second ago that she watched the Scarlet Witch taking a short walk with Vision before she left for the mission. Black Widow and Hawkeye were locked in a hushed discussion with each other while the Falcon seemed to be teasing the Black Panther about something...or rather King T'Challa who was king of a nation that was very fascinating to Michelle.

Emma fought the urge to smirk as she noticed the way Michelle, not so discreetly, checked T'Challa out. It was hard not to look at him if Emma was being perfectly honest. Not to mention that very sexy Wakandan accent of his. The guy drew a lot of attention wherever he went. Especially female attention.

"He's not so bad looking, is he?" Emma said as she smirked at her friend. Michelle looked at her in surprise before blushing. Emma found that strange since she didn't think she had ever seen her friend blush before.

"I uh...I don't know what you mean," Michelle said, sounding very embarrassed.

"He'd never look at us that way because of his lame nobleness or whatever, but that doesn't mean that _we_ can't look at _him_ ," Emma said, mischief in her eyes despite the current situation. It was nice to be distracted anyways considering everything that was currently going on in her life.

"You do know that Peter probably wouldn't like you talking about another guy like that, right?" Michelle told her and Emma rolled her eyes. "He's really territorial for a nerd. I'm surprised he hasn't tried pissing on you like a dog."

"Very funny," Emma told her. "Parker's not my fucking keeper. Besides...I'm pretty sure he jerks off to that girl from Star Wars so he shouldn't be pointing fingers."

"I'm pretty sure he just jerks off to the fantasy of _you_ dressed up _like_ that girl...or maybe even Slave Leia. Peter seems like a little weirdo who would be into stuff like that," Michelle added and Emma just shook her head in amusement as she let out a small laugh. It only took a moment for them to grow more serious again as they remembered where they were.

"This is a big deal, right?" Michelle asked Emma quietly with an expression of worry on her face although she really wouldn't admit it to anyone if they asked her. "Hydra and you, I mean. After everything they did to you, this is kind of what it's been leading up to."

"We're going to end Hydra once and for all if that's what you mean," Emma said in response and Michelle nodded solemnly.

"It's going to be dangerous then," Michelle inquired although she already knew the answer to that.

"Probably."

"And you have to be there too," Michelle said, sounding worried about her which surprised Emma because she didn't think Michelle had ever seemed worried about her before. Well, Michelle didn't seem like the kind of person to get worried about things. It didn't seem to be in her nature but maybe Emma was mistaken about her before.

"After everything I've done in the service of Hydra, the least I can do is help destroy them for good," Emma said even though that wasn't the whole part of the truth. This just sounded like something Steve would say...something noble and admirable. Truthfully, Emma wasn't exactly doing this for the right reasons and a part of her knew that. Her actions were more fueled by vengeance, anger, and fear than anything else.

"Be careful then," Michelle told her and Emma smiled before nodding.

"I will. You be careful too, MJ," Emma said to her before smirking. "Make sure Leeds doesn't annoy the hell out of Fury. The guy's not the best around children,"

"Will do," Michelle said as she returned Emma's smirk. Emma was about to say something when they were interrupted by her grandfather who dressed in a much different suit than usual.

He certainly wasn't dressed in his usual Captain America suit.

That much was clear.

His suit looked more like his old stealth suit she knew he used during his days at Shield. Although, instead of the dark blue color of that suit, this suit was black. The only trace of color was the chest of the suit which was designed with red and white stripes horizontally across the front. A black star was positioned right at the center of his chest amongst the stripes, but what struck Emma was how different this suit looked from its usual look. He even had a new shield which seemed to match his new look.

Emma was surprised by this new Captain America look but she didn't think she hated it either.

"Well, this is different," Emma remarked as she looked the suit up and down. Steve chuckled as he looked down at the suit.

"Do you like it? Tony designed it and I don't know…" Steve trailed off, a little unsure of the new look. "It's different, I guess."

"No, it looks really good on you," Emma told him, assuring him of the fact that she liked it. She truthfully did. He looked pretty badass in his new suit. Emma never took him for the badass type. Steve was always the noble looking hero in her eyes but this was a nice change. "I like it."

"I'll stick with it then. You, teenagers, seem to know what's hip, right?" Steve said jokingly, a teasing smile on his face as Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, grandpa. We know _all_ the trends," Emma said sarcastically as Steve just laughed at her. It was only then that Steve took notice of Michelle who was standing next to Emma. He realized that this must've been one of Emma's friends. The friend she had been telling him about who was just as much of a book worm as Emma was.

"Oh, hi," Steve said politely as he smiled warmly at Michelle. "You must be Michelle. Emma told me about you."

"Hi," Michelle said awkwardly as she carefully eyed the very tall man who greatly resembled her friend. It was obvious that the two were related now that Michelle saw them side by side. There was absolutely no denying it.

"I'm Steve by the way. Emma's-"

"Yeah, I know," Michelle said, interrupting the super soldier much to his surprise. "You're Emma's gramps. By the way...how are those turkeys treating you these days? Are they still trying to get you to do the wrong thing?"

"Excuse me?" Steve said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Emma laughed at the expression on Steve's face as Michelle just watched him in amusement after referencing the video from detention.

"Everyone's seen those videos at school, Steve," Emma told him, causing Steve to blush. "I also hope that you know I'll never let you forget those videos."

"Right, well, it's nice to finally meet you," Steve said kindly as he pointedly ignored Emma, giving Michelle another polite smile. He then proceeded to ramble on about his happiness at Emma's social life. "Emma's always talking about the friends she's made at Midtown and I'm happy that she seems to be doing so well there. You know, it was just a couple years ago that she said she'd never have any friends but now…"

The two teenage girls both tuned him out as he went on and on about how happy he was that Emma was making friends and that Michelle was one of those friends.

Michelle raised her eyebrows at Emma as she listened to her friend's grandfather ramble on like that. He only sounded a little too much like another guy in Emma's life who rambled on like that whenever he was nervous or happy about something. Michelle always wondered why Emma, someone very cynical and bitter, was always so over the moon about Peter Parker, someone very optimistic and kind, but maybe now Michelle knew. It actually made a lot of sense now that she put all the pieces together.

Michelle deduced the reason behind Emma's attraction to dorks stemmed from Captain America being a rather large dork himself.

"What are you looking at?" Emma questioned as Steve happily went on rambling about how proud he was of her, oblivious to the look Michelle was giving Emma.

Michelle just smirked as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing," Michelle said casually and Emma narrowed her eyes at her friend, not sure that she liked how smug Michelle was being right now.

"Oh my god." Emma sighed tiredly as she heard yet another person come up to them. Could this get any worse? "It's Captain America! You're Captain America!"

"Hi, Leeds," Emma said, not sounding particularly amused by the awestruck look on his face as he stared at her grandfather. His mouth was practically hanging open as he continued to stare at Steve.

"Hello, you must be Ned," Steve said politely as he kindly smiled at the young boy. Ned's eyes widened in surprise.

"You know who I am?" Ned questioned, completely overwhelmed that Captain America apparently knew who he was. This had to be one of the greatest moments of his life. Way greater than when he found out his best friend was Spider-Man and greater than when he shot that one bad guy with Peter's webbing in the school parking lot.

"Emma told me about you," Steve told him before he then introduced himself. "I'm Steve by the way."

"Yeah, I know who you are, Mr. Rogers," Ned said, slightly out of breath because of just how cool this all was. There were all kinds of superheroes just walking around the place like it was normal. Ned just fanboyed over the Black Widow a couple minutes ago although he didn't dare go near her. She was probably even scarier than Emma. The young teenage boy then turned his head to look at Emma. "You talk about me?"

"Relax, Leeds," Emma said with a smirk on her face. "I just told Steve how you're Peter's annoying idiot friend that I only tolerate."

"Thanks a lot, Emma," Ned mumbled while Steve gave his granddaughter a warning look.

"Be polite, Emma," Steve told her and Emma just rolled her eyes as Ned and Michelle watched the pair in both curiosity and amusement. It wasn't often that they saw someone tell Emma what to do and her not tell them to go fuck themselves.

"It's just really cool to meet you, sir," Ned said as he gushed to Steve about how amazing this was. "Peter and I are such big fans of yours. I just can't believe I'm finally meeting you."

"Peter?" Steve questioned as he raised an eyebrow at him. Ned nodded.

"Yeah, Peter and I used to have these Avengers action figures," Ned explained to Steve who found it curious that his granddaughter's boyfriend happened to be a fan of his. "The footage from that thing with Loki was so awesome. You, like, totally threw your shield around like a frisbee and then you were kicking alien ass but the best part was when you-"

"It's too bad Loki lost that day," Emma deadpanned with another smirk on her face as she interrupted Ned's fanboy rant. "He would've made a very handsome dictator. Our country could do really well under a dictatorship. Who needs freedom anyways?"

"You're not funny," Steve told Emma with a pointed look on his face. He could see that Emma's weird fascination with Loki wasn't gone. That was the one thing that she hadn't changed about herself after all this time.

"I just think it's so cool how Emma and Peter are together now," Ned said as he ignored Emma's weird remarks. He was used to her weird fascination with Loki at this point. Everyone was, really. "I mean, when they get married you'll be Peter's grandfather-in-law and that's so awesome."

"Uh…" Steve said as he stared at the excited looking teenager with wide eyes. Michelle basically facepalmed while Emma glared at him.

"You guys would be this huge superhero family and especially when they have kids," Ned gushed excitedly as Emma's anger grew and as Steve felt a rush of fear wash over him.

Peter had mentioned something about marriage before, but Steve hadn't taken him seriously then. He was just a kid, after all. However, now that Emma's little friend was going on about marriage and kids, it was painting a very scary image in his mind. Emma having a boyfriend was one thing but Emma getting married and having babies was a whole other level.

Steve wasn't ready for that.

He wouldn't be ready for a very long time.

"Did you know that you'd be a great-grandpa when they have kids?"

"You'd probably be the youngest looking great-grandpa ever. Well, you're probably the youngest looking grandpa ever because, you know, ice and everything," Ned said as he rambled on endlessly without noticing that Emma was five seconds from shutting his mouth up herself.

God, he was even worse than Peter about this whole kid thing.

"You'll still be young and everything when their kids are born because Peter told me that he wants Emma and him to start having kids when they finish college so that's only a few years away and-"

"I swear to god, Leeds," Emma snapped as she nearly pounced on him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He immediately shut up and stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm not having any bratty little Spider-Twerps. If you don't shut the fuck up right this instant, I'm going to make Hydra look like the least of your problems."

"Did I say something wrong?" Ned questioned innocently as he looked at the blonde in fear.

Emma looked so angry at him and for some reason, he seemed to always piss her off somehow.

Steve snapped out of his horrified state to step in.

"Emma, stop," Steve ordered and Emma looked back at him.

"But Steve-" Emma started to whine but her grandfather gave her a very stern look.

"Stop right now or I won't let you come on the mission," Steve demanded in a very serious, no-nonsense tone. Michelle watched in surprise because she had never seen someone talk to Emma like that. Even Ned looked surprised despite Emma being two seconds away from shutting him up herself.

Michelle and Ned were even more surprised when Emma groaned and rolled her eyes at Steve before subsequently letting Ned go.

"Fine," Emma grumbled but not before giving Ned a distasteful look.

"You know that my mom would've washed my mouth out with soap if I swore like you just did," Steve pointed out to her and Emma raised her eyebrows at him.

"Like Ralphie?" Emma questioned, making _A Christmas Story_ reference that clearly went over Steve's head as he gave her a confused look.

"Who?" Steve questioned and Emma just shook her head before smirking at her grandfather.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to, Steve," Emma told the blonde man. "I spent nine years in Hydra. You're not going to scare me with a bar of soap."

"Speaking of which, we should probably get going, shouldn't we?" Emma inquired, already bored with this conversation. Steve gave her another stern look before deciding to let this one go. They were heading out on a mission soon anyways.

"You're always going to be a whole lot of trouble, aren't you?" Steve asked but there was no anger or annoyance in his tone. He was more amused than anything else.

Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"You wanted me," Emma said snarkily before walking off without saying another word to her two friends.

She knew that she and Michelle spoke more than their fair share of words. They weren't the most talkative of friends but Emma felt good about where they left things. And Ned...well, Leeds always annoyed the hell out of her but she knew he'd be fine at the compound with the Avengers who were staying behind.

Steve just watched her leave in amusement. He wondered how he could go from being angry at her to amused. Only Emma could evoke those kinds of emotions out of a person in such a short time span.

Only Emma.

Steve stared after Emma as she walked towards the Quinjet outside, lost in his thoughts, but he was soon distracted by a clearly still awestruck Ned who seemed to forget the fact that Emma nearly killed him a second ago. The super soldier turned back to look at the teenage boy in surprise at the next question that came out of his mouth.

"Are you really a mean old grandpa like Emma told us you were?"

* * *

Emma felt relaxed briefly after the introduction between Steve and her friends. However, the relaxation period disappeared as soon as she saw the Quinjet in sight. It was only then that Emma remembered her mission. Her mission which was Rumlow.

How could she let herself forget something like that?

This was what she was supposed to focus on with the mission just on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before they'd arrive at their destination and that's when all hell would break loose. Emma needed to prepare herself for the upcoming battle. She didn't know for sure what Rumlow had up his sleeve but she would bet good money on it having something to do with her super soldier serum. There was a reason why Rumlow was waiting until the last minute to reveal himself and this was exactly why.

The others were so focused on finally ending Hydra that they didn't stop to think that this was a trap.

The only reason why Rumlow hadn't come to them yet was because he was waiting for _them_ to come to _him_. Emma knew him and she knew the workings of his dark and sadistic mind. In his own fucked up way of thinking, he was living in the belief that they somehow belonged together and that Emma would return to him out of love or some other kind of fucked up bullshit. That couldn't be further from the truth but the guy was a deranged psychopath.

She didn't love him.

She never had and she never would.

Emma wanted to make sure he knew that about her. The former assassin was going to make sure that she woke him up to the truth of the matter. She wanted him to know that she hated him with all her being and she wished that he would never die so she could spend eternity killing him over and over again.

Even so, Emma knew she had to end him if she ever wanted to move on with her life. He'd never stop trying to get to her if he lived. This was why Emma already knew that he wasn't going to be arrested and put into Raft. He'd use his connections somehow to break out and then they'd be in the same position.

There was simply just not any other way.

Bruce always liked saying that the best way to move on was to leave your past in your past. It was one of those stupid hippie meditation lines Bruce liked spouting out. The guy was always a little too "all love and no war" for Emma's liking which was why she teased him all the time. Now, however, Emma was finally listening to his advice. Only...she didn't think Bruce and herself had similar methods of leaving their past in their past. Bruce's method involved yoga and veganism and Emma's method involved killing Rumlow.

At least she'd be living out her childhood dream this way. Emma just didn't think many people had childhood dreams of killing someone.

Rumlow was just special that way she guessed.

"There seems to be a lot on your mind, Miss Rogers," Emma heard someone say from behind her. She would've recognized the accent from anywhere. The blonde turned around only to be met with the sight of the Wakandan King himself.

Emma had just walked aboard the Quinjet.

She didn't really know what she was doing there by herself. Probably just stalling so she wouldn't have to talk to her father. Emma really didn't want to talk to him right now. It wasn't just the fact that she was still mad at him for how he acted the other day, but learning that new information from the flashdrive was overwhelming. She was still trying to process it and figure out how to deal with it.

Unfortunately, Emma was just going to have to put that to the back of her mind right now. Rumlow was going to require all of her focus and she couldn't let herself become distracted. The tiniest slip up on her part could cost her both her life or someone else's life. Rumlow wasn't someone to underestimate.

She didn't know why no one else seemed to understand that.

"Well, there's kind of a lot going on, isn't there?" Emma said sarcastically, coming off a little bitchier than usual.

T'Challa eyed the teenage girl suspiciously. He wasn't completely sure how to talk to her. Bucky always made the girl out to be a sweet, innocent young girl but it occurred to T'Challa that Bucky just remembered the five-year-old girl she used to be. Steve mentioned that his granddaughter was complicated more or less but T'Challa never thought it was to this extent. He noticed that she was very deflective which almost made him feel like he was talking to Stark, but there was something else about her that reminded him of someone else. Nothing like a character trait or even a physical one but just a look she had in her eyes.

"There may be a lot going on out here with the rest of us," T'Challa said as he looked at the teenage girl before nodding at her. "But I think there's something going on in there. In your head."

"Are you pissed at me or something, Your Highness?" Emma questioned as she narrowed her eyes at the man. He may have had a pretty face to look at but that didn't mean Emma was going to bat her eyelashes at him and play nice. "If this is about your sister then maybe you should keep her on a shorter leash."

"Shuri does as she pleases. That I know better than anyone else," T'Challa told her before focusing his gaze on her. "There's something else that bothers me about you, Miss Rogers."

"And what's that? I'm really dying to know," Emma said in a dull tone as she met his gaze with a bored look on her face.

"Whenever I look at you I see a look in your eyes. A look that a bright woman young woman as young as yourself should never have in their eyes," T'Challa said and Emma couldn't help but let out a smart ass remark.

"What are you, a sexist now too? I'm sorry if I'm not a proper young lady of the court, Your Highness," Emma said sarcastically but T'Challa didn't look offended. He just went on despite Emma's bitter sarcasm.

"It's vengeance I see in your eyes," T'Challa finally said, making the bored look fall off Emma's face. She was seemingly more interested in what T'Challa had to say than before. "I can see it there in your eyes as clear as day."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emma told him, masking the surprise on her face with a calm and collected expression.

"I think you do," T'Challa said calmly as he stared at her with a look of wisdom and knowingness that Emma really didn't like. "I know because I've seen that look in someone else's eyes. My own too for that matter."

"You seek to bring the harbinger of your pain and suffering to justice but only on your own terms," T'Challa continued to tell her as he informed Emma of what he thought he knew about her. "You think vengeance will bring you peace but you are wrong."

"Vengeance will only consume you until there's nothing left but pain and suffering," T'Challa told the teenage girl. "You saw what Zemo did firsthand. He let vengeance consume him and we all paid the price. I've seen vengeance consume many men and women and it's given them nothing in return."

"I almost let vengeance consume me," T'Challa said, looking somewhat ashamed of himself as Emma eyed him with a cold look on her face. "Your father could've paid the price for that."

"You wouldn't have come close so I wouldn't sweat it," Emma bit out as her eyes narrowed into a glare. T'Challa looked up at her in surprise. "What are you doing, T'Challa? Trying to trade sob stories with me?"

"I just want you to know that I understand," T'Challa said as he started to get a feeling that this conversation wasn't going the way he hoped. Emma scoffed and it became clear to T'Challa that he made the wrong move in trying to talk some sense into her. He overstepped his bounds.

"You understand nothing," Emma hissed as T'Challa just watched her with a torn look on his face. "So you watched your father die. Big deal."

"I saw my father's head get blown off, his brains splattering everywhere, and nothing was left but an empty cavity where his face used to be," She said as she raised her voice in anger. "My mother's throat was slit mercilessly. All by the very same man, we're going after today."

"They died because Hydra wanted me. They wanted a new weapon because their first one was starting to get old," The young girl told him as T'Challa was left with no other option but to stay silent and listen. "Hydra tortured me for nine years. Made me learn fucked up things like how to take down nations, inflict chaos, and murder people who were sometimes not innocent but most of the time they were."

"What ten-year-old kid spends their afternoon rigging a car bomb?" Emma questioned rhetorically much to T'Challa horror. "What eleven-year-old kid takes out a hit on a South Korean politician? How's that for a childhood."

"They stole my parents from me, my childhood, and everything else too," Emma ranted angrily after being set off by the king, a lone tear streaming down her face. "Just when I thought that at least I still have my dignity, my innocence if you want to call it that, then that fucking asshole came into my room and raped me over and over again no matter how much I begged him to stop."

"So don't go trying to compare yourself to me while pretending to know how I feel," Emma told him with a furious look on her face and T'Challa was left speechless at her anger. "You who always lived all comfortable in your little palace with your little servants and guards. You who lives completely innocent of all the fucked up shit in the world because your mommy and daddy kept you in a bubble."

"I never meant to offend you, Miss Rogers," T'Challa said, feeling sad for the girl who was obviously left feeling very bitter and hurt by all suffering she had faced in her life. He wasn't angry at what she said to him about his upbringing because it was true in a sense. Emma also wasn't the first person to tell him this. "I only meant to give you some advice."

"I don't need yours or anyone else's advice," Emma said bitterly and T'Challa just nodded slowly.

"Perhaps but do you still think it's wise for you to be going on a mission in this state?" T'Challa inquired carefully and Emma felt like telling him to go fuck himself. The guy thought he was all high and mighty because he was a king so that somehow gave him the right to tell her what to do. She didn't like what he was insinuating but she knew she had already argued with him enough. Emma was just going to tell him what he, like everyone else, wanted to hear.

"Are any of us fit to go on this mission right now?" Emma retorted but her tone was calmer now and she seemed a little less angry than before although she was clearly still tense. T'Challa relaxed a bit at her change in demeanor. "Every single person here is emotionally compromised. It's not just me"

"I suppose you have a point there," T'Challa said in response. She feigned a reassuring look as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the Quinjet.

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Emma said and anyone that knew her would know by her emotionless tone that she didn't mean her own words. "I'm just back-up, remember? I won't screw the mission up. It's too important for me to interfere like that."

"Besides…" Emma trailed off as she looked him in the eyes, something that she knew was the indication of a person telling the truth, and softened her gaze. "Vengeance for me isn't death. Vengeance is making sure that bastard rots in prison for the rest of his pathetic life."

"I'm glad to hear it," T'Challa told her and she wondered if she had him convinced. She did kind of yell at him a second ago but then again...manipulation and lying were her strong suits, after all. Emma might not have been confident about this whole hero thing but lying was definitely a gift of hers. She knew she could lie to T'Challa because he didn't know he, but she also knew that if Steve or her father saw her then they'd know she was lying. It seemed like there were a select few who were immune to her gifts.

"Well, we almost seem ready to go," Clint Barton announced as he walked onto the Quinjet and headed straight for the pilot's seat. He seemed oblivious to the obvious tension in the air from Emma and T'Challa's dispute. Emma and T'Challa exchanged one last glance before turning to look at Clint who was taking his seat.

"I'm glad to hear it," T'Challa told him, his tone sounding more optimistic than before. Clint smiled back at him before looking down at the screen as he began to set course for their mission. The others seemed to pile on to the Quinjet after that and Emma's only relief came from T'Challa not mentioning their argument to anyone. She took comfort in the fact that she was just as good of a liar as she used to be. He believed her and that was all she needed to know as they got ready to leave for their mission.

T'Challa believed that Emma would settle for Rumlow being put behind bars but the truth of the matter was that she would never be satisfied with him behind bars. She wouldn't be content until that asshole was buried six feet under. Emma would take no less than them coming out of this thing with his cold corpse for everyone to see.

There would be no compromising over the matter.

He was already dead and she was the only one who knew it.

* * *

"Peter, I just got here and now you're leaving?" May Parker questioned as she tried to stop her nephew from going on the mission. Peter was heading for the Quinjet with all the others as May followed him.

"You'll be fine here, May. You'll be safe and-" Peter started to say but May interrupted him. It was still going to take some getting used to with seeing her nephew dressed in his Spider-Man suit. May didn't think she'd ever get used to that.

"You're the child, Peter, and I'm the parent. You shouldn't be going off to face a bunch of evil super Nazis in the first place," May told him with both a worried and angry look on her face. "How come you never told me what exactly was going on? You told me it was nothing to worry about. You said it was being taken care of."

"I didn't want you to worry," Peter told her quietly and May scoffed.

"Of course I was going to worry, Peter," May told him, sounding frustrated by her nephew's antics. "It's my job to worry."

"I always worry whenever you go off to every night to be Spider-Man but this is different, " May said, tears streaming down her face. "This is the Avengers. This is Hydra. This is so much more than any of it before and I'm scared for you."

"And this is also Emma," Peter finally told his aunt as he finally stopped in his steps, May stopping alongside him. The older woman noticed an odd look cross Peter's face. A look that was a combination of emotions like fear, anger, and desperation. It should've scared her to see her nephew like this but she understood why.

"This man...he's a very bad man, May, and he did terrible things to Emma," Peter told his aunt, his eyes flooding with tears. The look on his face broke her heart. "He did really evil things to her and he wants to take her away so he can do more evil things to her. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let him hurt her again."

"What would you do if it was Uncle Ben?" Peter asked her and May suddenly felt overcome with emotion at the mention of her late husband. "Wouldn't you do everything you could to help him? To protect him?"

"Don't ask me that, Peter," May told him tearfully and Peter swallowed hard as he sought to make his aunt understand why he needed to do this.

"She needs me, May. She'd never admit to needing me but I know she does," Peter said honestly and it was clear to May at that moment that there was no changing his mind. He could be remarkably stubborn when he wanted to be. "And she's also going on that mission so I'm going to have to go with her. I can't lose her, May. I really can't."

"I can't lose you either, Peter," May said, her eyes still flooded with tears. However, before she could say anything else someone else came up to them.

"Is everything okay here?" Steve inquired as he noticed Peter in the presence of a very emotional looking woman. Both Peter and May looked up at Steve who was dressed in a much different uniform than what they were used to seeing. In fact, Peter hardly recognized him in this uniform.

"Yeah, my aunt's just worried about me," Peter told his girlfriend's grandfather. It was then that May allowed herself to turn to Captain America. Remembering her manners and forcing a polite smile across her face despite the tears.

"Hi, you must be Steve. Emma's...grandfather," May finally managed to say. Wow, that really was a strange concept, after all. Here was a man who looked no older than thirty-two or thirty-three, terribly good looking too, but who happened to be a grandfather. He certainly made May feel old.

"Yes, I am. You must be Peter's aunt?" Steve inquired with a kind smile on his face. May nodded.

"It's nice to finally meet you despite the current situation," May told the blonde man sincerely.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ma'am," Steve said, being his formal and polite self. May blushed.

"Please just call me, May. Ma'am makes me feel so old," May told him and Steve smiled.

"Of course, May," Steve told her before glancing at Peter and then back to May again.

Peter chewed on his bottom lip nervously because he kind of felt like Steve might tell May about what he and Emma had been doing the other day when her father walked in on them. It seemed like a silly thing to be worried about in the situation they were in but he really didn't want to give May another reason to ground him when this was all over. Sure, May seemed to be more on the cooler spectrum of parents when it came to things like sex, unlike Emma's father, but he didn't want May embarrassing him in front of all the Avengers about making sure he used protection.

"You've raised a very nice young man. You know that?" Steve finally said, shocking Peter to his very core. The boy's eyes widened as he looked in between May and Steve. May smiled, momentarily forgetting all the worry she was feeling about Peter's impending mission.

"I know. Believe me," May told him, a proud look on her face. Peter still couldn't believe Emma's grandfather said that about him.

"I'm glad he's taken care of Emma while I've been away. I'll never forget that," Steve told her but it was clear from the way he was looking at Peter from the corner of his eye that he wasn't speaking directly to May. He was telling Peter this as well. Then it became clear why Steve seemed more accepting of his relationship with Emma than her father was. Sure, Emma didn't want to be taken care of but that didn't mean her grandfather didn't worry any less about her.

The real difference between Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers was that Bucky Barnes believed that Emma could take care of herself while Steve Rogers knew deep down that Emma needed to be taken care of. She'd probably get mad at him if she ever heard him say that but it was something Peter could see that Steve believed. Peter felt protective over her too but he thought it was a good thing. It was a good thing that people cared that much about her even if Emma didn't like it.

"Peter's always been a good kid. I don't know if he ever needed Ben or myself for that," May told him and Peter felt a little embarrassed that they were talking about him like he wasn't there.

"I'm still here, you know," Peter said as he pretended to be annoyed. May and Steve both looked at him with slightly amused expressions on their faces. Steve then subsequently turned back to face May.

"I figure there's not much we can tell these kids not to do. They'll still end up doing it anyways," Steve informed her and May smiled before nodding.

"You're telling me. My nephew's the stubbornest person I've ever met," May told him and Steve returned her smile.

"My granddaughter could give him a run for his money," Steve told her before casting another look in Peter's direction and then returning his gaze to May, a more serious look in his eyes. "Which is why they'll be back-up on this mission. Hopefully, there won't be a need to bring them in. We're hoping for an in and out kind of situation here."

"I hope so too," May said quietly before taking one last look at her nephew. Peter met her gaze but felt a bit guilty at causing his aunt to worry so much. That wasn't what he wanted. "It seems like the world needs Spider-Man more than I need Peter Parker right now, huh?"

"Seems like it," Peter told his aunt. Her gaze softened in that instant.

"It seems like maybe there's someone else who could use both right now," May told him as she referred to a certain blonde former assassin. Peter nodded.

"I know," Peter told her and May ambushed him with a hug. He blushed at first, a little embarrassed for Captain America to see him get coddled by his aunt, before he relaxed into the hug and wrapped his arms around his aunt in return.

You be careful, okay?" May told him as soon as she pulled away from him. Peter nodded hurriedly.

"I know, May. I will," Peter promised and May leaned in, kissing him on the cheek just like she did when he was little. Peter blushed at yet another thing that Captain America had to see. However, there didn't seem to be a teasing look on Steve's face like there would've been if Tony was in his place. The man even seemed moved by the scene.

It seemed like Emma's grandfather was a different type of Avenger than what he was used to.

"I'll bring him back home to you, Ma'am," Steve told her, forgetting the fact that she previously told him not to call her that. She nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Please do," May finally said and Steve gave her a small nod before he began to walk off in the direction of the Quinjet. Peter gave his aunt one last reassuring look before he also walked off into the same direction, following Steve's lead. He knew his aunt must've been a crying mess back there and he hated himself for worrying her but this mission had to take priority. Emma's safety was in jeopardy, after all, so of course, Peter was going to go with her. Even if it meant rushing into the jaws of death, Peter would go because there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

Peter would never cease reminding Emma of that fact either.

"Are you coming, Peter?" Steve asked him, breaking Peter out of his thoughts. The teenage boy only realized then that he had paused on the ramp of the Quinjet. Steve was standing ahead of him a little ways with a raised eyebrow. Peter noticed that he didn't exactly look too unlike Emma when he did that. It was little instances like that when he was reminded that the two were related. Otherwise, they both weren't much alike.

The eyes were the main thing.

Emma and Steve had the same exact eyes.

Peter nodded after a moment, a small smile on his face as he looked back up at Steve.

This was it.

This was the big mission.

This was what everything had been leading up to for the past half year. Peter just wanted it to end too so that Emma wouldn't have to have the threat of Hydra looming over her head for the rest of her life. She deserved a lot better than that and ending Hydra would mean that she could actually live a more carefree life. A carefree life was something she deserved and Peter planned on giving it to her. He didn't care what he had to do in order to make it happen for her but he'd do everything in his power to make her happy.

"Yes, I'm right behind you."

* * *

 **Yet Another Author's Note: I should add that I've created a list of AU story ideas on my profile page for STNS. There's five ideas so far and you can check them out if you want before putting a vote in for which one you want to see. I'm planning on eventually writing all of them but I just want to decide which one to write first. Currently 'Spider-Brat' seems to be in the lead.**

 **Tusia0095: I think Emma is really curious about her parents so she might eventually ask Clint about that. She just really resents her parents in a way for making the decision to have her knowing that people would probably be after her because of who she was related to. I think she might blame them in a way. So it might be a while until she finally becomes comfortable enough to talk about them with someone but it's an issue she'll come to terms with in the sequel. I know when I wrote all the flashback chapters with Emma's parents I listened to a lot of eighties music just because of Margot. I created a playlist with a lot of Blondie, Phil Collins, David Bowie, The Police, the Kinks, and Bonnie Tyler. 'Give the People What They want' by the Kinks is probably one of my favorite albums from the eighties. The Kinks are seriously underrated.**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2: During the Civil War storyline Rumlow managed to escape from Steve and the others in Lagos. I never wrote the scene in which he escaped but Steve relayed it to Emma later on after they came back from the mission. It was a long time ago so I get that you might not have remembered.**

 **Whyeren: Thank you! I'm always happy to get new readers.**

 **Purplestan: Everyone knows that Rumlow's going to bite the dust and I'm not going to say when but it'll definitely be soon. Not this chapter soon but soon. REALLY soon. I'm dropping a hint here but I don't want to give it entirely away.**

 **I'm the Galactic Starfish: Thank you! Your review is so nice. I mean, I'm not going to reveal much about whether or not the others find out about the Winter Viper Project. It won't be because Emma let it slip though. She's very good about keeping secrets but time will tell.**

 **bonitalito: It's not going to happen in this chapter but it'll happen eventually when things get back to normal. I have the scene planned so just keep that in mind.**

 **Mabel: I mentioned my two recommendations for Peter stories in my author's note at the top. One of them isn't a Peter/OC story but it's still worth checking out. I promise.**

 **Guest: No. Wanda and Pietro got their powers from the mind stone which was inside Loki's scepter. Emma got her powers from the Space Stone which is inside the Tesseract.**

 **JustJoyce: Emma worries about not being good enough to be Steve's legacy because she thinks there's so much bad inside her and Steve's so good. She just worries that she'll never be able to make him proud that way. There will be more interactions with Shuri in the future. Maybe Emma, Peter, and Shuri can be pen pals. As for Ned and Michelle...there might be a nice surprise in this chapter.**

 **It's actually not the time stone but the space stone. It would basically make Emma have more in common with Wanda who doesn't have the mind stone in her body but got powers from it because of all the experiments Hydra did to her. As for the power thing...maybe not in this story so much as in the sequel. There might be a couple things Emma discovers about herself in the future that she didn't realize she had before.**

 **Bucky might be starting to come around to the idea of maybe accepting Peter but it's going to take something that won't happen until the next chapter for that to happen. Yeah, Emma's not like anyone exactly. I think some of the Avengers' traits have definitely rubbed off on her but she's pretty much her own person. Steve and her kind of have a talk like that in this chapter too.**

 **Don't worry. I love long reviews.**

 **Summer: No, Wanda and Pietro got their powers from the mind stone. Emma's powers are from the space stone. I don't think it's unreasonable that they'd be surprised. Their reactions are pretty believable.**

 **Blue: Yes, they will. It'll happen towards the end of the story so...soonish. I have everything planned so I know how I'm going to write it. It just wouldn't be right for it to happen during all the Rumlow stuff. I want Emma to put the Rumlow stuff in her past before she moves on. As for the Rumlow poll, I'll just tell you guys after said chapter comes out. What actually goes down in the next chapter is pretty close to what people voted for. It's what I wanted to write anyways. I just wanted to see what other people thought about it. The Spider-Brat idea seems to be pretty popular so far so we'll see.**

 **jaclynencizo: I think you're referring to the Iron Viper suit like the Iron Spider suit. It's not vibranium...at least I don't think it is. I need to double check that. However, the Iron Viper probably wouldn't be used by Emma until the Endgame storyline which is far away. Emma will have a new and different look for the Ragnarok storyline though.**

 **Anonanon: It will be another chapter until you find out. This chapter became way longer than I planned and I didn't want it to be 60,000 words long so the next chapter which is nearly done. Hopefully I'll have it out in a few days.**

 **Rorydev: Thank you! You're so nice and I'm glad you've given the story a read. I'm just feel bad it's taken so long to update.**

 **glagla60800: More will be explained in the sequel. The sequel is when Emma discovers more about herself.**

 **scrapingskies: Nope. Just busy with life while writing a super long chapter or two. I really love that idea too. I love all of them really and I hope to someday be able to write all of them.**

 **Thanks again, guys, and I'll have the next chapter out within the week. It's almost done and I'm so excited for all of you to see it. I'm really proud of it.**


	86. Chapter Seventy Eight

**Author's Note: Yay! So I finally updated faster this time. I'm really proud of myself and especially since this is another long chapter. It took me a couple days longer than I wanted but it's still just a week from last time. I would've updated sooner but I was binge-watching this amazing show on Netflix called 'The Fall'. Has anyone ever seen that show? It's so addicting and I just finished it.**

 **I just want to include a link where I've created a collection of Fanart for Some Things Never Sleep. I'm not really into Tumblr since I really don't like social media that much so it's on Quotev. For now it's just the art work Another random account has been sending me but if anyone else has anything I'll gladly add it to the collection. Seriously check it out though. The art work is so beautiful.**

 **Link: story/11656025/Some-Things-Never-Sleep-Fan-Art/1  
**

 **Has everyone seen the new Superbowl Avengers: Endgame TV spot? Steve's pissed off look intrigues me. I also want to see a lot more of Rocket interacting with the other Avengers. It's just so weird to picture him with the rest of them. I just realized that these recent Endgame trailers are kind of like a drug to me. One is not enough. Two is definitely not enough. I'm pretty sure three is definitely not going to be enough until the movie actually comes out.**

 **WARNING!**

 **I'm going to list a bunch of warnings for this chapter because Rumlow plays a big part in this chapter. I seriously had to take several breaks while writing a lot of this because Rumlow's a really sick and sadistic person so it's hard to write some of the stuff he says. Getting inside Rumlow's head is not somewhere you want to be. So there's a lot of mention of rape in this chapter. The mention of rape is pretty graphic so be warned. This chapter is also pretty violent too. So also be warned about that.**

 **So now that we've gotten through the warnings, I'll start answering some of the reviews.**

 **Stoffel02: Thanks. I'll keep that in mind when I start re-editing the story.**

 **moocella: Steve and Bucky are going to see the videos as I've said before. This definitely wasn't going to be the chapter for that but I'm sure you'll see why. I'm thinking it'll either happen in the next chapter or the one after. I haven't decided where to fit it in yet.**

 **I'm the Galactic Starfish: Thanks so much for your kind review. I really wanted Steve and Tony to reunite in Infinity War too so I was kind of disappointed but hopefully we'll see that happen in Endgame. I just hope it's not too late. Emma's a huge flirt so I imagine her flirting with Thor too. Not just Loki. Jokingly, of course. The only person she flirts with for real is always going to be Peter. I'm glad you enjoy STNS so much and that it can inspire you. You don't know how much that means as a writer. Well, maybe you do since you're a writer too but I'm sure your writing is amazing. My writing still needs a lot of work. I know that more than anyone else. I think there's always room for improvement. I also think the key is to just keep writing and it'll get better. My writing now is way better than it was at the beginning of the story which is why I want to re-edit so bad.**

 **Assbitch67: I got a little emotional myself just writing that scene with Steve and Tony. It was a long time coming and I'm thinking they'll be a little closer now than they were before in this story. I'm glad you love the story but you might hate me or love me for this chapter. I'm not sure yet about how people are going to feel about it. I'm happy with the end result though.**

 **JuggernautJJ: T'Challa wasn't specifically speaking about Killmonger but himself as well. It was referring to that time in Civil War when he wanted to kill Bucky because he thought Bucky killed his father when it was actually Zemo. He was also referring to Killmonger trying to avenge his dead father at the hands of T'Challa's own father. T'Challa was more so speaking in general about people seeking vengeance and it only bringing them pain.**

 **glagla60800: Yes, I have seen Crazy Rich Asians. It was a while ago but I really enjoyed it. It was really funny. I'm really happy that you read 'Affinity War' because that's my new favorite fanfic on here. There's not many Peter stories I like and normally I don't read Peter/MJ but I just really love that one. Something really amazing and exciting happened last chapter too so I'm really happy and it gives me a lot to think about regarding this story with something that's going to happen in a few chapters. I'm kind of hinting at something major here but only people who are reading 'Affinity War' will get it, I guess. I know the story isn't very long yet but the author hasn't been writing it for long. My story wasn't always this long either. I think it just builds the anticipation whenever a new chapter is about to drop. The author always updates on Saturday so Saturday is my new favorite day. Friday is also my favorite day because that's the day emmagnetised updates 'The Wyvern'.**

 **Thank you! Another random account drew that picture of the upside down Spider Viper kiss which has to be one of my favorites from all the fan art she's sent me. They haven't kissed like that yet but I have plans for it. That's all I'll say for now.**

 **Thanks! I can't believe the story's gotten to be that long. It's really crazy.**

 **I started reading 'Sins of the Father' a while ago but I never finished it. I should really pick up from where I left off because I remember really loving it. I'm also a huge fan of Peter and Tony's father and son moments but there will be plenty more of that to come. Probably some more fluffier bits towards the end of the story since after this chapter we'll start to move past a lot of the darker material.**

 **I have to be honest. I really only created Susan all those chapters ago but I didn't want there to be an awkward kiss between Sharon and Steve in Civil War. It's almost incest in this story since they're related through Emma with Steve being Emma's grandfather and Sharon being Emma's somewhat distant cousin on her grandmother's side. I'm not sure if I'll keep Susan in the story since I'm kind of bored with her character and I also like the idea of Steve being single.**

 **The new Cap suit was inspired from the comics by the way. I was looking through different Captain America suits and noticed that suit and really liked it.**

 **bonitalito: There's definitely going to be a little bit of awkwardness between Bucky, Emma, and Peter in this chapter. You'll see just what I mean.**

 **diamond moon: I didn't know that was almost an actual storyline for Peter in the comics. I could see how that might be weird.**

 **tetsuyacchi: You have no idea how excited I am to write Emma and Loki interacting. It's going to be so fun and I'm just so pumped for it. I won't say much in regards to the Winter Viper thing but Emma deleting the file wasn't the end of it. Thanks so much for supporting this story. Your review means so much.**

 **JustJoyce: There's another instance in this story where Emma was totally Peggy. If you can guess it then you score major cool points with me. Steve will mention it in a couple chapters anyways. I'll just hint that it happened after a fight between Emma and Peter. Yeah, Emma pretends to be more responsible and grown up than Peter but they both get into a ton of trouble together. Emma and Peter are definitely going to cause Tony, Bucky, and Steve to go gray. Those two would stress out any parent.**

 **anonanon: I did the foreshadowing bit on purpose by the way. I did it once before in the story and I even kind of do it a little bit in this chapter too. As far as the AU's go, I'm thinking of doing 'Baby Avenger' last just because it would be the longest one. I might do 'Spider-Brat' second or third but don't worry. It's not going to be dramatic at all. It's actually going to be more like a comedy with lots of fluffy moments. Probably a lot of the Avengers baby proofing the compound while Emma and Peter are forced to come to terms with becoming young parents. Something tells me that Peter would be weirdly excited after getting over his initial shock. I'm thinking of doing 'Her Name is not Viper' since that one's been getting quite popular and I've always wanted to write a villain version of Emma. I think Bad Emma and Good Peter would be really fun to write. 'Man out of Time' is one I might do second or third. I'm torn between doing that one or 'Spider-Brat' first. I'm not sure yet. I still need to develop more ideas for 'Spider-Brat'. 'Me and My Husband' would either be last or next to last. I know 'Spider-Brat', 'Man out of Time', and 'Me and my Husband' wouldn't be very long fics. They'd be relatively short. Probably under 60,000 words. 'Spider-Brat' would probably be 45,000 to 50,000 so not long at all. I'm still deciding about the AU fics but I'm not going to start writing one until I'm a few chapters into the sequel.**

 **993TheOneEyedKing986: I'm not totally sure how many chapters until the sequel. I don't want to give a definite number until I'm one hundred percent sure. I know that it's definitely under ten at this point. I'll have a more exact number after the next chapter.**

 **ChanceToBeImmortal: Thank you so much for your review! It really means a lot. I also want to add that T'Challa was completely right in what he was telling Emma. You'll see that in this chapter. Emma was in the wrong because T'Challa did recognize something in her that told him that she was hellbent on getting revenge so he was correct.**

 **Thanks for all follows, favorites, and reviews. Sorry if I didn't answer them all but I did read them and cherished every single one so just know that. I just really wanted to finally get this chapter out to you. Anyways...thanks and let me know what you think.**

* * *

They had only been up in the air for around an hour but the Quinjet couldn't get there fast enough for Emma.

Natasha and Clint were piloting the Quinjet. Their skills weren't much needed with the autopilot feature but Emma figured they probably wanted the distraction. Everyone else was broken off into small groups as they awaited the arrival at their destination.

Some of it even felt like how it did back in the days before the accords.

Steve and Tony pouring over an old blueprint of Hydra Headquarters as they both debated on how to best approach this situation. Wanda was towards the front of Quinjet, her hands gripping the back of Clint's seat as she chatted with both him and Natasha about something.

The only difference in this scenario was the fact that T'Challa, Peter, and her father were there with them.

Her father was in another corner of the Quinjet quietly talking to T'Challa. Emma expected that they must've been something of friends. The man had been secretly harboring her father in his country for over a year. Emma might've even felt a little bad about snapping at him before like that but maybe T'Challa was right. She _was_ in an emotional state right now even if she wouldn't admit aloud.

If anything, his words were a sign that she needed to get ahold of herself. It would do anyone any good if she got emotionally compromised right before she faced Rumlow. Emma needed to be in a clear and present state of mind if she was going to do this. Otherwise, it might end up costing her everyone else's lives along with her own. Emma couldn't afford to be emotional in other words.

There was no time for it.

"So this is it, huh?" Peter inquired as he took a seat next to her. Emma broke out of her thoughts as she looked at him. She had been seated towards the back of the Quinjet and had ignored Peter along with everyone else for much of the journey.

Emma knew that Peter had been building up the courage to speak to her ever since he got on the Quinjet. She knew it from the way he paced behind Steve and Tony, his arms swinging at his sides while he stole a glance at her every now and then when he thought she wasn't looking. She always knew when he was looking though.

Even if he didn't know it himself.

Emma didn't blame him for being nervous. They hadn't spoken since she stormed out of the conference room a few hours before. He had been giving her some space to figure things out for herself and Emma really appreciated that. She knew how difficult it must've been for him.

"I really wish you hadn't come," Emma told him sincerely and Peter raised his eyebrows at her.

"How could I ever stay behind knowing that you were out here on this mission with that monster so close to you?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed heavily before nodding.

"I know but I still wished you hadn't come. This is my mess, not yours," She said to him and Peter shook his head before he reached over, subsequently taking her hand into his. He fixed her with a reassuring smile, his brown eyes lit up with hope and adoration. It was enough to make Emma's heart race but it was also enough to remind her of what she was fighting for.

"When will you ever accept the fact that you're not alone?" Peter told her and Emma smiled softly before looking down at her lap...looking at how he held her hand in his. "We're in this together, Emma. You should know this by now."

"Partners, right?" Emma said softly and Peter nodded.

"Partners," Peter confirmed. Emma then looked back up at him, her gaze softer than it had been before.

"Do you think I'm a freak?" Emma asked him and the question seemed so random that it completely threw Peter off. He frowned as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, not at all understanding what she was trying to ask.

"What?" He questioned and Emma chewed on her bottom lip nervously, a very rare nervous habit of hers, but one Peter recognized nonetheless.

"You heard what Hydra injected me with. You saw what Howard Stark did with the Tesseract," Emma told him before explaining what seemed to be troubling her. "Peter, Thor told everyone what was inside that thing. He said it was one of six Infinity Stones and that they were from space. Something that was once thought as the stuff from legend but now the power from one of those is resting inside me because Howard Stark couldn't resist the temptation to play god."

"Emma, I know you're scared but it's going to be okay," Peter told her despite being scared of what this could mean for Emma too. Of course, he was terrified at the idea of something like that flowing through Emma's veins. Not because he was terrified of her but he was terrified of what it could mean for her. However, he wanted to stay calm and comfort Emma instead of scaring her.

"How can it be okay, Peter?" Emma questioned in a hushed voice so no one else would hear them. "The Tesseract is what opened that portal into space five years ago and somehow the power of that is inside me. What does it even mean?"

"You're not a freak, Emma," Peter told her firmly, answering the question she asked him a couple minutes ago. "You're going to be fine too. Okay?"

"How can you know that?" She asked him and Peter swallowed hard before answering.

"Because Wanda was experimented on with the Mind Stone, right?" Peter threw back at her as Emma watched him intently. "And the Mind Stone is one of these Infinity Stones?"

"Yeah," Emma answered and Peter nodded, maintaining his calm demeanor so that he could make Emma feel calm as well.

"And she seems to be okay, right? Aside from how annoying she is, I mean," Peter said as he added the last part jokingly. Emma smiled in amusement before nodding.

"Yeah, aside from the annoying part," Emma said in response and Peter smiled, glad that he was getting her to calm down a bit.

"Then you're going to be fine too," Peter told her, sounding very sure of himself and for some reason that made Emma feel safe. She knew that if anyone else would've said these things to her, she wouldn't believe them for a second. It seemed to be the magic of Peter Parker though. He could make her feel better in an instant. A quality he seemed to share with Steve. "You know how I know?"

"No," Emma said quietly and Peter maintained his reassuring smile as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand gently. The soothing gesture gave Emma a lot more comfort.

"Because you're the strongest person I know, Emma. If Wanda could survive something like that then you could survive it a hundred times more than her," Peter stated and Emma felt another wave of calmness come over her. Peter made sense when he said that. Wanda survived this thing and she turned out alright. Maybe Emma would be alright too.

"If it makes you feel any better, after this whole thing is over, we can figure all this out," Peter promised her. "We can have Dr. Cho, Tony, and Shuri run some tests. Dr. Selvig is pretty much an expert on the Tesseract at this point so he could help too. I'm sure Susan and Jane could help in some way as well."

"My point is that we'll figure something out," Peter said as he finally finished and Emma swallowed hard as she stared back at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers that he loved so much.

"What if there's something wrong, after all?" Emma asked him softly and Peter gave her a determined look as he squeezed her hand in comfort.

"Then I'll find a way to make it better myself. I don't care what I have to do but I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, Emma."

Emma felt that familiar fluttering of butterflies in her stomach as she stared back at him. His brown eyes, the ones that always made her heart skip a beat, were locked onto hers as he made sure not to break eye contact.

Peter was making a lot of promises.

Promises that Emma didn't know if he or anyone else could keep but she knew he meant it when he said he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

Emma didn't really know if she would make it out of this Rumlow thing alive but she knew she could die happy because she knew what it felt like to be loved like that. To be loved so much by someone that you could feel invincible and capable of anything because it made you feel like you were flying so high you could touch the clouds. Emma knew what flying felt like so she knew exactly what she was talking about. She would be forever grateful to Peter for loving her like he did. He didn't have to but he still did and Emma could keep that feeling with her forever.

"Thank you," Emma whispered to him. Peter didn't know it but she was thanking him for so much more than just his promise.

She was thanking him for everything.

"You don't have to thank me," Peter told her and Emma nodded solemnly.

"I know...but I still am," Emma said in response and she felt like kissing him right then but she also knew they weren't alone. Everyone was on that Quinjet and Emma was also a little too aware of the fact that her father's eyes were on them whenever he thought she wasn't looking. She didn't want to add fuel to the fire now of all times. Emma didn't feel like fighting with her father right now either even if she still held a bit of a grudge against him for trying to strangle her boyfriend. She didn't want to make this whole thing harder than it had to be.

"You'll be fine, Emma," Peter told her once more and she nodded silently. The blonde didn't say anything else as she slowly turned and rested her head against his shoulder, allowing herself to relax a bit before they started to reach their destination. Peter swallowed hard before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer.

"I'm sorry for storming out of the conference room earlier. That was irrational and I wasn't thinking clearly," Emma whispered her apology and Peter just nodded.

"It's okay. I know that it was a lot to process so I get why you had to leave," Peter told her quietly, assuring her that there wasn't a need to apologize. "If it were me, I don't know what I would've done."

"Well, I'd be there to help you through it. Just like what you're doing with me," Emma promised and a small smile crossed Peter's face.

"Then I guess I'd be just fine," Peter said quietly and a small smile also came across Emma's face despite the seriousness of the situation. She supposed it was nice to know someone had your back no matter what situation you were in.

Emma then took the time to watch the others as she kept resting her head against Peter's shoulders. Everyone seemed too busy to notice them. Except for her father, that is. Her father who didn't look quite angry at her and Peter's close proximity but who actually had an unreadable look on his face. That struck Emma as odd because usually, she found her father quite easy to read.

At least to her anyways.

The blonde then chose to move her gaze to Tony. She wondered how he was feeling about all this. He seemed oddly calm and quiet ever since they took off for the mission. She had watched earlier when Pepper bid him goodbye with a tender kiss and he promised her his return with a much softer look in his eyes. Emma never said this but she was glad he had someone like Pepper to take care of him. She tried to act like she didn't care about him but she did.

Emma found it even more odd at how calm and less tense Tony seemed to be around Steve. _That was different_ , Emma thought to herself. While Emma knew that Tony tried to put his feelings aside with this Hydra thing on the horizon, she still knew there was a lot of hard feelings he had towards Steve and some of the others. However, she wondered if there was a conversation between Steve and Tony that she didn't see because something seemed different now. It didn't feel like they were going to have to walk on eggshells around them like they had been doing lately.

"Okay, guys, ready to get this little game plan of ours together and kick some evil Nazi ass?" Tony announced, signaling that it was time that everyone got around the table in the center of the Quinjet as they prepared for their arrival.

Emma lifted her head from off Peter's shoulder.

Her boyfriend gave her an encouraging smile before they both got up from their seats and headed in the direction where everyone else was already taking position. Clint and Natasha seemed to have vacated their pilot seats, putting the Quinjet on autopilot mode, while Wanda, Bucky, and T'Challa also gathered around the table. Tony immediately brought up a holographic blueprint of Hydra Headquarters as Emma and Peter approached the table.

"This is the layout of Hydra Headquarters," Steve said as he went into Captain Mode and began to set up the plan for everyone. Everyone listened quietly. "It's the same Headquarters that Red Skull had back in Hydra's earlier days. I expect it's not as functional as it was back then since Hydra's resources have been very limited as of lately."

"It still doesn't mean we should underestimate them," Natasha pointed out. "Rumlow might have something up his sleeve as Emma mentioned before. They probably have a large supply of those Tesseract-powered weapons too."

"Of course," Steve said as he nodded in agreement. "Natasha's right. Hydra is not meant to be underestimated under any circumstances. While their resources might be low right now, they're very good at getting the upper hand when the occasion calls for it."

"We'll need to retrieve their data files," Tony added as he looked around the table. "Someone's mission will have to be different than the rest of ours."

"Tony's right about that too," Steve informed everyone. "There's no telling how much Hydra knows about Emma or any of us. We also need to find out if this really is the last Hydra base so someone will need to infiltrate wherever Rumlow has his computer and retrieve those data files."

"I'll do it," Natasha said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall before giving Steve a pointed look. "It wouldn't be the first time I had to retrieve data files under shady circumstances."

"Great, that solves _that_ problem," Tony said as Steve nodded in agreement. "Romanoff is in charge of collecting those files. What else?"

"Clint, you get yourself up to a vantage point and be our eyes and ears for the mission," Steve told the archer who nodded in response.

"I'll get right on it, Cap," Clint said in confirmation before Steve turned to Wanda, T'Challa, and Bucky.

"Tony's going to circle the perimeter once we arrive at Hydra Headquarters," Steve started to say as everyone continued to listen intently to him. "The four of us will be on the ground. I think it's safer if we team up in pairs. Wanda and I will cover one half of the building while T'Challa and Bucky will cover the other half."

"If you take a look at the layout of the Headquarters you can see that Hydra will probably put all their forces into the front of the building," Steve said as he pointed at the hologram on the screen. "It's best to assume that they'll be waiting for us. Our attack on Ugalde's compound might've alerted them."

"How many do you think we're going up against?" Wanda inquired curiously. Steve shrugged.

"I don't think their numbers are as large as when we infiltrated that Hydra base in Sokovia but it's never safe to assume anything," Steve told her honestly and Bucky nodded.

"Hydra might be low in numbers this time around but I'm willing to bet that Rumlow has something big under his sleeve," Bucky said as he gave his input into the plan.

"He's waiting for the right time to reveal all his cards. That's why we haven't seen him until now."

"Bucky's right," Steve said as he agreed with his best friend. "There's no telling what Rumlow's planning so we need to proceed with caution. Don't get cocky."

"Cocky's my middle name, Capsicle," Tony said jokingly and Steve gave him an unamused look. _Maybe things really had gotten back to normal_ , Emma thought to herself as she looked between the two Avengers.

"Captain," T'Challa said as he brought the conversation back on topic. Everyone looked at the Wakandan king. "Are we to arrest these Hydra agents or are they to be put down?"

"Wow, way to get all dark on us, Bagheera," Tony said sarcastically. Peter's eyes widened at the suggestion of shooting to kill and not to injure. It suddenly occurred to him that this might be the biggest mission he had ever gone on...or the hardest one, at least.

When Tony recruited him for the mission against Captain America and his faction of Avengers, Peter was ordered not to kill anyone. He was simply supposed to injure and use non-lethal force which was easy enough for him. Peter didn't want to kill anyone anyways and the same went for the stuff with Toomes. Emma's and his mission in stopping the Vulture was their own mission so they made the call of not killing anyone.

However, this was different.

This was a matter of life and death but suddenly everything was a little too real for Peter. Sure, he knew he'd do what he had to if it meant protecting Emma but the concept was still overwhelming.

Peter was about to ascend into a deeper level of panic when he felt Emma's hand slip into his. He caught her sending him a reassuring look before she squeezed his hand in comfort much like he had done with her earlier. Peter seriously wondered how she could sense whenever he was panicking. She just somehow knew how he was feeling and sought to make him feel better. He could sense the same thing with her and Peter just supposed after going through so much together, they were very in sync with one and other. It was like they were on the same wavelength.

"Sam already coined that nickname, Tony. You're a little late to the game," Emma said, breaking Peter out of his thoughts. Her hand was still in his but her attention was now on the famous billionaire who sneered at her.

Peter knew then, from the sight of her hand in his, that he definitely wasn't going to let Rumlow get his hands on her. Even though they would be stuck on the Quinjet as back-up, Peter knew that he would kill Rumlow before he let that evil monster get anywhere near Emma. Uncle Ben always told him to stick to his convictions but Peter was willing to make an exception this time around when it came to not killing people. Besides...Uncle Ben never knew Emma and he also never knew the evil things Rumlow did to Emma. That being said, Peter was going to make sure that man never laid so much as a finger on _his_ Emma.

Never again.

"I can definitely afford to buy him out," Tony bragged, causing the blonde to roll her eyes. She was oblivious to the dark thoughts circulating her boyfriend's head as she tried to remain calm in the minutes leading up to their arrival at Hydra Headquarters.

"To answer T'Challa's question," Steve started to say but not before giving Tony a pointed look for actually arguing with a sixteen-year-old girl. Now wasn't really the best time, after all. "We'll only take prisoners if they surrender. Otherwise...shoot to kill."

"I like the sound of that," Emma said after an awkward pause of silence amongst the group. There was a darker, more ominous tension in the room after Steve's order. Steve then turned to look at both Emma and Peter with a serious look on his face. Peter gulped because it was the same look Steve gave him during his little overprotective grandfather talk.

"You two will be staying on the Quinjet for the entire mission," Steve ordered, his tone clear and even. "I don't want to see either of you so much as step a foot into that building."

"I thought we were back-up?" Emma questioned, a certain glint of mischief in her eyes. Steve gave her an unimpressed look.

"I want you to keep guard of the Quinjet while we're gone and keep a line open with the others back at the compound to let them know what's going on," Steve informed her in a no-nonsense tone of voice, completely ignoring her comment about being back-up. "Got it?"

"Yes, Sir-I mean, Mr. Rogers-er, Captain America or-" Peter said as he stumbled over his words.

Bucky rolled his eyes at the awkward teenage boy while Tony just smirked. T'Challa looked at Peter as if to question why he was even there at all while Wanda, Natasha, and Clint just looked at him in amusement. Steve raised an eyebrow at him before looking back at Emma who looked like she had something to say.

"Are you sure you don't need us, Steve?" Emma questioned. She wasn't asking him this to try and convince him to let her go with them willingly.

Emma wasn't stupid.

She knew a lost cause when she saw one so she knew there was absolutely no way Steve would ever let her go with them. However, Emma knew that it would also look weird if she didn't, at least, try to convince him to let her go. The former assassin had to look like she was trying or else Steve wouldn't buy it.

"I'm just as versed in all things Hydra as Papa. I could be such a help-" Emma started to say but Steve cut her off with a glare.

"You and Peter are to stay on the Quinjet and wait for us here," Steve said in an authoritative voice. "That's final."

"Whatever," Emma grumbled, feigning a bitter look as she pretended to be disappointed with his decision. It's not like she was surprised he said no.

In what world would Steve say yes?

This was the same Steve who refused to let her do anything useful because he feared she'd get hurt. Emma knew it was stupid since she spent nine years of her life doing absurdly dangerous things but Steve seemed all too willing to forget that. He was still coddling her like some kind of toddler which could be annoying at times. At least her father didn't seem to mind her doing dangerous things like fighting Hydra agents and risking her life numerous times. He was even proud of her because of those things and praised her for the assassin skills he taught her. It was just the fact that he caught Emma in bed with her boyfriend that seemed to bug him.

Emma fully recognized that she had a couple of warped individuals for parents.

"So Wanda and I will come in from the front of the building while Bucky and T'Challa will infiltrate the building from the back," Steve said as he went back to laying out the plan. "That way we can round up all the Hydra agents and trap them somewhere in the middle while also making sure they won't slip out the back."

"Cut off all their exits, right?" Clint summarized and Steve nodded.

"Exactly," Steve confirmed before a deadly serious look came across his face as he looked at everyone standing around the table. "Anyone gets sight of Rumlow, do not proceed alone. Alert everyone though the earpiece and we'll figure it out from there. Rumlow has something planned and until we know what that is-no one faces him alone."

"Got it?" Steve asked them and everyone, Emma included, nodded their heads in response.

"Sounds good, Cap," Tony said, speaking for the rest of them. Steve nodded to himself before looking at the time on the holographic screen.

"Great," Steve said before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Because we land in fifteen minutes."

"Nat and I will prepare for the landing," Clint said as Natasha nodded in agreement before the two former Shield agents went back to their pilot chairs. Everyone else seemed to depart from the table after that as they prepared themselves for the mission. Whether the preparation was mental or physical, it was up each individual to decide.

T'Challa positioned himself near the exit of the Quinjet, more than eager to finally arrive and retrieve the Hydra weapons that were made using vibranium from his country. Wanda seemed to follow him as she also felt a certain amount of eagerness for the mission wash over her. Hydra was certainly no friend of hers, after all. Especially with all the inhumane experimentation they did to her and her brother. Peter seemed to leave her side quietly as he struck up a conversation with Tony who was getting suited up. Steve seemed to have drifted over to where Clint and Natasha were, anxiously looking out the window as he waited to see the same building he faced Red Skull at over seventy years ago.

That seemed to leave Emma alone with her father. Something she hadn't really wanted but it looked like she wasn't going to get a choice in the matter.

Emma and her father just stood there in an awkward silence, both refusing to meet the others' eye. They were never the talkative pair. Something that seemed to follow both of them from Hydra.

There was so much that Emma wanted to say to her father but she couldn't let the words come out of her mouth because of pure pride. He really hurt her when he told her that he thought Peter wasn't good enough for her. Emma considered Peter to be one of the most important people in her life so it really sucked when the other important person in your life refused to accept the person you really wanted him to like. Her father hadn't even apologized for that incident either. Of course, there hadn't been much time for apologies but still.

"Please be careful," Emma told him quietly, looking at him from under her lashes. Even though Emma was pissed at him, it didn't mean that she wanted him to get hurt. She loved him with all her being and hoped that he would be safe.

"I will," Bucky told her in a voice that was just as quiet. His eyes rested on her tense stance. He knew more than well that she was still pissed at him over the Peter thing. "You be careful too."

"Okay," Emma said shortly. She then looked up at him, waiting for an apology or something similar. The look in her eyes could even be described as hopeful.

Bucky opened his mouth to speak but the words didn't seem to come out. He didn't really know what to say because he still couldn't accept the fact that she had a boyfriend. It scared him more than anything because he was afraid of losing her but Bucky just didn't know how to put those feelings into words. He didn't know how to tell her that he was terrified of Emma forgetting about him and leaving him behind. It seemed like he disappointed her anyways when he finally closed his mouth without giving her an apology or even the acceptance of her relationship that she so desired.

"Emma, I love you and I just want you to be careful, okay?" Bucky said to her softly as he gently pushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Emma just looked up at him in disbelief and disappointment. Especially when he leaned down to kiss her forehead affectionately.

Right before he was even able to press his lips against her skin, the blonde yanked away from him as if he had burned her. Bucky watched in surprise and hurt as Emma glared at him. The teenage girl then briskly turned around and walked over to where Steve was without saying another word to him. Bucky watched her leave, a painful feeling in his chest because he knew he kept screwing things up with her.

Bucky never meant for it to be like this.

When he was on the run, Bucky always had this fantasy of him and Emma together again as father and daughter. He imagined them picking things up where they left off but he also still pictured her as the little girl he left behind. It was clear to Bucky now that she wasn't really a little girl anymore.

She was nearly a woman now with a life of her own...a _boyfriend_ of her own, actually. Bucky's main problem with Peter, aside from the fact he caught the horny kid dry humping his daughter and shoving his tongue down her throat, was that he was proof that Emma was all grown up. It was a hard concept to face but Bucky supposed he was just going to have to accept it.

He no longer had a good excuse for denying Emma her happiness.

Bucky sighed heavily.

It just looked like he was going to have to wait for this whole thing to be over for him to finally tell Emma that.

He seemed to be incredibly good at pushing her away because she refused to even look at him right now. His talent for creating distance between them was never more obvious than it was in that moment. He just hoped that she forgave him.

She probably would.

If she could forgive him for her childhood then she could forgive him for anything. It was just a matter of making a suitable apology. Bucky was never good at apologizing but he'd try for Emma.

He, at least, owed her that much.

* * *

"Cap, you've got three incoming!" Tony said through the earpiece as he did a scan of the building from up in the sky.

Steve gritted his teeth as he threw his shield and hit two Hydra agents, knocking the men down in an instant.

"I can see that, Tony," Steve uttered before dodging an incoming bullet from one of the described Hydra agents.

"Do you think you could actually get your ass in here and do something useful for once, Stark," Clint told the billionaire from his position on a balcony overlooking the main floor. He pointed his bow at a Hydra agent and subsequently released an arrow, smirking when he heard the targeted Hydra agent grunt and hit the ground.

"Anything to get you to shut your mouth," Wanda replied as she projected red energy from her hands and hit a couple Hydra agents with it. The Hydra agents went flying backwards before roughly hitting a wall.

"Aw...just when I thought we were becoming friends, Maximoff," Tony said sarcastically.

"Perhaps we should stop talking and focus on our fighting," T'Challa suggested as he dodged a punch from an agent before coming back at the agent with a punch of his own which instantly knocked the man out.

Steve grunted as he kicked a Hydra agent, dodging another punch, before retaliating with a thrown fist of his own without holding back in the slightest. At this point, Steve felt zero sympathy for anyone in Hydra.

Not after all the pain they caused his family.

"Watch it, Steve," Bucky told him as an agent pointed a Tesseract-powered gun at the super soldier. The former assassin didn't waste any time disarming the man. He yanked the man's arm out away from Steve, a sickening crack being heard through the air, before Bucky tore the gun out of his hand and shot the man point blank with a blast of blue energy, from the gun, flashing through the air.

Bucky's eyes widened for a second as the man was reduced to near ashes.

Wow...he kind of liked this gun.

Bucky then turned the gun, with zero hesitance, on a couple incoming Hydra agents and unloaded on them.

"Barnes looks like he's having fun," Tony remarked as he finally landed on the ground inside the building. He threw his palm out and shot out a repulsor beam at an agent who came charging at him.

"Where the hell is Rumlow anyways? All I see are his lackeys," Clint remarked from above them, releasing another arrow at yet another Hydra agent.

That seemed to be the million dollar question, didn't it?

The Avengers had invaded Hydra Headquarters almost half an hour ago and there was still no sign of the man each one of them wanted to get their hands on. All the Avengers had been faced with was his workers.

Everyone already knew at this point that Hydra had been expecting them.

They had been clearly waiting for them at both entrances of the facility. Although, none of them stood much of a chance against the Avengers. Even with their advanced weapons.

"How are you coming with retrieving those data files, Nat?" Steve inquired as he hit a man over the head with his shield, admiring the way it electrocuted the man the second it made contact with his head.

Maybe Tony really had gone beyond his expectations with this new shield.

The other one certainly hadn't done that.

"I'm on the second floor right now. Still no sign of where Rumlow keeps his computer's," Natasha said through the earpiece. "God, this place is one fucking big maze."

"Well, just keep looking," Steve told her as he kicked a Hydra agent into Bucky's direction and the former assassin threw the agent down to the ground with his vibranium arm.

Steve didn't even bother to scold Natasha for her language.

He was a little tied up with things at the moment.

"Traitor," The agent hissed and Bucky smirked.

"Damn right," He then reared his vibranium fist back and punched the man with as much force as he could muster which, as you could imagine, was a lot.

"Make sure you do a full sweep of the second floor. It's gotta be there somewhere," Steve told Natasha as he kneed another agent in the stomach before hitting him upside the jaw with his shield. He took a deep breath before continuing. "If not then it could be on the third floor."

"I only have a couple rooms left on the floor," Natasha told them. "I'll keep looking and let you know what I find."

"Keep an eye out for Rumlow. If you get any sign of him, alert us," Steve said in a very Captain-like fashion. "Something about this doesn't feel right. It feels like we might be walking into a trap."

"I'll keep an eye out, Cap. Don't worry," Natasha reassured him and Steve focused his attention on an agent who came charging towards him. He didn't have to react since Tony shot another repulsor beam at the agent and took care of the problem.

"Trap or no trap, there's still a lot more of these Hydra assholes than I intended on seeing today," Tony told him as he stepped over a couple bodies in his Iron Man suit.

"You don't think this means Rumlow will use this as a diversion to make his escape, do you?" Wanda inquired as she shot an energy blast from her hands, causing a couple agents to go flying back.

"Rumlow wants us here for something so he's not going to run this time," Bucky stated seriously as he grabbed one Hydra agent and easily threw him at another one, knocking them both to the ground. "That much I know."

"I agree with Barnes," T'Challa said fiercely. A Hydra agent punched him in the stomach, probably breaking his hand on contact, and T'Challa punched him in the jaw. He then delivered a kick to the man's stomach and the man fell limp to the ground.

 _This does feel like a diversion,_ Steve thought to himself. Maybe not a diversion for Rumlow to escape but definitely a diversion for something. He just didn't know what yet and that bothered him more than anything.

"Let's not panic too much," Tony told everyone. "The kids are still on the Quinjet and the fight's here in the room with us."

"Tony's right," Steve said despite his gut feeling. "Let's get back on track."

"Already on it, Steve," Bucky told his best friend loyally as he punched another Hydra agent. The others seemed to echo the same words as they proceeded in their fight against Hydra.

It was obviously very suspicious to everyone that Rumlow was still a no show.

This was the same man who seemed to be dying for his revenge against Captain America for reducing him to nothing but a mess of scars and damaged nerves. Now Rumlow was nowhere to be seen and the whole thing seemed odd to the Avengers. This was Rumlow's chance at revenge so why wasn't he here? Or better yet...

What was he planning this time?

* * *

Emma drummed her fingers against the armrest of the pilot's chair she was sitting in at the front of the Quinjet.

Usually, it wouldn't be something one would consider weird but this was Emma Rogers, after all. She wasn't known to have many nervous habits but right now Emma felt a lot more nervous than she usually felt. The blonde could probably count the number of times she felt nervous on one hand. Maybe two if she thought really hard about it.

This was different from those other times.

This wasn't butterflies in her stomach from Peter looking at her a certain way or worrying about telling Steve and her father about one of her deepest, darkest secrets.

This was fear, rage, shame, and anxiety tangled up into her nerves. It was a feeling that seemed to encompass her ever since they landed on that mountain and the others departed from the Quinjet.

Emma and Peter were alone now on the Quinjet.

Just the two of them and Emma really wished that Peter hadn't come with them on the mission at this point because she was going to have to think of a way for him to let her go to Rumlow but another way to keep him safe too.

She was pretty stumped at this point.

"What's going on inside that building?" Maria Hill asked through the holographic screen on board the Quinjet. Fury, Vision, Rhodey, Sam, and Okoye all seemed to be seated around a table within one of the conference rooms back at the compound as they stared at Emma and Peter through the hologram.

"They're in the main hangar of the building. It sounds to me like they're seeing quite a bit of action," Emma answered as Peter nodded in agreement. "Natasha's searching for Rumlow's computers to find any Hydra data files. Everyone else seems to be handling things okay thus far."

"They seem a bit overwhelmed from all the Hydra agents. There's more than what we were expecting," Peter informed everyone honestly. "We think they're doing fine since they haven't called for back-up yet."

"No sign of Rumlow yet?" Fury inquired, looking very suspicious as usual. Emma and Peter both exchanged a look before Emma sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Not yet," Emma said quietly.

"No doubt he's waiting for the right moment," Sam said to himself before everyone seemed to be in agreement over that.

"Sam's right. The others should tread carefully from here on out," Rhodey told Emma and Peter. The teenage boy nodded.

"Everyone seems to be doing exactly that," Peter said in response and everyone nodded approvingly at that small piece of information. Maria decided to wrap up the conversation at that point.

"We'll check back in with you guys within the hour then," Maria said seriously. "Let us know if anything changes."

"Will do," Emma told her and Maria gave the two teenagers a curt nod.

"Stay safe," The dark haired woman said before they ended the call.

Emma swiped her fingers across the holographic screen and exited the call page.

Silence filled the Quinjet after that as she still processed the fact that Rumlow was more close to her than he had been in years. It was a lot to come to terms with but if anything, Emma felt an eagerness to finally end this.

Yes, she was nervous and anxious but she was also eager to get the revenge she so obsessively sought for the past twelve years of her life.

"Do you think it's weird?" Peter questioned, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. Emma seemed to be often lost in her thoughts these days. There was a lot on her mind, after all.

She blinked before looking over at him.

He was sitting in the co-pilot's chair, the same one Natasha had been sitting in earlier, and Emma was sitting in the chair Clint had since vacated. Emma discreetly observed the troubled look on her boyfriend's face. She knew he was troubled from his furrowed brow and the way he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. His two most famous nervous habits.

"What's weird?" Emma said in response. Peter finally looked at her, his brown eyes filled with concern.

"That the others have been pulled into this huge battle yet there's still no sign of Rumlow," Peter told her and Emma swallowed hard. "I mean, unless he's not even there. Maybe that Ugalde guy was lying. Maybe Rumlow isn't even here."

"I don't think it's weird," Emma said quietly, confusing Peter further.

"What do you mean?" He asked her and Emma sighed heavily before she took out her earpiece, switching it off so the others wouldn't hear. She then gestured for Peter do the same. He seemed unsure at first but he was dying to know what Emma meant by her vague statement. Eventually, he did the same and took his earpiece out before switching it off much like what she had done.

"What I meant to say is that I know why he hasn't shown his face yet," Emma finally said as Peter watched her with wide eyes. "It's because it's not _them_ he wants. He's just waiting."

"For you, you mean?" Peter inquired even though he already knew the answer. Emma solemnly nodded as she locked eyes with him.

"It's me he wants," She said rationally, making a lot of sense to Peter and forcing him to look at the situation in a new light. "Don't you think if he really cared about keeping his secrets secret that he would've given Ugalde more protection? Or that it wouldn't have been so easy for us to capture Ugalde?"

"I guess," Peter said, sounding uncertain.

"Ugalde was a weak link. Rumlow must've known that it wouldn't take much for us to lean on him," Emma said, elaborating as she explained everything to Peter.

"Rumlow wanted us to get Ugalde. He knew Ugalde would lead us here."

"So you're saying Ugalde was bait?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"He wanted us to come here," Emma finally said before saying the one thing that struck fear right into Peter's heart. "More importantly, he wanted _me_ to come here."

"Emma…"

"It was a long shot that Steve and the others would let me come but maybe he was counting on my persuasiveness," Emma said, ignoring the worried look on Peter's face. "He'd have to know that I would've found a way to come."

"Emma, are you saying you knew all this before we left?" Peter asked darkly, not liking the fact that Emma had been keeping things from him. Especially things that could get her hurt.

"I had my assumptions," She told him and Peter gave her a look of disbelief. He looked like he wanted to say something but Emma stopped him before he could. "I knew him for nine years before the Avengers rescued me. He trained me for a lot of those years too. I know his mind and I know how warped he is."

"If this is true then you shouldn't be here. This is the last place you should be right now," Peter told her seriously and Emma had to resist the urge to scoff and roll her eyes at him. He sounded so much like Steve in that moment. However, Emma knew that she needed to find a way to convince him to let her walk into that building and face Rumlow.

"This is the _only_ place I should be right now," Emma argued as she locked eyes with Peter once more. "Don't you see? This is where I'm meant to be. It started with my parents but it ends with me. I'm the one who finishes this."

"Emma, you can't just-" Peter started to say but Emma interrupted him before he could finish.

"When we went up against Toomes last year I let you go alone because I knew you were ready but I also knew that it was _your_ fight," Emma told him, causing Peter to look at the situation in a new light. His previous look of refusal faded into one of deep contemplation. "Can't you do the same for me?"

"You're asking me a lot right now. You know that, right?" Peter said softly. Emma took a deep breath before taking his hands into hers. She nodded, an intense look in her eyes.

"I know."

"I can't let you go alone. I'd never be able to do that. Not in a million years," Peter said and Emma's heart raced in her chest because she knew he was going to let her do this. She knew he'd never let her go alone but she thought she might have a chance if she could convince him to let her go in the first place. If she could she would've knocked him out and left him on the Quinjet while she went and took care of business with Rumlow.

She wasn't stupid though.

Emma knew she'd never be able to overpower Peter that way. He was too strong.

However, she could still manipulate him.

Emma hated doing it and she felt guilty but it was for his own good. She'd never forgive herself if anything bad happened to him.

Emma loved him more than he'd ever know.

"But…" Emma trailed off, hoping that he'd continue. Peter swallowed hard as he finally came to a decision.

"But if I went with you and if we could do this together instead of just you alone then I agree with you," Peter said much to Emma's relief. "I think we should end it."

"Everyone's going to be pissed at us," Emma said softly and Peter smiled at her.

"When are they ever not pissed at us?" He said rhetorically. Emma smiled back at him before nodding to herself, getting up from her seat.

"I guess we should get going before the others realize what we're up to," Emma stated as Peter also got up from his seat.

"What's the plan this time then?" Peter asked her as she went over to grab her mask from off the table in the center of the Quinjet. Peter followed suit as he did the same thing.

"Well, all the fighting is taking place in the main hangar of the building which means that Rumlow wants there to be a clear path to him," Emma explained to Peter as she attempted to inform him of Rumlow's warped mind. "He's likely away from the fighting. In an abandoned room or lab."

"Seems to make sense," Peter remarked as he put his Spider-Man mask over his face. "I mean, for a sadistic fucker anyways."

"Peter Benjamin Parker," Emma said, feigning a shocked look as she put her own mask over her face. "Are you actually swearing? I'm appalled."

"He's evil and he deserves it," Peter said, not looking sorry for his rare use of curse words. The amused look faded from her face as she looked back at him. A more sincere one took its place and she suddenly wished she could see his face right now. "I'm ready for him to be gone...in whatever way that means."

Emma knew what way that had to be but she refrained from telling Peter so. She instead settled for a simple nod and glanced away from him.

"Me too."

* * *

"McConaughey, are the others still in the hangar?" Emma asked her AI system as she and Peter walked down a deserted hallway. They had only infiltrated the building a few short minutes ago. Despite the fact that it was summer, there was a noticeable chill in the air.

It made sense.

They were well up in the mountains, after all.

"Yes. It seems like they're still occupied as well." McConaughey informed her. Emma just nodded to herself as she and Peter continued to stride down the hall, careful not to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves.

They didn't need any distractions.

The plan was to find Rumlow and end this.

"Have they noticed that we've disconnected our earpieces?" Peter asked his own AI system.

"Not yet, Peter," Karen told him, giving Peter a bit of relief. At least the others wouldn't be on to them yet. There was still only a matter of time nonetheless. "I should remind you that you and Emma are expecting another call from Maria Hill soon with an update on the mission."

"Yeah, just ignore all calls from Maria and Mr. Stark for now, would you, Karen?" Peter asked as he kept an awareness of his surroundings. He felt on edge now that he and Emma were trekking down the dark hallway.

Peter didn't know how to describe the feeling.

It was the same sensation he felt before the attack on the compound all that time ago. Well, in reality, it hadn't been that long since the attack but it felt like it was.

"Of course, Peter," Karen said loyally.

"Thanks," He murmured and it didn't take Emma long to notice how tense he was. She raised an eyebrow under her mask. The lenses were down so all she was seeing was Viper Vision which also meant thermal heat vision.

"You seem nervous," Emma observed. She knew a circumstance like this would make anyone nervous but there was something about Peter that felt off in that moment.

"I don't know. I just have a weird feeling," Peter said as he shrugged nonchalantly but he felt anything but nonchalant. "I've been having a lot of weird feelings lately."

"Feelings?" Emma inquired, grateful for a distraction from the feeling of nervousness coming over her. The hallway on the third floor was feeling a little ominous for her at this point too. Anything would've been a welcomed distraction now, really.

"I mean, I've had these feelings ever since I got my powers but I never felt them as strongly until the attack on the compound," Peter said as he nodded. Emma suddenly looked very interested as she recalled that night.

"You knew what was going to happen that night," Emma said as she put the pieces together. There had been so much going on then that she hadn't really put much thought into that night. She could vaguely remember the way Peter had woken up that night before the attack. Emma thought he had been sick but he hadn't been for some odd reason.

Then the attack happened and she forgot all about it.

"Right before it happened. You knew."

"I can't really explain it," Peter told her as he confirmed her observation. "My senses have always been heightened since the spider bite but whenever something's about to happen...well, they're just dialed to twenty instead of eleven."

"And you're getting that feeling now?" Emma asked him, wondering if she should be more on edge than she currently was. Peter shrugged.

"Not as bad as before but more or less," Peter told her before offering her a sheepish grin. "I call it my Spidey Senses."

"That sounds stupid," Emma remarked, shaking her head at her boyfriend in amusement. However, before he could respond he felt that familiar tingling sensation and on pure instinct grabbed Emma, quickly moving them behind a wall. She gave him a confused look but it was only when she heard sudden hurried footsteps echoing down the hall that she understood.

"Spidey Senses, huh?" Emma said curiously once the footsteps disappeared and they were left in the quiet once more. Peter nodded.

"Pretty much."

"Good to know," Emma told him with a raised brow before the two subsequently re-entered the hallway. They started back down the long, dark hallway. It was deathly silent again and Emma was once more left with an eerie feeling.

"I think he's close," Emma whispered. She didn't know how to explain it but she felt like he was near. It wasn't like the Spidey Senses Peter mentioned but it was more of a bad feeling.

"I think so too," Peter whispered back.

The two teenagers came across another threshold that led into another sector of the building.

Emma didn't fail to notice that the door was old.

Reinforced steel that probably weighed a ton. There was a large wheel on the inside of it. It was an old fashioned sort of locking mechanism that forced you to crank the wheel several times to lock it from the inside. The door was old looking but strong which made Emma realize that this just had to be where Rumlow was hiding. This was the secret quarters of the building more than likely which meant that he was likely nearby...waiting.

An idea then popped into Emma's head.

She had been trying to devise a plan for this but nothing came into mind until now. This was an opportunity if she ever saw one and it wasn't likely that she'd get the chance again. Emma didn't want to do this but she didn't see any other way. It didn't matter if Peter got mad at her for it but it had to be done one way or another.

 _For his own good,_ she reminded herself.

"Peter, do you hear that?" Emma asked, feigning a look of confusion and allowing a trickling of fear to enter her voice. Peter gave her a look of confusion.

"Hear what?" He asked her and Emma nodded in the opposite direction.

"I think someone's coming this way," She lied to him and Peter took a couple steps in that direction, turning his back to her, but didn't cross the threshold like she wanted. Emma eyed his stance closely, waiting for him to get on the other side of the door but he didn't.

"I don't hear anyone," He told her, still sounding very confused and she knew what she had to do. Emma swallowed hard before doing the unthinkable. She wished there was another way but there wasn't. This had to happen if she was going to take on Rumlow.

Peter wouldn't get hurt on her watch.

The blonde took a step forward while Peter's back was turned and acted very fast. With all the strength she could muster, she harshly shoved him forward and sent him falling over the threshold. He landed on the other side of the door and Emma quickly shut the heavy door before moving to crank the wheel forward as fast as she could.

There was no hesitation in her actions because she knew hesitation meant that there was a chance Peter could stop her.

Emma had to use all her strength to quickly lock the door and it was a good thing she did because it didn't take Peter long to get up from the floor.

There was a small window in the door that Peter immediately looked through as he realized what Emma had done. He tried to meet her gaze through his Spider-Man mask but Emma ignored him.

"What the hell are you doing, Emma?! This isn't funny!" Peter yelled at her, not caring if the whole building heard him at this point. She was really scaring him.

"It's not a joke," Emma told him as she finally finished locking the door, only stopping spinning the wheel when it couldn't move anymore.

"What are you doing?!" Peter hissed as his hand moved down to open the door. It was only to his surprise that there was no handle. His eyes widened.

It only opened from the inside.

"I'm sorry, Peter, but I won't let you get hurt. This is my mess. Not yours," Emma said in a serious and sure tone, finally meeting his gaze through the window. Panic began to rise in Peter's chest as he realized she locked him out. He couldn't open the door which meant that Emma was alone on the other side.

It was basically open season for Rumlow.

"Emma, don't do this. Open the door. Please," Peter started to plead with her, his eyes flooding with unshed tears from the inside of his mask as he became scared.

"Just open the door and we can talk about this. Whatever you want. Just please open the door."

"I love you, Peter," Emma said tearfully to him, finding it incredibly difficult to do this but still necessary. "I love you so much but I have to do this. It ends with me."

"Emma, don't," Peter begged her, a tear rolling down his cheek. The fear and desperation in his voice tugged at Emma's heart strings but she knew this was the only way. She had to do this on her own and Peter couldn't get in the way."I'm begging you not to do this. Please don't go to him alone. I'll do anything you want. Just don't go to him."

"I'm sorry," Emma finally said before she abruptly turned around and started walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. Peter immediately protested as he banged his fists against the heavy door.

"EMMA!" He yelled at her, willing her to turn around and come back to him but she didn't. Nothing felt worse than watching the love of his life walk into danger while not being able to do anything but watch. "Don't do this to me!"

"Emma, please come back! Please!"

Emma didn't look back at him as she continued down the hallway. She knew if she looked back then she'd unlock the door and she really couldn't do that.

So Emma ignored his pleading voice and continued down the hallway, wiping away a few fallen tears from her cheeks. Eventually, his voice grew distant as she entered a new part of the building.

It was even darker than the rest of the building.

It was only then that Emma came across a room at the end of the long and empty hallway. The door was wide open but unlike the rest of the area, it wasn't dark inside the room. From where Emma stood she could see a light from inside the room. A light that signified what she had both been dreading and anxiously waiting for.

Him.

* * *

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

Emma repeated the words over and over again in her mind.

Jessica always said it helped, and sometimes it did, but not necessarily this time. Emma didn't think anything would help her right now. Not with what she just did to Peter and not with what was coming her way as she walked into the room where everything within her was screaming at her to run away. It wasn't often that Emma listened to her conscience and this just seemed to be another time when she ignored it.

The room wasn't dark like the hallway outside. A large window, showing an incredible view of the Swiss Alps outside, took up a massive part of the left wall and illuminated the wide and open room. There was a tile floor which indicated that this must've been a lab at one point in time. Old lab equipment was also strewn across the place in disarray.

The room looked very abandoned but it also looked very lived in...if that made any sense.

As if McConaughey could read her mind, the red eye lenses of her mask lifted up and allowed her to see everything in full color.

For a moment Emma was slightly transfixed by the very beautiful view of the snowy white mountain tops which were covered in snow even in the summer. It was hard for Emma to tear her gaze away from the view, in fact. There was something oddly tranquil about it which was ironic considering that Hydra Headquarters was right in the center of it all.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said from behind Emma. Her eyes widened in surprise and terror at the sound of the all too familiar voice.

It was the voice that haunted all her nightmares and a voice she could sometimes hear inside her head. The dark and low masculine tone of his voice whispering dark thoughts into her head. His voice biting out words so sharply that it always caused the hair on the nape of her neck to stand up. Sometimes he growled out words much like how she imagined the wolf in Little Red Riding to talk. Emma thought that's where the "Man with the Wolf Like Smile" name came from.

He reminded her of the wolf from the book of fairy tales her mother used to read to her.

The wolf who ate Red Riding Hood's grandmother before masquerading as the little old lady to trick Red Riding Hood.

She fell for it too.

The silly little girl bought it even with everyone reading the story who screamed at her to get away from him. Red didn't listen and she leaned in closer and closer, thinking that he was someone else. She moved closer to him because she thought she was safe.

It wasn't her fault though.

Red had been sheltered her entire life. She was oblivious to the darkness in the world she lived in so he ate her too. He consumed her until there was nothing left. Just her and her grandmother in the bottom of the wolf's stomach as he sat there rubbing his belly and licking his chops.

Emma likened herself to Red Riding Hood.

Rumlow, like the wolf, had also killed someone important to her too before he stole her away and brought her to Hydra where she was made into a weapon. And also like the wolf, Rumlow consumed her until she was just a shell of the innocent girl she used to be. Someone who hadn't quite woken up to how sick and sadistic men could be. Just like the wolf, Rumlow stole her innocence and she would never be able to get it back.

Not ever.

The Huntsmen, in the story, came by later and killed the wolf, saving both Red and her grandmother from spending eternity inside the wolf. He split the wolf in half and they were free. Red had learned her lesson and with that lesson came the knowledge that there was darkness in the world that came in the form of strangers who pretended that they weren't strangers. Red then grew up and gained the knowledge that trust wasn't something to be given out freely.

Trust was something that had to be earned.

That story wasn't like this one though.

There were no Huntsmen to come to kill the wolf and save Emma. She was her own Huntsmen.

This was the way it _had_ to be...the way it was _meant_ to be. He was her wolf and she was his Red. This was a long time coming but Emma thought it had been long enough. It was time to say goodbye and move on.

So she took a deep breath and pushed aside all her feelings of fear and anxiety.

Emma put on a brave face.

Why should she be scared anyways? He was just a man. He was a man who no longer held any power over her because she wasn't the scared thirteen-year-old girl he remembered. The girl he left shivering in bed with blood smeared between her legs and the girl she currently was were two completely different people. He just didn't know that yet.

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

Redwood. Knox. Pecan.

"I guess it is," Emma finally said as she turned around to face the ghost who had been haunting her ever since she left Hydra.

She didn't know what she had been expecting when she finally faced him again but it certainly wasn't this.

The person in front of her was a mere shell of the man who he used to be. Weaker, paler, and more rotten looking than he had ever looked before. He looked more like a zombie than a human being.

Although he looked bigger, more muscular, which might've Emma's suspicion of him trying to use a blood sample of hers to make a new super soldier serum, he looked very sick. His skin was an alarming pale hue which contrasted against his dark, bloodshot eyes that looked sunken in much like a skeleton. His hair seemed to be falling out which was a contrast to the head full of thick dark hair she remembered. His own skin seemed to be rotting as she saw spots were pieces had fallen off, giving him the look of a zombie while there was massive scaring and severe burn wounds underneath the decay. Emma figured this was more than likely due to the building falling on top of him during the first fall of Hydra.

Emma now knew where the scent of decay was coming from.

There was a large scar that ran across his face but that was the only thing Emma recognized about him. It was the scar her mother gave him with a shard of glass before meeting her demise. It was evidence that Margot Pierce had existed at one point in time and had even almost bested Rumlow.

Some things didn't really work out that way though.

He grinned at her and she could see that his teeth were rotting. The sight almost made her wrinkle her nose in disgust if it hadn't been for the fact that she remembered that she had a part to play.

"Look at you. You're all grown up," He whispered darkly, his eyes glancing over her body in a way that made her want to throw up. His eyes then paused once they rested upon her face. "Your face. I can't see your face."

"What?" Emma questioned, still frozen in fright and surprise that it didn't quite register to her what he had said. It was only when he pointed at her face that she remembered her mask. "Oh, right."

The blonde, going along with her own plan, took the mask off, revealing her face underneath it much to Rumlow's delight. She subsequently tossed the mask to the other side of the room carelessly as she knowingly cut off any communication with McConaughey or the others. Especially Peter who she knew was probably going crazy out of his mind with worry. She knew she'd be worried beyond belief if she was in his position. Emma just hoped he would forgive her for this.

"There you are," Rumlow said softly as he stared at her flawless face.

He thought she wouldn't look the same as she did when she was younger. That maybe he wouldn't like the way she looked now but he could see that he was wrong. She was even more beautiful now than she was then.

While she still had some of her baby fat around her cheeks from her youth, her features were sharper than they had been back then. Her body had filled out more as well. No longer the skinny and gangly thirteen-year-old but she had filled out with more womanly curves that made Rumlow's mouth salivate as he kept looking her up and down.

There was traces of Margot in her. Rumlow could already pick out where he saw Margot in her.

While he could definitely see Rogers in her hair, blue eyes, and jawline, he could clearly see Margot present in the shape of her lips, her cute pert nose, and the innocent, unsure look in her eyes. It was enough of Margot that Rumlow could ignore all the obvious signs of Rogers in her.

 _It won't be a big deal_ , he told himself, _I can dye her hair red and those eyes are better than Margot's eyes were anyways._

Either way, it became known to Rumlow that she wasn't a girl anymore. She was nearly a woman now and nearly was good enough for him.

His grin widened much to Emma's disgust as he looked back up at her face, meeting her gaze which was focused on nothing but him. He obsessively analyzed every detail of her flawless face as if he were afraid that he'd forget.

"You're so beautiful," Rumlow told her and Emma forced herself not to flinch or run away in fear.

 _"You're so beautiful," He whispered into her ear as he thrust into her. Tears streamed down Emma's face silently as she stared at a flaw in the ceiling. Anything to distract herself from what was he was doing. "So beautiful, Princess. Just like...her."_

Emma swallowed hard as she forced herself not to get triggered by the words and lash out in anger or fear. She couldn't afford to slip up now of all times. Emma needed to see this through if she wanted to finish this.

"God, I had this memory of you but it can't even compare to the real thing," Rumlow said as he reached out a hand towards her. Emma forced herself not to flinch or recoil in disgust.

His fingers caressed her face, tracing an invisible line down from her cheek and then to her lips. Her skin felt like it was on fire and Emma resisted the urge to bite his finger off as his finger brushed across her lips.

"I know I look different than how you remember," Rumlow said as he pulled his hand away and then gestured down towards himself.

 _Yeah, no kidding_ , Emma thought to herself, _you look even more fucked up than I remember._

"You look nice," Emma said quietly, keeping her façade of the fucked up girl with Stockholm Syndrome he probably thought she was.

"I know you're just saying that Princess, but I know what I look like," Rumlow said as he grinned at her. "All things considering, I don't think I look half bad. It could be worse."

"I missed you, Brock," Emma murmured as she shyly looked up at him from under her lashes.

This is where the hard part was going to come in.

She nervously fiddled with her fingers and he looked down at her.

"Did you?" Brock questioned, looking a bit doubtful.

His demeanor then changed a second later as he turned angry. Emma was used to this though. She was trained by him, after all, so she knew Rumlow could be happy and calm one second but then angry and upset the next. It was never a sure thing with the Hydra agent.

"You missed me?"

"Of course, I did," Emma said as if she were surprised he'd believe otherwise. Rumlow scoffed.

"Then how come you never left that tower full of fucking Avengers? Huh?" Rumlow said, almost sounding something like a jealous, petty child. "How come you never left?"

But Emma was convincing.

"How could I have left, Brock? You know what the Avengers are like," Emma said, looking desperate to prove to him that she was telling the truth. She only needed to get herself in close proximity to him. If she got in close proximity then she would be right on track. "They watched me like a hawk. I couldn't leave. It was impossible...even for me."

"You're telling the truth?" Rumlow inquired and Emma nodded. A glare then came across his face as he roughly grabbed Emma's arm before dragging her over to the opposite side of the room. Emma really want to rip his arm out of it's socket at that point but she managed to control herself. There was no way she was going to blow this just because Rumlow was acting like a complete psycho.

Well...he was a psycho but that was beside the point.

It was only when they stopped that Emma saw what he wanted her to look at. She forced herself not to reveal her true shock and horror at what she was seeing.

There were pictures of Emma everywhere across this large corner of the room.

The wall was basically plastered with pictures of Emma. It was like a collage of Emma's worst nightmare coming to life. There were pictures of her from everywhere and pictures of her doing countless things, completely unaware of herself being photographed.

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures.

Emma walking to school, listening to music on her iPod while oblivious as ever.

Studying at a nearby coffee shop with Michelle.

Emma on her decathlon trips to Washington D.C. and London.

She and Darcy shopping at a department store for clothing.

Happy ushering her into the back of the car.

"Explain what the hell this is!" Rumlow said as he raised his voice at her before pointing at another collage of pictures.

This time Emma didn't hide her shock from the pictures that had been taken of her.

She saw what Rumlow meant by the pictures.

Emma and Peter holding hands as they walked home from school with her laughing at something ridiculous he said.

Peter and her staring deeply into each other's eyes on a park bench with Peter's hand resting suggestively on her knee.

Emma and Peter kissing on that bridge in London.

The two of them locked in a passionate embrace on her doorstep with the both of them sharing a heated kiss while Peter's hand noticeably drifting underneath her shirt.

Emma suddenly felt severely violated by the pictures on the walls. These were very private moments between her and Peter. They were never meant to be seen by anyone let alone Rumlow's disgusting prying eyes.

Peter was hers and hers alone.

Rumlow didn't get to have any part of this.

The fact that he had been watching her this long filled her with anger beyond belief. She wanted to grab ahold of his throat before squeezing and squeezing until she crushed his windpipe under her grip.

This belonged to her. Not him.

She wanted nothing more than to lurch forward and kill him with every fiber of her being. However, Emma restrained herself. She was much too smart to get emotionally compromised right when she was so close. Emma wanted to do this in a way where she would hurt him the most. It was the only thing that would satisfy her need for vengeance.

So Emma instead burst into tears.

He should've known that she was faking it. He and everyone else at Hydra had trained her to be a gifted manipulator, after all. They always said a man's greatest weakness was a woman crying. She never quite understood why that was but it was further proved to her by the men she acquainted herself with. Steve and her father never could quite handle her tears, even when her father was the brainwashed version of himself he was back then, and Peter would do anything to make her stop crying and put a smile on her face. Tony, a once thought cold-hearted billionaire, even seemed to share in this weakness during the many times he made Pepper cry because of some mistake on his part.

Emma didn't understand why but also didn't really care why at the same time.

"I'm so sorry, Brock," Emma cried as she feigned a look of remorse, pretending to be sorry that she betrayed him in whatever delusion he had of her. Tears streamed down her face as she put on a show for the Hydra leader, hoping that he'd buy it. "I-I don't know why I did it."

"Then why did you?!" Rumlow growled, jealousy present in his dark eyes. "All this time I've been waiting patiently for you and you're over here spreading your legs for that little circus freak. I know all about him by the way."

"All your crime-fighting adventures and your alleged journey in becoming a future Avenger. The public is so fascinated by the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man," Rumlow continued to say bitterly as he looked at her in disbelief. "Did you honestly think I'd never hear about it?"

"I never slept with him! I swear!" Emma said as she continued to plead with him, her cheeks wet with tears. "He means nothing to me."

"Then why did you do it, Princess?" Rumlow asked, looking desperate...almost as if he were going crazy over the pictures of Emma and Peter together. It was true in a way. He had been driving himself crazy during the past few months as he poured himself over all the pictures obsessively. "Huh? Why were you even with him in the first place?"

"The Avengers never trusted me," Emma lied as she stared up at him, her blue eyes still brimmed with tears. "Deep down they always knew that I was still loyal to Hydra...to you."

"But they trust him. They trust Spider-Man," The teenage girl said convincingly, keeping a balance between her tears and rational words. "I knew if I could make them believe that I was like him then I could also make them believe that I could leave Hydra behind and be one of them."

Emma bit her lip as if she were nervous and she took a step forward. Rumlow watched her carefully and Emma knew that this would be the real test. She only had one chance to get this right. Emma would be putting everything she learned at Hydra to the test in these next few minutes.

The blonde then took the much older man's hands in her own.

You'd never know by looking at her how revolted she truly was by this.

"I missed you so much, Brock," Emma said quietly, playing the part of the nervous, naïve young girl. "I always knew that I had to come back to you. I didn't care what I had to do or how long it took, I always knew I'd find my way back to you."

"They never let me come back to you until now," Emma told him, a sincere look on her face despite all the tears. "And I brought you them, didn't I? Don't you see, Brock?"

"We can finally end the Avengers. The two of us," Emma said, gently rubbing her thumb against his rotten and decaying skin as she continued to hold onto his hands.

"They can't stand between us anymore."

"You mean that?" Rumlow asked, a crazed look in his eyes. Emma gave him a small smile and nodded.

"What you and I have is just too...too...special for them to understand," Emma told him and she was being honest in a sense. What she had with Rumlow really was too difficult for the others to understand. They would never understand the exact amount of trauma that she had experienced from the rape. No one but someone who was raped could understand that kind of trauma. "We can end the Avengers and start our lives together. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Yes," Rumlow said quietly although there was a certain obsessive glint in his eyes as he looked down at the innocent expression on her youthful face. He felt a smile begin to form on his face because he was starting to realize that he might get his happy ending with Margot that he always wanted. Emma was better than Margot anyways. She understood him better and she didn't take him for granted like Margot had.

"I just hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for everything," Emma said as she gave him a hopeful look. "I know I hurt you a lot but I'd just like to start over if you don't mind."

Rumlow then took Emma by surprise by removing his hands from hers and then placing them on either side of her face. Emma's heart froze in fright but she maintained her composure as she held his gaze without an ounce of fear to be detected. There was almost a smirk on his face as he abruptly gripped her face so hard that it almost hurt. He held her there so that she was unable to look away as he stared into her eyes.

"Are you lying to me?" Rumlow questioned and Emma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Lying?" Emma asked as if she was appalled that he would ask such a thing. Rumlow nodded.

"Are you lying to me right now? Because I can't take being hurt again by you, Princess," Rumlow said and Emma wanted to sneer at him. She wanted to tell him that he was incapable of having hurt feelings because he was a psychopath. However, she refrained from making those remarks.

"I'm not lying to you, Brock. I swear," Emma told him in a steady tone.

"Look me in the eyes right now and tell me that he means nothing to you," Rumlow said in a low tone of voice as his dark eyes remained locked onto hers. "Tell me that you don't love him...that you _never_ loved him."

There was a brief pause of silence before Emma responded to Rumlow. The older man stared at her, eagerly waiting for her answer. Emma knew this would either make her or break her. He would either believe her and buy her little act or he would know that she was lying and punish her for it. She hadn't been as good of a liar when she was a child. He used to be good at picking out her lies and punishing her for them. Emma just hoped that she was much better at lying to him now than she was then.

"He means nothing to me," Emma lied as she looked into his eyes without the slightest falter. "I don't love him. He's just some silly little boy. How could I choose him over you? You're everything to me and he's nothing."

"Then all is forgiven," Rumlow said softly a moment later as he then swiftly let go of her. If Emma was in a different situation she would've let out a sigh of relief. Even so, she couldn't really afford to do that right now. So she took a step back and smiled at him.

"Thank you. When I came here today, I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me," Emma said as she looked at him a bit shyly. "I feel so silly now."

"You did what you had to so that you could survive. It's what we taught you, after all," Rumlow said, sounding like the rational person he wasn't. It irked Emma at how normal and kind he pretended to be. She only knew him as the monster within and she wanted nothing more than for him to finally show his true colors. "I can't blame you for surviving."

"And look at what those idiots did. All those years the Avengers had you and they wasted your true potential," Rumlow said as he shook his head in disappointment. "It's a real shame."

"I know. I just can't wait for things to go back to the way they were," Emma said as she smiled at him again. Rumlow returned her smile, reaching out and caressing her face once more.

"Don't worry. Things will return to how they used to be soon enough," Rumlow said as he made a promise to her. "I always think about us, you know."

"Think about us how?" Emma asked, feigning curiosity because she really couldn't care less about what he thought. Rumlow smiled before shrugging his shoulders.

"That last night we spent together back at that base," Rumlow said as if he were recollecting a happy memory. Emma continued to smile at him when she felt nothing but pure rage inside. She wanted to pounce on Rumlow and rip him from limb to limb but she withheld herself. "When we fucked. I replay it over and over again in my head."

"Really?" Emma asked him, her smile unwavering. Rumlow nodded.

"I think about you when I'm alone and I think about what it'll be like when we're finally reunited like that," Rumlow said and Emma felt revolted. The same thing that gave her nightmares most nights gave him pleasure. It sickened Emma to the core. "It makes me happy for tonight."

"What's going to happen tonight?" Emma asked him and Rumlow grinned at her, smirking at her almost in a flirtatious way.

"I'm going to make you scream my name more times than you can count. You won't be able to walk straight tomorrow," Rumlow told her confidently and Emma bit down hard on her tongue until she tasted blood.

This sick fucker was going to be lucky if she didn't cut off his tiny dick today.

"I'll ruin you for all other men by the time I'm done. Just like last time."

Last time.

Last time when he forced her onto the bed and took her more times than she could count. She knew it must've been hours before he finally stopped. He did whatever he wanted and broke her in a way she had never been broken before. She tried to be strong but there was only so much she could take.

"I know how you liked that. You could cry and beg me to stop all you wanted but deep down I knew you were begging me," Rumlow said as he continued to stroke her cheek with his thumb almost tenderly.

The same gesture Peter did whenever they were lying together in bed or when he was trying to comfort her. The gesture pissed her off because Emma felt that Rumlow didn't have the right to do what Peter did. He wasn't allowed to touch her like Peter. Only Peter could do those things.

"You'd tease me all the time. Talking back to me and laughing at me behind my back. I knew what you wanted deep down. What you _needed_. I had to straighten you out that first time and teach you to be more respectful of your superiors but I'll be more gentle this time. I promise."

 _I promise._

Yet another thing he whispered to her that night as he took her apart in a way she could never be quite fixed of. Three years later and Emma was still trying to put all the pieces together. She wasn't completely sure she ever would.

She hated him.

She hated him. She hated him. She hated him.

She hated him more than she had ever hated anything. Emma wanted him to suffer and she wanted him to hurt. She wanted him to feel the things she felt when he raped her repeatedly. Emma wanted him to feel that same loss of dignity, humiliation, fear, and pain. She wanted to make him beg her for his life. Those were the only things that would give her satisfaction.

"I can't wait," Emma said, feigning sincerity. She didn't believe him when he said that she liked it. Emma didn't believe that he actually thought she enjoyed any of it. Deep down he knew that she hadn't wanted it and he had gone ahead and done it anyways. He liked how scared she was. It gave him power and he relished the feeling.

"Nothing will be able to stop us now," Rumlow said to her as he moved closer to her. Emma looked back at him with a smile on her face, her eyes conveying happiness but her heart conveying something much different. "This is a new beginning for the both of us."

The grotesque looking man then closed the distance as he wrapped his arms around Emma in an embrace. She let him do it too, knowing that she had to let him think that he was in control. That's the only way she could get close to him without retaliation and the only way she could make it hurt more. Emma visibly relaxed in his arms as he pulled her close, inhaling the scent of her hair.

He didn't seem to notice the knife Emma slipped from under her sleeve.

"I think I might love you," He told her softly as he held there, his voice almost trembling as if he were a child. Emma rolled her eyes from over his shoulder.

Pathetic.

"I've waited so long for you and to finally have you in my arms...I can't even describe it, Princess," He practically gushed, further disgusting the teenage girl.

"And what about you? Have you felt the same?" He asked her and he was about to pull away to look at her when he felt an odd sensation in his abdomen.

Rumlow's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sensation. He was about to open his mouth to question Emma when he felt the stabbing sensation once again. And then again.

And again.

Rumlow stumbled back, grunting in surprise, and looked down at himself. His eyes widened in shock when he saw where the sensation was coming from. There were a couple of red splotches on his combat suit growing in size the longer he stared at it. He reached his hand down to touch his abdomen and watched in disbelief as blood covered his hand.

He couldn't feel pain anymore because of nerve damage, no thanks to the great captain himself, but he knew what this meant.

Rumlow stumbled upon the realization that he had been stabbed.

It was only when he looked back at Emma, who had a knife in her hand and a glare on her face, that he realized what had happened.

The knife was still dripping with his blood.

"W-Why?" Rumlow stuttered, looking at her with an expression akin to shock and betrayal. Emma scoffed. She couldn't believe he was actually this stupid. Well, maybe she could on second thought.

"Why not?" Emma retorted as she kept her glare focused on his face. She circled him almost like a shark would circle its prey. "You think I actually ever gave a fuck about you, Rumlow?! You think I actually enjoyed it when you tortured me...when you _raped_ me?! You killed my parents, you fucking psychopath! The only thing I feel for you is hate!"

"I never raped you. You wanted-" He started to say, still in a state of shock from Emma stabbing him. If anything his response infuriated her more.

"I was thirteen and you were an old man! Why would I want to have sex with you?!" Emma hissed, her blue eyes cold with fury. "You threatened me and you threatened my father. I didn't have a choice."

"If you were stupid enough to believe that Hydra would've permitted me to kill your precious Winter Soldier then that's your own stupid fault, you silly little girl," Rumlow said angrily as he continued to hold his abdomen in an effort to stop the bleeding. Emma stiffened at his words but the rage in her eyes was unrelenting.

"I've wanted to kill you since that day you came to the base," Emma finally admitted and the coldness in her voice could not be ignored. "When you took over my father's training after he had that breakdown. I remembered who you were and I remembered what you did to my parents. Since that day I promised myself that I would make you pay for that."

"You ungrateful little brat," Rumlow said as he shook his head in disappointment. "After all Hydra gave you. Your powers, your knowledge, your training...everything. We gave you everything and you turn around and use it against us. You really are a little traitor."

"Hydra's given me nothing. _You've_ given me nothing," Emma said in a low and dangerous tone. She then laughed humorlessly. "You talk about the night you raped me as if it gives you great pleasure. Well, it's given me nothing but nightmares and especially with your ugly mug looking down at me. I used to think you were ugly before but now you're even more fucked up looking than I remember."

"You're just like Margot," Rumlow told her, hurt by Emma's betrayal and hatred. "You never appreciated me. Margot and you were always looking for something better."

"Well, anyone's got to have you beat, asshole," Emma said bitterly before she whipped around in a quick turn, spinning out in a move akin to the grace a dancer would have, before Rumlow could blink his eyes.

She stuck her knife in his shoulder.

He grunted from the force of impact. She then pulled the knife out, blood spraying in her face but she didn't care.

Before Rumlow could react, Emma struck him again with the knife. He stumbled back once more from the force of her attack. Emma didn't give him any time to defend himself. She stabbed him in the abdomen once.

Twice.

Three times.

Emma wasn't really counting. She just wanted to end him at this point and she didn't care how many times she had to stab him. She didn't care if she had to gut him like a fish at this point either.

There was a wild look in her eyes as she drew and withdraw her knife over and over again, the feel of it piercing through his skin and then pulling back into the air gave her an inexplicable high like no other. It wasn't because she was enjoying the pain she was inflicting.

It was because she was enjoying the pain she was inflicting on _him_.

The temper, she so fought to control back in her younger days, started to resurface in that moment as she lashed out against Rumlow, letting years and years of rage and turmoil rain down on him. Rumlow watched with wide eyes as he looked at the pure rage in her eyes. It occurred to him that the innocence she had earlier portrayed in her eyes was all an act. No such innocence existed.

She wasn't like Margot at all.

It was all a trick.

"You're not so smug like you were that night," Emma hissed as she slashed the knife towards him, managing to slice the skin on his forearms as he shielded his arms in front of his face defensively. It was difficult to defend himself against her quick movements with the knife. She was always gifted with her knives, after all. The silly girl had always been so hellbent on impressing her precious Winter Soldier that she focused all her attention on those damn knives. Now it seemed like Rumlow was finally paying the price.

"I heard you can't feel pain anymore," Emma said as she quickly inflicted another slash on his forearms.

She then swung her leg out and landed a hard kick to his side, surprising him and sending him to the floor.

"I plan to change that," Emma finished, smirking at him.

He gritted his teeth, furious at her insolence. The little brat thought that she was so smart.

Well, he was going to show her.

Emma climbed over his weak and pathetic looking body. Probably an action that would give the pathetic horny psychopath a boner in any other situation.

She straddled him and there was a certain amount of irony in this situation. Years ago the roles were reversed and it was she who was at his mercy but now things were different.

"I thought I might give you a few more scars with this knife," Emma remarked as she looked down at him with a condescending look on her face as she held the knife out in front of her. It almost seemed like she was going to ponder what she was going to do next. "I thought a lot about it on the ride over here."

"Did you?" Rumlow questioned quietly, his eyes searching her eyes for any trace of her mother there.

He couldn't find any.

"Yeah, but now that I see you in front of me I realize that I can't possibly fuck you up any more than you already are," Emma said bitterly before shaking her head. "It's a shame."

"You gonna kill me, Princess?" Rumlow asked her as if he didn't actually believe that she would. He obviously didn't know how much she hated him.

"Without hesitation," Emma told him sincerely like she was making him a promise.

"I didn't think you would with that self-righteous grandpa of yours," Rumlow told her and Emma hated how smug he looked. She wished he'd look more scared or desperate. "I thought you'd be more merciful."

"I'm not him," Emma said, the expression on her face growing darker and more serious as she stared down at him. Her blue eyes hardened as their eyes met. If Rumlow was a smarter and less delusional version of himself then he would've been afraid to see his own reflection in those pretty blue eyes that had since gone cold. "Don't worry, Rumlow. I'll show you the same amount of mercy that you showed my parents."

The room grew more tense and almost deadly silent as the blonde lifted the knife up into the air, Rumlow completely at her mercy. She then brought the knife back down in one sharp movement, going for his heart.

However, a quick and unexpected action stopped the knife from hitting its target. Emma stared down in confusion as Rumlow's hand reached out and stopped the knife right before it pierced through his flesh.

She tried to force the knife past his grip but found that she was stuck.

They were like two magnets, one trying to move past the other.

Their eyes met in that moment and a realization hit Emma as a smirk began to form across his face.

He was stronger than before.

Rumlow then took advantage of her brief moment of shock, slapping her harder than Emma had been slapped in her life. She grunted from the pain and he knocked the knife out of her hand, sending it skidding across the floor.

Emma was about to counter by going for his throat but he blocked her and threw her off him abruptly. The blonde teenager was sent skidding across the floor much like her knife before her.

She groaned in pain, a bit winded from his counterattack, as she came to the conclusion that she had severely underestimated Rumlow. All these years she berated him for being just a simple man who she somehow let rape her. She thought he'd always stay that way, at least in her mind, so this was definitely new to her.

Emma had noticed that he looked a bit more muscular than before. She admitted that she suspected that he was hiding something. Emma suspected that it might've had to do with the many blood samples she left behind at Hydra. From all the poking and prodding they did for all those years. Emma just assumed that Rumlow's body wouldn't have been able to accept anything containing her serum in it.

Well...now that she looked at his rotting flesh and sickly appearance, maybe she was right. Maybe his body hadn't accepted it, after all.

"You left a lot behind when the Avengers took you, Princess," Rumlow said as he stood up from the ground much to Emma's disbelief. He flashed a big grin in her direction. "It wasn't easy for Dr. List to recreate Stark and Erskine's serum but he worked out the kinks eventually."

"It looks like he fucked up," Emma noted as she glared back up at Rumlow, slowly getting up from the ground. She still felt a pang of pain in her side. He definitely caught her off guard. That was for sure.

"I'll admit that there was a lot of side effects," Rumlow said, ignoring her obvious anger and disgust. "But I've never felt better."

"Good for you," Emma spat.

It was poetic in a way.

Dr. List created a new serum using Emma's blood. The girl, Rumlow was so obsessed and delusional over, but it was her blood that was making him sick from the inside out. Her blood was making him stronger at the same time as it was making him weaker. His body was trying to heal from the poison in his veins but he could only heal so fast.

It seemed like Emma had been slowly killing him all this time without even knowing it. He probably didn't have much longer but Emma could tell that he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

They rarely ever did.

"I did this all for you," He said softly, suddenly visibly upset with her. Emma didn't feel bad for him though. "I'm stronger now and better in every way than that circus freak. You know it too, don't you?"

Emma thought carefully about how she would proceed next.

She could either calmly talk him down and manipulate him like before. Emma could get close enough again and just finally kill him this time, going for the heart unlike before. She knew she could manipulate him again. Rumlow was so delusional that he could quite possibly be the easiest person that she ever had to manipulate.

No.

This wasn't good enough.

Emma had come too far and had waited far too long to end this quickly. She wanted to draw it out and she wanted to make him suffer. The sixteen-year-old girl knew the others would never approve of this sort of thinking but Emma didn't care. She was the one that had been raped with her whole entire childhood stolen from her. So it was Emma who would get the final say. This was already decided.

She would provoke instead of coax.

Her father always used to tell her she had a big mouth and someday it would get her in trouble. He was right about that too. This had been proven to her on numerous occasions.

"You're wrong," Emma said quietly as she looked back up at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "You're not better."

"I'm not?" Rumlow questioned with a raised eyebrow. He almost seemed amused, in fact. "You care to explain how he's better."

In all honesty, Peter was better in a million ways. Rumlow couldn't even stand in comparison to Peter. It was an insult to everything Peter was. Emma could've said a million mushy things about how good of a person Peter was...how he was as dorky as he was kind. Emma could probably spend all day and night talking about how Peter was her favorite person in the world.

However, she knew that wasn't the way to go.

None of that would provoke Rumlow and Emma needed to provoke him.

No, she knew just the way to piss off Rumlow.

Now, if there was anything Emma was good at, it was knowing where to hit a man where it hurts. She wasn't just talking in a literal sense either.

The young girl smirked.

"Well, for one his penis is huge," Emma said smugly, her smirk unwavering but her eyes as innocent as ever. The amused look immediately fell off Rumlow's face before Emma could blink.

She had him right where she wanted him.

"What?" Rumlow questioned, thinking he misheard her even though he hadn't. Emma internally beamed at how pissed he was starting to get.

"It's a lot bigger than that tiny, pathetic dick of yours," Emma taunted and Rumlow started trembling with anger. This only seemed to fuel Emma's confidence.

"You let him have you?" Rumlow said darkly, clenching his fists in anger.

Oh, yes...this was far more enjoyable to Emma.

Destroying Rumlow's male ego was her new favorite hobby.

"More like _I_ had _him_ ," Emma bragged, knowing that Rumlow was two seconds from losing it. She just needed to brace herself for an attack. "He knows how to show a girl a good time which is more than what I can say for you...stubby."

Then all hell broke loose.

"You ungrateful bitch," Rumlow growled before charging at her.

Emma waited for him to make the first move. She knew when your opponent was angry, their movements became sloppy.

He threw a fist in her direction and Emma quickly blocked it with her arm.

The blonde countered it with a kick to his side.

Rumlow didn't falter. He delivered a strong punch to her jaw which knocked her off her feet.

Emma fell to the ground, wincing in pain which she hadn't felt in a while. It was quite obvious he was strong now.

However, she didn't allow herself to stay on the ground long before she quickly jumped up to her feet. She barely had time to dodge his next punch as he went for another punch to her face.

Emma moved to the right before landing a punch of her own to his scarred looking face.

He stumbled back and she landed three more punches to his ribcage with inhumane speed. Emma was fairly sure she heard ribs cracking but Rumlow didn't let that get him down.

The older man roughly knocked his head against hers, taking her by surprise, before managing to get his arm around her.

He immediately twisted her arm around and locked her against him, her back against his front. Emma struggled in his grasp, noticing how difficult it was to break free. The very fact that she was struggling to get out of his grip was entirely frustrating.

"You have a big mouth, you know that?" Rumlow whispered into her ear as she continued to break free. "Looks like I'm going to have to teach you another lesson. Just like last time."

Emma finally found the willpower to break free, his heated words further fueling her anger. She elbowed him in the ribs hard before spinning out from him.

She was just about to untangle herself from him when he caught her by the wrist. Emma glared at him before rearing her hand back to hit him and break his hold on her. It was then that he pulled her so hard that she was yanked back towards him.

Rumlow immediately slammed Emma onto the ground, her head hitting the hard floor harshly.

The blonde groaned in pain as she felt a mild case of whiplash come over her.

"You think you're so damn smart. Talking down to me like that," Rumlow hissed at her as he kneeled down and loomed over her, his giant shadow encompassing her. He reminded her so much of the nightmares in that moment. The ones where he was the wolf to her Red Riding Hood. "You've forgotten that you belong to me."

"I belong to myself," Emma said defiantly and this seemed to piss him off even more. He backhanded her hard across the face.

She admitted that she had severely underestimated him upon arriving here. Emma was just so hellbent on getting revenge that it blinded her to anything else. She should've been more aware of her surroundings but even Emma made mistakes.

Emma had faults.

She wouldn't deny that.

"Get away from me, Pedophile," Emma said venomously and he slapped her again.

"Say you belong to me and I won't hurt you anymore," Rumlow said to her threateningly. "Say you belong to me and I'll forget everything you did. We can leave here in peace."

"Fuck you," Emma spat, glaring daggers at the severely scarred man. "I'd rather suck Ultron's robot dick than go anywhere with you."

Rumlow didn't say or do anything for a moment as he stared silently at her. Even though he didn't say anything, Emma could tell he was angry. His breathing had gotten heavier and she knew she had pushed him too far. She didn't care though. It was all worth it because she was finally confronting him for everything he had done to her in the past.

"You little bitch," Rumlow growled as he then abruptly grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off the ground. Emma choked under his grip which was painfully strong. Much more than before.

"I've done everything for you and you just threw it all away," He said angrily as her feet left the ground and he held her up in the air. Her feet kicked as she struggled to set her feet back down on a surface. Her air supply seemed to be a little short even for her.

"You don't look so arrogant now, do you, Princess?" Rumlow questioned as he smirked at her evilly. "I always told everyone at the base that they should've given you more beatings. They should've instilled more disciplined and instead, they let you walk around that base for too long like you owned the whole goddamn place."

"Now you've been in that fucking superhero mansion where they let you do whatever the fuck you want," Rumlow said as a more gleeful expression came across his face. "It'll take a while to instill that discipline back into you but I think I might know a couple ways."

Emma tried to pry his hands off her throat to let her go but she was feeling weak from having her head banged into the hard ground. She struggled for breath as he continued to hold her there in the air, taking great pride in having her under his mercy.

She knew he wouldn't kill her but that did little to comfort her.

Just when she was thinking that she might've lost this battle and might even risk herself being taken by him, something odd occured.

Rumlow stumbled slightly, immediately dropping Emma.

The teenager groaned in pain again as she hit the floor.

Rumlow looked down at himself in surprise and disgust when he noticed an odd looking white substance attached to his combat suit.

What the fuck...

"Get away from her," A young sounding voice said angrily and Rumlow quickly whipped around to look at the assailant.

The person he hated most in the world was standing in the room dressed in his ridiculous looking red and blue spandex.

Hatred filled Rumlow's entire being as he stared at the figure standing at the opposite end of the room. Hatred because this was the person who stole her from him.

The little spider.

"Peter, no," Emma said, her voice sounding hoarse as she tried to catch her breath. She was still on the floor, feeling very winded from Rumlow's most recent attack on her. "Get away from here. Go back to Tony."

The teenage boy, however, ignored his girlfriend.

He had just spent the past twenty minutes breaking through the very large and heavy steel door which had been alarmingly difficult to get through. Peter assumed that it was because his Spidey Senses were causing all his instincts to go out of whack. His newfound Spidey Senses were warning him of danger just beyond that heavy reinforced door but Peter didn't care about the danger. Not when Emma was locked on the other side of that very same door.

The others didn't know where he or Emma had gone off too. He knew Mr. Stark had been trying to contact him through his suit but he declined his calls. Peter knew Mr. Stark would've just told him to wait back on the Quinjet while Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes rescued Emma but he wasn't going to wait around while she was in danger.

How could he sit back, knowing Rumlow might hurt her or worse?

Still...nothing prepared him for the unbelievable fury he felt as he entered the room and saw Rumlow choking Emma, her feet dangling just a bit above the ground.

Peter didn't think.

He just acted because this was Emma, after all.

This man did all these terrible things to Emma and this man even thought he could _keep_ on doing terrible things to her but Peter wouldn't let him. This monster was going to learn that Emma wasn't alone anymore. She had him now and he was going to make sure Rumlow never got his hands on her again. He didn't care what he'd have to do ensure that but he would do whatever was necessary.

Rumlow didn't look how he expected him to look either.

Peter had seemed pictures of him before and had always been disgusted by how old the man was. He couldn't wrap his mind around why someone that old would do those things to someone as young as Emma. The only conclusion Peter came across was that the man was severely evil.

Now he looked just as evil as he was on the inside.

Never before had Peter seen someone so grotesque and deranged looking in his life.

However, Rumlow then surprised him in that moment. He didn't glare at him like Peter thought he would or even come charging towards him.

The monster actually had the gall to grin at Peter, displaying his rotting teeth.

"The spider," Rumlow stated as he looked at the webslinger. Peter swallowed hard as he carefully eyed the man's movements. "I should've known you'd come running to her rescue."

"Stay away from her," Peter said warningly as he stood his ground.

Emma's eyes flooded with worry as she watched her boyfriend and her abuser face each other for the first time ever.

Why couldn't he have stayed away like she wanted him too?

"You wouldn't be the first one to get trapped under her spell, Little Spider," Rumlow told him as he casually strolled about the room without coming close to Peter or Emma. It was almost like he was putting on a performance. "She's quite good at seducing men. She bats her eyelashes and we're all goners. First, there was Barnes, then me, and now you. I'm sure she has all the other men at the superhero mansion wrapped around her finger too. She plays the victim card a little too well if you ask me."

"You're sick," Peter spat as he clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. "I know what you did to her. Everyone knows. You're a rapist...a-a monster."

"Rape?" Rumlow said in amusement before scoffing. "How could it be rape? She didn't even try to fight me."

Emma could tell from Peter's demeanor that he was two seconds from snapping and attacking the man. It was also clear that Rumlow was purposefully provoking him, attempting to get the upper hand in catching the younger man in an emotional state.

"Peter, don't," Emma said pleadingly from her position on the ground. "He's trying to provoke you. He's not of average strength like he used to be. Dr. List made a new serum using my blood. He's stronger now."

Peter didn't care if Rumlow was stronger or not. He didn't care if Rumlow was stronger than the whole team of Avengers. Peter would still make him pay for he did to Emma.

"I took her over and over again yet she didn't even try to stop me. She was as quiet as a little mouse...other than her little cries and whimpers of pain, of course," Rumlow taunted smugly and Emma could practically see the steam coming out of Peter's ears. Emma glared at the asshole who seemed keen on making her entire life miserable.

"Shut up, asshole!" Emma yelled at him, more than annoyed with him at this point. Now she really wished she killed Rumlow from the start instead of drawing it out like this. Just for the sake of shutting him up for good.

Once again, Emma went ignored by both men.

"It's not uncommon for it to hurt the first time though. It's pretty normal," Rumlow said and Emma could tell he was enjoying this. He was enjoying tormenting Peter like this. "You should actually thank me for loosening her up for you. She was so tight that first time. I could barely fit."

It seemed like that did the trick.

Peter in all his usual calmness and politeness, even when dealing with criminals, was unable to hold back in his rage at Rumlow's taunts. The teenage boy let out a fierce growl of anger which Emma had never heard before and immediately flung his wrist out, aiming his webshooter for the ceiling and shooting the webbing out.

Peter then grabbed onto the webbing and swung himself feet first towards Rumlow. He was so unbelievably fast that Rumlow didn't have quite as much time to process his movements.

As soon as Peter's feet connected with the older man's chest, Rumlow fell backwards onto the hard floor.

Peter then landed in his iconic crouched position, the white eye lenses of his suit narrowed into a glare as he looked back at the man on the ground. Never before in his life had he felt such utter hatred towards someone. At least, the man who killed Uncle Ben seemed apologetic and guilt-ridden. However, Rumlow was the opposite. He obviously took great pride in the pain and suffering he inflicted on Emma. This is what fueled Peter's hatred towards him.

It didn't take long for Rumlow to recover from Peter's attack. The man quickly lifted himself off the ground but only to be met with more webbing. Peter was unrelenting in his attack on the older, grotesque looking man.

Usually, there would be quips or a couple smart-ass remarks on his part but Peter found that he had no patience for any teasing. He was too angry.

"You're out of your league, kid," Rumlow told Peter as he swung a fist at Peter which the teenage boy narrowly dodged.

Rumlow's combat skills were, of course, much more graceful and experienced than Peter's were. Peter only knew what Emma taught him in the training sessions they had. He usually just relied on his strength and agility as well as the mysterious instinct within himself that always seemed to kick in during situations like these.

However, he could also see the benefit from being more experienced in combat.

Peter managed to twist around and land a kick to Rumlow which sent him stumbling back a ways but not enough to knock him off his feet like before. He could see what Emma meant about him being stronger.

Rumlow countered his attack with another punch which Peter dodged again but the teenage boy was thrown off guard when Rumlow caught him in a distracted state.

Peter would admit that he wasn't thinking clearly in the midst of his anger so he was surprised when Rumlow managed to knock him off his feet with a swing of his leg.

Peter grunted as he hit the floor.

Rumlow smirked as he moved in for another attack.

He didn't seem to notice that Emma wasn't indisposed anymore. She took the older man by surprise when she jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck before trying to tighten her hold on him.

Rumlow immediately tried to pry her grip off him, giving Peter enough time to hop off the ground and assume position. The grotesque looking man finally managed to throw Emma off his back.

She fell back on the ground but quickly hopped back to her feet and prepared herself for another attack. Emma was ready for anything at this point.

Rumlow stumbled as he regained his footing but now noticed that the two teenagers were circling him.

"Give it up, asshole," Emma told him heatedly as she gave him a look full of hate. Peter happened to have a very similar look on his face as well. "You're outnumbered. There's two of us and one of you. Do the math."

"Not for long," Rumlow told them smugly as he smirked. He seemed to glance behind them at something Emma and Peter couldn't see.

It was then that the hair began to stand up on Peter's arm again.

There was something, or someone, standing behind them.

Everything in him seemed to tell him to move and get out of the way but instead of following his natural instinct, he fought against it.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

Peter immediately rushed over to Emma, without giving it a second thought, and grabbed a hold of her. He could've thrown them both to the ground if there had been more time. He held on tightly to her instead and she was about to question what he was doing when three loud shots rang out through the air.

One.

Two.

Three.

Peter flinched but his grip on Emma was unrelenting.

It was only when the room had grown quiet again that Peter's hold on her seemed to loosen and he allowed himself to feel the pain of what he had done. The pain was unbearable as Peter felt himself practically melting to the floor. The shocked and confused look on Emma's face spoke volumes as she watched him sink to the floor, the problem of Rumlow momentarily forgotten.

"Peter?" She whispered in a frightened tone, not understanding what was wrong with him.

Then she saw it as he fell to the ground.

The three growing spots of red staining his abdomen.

He had been shot.

Emma's eyes widened in horror as her mind finally seemed to wrap around what was happening. The blood continued to stain his Spider-Man suit as it poured out of the three wounds. It was the very sight that she had always feared in her darkest nightmares.

Now it was coming true.

Emma immediately sank to her knees on the floor next to him, not caring what Rumlow would do at this point. She quickly wrapped his mask off, revealing his face.

Peter's gaze was still on her but he seemed slightly in a dazed state. His eyes were on her but they weren't at the same time. It occurred to her that he was very weak which scared her. Peter was never weak. Not like this.

"Peter, why-" Emma questioned as worried tears seemed to flood her eyes. Peter swallowed hard as tears started to flood his own eyes as well but from the pain.

"I had to," He told her in the strongest voice he could muster. Emma pressed her hand against the wound, knowing that it was the only way to try and keep him from bleeding out. He may have been Spider-Man but Emma knew he wasn't immune to bullets. He could very well bleed out and die on this floor if he didn't get proper medical attention.

Rumlow could be seen leaning against the wall calmly as he watched the two young lovers.

Now he would watch the world burn and crash around him.

A clunking sound then took Emma's attention away from Peter. Her eyes drifted to a gun on the ground. Her gaze then shifted to the culprit who had dropped it.

The culprit who shot Peter.

A nervous looking man stood there just a few feet from them. He had a wide-eyed look on his face as he looked between Emma and Peter.

Emma couldn't describe the amount of anger and rage that filled her veins in that moment. Even more so then when she faced Rumlow. This pathetic excuse of a man just shot Peter.

 _Her_ Peter.

Peter who took three bullets that were meant for her.

Something seemed to ignite within Emma in that moment.

A power and darkness, unlike anything she had ever felt before.

It stemmed from a wide range of emotions pouring out of her. Anger, fear, and sadness. All those things seemed to pool together as she fixed her gaze on the scared looking man who hurt Peter. He was the man who threatened to take everything from her and caused Emma more anguish and fear than she had ever felt before.

The man then raised his hands defensively as if he were surrendering to them, "I'm sorry. I-"

He was cut off by a large blast of blue energy that seemed to come from within the Viper Assassin herself.

The bright blue energy came right towards him, hitting the man and sending him flying back against the wall. His head hit the hard concrete and a sickening crack could be heard throughout the room.

Jorgen Nygard died before he even hit the ground.

Emma's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the now limp body on the floor.

What that-how could it be-was just happened…

The blue mass of energy couldn't have come from her?

Could it?

Impossible.

"Unbelievable!" Rumlow exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. Emma was still staring at the dead body as she continued to keep her hand pressed to Peter's side.

"All this time we all pushed you to showcase more abilities. To prove that you were more powerful than Barnes and Rogers put together. We thought we reached the extent of your powers but we were wrong," Rumlow said almost gleefully. "We tortured you and pushed you but nothing brought any of that out. Who knew all it took was for your precious little spider to spill a little blood."

Emma finally tore her gaze from the dead body on the floor as she then looked back at Peter. She noticed that his eyes were closed. A swell of panic came over her as she shakily checked for a pulse. Relief washed over her as she felt a weaker but still present pulse.

He was okay.

At least, for now.

Peter had probably just passed out from the pain. However, if she didn't get him out of here soon then he wouldn't be okay. He needed to see a doctor really soon. Especially considering that she was fairly certain that the bullets hadn't gone straight through him. They were probably still inside him which made his condition even worse.

"He doesn't look too good, does he?" Rumlow said tauntingly as he observed a silent Emma and a passed out Peter. "Poor bastard. He wouldn't be the first to fall prey to your charm. It'll probably end up killing him too."

Suddenly Emma didn't feel angry anymore. Not towards Rumlow, at least. Those previous feelings of anger and fear were no longer present as she sat there staring at Peter's weakened form. She could hear Rumlow talking in the background but she found she no longer cared about what he had to say.

All she felt was numbness.

Why had she really come, after all?

To kill him?

Because that would make her feel better, right? That would end all the nightmares and allow her to put him in her past. Killing him was the key…at least that's what she thought before. Before her need for vengeance had injured Peter.

Peter was now paying the price for her need for vengeance. She had selfishly gone after Rumlow because she desired revenge that much that she hadn't even stopped to think about the people who she might hurt in the process. T'Challa's earlier words echoed through her mind.

 _Vengeance will only consume you until there's nothing left but pain and suffering._

He was right, Emma realized.

Killing Rumlow wouldn't do anything. Killing him wouldn't free her from her pain. Only she could do that. Only Emma could move on and she had in many ways. She had a family now, hobbies, school, friends, and she had even fallen in love. Emma had already moved on in her life and Rumlow didn't have a part in making her move on.

Emma did it on her own with the help of people who loved her.

So why should she ever give him any credit in her moving on from her past in Hydra?

Emma didn't feel anything for Rumlow anymore because the fear of losing Peter, and everything she had built with Peter, outweighed any need she had for vengeance.

Peter was more important to her than Rumlow. He was everything to her. The idea that Rumlow could be more important to her than Peter was a joke. Even killing him wasn't worth the risk of losing Peter. Nothing was worth that risk.

Rumlow was nothing to her.

"I won't let vengeance consume me," Emma whispered to herself as a lone tear fell from her eye. Peter's chest was rising and falling with every breath he took and Emma was going to make sure he stayed that way. That he kept breathing and never stopped. "It's over."

"What was what, Princess?" Rumlow asked her, raising his eyebrow in amusement. "Are you mumbling something?"

Emma swallowed hard before she looked away from Peter and fixed her gaze on Rumlow. There was no anger or hatred like there had been before when she looked at him.

Just determination.

"I said I won't let vengeance consume me," Emma finally told him much to Rumlow's confusion. He didn't seem to understand what she was saying but Emma didn't care. "I've let it consume me my whole life but I'm done."

"Are you now?" Rumlow questioned, still not quite understanding her. Emma nodded.

"I've hated you for almost my entire life and it's gotten me nowhere. You're like a disease, a tumor, that's greatest joy is holding me back," Emma told him heatedly as she tried to muster up the same emotions she felt before when that man shot Peter. "Well, I'm finished with you now. I don't care what happens to you but I just know that you don't have anything to do with me anymore."

"Really?" Rumlow spat, an angry look entering his eyes. "You think you can just be rid of me so easily? After all this time, you think you can just-"

"You're nothing," Emma interrupted with a cold look on her face.

Before Rumlow even had the chance to respond, Emma shakily raised her arm up towards him. In any other circumstance, she would've felt foolish or ridiculous but not this time.

It was like there was an urge or something within her pulling her to do so.

Emma poured every emotion she had ever felt towards Rumlow into that moment as she locked eyes with him.

The pain, suffering, anger, sadness, disgust, and shame.

It was every feeling Rumlow had ever made her feel. From the nightmares, the torturing, and then to the rape. It was over a decade's worth of emotion as she allowed all the emotions to pool together in that one moment.

Then she simply let go.

The blast of blue energy was much more powerful than it had been before as she finally let go. It shot out of her palm, resembling something like a stream of blue light.

The glow of the blue light shone on Emma's face as it went flying out towards Rumlow. The energy from it didn't feel dark or evil. It felt pure...kind, even. Nothing about it seemed wrong. Emma was left basking in its power for those few seconds as it seemed to pour out of her.

When it made contact with Rumlow's chest, it sent him flying back with a large amount of force. The older man yelped in surprise and pain for the first time in forever.

He didn't stop until he flew back and hit the ceiling.

Emma watched him fall down from the ceiling gracelessly as the blast of blue energy from the palm of her hand ceased.

The grotesque looking man hit the floor with a thud. Several pieces of the ceiling fell down with him. He laid there motionlessly on the floor in the midst of various debris and Emma didn't care.

She didn't care if she had killed him or not.

His existence bore little consequence to Emma.

The blonde stared emotionlessly at his body for another moment before she looked away. Her gaze then softened as her eyes landed on Peter's weak form. She really needed to get him out of here and fast.

Emma scooped him up into her arms, her enhanced strength making the action quite easy, before getting up from the ground. She swallowed hard as she stared at his still unconscious state. If her hands were free she might've brushed his hair out of his face a bit or stroked his cheek comfortingly.

"It's going to be okay, Peter," Emma whispered softly, realizing that she was trying to convince him of this just as much as she was trying to convince herself. The blonde then carried her boyfriend out of the room where two bodies were still limp on the ground.

One limp and one just unconscious.

There was a certain amount of freedom that rested upon her shoulders, freedom that hadn't been there before, as she carried the teenage boy in her arms with much more care and gentleness than what she was known for. Emma was dealing with precious cargo, after all.

The young girl kept trying to reassure herself that it would be okay because it had to be okay. _He_ had to be okay. Emma would never recover if he wasn't okay.

Hopefully, he could forgive her when this was all over. Emma knew that she didn't deserve it but she could still hope.

* * *

Emma ran back onto the still empty Quinjet with Peter in her arms. She assumed that everyone was still in the building taking care of the other Hydra agents. Emma hadn't run into many Hydra agents on the way back so she assumed they were being taken care of by the other Avengers.

The blonde didn't waste any time before carefully setting Peter down on one of the hospital beds in the aircraft. The teenager was vaguely aware of the basic steps in treating someone with bullet wounds. Hydra had forced her to read a couple books on medical procedures in case she or her father ever got injured in the field. It came in handy a couple times and it seemed to be coming in handy right now too. She obviously wasn't going to be able to perform surgery since she wasn't a trained doctor but she could help him in the meantime.

First, Emma was going to have to make a call so they could get this Quinjet back to the compound as soon as possible.

The Quinjet was known for its fast speed, she suspected it could reach the compound in forty-five minutes if they were going at top speed, but Emma just hoped it was long enough for Peter.

Emma made sure Peter was settled onto the bed before she went racing back to the front of the Quinjet. She immediately brought up the holographic screen, ignoring the fact that there was a large assortment of missed messages and calls from the compound as well as Steve, before quickly contacting the one person she knew could help with this. Emma didn't know how she was going to explain any of this but she knew she would manage for Peter.

"Hello? Mini Cap?" Emma heard Tony's worried voice say as he appeared on the screen. He was probably still in his Iron Man suit given how dark it looked in the background. "Where the hell have you been? We've been trying to get in touch with you for the past hour."

"Tony, you need to get on Quinjet right now," Emma told Tony as she tried to keep a brave face on and not break down. She was still extremely worried about Peter but she needed to remain strong so she could get Tony down here.

"What?" Tony questioned in confusion and Emma swallowed hard before nodding furiously.

"Tony, you need to come right now," Emma said hurriedly. She didn't have time to explain this in incredible detail, after all. "Peter's hurt and it's really bad. We need to get him back to the compound."

"What do you mean he's hurt?" Tony asked her and Emma felt herself begin to lose her temper at that point.

"He got shot," Emma snapped but she didn't look angry. She just looked frustrated and completely worried out of her mind. Scared too for that matter. Tony's eyes widened in horror at what she just said. A crestfallen expression then crossed her face as her shoulders began to sag. "Please just come here. He's losing a lot of blood."

"I'll...be right there," Tony said slowly, still trying to process what she was saying. Emma nodded once more before she ended the call.

The teenage girl ran a hand over her face as she tried to take a deep breath. She was going to have to stay calm for Peter if no one else. Emma couldn't lose her shit right now. Not with Peter's life on the line.

Emma then walked back over to the hospital bed where Peter was still lying, looking quite peaceful if it wasn't for his wounds and how pale he was starting to look. She, as calmly as she could, brought out the medical supplies from under the bed and worked as fast as she could while maintaining her cool. It was kind of hard to do with her boyfriend bleeding as profusely as he was.

The blonde put out on a pair of latex gloves, from the box of medical supplies, before getting to work. She knew this wasn't going to heal Peter but it might stop him from bleeding out.

Emma quickly yanked his Spider-Man suit off from the shoulders down to the waist, exposing his chest and abdomen where the wounds were. She winced at the sight of the brutal looking gunshot wounds and all the blood. Not because she was squeamish around blood. No, it was because he was Peter and he was injured badly.

Emma slightly leaned him over to the side so she could look at his back.

The teenage girl swallowed hard when she saw that it just as she feared.

No exit wounds.

This wasn't a good sign.

Not completely satisfied with this observation, Emma moved him back onto his back which was really the best position for him in this state. There wasn't much she couldn't do about the bullets anyways. Only a doctor could perform the surgery and remove the bullets. Emma would just have to settle for making him as comfortable as possible as well as making sure he didn't bleed out on the way back to the compound.

It only took Emma a moment before she decided what she had to do.

She knew there wasn't much she _could_ do other than apply a pressure bandage. The young girl immediately, but gently, pulled an unconscious Peter into an upwards position as she began wrapping the bandage around him. She made sure the bandage was tight to add to the pressure and keep him from bleeding too much. Emma then carefully laid him back down on the bed.

The sixteen-year-old disposed of her gloves in a garbage can before hurrying back over to his side.

Ocean blue eyes full of desperation and fear fixed onto the face of a still unconscious Peter Parker. Emma's heart pounded in her chest as she stood over him, anticipating the arrival of Tony. The sooner they were able to get out of this place, the better.

"I'm so sorry, Peter," Emma said as she finally allowed herself to cry. The tears seemed to be coming out of her nonstop as she continued to stare down at him. "This is all my fault."

It was the first time Emma genuinely feared losing him.

Sure, she had nightmares about losing him from time to time but she never faced the possibility of actually losing him in real life. Now she knew what she feared more than anything.

It was never Rumlow.

It was losing Peter.

This was all her stupid fault. If she had never gone after Rumlow then Peter never would've followed her and gotten himself shot. If Emma had let go of Rumlow sooner then none of this would've happened. They'd still be on this Quinjet bored out of their minds.

"Please be okay," Emma begged desperately, not knowing who or what would listen. It was an odd sight to behold since Emma Rogers wasn't known to beg for anything. Peter Parker seemed to be an exception to that.

He seemed to be an exception to a lot of things.

"Please be okay and I'll be better to you. I promise," Emma continued to plead. With Peter or someone else, Emma didn't know. She just wanted him to be okay. She didn't care what it took. Emma would probably beg God to let him be okay and she didn't even believe in God.

"Please wake up, Peter," She said as she continued with her begging. "I love you so much. Don't do this to me."

Only time would tell if Peter would listen to her.

* * *

"What's going on?" Steve asked the billionaire as everyone stood in the hangar of the building. The mission had been a success so far. They had either apprehended or killed a great number of Hydra agents and Natasha had retrieved the flash drive they had been looking for. No one seemed to be injured either.

At least until now.

"I don't know. Emma said that the kid's been shot," Tony said and it seemed like he was in a dazed state as he tried to process this news. There was no doubting the worry and panic that filled his entire body at the news that the kid was injured bad. Tony couldn't remember ever feeling this panicked before. Maybe when he thought Killian had killed Pepper during that Extremis fiasco all those years ago. He couldn't really think of anything else to compare this feeling to.

"I heard what she said," Steve said, realizing that Tony must've misunderstood him in his state of panic. "I mean that I don't understand how he got shot. They're supposed to be on the Quinjet."

"Grow up, Steve," Natasha told him as she walked into the hangar. "Those two didn't stay on Quinjet. They probably went looking for Rumlow the first chance they got."

Bucky swallowed hard as he turned to look at his best friend.

"I told you that we shouldn't have let Emma come with us," Bucky told Steve and the super soldier didn't even argue with him at that point. He just looked crestfallen as he stood there in silence, trying to find something to say to that.

"Let's not play the blame game right now, guys," Clint said sternly with a serious look on his face. "We've got more important issues to deal with."

Wanda nodded in agreement with her mentor/father figure.

"Yes, how are we going to send the Quinjet back with Peter if we're still not done with things over here?" Wanda asked and she posed a very good question. Steve also had to commend her for getting things back on topic because they didn't really have a lot of time if Peter was injured like Emma said he was.

"Wanda's right," Steve finally said as he looked around the group. "We're going to have to figure out what to do."

"And _what_ are going to do?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow. Steve nodded to himself before answering her question as everyone watched him carefully for his answer. Even Tony listened in the midst of all his worrying about Peter.

He really couldn't get on the Quinjet any faster either.

The anticipation and his worried state was killing him.

"Emma and Tony will take the Quinjet back to the compound with Peter as soon as possible," Steve said in his captain-like tone of voice. "The rest of us will take care of business here as we get everything sorted. We still need to ransack this base and see what we can find. Not to mention Rumlow's still somewhere here. Dead or alive, we need to find him."

"How will we get back to the compound if Emma and Tony are taking the Quinjet?" Wanda inquired. Natasha answered this time.

"Someone will go with them so that they can bring another Quinjet back to us," Natasha suggested and Steve nodded in agreement. "It seems like it might be the only option we currently have."

"I'll go with them," Clint volunteered willingly. "Then I'll bring another Quinjet back."

"Great. So we're in agreement about this?" Steve asked as he looked around at everyone. "Clint will go with Tony and Emma as they take Peter back to the compound and then the rest of us will stay here to clean things up?"

"It sounds like a logical plan, Captain," T'Challa said solemnly and everyone else seemed to nod in agreement. Steve looked back to Tony who still had a blank look on his face, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

"You okay with this, Tony?" Steve asked and Tony finally broke out of his thoughts.

He blinked and looked up at Steve. It looked like the billionaire was scared out of his mind.

Tony nodded furiously.

Steve understood the feeling. He would feel exactly the same as Tony had Emma been the one to get shot.

"Yes," He said quickly. "I'll get back to the Quinjet immediately." Tony then looked to Clint, "Ready, Legolas?"

"Just like old times, right?" Clint retorted and this time Tony didn't have a witty comeback like he normally did. He was usually the person to have the last word. However, Tony had a lot on his mind. Mainly Peter.

Was Peter alright?

How bad were his wounds?

Why did he have to go and get himself shot?

God, this was all his fault for letting him come on this mission. Tony knew he wasn't ready for an Avengers' mission, yet he let him come anyways. He let both him and Emma come on the mission when they should've been the furthest away from this godforsaken place. If anything happened to Peter, Tony knew it was going to be on him.

But Tony voiced none of his worries.

He just grabbed Clint and flew them both out of the hangar, racing towards the closest exit. Hopefully, they would be able to get Peter back to the compound in time. If not then Tony didn't know what he was going to do.

Once Tony and Clint were out of sight, Steve turned back to the others. He noticed all their expressions were a little grim but that was to be expected. Everyone was worried about the kids. Steve was too but there was a lot they had to take care of before they could leave.

Believe him.

As soon as they were finished combing through the base for Rumlow, Steve would be right on his way back to the compound. A part of him wanted to be mad at Emma for taking off on her own like that but another part was worried about her. Was she injured too like Peter? Was she frightened? Steve hated to think so.

"Steve, maybe I should go with Stark and Barton," Bucky said with a desperate look in his eyes. He looked worried just like Tony but Steve suspected that it was Emma he was worried about above everything else. "What if she's injured too?"

"Tony didn't say anything about her being injured after she contacted him," Steve said reassuringly but it was more like he was trying to reassure himself. Bucky just shook his head.

"Then she must be scared out of her mind right now. She shouldn't be alone," Bucky argued and Steve just shook his head.

"She has Clint and Tony. I'm worried too, Buck, but she'll be safer at the compound," Steve said as he reasoned with his longtime friend. "We've gotta find Rumlow before it's too late. He might try to escape like last time."

A crestfallen expression came over Bucky's face as he realized that Steve was right. Emma would be safer away from this place and away from Rumlow. She would be safer if he killed Rumlow too.

That actually sounded like a good idea.

Bucky finally nodded, "You're right." Steve gave him a short nod before looking at all the others.

"T'Challa and Maximoff, you take care of things here in the hangar. Gather all the apprehended Hydra agents and find all the Tesseract-powered weapons you can," Steve said although he was kind of hesitant about giving T'Challa any orders. It just felt weird to him but T'Challa didn't seem to mind. He just wanted to get all those weapons accounted for.

"I'm already scanning the area for the weapons," T'Challa said and Wanda nodded as she went to gather up all the Hydra agents who hadn't been killed in the massive battle in the hangar.

"Romanoff, scope out the basement for any sign of Rumlow. The first whiff you get of him, alert me right away," Steve told her and Natasha nodded.

"Already on it, Cap," Natasha told him as she hurried off to investigate the basement of Hydra Headquarters. Bucky then turned to look at Steve.

"Where are we off to then?" He asked him and a determined look came over Steve's face.

It was clear what he was hoping to find.

Steve was really hoping to find Rumlow. Bucky just didn't know what Steve intended to do with Rumlow when he found him. Knowing Steve he'd want to do the right thing and have him taken to Raft but Bucky didn't think he could stand by and let Rumlow just go to prison after everything he had done. Knowing him, he'd probably be more than happy to sit in a cell all day and brag to the guards about what he did to Emma. No, Bucky wanted to silence him forever.

He didn't care what Steve had to say about that.

He didn't care about Steve's nobility either.

Bucky was going to make sure Rumlow paid for what he did.

"The third floor. That's where all the labs are and where Schmidt mostly kept to way back when. I suppose Rumlow might take some kind of sick pleasure from taking over Schmidt's hangout," Steve told him as they began walking in the opposite direction of Natasha, T'Challa, and Wanda. "Natasha already checked the second floor so there's a good chance he's somewhere on the third."

"Makes sense," Bucky stated, keeping it as vague as possible.

"We should be careful. Emma seemed to think that Rumlow might've used old samples of her blood for something...possibly human experimentation," Steve informed him and Bucky nodded. "The only question is if he used it on himself or not. If he's enhanced now then it could spell trouble for all of us."

"I don't care. The bastard's dead meat either way. Just wait until I get my hands on him," Bucky said, sounding almost excited to cause pain to Rumlow. Steve gave him a sharp look.

"We're only to apprehend him, Bucky," Steve said accordingly and Bucky clenched his jaw. He clearly didn't like the sound of that. "We'll only put him down if we have to."

"Steve, you know what that fucker did to Emma-"

"I know very well what he did to Emma!" Steve snapped which was unlike him. He paused in his steps for a moment as Bucky stared at him. The super soldier then closed his eyes, taking a deep calming breath as he collected himself. Steve suddenly opened his eyes and started moving once more. Bucky followed suit.

"Rumlow might be able to give us intel about other criminal activities and if there's any more Tesseract-powered weapons circling the black market," Steve said, more calmly this time. "He might also be able to tell us if there's any more samples of Emma or your blood out there. Killing him would be stupid and not to mention irresponsible...wrong. He'll get sent to Raft where he'll spend the remainder of his pathetic days with no human contact whatsoever."

"I don't care about weapons or blood samples," Bucky said darkly as he challenged Steve. "After what he did to Emma he'll be lucky if I let him die quickly."

Steve just stared at him. He wanted to tell Bucky that he wasn't going to do any such thing but Steve didn't want to waste any more time arguing with Bucky. So he just changed the subject, ignoring the murderous look in Bucky's eyes.

"Let's find him first," Steve said quietly as they continued in their walk up to the third floor of the building. Bucky didn't say anything as they started looking for Rumlow. He was just silent but Steve knew what he was planning. He just didn't know how he was going to stop Bucky from killing Rumlow.

More importantly, he didn't know how he was going to stop _himself_ from letting Bucky kill Rumlow.

* * *

Steve and Bucky hadn't spoken a word since they walked up the stairs to the third floor.

They didn't want to give themselves away to Rumlow who could've been anywhere in the vicinity. It didn't help that they were annoyed with each other over their difference in opinion on how to handle Rumlow. That might've also explained their silence.

The duo had already checked most of the rooms on the floor.

Most of the rooms were just old abandoned labs. Some of which hadn't been used in decades. They hadn't found anything so far but they needed to make sure they checked everything out. That they were very thorough in their search.

Steve with his shield and Bucky with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

It was a little too quiet on that second level if Steve and Bucky were being perfectly honest. This didn't give them any reassurance. Especially with Rumlow somewhere on the loose in the building.

For once, Bucky didn't like the silence.

Neither did Steve for that matter.

"You find anything yet, Romanoff?" Steve said over the earpiece. It only took the former Russian spy a moment to answer.

"Not yet, Steve," Natasha told him. "I've done a full sweep of the basement level but I've found nothing. I'm going to circle back around but I don't think he's down here."

"He must be up here with us then," Bucky murmured. Steve only spared him a glance before responding to Natasha.

"Keep an eye out then," Steve said before going about his way in checking all the rooms on the third floor.

"Look at this," Bucky said as he nodded towards the direction of a reinforced steel door.

The door was lying on its side against the wall, looking like it had been ripped off the doorway by someone very strong.

"Emma and Parker, you think?" Bucky inquired even though he knew the answer. Steve swallowed nervously before nodding.

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

"This is the way to Schmidt's lair," Steve whispered to Bucky as they went through the doorway and passed the broken looking door. "He's gotta be hiding in there. We already checked everywhere else."

"Unless he escaped already," Bucky said cynically and Steve took a deep breath before responding.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Steve told him before he noticed a trail of still wet blood on the ground. Bucky noticed it too.

Peter's blood.

"We're definitely getting close," Steve said grimly as he then focused his attention ahead of them. Bucky tore his gaze away from the ground and also looked straight ahead.

There was an opened door at the end of the hallway.

Bucky clenched his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and rested his finger firmly against the trigger of his gun. Even though Steve claimed that he had a responsibility to carry out, not having the luxury to just spin out of control and murder Rumlow, he also felt a certain amount of darkness wash over him.

Here they were approaching the man that caused so much death and pain in his family. From murdering his son and daughter-in-law to torturing and raping his granddaughter. There was an internal struggle coming over Steve as he felt torn between what he should and shouldn't do. On one hand, he knew Rumlow could have useful intel and the responsible thing to do would be to apprehend him before turning him over to Tony, Vision, and Rhodey.

That was the thing Captain America would do.

However, Steve didn't know if that's who he was anymore.

"Let's just take this one step at a time, Buck," Steve said in a low tone as they grew closer to the doorway. Bucky didn't respond as they finally walked into the room, no doubt facing the very person their anger was directed at.

Bucky didn't plan to take this one step at a time. He wanted to find Rumlow before torturing him slowly and finally killing him. Emma would finally be at peace while Bucky would feel satisfied in knowing the deranged man ceased to exist and had suffered for everything he did to Emma. Bucky's thoughts were then put on pause as he finally took in his surroundings as he and Steve entered the room.

The room was full of light...which was the first thing Bucky noticed about the room. Not from any electricity but from the massive window on the left wall. It brought a large amount of light into the otherwise dull and drab looking office/lab.

Steve clenched his jaw as he looked out the massive window and saw a view that was only a little too familiar to him. It was the same view he saw over seventy years ago when he faced Schmidt in this very same room. Everything felt a little too Deja Vu all of the sudden.

The place was a real mess.

You could tell there was a fight that went on in here which only confirmed what Steve and Bucky thought they knew. Emma made the severe mistake of facing Rumlow alone and somehow Peter got himself dragged into it. The puddle of blood told them this much as well as a small man lying on the floor next to a wall with a large looking dent in it.

Steve stooped down quickly to check the man's pulse and noticed that no such pulse existed.

The man was dead.

It didn't surprise Steve that much. The man was strewn across the floor like a ragdoll. His limbs bent in a disturbingly inhuman fashion for someone who was a normal looking human-being. His uniform was charred for some reason too as if he were burnt but Steve didn't smell any smoke.

"Dead?" Bucky questioned and Steve nodded before standing back up. There was a grave expression on Steve's face as he nodded once.

"Looks like it," Steve said as they both returned their attention to the rest of the room.

Tables were overturned, papers scattered the floor, and there was even a knife lying in the midst of it all. Steve's eyes widened as he recognized the knife he could tell was covered in blood.

It was Emma's knife.

He only knew this because it was the knife she carried around with her everywhere she went ever since they rescued her from Hydra. Emma only held it in such high regard because it was the knife Bucky made for her when they were in Hydra. The only gift she had ever gotten, Steve remembered her telling him. Bucky seemed to recognize it too despite making the knife when he was in a much different point in his life.

"Emma's knife," Bucky murmured and it wasn't the only thing strewn about the floor. They both spotted both Emma and Peter's masks lying on opposite sides of the room. The struggle that went on in this room became even more apparent.

However, before Steve could reply to Bucky, they both heard a groaning sound coming from the other side of the room. The former assassin held his gun back up, his eyes focused as he and Steve searched for the source of the noise.

It didn't take them long.

The two men's gazes then landed on an unfortunately familiar looking individual. Not unfortunate for them though.

Unfortunate for Brock Rumlow.

The man looked nothing like the man they both remembered. Rumlow looked almost like a zombie version of his old self with his decaying skin and weak form. It was pathetic, really, watching him moan and wither on the ground as he struggled to get up. Even with any enhancement, he may have his received, it still wasn't enough to get him up off that ground.

Truth be told Steve and Bucky were disappointed.

They were disappointed that they wouldn't be able to fight him and make him pay for Emma. Rumlow was clearly in no state to even fight back. Steve might've even felt sorry for him if he was someone else. Someone who hadn't murdered his son and daughter-in-law...someone who hadn't hurt his granddaughter in ways that caused Steve great pain to even think about.

"Get up, Rumlow, you piece of shit," Bucky said darkly as he kept his gun pointed at the man on the floor. Rumlow spat up quite a bunch of blood as he remained hunched over the floor, his breathing labored. Whether it was Emma or Peter, Rumlow had obviously taken a severe beating.

"Bucky-" Steve started to say but Bucky cut him off.

"Don't worry, Steve," Bucky said bitterly without even taking his cold, steely gaze off Rumlow despite the hate brewing in his heart. "I won't kill him. He's weak and pathetic. Killing him now would be merciful and it would give me absolutely no pleasure."

"You two are going to arrest me then?" Rumlow asked sarcastically before letting out a laugh much to their annoyance. "You're both fugitives yourself. Don't you see the irony in it?"

"You'll be facing the rest of your life in Raft," Steve said coldly, his face void of any emotion even though he could feel his blood practically boiling with anger. "No human contact, a cell all to yourself, and barely a pot for you to piss in."

"You're not going to read me my rights, Cap?" Rumlow said as he smirked at him. Steve just continued to stare at him blankly, fighting with all his might to control his anger. Bucky gave the deranged man a disgusted look before he subsequently grabbed him and pulled him up to his feet roughly.

"You're coming with us," Bucky growled as he then pushed the man forward, causing Rumlow to somehow stumble yet he still managed to regain his balance before falling.

It was too bad.

Bucky would've liked to see him fall.

They had only just begun walking to the door when he spoke.

Steve was leading them towards the door while Bucky stayed a distance behind Rumlow to make sure the man didn't try to run off or attack him. Although...Bucky thought he was much too weak to make such a bold move.

"I still remember that day, Captain," Rumlow said in a low voice. Steve didn't pause in his steps and neither did Bucky. They both knew Rumlow was only going to try to rile them up. "The day I killed your boy...Steven Jr."

Steve didn't say anything, forcing himself to ignore Rumlow as he clenched his jaw and tried his best bury all feelings of anger.

"You should rest well knowing that I made it quick. He didn't even see it coming," Rumlow continued to speak when Steve and Bucky didn't say anything. "Steven Jr. was never as bright as you and Emma. He was a little dumb now that I think about it. I'm surprised he didn't get himself killed sooner."

Rumlow then frowned when he realized that he wasn't going to provoke Steve with the re-telling of his son's death. The self-righteous captain seemed to have incredible control over his anger. He was always so calm and professional. That's what annoyed him most about Rogers during their days on the STRIKE team together. However, it was then that Rumlow thought of something that actually might provoke Steve.

As soon as the idea popped into Rumlow's head, he couldn't help but smirk.

 _Let's just see how much Rogers can play the nice guy now._

"You know, she was crying when I took her from her home," Rumlow said darkly which caused both Bucky and Steve to stiffen. They knew exactly who he was referring to. They didn't even have to wonder about it. "She was so scared that she pissed herself and begged her mommy and daddy to save her. The silly girl didn't realize they were dead."

"She didn't even know what death was but we taught her all about death, didn't we, Barnes?"

Bucky tried doing what Steve asked him to. He knew that Rumlow was only trying to provoke them and he didn't want to give the bastard the satisfaction even though this was overwhelmingly difficult. He cast his gaze over to Steve who still continued to walk ahead of them but Bucky noticed a tenseness in his best friend's shoulders.

They still didn't say anything so Rumlow continued.

"I'll never forget that night as long as I live," Rumlow finally said, taking the conversation a step further. "What's funny is that all those times we were on STRIKE team together and you had no idea that I fucked your granddaughter. You were completely oblivious. I have to say that gave me the greatest pleasure of all...that I knew something you didn't."

Steve finally stopped in his steps causing both Rumlow and Bucky to stop in their steps too. Bucky forced himself not to bash Rumlow's head in with his vibranium arm. He obviously knew what Rumlow was referring to but Bucky had to fight to control his anger. It might've been easy for Steve to control but not so much for him. The only thing holding Bucky back was the fact that Rumlow wanted this.

"She begged me to stop... _many_ times. Cried in pain when I took her but I knew she wanted it deep down," Rumlow said tauntingly. "She was so smug up until that point. Always laughing at me behind my back and bragging about her precious Winter Soldier but I taught her a lesson more valuable than any lesson you would've ever taught her."

"The little bitch didn't have any snide remarks after that. Hydra wanted to save her for Barnes over here but I couldn't have that," Rumlow bragged as Bucky's anger was at a boiling point. He didn't think he could handle Rumlow running his mouth for much longer. "It doesn't matter if you send me to that high-security prison...because I'll have that memory of her for as long as I live. I'll play it over and over again in my head and there's nothing you can do to stop me. That memory is mine forever."

Bucky growled as he took a step forward, one second away from pouncing on Rumlow and beating him to a bloody pulp before gutting him like a fish.

However, he never got the chance.

Steve, who seemed so calm and collected before, dropped his shield.

It clanged as it hit the floor which seemingly caused Bucky to pause in his anger and look up at Steve's back in surprise.

The super soldier then suddenly turned around so abruptly that neither Rumlow or Bucky could blink before Steve had the deranged man on the ground. Rumlow grunted as his back hit the ground while Steve hovered over him with a furious look on his face that looked completely unlike the fair, nice, and respectful Captain America the public had come to know and love for the past seventy years or so years.

Bucky could only watch Steve in shock.

Rumlow didn't know it but Steve had changed a lot while on the run.

Steve had been apart from Emma, his only blood relation left, for over a year but only to come home to find out the truth behind her distrustful and at times hostile behavior. Rumlow was no longer dealing with the Captain America the world looked up to. He wasn't the same Captain America that smiled at the camera during all those educational videos he did for schools across the country. Not the same one who used to believe that monsters didn't exist and people were just bullies.

This Captain America had been beaten and worn down for too long now. The tragedy of his granddaughter's childhood becoming a huge weight upon his shoulders because he knew it was all his fault. His fault because he hadn't been there when she needed him the most. Nothing could ever change that but he'd be damned if this man continued to torment her for the rest of her life. He had already failed Emma one too many times and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

Especially when Rumlow so smugly rubbed it in his face at how much he failed to protect her from the evil of some men in this world.

"Are you going to kill me, Rogers?" Rumlow asked smugly, his voice hoarse but a huge grin on his face as he looked up at Steve as Steve continued to stare down at him. The blonde and bearded man looked enraged but his eyes were filled with a combination of anger, sadness, and guilt. "You wouldn't do that. Not Captain America."

"I'm not the same man anymore," Steve whispered dangerously but it didn't seem like Rumlow cared because he smirked further before uttering the one sentence that made Steve snap.

The one sentence that finally allowed Steve to unleash all the rage he had been feeling ever since he woke up from the ice and found out about all that he had lost. It had been building up ever since then and now Steve's dark side finally came to light.

"I thought you should know, Cap…" Rumlow trailed off tauntingly before continuing his sentence and unknowingly sealing his fate that day. "She was _good_."

Steve let out a roar of anger which shocked both Rumlow and Bucky.

It seemed like Rumlow had overestimated Steve's need to do the right thing while he had underestimated just how much Steve cared for his granddaughter in the same instance. His eyes widened as Steve reared his fist back and before he could even fight back, the super soldier's fist connected with his face.

Steve didn't stop with one punch either.

Once he started, it was like he couldn't stop.

Steve landed punch after punch following his first one and he wasn't pulling his punches either.

Steve Rogers, always the fair fighter, was known to pull his punches against men much weaker than himself but Steve didn't seem to bother himself with fairness against Rumlow. He delivered a repeated pattern of punches without holding back and slowing down.

Bucky could only stand there and watch in surprise at the look of pure madness on his best friend's face. A look that was so unlike any look he had seen on his face before. Nothing like that small happy-go-lucky kid from Brooklyn. The same kid who was always looking for a fight.

This was so much different than just looking for a fight.

For a moment the look of rage on his face even reminded Bucky of Emma whenever she threw her temper tantrums in her younger, more reckless days.

Rumlow struggled underneath Steve as Steve beat him so bloody that his fists soon became stained with Rumlow's blood. The deranged man attempted to throw Steve off but his attempts were futile. He was weak and Steve was not.

Bucky thought Steve would stop but he didn't. Bucky also didn't feel quite so inclined to stop him either as he just stood there and watched Steve beat the man to death.

He'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it.

Steve only paused in his violent fit of anger long enough to fix Rumlow with one last furious glare. He pulled Rumlow up by the throat so the barely breathing man could look him in the eyes.

"You don't get to exist in the same world as her," Steve growled and Rumlow tried to reach his hand out in a pathetic attempt to beg for his own life but he never got the chance.

The super soldier then slammed his head back against the ground, a sickening crack being heard through the room as his skull broke like glass under Steve's strength.

Bucky thought that it would be the end of it but Steve didn't cease in his heavy-handed punches.

The angry and hateful look on Steve's face was just as present as before as he delivered another round of punches. Bucky was completely certain that Rumlow was dead at that point but Steve didn't seem to care or notice. Steve flattened the man's head like a pancake, leaving him unrecognizable. Even when there was barely anything left of Rumlow's face other than blood, bone fragments, and brain matter, Steve still didn't stop in his anger.

It was then that Bucky realized that he was finally going to have to intervene. There was no other way other than finally stopping him. Steve obviously wasn't going to stop himself.

The former assassin then carefully reached out to Steve, dropping his gun on the floor.

"Steve," Bucky spoke softly but Steve still didn't stop.

"Steve," Bucky said louder and Steve was no closer to stopping.

It was like he was in his own little world so Bucky realized that he was going to have to approach this like he used to with Emma. If he didn't then Steve wasn't going to stop until he beat his fists into the ground and hurt himself.

Bucky, without any further hesitance, reached forward and roughly pulled Steve off Rumlow, bringing the super soldier to his feet.

Steve resisted him for a moment as Bucky kept his arms wrapped tightly around him, refusing to lessen his grip on his friend.

"He's dead, Steve. He's dead," Bucky said harshly, trying to get him to snap out of whatever state he was in. "You killed him. He's not getting back up."

Steve's chest heaved with anger before he finally began to calm down from his fit of rage. His gaze was fixated on the unrecognizable man on the ground. His surroundings slowly came back into his focus as he remembered where he was.

Swiss Alps.

Hydra.

Emma.

Bucky.

Rumlow.

"It's over, Steve."

Bucky's voice finally brought Steve back into reality. A lost look came over his face as he looked from Rumlow's limp body to his own fists which were now covered in blood that was not his own. Blood that had also sprayed onto his face during his frenzied rage while beating Rumlow. Steve was fairly sure he was covered in blood at this point.

Hardly any of it his own.

"Wanda, Romanoff, and T'Challa have already retrieved all the other agents and weapons. Barton's almost here with another Quinjet," Bucky told him calmly as he finally let go of Steve once realizing that Steve had finally calmed down. "Let's go home. Stark will take care of the rest."

They both knew home meant Emma.

Steve didn't say anything except for nodding as Bucky started to lead him away from Rumlow's dead body. He might've picked up Emma's discarded knife from the floor as well as her and Peter's masks but Steve hardly noticed. He was still in an odd sort of state after his fit of rage.

Tony had once questioned whether or not Steve had a dark side, believing that Steve was immune to anger and darkness. The billionaire was more wrong about that than he had ever been wrong about anything before. Because Steve did, in fact, have a dark side and it was far more ugly than anything he ever could've imagined.

 _"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old-fashioned."_

 _"Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet."_

It was true.

Tony really hadn't seen his dark side yet. Maybe he caught a glimpse of it in Siberia but that was different. That didn't involve Emma and this did.

Steve, unlike Tony, kept his anger bottled up inside until he reached a boiling point and his anger erupted like some kind of volcano. Of course, this was the first time in his almost one hundred years of existence that he had ever let his anger go this far. And it was always going to have something to do with Emma because Steve never loved anyone as much as he loved her.

He loved Bucky like a brother, he loved Peggy like a lover, and he loved all his teammates too but Emma was different. She was his whole universe and he would do anything to keep her from getting hurt. He felt as though he could lose everyone in the entire world but he would make it out alright if he still had her.

But it begged the question…

Did Steve feel guilty for so easily losing control?

He looked over his shoulder at Rumlow's corpse as they began to leave the room. The super soldier then quickly turned his head back around to look forward as they entered the hallway.

No, he didn't feel guilty at all.

In fact, he felt a wave of relief that washed over him. A feeling he hadn't felt in quite some time and it was all because of one simple fact.

Rumlow would never have any kind of memory of her again.

She was free.


	87. Chapter Seventy Nine

**Author's Note: So I'm really sorry about another long wait before updating. Especially after such a large chapter like the last one. Obviously that chapter was really dark and I kind of needed a break from writing such dark material as lame as that sounds. I also got a job so that's taken up a lot of my time. I really want my update schedule to be more consistent now that there's only about three to four chapters of the story left(not including the epilogue) after this chapter.**

 **Did you guys see Captain Marvel? It explained so much about everything. I loved how Fury lost his eye. That was genius. I also loved Carol's cockiness. I just found that awesome and I feel like she and Emma could get along a lot in the future. I'm also thinking of someday making them really good friends. They'd have an interesting dynamic.**

 **The movie might also mess with a couple things in my story but I've kind of worked that out.**

 **Important Message!**

 **SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN MARVEL INCLUDED IN THIS MESSAGE SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE THEN SkIP THIS MESSAGE!**

 **The Timeline of the Tesseract in the STNS Universe:**

 **1942- Johann Schmidt steals the Tesseract from devout Asgardian worshippers in Tonsberg and uses it to develop advanced weaponry for Hydra.**

 **1945- Howard Stark retrieves the Tesseract from arctic waters after searching for Steve Rogers. Howard Stark keeps the Tesseract and Shield later takes official possession of it while Howard experiments with it's energy to develop new technology and a new super soldier serum(AKA Emma's super soldier serum).**

 **1984- After creating, what Howard hoped was, a successful super soldier serum and beginning the process for readying the serum for human trials for government testing, Howard then returns the Tesseract back to Shield as he oversees perfecting the serum until it's ready by his standards.**

 **1985- Shield lends the Tesseract to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in exchange for all their notes on their research and their plans for developing a light speed engine.**

 **1989- Kree scientist Mar-Vell, disguised as human scientist Dr. Wendy Lawson, decides to test the finished light speed engine that was created with the Tesseract. Air Force Pilot Carol Danvers volunteers to fly the prototype aircraft and during their test flight the two are ambushed by the Kree. They crash and when Danvers destroys the power core, she is exposed to Tesseract energy and receives her powers from it.**

 **1991- Howard and Maria Stark are assassinated by the Winter Soldier in the service of Hydra in order to steal Howard Stark's super soldier serum created with Tesseract energy. Hydra tests this serum on their elite squad of deadly assassins who soon become incapable of psychologically accepting the serum and are driven to madness by the side effects of the serum. The squad of assassins are soon put in the Cyro-Chamber until Hydra can figure out how to fix the problem which they never do.**

 **1995-Carol Danvers retrieves the Tesseract from Mar-Vell's laboratory. Goose swallows the Tesseract and keeps it safe before she at some point regurgitates it on Fury's desk at Shield headquarters.**

 **1997- Alexander Pierce "borrows" the Tesseract from Shield's vaults and gives it to Shield/Hydra scientists to develop advanced weaponry, continuing Johann Schmidt's plans from the 1940s. They experiment with the Tesseract under Shield's nose for several years before storing their weapons for safekeeping in preparation for Project Insight.**

 **2008- Emma Rogers is injected with Howard Stark's super soldier serum and the injection is successful, making her the second human to be exposed to Tesseract energy without any severe consequences like her predecessors at Hydra. Although, she is exposed to a much smaller dose of Tesseract Energy than Carol Danvers.**

 **2012- After Shield conducts more research on the Tesseract, Loki steals it and uses it to open a wormhole into space for a Chitauri invasion. Natasha Romanoff was also able to use the Tesseract to close said wormhole and the Tesseract was returned to Thor. It goes with him and Loki back to Asgard.**

 **2013- The Tesseract is used to repair the Rainbow Bridge and Heimdall is tasked with looking after it but that changes when Loki disguises himself as Odin, charging Heimdall with treason. The Tesseract is then placed in Odin's vault.**

 **2017- During the final fall of Hydra, The Avengers cease Hydra's weapons powered by Tesseract Energy and destroy them all.**

 **Notice I don't include anything after the current point in the story because I definitely don't want to reveal any spoilers for my own story.**

 **I have to say I totally wasn't expecting Carol to be exposed to Tesseract Energy much like Emma was which is kind of a happy coincidence that I think I can make work in my story. It definitely gives me a new insight into what Emma's newfound powers could look like but I'm not going to make her exactly the same as Carol. I don't think she'll be as powerful because Emma was injected with a small, concentrated dose of Tesseract Energy while Carol was basically exposed to a blast of Tesseract Energy. That's all I'll say for now.**

 **END OF SPOILERS!**

 **WARNING!**

 **I'm also going to say that this chapter is very much rated M. There's not an actual sex scene in it but towards the end it gets kind of smutty. I think you'll know when so just skip it if you don't like reading that. I'm always a little worried about steamier parts of the story because I always worry if I put too much or too little. But this story is rated M, after all, so I guess it should be expected anyways.**

 **Now onto the reviews…**

 **I've recently made the decision to just answer the guest reviewers on the author's note because otherwise it takes hours to write responses to reviewers. I should've done this ages ago but I think I started this story when I barely had a couple reviewers but I have six pages of reviews now so I can't even imagine how long this author's note would be. I probably should've updated sooner. Not that I'm not grateful for the reviews because I really am. Believe me when I say how much I love reviews and how much they can motivate me. You guys are the best readers ever and I appreciate every review you send me. Reviews are kind of like my drug, I guess. So anyways...I'll probably go back and respond to a lot of reviews from last chapter since I didn't come up with this decision until now. So if you get a response to a review that you don't remember writing, that's because I make last minute decisions.**

 **Geena: Thank you so much! I spend so much time and effort writing the last chapter which is probably one of the longest chapters of the story so that means a lot.**

 **Rose Holland: I think Peter might be a little more than okay as you'll read in this chapter. He's not an average human so a couple bullets aren't going to keep him down.**

 **Key: I'm glad you love the story so much! I'm really happy where I ended things with Rumlow. I feel like now that Emma's move on in that way that she can be more happy and leave her past in her past. The stuff that happened in Hydra will always affect her but she can still move on somewhat and be happy. Steve also needed to be the one to do it in my opinion because he's probably been hurt the most by everything Hydra did to his family if you think about it. I also thought it would show a different side of him. There will be more Emma, Peter, and Tony moments to come. There's not a lot of Tony or Steve in this chapter but there will be more in the next. There's plenty of Bucky, May, Emma, and Peter though. Thor will probably find Emma and Loki's friendship disturbing as many will. I love the idea of them having kids too so hopefully someday I might reach that point in this story. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have the amount of kids they have planned out as well as the genders and names.**

 **anonanon: I know it started off kind of slow but I felt like Emma and Peter needed to have a talk before shit went down and especially since they didn't get a talk in the last chapter. I didn't want to compromise Peter's personality or morals which is why I didn't have him be the one who killed Rumlow. I didn't really want to do that to him because I felt like it would change him too much.**

 **eager reader: I mean, there definitely won't be anything creepy going on between Emma and Loki in the Ragnarok storyline since Emma's underage and Loki's like two thousand years old(I can't remember if it was one thousand or two). Emma did happen to have a low-key crush on Loki which all the Avengers found disturbing so it'll kind of be like her meeting her idol. Loki might like how insane Emma is and how different she is from the Avengers. I want to write the AU where Emma and Loki are a couple before Peter steals her away badly so there's definitely chemistry there but nothing to worry about. So there's a tiny sneak peek into the sequel.**

 **Ayytekashi69: I used to have a more consistent update schedule which was once a week but lately I've been slacking off because of life so I kind of update whenever I can. I know that's terrible but my life has gotten pretty busy lately. Thank you! I'm glad you're a fan.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I really appreciate it. Thanks for all the follows and favorites too which I say every chapter but I legitimately mean it. You guys are the best. Please let me know what you think of the new chapter.**

* * *

It felt like hours.

That was the only thought that registered in Emma's mind as the Quinjet headed for the compound at top speed. It still wasn't fast enough for her liking. Not as she was forced to do nothing but stand at Peter's bedside and hope that he didn't start convulsing. One time during the journey he gave her a fright when he started puking in his unconscious state. She had to turn him over so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit.

Tony had been busy on the phone trying to get the best surgeon in New York over to the compound. He was able to pull some strings and call in some favors but Emma hadn't paid much attention to what Tony was doing. She was too caught up in the paleness of Peter's face to trouble herself with Tony. Emma was sure Clint was busy piloting the Quinjet too. Autopilot mode didn't go at the speed they were going so they needed a human pilot. Clint seemed to do the trick but he wasn't piloting the Quinjet fast enough for Emma's liking.

After Tony got off the phone, he came over to take a look at Peter.

Probably to have Friday check his vitals.

Emma didn't really know.

He spoke to her but it sounded like he was underwater. Her attention was solely on Peter so anything Tony might've told her went right over her head. She was even vaguely aware of the fact that he rested his hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. Something that brought her little to no comfort at all.

When they finally landed Tony and herself quickly rushed him off the Quinjet with Peter still passed out on the hospital bed. The aircraft had only barely touched the ground as Emma and Tony wheeled the hospital bed down the ramp and onto the landing pad.

There was already a team of people waiting there, a surgeon ahead of the small crowd of people. Emma assumed this was the surgeon Tony called in. He must've had Pepper fly her over to the compound. That explained how fast the surgeon had gotten there.

The surgeon and her team of staff on hand quickly took the hospital bed from Emma and Tony before running with it as they hurried Peter off to the medical ward of the compound. Emma and Tony chased after them, ignoring confused looks from Rhodey, Vision, and Sam who didn't quite know what was going on. They had been informed of an injury that had occured on the mission but they hadn't known anything other than that...until now.

Emma and Tony followed the surgeon and her staff until they rushed Peter off into a separate room within the medical ward. One of the staff told them they'd have to wait outside so here Emma and Tony were waiting outside the room, while the surgeon and her staff performed the surgery, forced to just watch from a window outside. Poor May had fainted when she heard the news of Peter's injury so Helen Cho had taken her to the medical ward where she was currently passed out on one of the beds.

As if Emma didn't already feel like the worst person ever…

"He's going to be fine, Emma," Tony told her but it also sounded like he was reassuring himself, not just her, when he said that. "You know how fast Peter heals."

"But he's not immune to bullets, is he?" Emma snapped and Tony watched as her sudden anger faded just as soon as it appeared. A certain sadness seemed to come over her as she started crying. The way she cried surprised Tony because he had never seen her cry before. Not like this, at least, and not at this age. He had seen her cry as a baby and had only seen a tear or two shed from her face as an older person...a near woman.

However, he had never seen her break down into tears like this.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Emma said as she cried, her face wet with tears. She tried to hide herself from Tony out of embarrassment, turning her back on him as she rested her hand against the window into the surgery room, but Tony could see her shoulders shaking as she cried. "It's not your fault. It's...it's mine."

"Emma-" Tony tried to tell her and Emma shook her head furiously.

"It _is_ my fault, Tony. I went after Rumlow and he followed me," Emma told him, looking more hysterical than Tony ever thought she could be. "I didn't mean for him to follow me but he still did. God, why did he do that?"

"Emma, calm down," Tony tried to tell her but she wasn't any closer to calming down.

"It's all my fault that he's in there. What if they can't fix him? What if he d-dies?" Emma said worriedly. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Tony didn't hesitate this time in wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Emma, for once, didn't stiffen or threaten him like she normally did. In fact, she buried her face into his shoulder and just cried. Tony held her there, stroking her back soothingly like he did once when she was a toddler. She had only been three at the time and he was stuck watching her while Steven and Margot had a date night. Emma had a nightmare and Tony was forced to comfort her.

He knew she didn't remember but _he_ always would.

This was just like then.

"He's not going to die. I've got the best surgeon in the country, probably the world, working on him," Tony whispered softly to her as Emma cried in his arms. "I'll make sure he doesn't die."

"It's all my fault," She continued to cry and Tony shook his head.

"No, it's not," Tony said, not wanting Emma to blame herself for any of this. She would only manage to make herself feel worse in the process.

"I'm supposed to take care of him," Emma cried, sniffled and Tony pulled away to look back at her. Tears were streaming down her face as Tony looked her in the eyes, maintaining eye contact to make sure that Emma didn't look away.

"It's not your job to take care of him. It's mine," Tony told her gruffly, trying to make sure she listened to him and not blame herself. He kind of knew that would be asking the impossible but he had to try. "If it's anyone's fault then it's mine."

"He's going to be okay, Emma," Tony said but it was almost like he was trying to reassure himself once more. "Peter's strong. He'll pull through."

"I don't know what I'll do if he dies. Tony, I can't be without him," Emma said, sounding incredibly terrified. It seemed like Rumlow had escaped her mind in the midst of worrying about Peter. Emma now felt incredibly stupid for ever thinking Rumlow could be more important than Peter.

Now Peter was paying the price for her stupidity.

"Listen to me, Emma," Tony told her seriously. "He's not going to die. It's going to be okay."

Emma didn't know how long she just stood there, looking into the medical ward of the facility, as she tried to see how the doctors were working on Peter. It was difficult to see anything because there was curtains drawn as well as people moving around the room as they began operating on the young hero. Emma couldn't see him but she knew he was in there.

"They told me Peter's injured. Where is he?" May Parker asked frantically as she rushed into into the hallway outside the medical ward. She must've woken up from her unconscious state. Emma and Tony looked back at the worried looking woman in surprise, not having expected to see her there.

Emma felt at a loss for words as she stared at May.

This was the woman who she promised she'd look after her nephew. Emma felt that it was difficult to now look at May because she had failed so spectacularly. She swallowed hard but remained silent as she waited for the inevitable look of blame and resentment for when May found out that Emma had failed in protecting Peter.

Tony took a deep breath before taking a few long strides to the panicked looking aunt.

"The mission was a success but Peter managed to get injured in the process," Tony said as he tried to break the news softly to her. There wasn't really a way to break news like this though.

"Where. Is. He?" May demanded, her eyes narrowing into a glare as she looked at Tony. The billionaire had a guilt ridden look on his face before he finally said the news he was hesitant in sharing with her. He already knew how May was going to react.

"He's in surgery," Tony finally told the brunette woman who just stared silently at him. "He took three gunshots in the abdomen."

It was silent for all but two minutes before May slapped Tony.

Even Emma flinched in surprise at the sound of the slap but Tony remained unmoving. Almost as if he were expecting it. It probably wouldn't be the first time he had been slapped by a woman but Emma could tell that Tony was feeling very guilty.

"You promised me that you would protect him," May said, tears falling from her eyes as she looked between Tony and the window into the medical ward. Her view of Peter was obstructed by curtains and numerous doctors but she knew he was in there.

"I know," Tony said quietly, looking as guilty as he probably felt. May just shook her head, trying to find some calmness in herself before asking about how serious his condition was. She couldn't afford to be pissed at Tony right now. Not when Peter was in there with gunshot wounds.

"What's his condition? Is it serious?" May questioned, wondering if she was a terrible aunt for letting her nephew doing the crime fighting thing in the first place. What was she thinking? He was sixteen. What was she thinking letting him walk into danger like that? What would Ben have said?

"It's three gunshots in his abdomen so it's pretty bad. Normally it would've been worst but Peter has an amazing healing factor," Tony told her despite the guilt he felt in failing both Peter and May. "They just need to remove the bullets before they do any internal damage but I've got the best surgeon in the country on it and an amazing team of doctors here in the compound so he's going to be alright."

"Really?" May asked, still looking worried and Tony nodded.

"He's only been in there for ten minutes so it'll still be a little while but he's going to be fine," Tony told her, fully believing that Peter would be just fine like he told Emma. "He's Peter. A couple bullets aren't going to take him down."

May nodded again, taking in this information while at the same time trying not to have a panic attack.

"Okay...so now we wait," May said and Tony nodded.

"Now we wait," Tony confirmed. May didn't say anything as she leaned up against the wall and looked through the window. It was no use because they still couldn't see anything but May knew he was in there so she'd wait here until his surgery was over.

Emma watched May quietly from the other side of Tony. She knew that May's anger and slap should've been meant for her. Not Tony.

It wasn't Tony's fault that Peter got injured. It was Emma's fault for even going after Rumlow in the first place. She should've known Peter would follow her no matter what because she would've done the same thing for him. He had taken three bullets for her and now he was paying the price.

Emma just hoped that nothing went wrong during the surgery. She would never be able to live with herself if something happened to Peter because of her. Tony tried to take her guilt away but it wasn't working. She still felt guilty for putting Peter's life on the line like that because she was being selfish in wanting revenge against Rumlow.

What would she say to Peter when he woke up?

 _If_ he woke up...

* * *

Peter's surgery was officially over about an hour and a half later.

The surgeon told May that he was going to be just fine although it might be a short while before he woke up. He just needed to rest until then but he was already healing incredibly fast due to his healing factor so it wouldn't be long before he woke up.

Steve, her father, Wanda, and T'Challa had returned to the compound after Vision and Rhodey took another one of the Quinjets to Hydra Headquarters to finish overseeing the clean up of the building. Emma, however, had no time to see Steve and her father. She was too preoccupied with how Peter was doing and she knew Steve and her father were just fine anyways.

The blonde slowly made her way into the recovery room of the medical ward. She had been waiting anxiously for the opportunity to finally see Peter. Emma decided to let May have time with him before she intruded. Well, that and Emma felt afraid of how May might look at her if she walked into the recovery room to see Peter. Emma imagined accusatory looks which would make her feel even more worthless.

When Emma finally walked into the recovery room, she was taken back by the sight of him.

Peter lay asleep, seemingly peaceful if not for the angry looking bruises on his face and gunshot wounds, in the hospital bed. It seemed like the doctor had dressed him up in the compound's version of a hospital gown which was really probably just sweats and a plain white t-shirt. He was hooked up to a heart monitor which was showcasing a steady heart rate.

Peter didn't look nearly as bad as he looked before. Some of the color was returning to his cheeks instead of how pale he looked before when he was bleeding out in her arms. Emma knew this was more than likely due to his healing factor. She wished his healing factor was faster like hers was because she was going insane with worry.

"Emma, you're here," May said from Peter's bedside as she gave the teenage girl a small smile. Emma stared at her with an unreadable look on her face. She expected a lot of looks from May but a smile was definitely not what she had been expecting. Angry and accusatory looks but not something in the form of a small, encouraging smile.

"Hi," Emma said quietly as she walked into the room and gave Peter a long look. "How is he?"

"He's looking better than before. The doctor said that he's going to make a full recovery so I'm hoping that he'll be just fine," May told her as Emma found that she was unable to tear her gaze away from him. "They managed to get all the bullets out. They said he'll probably wake up soon. Probably tonight."

"That's good," Emma said, taking a seat in the one next to May's.

"I was so worried about him," May said, staring longingly at her nephew's face. "He's going to be fine but I'm wondering if I'm a terrible aunt for letting him do this in the first place."

"You're not a terrible aunt," Emma told the older woman, quick to correct her. "Peter's always been a do-gooder. Probably before the spider bite too, right?"

"Yes, he was," May said, smiling a bit at the thought of her kind nephew. "He's always wanted to save everyone. People, animals...everyone."

"Your nephew's really stubborn," Emma said sadly, knowing the truth behind her statement better than anyone.

Peter, why couldn't you have stayed behind like I wanted?

Why did you have to go after me?

"I know he is," May said, sounding a little amused and Emma all of a sudden felt overcome with that familiar feeling of guilt. She didn't know why May was being so nice to her. Emma didn't deserve it.

"What happened to Peter isn't Tony's fault," Emma told May who looked confused. "It's my fault."

"What?" May questioned and Emma nodded, not quite meeting May in the eye.

"I'm the one who wanted to go after Rumlow. We were supposed to stay on the Quinjet but I went after Rumlow and Peter followed me," Emma told her and May was surprised to see the normally calm blonde's eyes flooding with tears. "I locked him behind a door to try and keep him from following me but he must've found a way through. Those bullets were meant for me. They weren't meant for him so don't be mad at Tony. I'm the one responsible."

Emma expected May to become angry at her. To yell at her or maybe even slap her like she slapped Tony earlier. However, May did no such thing. She just gave Emma a sympathetic look.

"I don't blame you, Emma," The brunette woman told her much to Emma's surprise. "I was only mad at Tony because I wanted someone to blame."

"But Peter got shot because of me," Emma tried to tell her but May shook her head.

"My nephew is remarkably stubborn, Emma. It's a Parker family trait so you better get used to it. His father and uncle were the same way," May told the blonde sadly as she looked back at her. "You can't tell him what to do and expect that he'll listen. My only comfort is the fact that I think you're stubborn too so you won't let him get away with everything."

"I should've protected him better. I promised you that I would-" Emma started to say but May stopped her before she could finish.

"It's kind of hard to protect someone who's hell-bent on protecting you," May pointed out before continuing. "He told me about what that man Rumlow did to you."

Emma swallowed hard before glancing down at her lap, unable to look May in the eyes.

"How much did he tell you?" Emma asked quietly and May gave her a sad look. It wasn't a look of pity but just a look any person would give a child who had been hurt so much. It was a look full of sympathy and compassion.

"Enough for me to get the picture," May told her, not looking judgemental like how Emma imagined people would look at her after learning the truth. "You've suffered so much in your short life that it breaks my heart. I wish you hadn't."

"Peter loves you a lot, Emma. I don't think you'll ever understand just how much he loves you," May told her as she continued and Emma silently listened to her. "I have to admit that it scares me just how serious things are between you. You're both so young but I also have to acknowledge that you've both found each other in less than ordinary circumstances. It makes sense that everything's that much more serious for the both of you."

"I love him a lot too," Emma told her honestly and May smiled, tears flooding her own brown eyes.

"I know you do," May told her. "I also know that you would do the same thing he did for you today. You've proven that in the past so you'll always have my blessing, Emma."

"I don't always feel like I deserve him. He's too good for me," Emma said sadly, tears streaming down her face which took May by surprise. She had never seen the usually cool and aloof blonde in such an emotional state. It might've brought May some comfort at the same time to know that there was someone else out there now too who cared about her nephew that much.

"I think you do deserve him. Don't belittle yourself, Emma," May told her as she put her arm around the teenage girl and brought her in for a hug. She might've believed that Emma would pull away but she was left surprised as Emma buried her face in May's neck which broke May's heart. This told May that Emma had probably gone a long time without any motherly affection. Every girl needed a mother in May's opinion. "You're not a bad person. You've just been through a lot of bad things."

Emma didn't say anything as she allowed herself to just cry and seek comfort in May's arms. It was a different kind of comfort than what Steve, her father, or even Tony could provide. This was comfort only a mother could give her and it was something Emma hadn't felt since her mother was still alive. Her mother used to hold Emma just like this and whisper sweet-nothings to her so that she'd stop crying. Emma didn't realize that it was a comfort she missed until now.

"It's going to be okay, Emma," May whispered to her softly as she soothingly rubbed Emma's back, knowing the poor girl needed all the love and affection she could get. "He'll wake up in a few hours and you'll see that all these tears were for nothing."

"He's going to be just fine."

Emma really hoped so.

* * *

Emma didn't know how long she had stared into the cup of coffee she was making for May. It could've been one minute or it could've been an hour. She had been staring into the cup of coffee for the longest time, slowly stirring it with a stirring stick. Emma didn't know what she hoped to find in there but her mind was far away.

"Are you okay?" Emma broke out of her thoughts and turned her head only to see her father standing there with a look of concern on his face.

When did he walk into the lunch room?

Emma hadn't heard him which was odd since she was usually so alert. Everything that happened at Hydra Headquarters seemed to have taken a toll on her. Between Rumlow and then Peter becoming injured, she barely had a moment to herself. Not to mention she only got a couple hours of sleep the night before. Emma was overwhelmingly exhausted.

"I'm fine," Emma lied as she finished stirring the coffee and put a lid on it. Peter had been out of surgery for a few hours now and he still hadn't woken up. This was what had Emma worried because she really just wanted him to wake up so she knew he'd be okay.

"You look really tired. When was the last time you slept?" Her father asked her after noticing the bags under her eyes. Emma shrugged.

"I don't remember. I don't need much sleep anyways," Emma tried to tell him and Bucky immediately frowned.

"You might tell Stark and the others that but I'm like you, Emma. I know that you still need a lot of sleep," He told her and Emma felt her frustration intensify in that moment. "You should go lay down for a while. You won't do anyone any good as exhausted as you are."

"And how can I sleep with Peter up there in his hospital bed still unconscious?!" Emma finally snapped much to Bucky's surprise. "It's not like you care anyways. You're probably disappointed he didn't just bite it in the first place."

"Emma, that's not true," Bucky immediately protested, still a bit taken back at the way she snapped at him. He heard about what happened to Peter when he and Steve finally returned to the compound. To say Bucky felt guilty about the way he acted towards Peter, despite everything, was an understatement. "I'm not happy that he got injured."

"Aren't you? You hate him," Emma said bitterly, still angry with her father for not accepting Peter. "I've never asked much from you and the one time I finally did ask you for something, you shot me down. I told you how much he means to me and how happy he makes me and you don't even care. You acted like I was some silly little girl high on teenage hormones."

"I don't think you're silly. I never have," Bucky said quietly and Emma scoffed.

"It's ironic that we've stolen together, fought together... _killed_ together yet it's a boy you can't approve of," Emma retorted and Bucky flinched at the memory of their past together.

For some reason Emma looked fondly back at their time in Hydra. Not in the service of Hydra but just when they were together out in the field. Like it was normal father-daughter stuff they did together. Bucky looked back at that time and he looked at how much he failed her as a father but also as her mentor.

"He's a part of my life now. Why can't you understand that?"

"Because I'm afraid," Bucky finally blurted and Emma recoiled in surprise. She looked at her father in bewilderment. The former assassin sighed heavily before finally talking to Emma about his feelings which he had kept bottled up for a while. The two were alike in that sense.

"When I was on the run, one of the few things that kept me going was the thought of one day returning to you," Bucky told Emma sadly. "I was trying to get my head together enough for you not to be in any danger around me. I wanted to be better for you."

"Papa, you've always been perfect to me," Emma said softly, feeling sad that he would think he wasn't good enough for her.

"I didn't even know who I was when I left Hydra. I knew you would be better off with Steve and the rest of the Avengers," Bucky told her even though Emma still didn't believe that. "But I promised myself that I would straighten myself out and when we met again I would be the person I used to be. I knew that person was good enough to be your father."

"But then things didn't get that much better," Bucky said as he let her in on his life while he had been on the run. "Who was I kidding? I was a former assassin on the run from the law with zero money to my name. All my memories were like puzzle pieces I tried to fit together but could never get right. Then there was the fact that Hydra's programming never left my brain."

"Papa…" Emma trailed off, not knowing what to say to him but he just continued.

"I lived in Romania for a while...before Steve found me," Bucky told her which Emma kind of already knew. "I did little odd jobs around town to get by. It was nice there, quiet even, and I tried to imagine what it would be like if you lived there with me. Just the two of us. Not as the Winter Soldier and the Viper Assassin but as you and me. Emma and Bucky."

"I think about that a lot too. You, me, and Steve," Emma said softly, knowing deeply within herself that it had always been a dream of hers for all of them to live together peacefully...in a perfect world. "That's all I've ever wanted."

"I just…" Bucky trailed off as he tried to find the right words to say. "I just always pictured us picking up where we left off. I never expected that you would move on with your life with school, friends, and...your boyfriend."

"It's not that I'm not happy that you've moved on because I am. No one deserves more happiness than you but I…" Bucky paused, taking a deep breath before finishing his sentence. "It just scares me how much you've grown up. You have to understand that those days were you barely came up to my hip...well, those days don't feel that far away for me. Especially because of the ice."

"I thought I'd come back and you would still be little but you're not. You're almost a woman now and you have a life without me," Bucky said sadly, causing Emma to finally look at him in understanding. She now knew that this was never about Peter.

It was about her father getting scared that she would leave him behind and cut him out of her life.

"I don't hate Peter. I just don't want to lose you again."

Bucky then looked down at his hands, looking more shy than Emma had ever seen him be before. She now felt stupid for thinking that her father hated Peter for no reason. Things were usually not that simple where her father was concerned. She should've known he felt that way about her because Emma felt similarly about him when she saw Darcy flirting with him. There was a fear that he would move on without her and that scared Emma.

"You're not going to lose me," Emma told him now that she understood the reasoning behind her father not accepting her relationship with Peter. "Papa, I haven't forgotten about you. I've missed you every day since we've been apart and I've never thought you weren't good enough to be my father. You have to stop thinking that you're not good enough. You were there for me when no one else was and I'll never forget that."

"I was always too selfish and-" Bucky started to say but Emma stopped him, giving him a glare.

"Stop talking like that," Emma told him seriously. "I'm tired of you cutting yourself down like that. My childhood might not have been pleasant but I always think that at least I had you through all of it. So don't take that away from me."

"That's not what I meant," Her father told her and Emma shook her head.

"I know but you have to stop acting like you're not good enough for me," Emma said sincerely as she looked him in the eyes. It didn't escape Bucky that she didn't have to look up much to meet his gaze, reminding him yet again that she wasn't a little girl anymore. "People keep telling me about my parents. What good people they were and how much they loved me but it's like they're talking about a couple of strangers. I appreciate what they did for me but I don't know them as my parents. Not really."

"You and Steve are my parents," Emma told Bucky much to his surprise. "I missed you and Steve every day since you were gone. There wasn't a day that went by where I didn't miss the both of you."

"I love Peter and he means a lot to me but he can't replace you and Steve," Emma said, finally being honest with her father just like _he_ had finally been honest with _her_. "I'm never going to leave you and Steve behind but I'm also not going to leave Peter behind either. He's a part of my life now just like you and Steve are. He's not just some boyfriend. He's my best friend too. Peter's also going to be around for a while so you better get used to him."

"I understand that now and I don't want to ask you to give him up either," Bucky finally said and Emma was hoping that this meant that her father might've finally started coming around to the idea of Peter sticking around. "I'm happy that you're happy. I also appreciate what he did for you. He saved you."

Emma frowned at that, not liking the fact that Peter could've gotten himself killed for her. He should've let that stupid Hydra agent shoot her. She had half a mind to yell at him for his stupidity when he finally woke up. Emma would've rather have been shot than watch him take three bullets for her. It was the worst thing imaginable and that was another reason why Emma didn't want to sleep. She was afraid that she would only be able to see Peter getting shot when she fell asleep.

"I wish he hadn't. I've been shot before. I would've been alright," Emma told him even though Bucky didn't really agree with that.

"I know you feel that way but I don't. I'm grateful for what he did," Her father told her honestly before looking down at the floor, a sad expression crossing his face, as he was filled with guilt and regret. "I'm just sorry he got hurt. I understand now how important he is to you."

"The doctor said that he'll make a full recovery. He's bound to wake up soon but just not soon enough for my liking," Emma said, still looking very worried about her boyfriend. Bucky could sense that so he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"He'll be alright," Bucky assured her and Emma nodded but she'd rather not think about it at this second. Not when she would have to return to his room soon and see Peter in that hospital bed like before.

"How was the mission anyways?" Emma asked, seeming interested in the mission for the first time since Peter got shot. "Did you...get Rumlow?"

"Rumlow's dead, Emma," Bucky said which surprised Emma as she looked up at him in confusion.

"Did I…" She trailed off without finishing her sentence but Bucky knew what she meant. He shook his head solemnly.

"He was alive when we got to him but Steve and I took care of it," He said quietly and Emma nodded although her mind seemed to be everywhere all at once.

"Oh…" She said quietly. Emma didn't really know how she felt about Rumlow being dead. A few days ago she would've been elated and probably have thrown some kind of victory party but now she just felt numbness. Peter's injury took priority over any feeling she had about Rumlow. She wasn't happy but she wasn't sad either.

Emma just didn't care.

"He won't hurt you ever again," Bucky told her, making sure to leave out the part about Steve going crazy on Rumlow. The former assassin was still reeling from the shock he felt at watching Steve pummel Rumlow to death. Never before had he ever seen his best friend filled with so much rage. Bucky supposed that you could only push a person so far before they'd lose it...even the good ones like Steve.

"I know but all my life he's been looming over my head like a dark cloud," Emma said darkly. "I just don't know what it's like not having that dark cloud there."

"Well, you're going to find out," Bucky said, giving her a small smile and Emma gave him a somewhat hesitant look, not sure if she should share certain information with him.

"I killed the man who shot Peter," Emma finally blurted but Bucky didn't look surprised. He kind of figured what happened when he saw the guy dead on the floor back at Hydra Headquarters. "I don't know what happened. He was there and I was angry then he-"

"Emma, I understand. You've always had a temper and I don't envy anyone who gets between you and your temper," Bucky said softly, interrupting Emma from talking about the mysterious blue energy which had come from her hands.

Maybe she wouldn't mention it then.

It's not like she was even sure about how to explain it. Emma wasn't even a hundred percent certain that she hadn't imagined it.

Blue energy?

It may have been evidence of the Tesseract energy which Howard Stark had been experimenting with when he was creating the super soldier serum that was now flowing through her veins. Emma was still confused about the whole thing because if she was actually able to shoot beams of blue energy from her hands then how come she could only do it now?

Maybe she had imagined it, after all.

Emma wasn't sure but she didn't want to talk about it until she was sure whether or not it had been real or just a part of her overactive imagination. It was no secret to Emma that she wasn't always sound of mind. There was a time where she heard Rumlow's voice inside her head and there was even a time where she imagined him in a crowd full of people. Emma was known to be overly paranoid about certain things so she wouldn't put it past her mind to invent what she saw.

Until Emma was sure, she would keep it to herself just so she wouldn't worry Steve or her father.

 _Let's save my potential weirdness for another day._

"I haven't killed anyone since I left Hydra," Emma said quietly which immediately indicated to Bucky why this was bothering her. He should've known better. "I promised Steve and Peter that I wouldn't do that again."

"You feel guilty," Bucky said and Emma shook her head.

"Not for killing him. I've never felt guilty for taking lives...not since I was little. I don't know if it's because I was a child when I started and I've grown immune to feeling remorse over a lost life," Emma told him honestly, feeling as though she could be honest about these things with her father rather than Peter or Steve. Her father understood her better just like how she understood him better. "Or if I just see people like they're some kind of obstacle. That's what I used to tell myself when we were in Hydra. That they were in my way and that Hydra would hurt you if I didn't kill all those people. Maybe I just told myself that to make killing easier."

"You're not a bad person," Bucky told her, telling Emma the same thing May told her which wasn't what she wanted to hear. "You've been through a lot and it'll take a long time to heal from that. You've only been out of Hydra for three years. Remember that."

"I wish Shuri could fix my head like she fixed yours," Emma said quietly and Bucky gave her a sad look.

"Emma, you weren't brainwashed like I was. You were just a child," Bucky tried to tell her and Emma just shook her head.

"I may not have been brainwashed like you but I was still brainwashed," Emma said, remembering all the bullshit Hydra filled her head with on a daily basis. Congratulating her on successful missions like she was some kind of dog that performed a trick.

Yes, Emma had been brainwashed but not like her father was. He had a life before Hydra so at least he had something to go back to. Emma's whole life had been Hydra until she was rescued. She was still trying to become a person that had her own individual identity. Hydra was gone now, hopefully forever, but would their mark on her ever truly leave?

Emma had no idea.

"I know what we did was wrong," Emma finally said as her father listened to her intently. "I know that killing people is wrong but I just feel numb about the deaths themselves. After the stuff that happened with Ultron, I looked up some of the people we killed on the internet. I thought I'd feel sad or guilty but I didn't. I felt nothing. I just feel guilty because I know that makes me a terrible person for not feeling anything."

Bucky didn't know what to say to that because he knew that he couldn't relate to her numbness. If anything, he was overwhelmed with guilt over what he did as the Winter Soldier. He understood why Emma didn't feel much remorse over death. When you started killing that young, it was bound to have a lasting effect on your morality.

"I don't feel bad about killing that man who shot Peter. In fact, I would do it again," Emma said, looking worried about her state of mind. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Bucky told her as he pulled her in for a hug and held her close to him. "You've endured a lot. That's all. You're making up for it anyways. You've turned the Viper Assassin into a hero. Someone to look up to but not fear."

Emma tried to listen to the things her father was telling her but she just didn't know if she could believe him. It wasn't like she made those decisions to help people on her own. She followed in Steve's footprints first and then she followed in Peter's footprints. She never made the decision to help people because it was what she desired in her heart to do. She helped people because Steve and Peter were doing it. Emma was trying to be more like Steve but maybe she wasn't like him at all.

Maybe she wasn't capable of being like Steve.

Emma didn't know and if anything, killing that man who shot Peter made her more confused than ever. She was now questioning everything about herself.

"It's going to be okay, Emma. You'll see," Her father said comfortingly as Emma was left feeling more confused than ever. "Peter will wake up soon and I even heard about Steve suggesting that a therapist at the compound might be a good idea. Not just for you but for everyone here. Maximoff was saying that there should've been one here all along."

"A therapist?" Emma questioned and Bucky nodded, pulling away to look down at her. He expected Emma to look furious at the idea of a therapist like he had been when he first heard Steve suggest it. Now, however, he was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea.

"It makes sense, I guess. Everyone here has a story, after all," Bucky said softly and continued when Emma remained silent. "The idea of telling your problems to some quack sounds insane but maybe-"

"Would _you_ talk to a therapist?" Emma asked him and Bucky gave her a surprised look, not expecting that question out of all the things Emma possibly could've said. He mostly expected her to recoil out of anger or fear but she didn't.

"Me?" Bucky questioned and Emma nodded.

"I think that if you talked to a therapist then maybe I could too," Emma said softly and Bucky stared at her for a minute as he processed that information. He knew he would normally refuse to do such a thing but Bucky also knew that Emma offering to seek therapy wasn't an everyday occurrence. He knew if Steve was in the room, instead of in big meetings with Stark, Romanoff, and Ross in the conference room, then Steve would tell him to agree to therapy just so Emma would do it. Bucky hated the idea of talking about his problems to strangers but he knew he'd do it for Emma.

"Of course, I'll do it," Bucky told her, his gaze softening as he looked down at her. Emma tried to act nonchalant as she just simply nodded.

"Then I'll do it too," Emma said agreeably, not believing her own words. "I think it might be good for the both of us and I want to get better. I really do. Not just for Steve and Peter but for myself too."

"Me too," Bucky said with a small smile on her face.

"I'm glad we're both on the same page then," Emma said, feeling as though maybe someday she could move past all her faults and internal flaws. Maybe the damage in her head would lessen over time like her father implied.

Maybe there was still hope.

"It'll be okay. _We'll_ be okay," Bucky reassured her and maybe Emma was finally starting to believe him this time. Emma managed to give him a smile that wasn't forced.

"I think so too but just in case we aren't okay we'll still be alright. We still have each other," Emma said in response. "I love you, Papa."

"I love you too and I always will," Bucky said softly, a great amount of adoration in his pale blue eyes. "Till the end of the line."

It used to be something only Steve and Bucky said to each other but it wasn't just Steve and Bucky anymore.

There was Emma too.

In a way Emma was right. The three of them were like a little family and that was completely okay with Bucky. It was kind of funny in hindsight because he didn't think the Steve and Bucky from the forties could've ever imagined something like.

The two of them being parents to Steve's granddaughter. It was weird at the same time it wasn't. Bucky was glad to be a part of this small but odd family. He never felt more at home than he did now.

Steve and Bucky had always been a team since they were kids but little did they know the missing piece to their family unit had been in the form of Steve's granddaughter.

"Till the end of the line," Emma said with an affectionate look on her face. "I know it's a little past the holiday but Happy Father's Day, Papa."

Bucky felt a flood of emotions come over him at that.

It was sentence that caused his heart to soar in more ways than Emma would ever know. Bucky knew that he probably didn't deserve her but he was just glad to have her. He might've thought of becoming a father back in his and Steve's time. There was a war going on back then so the thought of settling down with a wife and kids was always something to look forward to.

Bucky realized that he was happy with his life right in that instant. He could hang up his Winter Soldier/White Wolf gear forever and not be bothered in the slightest.

The former assassin realized that he didn't feel like fighting anymore. Call him domesticated but he just wanted that cute little house with the white picket fence and the kids...well, Emma in this case. Maybe he was like the old Bucky, after all.

Not completely.

He was part something else too but he was more like old Bucky than he ever realized before.

"Thank you," Bucky said as he hugged her again, holding her in his arms and Emma was just content to remain there. Not knowing how long she would get to have her father like this. Now that they had completed the mission there was no telling when her father and Steve would have to leave again because of the accords. It's not what she wanted but Emma didn't always get what she wanted. Life wasn't a happy ending, after all.

Emma would just have to savor the moment for now.

"So you're okay with Peter then?" Emma asked quietly and her father chuckled, pulling away to look at her in amusement.

"Yes but I'm not okay with the fact that you two were in bed together doing...things," Bucky said, sounding amused at the same time that he sounded disturbed. "But I can tolerate him as long as certain rules are in place."

"I only want you to not hate him," Emma told her father and Bucky nodded before giving her a serious look, telling her that he wasn't messing around.

"I don't hate him but I don't like him either. He's your boyfriend. I'm not supposed to like him," Bucky told her honestly and Emma guessed that she could understand that. She never expected her father to love Peter anyways. Steve could love Peter enough for the both of them. "And I better not catch him in bed with you ever again, Emma."

"I know," Emma said, blushing at the fact that her father had kind of walked in on Peter and her during one of their more private and intimate moments. It's not like she and Peter were having sex but it's also not like what they were doing was innocent either.

"I mean it, Emma," Bucky said, giving her a stern look. "If I ever catch him in bed with you again then things will end badly...for him. You're too young and too smart to want to do those things with that boy."

Obviously her father couldn't read minds because if he could then he'd know that Emma wanted nothing more than to do "those things" with Peter...and _to_ him too. However, she'd never break the news of her taking control over her own sexuality to her father. It would probably devastate him. Emma was glad that,at least, he and Steve still thought she was some kind of angel.

"Okay, Papa. I'll be sure to tell, Peter," Emma said, deciding to humor her poor sweet father. Bucky smirked at her.

"Don't worry. I'll be having a little talk with your boy toy as soon as he's feeling better," Bucky informed Emma much to her disappointment. She groaned.

"Please don't make him run away, Papa. He's already afraid of you from the last time you spoke," Emma warned her father who only continued to smirk at her.

"Good. I'm glad he's scared," Bucky said, satisfied at the knowledge that his daughter's boyfriend was afraid of him.

"Don't hurt him. I mean it," Emma said, giving him a warning glance and Bucky rolled his eyes before nodding.

"I promise not to cause him any harm. You have my word," Bucky said before quickly adding a second part. "Unless I catch him in bed with you again. Then that rule goes out the window."

"What do you think of him?" Emma asked shyly, wanting her father's opinion while wanting to change the subject from what her father would do to Peter if he caught him in her bed again.

"What does it matter what I think of him?" Bucky questioned and Emma shrugged.

"I don't know. You're important to me so your opinion matters to me," Emma explained to him and Bucky sighed heavily before giving her his honest opinion.

"I honestly don't understand what you find appealing in him," Bucky told her honestly but Emma wasn't offended. She was merely curious why he thought this.

"What do you mean?" She inquired and he shrugged.

"He's...soft," Bucky finally said, trying to think of a word to describe Emma's boyfriend.

"Soft?" Emma questioned, giving her father a confused look and Bucky nodded.

"Not that I ever pictured you having a boyfriend but he's not what I expected," Bucky elaborated as Emma listened intently to him. "He's a child. Not that you're not a child too but you've always been mature and he's not very mature. He's naive and...goofy."

"I know he is but I love those things about him," Emma told her father which should've surprised Bucky but it didn't. It actually made a lot of sense now that he thought about it.

"He also reminds me of someone but I can't put my finger on who," Bucky said which made Emma want to laugh at him because it was obvious who Peter reminded her father of.

Steve.

She just didn't know how her father could be that blind as to not see it. Emma thought it was probably better for him to figure it out himself so she didn't say anything.

"So you approve?" Emma inquired anxiously and Bucky gave her a look.

"Emma, I'm never going to approve of any guy but I think I might approve of him more than anyone else," Bucky said kindly, giving Emma a small smile that sent her heart soaring when she finally realized that her father didn't hate Peter and that he was even going to accept their relationship. That was all she ever wanted. "But he also risked his life to save yours so I'll let him stick around."

"Thank you!" Emma exclaimed happily, ambushing her father with another hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Bucky chuckled as she held onto him. He couldn't remember her looking this happy before but he was glad he was able to make her forget about all her pain and suffering for the time being. Bucky just wished he had apologized and accepted Peter sooner. He shouldn't have held off so long because it only hurt her in the process.

"I'm still going to have that talk with him though."

Emma laughed, her eyes sparkling with happiness despite all the worry that rested on her mind. It was nice that she could forget about all the worrying and pain for even the briefest moment. Emma's mind would be filled with worry again soon when she inevitably returned to the recovery room and saw that Peter still hadn't woken up. However, now she could just remain in her father's embrace and stand there with the knowledge that he accepted Peter.

Even if he wasn't going to be exactly nice to him.

"I know."

* * *

It was nearly midnight as Emma sat in her seat in the recovery room.

After her conversation with her father, she headed back up to the recovery room with May. Tony came in and out of the room several times during the day to check on Peter's progress while Ned and Michelle also came up a few times to see Peter. Ned, the usually cheerful and rambling moron Emma always took him for, was more quiet than Emma ever knew him to be as he worried over his best friend. Even Michelle, who claimed to find Peter annoying, looked over his unconscious body in concern. The two teenagers had to go back home now that the mission was over and Hydra was done but they made Emma promise to keep them updated on Peter's progress.

Emma promised them she would.

So here Emma was, reading a book while at the same time not reading it, as she waited for Peter to wake up. She finally convinced May to get some sleep an hour ago so Emma stayed in the recovery room alone with Peter as she waited for him to wake up. A small part of her worried that the doctor was wrong and that he would never wake up even though Emma knew that was ridiculous. She knew Peter had to wake up eventually but Emma was still worried out of her mind.

Emma still hadn't seen Steve in forever but she knew he was probably stuck in meetings with Ross and those stupid UN members. Her father had gone to sleep a couple hours ago but not before trying to convince Emma to get some sleep. He should've known that was a lost cause anyways. There was no way Emma was going to get any sleep with Peter still unconscious.

The blonde turned a page in her book but she was so focused on the spaces in between the words that she didn't even notice Peter begin to stir in his bed.

Peter Parker woke up from his sleep, feeling very groggy.

For a moment he was at a loss as to what happened to him. He didn't even know where he was as he glanced tiredly around the room. His eyes soon landed on a figure sitting in the chair by the window in the room he was in. It only took Peter a moment for his eyes to focus and for him to realize that it was Emma.

"Emma?" He asked, his voice drowsy from sleep. Emma dropped her book to the floor at the sound of Peter's voice before immediately rushing to Peter's side. She looked over him in concern, trying to see if he was visibly in any pain.

"Peter," Emma whispered as Peter began to sit up in bed.

It was then that Peter started remembering everything that happened before he got knocked out...or shot.

Hydra Headquarters.

The Quinjet.

The door.

Emma's back.

Rumlow.

The man with a gun.

Everything flashed inside Peter's head at once and suddenly he was left in a worried state as he looked over his girlfriend. He didn't know why he was worried when he already knew she was okay. Emma wouldn't be sitting on the edge of his bed with a look of concern on her face if she wasn't okay.

"Rumlow. Hydra-" Peter started to say but Emma stopped him before he could finish.

"Rumlow's dead, Peter. Hydra's done," Emma told him before he worried himself into an early grave. Peter relaxed against the headboard of the bed and Emma immediately reached over to feel his forehead with the back of her hand. He didn't feel like he had a temperature or anything so he likely wasn't infected from the surgery.

"Did you…" He trailed off and Emma shook her head, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"Steve and my father took care of him. We've been back at the compound for a while now," Emma told him as Peter strove to remember everything that happened but his mind was still kind of foggy. "You took three bullets to the abdomen and you got out of surgery several hours ago. We've been waiting for you to wake up for hours."

"What time is it?" Peter asked, still trying to process everything Emma was saying.

"It's nearly midnight. I promised May I would stay with you while she got some sleep," Emma told her boyfriend. "She's been worried about you. _I've_ been worried about you."

"Oh…" Peter said, feeling momentarily guilty for worrying his aunt and girlfriend so much.

"Tony's been really worried about you too," Emma said quietly. She was always embarrassed to talk about her feelings like that but she was worried about him, after all. Emma couldn't remember feeling more worried in her life.

"Really?" Peter asked just as quietly. Emma nodded.

"He came to check on you several times. Tony, Steve, and Natasha have been busy with meetings with Ross since we got back so I'm surprised he found the time," Emma said before she felt the courage to say something she was unsure about bringing up to him the moment he woke up after his surgery. "Peter, you really scared me."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked dumbly, still a bit dazed from sleeping so long. Emma looked up at him and met his eyes.

"You took those bullets for me and I wish you hadn't. I don't know why you did that. We both know that I'm the faster healer out of the two of us," Emma told him, sounding both worried and angry with him at the same time. Peter gave her an incredulous look.

"You think that I would actually let you get shot? That I could just stand by and watch something like that without doing anything about it?" Peter retorted, sounding a bit agitated with her. He had just been shot three times, had surgery performed on him, and woke up after a long sleep sleep. Peter didn't feel like arguing with Emma right now. However, before he could say any of this to her, Emma looked back at him with tears in her eyes which instantly made his anger go away.

"Peter, I thought I was going to lose you. You were bleeding out in my arms," Emma said, looking like she was on the verge of crying which made Peter feel bad for almost getting mad at her. "Do you think it was easy for me to just sit there and wait without being able to do anything about it? I was afraid the doctor would come in and say that there wasn't anything she could do."

"I'm fine, Emma. It's not like I'm a normal person. I can still heal faster-" Peter started to say but Emma shook her head.

"It doesn't matter if you're Spider-Man or just a normal human-being...it's still terrifying," Emma confessed to him and Peter sighed heavily before pulling Emma into his arms. She didn't try to fight him or cuss him out like she wanted to for scaring her like that. Peter held her tightly and Emma just appreciated the fact that he was okay.

He was here with her and he was going to be just fine.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that, Emma. I didn't mean to," Peter whispered softly to her as he held her in his arms. "You have to know that I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"I know," Emma whispered back to him, trying to find comfort in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. "That's what scares me the most."

"Now you know how I felt when you took off like that and locked me behind that door," Peter told her, making Emma feel guilty for what she did earlier. "Emma, that was equally terrifying. Watching you walk into danger and not knowing what Rumlow would do to you."

"I was trying to prevent you from getting injured which was kind of pointless considering everything that happened since then," Emma said, remarking at how miserably she failed at keeping Peter safe. "I should've known a locked door wouldn't keep you away."

"You tricked me," Peter accused as he looked down at her, his eyes filled with disappointment. Emma usually didn't feel guilty for a lot of the things she did. She rarely apologized and when she did apologize, Emma rarely meant it. However, Emma managed to feel shame for tricking Peter and she felt bad for abusing his trust like that.

"I know I did. I'm sorry," Emma finally said, hoping that Peter would forgive her despite all the trouble and pain she caused him. She knew she really screwed up when she tricked him. "I didn't want you to get hurt in my revenge against Rumlow. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I saw you get shot because of my need for revenge that I realized that killing Rumlow would give me nothing. I shouldn't have ever left the Quinjet. I'm so sorry, Peter."

"I'm not mad at you because I got shot, Emma," Peter said, wondering how Emma could ever blame herself for that. He took those bullets for her on his own volition. Peter didn't regret doing it because it meant that Emma was safe and uninjured. He would gladly do it again. "I'm mad because you tricked me."

"I'm sorry," Emma said again, not knowing what else to say to him to express how sorry she was. Her lack of words didn't mean that she wasn't sorry. It just meant that she felt guilty and she hoped he wouldn't hold it against her forever. Peter's harsh gaze softened at the guilt ridden expression on her tired looking face. Peter didn't know when the last time she got any sleep was. Probably a couple days ago.

Peter couldn't really stay mad at her in the state she was in. The injured teenager just sighed before holding Emma closer to him.

"Just don't ever do it again, okay?" Peter said before pressing his lips against her forehead. Emma felt relief wash over her at the fact that Peter wasn't mad at her.

"I won't," Emma promised him and she meant that. She didn't want to ever have to manipulate him again. Emma didn't mind doing it to other people but the thought of doing it to Peter just felt wrong. "Maybe I should call Tony and the doctor in here to check on you since you're feeling better."

"I guess," Peter said, not looking forward to having a bunch of doctors, Tony, and May fussing over him. He really just wanted to talk to Emma and see how she was doing with the aftermath of the mission. Peter could tell she had a lot on her mind and he didn't want her to keep it bottled up.

"You don't seem to have a fever but it's probably best for the doctor to look you over," Emma said softly. She didn't really want to part from Peter quite yet. Emma wanted to savor the moment a little longer now that she knew Peter was fine.

"Promise that we'll talk later? After the doctor, Tony, and May leave?" Peter inquired with a hopeful expression on his face and Emma smiled softly at him before nodding.

"Of course," Emma assured him as she began to get up from the bed before glancing up at the ceiling. "McConaughey, let the doctor know that Peter woke up."

"Right away, Miss Rogers," The AI system told her and Emma glanced back at Peter who was still staring at her.

"I'm glad it's you who I woke up to and not anyone else," Peter told her and Emma smiled.

"I imagine waking up to Tony's ugly mug would be the stuff of nightmares," Emma said jokingly and Peter laughed before nodding.

"Yeah, it's way better waking up to an angel," Peter said and Emma knew he was more than alright if he was flirting with her like that. Emma playfully rolled her eyes, knowing that Peter was probably the only person in the world who would describe her as an angel. The devil's mistress probably but definitely not an angel.

"You're lucky you're injured, Parker. I totally would've smacked you upside the head for that one," Emma told him before smiling at him again. She quickly, without thinking about it too much, leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. The kiss wasn't long or passionate but it was mostly to say that she was glad he was alright. Peter closed his eyes as he kissed her back and almost protested when she pulled away.

"I'm glad you're okay," Emma told him quietly and Peter smiled back at her.

"I'm glad you're okay too," Peter told her and before Emma could respond, a bunch of people came rushing into the room. May and Tony pushed past the doctor as their eyes wildly glanced around the room for Peter. It didn't escape Emma's notice that Tony's entire body sagged in relief when he saw that Peter was alright.

 _Somebody's more of a dad than they're willing to admit_ , Emma thought to herself.

"Peter! You're okay!" May exclaimed in relief while Tony pretended to keep it cool.

"I'm fine, May," Peter said, laughing a bit at his aunt's behavior. The older woman nearly suffocated her nephew with a hug. "Not too hard, May. I'm still a little sore."

"Sorry," May said before pulling away to look down at her nephew, a frown suddenly appearing as she remembered that she was also a little mad at Peter. "I hope you know you're grounded."

"I thought as much."

* * *

Emma didn't come back into the recovery room until a couple hours later when everyone left after becoming satisfied that Peter was okay. May went back to bed after much pleading from Peter and so did Tony after Pepper had to literally drag him out of the room. Emma had taken a long hot shower and finally changed out of her suit. She would've done it sooner but she had been too worried about Peter to just up and leave. Emma now felt refreshed, dressed in a shirt she had stolen from Peter as well as a pair of cotton pajama shorts.

Emma walked into the recovery room, expecting to find Peter asleep but she didn't find him asleep at all. He was actually sitting up in bed reading the book she had been reading earlier. Emma was surprised by this because Peter rarely read books of fiction. He was way more interested in books about scientific theory.

"Hey," Emma said as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Peter looked up at her in surprise, setting the book down.

"Hey," Peter said in response before glimpsing at her outfit which immediately filled Peter's head with less than appropriate thoughts. She was wearing his 'If you believe in telekinesis, please raise my hand' shirt paired with a pair of cotton shorts which were really short...meaning that her shorts showed off her long legs which were probably one of Peter's favorite things about her.

Why was she torturing him like this?

If he started thinking about her legs then he was going to start thinking about her ass then her boobs and then sex all together. Great. Now he was having dirty thoughts about her at the worst possible time. The last thing Peter needed was to be thinking about her like that when she was probably going through a lot right now. Emma didn't need him being a total pervert.

"I thought you would be asleep by now," Peter told his girlfriend, trying to not stare at her legs. Emma shrugged as she climbed into his bed.

Don't look at her legs. Don't look at her legs. Don't look at her legs.

"I don't think I can sleep without being close to you...if that's okay," Emma said to him as she crawled into the space next to him and Peter gulped as she snuggled against him. He didn't know why his mind was suddenly filled with dirty thoughts. Well, he actually did know because his girlfriend was the hottest girl in the world and he was madly in love with her. Then there was the fact that this was the first time they had been alone together without the threat of Hydra looming over their heads. Maybe there was also something about almost dying that made you look at the best thing in your life with a newer sense of appreciation.

The best thing in his life being Emma.

"It's uh...fine," Peter said, putting an arm around his girlfriend. The smell of her shampoo wafted through the air and Peter inhaled the sweet smell of her strawberry and coconut scented hair. The delectable smell was always strong after she took a shower and Peter knew that he would start up a petition online if the company that made that shampoo ever stopped production of that scent. He kind of wanted to bury his nose in her hair and just stay there for the longest time but he thought that would be weird. Peter just wanted to be closer to her after everything.

"Not that I don't like you in my bed but won't Steve and your dad get mad if they find us in bed together?" Peter asked Emma and the blonde only smiled before shaking her head.

"I almost lost you, Peter. I don't really care what will piss Steve and my father off," Emma told him and Peter laughed.

"It's easy enough for you to say since I'm the one who they'll end up hurting," Peter told her jokingly, causing Emma to laugh in return. "I'm probably crazy for falling in love with a girl who has Captain America and the Winter Soldier completely wrapped around her little finger."

"You probably are," Emma said in agreement although her eyes were sparkling with amusement. Peter leaned down and kissed her softly before pulling away, making Emma feel lightheaded. It would never stop surprising her that he could still instill those feelings in her after several months of dating. Emma hoped those feelings never went away.

"I'll gladly be crazy then," Peter told her happily and he then turned over in bed so he could look at her. He wanted to know so much about her. What she was feeling...how she was doing in the aftermath of everything. Peter didn't really know how to ask in a way that wouldn't be upsetting to her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Emma told him quietly, her smile fading a little. Peter didn't want to kill the mood but he also knew it wasn't good for her to keep everything bottled up.

"How are you, _really_?" Peter asked her and Emma sighed heavily because she knew Peter was trying to get her to talk. She wasn't always happy about sharing her feelings but Emma knew it was would be good for her. Peter was probably the one person who she felt like she could be completely honest with. She would say the same about her father and Steve but she was a teenager so, of course, there would always be things she would hide from them.

Especially Peter related things.

"I don't know," Emma told him but she didn't feel angry or upset like she thought she would. "I never really thought much about what it would be like after he died. I just thought about him dying."

Emma only paused briefly before continuing as Peter listened to her with his full attention.

"I wanted him to die so badly. I wanted him to hurt like I did but…" She trailed off and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"But?" He questioned and Emma looked at him, turning over in the bed to face him as she propped her head against her hand.

"But then you got hurt and I realized that you're more important to me than some petty revenge," Emma told Peter honestly. "Something happened at Hydra Headquarters. I just kind of let go of it all and found that I didn't really care if he lived or died anymore. That was more liberating than learning that he was dead."

"Do you think you can move on?" Peter asked quietly. He wasn't telling her to move on or anything. He just wanted to know if she thought she could move on after everything that happened to her. Emma shook her head.

"I think I already did but I didn't realize it until I faced him for the last time," Emma said thoughtfully as she considered the life she had made for herself after leaving Hydra. "I have a family now, friends, school, my art...and I have you. I have a life completely separate from Hydra and I'm really happy with that life."

"Really?" Peter asked, clearly happy for her.

"I mean, I think it'll be a while before the stuff from Hydra completely leaves me but I think I'll be okay," Emma told him and Peter smiled at her.

"I'm glad to hear it," Peter told her but before Emma could let him think everything was okay, there was definitely something she had to tell him. She bit her lip nervously as she gave him a hesitant look.

This didn't go unnoticed by Peter. He frowned.

"What is it?" He asked her and Emma suddenly looked very guilty. It was the same expression she made whenever she thought he'd be mad at her.

"The man who shot you...I killed him," Emma admitted and Peter gave her a surprised look. "I-I just lost control and he just...well, he was dead. I don't know what happened, Peter, and I know you'll probably be really disappointed in me-"

"I'm not disappointed in you, Emma," Peter told her honestly much to Emma's surprise. "I know that sometimes you just react and that's okay. I mean, it's not an ideal situation but that man tried to kill you so I would never be mad at you for defending yourself. In fact, I'm glad he's dead and I'm glad Rumlow's dead too. They can't hurt you anymore."

"I don't think I killed him out of self defense, Peter," Emma confessed to Peter, still looking quite guilty. "I think I killed him because I was angry that he hurt you."

Peter swallowed hard before nodding, finally understanding what she was getting at.

"I never meant to kill him. I haven't killed anyone in so long but it just...happened," Emma said, unable to meet Peter's eyes because she was afraid he would be disappointed in her. Peter just shook his head, pulling her close to him so she would know that he wasn't mad at her.

"It's okay, Emma. I promise I'm not mad," Peter whispered to her as he held her in his arms. "I don't know what I would've done if I were in your shoes but I know I would've been furious. It's fine and I don't want you to do that thing you do when you think I'm disappointed in you because I can promise you that I'm not."

"You're not?" Emma asked hesitantly and Peter smiled softly before shaking his head as he looked down at her.

"Of course not," Peter told her truthfully because he really wasn't disappointed in her. "How could I be disappointed in you? I'm proud of you for getting the closure you needed and for taking a step in a new direction of your life. I know all that anger and sadness was weighing you down so I'm just happy that you were able to let all that go."

"I don't want Rumlow to be the most important thing in my life anymore," Emma told him quietly. "I want my art and my books to be important to me. I want Steve and Papa to be important to me. I want _you_ to be important because the three of you matter way more to me than that asshole ever did."

"I'm happy that you're moving on," Peter said, giving her an affectionate smile. "I just want you to have the life you deserve."

"I want that for you too," Emma told him and Peter tentatively tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'm just glad it's all over. It'll be nice to get a full eight hours of sleep," Peter said to her and Emma nodded in agreement. "No more Hydra. No more stressed out nights of worrying. Just same old, same old."

"I kind of like same old, same old," Emma told Peter with a small smile on her face and Peter nodded.

"Me too," Peter said quite cheerfully.

He would give anything for things to go back to the way they were before Hydra launched the attack on the compound. Of course, excluding the fact that Emma's father and grandfather were back because he knew how happy she was to have them back. Peter was hoping that there would be some kind of loophole in the accords so that her father and grandfather could stay without going to prison. He knew Steve and her father sticking around would be really good for her.

"Can you believe it's still summer? I know it's only been a couple weeks since all this shit started but it feels like it's been way longer," Emma told him, looking up at her boyfriend while just being grateful that they were both okay. They made it out of the Hydra thing almost unscathed and for that, Emma was eternally grateful.

"There's still, like, two months of summer. What are we even going to do now that Hydra's done for?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" Peter asked her as he started to seriously consider what he and Emma were going to do now that their schedule had cleared up. "We could go back to Coney Island like we did for our sixth month anniversary. It's really nice this time of year. We could actually go swimming there which we didn't do the last time we were there."

"That could be fun," Emma told him, looking forward to swimming with Peter but that was mostly so she could drool over his six pack and admire Peter shirtless.

"We could also go to that arcade with all the old vintage arcade games. I know you don't like video games but I think you'd really like arcade games," Peter told her and Emma didn't feel inclined to argue with him about the arcade games. She really wanted to go to that arcade with Peter because she just really wanted to be with him after everything they went through. "Hey, we could go bowling too. Have you ever been bowling before?"

"No," Emma told him with a small smile on her face.

"We could go with Ned and Michelle and make a day of it. It'll be a ton of fun."

"I'd really like that," Emma told Peter before a mischievous smile made its way onto her face as she thought of something she knew would make Peter blush at the same time it hopefully made him excited. "We can also find other things to do to preoccupy our time this summer."

"Other things?" Peter asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Like what?"

Emma gave him an innocent look before she said something to make him blush.

"Sex," Emma told him bluntly and she watched in satisfaction as his face reddened in the way she loved. She wondered if there would ever be a day when he stopped blushing. Emma really hoped not. She liked making him blush.

"Yeah, that would definitely be something I'd be interested in," Peter tried to say coolly, not wanting his girlfriend to think he was some immature guy who acted weird and nervous around the word "sex". "I-I mean...when do you think something like that would happen? Just out of curiosity?"

Peter also didn't want to sound too eager either and come off as creepy to Emma but he wasn't good at keeping it cool. This was proved to him as Emma looked at him in amusement.

"Whenever. Not now or anything but whenever," Emma told him and Peter nodded furiously.

He kind of agreed with Emma there. Now wouldn't be a good time right after everything that had happened in the last couple days. Although, Peter wasn't sure he would be able to find it in himself to say no to sex after the months of longing, heated make-out sessions, and,of course, the dry humping. All of those were nice things but Peter felt ready to have sex.

Only if Emma felt ready too, of course.

"You're injured so I really don't think it would be a good idea."

"I'm not that injured," Peter said a little too quickly, causing Emma to smirk at him. He blushed again at sounding too eager. In all honesty, if that's the reason Emma wanted to hold off on having sex then there was really no need for her to worry. Peter was perfectly fine...a little more than fine, actually.

"I also don't really want us to have sex while Steve and my father are in another room," Emma added and Peter had to admit he hadn't thought about that until she mentioned it. Logic seemed to always go out of his mind whenever Emma talked about them taking that next step in their relationship.

"Yeah, that would probably be bad. Your dad and Steve would literally kill me this time if they found out what we were doing," Peter said, not liking the idea of them having sex at the compound. There was also the fact that the compound was filled with people who would more than likely hear them having sex. Peter didn't want that for his and Emma's first time.

"Maybe we could have sex at your apartment," Emma suggested calmly and this started feeling very real to Peter all of a sudden which was exciting. He and Emma discussed having sex before but never in this capacity where they actually started making plans. Peter was more than thrilled.

"My apartment?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"Your aunt works most of the day so it could be perfect," Emma said and Peter shook his head.

"We're not going to have sex for the first time on my bunk bed," Peter told her sincerely before his gaze softened. "I want it to be really special for you and I don't want anyone walking in on us like they always seem to do here. It should just be the two of us."

"I guess it'll happen when it happens," Emma told him honestly as she looked back up at him, a slight fluttering in her stomach because she realized they were really going to take that next step in their relationship. "We should buy condoms though."

"We or I?" Peter questioned, blushing a little bit at Emma's bluntness. "I mean, since I'm the one with the…"

"Penis?" Emma asked him, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I guess it's sort of up to you."

"I know there's some in the medical ward of the facility," Peter told her as he remembered catching a glimpse of them once. "Maybe we don't have to go out and buy them or anything."

"Do you know how fast gossip travels in this place, Peter?" Emma asked him rhetorically. "It wouldn't take long for word to get back to Steve and my father."

"Right…" Peter nodded, not liking the idea of Steve and her father finding out that he was getting condoms. There wasn't a way he could talk himself out of that one. Why would he be getting condoms if not to use them when he had sex with their granddaughter? "I'll buy them then. I'll go to a store like an adult and buy them."

"Really?" Emma asked, looking surprised that Peter was going to just walk into a store and buy them.

"Yeah. I'll walk into a store and buy them," Peter repeated and tried to say confidently. "I'll just go in and buy them and…"

"Do you want me to go with you?" Emma asked knowingly and Peter's entire body sagged in relief.

"Yes. Thank you," He told her. Peter was honestly happy that she was going to go with him to get the condoms because the idea of walking into a store alone was terrifying. Peter didn't even know what he would say to the cashier ringing him up. "Let's not go to Delmar's. Let's go to the other side of town where no one knows us."

"Whatever you want, Parker," Emma said as she laughed at his ridiculousness but Peter was being serious. He didn't how he would be able to look Mr. Delmar in the eyes if he bought condoms at his store.

Emma finally calmed down from her laughter as she looked at Peter and this time she felt a bit of concern as she wondered how he was feeling. It hadn't been a long time since his surgery so she was wondering if he was healing up nicely. Emma didn't want him to be in pain.

"How are you feeling by the way? What did the doctor say?" Emma asked him and Peter shrugged.

"I'm healing really fast so I don't really feel that bad. I'm just a little sore," Peter informed her before he pulled up his shirt so he could show her the bandages from the already healing bullet wounds. "The doctor just replaced my bandages but she said with my healing factor I should be completely healed within a day or two."

"Um...that's good," Emma said as she blushed at the sight of his abs.

It's not like it was the first time she had ever seen his abs. His shirt managed to get discarded during one of their many heated makeout sessions and she had also pulled the top part of his suit down when she was trying to stop the bleeding from his wounds. Emma hadn't really had time to admire him then since she was busy worrying over him.

Now she was worry free.

"I know so I…" Peter trailed off when he noticed that Emma was blushing. She wasn't one to blush often so Peter felt great satisfaction in the fact that she was blushing while looking at him. Peter would usually feel self-conscious at the way she was staring him, something driven into him from the time he was just nerdy and scrawny Peter Parker, but he was starting to feel a lot more confident lately.

Emma hesitantly placed her hand on his abs and Peter felt his heart pounding in his chest like it usually did whenever Emma touched him. She ran her hand up and down the expanse of his hard abs and she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to have sex with him right now. However, she knew it wasn't the time or place but that didn't mean they couldn't do other things, right?

The blonde then began to pull up on Peter's t-shirt, signaling to him that she wanted him to take it off. Peter blushed but took his shirt off anyways.

"You're really hot, Peter," Emma told him as she totally sexually objectified her boyfriend. Peter would normally act modest or maybe even blush in this situation but Emma telling him he was hot was definitely a boost to his ego.

Emma finally leaned in and kissed him as she basked in the fact that he was more than okay and she hadn't lost him, after all. Peter pulled her closer to him and Emma rested her hands against his chest.

With every kiss, everything became more and more heated between them. It had been a while for them. Well, maybe not a while but the last time things were this heated between them, Emma's dad walked in on them. Peter really didn't want that to happen again but he also didn't think he could find it in himself to push her away.

"I'm really glad you're okay," Emma murmured in between kisses. She gasped in surprise when Peter suddenly pulled her onto his lap.

"I'm glad you're okay too," Peter said, his breathing sounding a little more heavy. Emma immediately resumed kissing him with even more passion.

Their kisses were more heated than before with Peter slipping his tongue into her mouth and Emma knotting her fingers through his hair. She moaned when his hand went up her shirt and cupped one of her breasts. Peter immediately froze when he cupped her breast. He pulled away to look at her, swallowing hard.

"You're not wearing a bra," Peter told her as if Emma didn't already know this. Emma really didn't feel like talking right now.

She just wanted Peter.

"I thought I was going to go to sleep. It's not like I sleep in my bra," Emma told him and Peter shook his head.

"I'm not complaining. I'm _really_ not complaining. I love the fact that you're wearing my shirt right now too. I just thought I should mention that," Peter said as he admired the fact that her breasts fit perfectly into his hands. He also appreciated the moan Emma made again when he moved his hand over her breast before making the bold move to squeeze her nipple with his fingers experimentally. It was something he had never done before but Emma appreciated his boldness as well as his touch.

She ground her center against his clothed erection in response, his sweatpants and her cotton shorts providing a very thin barrier between them. Peter grunted at the friction and how good it felt trying to release some of the sexual tension between them.

"Maybe we shouldn't start something we can't finish," Peter said although he was cursing himself for saying that as Emma held tightly onto his shoulders as she ground against him.

"Maybe we can finish, after all," Emma whispered into his ear and Peter groaned.

"I thought you wanted to wait until we were out of the compound to have sex?" Peter asked her and Emma nibbled on his earlobe which she knew drove him crazy.

"We can do other things," Emma told him which also drove Peter crazy. He immediately gripped her hips and thrust himself up against her. Emma gasped as she held even tighter onto his shoulders.

"Yes, let's do...other things," Peter murmured, slightly panting, before Emma's lips descended down onto his again and they kissed with a feverish passion.

"Peter," Emma moaned against his lips as he thrust against her.

Peter would never get tired of hearing her moan his name like that. He rolled his tongue against hers and wondered if it was ever possible to get closer to her than this. Probably but Peter didn't think it would ever be enough. She was entirely addicting to him and he sincerely hoped that she would never get bored of him.

Peter immediately switched positions much to Emma's disappointment because grinding against his hardness was really doing it for her but mostly because there was so much pent up sexual frustration between them that even the slightest bit of relief was nice for her.

Peter easily showed off how strong he was by flipping them over so that Emma was lying on the bed and Peter was hovering over her. The blonde blushed from the abruptness of it all and sighed quite happily when Peter started kissing her neck.

She almost grew annoyed with him when he stopped to pull up and look down at her. Emma was about to tell him to get back to whatever the hell he was doing before when he said something that entirely surprised her.

"Do you want me to um...go down on you?" Peter asked a bit nervously, he might've blushed if he wasn't already flushed all over.

Emma gave him a surprised look.

He never offered to do that before but that might've mostly been because he was always afraid of scaring her or hurting her. Emma wondered what had gotten into him that made him so confident all of a sudden. Well, they were just talking about finally having sex so it might've been a sign that maybe they shouldn't have sex if they couldn't even talk about foreplay.

"I mean, it's okay if you don't want me to," Peter said, realizing that it might've been too soon for Emma when she didn't say anything. He was starting to realize that maybe he made a mistake before Emma stopped him with a blush of her own.

"No, I'd really like that," Emma said, not knowing what else to say.

Usually she would be more nervous or afraid but Emma felt a new sort of bravery that she hadn't felt before. It might've had to do with the fact that she and Peter had been teasing each other for months so she was ready for a release. However, it was also because she almost lost him and she just wanted to be close to him.

What Peter asked her was a very intimate thing to let him do to her but Emma was really worked up from everything they had been doing for the last twenty minutes.

That and Emma was naturally curious about what it would be like.

She may or may not have had a couple of really hot dreams about Peter eating her out which led to her experimenting with, "ahem" touching, herself which she thought was kind of embarrassing but it's not like she could help it. Emma was a teenage girl with teenage hormones but she was also a teenage girl with feelings that were heightened in every aspect because of her stupid serum.

"Really?" Peter asked her in surprise and Emma smiled softly at him before nodding.

"Yes," Emma said in confirmation and Peter felt his heart race in his chest because this was it.

This was the very thing he had spent the past couple months researching on the internet. Not in a creepy way but just in a way that would allow Peter to make this a pleasurable experience for her.

He suddenly felt like this was a huge test that would put all his knowledge from female oriented websites to the test. Peter chose articles that were written by women because he overheard Darcy complaining very loudly about some male focused websites on female pleasure so he thought that wasn't the way to go.

"Okay," Peter murmured as he leaned down and resumed kissing her.

The kisses became more heated and almost filled with desperation as Emma moved her hand to the back of Peter's head in an effort to pull him even closer to her. It didn't take long before Emma was reduced to a blushing and moaning mess beneath Peter.

He seemed to take delight in that too because Emma could feel him smirking against her lips. Normally Emma would feel annoyed by his attitude but at this point she felt little else but desire.

"Tell me if you want me to stop at any point," Peter whispered to her and Emma couldn't currently form any words so she just wordlessly nodded. He then started to lead another trail of kisses down her neck much like before except this time his kisses felt more wild and looser.

Peter nipped at the special spot along the curve of her neck which he knew drove her crazy no matter how many times he did it. Emma should've cursed him for probably leaving a mark there, which Steve and her father would see later on, but she really didn't have it in herself to stop him.

His hands grazed her breasts through her shirt, or his shirt rather, before he started on a path down her body.

He wasn't fast like Emma thought he would be. Peter was very slow and also very careful with her. Emma didn't like it when he was careful with her but in this circumstance she found the gesture very endearing.

When he reached her midriff, where her shirt had ridden up during all the excitement, he placed soft and tender kisses against her bare skin. She gasped at the sensation.

Emma's heart raced in her chest in anticipation for what he was about to do and she forced herself not to overthink it like she always did when it came to stuff like this. She wanted to enjoy this but most of all, she wanted to enjoy Peter too.

Her boyfriend placed his hands on either side of her hips, his fingerly skimming the edge of her cotton shorts.

He looked back up at her with his eyes blown wide with lust but Emma was sure her eyes were the same way too right now. Peter swallowed hard as he looked up at her, her face flushed red and her chest heaving up and down with every breath she took.

"Are you-" Peter began to say, wanting to make absolutely sure that Emma was okay with this, but Emma stopped him before he could finish his sentence.

"Peter, please," She begged him and Peter could feel himself throbbing, practically straining against the material of his sweatpants, at the lust and blatant desire in her eyes. Emma never begged for anything yet she was begging him to touch her and love her.

Peter might've needed to be told twice, because this was Emma he was talking about and he would never do anything to make her feel uncomfortable, but he definitely didn't need to be told three times.

With that, Peter pressed a gentle kiss against her hip before subsequently tugging both her cotton shorts and her pair of simple, yet much to his satisfaction and pride, damp panties down before tossing them aside in a manner that made Emma want him more than ever.

She always wanted him no matter what.

Whether he was working out at the gym within the compound, focusing so hard on his homework that he did that cute thing where his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth...or even when he was lying on the bed in between her thighs with his hands trembling as he gripped her hips, silently telling her that he was both excited and nervous at the same time. Emma knew there would probably never be a time where she didn't want him.

Call her young and in love but it was true.

This was part of the reason why she didn't even feel scared at all.

Emma remained embarrassed for a second because Peter had never seen her naked before. Well, she wasn't completely naked but still. She had never fully undressed in front of him before and while Emma was usually very confident, there was something a little nerve wracking about someone else seeing you naked.

Peter kissed the inside of her thigh softly which caused Emma to shiver.

He glanced back up at her one last time, admiring how she looked.

Peter promised himself that he would never forget the way she looked in that moment with her long blonde hair spread out over the pillow, her face all flushed, her/his t-shirt bunched up just beneath her breasts, and the look of desire but also the look of trust in her eyes.

Peter took a mental snapshot of this moment before putting all his research online to the test.

Emma, in an attempt to calm herself down, leaned her head back against the pillow and tried to think of random stuff so she wouldn't overthink this too much and deny herself the chance of cumming at Peter's touch...and tongue.

Her thoughts drifted to the fact that she had probably worn really unsexy underwear. She probably would've worn something a little sexier if she had known Peter and her were going to bring their bedroom activities to a new level.

Bedroom activities?

Well, that felt both new and exciting say.

Emma quite liked the sound of her and Peter apparently having bedroom activities. If they were going to keep having bedroom activities then Emma was probably going to have to wear sexier panties than her really boring and uninteresting ones for when she and Peter actually had sex.

It's not that she thought Peter would really care that much but Emma really wanted to wow him and make him want her as much as she wanted him. Maybe she would have Darcy take her shopping soon. Darcy would probably know what to buy and she wouldn't lose her shit if she found out that Emma was becoming sexually active.

Emma wondered what kind of panties Peter would prefer on her? Hopefully not thongs. Emma wasn't sure she would be comfortable wearing those but-

Her mind went blank when she felt Peter's tongue...down there.

 _Oh...wow. This is actually really...um...really nice._

 _He's-_

 _Fuck!_

 _How the hell does he know how to do that?! He's a virgin!_

Emma started wondering if she could ever make fun of her boyfriend for being a nerd again after this. Her nerdy little Parker happened to be really good with his tongue. She didn't really have anything to compare it to since this was the first time anyone had ever performed oral sex on her but she knew how she felt and she knew what Peter was doing with his tongue and fingers felt really good.

 _Really_ good.

* * *

It was about twenty five minutes later when things had simmered down to a point with Emma sipping on a cup of water from the water dispenser in the room after slipping her underwear and shorts back on. Peter was only just pulling his pants and boxers back up. Peter had a goofy smile on his face as he put his shirt back on before looking back at his girlfriend who had been happy to return the favor after he got finished with her.

He was a little embarrassed that he only lasted about two minutes but it was his first time getting a blowjob and the first time Emma ever touched him. A part of him thought Emma would tease him for not lasting long but she didn't.

Peter was still reliving the past twenty five minutes in his mind. From all the moans Emma made and all the writhing she did under his touch when he finally found her clit. It took him a while to get her there even as he tried to remember everything he researched on the internet but with some guiding from Emma and experimenting to find out what she liked, she came much to Peter's delight.

"Um...are you okay?" Peter asked her and she set her cup down on top of the water dispenser before moving towards him. She smiled a bit shyly at him before getting back into bed with him. Peter immediately pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips against her forehead.

"You don't have to ask me that every time," Emma told him honestly. "If I didn't want to do any of that then I would've said no."

"I just want to make sure," Peter told her and Emma was happy that he was so considerate with her. Well, he actually just did a literal demonstration of how considerate he was but Emma wasn't complaining. "I know it may have been a little soon after everything we just went through so I don't want-"

"Peter, I almost lost you yesterday," Emma said sincerely, capturing Peter's interest immediately. "I don't think I'm scared of sex anymore. At least, I didn't feel afraid just now so everything we do together is my choice. I always want you to know that."

"Okay," He said, feeling relief at her answer. Peter then gave her a nervous look. "Did you uh...enjoy it?"

"Did I indicate to you that I didn't enjoy it?" Emma inquired with a small smirk on her face. Her mind went back to Peter's face buried in between her thighs which was probably the hottest thing ever. Not to mention his determination in getting her there was also really hot. "You're really good with your tongue, Parker. How did you even know how to do that?"

Peter blushed although he would be lying if he said he didn't feel a surge of pride wash over him at Emma's words.

"I kind of did some research online," Peter told her, feeling a bit shy all of a sudden but Emma didn't know how he could still be shy after the things he did to her. "I know I'm not experienced or anything but I still wanted it to be really nice for you."

"Peter, I can assure you that it was very pleasurable for me," Emma said, not wanting him to doubt himself for a second. She then looked up at him with a curious look on her face.

"Did you enjoy it?" Emma asked him and Peter swallowed hard before nodding furiously.

There was a whole list of dirty things he wanted to say to her.

He wanted to tell her how good she tasted, how turned on he was by her...wetness, and how her moaning his name loudly drove him crazy. Peter wanted to tell her that he didn't care if anyone heard her moaning because he knew it was all for him. Her father and grandfather could murder him for all he cared. It was completely worth it in his eyes.

However, Peter refrained from telling her these things because he was worried he would come off as creepy or perverted to her.

"It was...I don't even have any words," Peter said and he knew he was going to be reliving various moments from the last hour or so in his mind over and over again.

"I think saying I enjoyed it is an understatement."

"Was _I_ any good?" Emma asked, feeling a bit more nervous than usual and it was obvious she was referring to how she surprised Peter by returning the favor. Emma had to admit she was a bit nervous although it was something she had given a lot of thought about. She just wanted to make him feel the same way she made him feel and Emma also just wanted to take care of him like she promised she always would.

Peter tried to assure her that she didn't have to do that. He only went down on her because it was something he wanted to do but he never expected anything in return. Peter remembered trying to form coherent sentences as she led a trail of kisses down his chest, his abs(carefully dodging the bandages where he was wounded), and then down further before she started to pull his pants and boxers down.

Peter, being the gentlemen he was, helped her but also made one last move to give her an out.

However, his mind went blank when he felt a warm mouth engulf him.

"You were amazing, Emma. This was hands down the best night, technically early morning, in my whole entire life," Peter told Emma quickly because he felt very passionately about their time together in the past hour. He loved every second of it. "I mean, I'm not discounting the night we got together or anything but this is in a whole different category."

"I know what you mean," Emma told him with a small smile on her face but she still seemed a little nervous. "I just didn't really know what I was doing so…"

Little did he know that she would also happily remember all the sounds Peter made from what she did to him. Not to mention Emma finally had her curiosity satisfied about just how big Peter actually was. She didn't have anything to really compare him to visually but now she felt even less scared about sex.

All this time Emma was worried he would have this gigantic cock which was the last thing she wanted because imagine just how much that would hurt and not to mention how intimidating it was. Even so, she was relieved to know that he was still big, or so she thought, without being an ungodly size that would give her nightmares and make her even more anxious about sex. The anticipation of seeing his penis was gone and Emma felt like maybe sex wouldn't be as nerve wracking as she thought.

"Emma, you were touching me and sucking-I mean-yeah," Peter said before his eyes widened at what he started to say. Emma gave him a very interested look because she thought she liked Peter saying dirty things. It was so unusual for him since _her_ Peter was always very bashful and gentlemenly. A true feminist of a modern man. "Well, what I'm trying to say is that you were touching me so it doesn't matter how experienced or inexperienced you are."

"Maybe this can be a learning experience for the both of us then," Emma said flirtatiously, all signs of nervousness gone, and Peter swallowed hard as he looked down at her. "Since we're both inexperienced maybe we can teach each other."

"Uh...yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," Peter said as he tried flirt back but when Emma said things like that she always had this ability of making him feel stupid.

"It'll be a lot more fun than all those times you helped me with my chemistry homework," Emma said as she continued to flirt with him.

"I'll enjoy it way more than our chemistry homework," Peter finally flirted back much to Emma's delight. "Maybe next time you can leave your shirt off too. I'd like to see all of you."

Peter felt like maybe he went too far with that last comment but he realized he made the right move when he saw a blush come over face. It filled him with a deep sense of satisfaction that he made her blush since it was usually _her_ who was always making _him_ blush. However, Peter was starting to grow a new sense of confidence after spending almost half an hour pleasuring his girlfriend.

"You _would_ like that, wouldn't you?" Emma retorted despite how warm in the face she felt from Peter's flirting.

"I think it's obvious how much I would like that," Peter said honestly as he gave his girlfriend an amused look and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you want to see my boobs so badly. It's not like there's much there," Emma said, putting herself down but Peter wasn't willing to let her do that to herself. He placed a chaste kiss against her cheek.

"I've felt them and there's plenty there," Peter whispered in her ear which made Emma shiver. She honestly couldn't believe he was flirting with her but Emma loved it. If he was like this after just going down on her then what was he going to be like after they actually had sex? Emma was excited to know but she also thought he was always going to be her cute little nerdy Parker who blushed every time she told him how hot he was. "You have no idea how many times I've thought about seeing them and wrapping my mouth around-"

"Peter!" Emma exclaimed, her blush deepening as she stared at Peter in surprise. "One blowjob and you're like a new you."

"So you can dish it out but you can't take it?" Peter teased, referring to the fact she said dirty things to him all the time. Emma laughed before shaking her head.

"It's not that I can't take it," Emma told him. "It's just that I kind of like a dirty Peter. Who knew all it took was us almost having sex."

"Well, maybe we could continue almost having sex," Peter flirted as he kissed her neck and Emma actually giggled which was unusual because she rarely did something as girlish as giggle. She playfully shoved him away.

"Peter, we'll never get any sleep at this rate," Emma told him and Peter ignored her as he continued planting kisses along her neck. "I don't know how you're not completely exhausted at this point. Between being shot, your surgery, and everything we just did together, you should be asleep right now."

"Superhero stamina, probably," Peter said, his lips finally leaving her neck. "You probably have it too."

"Yes, but just because we _can_ doesn't mean we _should_ ," Emma told him pointedly and she gave her boyfriend a serious look. "Now go to sleep. You need rest and please don't make me nag you like an annoying girlfriend."

"Okay…" Peter said in disappointment as he started to pout. Emma thought he was adorable so she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time for "teaching" each other later," Emma promised him and Peter immediately felt his heart skip a beat at that.

"Really?" Peter asked hopefully and Emma nodded before she rested her head against his chest, snuggling against him. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her.

"Of course. If we're going to have sex then I think we should practice first," Emma flirted and Peter really liked the sound of this so called "practicing".

"Hopefully we'll need a lot of practice," Peter remarked and Emma laughed.

"Hopefully," Emma said in response as she allowed herself to get comfortable in Peter's arms while making sure she didn't hurt him. He might've been almost healed but she knew he was probably still sore.

"Emma," Peter said as the lights automatically turned off in the room, probably from a lack of movement in the room since they stopped their bedroom activities a while ago.

"Yes?" Emma asked him, barely paying attention as she closed her eyes.

"Merry Christmas," Peter whispered to her.

For a moment Emma was confused as to what he meant by that because it was closer to the 4th of July than it was to Christmas. This was probably the randomest thing Peter could ever say to her.

However, as she wracked her brain for a meaning behind his weird words, her eyes widened in surprise.

Last Christmas.

Macy's.

Her dirty Christmas wish.

Mall Santa.

Getting banned from Macy's,more than likely, for life.

"I know your Christmas wish came a little late this year but I hope you enjoyed it," Peter said teasingly and Emma knew the smug asshole was smirking.

"Parker, you dirty little asshole!"

* * *

Steve Rogers was actively looking for his granddaughter after unfortunately getting involved in meetings with Ross and the rest of the UN about the accords. The UN was currently debating over whether they should just storm the facility and arrest everyone, Tony included, despite the fact they just stopped Hydra for good. There was hours of arguing involved and they were still nowhere in negotiations with the accords. The UN was unrelenting in making amendments to it and Steve remained firm in his stance against the contingencies that were already in place.

The sole reason he was still there arguing over the accords was because of Emma.

He had already left Emma behind once and he wasn't willing to do it again. Not after all the suffering and anguish she had been through. Steve so badly wanted to find a way for himself to stay. He didn't care what he had to do in order to do that.

There had to be some kind of loophole that would allow him to still stand for what he believed in while also being there for Emma. However, Steve didn't know what he was going to do about Bucky. He already lied to the UN about Bucky already having left the compound. Steve figured that Bucky would probably be forced to go back to Wakanda. There was no way he could get Bucky out of this mess which Steve knew would break Emma's heart.

Steve obviously had a lot on his mind.

It wasn't just finding out what happened to his granddaughter at the hands of Rumlow, missing out on a lot of Emma's life, being a fugitive on the run, or the romance between himself and Susan which had pretty much fizzled out at this point. It was the fact that he had completely lost it with Rumlow that really seemed to torment Steve.

Steve had always considered himself to be fair and to always do the right thing but something snapped inside him.

All the years of thinking he had lost a family he never knew in a fire, and then finding out they died at the hands of Hydra before turning a four-year-old little girl with pigtails into a killing machine, created a darkness in his heart that he wasn't sure would ever fade. Hearing Rumlow brag about all the things he did to Emma seemed to be Steve's breaking pint.

Steve felt a rage he had never felt before and he just went crazy on Rumlow. He didn't even stop when Rumlow finally died. Bucky had to stop him which was something Steve never thought he would have to do.

The others had seen the body and naturally assumed it was Bucky who did all the damage. Steve didn't want them to naturally assume that only Bucky could be capable of inflicting such damage but Bucky stopped him before he could say anything.

Bucky hadn't talked about what happened with Rumlow since they left Hydra Headquarters and Steve was grateful.

He wasn't even sure what happened himself.

The blonde super soldier began to search every room of the facility for his granddaughter and started to panic when he couldn't find her. She wasn't in her room, she wasn't in the recreational area, and she wasn't even in the gym. Emma was nowhere to be found and Steve was beginning to go into "Captain Mode" when he realized he was being stupid.

Of course she wasn't going to be anywhere but one room.

He asked McConaughey which room was the room Peter Parker was recovering in and he immediately headed for said room.

Steve had to admit that he had gotten a bit worried over the news that Peter had gotten injured while protecting Emma. He was grateful that Peter had saved Emma but he was also worried because the kid was a nice guy who Steve thought was good for Emma. Steve had always worried over what kind of guy his granddaughter would eventually bring home. The famous Avenger had prepared himself for the worst possible scenario which was basically Loki but in reality he was pleased his granddaughter brought home a genuinely nice guy that was very polite and respectful.

Steve was also worried for Emma because he knew how much she cared about Peter.

Thankfully, Tony mentioned something about the surgery being a success and Peter being able to make a full recovery. Steve was glad but he should've known that Emma wouldn't leave Peter's side in the meantime.

Maybe he didn't think of Emma doing this because he was still getting used to her being in a relationship with a boy. This was definitely going to take a lot of getting used to but he thought this would be good for Emma. Being in love was a good look for her even though it scared him to death that she was almost grown up now.

Steve quietly opened the door to the recovery room and stepped into the dark room. His eyes immediately landed on the teenage couple fast sleep in the bed.

Steve clenched his jaw at the sight of them in bed together, distinctly remembering telling Emma that he didn't ever want to see her and her boyfriend in the same bed.

Of course, she never listened, did she?

The super soldier was about lose it and wake the both of them up, dragging Emma out of the room and grounding her for an even longer time, when he stopped himself.

Steve stared at the two of them snuggled up together in bed. The way Emma looked her exact age as she rested peacefully in the arms of her boyfriend, her head resting against his chest. Peter had her wrapped almost protectively in his arms.

It finally dawned on Steve in that moment that his granddaughter probably had a more successful relationship than he ever had. Steve wasn't jealous about that though. He was actually happy for her, believe it or not. You always wanted a better and happier life for your children than what you had and Steve really felt solace in knowing that she was probably happier than he ever got to be with Peggy.

Yes, he never got his happy ending with Peggy but maybe Emma could have a happy ending of her own.

She definitely deserved it.

So instead of waking the two up and yelling angrily at them for disobeying him, he smiled softly at their sleeping forms before grabbing the comforter on the bed and covering them both up so they wouldn't get cold. Steve never imagined he would ever tuck in both his granddaughter and her boyfriend into bed but he had seen stranger things in his life.

Steve then turned around and began to walk out of the room, letting the two teenagers get some much needed rest. A smile, the first one in what felt like forever, graced his face as his heart leapt with happiness at his granddaughter's new life which he hoped that he could be a part of too.

Besides...as far as boyfriends went, Peter was actually someone Steve highly approved of. He was smart, nice, respectful, and loved his granddaughter. Someone like Loki might've been a worst case scenario but Peter was definitely a best case scenario. Steve liked Peter and trusted him with Emma one hundred percent.

Of course, Steve wouldn't be saying that if he knew what Peter had done to his granddaughter just two hours ago.


	88. Chapter Eighty

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry this chapter has taken forever. I started it right after I saw Endgame but life got in the way between then and now. Between work and school plus my guinea pig needed bladder stone surgery and I also got really sick. However, I'm back and I plan to update the next chapter way sooner than last time because it literally took me forever. I'm still reeling from Endgame by the way and I'm still trying to figure out ways to adapt it into this story. But one step at a time. I need to finish this story first.**

 **In another update about my life, I got tickets to Ace Comic Con in Seattle which I'm so excited for since I didn't get to go last year. I even splurged a little and bought a ticket to get an autograph from Jeremy Renner. It's going to be so surreal and exciting so I just can't wait.**

 **I also created a Tumblr account a week ago which is my first venture into social media. I assure you that I'm twenty one even though my understanding of social media is equivalent to that of a ninety year old woman. You'll be able to keep up more with announcements I make about my update schedule and what's going on so if you want to follow me I'm just luckystrikesalterego on Tumblr. I also post really cool fanart. AzureVermillion did a very beautiful fanart drawing of Emma and I can't get over how beautiful and stunning it is.**

 **I also know that I was private messaging a couple of you guys but then kind of left you hanging which I'm really sorry for but I got caught up in work, my job, and writing but I promise I'll get back to you soon. I just wanted to update the story first.**

 **I realize that I haven't yet answered the guest reviews in this chapter but I promise I will later on tonight. I just have to go to work really soon and I wanted to update before I leave for several hours since the chapter's done and I just want it out there. So I'll answer the reviews when I get home in an edit for this chapter.**

 **Thanks so much for being so patient with me. I know I made you guys wait forever but this chapter is really worth it. It's over 19,000 words long and filled with humor, fluff, and it sets stuff up for the sequel and onwards. The home movies finally come up in this chapter which I know everyone was excited for and there's also a lot of embarrassing inquiries into Emma and Peter's sex life. I'm feel so bad for embarrassing them but I couldn't resist for comedic relief purposes which is much needed after the last couple chapters.**

 **Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. I can't believe there's over 2,000 reviews on this story. That's insane and especially since I love reviews. Please let me know what you think of the chapter and I hope you enjoy it because this chapter has been really tough for me to write after being on hiatus for a while.**

* * *

After the death of Rumlow and Hydra, things felt more liberating at the compound…or at least for Emma, anyways. She felt more liberated although there was clearly a lot of stuff she needed to figure out for herself. However, she could feel calm and peaceful with Peter's hand in her hand as they walked across the compound without the need to hide anymore but also without the fear of Hydra and Rumlow hanging over her head. Emma felt free for the first time in a while. She really liked the feeling too.

"You look different today," Peter remarked as they ate breakfast together in the recreational area of the compound. Pepper always hated it when they ate in there but she seemed to be making an exception this morning. Emma took a bite from the fifth pancake she had woofed down. Darcy had decided to make an Avengers feast. It was only a relief that Thor wasn't there or Darcy would be working in the kitchen all day and night. People thought Emma, Steve, and her father were bad but Thor's appetite was way worse.

"I do?" Emma questioned as she poured more syrup on her plate.

Peter nodded as he stared at the way she ate her food. She stuffed her face in a ravenous way which he attributed to her super soldier appetite. It wasn't until he watched her grandfather eat food a few nights ago that he realized that Emma chewed her food the same way he did. Peter found it adorable but he decided to keep it to himself because Emma got annoyed whenever he tried to tell her that she looked just like her grandpa.

"I don't know what it is but you look different," Peter told her as he looked at her appreciatively. "A good different though."

"I feel different," Emma said, pausing in her eating.

A part of her wondered if her and Peter's bedroom activities last night were the reason she was so hungry now. They didn't technically have sex. Well…not _sex_ sex anyways. Still…it might've been part of the reason she felt so hungry now. That and everything that had happened in the past couple days.

"I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders even though that sounds like a cliché," Emma admitted to Peter but he just shook his head.

"I don't think it sounds like a cliché," Peter said honestly before giving her a small smile. "I'm glad you feel better. All I want is for you to be happy."

"I am happy," Emma told him honestly. It wasn't a lie despite all the confusion she felt over her weird powers. She really was happy now that Hydra was gone, Steve was there for the time-being, her father and her had made up, and Peter was okay. " _You_ make me happy."

Peter's gaze seemed to soften significantly in that way that always made Emma's heart skip a beat. Those puppy dog eyes of his were Emma's secret weakness.

"You make me happy too," Peter told her and Emma returned his smile before feeling a wave of concern come over her as she remembered his injury.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked him, referring to the surgery and Peter shrugged.

"I still feel a little sore but I think the wound's already healing," Peter told her and Emma seemed satisfied in knowing that. She worried about him endlessly so it brought her some relief that he was already healing.

"I forgot to tell you last night with how…busy we were," Emma started to say, blushing a little which gave Peter some satisfaction but also told him that he wasn't the only one who couldn't stop thinking about the previous night. "But my father said that he's okay with our relationship."

"What?!" Peter asked, thinking he might have heard her wrong but Emma just smiled and shook her head.

"I talked to him yesterday when you were still unconscious and he said that he was willing to accept us," Emma further explained.

"That's great, Emma," Peter said, allowing himself to feel excited at the thought that Emma's dad was now more willing to accept them.

Who knew all it took was for him to get shot.

"He wants to talk to you though. He'll probably make some threats against your life again," Emma told him calmly, not looking very concerned by this. "Nothing new."

"I have to talk to him?" Peter questioned, his eyes widening with fright which was a change from the excited look on his face just seconds ago. "Emma, I can't talk to your dad alone. What if he tries to kill me again?"

"How are you still afraid of him? You're way stronger than him," Emma informed him, not understanding her boyfriend's fear of her father who she thought was the least scary person alive. Peter didn't seem to see her father the same way though. "You could take him if you had to."

"Yeah but he's killed lots of people, Emma. That's scary," Peter said, still looking to be in a panicked state in having to face Bucky Barnes alone which might've been scariest thing Peter ever had to do. Emma rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

" _I've_ killed people, Peter, yet you seemed to have no problem letting me blow you last night," Emma pointed out bluntly and Peter blushed, his entire face turning red as a tomato. He then glanced around the room to see if anyone happened to walk into the room at that moment in time and overheard what Emma just said. His worst nightmare was if Steve or her father walked in at that moment and heard her.

"Emma, don't say that aloud. What if someone heard you? I'd be the one in trouble," Peter said before quietly answering her reminder. "And that's way different."

"How is it different?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow and Peter blushed even more under her intense gaze.

"Because you love me and I know you would never hurt me," Peter told her truthfully. "Your dad totally would hurt me and probably worse."

"That and he probably wouldn't blow you," Emma said, trying to make Peter blush but she actually made him look quite sick.

"Emma! Don't put that image in my head," Peter exclaimed, looking horrified.

"I mean, I don't think he's blown anyone before but he and Steve seem really close so who knows what they got up to back in the day," Emma said nonchalantly. "All I know is that they're close even for a couple of best friends. Not even MJ and I are _that_ close. In another world where I didn't have you around to satisfy me sexually then maybe I'd consider taking a step in that direction with her."

"Okay, that's a much better image in my head," Peter said, sounding a little interested in what Emma just said and she rolled her eyes once more.

"You're a typical man, Parker," Emma said, scoffing at her idiotic boyfriend. "I was just kidding. I don't even like women."

"It's okay if you do, Emma. I mean, as long as it's just you and me in the end but if you did-" Peter started to say but Emma gave him a look of distaste before interrupting.

"Women are impossible to manipulate because they're smarter which serves me no purpose and it makes everything boring. Men are more fun…at least to me," Emma said, smirking at Peter as she rested her hand on his thigh while attempting to look innocent. " _You're_ more fun to me."

"Because I'm stupid unlike a woman?" Peter questioned even though his voice felt shaky with the way Emma was moving closer to him and kept her hand on his thigh. She was totally manipulating him but it was only in a way that Peter could appreciate.

"Because you're a little dork who still likes playing with his Star Wars dolls and actually pays attention during Chemistry," Emma said, listing some of the things she loved about Peter.

"They're called action figures and I don't play with them. I will sometimes reenact my favorite scenes from the movies but it's not playing with them," Peter said defensively and Emma just stared at him. "It's totally different and yeah, I pay attention in Chemistry. You should too. There's some useful stuff in there."

"You're really sexy when you play with your action figures," Emma told him honestly and Peter thought she was making fun of him for a moment before he saw the seriousness in her expression. "It's really sexy that you care so much about science too."

"The weirdest stuff turns you on," Peter mumbled, shyly looking away from Emma. She leaned closer to him and placed a gentle kiss along his neck which caused Peter to swallow hard. Things had definitely changed between them since last night. There was a newfound intimacy between them that Peter really liked and he knew it was because they were taking a new step in their relationship.

"What happened to dirty Peter? The one who was wishing me Merry Christmas last night?" Emma asked him flirtatiously.

"Well, he didn't have to worry about his girlfriend's dad and grandfather walking in on his girlfriend practically in his lap in a very public area," Peter told her as Emma continued to plant a trail of kisses along his neck much to Peter's secret delight. Emma was just glad he okay which was why she couldn't get enough of him. Being close to him was like an assurance that he was safe and well. Emma didn't think she wanted to let go of him any time soon.

"Why is it that every time I step into a room, I see the two of you trying to devour each other?" A new voice said in an annoyed tone, interrupting another lengthy make-out session between the two teenagers. Peter blushed vibrantly at his mentor walking into the room nonchalantly, heading for the kitchen area so he could make himself some coffee. Emma just looked annoyed that Tony had interrupted her but she didn't look embarrassed, unapologetically remaining close to Peter's side.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter said, knowing that he couldn't really tell Tony that he and Emma weren't doing anything since Tony clearly saw the two of them.

"It's okay, kid. I get it," Tony said as he turned Keurig on, looking over at the two teenagers who seemed to be having some kind of romantic breakfast. They really were the most adorable couple at the compound, weren't they? Sometimes they made Tony sick with all their cuteness…not really but Tony still felt like he was the comic relief dad in a very weird and superhero themed rom-com. "Mini Cap's just showing you how…grateful she is that you're alive and well. Granted it's disgusting for her godfather to see and I feel like pouring bleach into my eyes but it's a nice sentiment."

Emma kind of hoped that Tony would shut up and leave then but he seemed insistent on killing any romantic mood that was left in the room between her and Peter.

"You two kids appreciate how passionate and sweet young love is while you can because the last time I came home from a mission, Pepper yelled at me and made me sleep on the couch," Tony said, giving them some lame advice that Emma didn't care about. "She definitely didn't shower me with kisses and tell me how sexy I was when I played with my dolls. You two are pretty kinky by the way. Do I even want to know what Merry Christmas means?"

"You're a little eavesdropper, Stark," Emma accused while Peter's entire face was red and he looked like he wanted to sink down in his chair before melting in a giant puddle and disappearing forever.

"You two should really stop flirting aloud like that where anyone can hear. I think you keep forgetting that Capsicle and the Father-in-Law from hell are around," Tony warned them jokingly, looking amused by Emma and Peter's teenage shenanigans. "So the Merry Christmas thing. Is that like a codeword for something?"

"Mind your own fucking business, you senile old man!" Emma snapped, glaring at him and Tony chuckled as he grabbed his mug of coffee before quickly leaving the room. He knew when he was about to push Emma too far. She had a temper but good for the kid if he wasn't too disturbed by Emma's temper. Tony knew all about Peggy Carter's famous temper and sometimes wondered if maybe that was something Emma inherited from her.

"Okay, okay! I'm leaving!" Tony said hurriedly as he nearly jogged out of the room. "Don't let grandpa hear that foul language."

"He's so annoying," Emma grumbled once Tony had raced back downstairs to climb in whatever snake hole he climbed out of. Peter just wrapped his arm around his girlfriend in an attempt to sooth her and not get too worked up over Tony's antics.

"He wouldn't be him if he wasn't," Peter pointed out to Emma. He was always trying to get her to admit that she loved Tony but Emma would never budge. It would be a cold day in hell before Emma said that she loved that annoying old man. Emma loved her father, Steve, and Peter while she just tolerated everyone else. Tony was lucky he was upgraded to being tolerated from just being resented.

"This is why we can't have sex here in the compound. That's what we would wake up to the morning after," Emma explained to her boyfriend. "Do you get it now?"

Peter sighed heavily before reluctantly nodding.

"Yeah, we definitely can't have sex here."

* * *

"I'm setting it up. Just give me a damn minute," Darcy said as she hurriedly figured out a way to have the videos from her Stark Pad play on the big screen. Everyone was seated in the recreational area, either excitedly anticipating Steve's reaction to the home movies Darcy made or they were just excited to see it themselves. Even Peter had to admit he was a bit curious about seeing the videos while Emma was wishing she could disappear somewhere else because this was going to be embarrassing.

"There. All done," Tony said quickly after tapping the screen twice and the videos popped up on the screen like magic. Darcy glared at Tony.

"Fine. I guess I'll never learn on my own," Darcy said, obviously not being a whiz with tech much to her annoyance. "Stupid tech geniuses and their cockiness."

"A five-year-old child could've done that on their own, Lewis," Tony pointed out as he plopped himself down in a seat next to Pepper and Rhodey, casually stealing some popcorn from his oldest friend.

"At least I don't act like a five-year-old child," Darcy threw back and Natasha rolled her eyes.

"You're both acting like children. Let's just see the damn videos so Steve and Barnes can see what they've been missing out on and we can all get some rest," Natasha said tiredly, just wanting to get this over this so she and Clint could facetime with his family. It had been a while since either of them had seen Laura and the kids.

"Guess who's not looking forward to seeing these videos," Emma mumbled under her breath from her seat in between Steve and Peter. Her father was sitting on the other side of the room with Sam. For two people who claimed not to like each other, Emma couldn't help but notice how well they got along.

"It'll be fun, Emma. You'll see," Peter told her, trying to get her to see the bright side of things as always. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"You obviously don't remember what was said in some of these videos," Emma told him which earned her a curious glance from Steve but before Steve could ask her what she meant, the first video started playing.

The video showed Emma sitting in the passenger seat of the car with a grumpy look on her face. She actually resembled Bucky quite a bit when he was in one of his moods.

 _"What are you doing?"_ Emma questioned, looking at the camera.

 _"I'm making a video,"_ Darcy replied, her voice being heard from behind the camera. " _I thought Steve might like to see your first day of school."_ Emma just shook her head at Darcy.

 _"Why? It's not like you can actually send this to him,"_ Emma told her pointedly.

 _"I know but it's for when he gets back,"_ Darcy explained. _"I want to document all your experiences while he's gone so he won't miss anything. Now be a good little assassin and say hi to your grandpa."_

Emma just rolled her eyes before she feigned an excited smile.

"Is that your impression of Steve?" Natasha asked Emma who looked boredly at the screen as Steve, Bucky, and Peter were probably watching everything in fascination. Emma shrugged.

"Pretty much," She told her and Steve paused in watching to give Emma a semi offended look.

"I don't smile like that," Steve told her and Emma smirked.

"You totally do," Emma retorted and Steve feigned an annoyed look before returning his attention to the screen, truthfully amused by his granddaughter who always seemed to cheer him up when he was feeling a bit down. Steve actually jumped at the chance to see all the home movies when Darcy suggested it because it meant taking a break from his inner turmoil at completely losing it with Rumlow the other day. Steve didn't have any regrets but he still felt angry at himself for so easily losing control like that.

 _"Hi, Steve,"_ Emma said as she greeted the camera. _"Remember how you told me to respect Tony's decisions? Yeah, well, look where that's gotten me."_

The smile then dropped off her face as she pointed at the school building.

 _"Now I'm going to some kind of insane asylum they call a school to hang around a bunch of idiots all day because apparently I need better social skills. So thank you for giving me the brilliant advice to listen to Tony."_

"Yeah, Tony doesn't give out a lot of good advice," Clint remarked. "I wouldn't tell my kids to listen to what Tony said. That's all I'm saying. Not that I'm judging your parenting skills, Cap."

"Thanks a lot, Barton," Tony said sarcastically.

 _"Hey, there's no need for sarcasm,"_ Darcy told her and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.

 _"You're Darcy Lewis,"_ Emma deadpanned. _"Don't you live off of sarcasm?"_

 _"Well, that's me. Not you,"_ Darcy replied before she turned the phone around so that she was looking at the camera. _"Don't mind her, Steve. I bet after today she'll completely love high school. She'll have a couple of best friends, be a member of the Spanish club, and maybe she'll even have a boyfriend."_

 _"I hoped you liked today's episode of Emma's life as a teenager. Next time it will be Emma's first homecoming dance."_

"Emma would never go to a homecoming dance," Sam said, sounding sure of himself and Darcy smirked at him.

"Well, the joke's on you because she did," Darcy said smugly, causing a lot of people in the room to look surprised except for Steve who Emma told about the homecoming dance.

"Either my own life's sad or this is the most interesting thing I've watched all year," Wanda said as she stared at the screen with a new sort of interest.

"You're life _is_ sad," Emma quipped, not being able to resist insulting Wanda. Only this time the insult wasn't laced with venom or malice. Wanda only rolled her eyes at the teenager before returning her attention to the screen. Things seemed to have gotten better between them and the rest of everyone would be lying if they said they weren't glad.

The group saw a couple more videos that basically just showed Darcy annoying the hell out of Emma as she did things like get ready for school or something mundane as homework at night. There was even a video of Emma trying to get Happy to ditch Tony at a nursing home when they were in the car. Something that seemed to make everyone laugh except for Tony and Steve. Emma just gave them both an innocent look.

It didn't take long before another video played on the screen and Emma groaned when she realized that everyone was going to see her in the most hideous thing she had ever worn in her life.

This time the video showed Emma packing her bag for the decathlon trip to D.C. while Darcy filmed the whole thing.

 _"Do you have everything packed?"_ Darcy's voice could be heard asking as the camera showed Emma standing over her suitcase which was placed on her bed. The blonde was wearing something uncharacteristically unfashionable and everyone could only assume it was the Academic Decathlon blazer all team members had to wear.

 _"Nice blazer,"_ Darcy remarked and Emma glared at her.

"That really is the ugliest article of clothing I've ever seen," Natasha said, staring at the screen boredly.

"I tried telling that glasses wearing old dork that but he wouldn't listen," Emma said, referring to Mr. Harrington. Peter frowned.

"I like the blazers," Peter said in protest and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Says the guy who wear t-shirts with stupid puns on them every single day of the week," Emma retorted and Peter pretended to be angry at her even though he wasn't. He always strangely loved bickering with her.

 _"Don't remind me_ ," Emma said in the video.

 _"Okay, Steve, today is the day Emma goes on a school trip to D.C.,"_ Darcy said into the tablet before she practically shoved it in the blonde's face. Emma gave the brunette an annoyed look.

 _"Remember I told you a couple episodes ago that she joined the decathlon team? Yeah, I was as surprised as you are since it's basically a nerd squad and all. Apparently she joined it for a boy."_

 _"I did not join the team for a boy."_ Emma hissed at her in the video, looking quite pissed. _"I thought he was up to something but I was wrong. That's the end of it. It's too late to back out now."_

 _"She totally joined the team for a boy."_ Darcy told the camera smugly, looking more than happy to tell Steve all about the latest gossip in Emma's life. _"His name is Peter and she's in love with him. She even spent the night at his house last night...oops probably shouldn't have mentioned that. I imagine you and her assassin daddy will probably have to go kill the kid now but don't worry, Stevie, I told Emma that she has to use protection. Emma knows all about safe sex."_

"Ooh, you spent the night at a boy's house," Sam said mockingly as he teased Emma and Peter while Steve and Bucky seemed quite alarmed that Darcy would let Emma stay at overnight at a boy's house. Emma knew Steve and her father had nothing to worry about since nothing happened at Peter's apartment. That was the night she, Peter, and Ned were trying to gather intel on the vulture. "Looks like someone's in a lot of trouble."

"Relax, Wilson," Emma said, glaring at the man who was trying to get her into trouble with Steve and her father. "We were gathering intel on the Vulture."

"So that's what the kids are calling it these days?" Tony quipped, joining in on the teasing.

"You two are idiots," Emma hissed before looking over at Steve. "We weren't even dating then, Steve. Don't let Darcy fool you into thinking otherwise."

"You still shouldn't have stayed over at a boy's apartment alone," Steve said, still sounding unsure of all this news while her father still seemed on edge as he cast a suspicious look in Peter's direction.

Emma knew that spending one night with Peter under innocent pretenses were the least of Steve's worries because there were was a span of a few months where Peter spent every single night in her bed so he could comfort her when she had nightmares. She was sure Steve wouldn't like that so Emma kept her mouth shut.

"So you liked me even back then?" Peter asked, a goofy smile on his face and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Get over yourself, Parker," Emma told him before everyone returned their attention to the screen.

Emma in the video took a deep breath before looking into the camera.

 _"I swear, Steve, if you don't come home soon Darcy's going to end up dead. I don't think I have enough patience to last that much longer."_

 _"Well, that's not nice,"_ Darcy remarked from behind the camera. _"Anyways…Emma's supposed to take a lot of pictures while she's in D.C. so we can all see how her trip went. So let's hope Midtown takes home the cash prize."_

 _"There's no cash prize, Darcy,"_

 _"What? Then why are you guys going?"_ Emma visibly shrugged.

 _"I don't know…bragging rights?"_ Darcy scoffed in the video.

 _"Lame."_

 _"So I guess that wraps up another episode of diary of a teenage assassin,"_ Darcy stated seriously _. "Tune in next time for when Emma goes to the Homecoming dance. Hopefully her boyfriend Peter will ask her in time and you can finally see your future grandson-in-law."_

The camera shook as there seemed to be a scramble for it before Emma seemed to succeed in snatching the camera away from the brunette, causing everyone in the room to laugh. Emma just glared up at the screen as Peter continued to smirk at her because he seemed to have it in his head that she liked him even back then. Well, maybe she did but Emma wasn't about let him have the satisfaction in knowing that.

 _"Don't worry, Steve, there's no boyfriend. Darcy's just as crazy as usual,"_ Emma told the camera. _"And there's definitely not going to be a Homecoming dance. Not in a million years. Tune in for next time when the police discover the body of a loud mouth brunette woman at the bottom of the Hudson river."_

"I miss that version of Emma," Clint said as he stared at the screen. "The one who threatened everyone all the time with death. That Emma used to scare the shit out of Bruce. Remember how he always used to avoid her?"

"He used to hide in the lab and eat all his meals down there so he wouldn't have to ever see her. It was hilarious," Sam said, remembering the good times in the tower.

Peter listened eagerly to these fond memories the Avengers had of each other because this was part of the Avengers and Emma's life before Peter was even close to becoming involved. He was curious about the lives they shared together before the Accords and before Sokovia when they all lived in the tower together. Emma sometimes talked about life in the tower and he could tell she missed that dynamic.

"I forgot he was terrified of her," Natasha said, remembering that detail about her old flame as well. Emma scoffed.

"Banner was scared of his own shadow. I had nothing to do with it," Emma said, refusing to believe that a man who could transform into a giant green being could be afraid of her.

"What was that name he used to call her?" Darcy questioned as she struggled to remember the nickname everyone used to call Emma behind her back.

"Evil Steve," Tony said with zero hesitance and Emma glared at him. Of course, Tony would never forget about that nickname, would he?

"Evil Steve!" Sam exclaimed loudly, laughing at the same time while the people who weren't around for the era of Evil Steve looked at the rest of everyone in amusement. In other words, Bucky, Vision, Wanda, May, and Peter seemed to be the only ones not privy to this particular memory.

"It was more of the way he said it though," Tony said before doing his best impression of his still missing best friend. "G-Guys, Evil S-Steve isn't here, is she? Is it safe to make some tea?"

"Bruce doesn't sound like that," Pepper told her fiancé as she rolled her eyes. Clint shrugged.

"He kind of did," Clint added helpfully.

"Ha ha. What an original name," Emma said sarcastically, not looking as fond about this memory as they did. "Why do I have to be Evil Steve anyways? Why can't Steve be Innocent Emma?"

"Because Steve already has a whole book full of nicknames," Tony pointed out in what Emma thought was a dumb point. "Star Spangled Man with a Plan, Living Legend, Old Fossil, Captain Vanilla, Old Man, Gramps, and my personal favorite…Capsicle."

"Whatever," Emma grumbled. "Let's just watch the next video and get this over with."

"I still don't like that name for Emma," Steve said, coming to his granddaughter's defense as always. "She's not evil."

"Evil Steve?" Peter whispered to her and Emma just shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it," She mumbled, clearly annoyed by the nickname Bruce had once accidentally given her.

The group then proceeded to watch the video Darcy recorded of Emma about to leave for the homecoming dance with Ned. Of course, everyone but Steve and her father seemed to make fun of Emma going to the dance as they teased her about the dance. Peter grasped her hand in his and told her how beautiful she looked that night, his voice a gentle whisper.

"I was really stupid back then," Peter murmured. "I should've taken you to the dance instead of Liz. I don't even remember why I took Liz anymore."

"It's not like I made it easy on you," Emma said, for once not insulting Liz but probably because Emma had the petty satisfaction of Peter doing things to her that he had never done to Liz. "I was super bitchy back then."

"No, you weren't," Peter told her but hesitated when Emma gave him a doubtful look. "Well, not completely."

The video then ended and the video of the night of Emma and Peter's first date came up on the screen. Darcy grinned because she knew this was going to be hilarious. Well…everyone's reaction to the video was going to be hilarious anyways.

The camera landed on Emma who was dressed in a beautiful red dress in her bedroom, applying make-up to her face as Darcy, who was behind the camera, attempted to sneak up on her.

 _"Aw…Em. Look at you, all dressed up and pretty for your boyfriend,"_ Darcy teased and Emma turned to look at the brunette in the video.

 _"Leave me alone,"_ Emma grumbled and Darcy just smirked.

 _"In case you weren't aware, Steve, Emma's finally gotten herself a boyfriend,"_ Darcy said, talking to the camera. _"Believe it or not she finally confessed her undying love to Peter and it turns out he feels the same. They're dating for real this time and it seriously took them long enough."_

 _"He's taking Emma out on their first date tonight so you know it's going to be really cute. That's why Emma's all dressed up,"_ Darcy then continued ramble on in the video. _"I just realized that this is going to be the first time you'll be seeing what Peter looks like. Well, you technically met him at the airport but I swear you'll like him way more this time. He's a cute kid…sort of dorky but in a hot way. Like he's super nerdy but really hot at the same time. Kind of like Bruce."_

Peter blushed from the way Darcy was talking about him in the video while everyone else looked amused. Steve and Bucky both remarked at how beautiful Emma looked in her red dress but it wasn't just that. She also looked like a woman which was both scary but amazing to see. Steve glanced over at Emma and realized that she really was a woman. She wasn't the same thirteen-year-old girl he first met all those years ago but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was a good thing she was growing up and becoming her own person.

Steve was proud of her.

 _"Can you please refrain from telling my grandfather how hot my boyfriend is?"_ Emma deadpanned in the video. _"It's also kind of creepy that a grown woman's talking about how hot a teenage boy is."_

 _"Relax, Emma. I'll keep my hands to myself,"_ Darcy teased. " _There's no need to lock me inside a locker with a bunch of snakes. Peter's safe from me. I'll just let Steve ask you about that one on his own. Trust me, Steve, it's a super funny story."_

 _"You're hilarious, Darcy."_

"A locker with snakes?" Steve questioned in confusion and everyone, who missed out on that week Emma talked herself out of trouble, also looked at her questioningly. Emma just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It was just a harmless prank," Emma said, sounding unbothered by the mention of the locker filled with snakes. Peter gave her an alarmed look.

"That was not a harmless prank," Peter argued and Emma gave him a look.

"It was kind of your fault anyways," Emma said, placing the blame on her boyfriend. Peter raised his eyebrows.

"My fault? How is it my fault?" Peter questioned, not believing the words that sometimes came out of his girlfriend's mouth.

"If you hadn't been spending so much time with Betty Brant then I wouldn't have felt the need to use Tony's credit card to buy a bunch of snakes from a pet store and then put them in a random locker before I grabbed Betty and shoved her inside of it," Emma explained in a way that made it clear that she was the only one who thought this made any sense.

"You're insane. A normal person never would've thought a solution to me spending too much time with another girl was to stuff said girl in a locker with snakes," Peter argued and everyone watched the couple argue back and forth almost like they were watching a tennis match.

"It's not like the snakes were poisonous," Emma reasoned and Peter just stared at her in disbelief because his girlfriend really was crazy. Not that he had any problem with that but sometimes her logic bewildered him.

"You better get used to this," Rhodey told some of the others who were sitting nearby. "When they're not staring longingly into each other's eyes, they're arguing like an old married couple."

"It's not that bad," Tony said nonchalantly. "It's way more entertaining than Netflix."

"You put a poor classmate of yours into a locker filled with snakes?" Steve said, sounding a little pissed off at Emma. "That sounds like bullying."

"It was actually self-defense," Emma defended while everyone looked at her doubtfully. "She was bullying me."

"You were bullied?" Natasha questioned, not looking like she believed Emma. "Someone bullied you?"

"Yes. Peter's previous girlfriend slut shamed me and threatened to make high school miserable for me if I didn't stay away from him," Emma said, attempting to get sympathy from everyone there. "I felt threatened so of course I defended myself."

"She wasn't my girlfriend," Peter muttered but before Emma could argue with him about that, Tony snorted from his seat next to Pepper and Rhodey.

"Wait…you and this other girl got into some kind of catfight over Peter. _Peter_?" Tony asked, looking highly amused by this situation. Peter just looked embarrassed as everyone looked in between him and Emma. "We're talking about the same Peter who still plays with his Star Wars dolls. You and this other girl fought over him?"

"They're not dolls. They're action figures," Peter said defensively and Emma shrugged, thinking it was kind of cute when Peter played with those action figures whenever he reacted his favorite scenes from Star Wars. His nerdiness was really hot to Emma and a weird turn on for her.

"Pretty much," Emma said casually.

Bucky looked at the boy his daughter seemed so fixated with and he honestly wondered what the hell the kid had about him that seemed not to just attract Emma but other girls too. When Bucky was in high school, from what he could remember, he had several girlfriends. Not all at the same time but he vaguely remembered a couple girls getting involved in some sort of catfight over him like the one Stark just described. This was no easy feat. Bucky had been a horrible flirt back then and was basically asking for trouble.

What Bucky didn't understand was how the hell this kid did the same thing without even trying. He seemed nervous and even awkward. Sort of…like Steve, maybe. Imagining Peter having two girls fighting over him was almost like imagining Steve having two girls fighting over him in high school.

Completely insane.

"This kid has more game than I did at his age," Tony muttered to Rhodey under his breath. "I feel lame."

"I can't believe you're only just feeling lame. You've always been lame to me," Emma retorted and Tony refrained from sticking his tongue out at her. He felt like Pepper would lecture him about acting like an adult.

"I don't approve of your antics even if this girl was being mean," Steve started to lecture and Emma felt like rolling her eyes at him. "What you did wasn't right."

"What? So I was just supposed to let that Reese Witherspoon wannabe get her grubby little manicured hands on Peter?" Emma questioned, thinking her actions were perfectly justifiable. Peter face palmed because everyone was staring at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe Emma was making it sound like he was the cool and suave guy that had a hundred girls chasing after him. Peter still didn't really believe that Betty was ever interested in him but Emma seemed to think so.

"What would you have done if some dickhead in the army called you an easy lay and tried to threaten to ruin your high school reputation in an attempt to steal grandma away?" Emma asked Steve with a serious look on her face. "I hope to god you would've defended our family name by scaring the shit out of that asshole and taking what was rightfully yours. If you think about it, I never did anything differently than what Katherine Heigl did in a movie to get a guy."

"What the hell kind of Katherine Heigl movie were _you_ watching?" Darcy questioned and Emma just ignored her as she looked at Steve.

"I realized a long time ago that arguing with you is pointless," Steve said, finally giving up because he was never going to get through to Emma and have her think with reason. While she was very rational at times and knew when to keep her cool, her morals were entirely different than his so Steve realized that he was just going to have to live with it. She wouldn't be Emma if she didn't think in this bizarre and exaggerated way. "I give up. I think I really have this time."

"I'm glad you realized I'm right," Emma said, sounding satisfied with her grandfather's reaction.

Bucky just smirked and shook his head in amusement. He didn't really see anything wrong with Emma stuffing that brat inside a locker. From what it sounds like, the girl probably deserved it. Well, mostly because Bucky was always going to be on Emma's side and anyone who stood against Emma was labeled the enemy in his eyes. Besides…stuffing that girl in a locker with snakes was pretty tame compared to the other stuff Bucky had seen Emma do in the past when she lost her temper.

That Betty Brant girl was actually really lucky.

"Let's just watch the rest of the video," Steve muttered, pointedly looking at the screen and everyone took this as a sign that they should shut up and do as he said. Emma, however, looked extremely pleased with herself. Winning an argument against Steve was always a victory in her eyes.

 _"I'm just going to pan the camera down a bit so you can see Emma's outfit. I just can't believe she's going on her first date. Your little girl's growing up so fast, Steve,"_ Darcy said in the video as she then panned the camera up and down, showing off Emma's outfit.

 _"Doesn't she look beautiful, Steve?"_ Darcy said behind the camera. The blonde glared at Darcy before walking past her and out of her bedroom with Darcy following closely behind her.

 _"What time is your boyfriend going to get here, Em?"_ Darcy asked as she continued to annoy the teenager in the video. Emma seemed to have reached the living room in the townhouse at this time, sitting herself on the couch.

 _"Seven,"_ Emma answered shortly.

 _"Let's see if Peter passes the tardy or not tardy test. We all know how you detest tardiness, Steve,"_ Darcy said but before Emma could respond, a knock could be heard in the video.

 _"Looks like this is a boy you'll approve of, Steve. He's four minutes early,"_ Darcy said excitedly as she went to answer the door.

Everyone in the compound watching the video then leaned forward in their seats with interest and especially Tony. This video was from a time where Emma and Peter were keeping their relationship a secret from him so he was curious about those first moments in that same relationship.

 _"You look like Ryan Gosling in_ _La La Land_!" Darcy exclaimed from behind the camera as Peter then appeared in the video, looking incredibly handsome and well dressed in his outfit. _"You're all dressed up."_

Steve approved of the outfit, glad that Peter actually dressed up for his first date with Emma which Steve knew was a milestone for her. He noticed a lot of guys in this time rarely dressed up for such occasions so he was glad that Peter was enough of a gentlemen for Emma that he took the time and care to do that for her.

May smiled at the sight of her handsome and adorable nephew. She still remembered helping him get ready for that first date. He had been nervous, more so than he was for the homecoming dance, with his hands trembling. It took her a while to calm him down and assure him that the date was going to go well. It looked like she was right too because here he was with Emma now. May couldn't be more pleased.

 _"You look beautiful,"_ Peter said breathlessly as he stared at her. Everyone watching was surprised to see Emma blush from his words because she never blushed.

"Aw!" Sam, Darcy, Wanda, Clint, and Tony said in unison, obviously giving their teammates a hard time. Emma glared at them while Peter blushed.

 _"Thanks. You look great too,"_ Emma murmured, almost shyly as she looked back at him. Darcy could be heard squealing in excitement in the background of the video.

 _"You guys are so adorable! Steve, don't you think it's cute how they dressed up for their date?"_ Darcy asked the camera. _"I, for one, think it's awesome that you two dressed up for your date. No one dresses up anymore. I once went out on a date with a guy who wore sweat pants. Sweat pants!"_

 _"What's going on?"_ Peter asked in confusion and Emma quickly explained to him why Darcy was recording everything.

 _"So your grandfather's going to watch this?"_ Peter asked nervously while Emma just looked amused.

 _"Yeah, so you better smile and wave at the camera, Romeo. First impressions are the most important, after all,"_ Darcy informed him.

 _"Don't let Darcy freak you out. She's got nothing better to do so that's why she's doing this."_ Emma said, sounding like she was trying to reassure him.

 _"Here, I got these for you. I knew you'd probably kill me if I got you flowers so I got you a bouquet of bookmarks instead…you know, since you love books and everything,"_ He then handed her the stack of bookmarks which had a pretty blue ribbon tied around them.

 _"Peter, I love it. Thank you,"_ Emma said softly in the video as she looked back up at him from the bookmarks. Peter blushed, looking somewhat bashful under her gaze.

 _"It's nothing,"_ Peter mumbled.

"Pepper never likes any of the stuff I get her no matter how expensive yet the kid just grabs a pile of bookmarks he probably got from the library for free and suddenly he's Ryan Gosling," Tony said in disbelief before looking over at Peter. "How do you do it, Pete? You come home injured from a mission and instead of getting the third degree, she's all over you. What's your secret?"

"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about, Mr. Stark," Peter said nervously with wide eyes. Emma smirked before leaning over to whisper into Peter's ear.

"Huge penis. That's your secret," Emma said seductively but also in attempt to make her boyfriend blush and he actually did blush which wasn't surprising to Emma. It was always so easy but also fun to make him blush. "Of course Tony can't change the impossible about himself."

Emma seemed to have forgotten that her grandfather was there and that he had superhuman hearing as she leaned back into her seat, noticing him next to her for the first time. He was astoundingly quiet as he stared at her silently, his eyes as wide as saucers. Emma cleared her throat awkwardly before smiling sheepishly at him.

Well, shit…it seemed like Emma still wasn't used to him being around all the time.

"Um…kidding?" Emma attempted to say, not knowing how else she could backtrack from that flirty comment she made towards Peter. Steve didn't say anything, looking highly disturbed as he glanced between her and her boyfriend. Thankfully, Peter didn't notice that Steve overheard her or he would've slipped into panic mode and thankfully, her father was too distracted by a conversation with Sam to have picked up on her comment. Still…Steve didn't seem entirely happy with her remark about Peter.

"It's the whole innocent doe eyed thing, isn't it?" Tony inquired before almost face palming because he couldn't believe what he was doing. Emma was thankful for Tony moving the conversation forward. "Great. Now I'm seeking romantic advice from a sixteen-year-old kid. What has my life become?"

"Aw, he got you bookmarks, Em?" Natasha said teasingly, smirking at the blonde. Emma glared at her. She thought to make a comment about how at least Emma actually got something from her boyfriend while all Natasha's ex had given her was the possibility of a big green dick. However, after that comment Steve overheard, Emma knew she was treading on thin ice.

 _"Okay, that was the most romantic thing I've ever seen. Can I please come on your date with you guys?"_ Darcy pleaded. " _You're both so adorable. I just can't get enough of it."_

Emma glared at the brunette in video, obviously annoyed by her antics.

 _"Come on, Peter, let's go,"_ Emma told him. _"Darcy's being weird again."_

Emma then grabbed Peter's hand and practically dragged him out of the townhouse.

 _"Fine, I get it. It's not fun hanging out with the boring adult,"_ Darcy retorted. _"Say bye to Steve, young lady!"_

 _"Bye Steve! We're going off to have unprotected sex! Don't worry about us,"_ Emma called back to her as she dragged Peter out of the house and slammed the door behind them.

Steve turned to look at Emma again, still looking incredibly disturbed but still remaining silent while everyone around them just laughed. Peter laughed nervously while looking like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world right now and especially with the way Emma's dad was glaring at him. Emma just gave her grandfather another sheepish smile.

"Another joke," Emma said as she tried to brush off the remark as being nothing. "Aren't I hilarious, Steve?"

Steve still didn't say anything as he continued to just stare at her, a mix of emotions in his eyes. Emma could tell Steve was having a mini meltdown so she started to try and appease him by making a bunch of shit up. It probably wouldn't work but she could at least try.

"Sex? Ew! Gross," Emma said, lying horribly for the first time in her life. "Sex is disgusting. You pass around germs and fluids. Who would want to do that. Gross. Right, Peter?"

The blonde them elbowed her boyfriend in the side who had been distracted by Bucky's heated glare.

"What?" Peter said in confusion and Emma gave him a pointed look before glancing back at Steve who had a very alarmed look on his face. He seemed to get the point as he swallowed hard before nodding furiously.

"Yes, sex is yucky," Peter said, sounding very unconvincing. Emma raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief.

Seriously?

Yucky?

Was he five or something?

"It's disgusting and a sin…it's a sin," Peter said as he tried to come up with something that would convince Emma's grandfather that they weren't having sex. Well, they technically weren't but what he and Emma did in their alone time together wasn't exactly innocent either. "I would never do that with your granddaughter anyways. Not in a million years."

Emma turned back to look at him with an offended look on her face and Peter's eyes widened when he realized what he just said. Oh shit…how was he going to get himself out of this one? How was he going to convince Captain America that he wasn't doing anything sinful with his granddaughter but how was he going to say so in a way that Emma wouldn't be mad and take said sinful things off the table?

Peter had definitely dug himself a hole and Tony seemed to be laughing it up from across the room, watching the three of them like he was watching some kind of reality tv show. Peter was just glad that at least someone was enjoying this.

"I mean, I totally would have sex with her because she's, like, the most beautiful girl ever and she's Emma so she's also the awesomest person in the whole world too. So definitely…one hundred percent," Peter said, looking back at Emma as he tried to backtrack on his earlier statement before then flinching when he remembered Steve and probably Emma's father were watching. "But only after marriage because sex is just between a husband and a wife. Under the eyes of God and everything."

Steve just stared at the both for a long moment while Bucky continued to give Peter a dark look before Steve took a deep breath, getting up from the couch.

"I'm going to go for a jog now," Steve said randomly before he then left the room. Emma watched him leave, swallowing hard because she knew this wasn't good. She was only thankful her father had only caught the end of the conversation or this would be so much worse.

"Yeah, we're in trouble," Emma told Peter, knowing Steve well enough to know he didn't buy their lie. She was disappointed in herself because usually she was an amazing liar but Peter seemed to really be corrupting her in regards to that.

 _Yeah, Steve thinks we're definitely having sex,_ Emma thought to herself.

"You're right," Natasha said as she turned her attention away from the door Steve just walked out of and looked back at Tony.

"This _is_ more entertaining than Netflix."

* * *

Emma was reading a book in her room alone as she avoided Steve. After the fiasco of those videos, Emma really didn't want to see Steve because she was afraid of what he would lecture her about in regards to what happened earlier. She fully realized that Peter and her really fucked that up. By some miracle her father only caught the tail end of that conversation so Peter would probably live but that didn't mean they were out of trouble yet. Speaking of which…her coward of a boyfriend was sticking closely to Tony's side and avoiding both her father and grandfather at all costs. She was all on her own.

Emma was reconsidering having sex with that idiot…

Well, not really but she was still annoyed with him.

Emma was interrupted in her thoughts as she heard a knock on her door. Steve slowly opened the door and hesitantly poked his head inside her room, looking around the expanse of her room slowly. She rolled her eyes. Emma didn't know what Steve expected to find in her room.

A naked Peter probably.

"You have a good jog?" Emma asked nonchalantly as she set her book down and focused her gaze on him. Steve didn't say anything as he stepped into her room, closing the door behind him quietly.

Oh god…Emma didn't think she was going to like this.

"I think we need to have a talk," Steve said as he took a seat in the armchair across from her bed where she sitting. Emma noticed the stressed out look on his face and she already knew it was going to be bad..

"Um…what kind of a talk?" Emma asked even though she had somewhat of an idea. "If this is about the thing I said in the video then I just want you to know I was kidding."

"It's about that but it's also about more than that," Steve said as he rested his hands on his lap, a blush spreading across his face. He swallowed hard before looking up at her. "I know that you're not a little girl anymore. You're a very beautiful young woman and I'm fully aware that your boyfriend probably more than notices that about you but-"

"Steve, are you trying to give me another sex talk like after that one time I accidentally saw Thor's penis?" Emma inquired in amusement and Steve blushed even more. "It's okay, Steve, I know what sex is."

"You can be honest with me, Emma," Steve started to say as he tried to attempt to do this, "You don't have to lie. I promise I won't be mad."

"Steve, just spit it out," Emma said, not having a clue as to what Steve was trying to ask her. Steve took a deep breath before asking Emma the one thing he was dreading to find out.

"Are you and Peter having…sexual intercourse?" Steve asked, wincing as he uttered the words he never wanted to have to associate with his only granddaughter. Emma gave her grandfather a horrified look. Mostly because he actually used the phrase "sexual intercourse" which is something you never wanted to hear your grandfather say.

"Steve! Oh my god! Ew!" Emma exclaimed, looking grossed out. "Do you have to say it like that?"

"Emma, I-" Steve started to say and Emma shook her head furiously.

"No, Peter and I are not having sex. I already told you that we weren't," Emma said, looking like she wanted to be anywhere other than in that room talking about sex with her grandfather. "Can we pretend like you never asked me that?"

"I think it's something that needs to be addressed," Steve said seriously, trying to remain calm as he asked Emma something he was scared to even know. "I'll ask you again. Are you and Peter having sex? Just tell me the truth and I won't be mad. I promise I won't be."

"I am telling you the truth, Steve. Peter and I haven't had sex," Emma said again and Steve stared at her silently for a moment as he tried to get a good read on her. It only took him a moment but he was able to determine that she was being honest.

"Are you thinking about becoming…sexually active?" Steve asked and Emma could tell that this was just as difficult for him as it was for her. The crease in between his eyebrows told her enough about that. "Again, you can be honest with me."

Emma sighed heavily, not quite feeling comfortable talking to Steve about this but there wasn't really a way out of this anyways.

"Yes," Emma said quietly, her eyes not quite meeting Steve's. Steve eyes clenched shut as he tried to remind himself that he needed to remain calm and rational in this situation. He couldn't act like Bucky would in this situation. That's the last thing Emma needed. Still…the idea of Emma becoming sexually active with her boyfriend was probably enough to give Steve nightmares for the rest of his life.

"Sex is a really serious thing, Emma. It's not something to take lightly," Steve said, continuing in giving Emma the sex talk. "I know with everything that's happened to you in the past that maybe it would even be-"

"I know what it is, Steve," Emma said, interrupting him before he could finish his sentence. "I never thought I would ever be able to want those things with someone much less actually do them. It's been really difficult for me to face those issues and for it to be my choice for the first time in my life but it is my choice."

"I know that this must've been difficult for you," Steve said, knowing that the impact of Emma's sexual assault might haunt her for the rest of her life and Steve wished he could change that more than anything but he realized he couldn't just take that pain away from her. It was something she had to do herself. "But you're so young, Emma. You're only sixteen."

"It's not like I want to go out and have sex with a bunch of random men," Emma said bluntly, causing Steve to flinch. That's not something any grandfather wanted to hear even if Emma was telling him that was something she wasn't interested in doing. "I just want to be with Peter. I trust him and I feel safe with him. Steve, I love him and I also know he would never hurt me."

"I realize that I can't tell you that sex is for married couples," Steve said after a short moment of silence as he considered everything Emma was telling him. "I'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world but there's no harm in waiting. If Peter loves you as much as I think he does then he'll be okay with waiting."

"What if I don't want to wait? What if I'm ready?" Emma questioned and Steve sighed heavily because he probably wasn't going to convince Emma to wait to have sex. When Emma wanted to do something then there wasn't anything you could do to stop her.

"I know that even if I tell you not to do this that you're just going to do it anyways," Steve said, finally giving up on trying to stop Emma from having sex with her boyfriend. "But the important thing for me is to know that you'll be safe about this. That you'll use protection because I don't want you getting pregnant. I don't know if you were ever aware of this but the super soldier serum has other side effects. We're um…a lot more fertile than the average person."

"Oh…" Emma trailed off awkwardly. She obviously knew that she and Peter were supposed to use protection regardless but she had no idea it would be that easy for her to get pregnant. Easier than it would be for a normal human.

"I'm not sure about you since you're a woman so it might be different but I kind of found that out about myself when I first woke up from the ice," Steve said awkwardly, becoming uncomfortable as he discussed something really private about himself with his granddaughter. "I also found out that condoms don't really work for someone like me which I think is what happened with me and your grandmother back then-"

"Ew!" Emma exclaimed, a completely disgusted look on her face as she looked at her grandfather. "I don't want to hear how you broke the condom with grandma! That's disgusting! I didn't even know they had condoms back then and I really didn't want to know that either."

"I'm just telling you that there's more people like us have to think about when it comes to sex. That's all," Steve said, blushing as he avoided his granddaughter's gaze. "How do you think your dad got here anyways?"

"I figured my dad must've been an accident but I didn't need to know the details of you and my grandma having sex," Emma said, still looking traumatized by the things Steve put in her head. She felt like she was going to throw up for the first time in her life. "I saw her as the sweet old lady who told me how much she loved a good cup of earl grey tea. I don't want to picture grandma deflowering you."

"I just want you to learn from my mistakes. Not that your dad was a mistake because eventually he brought me you but I want you to be smart about this. The chances of you getting pregnant are really high so protection is a must," Steve told her seriously, ignoring her previous statement, and Emma blushed but Steve continued nonetheless. "I'll just assume you know about condoms at this point in the discussion but I know there's other birth control methods in the med bay. You should definitely still use condoms but I can take you to the med bay if you want to learn about those other birth control methods."

Emma sighed heavily.

"Does it have to be right now?" Emma asked shyly and Steve's gaze softened.

"Of course not. I just want you to keep this all in mind," Steve told her softly. "I worry about you a lot and if this is something you want then I want to make sure you'll be okay."

"Thank you," Emma said, not knowing what else to say to Steve. For once she didn't seem to have a smart ass comment. "How do you even know all this anyways? I always assumed you hadn't had sex since the forties."

Steve smiled before feigning an offended look.

"I may not be Tony but I'm also not a nun," Steve told Emma much to her astonishment. Emma raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you saying you have sex? Since when?" Emma questioned and Steve just shook his head.

"I'm not discussing my sex life with you," Steve said, looking uncomfortable as Emma continued to question him about his sex life. "I already said too much. Weren't you just disgusted at me for discussing my sex life?"

"Yeah, that's when your sex life consisted of you defiling my poor, sweet grandmother. Wait…you have enough sex to have a sex life?" Emma asked, looking completely bewildered. "And why not? We've been talking about my sex life this entire time."

"You're sixteen. You don't have a sex life," Steve pointed out as he tried to somehow stop this conversation from continuing. He was supposed to be making sure Emma was informed about sex and that she was going to be smart about it. Steve didn't really want to discuss his own sex life and especially with his granddaughter.

"Fine. My oral sex life," Emma said uncaringly before moving the conversation back towards Steve. However, the super soldier was a little too hung up on what she just said. Oral sex? Emma was having oral sex with…

 _Emma, why?_

And to think Steve had been relieved that Emma hadn't had sex yet. Obviously he had forgotten the hijinks most hormonal teenagers got up to. Steve had kind of missed out on said hijinks when he was Emma's age but Bucky hadn't. Steve still remembered all the detailed stories Bucky used to give him that horrified the teenaged him.

"Well, good for you, Steve. Here I was worried that the reason you were so uptight was because you hadn't had sex in over seventy years," Emma said jokingly as she broke Steve out of his thoughts. "I guess you're just uptight because you're uptight. It's nothing to do with not having sex."

"Thanks a lot," Steve muttered, wishing that Emma would stop badgering him about his sex life. That wasn't likely to happen. His granddaughter never seemed to understand the normal boundaries that should've been in place between a grandfather and granddaughter.

"Do I know any of your past sexual conquests?" Emma inquired curiously. "I don't think you and Susan have gone that far so she's off the list. Please tell me you've never done anything with Sharon. That would be disgusting and borderline incest."

"Not that it's any of your business but Sharon and I have always been strictly friends," Steve told her reluctantly and Emma felt relief. She really didn't want to think about her grandfather and cousin having sex. There was something just wrong about that even if the two weren't related.

"Well, I'm glad you're putting yourself out there," Emma told him. "Papa's the only one I have to worry about now and I'm almost positive he hasn't had sex since the forties."

"I know what you're trying to do, Emma," Steve said, giving her a suspicious look. "Let's not change the subject. We were talking about you originally."

"I thought we were finished with that, Steve," Emma complained loudly, not wanting to get into too many details about the plans she had to have sex with Peter someday soon. "I get it. I have to be super careful because the chances of me producing Peter's spider-spawn are higher than ever."

"You need to take this seriously," Steve lectured, looking very serious and grim. "You have to make sure you're using protection but you also need to know that it's never too late to say no. I don't want you feeling pressured into doing anything you feel unsure about just because you're afraid of hurting Peter's feelings."

Emma scoffed.

"Since when have I ever given you the impression that I care about people's feelings?" Emma said and Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Despite what you say, I think you do actually care about people's feelings but I think you care about Peter's feelings the most," Steve said knowingly and Emma looked away from him, knowing he was right. She knew she cared about Peter more than anything but she still felt embarrassed discussing her own feelings. Emma spent so long wanting everyone to think she was cold and unfeeling that she felt a bit uncomfortable being vulnerable.

"I just want you to know that you can always say no," Steve told her softly, a part of him not wanting to believe that she was really all grown up as he looked at her. "If Peter doesn't like that then you send him to me and I'll make sure he gets the message."

Emma laughed softly at the thought of Steve beating up her boyfriend for her.

"Thank you, Steve, I really appreciate it but Peter's not like that," Emma told Steve honestly and she felt like this was the one thing she was sure about because she knew Peter would never pressure her into sex. He was kind and considerate which was more than what Emma felt like she deserved.

"He seems like a good kid although I'll probably have to like him a whole lot less now," Steve said, partially sighing because he realized that he was actually going to have accept the fact that Emma was sexually active. He didn't think he would ever accept that in a million years but her well-being was more important to him than his fear of her growing up. Steve knew Emma would do whatever she wanted no matter what he said so at least this way she was informed of all the ways to have safe sex.

"I know you're scared of me getting older but I'll always love you," Emma told him softly in a rare and affectionate moment. Steve gave her a small smile. "Having a boyfriend doesn't change that."

"I'll always love you too but you're always going to be my best girl as well," Steve said affectionately, using the same name he used to call her grandmother once upon a time. He then cleared his throat awkwardly as he decided now was the time to change the subject. "Now I think it's best if we move past this and discuss something else. If you ever have any questions you can ask me but for now I'd just like to discuss anything else."

"Agreed," Emma said in response as she then thought of something else they could talk about instead. "So now that Hydra's taken care of what happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked in confusion although he glad for the change in subject.

"I just mean that what's going to happen to you and Papa because of the accords? Are you going to leave again?" Emma asked him and Steve felt guilt wash over him at the look on her face. He knew that it would hurt Emma if he and Bucky left again. Steve didn't want to do that to her again but he didn't have a lot of options either.

"Ross is offering us a chance to sign the accords again," Steve said quietly much to Emma's surprise. "That's what we were stuck in the conference room all day talking about yesterday. He's offering us a chance to sign them and we'll be granted immunity. Or don't sign them and we'll get put under house arrest for a year."

"And Papa?" Emma inquired and Steve sighed heavily.

"Well, yesterday Ross wanted him in Raft," Steve started to say and Emma's eyes widened in horror even though she already knew that Ross wouldn't want anything else. Hearing the words still terrified her deep down. The thought of her father in that shit hole all by himself terrified Emma. "But T'Challa, Vision, and Tony managed to talk him down to giving Bucky a couple years of house arrest like Lang if he turns himself in and if he agrees to seek psychiatric counseling a few times a week. He also would have to be under constant surveillance. I'm not sure if I trust Ross. I honestly think it might be better if Bucky goes back to Wakanda."

"It's not fair that I was granted immunity but he can't be given that same luxury," Emma said, hating the options her father was currently facing. "He was even less aware of what he was doing than I was. It's not fair that he has to pay for something that's not even his fault. You should've seen the things they did to him in Hydra. It was sick."

"I know it's not fair but you're a child, Emma. That's the only reason you were given immunity like that," Steve informed her. "If you were older then I don't know what would've happened to you."

"Why does it have to be this way?" Emma questioned, starting to get emotional as she realized that her time with Steve and her father was going to get cut short. "Why is it too much to ask that we just live in peace?"

"Sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to," Steve told her sincerely, his eyes full of sympathy for his granddaughter. He wished more than anything that things would work themselves out. Especially with all the pain Emma had been through in her short life. "We just have to hope for the best."

"It's all because of that asshole Ross," Emma said bitterly, her eyes hardening as she remembered the man who was the cause of it all. "He's the one who did this. He's the one who should pay."

"Emma, I know you feel angry because of the accords but this is the way things have to be. I'm sorry," Steve told her. He always had a way of making sense like that even if Emma didn't like it. "I know things aren't ideal now but someday this is going to be over. Someday we'll be okay. You, me, and Bucky."

"It sounds too good to be true," Emma murmured and Steve just gave her a small smile.

"Maybe it is but that doesn't mean that it can't happen," Steve said softly, wanting Emma to have hope. He knew she was very cynical and she rarely ever looked at the bright side but he hoped that maybe Peter was a good influence on her so maybe she was a little more optimistic than she used to be…or so he hoped.

"You're going to leave again, aren't you?" Emma asked quietly and Steve felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He felt like a terrible parent for even leaving Emma in the first place. He never wanted to but Steve didn't have much of a choice. It would've been the most irresponsible thing in the world if he had taken her with him instead of giving her the opportunity to be a normal teenager.

In a way, Steve was glad he didn't take her with him. Emma was going to school, she had friends, plans to go to college, and she had even fallen in love. She had achieved everything and more Steve had ever wanted for her.

"I could sign the accords," Steve said, his voice a gentle whisper as he looked at Emma, his identical ocean blue eyes filled with promise. "I know the accords aren't perfect but maybe with some time I could convince Ross to make a few amendments."

"You and I both know that Ross would never agree to any kind of amendment to the accords," Emma told him knowingly and Steve didn't try to deny this. She knew he was only thinking of signing the accords for her. If she wasn't in the picture then Steve would never even think of signing them. "I know it would kill you to sacrifice your own personal beliefs. I could never ask you to do that either."

"House arrest wouldn't be so bad either," Steve told her, trying to make some kind of compromise. "I was talking to Barton and he seemed like he was thinking of taking plea deal with the house arrest. At least, I would still be here with you."

"I don't want you to go but I know I can't make you stay either," Emma said, realizing that she couldn't be so selfish that she would rob the world of Captain America. She recognized she was selfish about a lot of things but deep down she knew she could never stand in the way of Captain America saving the world. It would kill her to let him go but she knew she had to. "The world needs Captain America. Captain America that can step in and do the things that Iron Man, War Machine, and Vision aren't permitted to do."

"Nat, Sam, and Wanda could still do all those things," Steve pointed out to her and Emma just gave him a small sad smile.

"They could but I think we both know that they'd just follow you here," Emma said knowingly and Steve glanced away from her, knowing that she was right. "You're their leader, Steve. They need you. The world does too. I think the world might even need you more than I do which is a frightening thought."

"I don't want to leave you again," Steve said, not convinced by Emma's reluctant compromise.

"You have to," Emma said, not willing to back down from making what was probably one of the first selfless decisions in her life. It killed her but Emma knew it was the right thing to do. "The world's a scary place right now. The world needs the Avengers but they don't need the Sokovia Accords Avengers. They need the Avengers who will be there no matter what. The Avengers who aren't controlled by government policies."

"Emma…" Steve trailed off, still not sold on what Emma was suggesting.

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Peter, and I aren't allowed to save the world the way we want," Emma told her grandfather. "Tony spends most of his time in the lab, Rhodey argues with the UN on a day to day basis, and Vision longs for that grossing looking witch for whatever reason. Peter and I stop petty crime. A bunch of bank robbers and assholes who mug old ladies."

"What you and Peter do is very important. I saw what you guys did with that Vulture guy," Steve said quietly. "If he got his hands on those weapons then a lot of people could've gotten hurt or worse. You two make a really good team."

"We're not enough," Emma told him honestly. "It's better that you do what you do while we sit on our asses and make a bunch of politicians happy. Even if you stayed here with me, you'd still be restless. I know you, Steve. You would always be looking at the news and thinking about how you could've stopped it. I wouldn't do that to you."

"I can't just leave you again," Steve said, looking torn. "I can't miss anything else that happens in your life. Look, I missed the first thirteen years of your life and then I missed another year. I feel like the next time I see you, you'll be married with kids."

"Yeah, right. Marriage is lame and I hate kids," Emma told him, proving to Steve that she was always going to be the same Emma. No matter how much time he spent away from her. "Maybe since you and Tony are on better terms then we can set something up so that it's different from last time. We could find places to meet and see each other. Better ways to keep in contact."

"Maybe T'Challa could find a way to help with that," Steve suggested helpfully. "It'll be different this time."

"It'll be different," Emma confirmed with a small smile on her face. "We'll get through it too."

Steve then frowned when he thought of something else he had been meaning to tell Emma about. He thought he could only talk to her about it because she was the only one who would understand. She would reassure him that everything was okay like Bucky but she wouldn't struggle to understand like the others.

"Emma, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Steve said before debating whether or not he should even bring this up now of all times. However, he decided to just go ahead and do it anyways. "It's about Rumlow and what happened to him."

"I know you killed him," Emma said quietly, taking Steve by surprise. "I saw the file Rhodey typed up. I know I wasn't supposed to look at it but I saw the pictures. For closure, I guess."

"Emma, I don't know what to say…" Steve trailed off, trying to think of a way to defend the gruesome images she probably saw.

"I know it wasn't Papa," Emma told him, not seeming bothered by what she had seen. "He was always very clean when we worked together. I could hardly recognize Rumlow when I saw those pictures so I knew it wasn't Papa. It had to be you."

"You must think I'm an animal," Steve said, seeming disappointed in himself and disappointed that Emma had seen that side of him.

"Rumlow was an animal. Not you," Emma told him simply. "If anything I feel bad for bringing out that side in you. I've caused so many problems in your life already. I didn't want to cause anymore."

"Emma, you've never caused any problems in my life. Just blessings," Steve told her honestly as he reached over and wrapped her up in a hug. Emma relaxed into the hug because she knew it was only a matter of time before Steve was gone again and she would be missing these comforting hugs he always gave her. "I don't know what came out of me the other day but I know I can't stand the thought of you ever getting hurt."

Steve then pulled away slightly so he could look her in the eyes.

"If I could I'd wrap you up in bubble wrap and never let you leave the compound but I realize now that I can't do that," Steve told her something he was only just learning. He knew he had been very overprotective over Emma in the past but she was all he had left. Steve thought he had a right to be overprotective. "You're almost a woman now and it hurts to admit this but I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself. I won't entrust you to Tony this time. I'll entrust you to yourself because you're the strongest person I've ever known."

"I'll miss you when you leave," Emma said softly, tears in her eyes as much as she tried but failed to stop them.

"I'll miss you too," Steve told her, looking a happy kind of sad which was similar to how Emma looked in that moment.

"But it'll be different this time," Emma said, almost like it was a question instead of a statement…like she was unsure so Steve decided to reassure her because it was the least he could do. He gave her a small smile, his eyes filled with tears just like how her eyes were.

"It'll be different."

* * *

Peter Parker was still cooling down from the embarrassing situation he faced just a couple hours before. Sam had teased him for a lengthy amount of time before Tony finally saved him by bringing him down to the lab. They didn't really work or anything. Tony mostly just went through some data files they had collected about the Tesseract powered weapons they confiscated from Hydra. Peter just sat in one of the chairs in the lab, his feet propped up against one of the tables. Usually May would scold him for doing that but Tony didn't seem to care so Peter just stayed there.

"Wilson was giving you a hard time today, wasn't he?" Tony noted as he distractedly looked at the holographic screen in front of him.

"Kind of," Peter admitted and Tony just smirked.

"Don't worry, kid. Wilson's probably just jealous because a woman hasn't so much as looked at him in who knows how many years," Tony informed Peter who smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to Tony's comment. "You're quite the ladies man, you know that? All these girls fighting over you? I don't know how you managed to pull that one off."

"Emma's the only one for me, Mr. Stark," Peter said loyally and Tony rolled his eyes. The kid was entirely whipped but Tony couldn't really judge him. He was whipped too so he supposed he and Peter were in the same boat.

"Cap seemed as pale as a ghost today," Tony said observantly. "I don't think I've seen him that pale in my life."

"Oh…I don't know. He must've taken the video very seriously," Peter said, blushing as he remembered that he was probably back on Steve's shit list.

"Cap hears anything remotely sexual and he has a little panic attack," Tony commented on the matter. "If Mini Cap wasn't proof otherwise then I'd think he was still a virgin."

"Speaking of that…I actually wanted to ask you about some stuff, Mr. Stark," Peter said hesitantly and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he was about to ask his mentor about something he was even hesitant to ask about in the first place. However, he really wanted some advice and there really wasn't anyone else for him to ask.

"What's on your mind, Pete?" Tony inquired as he turned to look at him with a curious look on his face. He found it curious that Peter's face was as red as a tomato and he wondered what had the kid so wound up.

"Well, I don't really know how to put this but I just thought you'd be the best person to ask and I really have no idea what-" Peter started rambling so Tony stopped him.

"Just spit it out," Tony finally said tiredly and Peter took a deep breath before finally asking Tony what he wanted to ask him. It was something he had been building up the courage to ask for a while. However, now he realized that he didn't have a ton of time left to ask the billionaire these things since summer was already half way over.

"Emma and I want to take the next step in our relationship but I'm really nervous," Peter finally blurted out much to both his and Tony's surprise. Tony just stared at Peter silently for a moment and Peter almost wondered if Tony heard him.

"I'm assuming you're talking about sex, right?" Tony said slowly with a torn look on his face. Peter swallowed hard and nodded furiously.

"Damn it, kid. I don't want to hear about this," Tony muttered as he turned to look at the table in front of him. "Look, if it were with anyone else I'd be throwing you a party but it's not someone else. It's Emma. I held her when she was a baby so I really don't want to think of you doing nasty things to her."

"I know and this is really difficult for me to ask you but I don't know who else to ask and I'm nervous," Peter said, looking very terrified. Not at having sex with Emma because he more than excited about that but he was terrified because he never had sex before and he was worried a bunch of research on the internet wasn't going to cut it when he and Emma were finally alone together. The internet was different than real life and Peter was scared he would screw things up with Emma.

"Can't you ask May?" Tony asked, really trying to get out of this situation. Peter shook his head.

"Are you kidding me? I can't ask her these questions. I love May but she always babies me and I'll just end up being humiliated," Peter said, desperately trying to plead with Tony for advice. Tony was kind of his last hope. "If Uncle Ben were still alive then I'd ask him but he's not so…look, Mr. Stark, I don't have anyone else."

Tony stared at the teenage boy long and hard, the sad look in those big brown eyes tugging at Tony's heartstrings the more he looked at the young boy. He could tell that Peter was incredibly nervous and desperately wanting advice from him. Even though it would kill Tony to even think of Emma like that, he also couldn't deny Peter advice.

"Ugh…fine. Stop giving me the puppy dog look. I'll tell you what you want to know," Tony finally caved in and Peter gave him a hopeful look, seeming very relieved. "Let's just call Emma something else. Like Heather or something."

Peter gave him a confused look.

"But I don't want to make love to Heather. I want to make love to Emma," Peter told him with an earnest look on his face and Tony immediately made a gagging sound.

"Kid, for my own sanity we really need to call her Heather. I remember when her mom was pregnant with her so she's going to be Heather for this conversation," Tony said before giving Peter another disgusted look. "Never use the term "make love" again either. Geez, you're even worse than Rogers."

"Sorry," Peter said bashfully. Tony took a deep breath before leaning back in his chair and looking directly at Peter.

"So…what do you want to know?" Tony tried to ask casually but he still wasn't sure if he was going to be the same person after this conversation. Peter chewed on his bottom lip nervously as he tried to think of a question to ask. His mind was kind of blanking but Peter eventually thought of one.

"Well, like I said before, I've never had sex," Peter told Tony and the billionaire rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, no shit. Just get on with the damn question already before I start needing to get drunk to get through this conversation," Tony told him and Peter hurried along.

"So I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. Emma-I mean, Heather-and I've talked about taking that next step in our relationship before but now that things with Hydra are over, I realized that it's finally going to happen," Peter rambled on while Tony struggled not to zone out in the midst of Peter's rambling. It's not like Tony was known for having a long attention span anyways. "But I'm not prepared because, you know, I want this to be really good for her because she only deserves the best but how can I give her the best if I have no idea what I'm doing? Not to mention with everything that happened in her past, I'm afraid I might trigger a flashback or something."

Peter took a deep breath before finally telling Tony everything he was terrified of.

"She's been through so much and I want it to be perfect for her," Peter said sadly and he even made Tony feel bad for him which was rare because Tony rarely felt bad for anyone. "I'm just scared that I'll screw everything up."

There was a brief pause before Tony gathered his thoughts and finally came up with some advice to give the teenage boy.

"First off, you need to stop stressing yourself out over this," Tony told him seriously and Peter looked up at him. "If you put yourself under that much pressure when the time finally arrives then you're going to have more issues then just not knowing what to do. You think your lack of experience is embarrassing then you'll find out there's a whole lot more that's embarrassing too."

"Oh…" Peter trailed off, vaguely catching Tony's meaning.

"Yeah so you need to not overthink it too much," Tony told him and Peter could see the logic in that. "Listen, kid, no one's first time is perfect. I was fourteen during my first time and I came in about a minute. She laughed at me and called me a "one pump chump". Hopefully, your first time isn't similar."

"I don't really feel better," Peter muttered and Tony sighed.

"Just take it easy and don't stress yourself out too much," Tony repeated before giving Peter some more advice. "Don't try anything you see in porn either. Women don't tend to like that."

"Don't try anything like what?" Peter asked curiously with an innocent look on his face.

"I don't know. Spanking her ass, jackhammering, or calling her dirty names in bed," Tony said bluntly and Peter blushed.

"Don't get all shy on me, kid, I've seen your internet search history," Tony told him with a knowing look on his face and Peter looked even more embarrassed. "I get it. You're a teenager and you're curious about sex. I was a teenager once too."

"Um…what else should I do?" Peter asked Tony, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"I think communication is definitely key and especially with what happened in…Heather's past. You guys need to discuss boundaries a lot," Tony informed him and Peter nodded as he listened to his mentor. "Foreplay is also important. Don't just jump into it."

"Oh, we already kind of started doing that," Peter said, happy that at least he knew something. Tony wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I know we're pretending we're talking about someone else but I still don't want to hear that. I don't need the timeline of yours and Heather's sexual experiences," Tony told the teenage boy who blushed once more before nodding. "Also make sure she gets off. Even if you finish first which might happen, you still need to get her there. You shouldn't be selfish."

"You also have to respect her which I already know you will," Tony told him seriously. "I'm only telling you this because I didn't respect women when I was younger and I have a lot of regrets. You can't start treating her like a piece of ass. This is the woman you want to marry someday, right?"

"Yes. Of course," Peter said quickly, nodding his head furiously.

"You want the whole white picket fence life with her. The big yard, lots of kids, and probably even a cute dog. I get it," Tony told him and Peter was astonished at how well Tony knew him because those were exactly all the things Peter ever wanted with Emma. "So treat her respectfully or she won't give you any of that but also just treat her with respect because you love her."

"I will, Mr. Stark. I promise," Peter told his mentor obediently and Tony smiled in amusement at the determinedness in the kid's eyes.

"Lastly, just have fun, kid," Tony finally told him which was advice he thought was very important. "You're young so just have fun with it. Things might happen and it could get awkward but it's supposed to be fun. This isn't the only time you'll have sex. You'll have sex for the rest of your life-"

"With Emma," Peter said pointedly and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Whatever," Tony told him, still disgusted that he was actually giving the kid advice on how to have sex with his goddaughter. He was definitely going to need a drink after this. Maybe five drinks, actually. "Just don't feel like the first time has to be one hundred percent perfect. You two just have fun and worry about the rest later."

"Thanks for the advice, Mr. Stark," Peter said, knowing this was a lot to take in but he was grateful for everything Tony had told him.

"But you should definitely still remember condoms. We don't want any spider viper babies crawling around this place for a good number of years," Tony said warningly as he tried to get his point across to the teenager and Peter nodded. "I already have enough gray hairs because of you and Mini Cap. I can't imagine how many gray hairs I'd get with some little brat of yours crawling up the walls and flying around the place."

"I already know about condoms. I'll get some soon," Peter promised him, trying not to get excited over the thought of him and Emma someday having kids. He didn't want any now or anything but just the thought a future with Emma made him overwhelmingly happy. Peter couldn't wait to grow up and live out that future with Emma.

"Good," Tony said as he then frowned before thinking of something. "I guess in any other situation I would give you a high five and be proud of you for losing your virginity but I think we both know I can't do that."

"That's fine," Peter said awkwardly, not really wanting to Tony to high five him anyways because he felt that was disrespectful to Emma. Maybe Tony was testing him but who really knew? The billionaire was always notoriously eccentric.

"Now I'm going to ask you to leave so I can drink alone and forget this conversation ever happened," Tony told him suddenly and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"But, Mr. Stark, I really wanted to ask you about-" Peter to say but Tony silenced him with one sentence.

"Leave before I tell the father-in-law from hell about your plans to make sweet love to Mini Cap," Tony threatened and Peter's eyes widened before he furiously nodded.

"Yeah, I think I need to go anyways. Emma probably needs me for something," Peter said hurriedly as he almost tripped over himself to leave the lab. However, before Peter left the lab, Tony stopped him in his steps.

"Peter?" Tony called out, grabbing the young boy's attention. Peter turned around to look at his mentor with a questioning look on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, those innocent brown eyes resting on Tony's face. Tony swallowed hard before giving the boy a small but glad smile.

"I'm glad you're alright," Tony told him softly, referring to the huge scare Peter gave him the other day. He had been worried out of his mind when Peter got hurt even though he never said so to anyone but Pepper. Tony was just glad that Peter was alive and well. It was all he could really hope for. Peter returned Tony's smile.

"I am too," Peter told him and there was a brief moment of silence before Tony shooed him away with a wave of his hand. The teenage boy then quickly ran up the stairs and disappeared from sight, leaving Tony alone.

The older man sighed heavily in his seat, tiredly rubbing his eyes as he wondered how many gray hairs he was going to get just from that conversation alone. These kids were really going to be the death of him.

"Damn horny kids."

* * *

Peter had decided to go fix himself a lunch after that embarrassing but helpful conversation he had with Tony. He meant to go see Emma but she was currently showing Steve her artwork and Peter didn't want to intrude. Not to mention he was actively trying to avoid her grandfather and father after earlier.

"So you're the kid my daughter picked," Bucky Barnes said casually as he caused Peter to jump about a foot in the air and drop the sandwich he made onto the floor. The teenage boy spun around with wide eyes and noticed the one person that scared Peter like no other. Emma's father was nonchalantly leaning against the doorway of one of the kitchens as he looked at Peter with an unreadable expression on his face.

It seemed like Peter finally knew where Emma learned her talented for sneaking up on people.

Why hadn't his Spidey Senses worked? Emma's dad always seemed to want to kill him so his Spider Senses really should've picked up on that.

"Oh, h-hi, Mr. Barnes," Peter said politely although his heart was pounding in his chest as Bucky slowly made his way into the room, walking in a direct path to Peter. He tried not to let his fear show because he was sure Bucky Barnes could smell fear but Peter was never good at hiding his emotions. Emma always said that's what she loved most about him but Peter didn't think his penchant for wearing his heart on his sleeve was really going to help him in this situation.

"You're short," Bucky said when he stopped in front of the teenage boy. Peter was fully aware of how short he was in comparison to Bucky who towered over him.

As if Peter wasn't scared of him enough.

"I'm only sixteen. I could still grow," Peter insisted which was his main line of defense whenever Emma teased him about his height. But Bucky looked just as convinced by Peter's statement as Emma did.

"I'm sure," Bucky said, his voice ridden with doubt. "Look, Peter, I'm not here because I want to be friends with you. I'm not exactly a friendly kind of person."

Peter doubted that Emma's father even knew what being friendly meant.

"I'm here because I wanted to thank you," Bucky said which completely shocked Peter. If Peter was being honest he thought Bucky was going to tell him that he was there to kill him. Peter wouldn't have been surprised.

"What?" Peter questioned and Bucky sighed before nodding.

"You saved Emma's life. You took the bullet for her, not knowing whether or not it would kill you, and saved her," Bucky told him and all Peter could do was stare at the father of his girlfriend in surprise. "I owe you big time for that. She's the single most important thing in my life and I don't think I could ever survive without her."

"You don't owe me," Peter said quietly, still shocked that Bucky was being somewhat nice to him and not trying to kill him again. "I love Emma so of course I'll protect her."

Bucky shifted uncomfortably because no matter what he agreed to with Emma, he still wasn't quite used to her being almost grown up with some guy who was in love with her. It was still a really weird concept because it didn't feel like it was that long ago when Emma was a little girl.

"I'm just going to allow her little fixation with you so consider the debt paid off," Bucky grumbled and he was fully aware that he was still in denial over his daughter's fascination with this ridiculous teenage boy. He wasn't sure he would ever understand why she picked this boy out of all the boys in the world but Emma loved the kid for whatever reason so Bucky just supposed he'd have to put up with him.

"It's not a fixation, Mr. Barnes," Peter said loudly, somehow gaining enough courage to stand up to Bucky. "Emma loves me too."

Bucky swallowed hard and clenched his eyes shut because this was difficult for him and the kid was forcing him to acknowledge that Emma was almost grown up now.

"I know," Bucky said quietly. "Just try and not rub your relationship in my face, okay?"

Peter gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked him and Bucky rolled his eyes at him because he couldn't believe he actually had to spell it out for the kid.

"I mean, that I don't want to see you with your tongue down my daughter's throat or your hand up her shirt like last time," Bucky said, his voice laced with venom as he fixed Peter with a harsh glare. Peter's eyes widened in shock as a blush crept across his face at Bucky's blunt words.

"O-Of course not, Mr. Barnes," Peter stuttered, his fear of Emma's dad quickly returning at the suspicious look on Bucky's face as the former assassin glared at him.

"I don't like you. I probably never will," Bucky said honestly and Peter's feelings would probably be hurt if he wasn't already so terrified of the man towering over him. "I don't even trust you because I remember what I was like when I was your age so the idea of you being alone with Emma terrifies me. I'm grateful for what you did for her but I still don't like or trust you."

"Well, um…maybe I can change your mind about me. Who knows?" Peter said hopefully but his voice was very shaky. He tried to be optimistic but it was kind of hard when Bucky Barnes was looking at him like that, his eyes narrowed into a glare. "I'm a nice person, Mr. Barnes. I promise."

"I highly doubt I'll change my mind," Bucky said bitterly. "I'll be civil towards you for Emma but there's no rule that says I have to like you."

"Is this because you think I'm not serious about Emma?" Peter questioned, trying to find a way to get Bucky to like him. "Because I am. I really want to marry her someday so I'm super serious about her. I've never been more serious about anything in my life. Not even Spider-Man."

"I think I like you less now," Bucky told him and the hopeful look on Peter's face fell. There was a brief pause of silence before Bucky spoke again. And when he did, the randomness of his statement shocked Peter to his core. So much that Peter had to question what he heard. "No sex."

"What?" Peter asked him in surprise and Bucky's glare was unwavering.

"You won't have sex with her," Bucky told him, refusing to elaborate any further but also making sure Peter understood what he was saying. "I'll just spare you the details of what'll happen if I ever find out you so much as sneaked into her bedroom at night."

"We're saving ourselves for marriage," Peter said quickly without thinking, horrified by the unspoken threat Bucky just made. Bucky was satisfied to see that he seemed to scare the hell out of the teenage boy which was good. That'll teach him to keep his dick in his pants, at least.

"Good," Bucky said, content with Peter's answer before making one last threat. This was the most important threat of them all so Bucky inched closer and closer to Peter, forcing Peter to take step after step backwards until his back hit the kitchen counter.

"One last thing, Peter," Bucky said, his voice low and threatening. Peter thought he might even piss himself because Emma's dad was the most terrifying thing he ever had to face. Not Rumlow, Hydra agents, or Toomes but her dad who would probably murder him for so much as looking at Emma the wrong way.

"You're going to be the best boyfriend to my daughter. You're actually going to be the best boyfriend any girl has ever had," Bucky told him in a warning tone which took Peter by surprise.

"Huh?" Peter inquired in a dazed voice, too distracted by Bucky's stare down to really make sense of the older man's words. The sixteen-year-old boy jumped when Bucky placed his hands on Peter's shoulders and held him in place, forcing him to stay and not move.

"Because if you're not…if you ever hurt her or so much as cause a tear to fall from her eyes, I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do," Bucky threatened, his blue eyes cold as he stared down at Peter. The teenage boy gulped and he really wanted to run away as fast as he could from the scary man. Or maybe he just wanted Emma to walk into the room and save him but she wasn't anywhere to be found. It was just him and Bucky…alone. "I'm a different man than I used to be but I'd go back to my Winter Soldier days in an instant if you ever broke her heart."

Bucky then took a moment to make sure that had all sunken in for his daughter's lover boy before he gave Peter a wide smile, patting him casually on the shoulders and making Peter flinch. The threatening stance Bucky had taken up a second ago was now all gone and was replaced with an almost happy demeanor.

Peter realized then that Bucky was probably just as crazy as his daughter.

"This was a good talk, Peter. I'm glad you understand where we stand," Bucky said nonchalantly but deep down he was full of pride because while he might not terrify anyone else, he definitely still terrified Emma's boyfriend. At least Peter's fear might keep him in line and force him to keep his horny urges to himself. Someone had to be the scary parent because it sure as hell wasn't going to be Steve.

"See you around," Bucky told him before he then casually left the room like nothing ever happened. Peter watched him leave in shock, his heart pounding in his chest, as he realized that he was probably one of the few that could say that he escaped an encounter with the Winter Soldier with his life.

 _Oh my god_ , Peter thought to himself in terror. _If I have sex with Emma, he'll definitely kill me._

Her dad was so scary and for whatever reason he really seemed to hate him. Peter knew he didn't really make a good first impression but her father really seemed to have it out for him. It didn't seem like they were going to be best friends, after all. It sucked because all Peter wanted was for Bucky to like him. He understood why Bucky didn't trust him but it disappointed him because he wanted them to get along for Emma but it was apparent to him that Bucky wasn't the fun parent like Steve was.

What the hell did Emma mean when she said that her father was going to accept their relationship? That didn't feel like he was accepting of their relationship. How was he accepting if he just threatened Peter's life? Peter loved Emma more than anything but her family was the weirdest. They had very different definitions of what being accepting was. That much was obvious.

"Peter, I've been looking everywhere for you," Emma said as she walked into the kitchen, breaking Peter out of his thoughts. "Steve seems insistent on digging up the old family photo album and he wants to show you. I'm not thrilled about this but we better go or he'll nag us into an early grave."

"Um…okay," Peter said, still sounding like he was on another planet. Emma frowned as she gave him a confused look.

"Are you alright? You seem kind of out of it," Emma observed as she started getting worried again. "It's not your wound, is it? Maybe I should take you back to the medical ward."

"No, no. I'm just a little distracted. Your dad and I just talked," Peter finally said, not wanting to worry his girlfriend any further. Emma looked surprised at this news.

"You did?" She asked in surprise before a curious look came over her face. "How did it go?"

Peter swallowed hard as he carefully thought about how he was going to answer that. He didn't want to trouble Emma and tell her how much her dad scared the shit out of him so he decided to leave all the bad parts of the conversation out…which really meant leaving the entire conversation out of it.

"I think it went about as well as it could go," Peter told her, not really having a better answer than that. Emma smiled, seeming to buy into his answer.

"That's good," Emma said happily. "I'm glad you guys are finally getting along."

"Me too," Peter said awkwardly as Emma reached over and hugged him, kissing his cheek in the process. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back before he suddenly remembered something.

 _If you have sex with her, you'll die_

Peter suddenly wasn't sure if he wanted to stand so close to her anymore. Her father really seemed to put the fear of god in him so much that Peter was now questioning everything.

"So you'll come with me and sit through hours' worth of Steve walking down memory lane?" Emma asked him as she pulled away from him and Peter gave her a smile, nodding because he actually would like to hear those stories.

"Yeah, of course," Peter told her. "I'd love that."

"Prepared to be bored by Steve's habit of droning on and on about stuff no one cares about," Emma told her boyfriend before briefly pausing once more when she suddenly felt a need to say something to him. "Thank you for trying so hard to get along with my father by the way. You don't know how much that means to me."

"I'd do anything for you, Emma," Peter told her, his gaze softening as he looked at her.

"I really mean it though. You, Papa, and Steve are the three most important people in my life so it means a lot that you're trying so hard to get along with them," Emma said, placing her hands on his shoulders but Peter didn't flinch like when her dad did the same thing earlier. "I really appreciate it."

"It's really no big deal-" Peter started to say but was interrupted as Emma's lips descended down upon his. He quickly melted into the kiss, his eyes fluttering shut as Emma kissed him softly but slowly while her fingers moved up and tangled in his hair. Peter kissed her back but almost whined when Emma pulled away much too soon for his liking.

"Thank you for last night too," Emma said flirtatiously, somehow surprising Peter yet again but he still didn't understand how he could be surprised by her anymore. It seemed like she was entirely unpredictable so Peter knew there wouldn't be a day where he wouldn't be surprised by something she said or did. "I had a lot of fun."

"Uh…I had a lot of fun too," Peter said as he suddenly felt flushed. He cursed himself at being so bad at flirting but Emma didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe we can have more fun tonight?" Emma told him and Peter tried to remember the threat her father made. The threat he made overwhelmingly clear to Peter but it was getting hard to keep that in mind with the suggestion Emma just made.

 _You'll die! You'll die! You'll die!_

These were the words his mind seemed to scream at him but Peter wasn't thinking with his brain anymore. Well, he was thinking with his brain but his mind wasn't really filled with logic at this point. All he could currently think of were images of the night before. Images of the look on Emma's face as she came undone underneath his touch and images of her taking him in her mouth soon after.

The threat no longer loomed over his head.

Peter quickly grabbed her again and pulled her to him. Emma was clearly surprised by Peter's abruptness but moaned into the kiss as he kissed her passionately, holding her tightly in his arms. She didn't really know what had gotten into him all of a sudden but she wasn't complaining.

Maybe her flirting finally got to him.

Who really knew but Emma felt excited at the prospect of a night just like the one before. However, Peter no longer cared if her dad killed him even though the man still terrified the hell out of him. It seemed like Emma brought a lot out of him and especially his lack of self-preservation.

Peter Parker knew then that he would gladly die for having sex with Emma Rogers.

Totally worth it.

* * *

 **Author's Note Edit(5/22/2019): I'll be answering the guest reviews in this edit. Thanks for being so patient.**

 **Meggie: I know I haven't updated One Word from You in forever but I've been so busy with work, school, and then trying to finish this story that I've really neglected it. I eventually want to update but I'll see when I have time. I have half the chapter written but I've just been slow about updating it.**

 **Tom hot af: I'm just saving everything for the actual chapter with the sex scene. I'm sure that's going to be the most difficult chapter I've ever had to write but I'm kind of excited for it because I've never written a sex scene before so it's a challenge. I suppose the scene in the last chapter kind of counted but it's still new to me.**

 **Ayytekashi69: Chapter Eighty Two will probably feature a steamy scene. I have Emma and Peter's first time planned for that chapter. I don't think that's a spoiler since I'm pretty sure that it's obvious that Emma and Peter are to that point in their relationship.**

 **Niamh-Aoife: I always love long reviews so no worries. I think I have mentioned Borns in a couple author notes before but I'm not sure how I feel about him anymore. I really love his music but I heard some sexual harassment and assault allegations against him regarding underage teenage fans so I'm not sure how I feel about him anymore. I've heard of Troye Sivan but I haven't taken the time to listen to his music other than that song he did with Ariana Grande but I really liked that song so maybe I'll finally listen to the rest of his music. I haven't heard of the other artists you mentioned but I'll listen to them one of these days too. I'm currently really obsessed with Khalid, Billie's Eilish's new album, and Marina's new album(can't believe she's just Marina now because that's going to take some getting used to). That's cool that you actually know a band or that one from your town blew up so big. The closest I've ever gotten to a famous person is going to the same high school Chris Pratt went to but that doesn't count because he graduated high school probably over twenty years before I did.**

 **I actually think my grammar is terrible and probably needs a lot of work. It was way worse in the beginning. I plan on eventually going back and editing everything but this story's over a million words long so who knows when that'll be. Thanks for the compliment though. I'm probably just being my insecure self about my writing.**

 **Let me know what you think of my other stories. I'd really like to know.**

 **I'm just sorry that it took me forever to answer your review because I haven't updated in forever.**

 **Ali gil: Oh my god. That means so much. I'm so glad you love the story and Emma as a character. I doubt that it would be remotely possible to send you a copy of this on paper or email you because I'm so disorganized. This story is so long that I had to split it up into multiple documents. Office Word was acting really weird and I assumed it was because the story was too long so that's why I have it in multiple places on my computer. I haven't lost them or anything but I would just have to re-organize it and put it all together. I want to go back and re-edit everything someday so I would not be comfortable sending you a copy of something that I think could be way better. I also can't imagine how many pages that would be to print. This past chapter I think was forty pages and that's just one chapter. Thanks so much for your review. It really means a lot. I always have doubts about my writing so it's very reassuring to read your review.**

 **Ariana: I honestly thought about Emma making a comment about his "winky" last chapter but I thought it would kill the mood or romance. She might make a joke about it or two in the future.**

 **Guest: I was thinking eventually about making a one-shot of Margot and Steven watching Emma from heaven and about their thoughts regarding her life and everything that's happened. I might wait until after the Endgame storyline to do this though.**

 **anonanon: I'm actually really torn about what I'm going to do about the Endgame storyline in the sequel. I have a basic idea but there's some obvious choices I'm having trouble with. The Steve and Peggy ending is what troubles me the most. I'm one of the few people who actually loved that ending because everyone knows how much I love Steggy. Me creating Emma as the granddaughter of those two is probably proof of my love for Steggy and how I failed to develop an actual relationship between Steve and Susan because even though Susan is my own OC, she's still not Peggy to me. No one will ever be Peggy and it's impossible for me to create a love interest for Steve that would ever live up to Peggy because I guess I just love Peggy so much. So for me in this story, it's either Peggy or Steve will just be single. I know I rambled a lot there but I've been giving this a lot of thought and I'm still as torn as I was after I first saw the movie and started coming up with ways to adapt the Endgame storyline into my story. So as you can see I still have no idea regarding what decision I'll make regarding Steve and Endgame. I know that Steve going back in time to marry Peggy wouldn't erase any kids she had with her husband in Emma's timeline because Steve traveling back in time in the first place created a whole new timeline so it's different from the one he and Emma lived in during STNS so those kids that Peggy had with her husband still exists. I'm still undecided though but I have a huge amount of time to make a decision since I'm probably not going to get to the Endgame storyline for a long time.**

 **It would be nice to see Loki again after Endgame in the STNS universe because he'll probably die in the Infinity War storyline just like in the movie. It would definitely be cool because he and Emma are going to be a fun pair of friends when we get to the Ragnarok storyline which I've been talking about for a year but I'm still not there yet. I'm glad you liked the new AU. I originally planned on updating that a ton of times during the hiatus of STNS but I just got so caught up in other things that I never had the time. I might update after I finish STNS. I just really want to focus on finishing this first. Thanks for the review!**

 **Guest: I would have all the character interactions I could but there are so many characters in the MCU and my chapters are already long enough that I never have time or think of a good reason to put those two characters in close enough proximity that they're having a conversation. Michelle and Natasha might happen eventually but I'm not sure when it would happen or when there would ever be a chance.**

 **Blue: I've seen the new trailer and I can't be more excited for the movie. That sad look on Peter's face when he was talking to Happy on the private jet nearly broke my heart and I'm sure it would break Emma's heart too. I haven't thought far enough ahead to even start thinking of the Far From Home storyline since I'm still figuring out the Endgame one but you brought up some really interesting idea with any conflict Emma and Peter could have in the aftermath of Endgame. I feel like any conflict would occur before they actually leave for vacation and the vacation would be them mending things. I feel like the vacation in Far From Home would be a new beginning for Emma and Peter after going through so much. I can't say for sure until I see the movie which is in less than two months. I can't believe we basically have no idea what's in store for the MCU after Far From Home. No official word anyways...other than the shows on Disney +. I'm super excited for Falcon and Winter Soldier by the way. They just said it's coming out in August 2020 which seems far away but Endgame seemed far away a year ago and it came out last month so I'm sure time will fly by.**

 **Guest: I have a plan for both Infinity War and Endgame storylines. I was almost tempted to tell you whether or not Emma gets dusted but everyone can see this so I won't be Tom Holland or Mark Ruffalo in this situation. I kind of understand their pain though. You kind of just want to tell everyone and it's killing you to not tell anyone because you know what happens and they don't.**

 **Guest: I never stopped writing. I was just a bit slow with the last chapter because I have a job and I go to school so it doesn't leave me with a ton of free time.**

 **Mabel: Better late than never. I was on hiatus so long so don't worry about it. We all have lives to live outside fanfiction so I get it. I was actually thinking of redeeming Betty's character because I feel so bad about pitting one female character against another. People grow up so Betty could possibly grow up since the incident with Emma. Emma would probably be distrustful of her at first and very cold to her but Ned might finally stand up to Emma which I think would be interesting. So I'm very open to writing a Ned and Betty relationship into this. I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately.**

 **Guest: I already told you guys I'm going to Seattle Ace Comic-Con so it's kind of pointless to deny that I live in Washington state. I trust you guys enough not to do some weird advanced computer hacking and somehow find my address before coming all the way to my house and murdering me. You guys probably wouldn't do that...hopefully.**

 **GIJose: I was a little later with the update but at least it's out now. I only have to get started on the new chapter now. I'm glad you love the story so much. That really means a lot to me. I don't think I could pair Peter with the OC in my Tony's daughter story. She's twelve years older than him which, you know, shouldn't matter because of double standards but it would kind of matter in my story because Peter's only fifteen in Civil War and my OC Ivy would be twenty seven so very illegal. I haven't updated that one in forever but I've been torn between Steve, Bucky, and Sam. I'm not sure about pairing her with Steve anymore because I'm not sure I could write him with anyone except for Peggy. Tony's daughter fanfics are always fun and I always love the idea of Tony's daughter with Peter like in 'Breeze' which you mentioned but it wouldn't work for this story. I also don't think I could write Peter with anyone other than Emma. I'm just so in love with that pairing that I don't think I could do it although I do love a good Spideychelle story when I find one. I highly recommend 'Crash Course' and 'Affinity War' if you think you might like a Michelle/Peter pairing. Even if you're not super into that pairing, you should still read them. 'Crash Course' is about Michelle meeting Doctor Strange and becoming a sorceress which is a genius idea and I wish it would really happen in the MCU. I could definitely see Michelle as a sorceress. Those two fics are some of the best stories I've read on this website. Thanks so much for the review.**

 **Guest: That review means so much to me! I've worked so hard on the development and growth of my characters in this story so it really means a lot when people notice it and appreciate it. There's still a bit of development left for Emma and Peter which we'll see a lot more in the sequel. I don't think you can ever really stop character development. It just keeps going with every obstacle your character faces.**

 **ILOVEU3000: I'm new to Tumblr. I literally created the account last week because I saw other fanfic writers doing it to connect with readers better so I thought it would be a good way to connect with everyone and update them more on the progress of my stories since you can't really give updates like that on here.**

 **Buckyisalive: I have seen the new trailer but Michelle won't become Peter's love interest in this story. I just don't think she's the type to try and steal another girl's boyfriend. I couldn't see her doing that to Emma or any other girl. I wish Emma was real too but Michelle has my blessing. I love how she's so unlike all the other love interests in past Spider-Man films but also any superhero movie too. I thought Liz was nice in the first movie but I always wanted Peter and Michelle to get together. Michelle's the coolest and Peter would only be so lucky to go out with her. I also read a lot of Spideychelle stories so I'm excited to see a relationship blossom between them although I won't create that kind of drama in the STNS universe.**

 **montefroggoat: Hey, I think you're the same reader that sent me a link before but for some reason this one won't work either. I even deleted the space in it but it doesn't work which makes me sad because I would really like to see your work. If all else fails you can message me on Tumblr and we can see if we can work something out. I'm not super tech savvy but I know I've had problems with readers sending me stuff in the past and vice versa because is super weird about links. They're even weird about YouTube links.**

 **Guest: Michelle is not going to be Peter's love interest in the STNS universe. Even if for some reason Emma and Peter broke up, Michelle still wouldn't go there. She's not the kind of person to steal boyfriends although I'm definitely rooting for Michelle and Peter in the actual movie. Michelle's really cool and she's probably one of my favorite female characters in the MCU next to Peggy Carter, Darcy Lewis, Gamora, Shuri, and Wanda Maximoff.**


	89. Chapter Eighty One

**Author's Note: This chapter took about a week and a half longer than I wanted but finals has really been stressing me out lately. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I'm probably only going to be able to update once a month for a while. I'm going to be taking a lot of college classes for the next couple years. Even this summer. That doesn't leave a lot of time on my hands but this is my career path so I have to focus on it but any free time I have will definitely be given to this story. I'm so close to finishing it and I really can't wait until the next chapter because I'm so excited to write it. Thank you guys for being so incredibly patient with me.**

 **Sorry to my guest reviewers because I told you that I would answer your guest reviews from chapter 79 in an updated version of last chapter but I only realized that I never replaced the old version of Chapter 80 with the new version. Anyways, I went ahead and did that so if you want to see my answers to any of your reviews then check it out. Once again, so sorry about that.**

 **I know I told you guys that I'm going to Ace Comic Con in Seattle which is a week from Saturday. You have no idea how excited I am about that and I already plan to have Jeremy Renner sign my Civil War Hawkeye and Spider-Man Funko Pop set(I'm such a nerd, I know). I'm really nervous about everything since I've never been to an Ace Comic Con before but I've also never been to a Comic Con before. I just wanted to know if there's anyone that's been to an Ace Comic Con and maybe has some advice for me or could tell me what to expect. I have no idea what to do in regards to the Jeremy Renner autograph I purchased. Like, where I go and what time do I go for that? I'm hoping they'll send me more information about that but who knows. Also, it says that the Comic Con starts at 10 am but should I get there even earlier? When I saw Haim(at the same place the Comic Con is being held in), I got there really early because it was general admission so first come first serve but is Ace Comic Con similar?**

 **I just watched season 3 of Jessica Jones by the way and I cried during the finale which I'm sure you'll know why if you've seen it but I won't spoil anything. I never liked season 2 of Jessica Jones but season 3 was surprisingly really good. I'm not sure if it could be as good as season 1 because season 1 had David Tennant and he played one hell of a villain.**

 **Another tv show everyone should watch is _A Discovery of Witches_ starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer. Probably one of my favorites shows right now even though I still haven't seen the season finale. Please don't spoil it for me. I plan to eventually get around to seeing it. **

**Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. I'm always floored by how many people read this story and love it. It really means a lot and especially with seeing fanart people send to me. You're all so incredibly talented and kind. Thanks and please let me know what you think of the chapter.**

* * *

"She looks really happy," Natasha Romanoff commented as she approached Steve Rogers who was standing in front of the windows, looking out into the expanse of green grass outside. They watched two teenagers chasing each other outside on a warm sunny day. Steve smiled softly as he watched Emma laugh while her boyfriend chased her around. The sun shone through her blonde hair and her smile was bright and real for once. It wasn't the sarcastic smile Steve had gotten used to over the years.

It was a kind but happy smile.

"She really does," Steve said without taking his eyes off his granddaughter. "After being away for so long, I only realize now that I've never seen her this happy before."

"Emma with a boyfriend. I guess none of us saw that one coming," Natasha remarked as she followed Steve's gaze. In all honesty, she did kind of see it coming but she thought she would leave that part out to make Steve feel better about himself. "Still…he's a really cute kid. He seems to really have it bad for Emma though. He put together a romantic picnic. I think Tony's just upset that he's making him look bad in front of Pepper."

"He's even better than what I hoped for. I'm glad she found him," Steve said, seeming quite happy. "I think he'll be a really good influence on her."

"So it looks like all your dreams are coming true," Natasha said as she glanced at Steve and away from the window. "Isn't this what you always yapped to us about? Emma having friends, Emma wanting to go to college…Emma falling in love."

"It makes me feel a little bit better about leaving. More than last time," Steve told her honestly as he also tore his gaze away from Emma.

"Now it's your turn," Natasha said, giving him a smirk. "I still haven't given up on getting you a date, Rogers. How about you and Susan? Is that still going on?"

"I don't think so, Nat," Steve said with a sad smile on his face. "With the life I lead now, I can't expect her to wait around for me. It's not fair and I just…"

"You just what?" Natasha questioned and Steve shrugged.

"I think Peggy was it for me. I missed my chance and now I just have to accept that," Steve said, seeming like he had given this a lot of thought. "But she gave me a son who, in turn, gave me Emma so I'm grateful."

"I don't believe that you're destined for loneliness. You're a great guy, Steve. Some girl would be lucky to have you," Natasha told him but Steve didn't look like he was changing his mind.

"I never understood your desire for me to date," Steve told Natasha. "I still have flashbacks about all those blind dates you set me up on before all the stuff with Hydra started."

"You'll meet the right girl."

"I'm just glad Emma's happy," Steve said, returning his gaze to the two teenagers outside. "I always worried about her when I was away but I think now I won't have to worry as much. She's going to be just fine."

"A little more than fine if you ask me," Natasha said teasingly as she noticed the way Emma looked at the teenage boy. It was very clear, to anyone who knew Emma, that the teenage girl was head over heels in love with Peter Parker.

"Don't get me started. I just had to give Emma a talk about sex," Steve said as he backed away from the window and started heading out of the room. Natasha raised an eyebrow as she quickly followed him. "Please don't tell Bucky about that either. He might actually murder the poor kid this time."

"I thought you already gave her a sex talk after the Thor incident," Natasha said, following Steve down the hall of the compound. The super soldier sighed tiredly.

"It was more of a talk about safe sex," Steve reluctantly elaborated and Natasha's green eyes gleamed with interest as she grinned at her friend.

"Emma's going to deflower her boyfriend and you're actually okay with it?" Natasha inquired, looking highly amused. "I'm impressed, Steve. Who would've thought you could be the cool parent?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I really don't even want to even think about it," Steve mumbled as he tried to ignore the amused look on his friend's face. He knew Natasha was going to continue to tease him about this. She would probably even make him regret telling her in the first place.

Even so, Steve was really just happy that Emma was happy.

That's all that mattered.

* * *

Emma couldn't remember doing something so childish as playing tag. She supposed she must've done it in those early years before Hydra but she couldn't remember. When Peter suggested playing tag, she called him an idiot. However, all it took for her to cave into him was a quick look into those warm brown eyes and Emma suddenly found herself running away from him.

Stupid Parker and his pretty brown eyes.

Although Emma would be lying if she said she wasn't having fun. It had been a while since she felt so carefree. This might've actually been the first time she ever felt carefree. So she laughed as Peter chased her across the large grassy area outside the compound. Emma knew it was stupid to even attempt to run from him since he was faster than her but it was a game so she wasn't supposed to use logic.

She was just supposed to have fun.

"I got you!" Peter shouted as he grabbed Emma from behind and tackled her to the ground. Emma tried to push him off but his grip was too strong for her so she fell to the ground with Peter on top of her.

"Get off me, nerd!" Emma said as she tried to shove him off and Peter just smirked at her, refusing to get off his girlfriend who was obviously hiding how much fun she was having.

"You didn't think I was a nerd last night," Peter said suggestively and Emma's eyes widened at his boldness. It was never like Peter to so blatantly flirt with her like this. However, recently Peter seemed to be getting cockier and cockier. She wondered if it had to do with their recent bedroom activities. Emma didn't know but she kind of liked Peter's newfound confidence.

"You'll always be a nerd to me," Emma told him, trying to hide her surprise at his statement. Peter's brown eyes gleamed with mischief as he rested his hand on her thigh.

"Even when I do this?" Peter asked her as he moved his hand up her thigh just under the skirt of her floral printed summer dress. Emma's breathing hitched but she told herself not to give cocky Peter the satisfaction of blushing. Peter started kissing along the length of her neck and her eyes fluttered shut. Okay, it might've been too late to stop herself from blushing but maybe she could blame it on the sun. Peter only paused to whisper in her ear. "You didn't seem to care about me being a nerd when we were in your room last night. In fact, you could barely keep quiet."

He pulled away to look at the reaction on her face and he was satisfied to see that Emma was blushing. The blonde then narrowed her eyes at him and attempted to look angry.

"You're a little pervert now, Parker," Emma said accusingly but Peter still seemed smug. Smug was actually a really good look for him and Emma hadn't realized he could pull off being smug until right then. "I've finally corrupted you. Who knew all it took to corrupt you was a blowjob and a couple awkward handjobs."

Peter then gave her a confused look.

"What? They weren't awkward," Peter said and Emma gave him a doubtful look.

"I had no idea what I was doing. My wrist cramped up big time," Emma told him and his cockiness seemed to disappear from his face as he blushed.

"Well, I liked it," Peter tried to tell her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I could tell," Emma told him before smirking at him. It was her turn to flirt with him now. "I guess we'll still need a lot more practice, huh?"

"I'm already looking forward to it," Peter said quickly before a shy but hopeful look came across Peter's face. "Maybe tonight then?"

"Are you horny all the time?" Emma asked sarcastically before giving her boyfriend a serious look. "I didn't mean tonight. We can't. Everyone's leaving. This might be the last time I see Steve and my father for a while."

Peter's face fell as he moved off of Emma and moved to her side.

He felt guilty that he had totally forgotten about the fact that Steve and Emma's father were leaving that night. It had been about a week since the incident with Rumlow and now that all the surviving Hydra agents had been imprisoned, the UN had returned their attention to the fugitive Avengers. It was fine when the fugitive Avengers were doing all their dirty work for them but now that the job was finished, they wanted the Avengers to sign the accords or go to Raft. Ross was scheduled to come back in the morning for them so T'Challa was taking everyone back to Wakanda that evening.

Tonight was a goodbye of sorts which was very fitting since it was also Steve's birthday today. Peter had to admit that it was ironic that Steve's birthday was on the fourth of July. He really was born to be Captain America, after all.

Peter suddenly felt bad for being so selfish in forgetting about Steve and her father. He knew Emma had been sad the past couple days when Steve announced to the team that they would be leaving for Wakanda. This was part of the reason Peter took her outside for a picnic to take her mind off things for a couple hours.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I wasn't thinking," Peter apologized to her and Emma just gave him a small smile.

"It's okay," Emma told him but Peter knew she was still sad about everyone leaving. "I'm just going to miss Steve and Papa."

"I know. I'm sorry you have to say goodbye to them," Peter said, placing her hand in his. "I wish there was something I could do."

"I knew deep down that they'd have to leave eventually but I guess I was just in denial," Emma said as she turned to look at Peter. "I wish they didn't have to leave but I'm not delusional. I know this is the way it has to be."

"It won't always be like this," Peter told her comfortingly. "Someday it'll be different."

"I know," Emma said in response before she decided that she wanted to talk about something else. She didn't want to keep thinking about Steve and her father leaving because she knew it would only bring her down. "Let's talk about something else."

"If you're sure," Peter said and Emma nodded so Peter tried to think of something else to talk about. It was then that he decided to bring up something he had been hesitant to mention to Emma. He nervously fiddled with a blade of grass in his hand before turning to her. "I think I'm going to ask Mr. Stark for a job."

Emma immediately gave her boyfriend a confused look at his odd statement.

"What?" She questioned, already forgetting about all her troubles regarding Steve and her father. Peter nodded.

"I'm sixteen already and I think it's time for me to get a job," Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"But you already have a job. You're Spider-Man," Emma pointed out and Peter frowned.

"That's different. I want a job where I can make money and I'm not Spider-Man because I want to make money. I'm Spider-Man because I want to help people," Peter told her, being as noble as ever. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what this is about? You want money?" Emma questioned, trying to understand the logic behind Peter's words. "Tony gives you money already. He gave you a credit card. I don't get why you need a job."

"Because I want to buy you things with _my_ money. Not his," Peter told her seriously and Emma soon realized that this was a masculine pride thing. "I don't want to mooch off Tony my entire life."

"You're not mooching off him," Emma said as she attempted to talk some sense into her boyfriend. "Tony loves you like a son, Peter. I know you love him like a father so I don't think it bothers him giving you things."

"You don't understand. It's different for you," Peter explained to her. "Your grandmother left you a lot of money when she died…including your parents' money. You don't have to worry about the future and there's nothing wrong about that. You've been through so much that you shouldn't have to worry."

Peter only paused for a brief second, avoiding her gaze out of embarrassment. Emma just looked at him, seeking to understand what he was trying to tell her.

"I didn't grow up with a lot of money, Emma. My parents didn't have a lot of money so when they died, they didn't leave much," Peter continued to tell her as Emma listened silently. "Uncle Ben and Aunt May weren't wealthy either. The only reason I can attend Midtown is because of my scholarship. Sometimes it's difficult for May to pay all the bills without Ben around anymore. She doesn't say anything to me but I know-"

"Peter, Tony would help if-" Emma started to say but Peter quickly interrupted her.

"I don't want him to," Peter told her, blushing. "He's already done more than enough for me."

"You shouldn't have to worry about the future either," Emma told him softly as she ran her fingers through his brown hair. "Everything I have is also yours."

"I don't want you to think that I'm taking advantage of you," Peter told her, trying to deny what Emma was telling him.

"You're not taking advantage of me," Emma told him sincerely, her gaze softening as she looked at him. "We're together in this. I know I don't always say this but you're it for me, Parker. I refuse to marry you but I still want to spend the rest of my life with you. So what's mine is also yours."

"I'm still going to change your mind about marriage," Peter said stubbornly although he was always delighted to hear Emma telling him that he was the only one for her. He sometimes couldn't believe how lucky he was that she chose him. "I'm also still going to get a job. I want to take you out on a date with the money I earned. Not money that Tony just throws at us. I want to try and save up for college someday too. Maybe even an apartment for us after high school."

"You don't want to actually work for Tony," Emma told her boyfriend, trying to stop him from getting a job. Mostly because she thought it might mean that they would stop spending so much time together. Emma didn't think it was fair that Tony would get to spend more time with Peter when that time with Peter was rightfully hers. She knew it was stupid getting jealous over Tony but now that Steve and her father were going away, Emma was going to be alone again and she was scared. "He'll make you do stupid things for him like make him sandwiches, get him coffee, and be his personal slave."

"I already do those things for you," Peter pointed out and Emma gave him an unimpressed look.

"Fine then. We won't spend any time together anymore," Emma finally said, voicing her fear. Peter suddenly realized what this was about. He wrapped an arm around her and held her closer to his chest, placing a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Yes, we will," Peter told her honestly. "I was thinking I would only work at the compound for Tony during the weekend with the nights off. We'll still have plenty of time together."

Emma knew that this was something Peter really wanted. He wanted a job because he was a person full of pride and refused to use Tony to get him places. Peter wanted to make it on his own because he was a good person. It made Emma feel slightly guilty for charging a bunch of random shit to Tony's credit card all the time…but not guilty enough to stop doing it. Emma supposed he wouldn't be Peter if he wasn't the honest guy with good intentions that he was.

"I should've known you would want nights off," Emma said jokingly. "You just can't get enough of me, Parker."

Peter smiled as he pressed another kiss against her forehead, heavily intoxicated on all the feelings he had for her. Emma always drove Peter crazy to a certain extent but he was completely in love with her. It was tough to imagine that a year ago they didn't even know each other. He realized how boring and dull his life had been back then because she wasn't in it yet. His life has consisted of building Lego Star Wars sets with Ned, crushing on Liz Allan, homework, and Spider-Man.

When Emma walked into his life everything suddenly held more meaning. Even when they were only friends. Peter woke up everyday strangely excited to go to school because it meant that he would get to see her.

He still remembered the first moment he saw her.

Not the time at the airport in Germany but the first time he _really_ saw her. The first time in the cafeteria as he and Ned approached the lunch table they shared with Michelle where a very beautiful but mysterious blonde girl sat with the most gorgeous blue eyes Peter had ever seen. He remembered being caught breathless at the sight of her but also intrigued by who she was.

Peter kind of wanted to knock some sense into his past self because he couldn't believe he was that stuck on Liz Allan back then. Liz who he desperately tried to get to notice him for two and a half years. Liz who ignored him until the moment where his acne started clearing up, his dorky glasses disappeared, and he started looking more his age rather than a twelve-year-old boy.

Don't get him wrong.

Liz was an incredibly kind, intelligent, and beautiful girl. She was probably the girl every guy dreamed of dating but after being with Emma for several months, he realized there was no way Liz could ever compare to her.

Emma was everything Liz wasn't.

She was very sarcastic, rude, scary, a little bit crazy, selfish at times, and she kept a cold and callous façade. However, there was another side to Emma Rogers that she didn't let many people see but for some reason she let Peter see that side of her. She was the bravest person Peter had ever met, kind when no one was looking, protective of those she loved, and even though she pretended to care about nothing and no one, there wasn't a person in the world that was more caring than Emma.

Peter was sure he could've been happy with Liz but it would've been nothing like his happiness with Emma. Everyday was like a new adventure with her and even though they argued a lot, Peter wouldn't have it any other way.

Nothing was ever boring or dull with Emma.

She made him the happiest he had been since before his uncle died. Peter wondered if she ever realized how much she had changed his life for the better. Peter didn't used to think it was possible for anyone to be this happy but falling in love changed your perspective on a lot of things.

Peter was still positive that he was going to marry her.

He had known that for a while. Probably soon after falling in love with her but there had been little moments over the course of their friendship before that, where Peter started wondering if maybe Emma could be the girl for him. His mind drifted back to the first couple weeks he had known her when she was the mysterious new girl at school.

The day in the decathlon meeting when Flash Thompson came up to him and started calling him "Penis Parker" like he always did. Emma turned and coolly tore Flash apart, telling the short boy that he must have a Napoleon complex. It wasn't Liz that came to his defense but it was Emma who tore Flash apart in a way that the kind and respectful Liz Allan never would.

That was the day that the wheels in Peter's head started turning and for a second he thought, _'I want to marry this girl someday'._ Of course, Liz Allan walked by and the thought left Peter's mind as he daydreamed about the former team captain but as he spent more and more time with Emma, he started daydreaming about the blonde instead.

Emma seemingly wormed her way into Peter's heart and she didn't even have to try.

"I probably won't ever get enough of you," Peter told her and he wasn't just talking about sex. He was talking about Emma in general. "But nights off would be nice. We could do a lot in one night. We already tested that theory a couple of times."

"Last night was a close call," Emma remarked, reminding him of the night before. "Remember when my father knocked on my door?"

"That was scariest thing ever," Peter said, still looking haunted. "I thought I was going to die."

"I can't believe you actually hid under the bed like some kind of dog," Emma said as she laughed at her boyfriend. She was still amused that he was terrified of her father.

"What was I supposed to do? I was only wearing boxers and nothing else. He would've taken one look at me and murdered me."

"He didn't even come into my room," Emma said, still in amazement of how much of a dork Peter was. "He was just wishing me goodnight."

"I don't think you understand how clear that man made it that he would murder me if I ever had sex with you," Peter pointed out to her. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seem to care much about his threat. You didn't mind touching me last night," Emma told him and Peter blushed.

"Emma, there's very few things in this world I would gladly die over," Peter explained to her in a serious voice. "If I was given a choice of never having sex with you and living forever versus having sex with you once and your dad murdering me then I would die a very happy man."

Emma laughed at her boyfriend. Mostly because he looked entirely serious when he said it and Emma knew he meant every word of it. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You're such a dork but I love you for it," Emma told him and Peter smiled at her before growing serious once more when he remembered what they were talking about before.

"So you're okay with me getting a job?" Peter asked hesitantly and Emma sighed heavily.

"Peter, you don't need my permission. If you want to do this then do it," Emma told him even though she didn't get why he had to get a job. "I just don't want you getting a job because you think you have to buy me things and take me places. I'm happy just spending time with you here like this."

"It's about more than that. Yes, I want to take you out on dates with my own money but I also don't feel right taking money from Tony for not doing anything," Peter told her sincerely. "This way, at least, I'll feel like I earned it."

"I'll never understand the stuff your penis tells you to do but I'll try and be supportive," Emma finally told him and Peter rolled his eyes before shaking his head. She didn't understand what he was saying but Peter didn't expect her to.

"Thanks a lot," Peter told her before he moved to get up from the ground. He pushed his weight to his arms, his hands accidently brushing against Emma's side. Peter couldn't help but notice the way she squirmed when he did that. Peter gave her a curious look.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked and Emma just shrugged.

"Nothing," She told him nonchalantly but he didn't buy the calm look on her face. He placed his hands on either side of her hips as he hovered over her. A thought entered Peter's mind as he smirked at her with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Wait a second…are you ticklish?" Peter asked her and Emma scoffed a little too quickly.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I'm not," Emma tried to tell him convincingly and Peter's smirk widened.

"You're totally ticklish. How have I not known this until now?" Peter asked and Emma glared at him.

"I already told you that I'm not-" Emma was soon interrupted as Peter started tickling her. A giggle escaped Emma as she squirmed underneath her idiotic boyfriend. "Parker, what the hell are you doing?! Get off me!"

"I'm not going to stop until you admit that you're ticklish," Peter told her and Emma tried not to laugh at the sensation but she didn't have any control over herself at this point. This was probably childish and stupid but Emma missed out on a lot of childish and stupid things in her life.

"No, I'm not!" She said through a bunch of giggles.

"You're ticklish!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Ugh! Fine…I am. Now stop," Emma demanded as she caved in.

"I don't think I want to," Peter said smugly much to Emma's annoyance as he then proceeded to tickle her. Emma, of course, pretended to be angry with him when all she could really do was giggle as he attacked her with tickles.

"Parker!"

* * *

Steve's birthday party was both a happy yet sad celebration.

Happy because it was the first time in a while that the Avengers were together like this but sad because everyone knew it wasn't going to last the night. Even though Steve had seemingly made amends with Tony, the billionaire seemed annoyed that after everything Steve still refused to sign the accords. Of course, he didn't say anything because he didn't want to upset Emma but the tension was there again. Not at the level it used to be but it was clear that Tony was frustrated with how stubborn Steve Rogers was.

What was new?

The party had gone smoothly so far. Emma had kindly gifted her grandfather a painting she had done for him a long time ago during their time apart. It was a painting of the sea and a woman standing over a cliff, her back to whoever was looking. The painting depicted a stormy ocean and a cloudy sky but it wasn't difficult to determine who the woman was in the painting with her brown locks that Steve knew all too well. The painting made him sad at the same time it made him happy. It was a difficult emotion to describe but he never ceased being blown away by Emma's artistic talent.

A talent which he always thought transcended his own talent.

"Ninety nine years, Cap," Sam said teasingly as he smirked at his friend. They were all seated around the recreational area of the compound. Some were chatting amongst each other while others had a slice of the birthday cake Pepper ordered last minute. "Next year it'll be a hundred."

"Don't remind me," Steve told him before glancing at Bucky who was sitting quietly by Emma, the both of them eating their slices of cake. "Bucky already turned a hundred this year."

"I _feel_ older," Bucky complained and Emma smiled fondly at her father.

"Well, I think you look incredibly good for your age, Papa," Emma told him honestly and Tony made a face from across the room. Mostly because Emma was always telling Tony how old he looked and how he could stand to lose a few pounds. He knew she was only teasing him but it made him bitter about how nice and loving she was to Barnes. She was nice and loving to Peter and Steve as well but she still teased the hell out of them.

However, Barnes was another story.

In the entire time Tony observed those two together, Emma never even attempted to make fun of Barnes once. He was perhaps the only person she had never made fun of. Sure, there were a couple of teasing comments but nothing like her calling her boyfriend a dork all the time or mocking Steve's goody two shoes nature. Emma mostly just clung to her former partner's side and seemed quite content to remain there.

It was clear out of all the people in the room, Bucky Barnes was who Emma adored the most. Tony wasn't even sure if Steve or Peter could reach the pedestal that Emma had placed Barnes on.

"I'm glad you think so," Bucky said sarcastically, ruffling her hair playfully as Emma laughed at him.

That was another thing that annoyed him.

Whenever Tony did that to her, she glared at him and looked like she wanted to murder him. Tony knew that she and Barnes were exceptionally close which explained everything but it bothered him that she treasured Barnes that much. It was like Barnes was her favorite person in the world and Tony hated that it was him of all people

 _It should've been Steven._

"We'll go all out for your 100th," Natasha teased Steve who just rolled his eyes at her.

The birthday party had emptied out by the time night time approached them.

Clint left the compound early to go home to his family. He was going to turn himself in the next day and receive the same plea deal Scott got. Emma bid him goodbye, looking at Clint in a different way than she used to because now she realized that they shared a weird connection through her mother. The archer promised to send her some things of her mother's he still had stored away somewhere and Emma thanked him.

Susan had left the compound a couple days before after Steve broke things off with her. She was obviously upset but understood that Steve still had feelings for Peggy Carter and she would never be able to compete with that. It was for the best that she left even though Emma felt sad that her grandfather wouldn't let himself be happy. She understood how he felt in a way. If Emma ever lost Peter like Steve lost her grandmother then she didn't know if she could ever move on with her life without him.

Now it seemed as though Emma was going to have to say goodbye to Steve again but she didn't know for how long which was the scary part. He promised her it would be different than last time but Emma wasn't sure. She just wished the stupid accords never existed because her life would be so much better without them. While Emma understood Tony's logic behind the accords, that didn't mean she liked them.

The accords shifted the blame in regards to collateral damage but Emma didn't really care. If Steve and everyone else hadn't saved the world against Ultron, Loki, or Hydra then there would've been a lot more collateral damage. She had been in this kind of world too long so she knew that there was always going to be a death toll no matter what.

The accords wouldn't prevent that.

Besides…it was better to lose a few thousand lives rather than the whole world, right? Tony didn't seem to understand it but Emma understood that it just wasn't possible to save everyone. No matter how hard you tried, someone was still going to die at the end of the day. Emma accepted that but she just didn't know if Tony ever could.

"Hey, Emma," Peter started to say excitedly as he plopped down in a seat on her other side much to her father's obvious displeasure. "Look at the inside of the cake. Don't you wonder how they got the blue and red swirly things inside the cake? That's so cool."

"I guess," Emma said, not sounding as interested in how the cake was made although she was entirely amused by her boyfriend's sense of wonder. Bucky stared at the teenage boy in disbelief.

"You picked _him_?" Bucky asked her and Emma smirked.

"My choices were either him or an asshole who calls himself Flash. It was slim pickings," Emma told her father and Peter gave her an offended look.

"Flash? Seriously?"

"You know that you're a hundred times hotter than that garden gnome of a boy, Parker. It's like comparing a Vienna sausage to a bratwurst," Emma flirted and Peter blushed at her very dirty analogy. She didn't know why but she just assumed her father wouldn't have caught the meaning behind her analogy but she was sorely mistaken. Maybe he wasn't as clueless about stuff as she thought.

"Never flirt with him in front of me again," Bucky told Emma seriously, a disgusted look on his face. "I said that I would tolerate him but that doesn't mean I want to see something like _that_."

"Fine," Emma told her father as she rolled her eyes at him. He could be a baby sometimes.

"I also hope you don't think I'm stupid enough to not have understood that analogy," Bucky told his daughter, disturbed by where she had even learned to say something like that. Although it shouldn't have surprised him since she had spent a year living at the compound with Stark and then that same year living in a house with Darcy Lewis. Bucky always assumed he was a bad influence on her but maybe he wasn't the only one.

"I didn't tell her to say that, Mr. Barnes," Peter said quickly, wanting to make sure Emma's father knew that. Emma gave him an unimpressed look that was almost identical to her father's.

"Very brave," Emma said sarcastically and Peter resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her before glancing back at her father. He felt the sudden urge to change the subject so Emma's dad didn't kill him.

"So how are you feeling, Mr. Barnes?" Peter asked him, blushing as he remembered that Emma's father had totally listened to her flirting with him. He really just wanted to change the subject at this point. He just hoped that her dad wasn't too mad at him. "Emma told me you work on a farm in Wakanda with goats and stuff. That's pretty fun. Do you have a pet goat? You know, I don't think I've ever seen a goat in real life before. Ooh…what's your goat's name?"

Bucky stared long and hard at Peter, still bewildered by how fast this kid could talk. He knew he would never understand what Emma saw in him but Bucky supposed she could do worse. She could've picked some guy as smug and irritating as Wilson which would've drove Bucky even crazier.

"Sam," Bucky finally answered and Emma raised an eyebrow at that. It seemed like Sam heard that from a short distance away, an offended look coming over his face.

"What was that, Barnes?" Sam asked, glaring at Steve's childhood best friend.

Sam liked to think of Bucky as the older rusty model of Steve's best friend while Sam was the hotter and newer model who was a billion times more interesting. Steve and Bucky had history? Well, that was fine. At least, Sam actually had a sense of humor and was a lot of fun unlike that old grump who spent his days brooding and contemplating his existence. The guy probably hadn't been laid in over seventy years either. It's not like Sam could talk since it had been about a year and a half for him but Bucky's lack of female attention really made him feel better about himself.

"Did I just hear that right?" Sam asked in disbelief. Bucky shrugged casually.

"I don't know what you heard, Wilson," Bucky said, his pale blue eyes boring into Sam's brown ones. "You seem to hear a lot of things."

Sam scoffed, annoyed by the subtle mocking tone in Bucky's voice. This guy really annoyed him like no one else. He used to think Emma's condescending nature was bad but this guy had her beat.

"You seriously named a goat after me?" Sam continued to ask in disbelief but Barnes didn't look ashamed. In fact, Sam thought he could detect the smallest smirk on his face.

"He reminded me of you," Bucky told him and Sam practically fumed. The nerve of this moron.

"Don't you two get started again," Steve said warningly, sounding more like a parent than a friend. Emma rolled her eyes at Sam and her father. She was reminded yet again that she was constantly surrounded by men. Everything seemed to be a pissing contest with them.

"Stop fighting over Steve. It's pathetic," Emma said, sounding bored with their weird rivalry/friendship. Peter laughed nervously as he tried to think of some way to not cause as many problems with Bucky and Sam. He really hadn't meant to do that.

"So I bet you're excited to go back to your goats, Mr. Barnes," Peter told his girlfriend's father, taking the man's attention away from Sam. Bucky looked back at the teenage boy, his mind then drifting back to his impending return to Wakanda.

Leaving Emma.

The former assassin frowned because he knew the time to leave was growing closer and Bucky was fearful of finally saying goodbye to Emma. Saying goodbye to her was the last thing he ever wanted to do but his time at the compound was coming to a close. It was inevitable that he would have to say goodbye tonight and it didn't help that this kid was reminding him of that fact. His departure was something Bucky had been contemplating for the past few days as he dreaded life back in Wakanda.

It wasn't that he didn't like Wakanda. It was quite the contrary. Bucky actually loved Wakanda and felt at peace in the beautiful country. But there was one thing missing.

Emma.

Bucky didn't want to leave her after just getting her back. He was terrified that she would be even older the next time he saw her. The moment he left, Bucky knew that his thoughts would be encompassed by nothing but her. So Bucky had secretly considered the plea deal Steve offhandedly mentioned to him. The one Ross and the rest of the UN offered in exchange for being able to keep track of Bucky.

They seemed to acknowledge the fact that Steve would hide him no matter so maybe they thought making a compromise would benefit them more.

That and they knew the Winter Soldier was a matter of great controversy.

There was a lot of people who thought he was the devil himself and deserved the death penalty for his crimes while there was also a great deal of people who sympathized with him and thought he should be pardoned. The UN really wanted to avoid conflict in this political climate so they were offering a plea deal for him if he turned himself in.

Of course, there was a ton of downfalls of said deal.

While his house arrest would only be for a year like it would be for Scott Lang and Barton, the UN would still monitor him for probably the remainder of his life. He wouldn't ever be allowed to own a weapon, he'd have constant surveillance, frequent required therapy sessions, and constant check-ups from agents employed by the government. Most of all, he would never be approved to be part of the Avengers initiative. Not even if he completed the theoretical house arrest would the Accords ever allow him to be in any capacity to fight on the Avengers behalf.

He would be forced to retire indefinitely.

Steve informed him of this plea deal, thinking that Bucky would find it as ridiculous as he did. The super soldier seemed to think that Ross was insane for thinking Bucky would ever accept a plea deal like that which would be signing away all his privacy and was basically the same thing as prison. However, Bucky wasn't so dismissive of the plea deal and for just one reason alone.

He could be with Emma.

Yes, he wouldn't be free in the obvious sense but Bucky would always be free as long as he had her. This was his one opportunity to be in Emma's life. In all honesty, Bucky didn't care about being an Avenger despite what Steve might think. Bucky was tired and he just wanted to live in peace. If agreeing to this plea deal was the only way he could stay with Emma then Bucky thought he could do it.

"I don't want you to worry, Mr. Barnes. I'm going to take care of Emma while you're gone," Peter told Bucky reassuringly, breaking the older man out of his thoughts. The expression on Peter's face was entirely innocent and his voice was full of sincerity but Bucky didn't like that sentence one bit. Bucky had a flashback to that day he walked in on that idiot on top of Emma, his tongue shoved down her throat as he pressed himself against her.

 _If you leave there's going to be a lot more of that. That horny little idiot probably can't wait until you leave so he's free to have his way with Emma._

Bucky tried to tell himself that the kid was too terrified of him to try anything but then he remembered what he was like when he was that age. There were plenty of fathers who warned Bucky about keeping his hands to himself in regards to their daughters. It was enough to make Bucky feel apprehensive but that all changed when he was alone with said daughter. This kid was going to do the same thing when Bucky left and he had Emma all to himself.

"I can take care of my fucking self," Emma told her boyfriend, not appreciating the fact that Peter was talking about her like she was incapable of taking care of herself.

"You know what I mean. I just don't want your dad to worry," Peter said as he calmed her down. She wasn't really angry but just annoyed.

"Emma, I've told you time and time again not to use that kind of language," Steve started to lecture her. "I feel like I'm going to have to tell Vision to make a swear jar while I'm gone. You really need to cut that kind of behavior out. Just tell me why you feel the need to talk like that all the time? When I was your age and-"

"I'm going to stay," Bucky said abruptly, making his mind up right in that point of time. Everyone fell silent, turning their heads in Bucky's direction. It seemed like everyone in the room was shocked. Even Emma gave her father a wide eyed look.

"What?" Steve asked, clearly shocked by his best friend's random outburst. Bucky nodded slowly.

"I think I'm going to take that plea deal Ross was offering," Bucky said slowly, finally making his mind up about staying or leaving. Who knew that it would be Peter Parker who would make his decision so easy.

"Bucky, you don't know what you're saying," Steve told him, the first person to speak in the awkward silence. "You can't actually think of doing that. Ross can't be trusted. I don't mean any offense, Rhodey, but you can't trust him. He'll throw you in Raft the first chance he gets."

"Steve's right, Papa," Emma told her father once she finally got past her shock and realized what her father was saying. "It's not safe for you here. Ross only offered you a plea deal so he can keep track of you."

"You're safer in Wakanda," T'Challa said, also in agreement with Steve and Emma. Shuri nodded, knowing that her older brother was right. Bucky would be safe in Wakanda and everyone knew it."No one will find you there and you can be free."

"This isn't about being free," Bucky told them and Emma read her father's tense demeanor. She saw the determination in his eyes and immediately knew that his decision was already made. Spending years in her father's company gave her the ability to read him in a way no one else could. Not even Steve. "Because I can't ever be free in Wakanda. Not when I'm over there worrying about Emma every day. You saw what happened when we were gone, Steve. That vulture guy and then Hydra. Anything could've happened to her."

"I already told you that I would take care of her, Mr. Barnes," Peter hesitantly spoke and Bucky gave him a look of great distaste. Emma glared at Peter for talking about her like she wasn't there once again but she didn't say anything. She knew that wasn't the reason her father wanted to stay. It was a lot more than him just worrying about her.

"You'll just have to excuse me if that doesn't make me feel better," Bucky told the teenage boy but it wasn't that Bucky worried about Emma in that way. He knew better than anyone else that she could more than take care of herself. It was more of the fact that he didn't want to miss out on anymore of Emma's life which was why Bucky wanted to stay. It was selfish and he knew that but Bucky no longer cared. "This isn't up for debate. I'm staying here and that's final."

"Bucky, you don't know what you're giving up by staying here," Steve said in a desperate attempt to talk some sense into his best friend. "Ross wouldn't let you out of his grasp ever again. You'd be trapped forever."

"Papa, you don't have to do this for me," Emma said quietly, not knowing what else to say to her father to keep him from staying. Bucky just gave her a small but affectionate smile as his gaze immediately softened.

"I really hate leaving you and I don't have it in me to do it again," Bucky told her softly. His heart ached each day he was away from her and if there was a chance that he could stay with her then he was going to take it. "House arrest is a small price to pay if it means I don't have to miss you anymore. As for all the other stuff that'll be taken away from me…I don't care."

Bucky turned to look back at Steve, the entire room was focused on Bucky, Emma, and Steve at this point. Everyone realized that they were witnessing an incredibly big moment and they knew from the look on Bucky's face that he wasn't going to go back to Wakanda.

That much was obvious.

"I'm tired, Steve. I'm tired of running and fighting all the time. All the Avenger stuff…that's you. That's not me. That was never going to be me," Bucky told his friend sincerely. "I don't want to be on the run anymore and I don't want to miss another second of Emma's life. Staying here is the right decision to make."

"I don't want to miss another second either," Steve said, sounding a bit guilty that he wasn't staying like Bucky planned on doing but Bucky just shook his head.

"You need to go and do what you do best because the world needs you. Emma knows that and so do I," Bucky said in response and Steve sighed heavily, realizing that there was no way in hell he was ever going to get Bucky to change his mind. It's not that he didn't want Emma to have Bucky here but it was more of the fact that Bucky would be under house arrest with serious repercussions. Steve didn't want that for Bucky but Steve realized that he couldn't make that decision for him. Bucky spent most of his life being controlled so Steve wasn't going to do that to him.

"Where are you even going to stay? One of Ross's rules is that you need a place of residence and-" Steve started to say but he was quickly interrupted by the last person anyone thought would have input on this conversation.

"He can stay here at the compound," Tony Stark answered abruptly. Everyone looked at the billionaire in surprise.

None looking more surprised than Bucky Barnes.

Tony just shrugged nonchalantly, looking as though there wasn't anything odd about him offering to house Bucky at the compound for the entirety of the former assassin's house arrest. This would mean sharing the same residence as Bucky for who knows how long. Probably seeing him every day, eating with him, and forced to make small talk in elevators and over coffee in the one of the many kitchens.

"It's already empty enough with the rest of you going away so it's not like we're maxed at capacity," Tony said casually as if this was all totally normal. "It's probably better for everyone if your house arrest is at the compound. Ross would feel better about you being here than somewhere in the city. I'm going to hire a resident psychiatrist which I know is one of the conditions. Emma also spends all her weekends up here so it's a win-win."

"Are you serious?" Emma asked in disbelief, still shocked that Tony was offering to house her father during his house arrest. It was just over a year ago when he tried to kill her father so you could imagine her surprise.

"Would I kid about something like this?" Tony asked her sarcastically before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "No, it'll be fine. Ross will feel more secure about Barnes here at the compound with the security systems and monitoring while Barnes has a place to safely practice some new hobbies. I'd start with knitting. Lewis knows how to knit so maybe she could show you a thing or two."

"I made a scarf for you last year and you still haven't worn it," Darcy complained loudly, finally breaking the ice with all the tension and silence in the room.

"Powder blue isn't really my color. What can I say?" Tony retorted before forcing himself to look at Bucky again. It wasn't often he actually looked at Bucky, mostly just ignoring him entirely whenever he set foot in a room, which is why everyone was still in shock. "I'll give you Sam's old room. We'll redecorate it and throw all his shit out."

"What the hell, man!" Sam exclaimed, looking offended and Tony just shrugged. "I haven't even left yet and you're already giving away my room."

"That's what happens when you're a criminal," Tony retorted, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he smirked. "I'm already considering renting out all of your rooms. Maybe Airbnb. What do you think?"

"You're very funny, Tony," Natasha said sarcastically although she looked amused by him nonetheless and deep down she was going miss the dynamic they reverted to for a brief amount of time. The group dynamic had been just like the old days for a few fleeting days but now it was going to come to an end because no matter what, they were just never going to agree on the accords.

"I know I am but-" Tony was interrupted from making another quip when Emma abruptly hugged him. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as the blonde willingly attached herself to Tony who she almost always claimed to be the most annoying person in the world.

For once, Tony didn't say anything. He was mostly shocked by the fact that she was hugging him and to be honest whenever Emma hugged him, he was always shocked. The first time she ever hugged him was when she was a little girl but Tony knew she didn't remember that part of her life. The second time was not that long ago because it was something she thought he needed. And the last time was just a few days ago when she was scared that she was going to lose Peter.

This hug felt different though.

"Thank you, Tony," Emma said softly as Tony slowly but hesitantly wrapped his arms around the blonde who just so happened to be nearly the same height as him. "I really mean it. Thanks for doing this."

"Don't mention it, Mini Cap," Tony said, trying to dismiss her appreciation. He suddenly felt bashful from her rare affection. Pepper smiled at him from across the room, looking at him and Emma embracing like it was the most adorable thing in the world. Peter just gave them a knowing look because he knew deep down that Emma loved Tony maybe just as much as she loved Steve and her father. Steve just seemed curious about how the tense relationship between Emma and Tony changed so much during the span of a year.

It was no secret that they never got along.

Well, Emma never got along with anyone but she disliked Tony the most. The blonde always found Tony's conceit and narcissism unbearable while she despised the way he made fun of Steve when Emma believed that Steve deserved nothing but his respect. His decisions always infuriated Emma but during some point during Steve's absence, Emma made amends with the billionaire and they even seemed close to a certain extent.

Steve didn't know how this came about but he assumed it had something to do with Peter Parker.

Steve realized that he owed that kid a lot. He always had big hopes and dreams for Emma, wanting nothing more for her than to just have a normal life. The super soldier sometimes feared that this would only be wishful thinking instead of reality but somehow Peter changed everything. He was the key to unlocking a softer and more carefree side to Emma and Steve knew that Peter was good for her. The boy was changing Emma's life for the better and Steve was eternally grateful.

Yes, Steve knew that same boy planned to do less than innocent things with Emma but he thought he could overlook those things in favor of all the good things. In Steve's opinion, Emma was way too young to be having sex but at the same time he knew if Emma wanted to do something then she was going to do it. No one would stop her so as long as she was safe then Steve had to be okay with it.

Emma, however, knew this was the best present Tony had ever given her.

Not the car or the suit but her father. Having her father with her was the one thing she always dreamed of having but just accepting that it was a pipe dream at the same time. However, Tony was giving her this and Emma could hardly believe it.

Her father safely back in her life.

It seemed a little too good to be true but maybe it could be true, after all.

"Just let me thank you, Tony," Emma whispered against his shoulder as she continued to embrace her godfather. For once, Tony didn't make a sarcastic comment. He just patted her back soothingly and Tony allowed himself to live in the moment.

Things had changed drastically between them and that was a good thing.

Tony was sure of it.

* * *

Bucky was still reeling from the fact that he wasn't running for once in his life.

Everyone else was getting one of the Quinjets ready to go but Bucky wasn't preparing to leave like he always used to. He was preparing to turn himself into tomorrow to Ross and receive his plea deal. Hopefully everything went smoothly.

Bucky could only hope.

"You hoping for the domestic sort of life then?" Tony Stark asked abruptly but Bucky didn't pause in his movement as he looked out the window and up at the night sky. He was still in the recreational area of the compound, deciding to let Emma have some time with Steve before Steve had to leave. The former assassin had heard Tony's footsteps down the hall and knew he was coming.

"Something like that," Bucky said quietly, eyeing Tony from the corner of his eye while still keeping his gaze on the others outside as they loaded up the Quinjet. The billionaire quietly stood next to him, pretending to find a tree particularly interesting.

"You know, I never would've pegged you as the dad type," Tony remarked, still looking immensely curious yet revolted by the bond Emma and him seemed to share. It disgusted Tony that Emma viewed this man as her father when her real father lay six feet under and Emma didn't seem to care or ever acknowledge that man as her actual father. He didn't know why Emma seemed to resent her parents but Tony didn't like it.

"I'm not but everything's different where Emma's concerned," Bucky said softly, not knowing how else to explain the hold Emma had on him. He then began to wonder why Tony was even here in the first place. Bucky thought he would've been the last person Tony had ever wanted to talk to. Which was why it surprised him even more when Tony seemingly offered Bucky to stay there at the compound…this was the same man whose parents Bucky killed. Bucky had a little trouble believing that Tony was helping him out of the kindness of his heart.

"She seems to think the world of you," Tony remarked and it was clear from his tone that this didn't exactly please Tony. "It's kind of like if there was a burning building and she had to save one thing then she'd pick you without hesitation. I sometimes wonder if she'd pick you over the kid and Cap. Maybe she would."

"That's not true," Bucky said quietly, knowing his daughter better than anyone. He had known her longer than all the rest of them, after all. Bucky had watched her grow up right before his very eyes and he knew all the pain and horror that rested in her mind. "She loves Steve and she should since he's her own blood."

Tony just fell silent at the man's vague but firm answer. For some reason, Tony thought the former Hydra assassin would take pleasure in being the center of Emma's universe. Tony even thought he'd be smug about it but there seemed to be an almost guilty look on Bucky's face as though he thought he didn't deserve Emma's adoration. Tony had to agree with him there. He really didn't deserve Emma at all.

"Why did you do it?" Bucky asked, his voice sounding lost as he turned to look at Tony. The billionaire finally met his gaze for the first time since Bucky arrived at the compound. Tony could never quite find it in himself to lock eyes with his parents' killer. It pained him too much so he decided to ignore the man because it was easier.

Tony just never expected to see so much pain and torment in the man's eyes.

"Do what?" Tony questioned, faking a smirk as he raised an eyebrow. "Wear this shirt with these shoes? I don't really know. Pepper got me the shirt last Christmas and I thought it would make her happy if I wore it. Women, you know. Well, maybe you don't know. I take it that it's probably been a good seventy years since you've gotten laid."

Tony was surprised when the man didn't glare at him or roll his eyes in the very least. He stared at him blankly which proved to him that he wasn't much like Emma. Emma who seemed to have a temper and who always glared at Tony whenever he teased her.

What Tony didn't know was that the former assassin was actually very amused. He was even reminded of a time from long ago when Tony's father and himself spent the night off base when they were in France to find some French girls to entertain for the evening. It was just him and Howard since Steve didn't seem to have eyes for anyone other than Peggy Carter.

Bucky hadn't even known about the memory until right in that moment when Tony's sarcastic comment triggered the memory.

His mind was suddenly filled with images of a dimly lit restaurant that had somehow escaped the destruction of the rest of the village. He could still taste the sweet wine on his lips and the aroma of the cuisine that the chef made especially for them. People seemed to be a lot nicer whenever Howard Stark was around and Bucky remembered being in awe of the man's wealth and charm. If Bucky focused enough he could still smell the faint smell of cigar smoke in the air and hear the happy laughter.

He then felt an immense amount of guilt wash over him when he realized that he killed that same man who was so kind to him. Bucky who was just a nobody from Brooklyn yet Howard Stark treated him as a friend. The guilt continued to spread through him as he remembered the look in Howard Stark's eyes right before Bucky murdered him.

Howard Stark who had recognized him.

"What? No retort or look of disdain. God, you're boring," Tony quipped when Bucky didn't say anything.

"I meant why are you letting me stay here? Why are you helping me?" Bucky asked him seriously, not having much time for Tony's sarcastic remarks. Bucky wanted to understand why Tony was doing this. Was it all part of some game or trick?

Tony sighed heavily, allowing himself to drop the façade of sarcastic remarks and arrogance. He took his tinted shades off his face and almost nervously fiddled with them in his hands for a moment before answering the man he absolutely loathed.

"I'm not doing this for you," Tony told him, being honest and sincere for the first time in the conversation. He realized that he needed to have a conversation with Barnes if he was ever going to move on with his life and be happy. "I'm doing this for Emma."

Bucky remained silent as he stared at Tony with a thoughtful and somewhat alarmed look on his face.

"I've seen her go through a couple phases in the past couple years of knowing her," Tony started to say as he explained himself to the quiet former assassin. "She adjusted to a normal life and learned what love and affection was from Steve when she first got here. Trust me, she was pretty bad at first. She distrusted everyone and rarely spoke more than couple words to us and not to mention she made a hobby out of tormenting us but she was on the brink of happiness. It was like she knew she could be happy but she didn't let herself be."

"Then came Peter," Tony said, not allowing Bucky a chance to speak. "I thank every day for him because he's shown her how to be a kid and for it be something she actually wants. She laughs and smiles but it's not fake. It's real."

"But through all of this I notice that there's always been a piece missing," Tony finally said as much as he didn't want to admit any of this. "It's like she always held herself back from letting go and being happy. I think it's because she felt guilty that you weren't here too."

"I know how hard this must be for you," Bucky said quietly, not knowing what else to say to something like that. He realized then that Tony must've cared for Emma a lot. Steve mentioned she would be safe with Tony since Tony was her godfather but Bucky hadn't entirely believed him. He foolishly thought Tony would use Emma in a plot of revenge against him but he could see now that he was severely mistaken.

Tony raised an eyebrow, giving Bucky a look of disbelief.

"Hard, huh?" Tony said sarcastically. "Why would willingly living with the man who killed my parents be weird?"

A look of severe guilt crossed Bucky's face as he opened his mouth to speak but Tony stopped him before he could. The billionaire suddenly looked tired as he sighed heavily.

"Look, I know that you were brainwashed by Hydra and made into their weapon. I get that," Tony said slowly as he tried to do what he set out to do by putting the past in the past. "Hydra killed my parents and you were just the gun. Not the trigger."

"It doesn't erase the fact that I still did it," Bucky told him, his eyes remaining locked onto Tony's face. There was a mixture of different emotions on his face. Between the guilt, sadness, remorse, and acceptance. This told Tony that Bucky accepted whatever fate Tony gave him. Whether it be forgiveness or eternal hatred. "I don't expect your forgiveness because what I did was unredeemable and I'll never be able to change what happened no matter how much I wish I could. I'm just sorry that it happened and I was the one who did it."

Tony fell silent at Bucky's sincere apology. He expressed his remorse before but never in the form of an actual real apology. Tony didn't believe that Bucky held off on the apology because he wasn't sorry but maybe it was because he didn't know how to say he was sorry for something that was so heinously unforgiveable.

"I think I have to forgive you," Tony finally said after a moment of silence as he considered what Bucky said. The former assassin in question looked up at the billionaire in surprise. "Not forgiving you means that everything Emma did in Hydra was her fault and that she can't be redeemed. It would make me a hypocrite if I blamed you for all the things you were forced to do by Hydra but not blame Emma."

Tony laughed humorlessly to himself, confusing Bucky even further.

"I never thought I would say this in a million years but I'd just like to move on," Tony said sincerely as Bucky just watched him silently. "I'm never going to be your friend. No offense but I can't see us making each other friendship bracelets in the near future. I know it wasn't your fault but what happened still happened at the end of the day."

"I understand," Bucky said softly, not expecting much from Tony since Tony forgiving him in the first place was way more than Bucky ever expected.

"However, I'll still have your back through this house arrest thing with Ross and the UN. I'll get you a legal defense team if it comes down to it," Tony informed Bucky much to Bucky's surprise. He didn't really know what to think of Tony's generosity and he definitely didn't think he deserved it but he appreciated it deep down. "Don't feel like we're all against you or anything."

"Thank you," Bucky finally spoke, sounding very bewildered by Tony's out of place kindness.

"For what it's worth, I'm uh…sorry too, I guess," Tony told Bucky, looking very uncomfortable all of a sudden because he wasn't used to this apologizing thing while making amends. Bucky just gave him a quizzical look, not knowing what Tony had to be sorry for. "For trying to kill you back in Siberia. I wasn't thinking clearly and if I had then I wouldn't have done it. Emma really loves you and it would've devastated her. She never would've forgiven me and I'd probably be dead right now."

Tony said the last line jokingly but a large part of him kind of believed that things could've gone differently between him and Emma if Tony had actually killed Bucky. The older man was glad he hadn't been able to kill Barnes. Emma and him wouldn't have the relationship they had now if he did. Mostly because Tony was almost positive she would've killed him.

"That's fine," Bucky said awkwardly, trying to find the right words to say. "I deserved it."

"You're lucky that she cares that much about you," Tony said, seemingly randomly but he meant the statement. Bucky gave him a confused look. "She cares enough to look at you like she would a father. I knew her real father so I don't think I'd ever find you deserving of that title but she thinks you are."

"I'm more than aware that I don't deserve her," Bucky stated sincerely, an unreadable expression on his face but his eyes seemed worlds away. "I'm sure her real father deserved her more than I do. If he was Steve's son then he must've been a good man."

"He was," Tony said softly, reminiscing memories in his life that seemed like they happened hundreds of years ago. The billionaire then blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as he swallowed hard before looking back at Bucky. "So we good then, Terminator?"

"Uh…sure," Bucky said, giving Tony an odd look at the reference he obviously didn't get. Tony nodded, satisfied with how this conversation turned out, before putting his shades back on.

"Good," Tony stated before patting Bucky on the shoulder. The former assassin flinched from the contact, not quite used to people touching him, but he made no move to shrug away or retaliate against Tony. He just remained entangled in his discomfort. "I'll just leave you to it then. Good talk, Barnes."

Tony then started to walk away from Bucky, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders from the much needed talk between himself and Barnes. He felt like he was finally taking a new and different direction in his life. Tony was sure this was going to be a good direction because it meant finally putting his past in the past and maybe even allowing himself to be happy now that he was slowly starting to let go of all the resentment that had been brewing in him for the past year or so.

The Avenger almost exited the room completely before he remembered something. Tony stopped in his steps before turning around to look at Bucky one last time. Bucky gave him another quizzical look as Tony opened his mouth and spoke.

"Oh and by the way," Tony paused before looking directly at Bucky. "You ever hurt the kid like that again or threaten him, I'll make your life a living hell."

It was difficult to determine whether or not Tony was joking but Bucky didn't let himself feel intimidated. In fact, he looked a little more confident as he stood up straight and simply rose an eyebrow at Tony.

"As long as that little horny pervert keeps his dick in his pants then we won't have a problem," Bucky retorted, a large amount of snark in his voice as he stared back at Tony without breaking eye contact. Tony stared back silently for a moment before nodding to himself.

"Fair enough," Tony remarked before finally turning back around and leaving the room, feeling Bucky's eyes on him as he left.

He walked down the hallway of the compound with a new feeling of amusement washing over him. It was odd because he didn't think he'd ever feel amused by the man he had been so hellbent on hating for the past year. However, he was turning over a new leaf in his life so a lot had changed.

Weirdly enough, Tony even thought that maybe Barnes and him could've been friends in another life. Barnes' snark was evidence enough of that.

* * *

Emma stood outside on the landing pad with everyone else as Steve and the others started to prepare to leave. The faction of Avengers on the run would be leaving in the Quinjet they arrived in while T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri would be leaving in their own Wakandan aircraft that they arrived in but only this time Emma's father wasn't going with them.

She was still living in a dreamlike state because she accepted a couple days ago that she would have to say goodbye to Steve and her father yet again. Emma figured that she would spend the whole night, after they left, crying in Peter's arms because she already missed them but maybe she wouldn't have to.

Because her father was staying.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me, T'Challa. I really appreciate it," Bucky Barnes told the Wakandan king who only smiled at him in return.

"You're a friend of mine as well as Wakanda. You're welcome back any time you wish," T'Challa said kindly, patting his friend on the shoulder before stepping back. Bucky returned his smile.

"Thank you," He told him before Shuri gave him a big grin.

"Looks like there won't be any more broken white boys living in Wakanda," Shuri said teasingly. "It's a shame. You were the talk of the whole city for a while there. Things will be boring again."

"I'm sure they will be, princess," Bucky said, giving the princess an amused look. Shuri then turned to look at Peter and Emma.

"It was nice meeting you both," Shuri said, bidding the other two teenagers goodbye. "You guys really know an adventure when you see one."

"I hope we see each other again," Peter said in a positive tone as he smiled back at Shuri. Shuri nodded.

"Maybe you can come to Wakanda someday and I can show you my lab. It makes Stark's lab look prehistoric," Shuri said jokingly and Peter laughed.

"I'm sure it does and I'd love to see it someday," Peter said in response and Shuri turned to look at Emma who was looking at her suspiciously as she remained close to Peter's side. Shuri snorted in amusement because this girl was easily the least pleasant and the most all too serious person Shuri had ever encountered. Making friends didn't seem to be this girl's strong quality.

"Relax, white girl," Shuri said as she teased Emma, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and Emma narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm not here to steal your man. No need to get all jealous and murder me with those gorgeous looking blue eyes of yours."

Emma didn't say anything as she just continued to stare her down. Shuri could hardly believe this was the sweet young girl that Bucky always went on about back in Wakanda. One would've thought Emma was some kind of angel from the way Bucky talked about her.

"Right, well, good luck with that one, Peter. You're going to need it," Shuri said when Emma still remained silent, thoroughly creeping out the other teenage girl. The Wakandan princess then proceeded to walk away to wish Jane, Erik, and Darcy goodbye. As soon as she was out of earshot, Peter nudged Emma.

"You need to be nice, Emma," Peter said scoldingly and Emma just raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging.

"She was flirting with you. I just wanted her to know who you belong to," Emma said, showing off her possessive side but not ashamed of her actions. Peter pretended to annoyed at her possessiveness but in all honesty he was always turned on when she said stuff like that. Most people would blush and deny their jealousy but Emma never did.

"Shuri was not flirting with me," Peter told his crazy girlfriend and it was the truth. He was one hundred percent positive that Shuri was not interested in him in any shape or form. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't know why you think every single girl is interested in me. You're literally the only girl that's ever wanted anything to do with me and I'm pretty sure it's because you're crazy."

"There are plenty of women interested in you. Liz Allan, Betty Brant, and I even overheard Cindy discussing that cute little ass of yours during art class, Parker, so don't tell me women don't notice you," Emma said, proving Peter wrong as her boyfriend blushed. "It's sad and sometimes irritating that you don't know how many girls would kill me just so they can take my place and get in your pants."

"I don't believe you at all when you say that," Peter told Emma in disbelief. "I'm just me. You're the one who's out of my league. At least, I actually have a right to be jealous because I always hear Brandon Fletcher talking about hot you are and how you'd totally forget all about dorky Peter Parker after one night with him. You have no idea how much I want to punch that asshole in the face."

"Who the fuck is Brandon Fletcher?" Emma questioned abruptly and Peter just stared at her silently. He then shook his head before answering.

"Emma, Brandon Fletcher is only like, the most popular guy in school. Everyone knows and loves him," Peter told her but Emma didn't look any less confused. Peter continued to explain who this boy was when she still seemed clueless. "He's the class president, the star of the basketball team, head of prom committee, and he's friends with basically everyone."

"Nope," Emma said, her memory not jogged by any of that. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"How do you not know who he is? He's always on during morning announcements with Betty and Jason," Peter said, shocked that Emma was probably the only person who didn't know who Brandon Fletcher was. Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't watch that. Betty's stupid face pisses me off so I ignore it," Emma explained and Peter just shook his head in amusement.

"He sits next to you in Spanish and he always asks you for a pencil but he's secretly trying to get you to talk to him," Peter finally said and he realized there was only one way to get Emma to know who he was talking about. He sighed heavily before elaborating. "The fifth time he asked you for a pencil during first semester, you told him to buy his own fucking pencils and to stop interrupting your Haim time to bother you with his ignorance."

Emma finally realized who Peter was talking about but she didn't remember what he exactly looked like. A lot of those idiots at school were just faceless assholes in Emma's mind. If she didn't talk to them on a regular basis then she didn't care enough to remember their names or faces.

However, the guy Peter was talking about was one of those faceless assholes that Emma didn't care to remember. He was just the annoying guy in Spanish who was always asking her for shit which was extra annoying when Emma was trying to listen to Haim's new album and mull over all the new lyrics.

"Ew! That guy? He has a fucking beard, Peter. That's disgusting," Emma said, looking thoroughly grossed out by Peter suggesting that this apparent popular kid liked her. "I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. He's a stoner too so that's even more disgusting."

"It's like you don't even go to high school with me. You don't know who anyone is," Peter muttered but secretly he was glad that Emma never paid attention to any of those guys he always caught staring at her. It's like those boys didn't even exist to Emma.

"I don't pay attention to boring people, Peter. These people you always complain about are some of the most boring people I've ever seen," Emma told Peter, not looking like she cared whether or not these people were popular. "You shouldn't be worried about that guy named Brandon and you shouldn't be worried about any guy because you're hotter than all of them combined."

"Emma…" Peter said almost shyly as his ears flushed red from the way Emma looked at him as she spoke. He really hoped that her dad wasn't eavesdropping on them. Peter was still deathly scared of her dad murdering him.

"I'm not kidding, Peter. I mean, I'm attracted to you because of your personality but it's also superficial too. You're really hot and I'm pretty sure you're the only who doesn't know it," Emma told Peter truthfully but she didn't look embarrassed from her admission. She then smirked, not being able to resist making Peter blush more. "Your penis is probably a huge factor, no pun intended, in that too now that I've seen it. I have to admit I was impressed. I've felt it against me a bunch of times but seeing it was different. It's an impressive length."

"Emma, shut up. Your dad will kill me if he hears you talking about that," Peter said, his eyes widened in disbelief at how far Emma was taking this although he also secretly felt pride at Emma's remark about his size.

"The girth too," Emma continued to flirt and Peter was pretty sure he was as red as a tomato at this point. "You have a really beautiful penis, Peter. You should be proud and own it."

"Emma!" Peter exclaimed, wishing that Emma would shut up about his dick because her dad was going to murder him right on this landing pad if she wasn't careful. She always loved to flirt and tease him but now that her dad was going to stick around, she was going to get him killed with all her remarks. A smug look then crossed her face as a thought popped into her head.

"Or should I say you have a really beautiful winky," Emma said teasingly and Peter groaned, running a hand across his face.

"I should've known you wouldn't let that go…even after all this time," Peter complained loudly although deep down he was glad Emma was back to teasing him. He thought she would be miserable now that Steve and the others were leaving but maybe her father staying behind cheered her up.

"You know me too well but you seem to be lacking in confidence, Parker," Emma said suggestively, going back to flirting with her boyfriend like before. "Maybe we need to go back to our "practicing" so I can show you just how much I'm not out of your league."

Peter swallowed hard, almost jumping at Emma's offer until he remembered himself and remember where he was. The teenage boy forced himself to think logically which was extremely difficult to do when Emma flirted with him.

"Emma, as much as I'm happy that you get your dad back and all," Peter started to say before continuing. "He's never going to let us be alone together now that he's here."

Emma didn't really seem bothered by Peter's logic. In fact, she looked perfectly calm which Peter didn't understand because he was terrified that Emma's dad was going to walk in on them doing stuff again. The first time was bad enough and Peter feared her father wouldn't hesitate in killing him this time.

"Papa's going to be on house arrest at the compound," Emma said calmly and Peter nodded, not knowing why Emma was telling him this since he already knew.

"Yeah, so…"

"So…that means that he's going to be stuck at the compound 24/7 but it also means that he won't be there to watch us when we go back to the city when school starts again," Emma pointed out to him and Peter's eyes widened at what she was telling him. He was instantly elated as a sense of relief washed over him. "Darcy's with Jane at work a lot of the time so that leaves just you and I at the townhouse. It'll be perfect. We'll have time for us during the week and then I get to spend weekends with Papa while you work for Tony."

"Yeah, that sounds like it's going to work out perfectly," Peter said in agreement as he cleared his throat. For the first time in his life, Peter actually felt excited for school to start back up again. Mostly because Emma was suggesting that they could be together without the fear of her father walking in on them and murdering him.

Peter could finally relax a little.

"I was afraid that I would go back to missing my father and Steve like before but it's going to be different this time because I have Papa," Emma told Peter, allowing herself to be happy for a moment before she finally told Steve goodbye. "I'll still miss Steve but Steve promised that it was going to be different this time around. We'll find a better way to keep in touch."

"I'm glad you're happy and I'm glad you got your dad back," Peter said sincerely and he really meant it despite how much her dad terrified him. Peter was happy because Emma was happy. "I really am, Emma."

"There you two are," Steve said as he approached the two teenagers before Emma could respond to Peter. The landing pad was bustling with Avengers as everyone rushed around to get things loaded onto the Quinjet. They had to hurry since Ross was coming tomorrow.

"Hi, Mr. Rogers," Peter said shyly, thankful that Emma's grandfather didn't show up two minutes earlier because that could've ended badly. It was even worse since Emma informed him that Steve was aware that he and Emma were going to have sex. Peter was honestly surprised that Steve hadn't killed him yet like he was sure her father would if he found out the same information. Either way, Peter was just grateful to be alive.

"Peter," Steve greeted a bit awkwardly. He honestly didn't know how to talk to his granddaughter's boyfriend now that he was made aware of the fact of what Peter planned to do with Emma. Even though he let Emma know it was okay, Steve still felt incredibly uncomfortable about it but he decided to take a different approach to it than Bucky would. He felt like Emma wouldn't be happy if he killed her boyfriend.

"So this is it?" Emma said, not really knowing how she was going to say goodbye to Steve. Steve smiled at her sadly before nodding.

"I'm afraid so."

"I don't want to say goodbye again," Emma said, starting to feel overcome with emotion at the thought of not seeing Steve again. Steve just nodded before pulling her into his arms and holding her close.

There was a time in her life where Emma would've stood stiffly in his arms and waited for him to remove himself from her but things were different now. Emma wanted nothing more than to remain in her grandfather's arms because she was scared. She didn't know why it had to be this way but Emma would give anything for those days in Avengers' Tower where everything was more simple. Emma missed it and these last couple weeks at the compound was a reminder of those simpler times. However, she knew deep down that it couldn't be.

"I know but it won't be goodbye for long. I promise it'll be different this time," Steve told her sincerely. "We'll talk all the time and we'll even arrange a few visits. It'll be hard but we'll see each other soon."

"Okay," Emma said as she pulled away to look up at him.

It was at this point Bucky returned from chatting with T'Challa and Shuri, standing next to Peter as he witnessed the goodbye between Emma and Steve. Bucky then took the time to look at his daughter's boyfriend suspiciously.

"I hope you know that now that I'm here, I'm not taking my eyes off of Emma for one minute," Bucky said under his breath but he knew Peter could hear him. The teenage boy jumped before looking up at him with wide eyes. He hadn't even realized that Emma's father was there until he spoke. It was moments like these that Peter realized where Emma learned her annoying skill of always sneaking up on people.

"Uh…okay," Peter said awkwardly, not having a clue as to how to respond to Emma's father. He felt like every time he and Emma's father spent time together, the man was always threatening him. Peter wished there was a way to get Emma's dad to like him but he figured as long as he was dating Emma then it was just wishful thinking. In a way, he was glad Emma had a bunch of people who were so protective of her.

Even if her dad did go overboard all the time.

"Don't think that just because Steve's gone that you can do whatever you want with her because I'm going to be here and I'm not leaving this time," Bucky told him darkly and Peter forced himself to not be scared of the very intimidating man. In fact, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't want to rub it in his face that Bucky couldn't be around all the time. Peter then realized that he couldn't be afraid of Emma's dad forever. He had to stand up to him and show him that he wasn't scared of him.

"You won't be around all the time," Peter said, attempting to sound strong but his voice was actually quite weak. Bucky gaze hardened as he stared at the boy in disbelief, thinking he might've misheard him.

"What did you just say to me?" Bucky hissed and Peter took a deep breath before looking up and locking eyes with Bucky.

"Emma and I will be living in the city while we go to school. We'll only spend weekends here," Peter said as calmly as possible as he stood up to Bucky. "You won't be there because you'll be stuck here on house arrest but don't worry, Mr. Barnes, I'll take _good_ care of her."

Peter even had the audacity to smirk at the shocked look on Bucky's face but mostly because he was proud that he finally stuck up for himself. The expression on Bucky's face then morphed into pure rage as Peter just continued to give him a snide look before walking off. Bucky was tempted to chased after the idiot and break his promise to Emma about not killing the asshole but he didn't want to ruin the goodbye between Emma and Steve.

Bucky took it back.

He really hated that smug little bastard.

Bucky had no clue why Emma seemed to look at that kid in adoration. The boy talked too much, he was soft, annoying, and more importantly, the boy was probably just counting down the days until he finally got Emma into bed. God, Bucky had never met someone that infuriated him that much.

Not even Wilson.

"You're going to be just fine because you're you," Steve told Emma reassuringly, comforting her because he knew this was going to be hard on the both of them. Bucky turned his attention back to Steve and Emma. "You're tough just like your grandmother. You'll get through this because you're more like her than me."

"It'll still be hard," Emma said quietly and Steve nodded.

"It'll be hard for me too but we can do this," Steve told her sincerely, his eyes full of promise. "I love you, you know that?"

"I love you too, Steve," Emma said softly and she wished she had told him that more times in the past. Emma always regretted not telling Steve how she felt from the moment she felt it. She had always been scared of her emotions and how vulnerable they made her. Emma realized now that it was a stupid reason not to tell someone how much you care about them and how much that same person changed your life.

"Besides…someone has to take care of Bucky while I'm gone," Steve said as he then grinned at Bucky who playfully rolled his eyes as he approached the two.

"Punk," Bucky said teasingly.

"Jerk," Steve retorted and the two then gave each other a very manly hug. Emma smiled adoringly at the two men.

She wasn't going to lie.

Despite how much she teased Steve about he and her father experimenting back in the day, she kind of wished they were really a thing. Deep down, she just wanted the normal family she used to have before Hydra came along and murdered her parents. She knew it was a terrible thing to think but sometimes Emma wished that her parents weren't her parents and that it was just her, Steve, and her father from the beginning.

It's not that Emma was rooting for Steve and her father to just randomly decide they weren't straight and fall in love with each other because people couldn't just change their sexual orientations at will. It was more because she was selfish and an easier solution was that rather than them both falling in love with some really nice girls before starting their own separate families and leaving Emma behind in the dust. She wanted all three of them to be a family forever but it was probably just wishful thinking.

"Don't worry about me, Steve," Bucky told him, knowing Steve all too well. "I'll be alright here. Go off and do your saving the world thing. Don't worry about us."

"There used to be a time when that was your thing too," Steve told his old friend and Bucky shrugged before he wrapped his arm around Emma. Emma leaned into her father's touch, resting her head against his shoulder. For once, Steve didn't feel guilty about leaving her alone.

"I think I'm finally settling down," Bucky told him as he playfully pulled Emma closer to him, causing her to laugh at him. "I'm just going to spend some time with my old lady."

"Who are you calling old lady? You're a hundred years old," Emma retorted and Bucky chuckled.

Steve smiled in amusement at the two.

He realized that all those years ago when Bucky sent him the flashdrive about Emma that Bucky did it because he and Emma needed each other. Now the tables had turned and Steve was going to leave because he knew Emma and Bucky needed each other right now. Steve knew how hard it must've been for Bucky to so selflessly let her go when he could've stormed that Hydra base and taken her for himself. Instead, Bucky did what was best for Emma even if it hurt him in the process.

This was why Steve had to leave.

They needed each other and they needed time together. This was the only way the both of them could overcome their past and allow themselves to heal. They were the only two people in the world that could understand what the other was going through. Steve didn't want to get in the way of that.

This would be good for the both of them in the end.

He was positive of that.

"Well, just take care of each other and please behave," Steve said but he looked more towards Emma at the last part of his sentence. "Emma, I don't want you giving Tony too much of a hard time."

She rolled her eyes but smiled at him nonetheless.

"Me? I don't know what you're talking about, Steve. Tony and I are besties," Emma said sarcastically and Steve chuckled before shaking his head at her.

"Just be on your best behavior," Steve told her although he wasn't as worried as last time. Maybe it was because she had Bucky and Peter this time around. Those two would keep her from getting into too much trouble. "And do me a favor and please don't grow up too much while I'm gone."

"Well, don't stay away too long and I won't."

Steve just gave her a small smile before walking the short distance, embracing her one last time before he left. He held her closely in his arms, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to live in the moment. They stood there for a couple minutes and Emma thought that he almost wasn't going to let her go. It wasn't until Natasha started announcing that it was time to leave that Steve finally let her go but not before pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead. Emma's eyes brimmed with tears as he cupped her face in his hands, his own eyes filled with tears as he looked down at her.

"You're my best girl. That'll never change," Steve told her, his voice barely a whisper as he called her the same name he used to call her grandmother once upon a time. Bucky smiled warmly at the grandfather and granddaughter pair.

"So this is goodbye then," Emma said, trying to keep the sorrow and pain out of her voice. Steve gave her a small smile.

"Just for now," Steve promised before Natasha called for him. He was the leader so, of course, he had to be the first to go. It was just like him to be the leader. That was the difference between Emma and Steve. He was a natural born leader yet Emma was…not.

"I have to go," Steve told her, looking sorry that he had to leave but Emma just gave him an encouraging smile.

"Go then…and please be careful," Emma made him promise and Steve smiled one last time at her before nodding.

"I will. Take care of your father," Steve said to her and it was perhaps the first time Steve had ever referred to Bucky as Emma's father. It was something that shocked both Emma and Bucky but neither of them said anything.

"I promise," Emma said despite her shock and Steve gave her one last long look, wanting to memorize the way she looked in that moment. He prayed to god that she didn't look any older the next time he saw her. Steve didn't think he could take it if she did.

After getting his last look at her, Steve reluctantly turned around to leave because he knew he would stand there all night and day looking at her if he didn't leave right then. Steve loved her more than anything. She was his legacy and Steve couldn't be prouder although he knew better than to tell her that in a time when Steve knew she wouldn't believe him or think herself worthy of his proudness.

There would come a day she would believe him and that would be the day he would tell her.

Emma watched him leave silently, tears falling down her face. Her father held her close to him as they watched Steve leave. Steve didn't say goodbye to Bucky but he didn't need to. They said many goodbyes in the past and they knew where each other stood. However, Steve did say a quick goodbye to Peter, smiling at the boy kindly before he continued on his way. Peter watched him go, feeling sad that he didn't get to spend more time getting to know Steve before the accords split everyone apart again.

Rhodey wished Steve and Sam goodbye as all the other Avengers started their departure. Vision and Wanda were caught in a very intimate goodbye, theirs hands interlocked as they spoke in low whispers with a regretful look in their eyes. Natasha looked incredibly uncomfortable as Darcy embraced her in a tight hug while Jane struggled to get the hysterical woman off the former assassin. Pepper kindly bid T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri goodbye and welcomed them back at the compound any time.

Tony was noticeably missing from the landing pad but mostly because everything was already said between himself and Steve. The billionaire was obviously annoyed that Steve wouldn't sign the accords. Not even for Emma but what he didn't know was that Emma actually begged Steve not to sign. Emma suspected that Tony would yell at her and question why she would do something so stupid but without understanding the fact that she hated the accords. Not for the politics but for what they did by tearing her family apart.

Steve Rogers didn't look back as he left but Emma understood why he didn't. It was because if he did then he wouldn't be able to leave. Not ever. So she just stared at his back as he walked up the ramp of the Quinjet and disappeared inside.

Sam gazed across the landing pad as he stood on the ramp, his eyes landing on Emma to which he offered her a kind smile and a wave. Emma attempted to smile back because she had always liked Sam but the smile probably looked weak.

She was in too much of an emotional state at the moment to properly smile.

The man's gaze then fell to Bucky and his smile immediately faded. He then proceeded to flip Bucky off and Bucky rolled his eyes at his childishness.

"I really hate that guy," Bucky grumbled and Emma laughed. It was just the thing she needed to distract herself from the sadness of saying goodbye to her grandfather yet again.

The ongoing catfight between her father and Sam was a nice distraction.

Emma didn't respond but watched quietly as the rest of the Avengers boarded the Quinjet and the remaining Wakandans boarded their own aircraft. It felt distinctly emptier on the landing pad as the heroes disappeared in their respective aircrafts. Almost like it felt before they came but still different because her father was with her this time.

Bucky's arm remained wrapped around Emma as he sensed the sadness coming off her in waves because he knew her better than anyone. Even if she tried to hide it and bury it within herself, Bucky always knew.

Emma let her father hold her close and actually felt comfort as the door to the Quinjet closed. It only took a moment before the Quinjet began to lift off. Peter somehow found his way back to Emma but this time Bucky didn't glare at him or even frown. Granted, Bucky didn't acknowledge him in the least but it was still progress in his mind.

"We'll be okay, Emma," He told her, not caring if the boy was there or not. This was his time with Emma now. What he always dreamed of during his life on the run. It was all leading up to this. "We're together now like what I always promised would happen."

"I'm glad you're here, Papa," Emma said softly as they watched the Quinjet take off. "Please don't ever leave me again."

Bucky smiled as he tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, his gaze full of affection as he looked at her. Peter watched the two curiously and realized just how much Bucky Barnes loved Emma Rogers. He had always known but it was a bit different watching the man who stared at him so suspiciously as he looked at Emma with those same eyes except there was no suspicion in his gaze when he looked at Emma.

Just love.

For that, Peter decided that he would always protect Bucky Barnes with his life. He would protect him because Emma loved him and Bucky loved her. That was enough for him. Even if the man hated his guts and thought he wasn't good enough for Emma, Peter would still protect him. He was Emma's family so he was also Peter's family now too.

Steve as well for that matter.

"I'll never leave," Bucky promised her. "You're stuck with me forever."

"That's all I ever wanted," Emma said quietly and it probably the most truthful statement she had ever made. Ever since she was a little girl, all she dreamed about was the two of them escaping Hydra so that they could live their lives together forever.

Now it was finally coming true.

Peter reached over and entwined his hand with Emma's, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. She glanced over at him and smiled, thankful for his support and devotion to her. Peter just smiled back before all three of them returned their attention to the Quinjet as it ascended into the air.

Never did Emma ever think that she could have her father and Peter in her life at the same time. It always seemed like a pipe dream and sure, Steve had to leave again but it wouldn't be forever. Times would change and then they would all be together.

A happily ever after Emma always thought she didn't deserve.

But maybe happily ever after's did exist, after all.

Her father and Peter gave her that hope.

The Quinjet then disappeared into the night sky and just like they were gone. A million thoughts raced through Emma's head but this time she didn't feel sad at Steve leaving. She just felt excited to see him again. It was one of the few times she ever felt hopeful and Emma liked the feeling. The dark cloud that had been looming over her head for most of her life had been gone for around a week now.

There would be nothing but clear blue skies from here on out.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is a response to all my guest reviewers I obviously can't PM.**

 **GIJose: Glad you liked the chapter. I always love including father-son moments between Tony and Peter. There will definitely be more of those to come in the sequel. I don't think Bucky seriously hates Peter but it's more because Peter's dating Emma. I imagine any dad would be pissed if he walked in on someone in bed with their daughter like Bucky did a few chapters ago. He obviously doesn't trust Peter that much but deep down he knows that Peter would protect Emma with his life because he already did. This is why Bucky will tolerate him but it doesn't mean that he has to love him like Steve does. I think they're dynamic is actually going to be hilarious and we'll see more of that dynamic in the sequel.**

 **I saw the video of those Tom Holland fans being rude to Sebastian and Anthony. It really annoyed me because I really wanted to go to the comic con last year but I couldn't so it was infuriating to see those girls standing up there being rude and ungrateful that they were fortunate enough to go. By the way, I'm also so annoyed at fans who go up there and instead of asking a legitimate question, they ask one of the actors to say hi to their friend on their phone. That's such a waste of time and I don't know why people do that. I cringe every time I see someone do that. I really hope they get rid of the questions portion of the panel because most of those people just ruin it for everyone else and I'd rather have the interviewer ask them real questions than listen to some teenager tell Chris Evans to say hi to their friend Ashley. I warned my mom about that because I bought her a ticket to come with me since she really loves Josh Brolin and Chris Evans. You should've seen the look on her face when I told her that Josh Brolin and Chris Evans were going to be there. I'm excited for Chris and Josh Brolin too but I'm also excited for Zoe Saldana, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner...and okay, I'm excited for everyone that will be there. This is way better than a concert in my eyes. This is several hours of Marvel so it's basically heaven for me.**

 **I love Elle Fanning too by the way. I'm not really that interested in fashion but I always love scrolling through pictures of Elle Fanning in all her fashion choices. I'm obsessed with her style which I don't think there's a name for other than just Elle Fanning.**

 **No problem. I'm just glad I can introduce more people to the genius of that tv show. Usually I'm not a fan of the whole vampire romance thing but that show doesn't feel as juvenile as Vampire Diaries or Twilight felt to me. I remember being obsessed with Twilight and Vampire Diaries when I was in middle school but eventually I grew out of it but _A Discovery of Witches_ feels more adult which I love. **

**Montefroggoat: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Um...I still couldn't get to the link you sent. I'm not sure if you're the same person who recently made an account and sent me some fanart. I thought that might've been you but I'm not sure. The only other way I can think of to send me the fanart is through Tumblr which some readers of the story have been doing recently. Other than that, I don't really know.**

 **anonanon: Well, I couldn't have Emma lose both Steve and Bucky again so I came up with a way to make Bucky stay. I know it's not totally realistic but I made it as realistic and logical as possible. I mean, it makes sense to me that maybe Ross and the UN would be willing to make a compromise in giving Bucky a lesser sentence in order for them to have eyes and ears on him at all time. I thought about doing a trial but it just wouldn't work for either this story or the sequel and we've already seen so many Winter Soldier trial fics that I didn't feel that it was necessary. It kind of makes sense to me that Bucky might get offered a plea deal so that the UN could keep everything hush hush and not draw up anymore controversy. Bucky's not getting away scot-free. He's giving up privacy for the rest of his life by doing this and the accords will prohibit him from becoming an Avenger. Turning himself in means allowing his life to be invaded by strangers for the rest of his existence which is probably a nightmare for him but Bucky's willing to do it for Emma. That's probably way more than you ever asked for but I feel a need to explain some things after everything that happened in this chapter. Especially since Bucky stayed and Steve left.**

 **Guest: I'm not sure if I'm interested in writing a fic in which Emma and all the canon characters watch the movies. I've seen so many of those fics done in every single fandom that I don't know if I would want to do that. It's a funny idea but I already have so many AU ideas that I don't think I can fit yet another one on my to-do list. I'm really sorry but thanks for leaving a review.**


	90. Chapter Eighty Two

**Author's Note: I'm so proud to finally have finished this chapter. I've been working on it for about a month now and I've finally finished it. It's over 40,000 words long at this point and probably one of my favorites chapters to ever have written because it's like one long adventure wrapped up into one chapter. I also had a scare earlier because I thought my computer had deleted the entire chapter but after looking around for an hour, I finally found the chapter again. That was a huge relief because this chapter is super long and I don't know if I would've felt motivated to rewrite it if something like that happened. Anyways...everything's good now.**

 **I want to let you guys know that this is the FINAL chapter of Some Things Never Sleep. There will be an epilogue but this is the last chapter. It makes me really emotional but I'm excited for you guys to see what I have in store for you in the sequel which might take a month or so to publish since I haven't even started the first chapter yet. Thank you guys so much for reading this story and reviewing it. It really means a lot to me that you guys love Emma so much and the story I created for her. I hope you'll like the sequel whenever I get to publishing it and I've just realized that this has been quite the two year long journey since we just passed the two year anniversary. So happy late two year anniversary, guys!**

 **I also went to ACE Comic Con a few weeks ago and I have to say it was one of the best days of my life. Other than meeting Jeremy Renner for five seconds, it was just so much fun. I loved the panel with Chris, Jeremy, and Don and I just enjoyed the whole experience. I even met a couple readers of this story there which was really fun. I actually wish I could meet everyone in person because that experience alone was just a blast but I can live with only getting to meet a couple readers because it was really fun. I can't wait to go to next year's comic con.**

 **I've seen Far From Home twice and I won't leave any spoilers for people who haven't seen it but I really loved it. I can't compare it to Homecoming because it was entirely different. I love both movies but in totally different ways. It was really good and I already have a lot of ideas. It definitely helped me with some other plans for the story I have so I feel like the future of the STNS universe is coming together nicely.**

 **WARNING: There is a smut scene in this chapter which happens about half way through the chapter. So if you're not into that just skip it. I'm just putting a warning since Emma and Peter are underage and all that. There's also mentions of underage drinking in this chapter too.**

 **This is my first smut scene so please be nice to me. It took me forever to write it because I was really nervous. I eventually found out the only way I can write smut is by listening to the Weeknd so his music makes a couple appearances in this chapter. Disclaimer: I in no way own any of the Weeknd's music including the song 'Angel'.**

 **Thanks again for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. I can never believe the amount of people who like this story and I'll be forever grateful. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and I'll try to have the epilogue out soon. It shouldn't take too long since it's way shorter than this and all my previous chapters.**

* * *

The summer went by fast after Steve and the others left.

Bucky turned himself in the morning after the others vanished. Ross was both pleased and annoyed. A part of him had hoped to catch the Winter Soldier on the run so he could bring him to Raft but the rest of the UN just wanted Bucky to be accounted for. This was the only way to do that.

So that morning Bucky was interrogated for hours as Emma and Peter waited patiently outside the conference room because apparently children weren't allowed. Tony, Rhodey, Maria, and Vision were the only ones allowed inside. Emma would've questioned why Fury wasn't there too but the intimidating man evidently left days ago, leaving without saying goodbye or drawing any attention to himself. Not that anyone was surprised in particular.

The interrogation ended with Bucky accepting the plea deal and Ross witnessing Bucky getting an ankle monitor placed on him. It was a more high tech ankle monitor since Tony was the one who created it. Bucky hadn't seemed thrilled by the sight of the ankle monitor but he just remembered why he was doing this.

For Emma.

When he finally came out of the conference room, Emma immediately ambushed him with a hug and held him tight. Bucky allowed himself to forget the infuriating interrogation because it had all been worth it. Despite the fact that Bucky wasn't free in the legal sense, he never felt more free in his life than in that moment because he got to be with Emma longer than a brief moment in time. There would be no one stealing her away from him.

Not Hydra and not the law.

Everyone ate dinner that night at the compound but this time with the addition of Bucky who was the newest resident. Even if Tony still hadn't warmed up to him, the others were more than welcoming. Pepper inquired about stories of Emma as a child somehow without bringing up the bad memories of Hydra, Jane asked Bucky questions about Wakanda, Darcy flirted with Bucky which noticeably made the man blush, Vision engaged in small talk with him, and Peter talked everyone's ears off which made Bucky sulk. However, it was nice to sit at a regular dinner table as just a human being.

It was the first time in a long time that Bucky felt normal.

* * *

Emma didn't return to the city for the entire summer.

She made the decision to stay at the compound so that she could spend as much time with her father as possible before she had to go back to school. Initially, she thought Peter would be upset that she didn't want to spend the summer with him in the city but he wasn't. He understood that she wanted to have some time with her father so he went back home to spend his days with May, Ned, and Michelle while spending his nights as Spider-Man but this time without the Viper Assassin. It wasn't an entirely foreign concept since Emma and Peter would often go solo if one of them was grounded but he still missed having her at his side.

But Peter wasn't a selfish person.

Emma had been apart from her father for a long time and she deserved to spend some quality alone time with him. Peter still texted her through out the day during all his excursions with Ned and Michelle while he talked to her at night on the phone for hours before they both fell asleep. It was funny because Peter never remembered talking on the phone with someone that long ever.

The distance seemed bad at first but it turned out to be a good thing in the end. He and Emma had a lot to talk about whenever they reunited on the weekends. Spending time apart seemed to be good for them in a weird way and even made them closer. Peter liked it despite not loving being away from her all week.

His new paid internship was something that pulled him away from Emma on the weekend during the day but it seemed like Emma never got tired of spending time with her father. This was why Peter never felt guilty about leaving her alone during their short time together. She seemed happy enough with her dad so Peter thought it was okay.

In fact, Peter didn't think he had ever seen Emma so happy before. He knew she obviously still missed Steve but Emma seemed more carefree and happy now that she had her father. The pair were practically inseparable as they spent all their time together. Whether it was watching Netflix, eating breakfast together, taking long walks outside(where Bucky was permitted to walk), or training in the training facility. Emma and her father were always together.

The internship(which was real this time) was a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to be preoccupied while Emma was reconnecting with her father. He didn't feel left out and Emma didn't feel bad about ignoring him. All in all, everything was going more than fine during the aftermath of Hydra's fall and Steve's departure.

Everyone was happy.

* * *

Emma was there the day Tony officially hired Peter for the internship. It was a happy day for Peter and Pepper had wanted to catch it on camera much to Tony's annoyance and Peter's elation. Emma was just proud of her boyfriend and wanted to give him a special kind of present that night in his room. They still hadn't found an opportunity to have sex yet with her father back but that didn't mean they didn't fool around whenever they got the chance.

"Get closer," Pepper ordered as she held her phone out in front of her. Emma stood next to her as she smirked in amusement at an annoyed looking Tony. The man had his usual tinted shades on as Peter stood awkwardly at his side with a framed Stark Internship Certificate in his hands.

"Yeah, Tony, snuggle real close to him. Like the daddy you are," Emma said teasingly and Tony glowered at her while Peter blushed. The older man sighed heavily before moving closer to Peter while grabbing ahold of the certificate with his hands so that both he and Peter were holding it up.

"Let's just get this over with, Pete," Tony told him and Peter smiled at him before looking into the camera. If there was one thing Peter Parker was awkward about, it was taking pictures. He always took the most awkward pictures although Emma always said he took adorable pictures. Peter always thought his pictures looked better when Emma was with him in them. He wasn't sure if it was just because she was in the picture or if he more carefree and happy whenever she was around him.

"Say cheese," Pepper said cheerfully as Tony and Peter both did bunny fingers behind each other's heads. Peter had an awkward look on his face as he attempted to look natural in the picture. Emma just found him adorable.

"There, I got it," Pepper said proudly after she took what she thought was the best picture. Emma just shook her head before rolling her eyes.

"You two idiots were holding the certificate upside down by the way," Emma told them but Tony pointedly ignored her as he turned to Peter. He gave the teenage boy a proud look as he shook his hand.

"Great job, kid," Tony told him and Peter never felt more accomplished than he did in that moment with Mr. Stark looking at him proudly. "I really mean it. You're going to do great things here."

"Thanks, Mr. Stark," Peter said bashfully. "I really owe you a lot for this job."

"Don't mention it. You're smarter than most of the people here," Tony said, waving his hand dismissively. "Now let's talk about your pay."

"Okay," Peter said excitedly, looking forward to the money aspect of the job. Mostly because he really wanted to start saving up to buy Emma's Christmas present but also because he wanted to buy his own Lego Deathstar set instead of Ned allowing him to work on his. "I'm thinking about eleven dollars an hour. Is that okay?"

Tony looked at the teenage boy like he was crazy.

"Eleven dollars an hour?" Tony said incredulously. "Pete, this isn't Burger King. We can get you more than eleven dollars an hour. No one at Stark Industries makes eleven dollars an hour. Twenty seven dollars an hour is the lowest and that's just for housekeeping."

"Oh, that's too much money, Mr. Stark. I couldn't take it," Peter said, shocked over how much money his mentor was talking about. "I'm only sixteen."

"I'm not going to pay you eleven dollars an hour," Tony said bluntly, being his stubborn self. Emma and Pepper sighed collectively.

"Why is everything a dick measuring contest with men?" Emma asked rhetorically and Pepper just smiled at her before shaking her head.

"Emma, you still have a lot to learn about men," Pepper told her woman-to-woman. "I've known Tony for eighteen years and he still drives me crazy."

"God, eighteen years?" Emma said, appalled that Pepper could spend eighteen years with that man and suddenly decide that she wanted more. "You're a real saint to deal with that for eighteen years and then for the rest of your life."

Pepper snorted in amusement.

"You make it sound like a prison sentence," Pepper remarked and Emma shrugged. "If you think Tony's bad now just wait until Peter gets to his age. I feel like men only get more stubborn the older they get."

Emma wondered what an old Peter would look like.

It was never a thought that occurred to her before because Emma didn't tend to live in the future. However, Pepper's words made her curious. Emma hoped he never grew a stupid looking goatee like Tony. Ugh…she couldn't imagine having to make out with him with a goatee on his face. Emma imagined he would still wear those stupid t-shirts with the nerdy puns on them. He would probably be that dorky dad with all the lame dad jokes and for some reason Emma felt like he would still be really hot. She then paused in her thinking.

Was she really starting to picture Peter as a dad?

Since when did she do that?

"I'll give you fifteen dollars an hour and then put the rest in a college fund for you. Is that good enough?" Tony said, trying to come to a compromise with an equally as stubborn Peter. Peter finally reluctantly agreed.

"That's still a lot of money, Mr. Stark, but if you feel okay with it then I guess that's fine," Peter said shyly. Tony nodded but what Peter didn't know was that Tony was already going to pay for Peter's college.

The money he would be putting in a fund for him would go to whatever Peter wanted. Whether it was a house someday or even maybe a wedding fund for his and Mini Cap's wedding, that was up to him…although he was sure Mini Cap would kill him if he knew he was putting together a wedding fund for Peter and her. The billionaire just wanted the teenage boy to be taken care of and not have to worry about things like money.

"I wish you would've put more of an effort to smile in the picture," Pepper told her fiancé when he and Peter walked over to "their women" as Tony put it. Emma wanted to smack the infuriating man over the head for that comment.

"I smiled," Tony retorted and Pepper gave him an unimpressed look.

"It was barely a smile and you completely ruined the picture by the way," Pepper complained as Tony fought hard to get himself back in Pepper's good graces. He was always pissing her off in one way or another but it had always been like that. Since they first met each other, actually. "Would it kill you to take off those stupid sunglasses for one second? This is going to be in the living room for everyone to see but now it's going to look horrible because you couldn't even smile or take off your sunglasses. At least, Peter made an effort and actually smiled."

"It's not that bad, Pep, come on…" Tony whined as he followed Pepper out of the room, leaving the two teenagers behind. Emma and Peter watched the adults leave, amused looks on their faces before they finally turned to each other.

"That's why I don't want us to ever get married," Emma pointed out to Peter who turned to look at her in surprise. "I don't want us to become a couple of lame old people like Tony and Pepper."

"Tony and Pepper aren't so bad," Peter told her, seeing this as an opportunity to make Emma more open to the idea of marriage someday in the future. There probably wasn't a couple their age that discussed marriage as much as they did but Peter felt as though everything was a lot more serious between them. They had been through so much and much more than an average couple.

"They're the kind of couple who would rent a two person bike in Paris and ride around the city wearing berets." Emma complained. "Gross."

"I don't know. I think that sounds pretty romantic," Peter told her and Emma gave him a doubtful look.

"If you think I would ever ride a two person bike or wear a beret then you clearly don't know me at all, Parker," Emma told her boyfriend and Peter laughed.

"I'm just kidding, Emma," Peter said before a thought occurred to him. "You know, I never thought about it but maybe someday you, me, Mr. Stark, and Pepper could all go on a double date together."

"Ew!" Emma said, looking severely disgusted by Peter's suggestion. "A double date with Tony? No thank you."

"We could all have dinner together and then watch a movie on Netflix," Peter told her and Emma seemed very displeased with Peter's idea.

"I really don't want to spend a romantic evening together with Tony. Those are two things that should never go together," Emma said before glancing down at the certificate in his hands. Her gaze softened as she remembered why they were there together in the first place. "I'm really proud of you though…for the internship, I mean. The real internship, anyways."

"Thanks," Peter said bashfully as he blushed. "I wish Aunt May could've made it but she has work."

"I'm kind of glad she's not here," Emma said as she shrugged, drawing a confused look from Peter. "Because I was going to give you a present."

"A present? Wait, why would Aunt May have to-oh…" Peter said once he realized what Emma was saying. His blush was even more vibrant at Emma's silent suggestion. He then shook his head. "Emma, you know we can't do that with your dad around."

"That's why we'll wait until he's asleep and then you can come to my room for your present," Emma said as she flirted with him. "You'll have to be really quiet, Parker. I know how difficult that is for you but we can't let my father hear you."

"Fuck, Emma," Peter cursed at Emma's words as he felt his pants suddenly grow a bit tighter from her words. It wasn't difficult to find out just what kind of present Peter would be receiving from Emma tonight. "You're going to get me killed one of these days."

"So that's a no to the present?" Emma questioned smugly but, of course, she already knew Peter couldn't resist her. His darkening eyes were evidence enough of that. Peter just swallowed hard before abruptly pulling her closer to him, taking Emma by surprise.

"It's always a yes and you know that," Peter said, his voice quiet as he buried his face in Emma's neck and smelled the mouthwatering scent of her hair. Emma giggled but didn't try to escape his strong grip.

"I can feel your yes against me right now," Emma told him jokingly although she actually could feel him against her. She didn't know why but for some reason the reaction she could always get out of Peter made her feel more powerful than her powers ever did. It wasn't as though she thought she would ever use that against Peter but it was just nice to feel desirable to someone in the way she was desirable to Peter.

"Can we go to your room right now?" Peter asked her, his voice sounding rougher than usual as he gently nipped at her neck. "Please, Emma? I promise I won't talk about Star Wars for a week and I also promise that I'll watch any boring old timey movie you want to watch."

"Usually I think begging is really pathetic but it's really hot when you do it," Emma told him as Peter pulled away to look at her, his eyes were doing that puppy dog thing whenever he wanted something really bad. Ugh! Why was he so adorable?

"So is that a yes?" Peter asked hopefully and Emma playfully rolled her eyes at him but smiled nonetheless.

"I'll go first and then you wait ten minutes before sneaking into my room through the window so my father doesn't see you," Emma explained to Peter and he nodded his head excitedly, more than eager to do what Emma said.

"Thank you! You're the best girlfriend ever. Love you," Peter told her happily before quickly kissing her and then turning in the opposite direction. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked him and Peter gave her a goofy smile.

"I'm going to take a shower before present time," Peter told her and Emma laughed at him.

"I like how you only take a shower when I offer to go down on you," Emma said, her eyes gleaming with amusement. Peter gave her an annoyed look.

"I shower all the time," He argued and Emma scoffed.

"Well, I wish you would shower more," Emma retorted and this time Peter finally had a comeback instead of letting Emma win their flirting/arguing.

"Maybe I'd feel more inspired if you joined me," Peter said, finally taking the initiative by flirting with his girlfriend. He was satisfied in seeing the blush that graced Emma's face, her eyes widening in surprise at how more confident he was getting lately. Emma was happy because she wanted him to know that she desired him in a way she would never desire anyone else.

"You're very presumptuous, Parker," Emma told him, not being able to think of a proper comeback. Peter pressed his lips against her cheek, his lips lingering against her skin for a moment before he pulled back and gave her a soft smile.

"I'll see you soon," Peter told her and his eyes sparkled with mischief at the way he made Emma blush while unknowingly melting her into a puddle. He felt happier than ever in that moment because he realized he had everything in the entire world.

Peter was the happiest man on the planet right now and he was so happy that he turned around before skipping to his room. Emma called him a dork as he skipped off to his room but Peter ignored her because soon he would be in her room receiving her "present". A present that Peter would probably name as the best present of all time while also replaying his present in his mind for the next few days until they were alone together again.

Emma always did have the best presents.

* * *

August passed everyone by and before they knew it, it was nearly time for Emma and Peter to go back to school. They'd be starting what would be their junior year of high school and Bucky could hardly believe that Emma was nearly seventeen at this point. On one hand, it made Bucky sad to think that Emma was nearly all grown up but on another hand, he was glad he was here now.

He wouldn't be missing another second of her life.

"You got Hufflepuff?" Emma questioned as she stared at the laptop screen in disbelief. Emma and her father were currently sitting at the kitchen island inside the recreational area. She had convinced her father to finally take the sorting hat quiz on Pottermore after she made him binge-watch all the Harry Potter movies with her last week. Bucky was spending time getting to know all of Emma's interests in life which seemed to include her love for Harry Potter, the many various musicians Emma seemed to idolize, her obsession with classic cinema, her amazing artistic talent, and more annoyingly... the way Emma seemed to worship the ground Peter Parker walked on.

"I guess," Bucky said, not looking that invested in the quiz but he mostly just took it at Emma's insistence.

"It makes a little sense," Emma said after thinking about it for a moment. Her father carried a lot of the characteristics of a Hufflepuff so Emma couldn't be that surprised.

"What did you get when you took the quiz?" Bucky inquired curiously.

"Slytherin," Emma said as though it were obvious and to be honest, it kind of was. "I wasn't surprised."

"I don't think you're a Slytherin. You're not bad," Bucky said, immediately rushing to Emma's defense which he always seemed to do.

"Not all Slytherins are bad, Papa," Emma informed her father. "I mean, Snape wasn't bad. Professor Slughorn was kind of a pretentious dick but he wasn't bad either."

"You're such a nerd about Harry Potter," Michelle deadpanned from her seat on the couch, her nose stuck in a book like always. Sometimes Emma felt like Michelle definitely read more than her and that was saying a lot.

"I can't believe you always call Peter and I nerds for geeking out over Star Wars but somehow you don't think it's nerdy that you love Harry Potter," Ned pointed out to her although he still was trying to get over the fact that he was sitting in the same room as the Winter Soldier. Ned and Michelle had been introduced to the man earlier in the day when they stopped by the compound for their visit. They were mostly just hanging out with Emma and her father until Peter got off work.

Ned had to admit that he was expecting a terrifying and sociopath of a man from all of Peter's complaints about Emma's dad. However, he was surprised when meeting a perfectly polite and warm man who eagerly shared stories from his childhood growing up with Steve Rogers. Bucky Barnes was also surprisingly funny and a lot nicer than Emma was. Ned didn't know why Peter was so scared of him.

"Harry Potter's different and much cooler than Star Wars," Emma retorted before turning back to her father. "You know, Steve got Slytherin too."

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the blonde in surprise at the information she just dropped on them. Emma seemed smug all of a sudden while everyone else just had a bunch of questions on their mind.

"Captain America's a Slytherin?" Ned asked in shock and Michelle even closed her book as she looked up at Emma with interest.

"Took me by surprise too but I guess we're related, after all," Emma told them and Bucky nodded his head slowly as he recollected moments from their childhood.

"Steve did used to lie on enlistment forms to try and get into the army," Bucky recalled, giving it some more thought. "He always wanted to be on the frontlines that he would've done just about anything to…"

Bucky trailed off when he came upon an even bigger realization.

"The serum," Emma finished and Bucky nodded.

"The serum," He confirmed and both Ned and Michelle were taken back by the way Emma and Bucky seemed to finish each other's sentences. It was also how weirdly laidback she was with him. She was laidback with Peter but this was so much different. The history between the father and daughter pair spoke mountains.

The brief fleeting moment of silence in the room was then interrupted by Ned, Michelle, and Emma's phones going off with a text notification, Bucky raised an eyebrow as all three of them immediately checked their phones. Bucky supposed he was going to have to get used to Emma's teenagerish behavior with her need to check her phone at all times. Most of the time she seemed to be texting Peter at various times during the day. He only knew this because of the lovesick look on her face and the smile that would tug at the corners of her lips.

That kid still annoyed the hell out of him.

"Oh, cool, Flash just said that his parents okayed the lake house for the weekend," Ned announced as Michelle just nodded in response while Emma looked nervous. Bucky was suddenly confused. "I guess we're all in then."

"What's this about a lake house?" Bucky asked, both curious and feeling like he was unaware of something. Ned and Michelle both watched the nervous look on Emma's face as she turned to look at her father. It was rare they ever saw her do something so uncharacteristic as look nervous.

"Um…well, Papa, it's just that the academic decathlon is having a weekend retreat for some team building exercises before school starts," Emma explained, trying to not let her heart jump out of her chest as she tried to get father to agree to something she really desperately wanted.

Ned and Michelle both exchanged looks because that was not what the weekend retreat was for at all. The weekend retreat was just Flash throwing a weekend party while his parents were away. The team building exercises was just the bullshit excuse every team member gave to their parents in order for them to be allowed to go. Ned and Michelle just didn't think Emma would need to have an excuse like that.

"Really?" Bucky said, sounding unsure about this. Emma nodded almost enthusiastically.

Most people would find it odd that she was so eager to go to a weekend long party at Flash Thompson's lake house because she hated Flash but Emma had an ulterior motive. She fully planned on having sex with Peter for the first time at Flash's lake house. It was really the perfect time because a nice lake house surrounded by the woods and a pretty lake seemed like the most romantic location they could get with being broke teenagers who lived with their legal guardians. Not to mention there would be no adults around so no chance of their first time being ruined by the cockblocking adults they lived with.

This was why Emma was so eager to go to Flash's lake house for the weekend.

"Yeah, we also have to prepare for the competition in DC which is coming up soon," Emma then turned to look at Michelle, pleading with her eyes for Michelle to play along. "Right, MJ?"

"We won last year and I'll be damned if we lose during my first full school year as captain," Michelle said in a dull tone despite attempting to sound optimistic.

"So I'm assuming Peter will be there?" Bucky asked with a suspicious look in his eyes and Emma shrugged, pretending like the thought hadn't occurred to her.

"Well, he is on the team," Emma added, trying to make the trip seem as boring and school focused as ever.

"I don't know," Bucky said, sounding very unsure all of a sudden. "I don't really like the idea of you and Peter in some house alone together for a weekend. That boy leers at you too much. I don't think he could control himself for a weekend."

Michelle and Ned started shaking with laughter at the Winter Soldier's words. They found it so hilarious that Emma wasn't the big, bad Viper Assassin she made herself out to be with an overprotective dad who was trying to save her from her horny boyfriend. Emma shot them an annoyed glance before turning back to her father.

"But we won't be alone," Emma said as she tried to convince her father to let her go on the trip because this was her and Peter's last chance to have a romantic weekend this summer with just the two of them.

Sure, they had fooled around a lot but they never found the right time to finally just be alone. This was going to be their first time having sex and they both wanted it to be special. Flash's lake house was an obvious sign for them to finally have their romantic evening together.

"The whole team will be there," Emma insisted as she lied to her father like most teenagers did. "MJ, Ned, Cindy, Sally, Abe, Charles, and Flash. Even Mr. Harrington and Flash's parents will be there."

Michelle and Ned awkwardly looked away because they knew for a fact that Mr. Harrington and Flash's parents wouldn't be there at all for the weekend which was why Flash was going all out by having alcohol his brother bought him for the party. Ned kind of already knew why Emma and Peter were excited for the party. Peter told him a while ago about the fact that he and Emma were going to take the next step in their relationship by doing it. Ned felt more awestruck by Peter losing his virginity than when he discovered Peter was Spider-Man. The boy then started pestering Peter with countless questions when Peter bragged a little about all the other stuff he and Emma did.

"Is that true?" Bucky said as he turned to look at Michelle and Ned expectantly. Emma narrowed her eyes at the two, silently telling them they were dead unless they helped her out. Ned gulped because he realized that he was going to lie to the Winter Soldier who probably murdered people for way less. However, before he could open his mouth and answer, Michelle stepped in effortlessly and did all the hard work.

"Well, we can't have a decathlon retreat without Mr. Harrington. He's super useful with stuff like that," Michelle said calmly and this was the hugest lie she ever told because she always made it clear how useless Mr. Harrington was with all the stupid teamwork pep talks he gave everyone. "Besides…what kind of parents would Flash's parents be if they just left a bunch of teenagers alone unsupervised in a lake house? That's the premise for every single 2000s horror movie."

What Emma's dad didn't know was that Flash's parents were actually terrible parents because they were doing exactly that by leaving a bunch of teenagers in their house without adult supervision. They could've been planning an orgy or making a human sacrifice and Flash's parents could care less. Either way, this seemed to be enough to convince her father and that was all Emma cared about.

"So can I go, Papa?" Emma asked him and she realized that it was probably the first time in a very long time that she had to ask permission to do something. Her father still looked unsure but he reluctantly nodded.

"I guess it's okay if you go for the weekend but I want you to text me every night," Bucky told her and Emma gave him a bewildered look.

"Why?" Emma questioned and Bucky looked at her as though it were obvious.

"So that I know you're okay," Her father said seriously while Emma looked slightly offended. Michelle and Ned just watched the pair in amusement. It was kind of hilarious watching the Winter Soldier parent the Viper Assassin.

"Papa, I've been in tons of life threatening situations. I've fought robots, the Avengers, an idiot in a bird costume, and Hydra. Spending a weekend at a lake house is nothing," Emma said, dismissing her father's concern. Bucky gave his daughter a confused look.

"Since when did you fight Sam?" Bucky questioned and Emma shook her head.

"No, I meant Toomes," Emma corrected and Bucky nodded, finally understanding what she meant. "A different idiot in a different bird costume."

"I'm obviously going to be worried because you're somewhere else while I'm stuck here," Bucky explained to her. "Just please text me so I can feel reassured. Just for my own peace of mind."

Emma rolled her eyes but nodded. She knew deep down it was going to kill her father to be stuck at the compound when she went back to school next week. Emma's was going to miss spending every single day with him but she knew she always had the weekend which was more than what she had before. There was always skype too which Emma was starting to do with Steve thanks to the new security features Tony downloaded on her Stark phone which would prevent the UN from finding out she was still very much in contact with her fugitive grandfather.

"Fine. I'll text you but you don't need to worry. It'll just be a ton of teenagers hanging out together," Emma reassured him and Bucky sighed heavily.

"That's what scares me the most," He muttered but before Emma could respond, Darcy walked into the room. Of course, like always, Bucky stared at her long and hard for one moment before quickly looking away and staring at the surface of the kitchen island, an obvious blush on his face.

Emma rolled her eyes because she honestly didn't know why her father acted like a twelve-year-old boy around Darcy. Other than big tits, she didn't have much else going for her because she was the single most annoying person Emma had ever met.

Well, that wasn't completely true.

Tony took the prize for the most annoying person in Emma's life.

Emma's point was that she didn't understand how her father almost turned into Steve over Darcy. The same woman that sang and did a little dance whenever she filled up her punch card to that mediocre taco place she always took Emma. This was the woman her father seemed to avoid at all costs and avoid talking to. Emma determined that her father was way less cool than she originally thought.

"Ooh, look at all the teens hanging out together," Darcy said loudly as she walked into the room as if she owned it. "What are you kids talking about? Cardi B?"

"No, I was just telling my father about the weekend retreat," Emma said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the woman again. "The one for the academic decathlon, remember?"

Darcy then smirked at the blonde's reply because she was more than aware of Emma's decathlon retreat which was more of a romantic getaway than a school thing. She knew this because she took Emma shopping a few days ago to purchase a few things for Emma's sex-filled weekend vacation. Darcy was amused to see the teenage girl embarrassed as she asked Darcy to take her bra and underwear shopping.

It wasn't like last year either because that had been back to school shopping.

This was having sex for the first time with your boyfriend shopping.

Darcy remembered those days when her cool older cousin Jenny took her shopping the weekend before Darcy decided to lose her v-card to her loser high school boyfriend. Peter wasn't a loser so Darcy was hoping Emma's experience would be better than hers was. Especially since from the information Darcy annoyed out of Emma, apparently Peter was a surprisingly fast learner for an inexperienced teenage boy. Darcy even attempted to fist bump the blonde when Emma made a subtle comment about Peter's eagerness to practice certain skills with his tongue. However, the blonde just stared at Darcy before walking off without saying anything.

"Oh, the educational weekend retreat, you mean?" Darcy inquired with a smug look on her face. Emma narrowed her eyes at her, warning the brunette to keep her mouth shut because her father was in the room. "Yeah, I bet you guys will do a lot of learning there. A lot of new and memorable experiences for you to cherish for a lifetime. Probably a lot of practicing too. Gotta study up for that oral exam, am I right?"

"Anyways...I'm going to start packing," Emma announced, pointedly ignoring Darcy and really hoping that her father didn't catch on to what Darcy was saying. "MJ, want to help me?"

The dark haired girl closed the book she was reading again, nodding as she got up from the couch to follow her friend. It was clear that this was girl's thing so Ned didn't attempt to join them.

"Anything to get out of this room," Michelle said with an uncomfortable look on her face. "The sexual tension is way too distracting. I can't read."

Bucky immediately blushed, looking entirely uncomfortable while Darcy seemed to not care. Emma gave her friend a disgusted look before looking between her father and Darcy, entirely revolted by what Michelle was saying.

"Ew," Emma remarked before making her exit out of the room quickly as she practically bolted out of there with Michelle following her. Bucky wanted to stop her from leaving by denying what her friend said but Emma and Michelle were already gone.

"I um…I think I'm going to see what Vision's up to," Ned said, lying horribly to excuse himself from being caught in the middle of a weird situation between Emma's dad and Darcy. "See you later, Mr. Winter Soldier."

The teenage boy was gone after that and the two adults were left alone in the room.

Much to Bucky's fear and Darcy's smugness.

Not that Bucky was scared of Darcy but it had been a long time since he talked to woman like her and Bucky wasn't so sure he remembered how to anymore. Mostly because most women now-a-days would run in the opposite direction of him. Emma always told him that he was very handsome but she was Emma so, of course, she said that.

"Darcy," Bucky said awkwardly.

"Barnes," Darcy said in response. Bucky cleared his throat as he tried to think of something to say to her.

"So you already knew about Emma's trip?" Bucky said, trying to make conversation. Darcy wondered how the hell it was fair that Bucky Barnes was so unbelievably attractive. It didn't help that the guy was the silent and brooding type which was even sexier to her. God, this man was going to be the death of her.

"She may have mentioned it to me," Darcy said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I took her shopping. She needed a new swim suit."

"I hope she bought an appropriate one. I don't need her idiot boyfriend getting any ideas," Bucky said darkly, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he thought of Peter Parker. Darcy felt her insides turn to mush as she began to realize how hot overprotective dads were. He really was a gigantic DILF and Darcy didn't know how she was going to control herself around this very beautiful man if he was going to be around now.

"She's not going to wear a thong bikini so I'd calm down," Darcy said as she rolled her eyes at him, hiding the fact that she found his overprotective nature to be a huge turn on. "It's a perfectly appropriate swim suit for a girl her age."

"There's such thing as a thong bikini?" Bucky said in surprise, his eyes widening in horror at the thought of Emma ever wearing something like that. Darcy smirked at him.

"You were out of society for a long time, Barnes," Darcy told him before saying something that could've sent Bucky to an early grave. "If you want maybe I could demonstrate one for you. I think I have one somewhere in my closet."

For the first time, Bucky felt that Darcy Lewis was going to be a very dangerous woman to him. More so than any woman he had ever met before. The former assassin turned a vibrant shade of red before he quickly made up an excuse about having to make sure Emma packed sunscreen which was bullshit and he knew it. Darcy watched in satisfaction as the usually very serious man nearly tripped over himself as he rushed out of the room.

Darcy really hoped Emma wouldn't kill her for going after her dad.

Maybe Emma would even be really cool with it.

Yeah…that sounded like Emma all right.

* * *

Friday eventually came and with it brought Emma and Peter packing their things, for the weekend, into Emma's car. Well, Peter was putting their suitcases in the car as he strove to be the perfect gentlemen much to Emma's annoyance and her father's reluctant approval.

Bucky, Darcy, Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey saw the two teenagers off as they got ready to leave for Flash's lake house which was only about twenty miles away. Much closer than going all the way back into the city. Both Emma and Peter were incredibly excited but also nervous for the weekend since they both knew how much this weekend was going to mean to them. It was a huge step for the both of them but they just needed to remind themselves to stay calm.

Emma said goodbye to her father by hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek while Peter said goodbye to Tony who hugged him before clapping him on the back and giving him another quick pep talk. It was obvious to Tony that this weekend was more than some high school retreat. He really hoped Peter packed that thing he left on his bed the other afternoon.

Tony wasn't talking about the Spider-Man suit either.

The two teenagers then got in the car and left for the weekend, leaving their superhero lives in the dust for the moment. It was probably the first weekend in forever that they got to just be themselves with no Avenger drama and just have fun and relax.

Emma and Peter arrived at Flash's lake house about thirty minutes later and for once, she actually drove the speed limit much to Peter's relief.

The Lake House was surrounded by a forest and overlooked a fair sized private lake that Flash's parents also seemed to own. The house was very large for something that was only supposed to be a vacation home which probably proved how wealthy Flash was.

As they pulled up in the drive way, Emma could see that Flash was there goofing off with Charles in the front yard of the house. The two were unloading cases of beer which Emma assumed was the beer that Flash's brother got for him.

Abe was dressed in a pair of swim trunks with a towel under his arm as he headed to the lake with Sally and Cindy who were also dressed in their swim suits. As Emma and Peter got out of the car, the three teenagers started waving enthusiastically at them.

"Emma! Peter! You made it!" Abe called out as he grinned at them. Peter grinned back. "We're heading out to the lake for a swim. Wanna join?"

"Maybe later, Abe!" Peter called back and the boy nodded before continuing on his way with Cindy and Sally following him. Peter then turned to look at his girlfriend with a hopeful look on his face. "Is that okay with you? If we go swimming later, I mean?"

"Of course," Emma said softly before a mischievous look came across her face. "Or else I bought my new swim suit for nothing."

"Did you say a new one?" Peter said with sudden interest as he became hung up on the new swim suit Emma mentioned. She smirked at him. "Could you maybe describe it to me? Just out of curiosity?"

"No, I think I'll just let you be surprised," Emma said teasingly and Peter really wanted to change his answer to Abe and demand they leave for the lake at once. However, he knew that he and Emma also needed to unpack the car. As much as it killed him only being able to imagine Emma's swim suit instead of seeing the real thing right in front of him.

"Fine," Peter said sulkingly and Emma just laughed as she rested her hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, Parker. You're going to see a lot less clothing on me this weekend than a simple swim suit," Emma said suggestively and Peter blushed because it was the first time either one of them had acknowledged that this was the weekend they were going to have sex for the first time. Peter always felt like he was being presumptuous in assuming they were going to have sex but now he felt a bit more relaxed that he and Emma were on the same page.

"I-I um…I'm looking forward to it," Peter said, not knowing what to say to that. Emma then walked past him to get her things out of the car. Peter immediately rush over to her to help his girlfriend while feeling excitement wash over him for the impending weekend. Just him and Emma for the entire weekend. No Spider-Man, no Viper, no overprotective dads, and no Avengers.

It was just Peter Parker and Emma Rogers for an entire weekend.

Nothing made Peter happier.

* * *

After Emma and Peter put their luggage inside one of the many bedrooms, they headed back downstairs to greet their friends.

"Are you sure that it's okay that we're sharing a bedroom?" Peter questioned as they walked downstairs and Emma rolled her eyes at her dorky boyfriend.

"Peter, why are you so scared? There's no adults around," Emma told him and Peter tried to shrug nonchalantly although he felt really nervous.

"I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea," Peter said nervously and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You mean the wrong idea aside from us having sex this weekend," Emma said sarcastically and Peter gave her a worried look.

"I just don't want this getting back to your dad," Peter said honestly and Emma scoffed.

"Peter, my father's on house arrest twenty miles away. He's not going to come over here and kill you. That's not even possible," Emma argued, not understanding how her boyfriend worried over the most ridiculous things.

It's not like anyone at Flash's lake house could somehow tell her father about her and Peter sharing the same bedroom. Aside from Ned and Michelle, no one here knew that the Winter Soldier was Emma's father. She honestly doubted that Michelle and Ned would even blab to her father about this because Michelle was good at keeping secrets and Ned was too frightened to talk to her father most of the time.

"You're right. I think he just got into my head," Peter finally admitted and Emma's gaze softened as she looked back at him.

"We're going to be just fine, Peter," Emma told him reassuringly. "It's just going to be us this weekend. No Avenger drama and not even my dad being a surprisingly good cockblocker. It's going to be just you and me."

"That's sounds really good to me," Peter said softly and Emma smiled at him.

"You get to have me all to yourself and I get to have you all to myself," Emma told him and Peter pulled her closer to him, wanting nothing but to be entirely wrapped up in his and Emma's little world where no one existed but the two of them. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, causing Emma to giggle.

"Can we actually go back upstairs now maybe? Just lock the door and never come back out," Peter asked her and Emma playfully swatted him away, pulling back to look at him.

"Peter, we have the whole weekend for that," Emma told him and Peter knew she was right even though he just wanted to skip right to the sex part right now. Deep down he knew the moment had to be right and Peter didn't want to rush anything. Screwing this up with Emma was the last thing he ever wanted to do. "Let's just relax for a little bit."

"You're right yet again. You're always right," Peter said, remarking at Emma's ability for talking sense into him. She was incredible at doing that. "This weekend is going to be special for us."

"I know it is," Emma said, giving him a small smile. However, before Peter could respond to his girlfriend, he was interrupted by the one person in the world he couldn't stand.

Flash Thompson.

"Look, Penis Parker made it," Flash announced loudly as he smirked at his rival. "I don't remember inviting you, Penis."

"I don't remember allowing you to run your mouth either, Eugene, but here we are," Emma said in a bored tone, taunting Flash with his hated real name. Inside, Emma was fuming that he continued to tease Peter like that although she was still annoyed that Peter even let him do that in the first place. She never understood the way he just let Flash talk to him like that.

"Flash, this is a decathlon weekend hang out. Peter's a member of the decathlon team in case you've forgotten," Cindy reminded him with a pointed look. Her hair was wet after just having come in from her swim but she was determined in making sure this weekend didn't have Flash and Peter's rivalry in it. It was always like Cindy to try and keep things calm. Flash sulked like a child from Emma using his real name and from also being told off by Cindy.

"Whatever," Flash grumbled as he then walked off to go see what Charles was up to. Emma rolled her eyes while Cindy just smiled before turning her attention to the couple in front of her.

"I haven't seen you guys in a while. What have you been up to this summer?" Cindy asked them and Peter's eyes went wide because it was obvious he couldn't let her in on all the Spider-Man and Viper events that happened over the summer. Emma didn't give her boyfriend the chance to mess everything up by blurting something out as she stepped in instead.

"My dad moved upstate so I've been spending a lot of time with him. My mom travels a lot so I got to spend some time with her before she left so that was nice," Emma explained calmly and Peter looked at her in surprise. Did she just refer to Steve as her mom? She better not mention that to Mr. Stark or the billionaire would never let that go.

"Oh, do you think your dad will still let you attend Midtown even if he's moved upstate?" Cindy asked curiously, seeming to remember Emma's original cover story that she was staying with her "sister" Darcy while attending Midtown since her parents lived across the county but Emma didn't seem to miss a beat.

"No, I'm still staying with my sister. I'll just visit my dad on the weekends," Emma said and she smiled genuinely at the thought of spending more time with her father. She realized that she had all the time in the world with him now that Hydra was done for and he got his plea deal.

"What about you, Peter?" Cindy asked him and Peter tried to act as nonchalant as Emma about the whole thing even though he was struggling to come up with a story.

"Well, Mr. Stark rehired me for that internship so I've mostly been working for him all summer," Peter explained to her and Cindy sighed longingly.

"That's so cool that you work for Iron Man. I'm so jealous," Cindy said before Sally called her from outside. "I think Sally needs me for something. It was fun catching up. Maybe we'll talk more later."

"Same here," Peter told her and Emma nodded before Cindy parted from them and ran back outside. Emma then turned to look at Peter.

"She would be disappointed by how lame Tony is in real life," Emma remarked as she shook her head. Peter rolled his eyes because he knew how much Emma cared for Tony. He just couldn't wait for the day when she finally admitted it.

"Let's go see if Ned and Michelle are here yet," Peter told her and Emma nodded before they began to walk through the living room of the very large and nice lake house.

This weekend was going to be interesting with Flash and everyone else there but the teenage couple were still excited for what else would occur during their romantic weekend. It was surely going to be a weekend they remembered for the rest of their lives.

* * *

Soon enough, afternoon turned into night as all the teenagers gathered in the living room of Flash's lake house. There was quite the collection of teenagers from Midtown Tech. Mostly just members of the academic decathlon team which now included a couple Freshmen and Sophomore recruits. Emma didn't care enough to know their names so she ignored them. Mostly because they were annoyingly trying to make a good impression on Michelle by being total suck-ups. When one of the Freshmen recruits stared at Emma longer than she liked, she glared at them and the frightened fourteen-year-old practically ran from the room.

She was glad that she could still scare someone, at least.

There was only one person at the weekend long party who wasn't part of the academic decathlon team. The one person at the party was someone Emma was less than thrilled about being there for her and Peter's romantic weekend away from the Avengers.

Betty fucking Brant.

The girl Emma couldn't stand in the slightest. The same girl who tried to bully Emma so that she could get her Bath and Body Works hands all over Peter. If there was anything important to know about Emma, it was that she was very good at holding grudges and Emma held a very huge grudge against Betty for trying to steal Peter. Emma didn't think she would ever forget what Betty tried to do and she thought the tiny blonde girl was secretly Satan.

"Stop glaring at Betty," Michelle said in a bored tone as she and Emma remained seated on the couch while the others conversed during the party. Peter had gone to get her some food in the kitchen so she and Michelle were left alone. "You're making your beef with her obvious to everyone here."

"Beef? I don't have beefs with people," Emma retorted without taking her gaze off Betty who was laughing at something Charles said. "I just fantasize about murdering them very slowly and intimately."

"Well, fantasize about murdering Betty somewhere else. You're scaring the Freshmen and Sophomores," Michelle complained and Emma rolled her eyes before finally taking her gaze off of Betty.

"Oh, look, who finally cares about her job as team captain. You've officially become as lame as Peter," Emma teased her friend and Michelle scoffed.

"I'm just thinking about my college application. It doesn't look good to be a shitty team captain," Michelle said nonchalantly and Emma didn't look like she believed her.

"Whatever. You care about stuff. Just admit it," Emma told her and Michelle scoffed, playfully glaring at her friend. She opened her mouth to insult Emma but was interrupted by Peter walking back over to them. He had a plate full of food in his hands as he gave Emma a goofy grin.

"I got you a bunch of pizza. Flash got the really good kind. It's delicious," He said around a mouth full of pizza as he sat down next to Emma. Michelle just rolled her eyes at Peter's ridiculousness while Emma seemed charmed by his antics as usual.

"I can tell. You have a bunch of tomato sauce all over your face," Emma said as she laughed at him. Peter shrugged but Emma leaned in close, seemingly going in for a kiss but she surprised Peter by gently licking his face instead. Michelle gave the two a disgusted look while Peter blushed.

"I'm going to throw up," Michelle deadpanned but Emma ignored her.

"You're right. It does taste good," Emma said flirtatiously and Peter swallowed hard before looking away, trying not to be reminded what this weekend meant for him and Emma. He was already nervous enough as it was. That and he wanted things to progress naturally between him and Emma during the weekend because he wanted it to be the right moment.

"So Flash has some beer," Peter brought up as he changed the subject and Emma raised an eyebrow as Peter suddenly looked very hesitant and unsure.

"I've noticed," Emma remarked, not sure where Peter was going with this. He didn't quite look Emma in the eyes as he chose his next words carefully.

"Well, I actually thought I might have a beer or two," Peter said quietly and Emma just stared at him silently. "Hopefully. If that's okay with you."

"I'm not your mom, Parker. If you want to drink beer, you can," Emma told him casually, not looking like she cared either way. Peter still felt hesitant. A part of him was afraid that this was some kind of trap or test.

"So when you say I can have a beer that means that you're okay with it?" Peter asked dumbly and Emma looked at him like he was ridiculous.

"I just told you that you don't need my permission," Emma said in an annoyed tone, wanting Peter to just make a decision already.

"So that's a yes?" Peter continued to prod and Emma sighed tiredly, wondering how Peter could be adorable one second and then entirely annoying the next.

"Just drink your fucking beer already!" Emma snapped and Peter's entire face lit up in excitement. He quickly kissed her cheek before jumping up from the couch to go head back to the kitchen to get his beer.

"Yay! Thank you!" Peter exclaimed happily as he practically ran to the kitchen. Emma rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the couch with the plate of food Peter brought her still in her hands. Michelle just shook her head at her friend.

"You two act like you're married," Michelle observed and Emma shrugged before taking a bite of the pizza Peter got her.

"I just hope he doesn't act like an asshole like the last time he drank alcohol," Emma said and she thought that was part of the reason he asked her permission before he got a beer. He knew the last time they were at a party everything went to shit so Emma thought it was nice that wanted to make sure she was okay with him drinking.

"Yeah, that was pretty bad but you two were fighting at the time so things will probably be better now," Michelle said almost comfortingly and Emma nodded. She supposed her friend had a point. "So are you and Peter fucking this weekend or what?"

Emma gave Michelle a shocked look at the brunette's very blunt question. It wasn't like Emma to be surprised but that certainly wasn't a question she expected to come out of Michelle's mouth. Michelle finally took pleasure in being able to shock her friend after all this time.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, Emma," Michelle said as she rolled her eyes. "I called you to invite you to Flash's lame weekend decathlon party at his parent's lake house and you seemed a little too excited to spend a weekend under Flash's roof. It's obvious that you only came here to deflower your nerd."

"Fine, fine. You're right," Emma finally relented as she sighed heavily. "Peter and I have plans this weekend. We're sixteen so it's not like we can just get a hotel room."

"Right and I imagine fucking on his bunk bed isn't ideal either," Michelle said crassly and Emma shook her head.

"The compound wasn't an option either. My father has superhuman hearing so I can't imagine that would've ended well," Emma said before making a face of distaste at the memory of her father walking in on her and Peter during the whole Hydra fiasco. That hadn't been pleasant.

"I thought you and Peter fooled around all the time at the compound behind your dad's back?" Michelle inquired and Emma shrugged.

"I mean, that's one thing and we have to be really careful but we didn't really want to have to worry about my father catching us when we have sex for the first time," Emma said rationally and Michelle saw the sense in that. "That's why this weekend is really important for us because we're probably not going to get the chance to be alone again."

"So you think it'll happen tonight?" Michelle asked her curiously. Not because she was interested in hearing about Emma having sex with Peter but because she didn't know anyone her own age that had sex. She was super curious and would probably ask Emma questions later on from a female curiosity stand point.

"Probably not. Parker can't handle his booze at all so he'll probably be too drunk," Emma said, both a little disappointed and relieved that tonight wasn't the night. Don't get her wrong. She was more than excited for her and Peter's first time but she wanted a bit more time to relax into this. She didn't want it to feel rushed so waiting another day wasn't a problem for her.

Emma and Peter had waited this long already so what was another day?

"That might be better. I know Flash and the others are taking the freshmen and sophomores camping tomorrow in the woods behind the house so we'll be left alone here," Michelle said helpfully and Emma nodded.

"Good. I don't want that asshole in the way," Emma said, grateful that Flash and most of the others wouldn't even be in the house tomorrow. That definitely took a lot of pressure off. Emma felt a lot more comfortable about this weekend. It really would just be her and Peter.

"So uh…have you seen it?" Michelle asked randomly, a blush on her face. Emma gave her a confused look.

"Seen what?" Emma questioned and Michelle looked embarrassed which was rare for her.

"His…penis," Michelle whispered, her eyes growing wide. Emma gave her an amused look and almost laughed at the way Michelle whispered the word "penis". Almost like it was a secret or something.

"Yes, I have," Emma said honestly, trying not to laugh. She could tell Michelle was only asking her about Peter's penis out of curiosity about sex rather than curiosity about Peter. This was why she didn't feel threatened in the least.

"Does it look as gross as I imagine?" Michelle continued to ask and Emma raised her eyebrows at her friend.

"What, MJ? You imagine Peter to have a really gross and disgusting dick," Emma said, not sure what Michelle was getting at. The dark haired girl gave her a disgusted look before shaking her head.

"No, I was talking about penises in general," Michelle elaborated and Emma shrugged.

"I can't really speak about penises in general since I've only really seen Peter's but I don't really think of it as gross," Emma said thoughtfully as Michelle listened to her intently. "I'm not saying there should be murals in an art museum of it but I find it really…interesting? I don't know. I can't think of the word."

"I think I get what you mean," Michelle said although she was still curious. "Are you scared?"

Emma knew this wasn't a question directed at her past but just about her and Peter having sex for the first time. It was a pretty good question. This almost felt like what two normal teenage girls would talk about. Maybe they were two normal teenage girls in that moment.

"Not scared. A little nervous and excited maybe but not scared," Emma said as she tried to put her feelings into words which was never easy for her.

"I think I'll wait until college myself. It's cool that you're ready though," Michelle said, deep in thought as she considered the different paths they were both on as they were both soon becoming grown women. Emma was ready while Michelle wasn't but that was totally fine. "This is your decision as a woman and you're going with it. I respect that."

"I think it's good that you're waiting. For me, it has to be with the right person and there's really only one right person for me," Emma said and she knew she was coming off as sappy but she no longer cared. "For you, it can be anything you want."

"Will you tell me what it's like?" Michelle inquired curiously and Emma turned to look at her. "Nothing too detailed because it's Peter and that's just disgusting but just about sex in general."

"Sure," Emma agreed. She didn't think she really had a problem with sharing her experiences with Michelle. Emma typically wasn't a bashful person and she understood Michelle's curiosity.

The two teenage girls were interrupted in their conversation by Ned showing Betty something on his phone and the short teenage girl giggling hysterically. Ned kept shooting the blonde girl lingering glances whenever she wasn't looking. Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of Ned flirting with Betty.

"Who the hell invited Brant anyways?"

* * *

"You're so pretty," Peter said happily as Emma helped his drunk ass up the stairs to their bedroom. He leaned heavily onto Emma's side as she gritted her teeth, annoyed that her boyfriend was drunk after only a couple drinks. What a fucking light weight. "I just want to bury my face in your hair and sniff it all night. You always smell so nice and yummy."

"Yeah, well, I not going to look so pretty tomorrow morning when I yell at you for getting drunk off your ass again," Emma complained and Peter just giggled like a twelve-year-old girl.

The party downstairs had died out after around one in the morning and everyone had gone to bed at this point. Either that or they were passed out downstairs with penis drawings on their faces. Flash had attempted to draw a penis on Peter's face but stopped when Emma threatened to shove that sharpie up his ass.

"You're even pretty when you're mean to me," Peter slurred as Emma opened the door to their bedroom and practically dragged him inside. He giggled again as he stumbled into the room while Emma followed behind him, rolling her eyes at her idiotic boyfriend. "Ooh! A nice big bed. Big enough for the two of us. Big enough for the two of us to do a lot of things on."

Emma snorted when she watched Peter waggle his eyebrows at her, probably thinking he looked incredibly sexy when he did that. She realized that Peter kind of turned into a douchebag when he was drunk. Not necessarily a douchebag like last time but one who seemed unable to keep himself from hitting on her. It was kind of amusing in a weird way.

"You're such a fucking light weight, Parker," Emma deadpanned and Peter scoffed, looking quite offended that Emma would even accuse him of such a thing.

"I'm not a light weight. I feel better than ever right now," Peter said a little too passionately. "I feel super sober."

"You're drunk."

"Am not," Peter whined before an all too serious look crossed his face. "Now are we doing this or what?"

"Doing what?" Emma questioned in confusion although she didn't know why she was trying to understand drunk Peter.

"Emma and Peter's sexy time," Peter drunkenly slurred and Emma snorted.

"Are you talking about us in the third person right now?" Emma asked incredulously and Peter shrugged.

" _You're_ talking about us in the third person," Peter retorted. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't even make sense," She tried to tell him but he didn't listen. She should've known it was pointless arguing with a drunk person. Not that Emma had much experience talking to drunk people other than Tony.

"You're so beautiful that it doesn't even make sense," Peter accused of Emma as though she was at fault for something. What that something was, Emma had no clue. "I've always thought you were hot. Even back when you were just the Viper Assassin to me."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, completely frustrated with trying to understand her drunk boyfriend.

"I mean, before we met at school. At the airport…" Peter slurred as he started to give away stuff he mostly kept hidden to himself. "I remember thinking how _good_ you looked in that suit. Like, really good. Then you were on top of me on the runway and I start feeling all kinds of things because you were so hot and on top of me. You looked so pissed at me too and you're always sexy when you're angry. I'm not going lie. I thought about that day a lot after that."

"Okay…" Emma said, looking weirded out by her boyfriend's rambling. None of it made any sense.

"No, I thought about it _a lot,_ " Peter said suggestively and Emma fought the urge to smirk because she realized that alcohol seemed to be like a truth serum to Peter. He was telling her all kinds of things that shy and nerdy Peter would never tell her.

"Did you?" Emma said in amusement. Peter then sighed in contentment before nodding at her, giving her a goofy grin. Emma struggled not to laugh at the way he backed up into the bed until he clumsily fell onto it. His fall took him by surprise but Peter tried to play it off in a way he thought was cool by pretending like he meant to do that.

"Now you're my girlfriend," Peter said as he looked up at her. "You're such a nice girlfriend too. Because you take care of me. I'm not just talking about the blowjobs either even though those are really nice too. You take care of me like this and I know it means you love me."

"You turn into a huge sap when you're hammered," Emma told him in a completely unromantic way. She then realized that she was going to have to get Peter ready for bed because he was way too drunk to do it own his own and she didn't want him to be uncomfortable. "Here, let me help you get undressed."

"You just want to get me naked, don't you?" Peter said teasingly as he smirked at her. Emma rolled her eyes.

"No, you drunk idiot. I want to get you comfortable for bed," Emma retorted as she then knelt down on the floor and started taking off his shoes and socks. However, she was puzzled when Peter started unbuckling his belt and quickly started shoving not just his pants down but his boxers too. Emma, however, stopped him before he could.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma questioned as she narrowed her eyes at him. Peter gave her a confused look.

"Aren't you…you know," Peter said awkwardly before gesturing to the position she was in on the floor. Even through his drunkenness, he realized he made a mistake when Emma glared at him.

"No, I'm not sucking your cock tonight, asshole," Emma hissed at him and Peter blushed but looked very disappointed.

"But why not?" He whined and Emma rolled her eyes as she slid his pants off the rest of the way but made a point in leaving his boxers on much to Peter's disappointment.

"Because you're drunk," Emma retorted and she honestly didn't know why she was arguing with her drunk idiotic boyfriend.

"I'm not that drunk," Peter tried to convince her although he failed miserably in doing so. "I thought we were going to make love tonight."

"Well, you should've thought of that before you had all that booze," Emma pointed out to him before she started getting ready for bed too. Peter gasped before pointing at her.

"I knew it! I knew it was a trap!" Peter exclaimed, referring to when he asked her permission to drink alcohol. "You're an evil woman."

"Peter, you say that like it's news," Emma said as she smirked at him before slipping out of her dress, leaving her in her bra and panties. Peter grew quiet as he stared at a half-naked Emma with wide eyes. Over the course of summer, he had seen her in less and less clothing so this was nothing new but Peter still appreciated her like it was the first time seeing her almost naked. Emma then slipped on an old shirt of Steve's that hung on her frame loosely.

"Why are you torturing me like this, Emma?" Peter said as he groaned. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic, Parker," Emma said as she got into bed next to him, pulling the covers over the both of them. "We'll have fun tomorrow when you're sober. You're going to have a huge hangover in the morning by the way."

"Fine but can you at least come here then?" Peter said, reaching his arms out to her and Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"So we can cuddle," Peter said as though it were obvious. Emma pretended to be annoyed but she obliged and Peter wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled against him, secretly happy that they were finally alone after being stuck in the compound so long surrounded by adults. Emma could be like this with him without worrying about her dad killing him.

It didn't take Peter long to drift off to sleep from all the alcohol he drank earlier in the night. Emma looked at him lovingly as she heard soft snores escape him so she just rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Her poor little Parker was going to be so hungover in the morning but at least he had fun.

One thing was for sure…Peter Parker definitely couldn't handle alcohol.

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the window, giving way to another beautiful summer day but Peter Parker felt anything but bright and cheery as he woke up. There was a severe pounding inside his head as he woke up, the sunlight hurting his eyes. He groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. Peter started to wonder how much he drank last night. He paused in his thinking when he saw Emma in bed next to him.

Shit…

Emma wasn't really wearing a whole lot of clothes and neither was he. Peter was wearing his t-shirt and boxers but he still had to wonder what happened last night. He couldn't really remember. At least, it didn't feel as bad as the last time got drunk when he puked his guts out into the toilet while May massaged his back.

It seemed like Emma chose that second to wake up as her eyes fluttered open. She yawned in that cute way that always sent Peter's heart soaring before she smiled at him. The blonde sat up in bed and she looked over at him.

"Hey, you're up," Emma said groggily and Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he strove to ignore the pounding headache he had. Somehow he felt like his spidey senses made it worse.

"God, what happened last night?" Peter said tiredly as he blinked several times, hoping to dial down all his senses which seemed to be at an eleven at this point. Emma gave him an amused look, now wide awake as she stared at her hungover boyfriend.

"You really don't remember?" Emma questioned and Peter shook his head so Emma started to explain it all to him. "Well, you got really drunk for one. You're a real light weight, Parker."

"Ha ha. Laugh it up," Peter said, glaring at her and Emma could tell his hangover made him a bit grumpy which she thought was cute. It wasn't normally like Peter to be grumpy. "Then what happened?"

"You tried to get me into bed a few times. You're a terrible flirt when you're drunk," Emma said teasingly and Peter's eyes widened at her words. The teenage boy looked at Emma's lack of clothing.

"We didn't…" Peter trailed off and Emma raised an eyebrow at him questioningly causing Peter to blush. "We didn't have sex last night, did we?"

"No," Emma said as she laughed at him. "You were drunk off your ass. I wasn't going to have sex with you even though you tried multiple times to convince me otherwise."

"Oh god, Emma," Peter said as he buried his face in his hands, totally embarrassed by his drunk antics. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I even decided to drink last night."

"Peter, it's fine," Emma said dismissively, not bothered by drunkenness the night before. "You were cute and funny."

"I don't want you to think I was trying to pressure you into it-" Peter to say but Emma cut him off, placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

"I know you would never do that," Emma told him softly and Peter looked at her shyly.

"I just want this to be special and I can't believe I've screwed it up," Peter said, looking very worried about whether or not he had messed things up for them. Emma just shook her head.

"You haven't screwed anything up," Emma reassured him before deciding to change the subject. She didn't want Peter to panic over something she wasn't even upset about. "We have all day to ourselves so let's just relax a little. I'll close the curtains and we'll get a little more sleep, okay? Does that sound nice?"

"Yes," Peter said quietly, really wanting to sleep off this massive hangover he had. Emma just smiled at him in response.

"When we wake up we can have some lunch and then maybe go for a swim later," Emma suggested and Peter nodded in contentment, liking the plan Emma had for them.

"Okay," Peter said in agreement and Emma kissed his forehead as he laid back down on the bed, his head resting on the pillow as he watched her get up to close the curtains. He sighed in contentment as he watched her prance around the room in an oversized t-shirt, admiring her long legs as she closed the curtains and made the room dark.

Peter didn't know how he got so lucky.

He really didn't.

If someone told Peter a year ago about this then he would've thought it was too good to be true. Everything about this weekend seemed too good to be true but Peter was happy nonetheless. There was no Avenger drama here and no Spider-Man and Viper. Just him and Emma which was all he really wanted out of this weekend.

"Go back to sleep, Peter," Emma murmured to him as she got back into bed with him with Peter immediately pulling her to his chest.

If anyone ever accused Emma of being a cuddler, she was more than likely to flip them off or worse, but Peter was glad she was into cuddling. Because nothing felt better than having her in his arms like this and being able to go to sleep together but also to wake up together. It was a luxury they wouldn't have past this weekend but Peter decided to appreciate it while he could. This weekend wouldn't last forever but Peter could still enjoy it while he could.

The two teenagers fell asleep once more in each other's arms.

* * *

Emma and Peter woke up a few hours later, having lunch like she suggested. Michelle, Ned, and Betty had already been up for hours and to Emma's relief, Flash and the others had already left for their little camping excursion in the woods behind the house. Emma was disappointed that Betty was around but she decided that she wasn't going to let the little blonde munchkin ruin her weekend with Peter.

About an hour later, the four teenagers headed off to the lake for a swim. They were all dressed in their respective swim suits. Emma's swim suit was a modest two piece green bikini with floral accents. The bikini bottoms were high waisted so Emma didn't feel uncomfortable in it like she normally would've. Darcy was the one who convinced Emma to get it after seeing it catch Emma's eye in the store. The top of the bikini was a halter design with a built in padded bra for comfort. Emma was unsure about the bikini until she came out of the bathroom downstairs and saw the way Peter stared at her. She took great pleasure in the way his eyes lingered on her during the entire walk to the lake.

She was definitely going to thank Darcy as soon as she got home.

Although…Emma wasn't going to lie. She totally stared at him the entire walk to the lake as well. He only wore a pair of red swim trunks, leaving his well-toned muscles on display for all to see. Emma thought she would be jealous that Betty and MJ got to see him that way but truthfully she just felt smug.

Smug because she knew Peter was all hers and no one else's.

When they got down to the lake, MJ sat herself in a lawn chair with her book and immediately started reading while Betty and Ned giggled loudly as they ran for the dock before throwing themselves off the edge and landing in the water with a big splash. Emma and Peter just rolled their eyes at the two before Peter took her hand into his and they gently waded into the water. Ned and Betty caused quite the scene as they splashed each other but Emma and Peter made sure to keep themselves at a distance, wanting some peace and quiet.

"I like your swim suit," Peter told his girlfriend as they relaxed in the water while Ned and Betty caused a scene at the other side of the lake. His eyes then lingered on the cleavage that her halter top showed off and Emma blushed.

"Thanks. I like yours too," Emma said softly although it wasn't really his swimming trunks she cared for as much as it was for his abs which she was quite close to drooling over.

"Ned and Betty seem to be having fun," Peter said awkwardly as he tried to make small talk. It was obvious that the two teenagers were both nervous about that night. It was already one in the afternoon and they both knew that tonight was the night they were going to have sex for the first time.

"Yeah, they definitely seem to be," Emma said in response. Usually Emma would insult Betty whenever she heard the short blonde's name but she did no such thing in that moment. Betty was far from her mind right now. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Peter answered, knowing she was referencing his hangover from the morning. "I feel one hundred percent now."

"That's good," Emma said and Peter finally took a deep breath before getting right down to it because he couldn't just avoid the giant elephant in the room at this point.

"We don't have to do anything tonight by the way," Peter finally said and Emma stared at him silently. "If you don't want to then we can wait. I don't mind waiting, Emma. I'll wait as long as you want."

"But I really want to," She finally said after a short pause of silence. Peter looked up at her in surprise. Emma just sighed in response. "I'm just…really nervous, I guess."

"I'm nervous too," Peter admitted and it seemed like they were both finally on the same page. Emma looked at him doubtfully.

"Really?"

"I am. I just don't want to screw things up," Peter said almost shyly and Emma's gaze softened. "This is supposed to be one of the biggest nights of our lives and I don't want to be disappointing to you."

"You could never be disappointing to me, Peter," Emma told him seriously and Peter felt the tiniest bit relieved from her words. "Nothing you do ever disappoints me."

"I just want tonight to be perfect for you," Peter said quietly. "You deserve for it to be perfect."

"Thank you and as long as it's with you it will be," Emma assured him because she knew it was the truth. She never desired to have sex in the past with anyone. Mostly because she knew she would never trust anyone enough to want to have sex but Emma trusted Peter. Peter was aware of how much Emma trusted him too and he would never abuse that trust.

"You seem oddly okay with Betty being here," Peter said as he changed the subject. "I thought you hated her."

"I hate that she was trying to steal you from me. Not so much that I hate her all together," Emma said, being her brutally honest self. Peter blushed despite the coldness of the water against his skin.

"She wasn't trying to steal me from you," Peter denied, still somehow believing that girls didn't notice him and Emma was some kind of weird anomaly for agreeing to go out with him. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I just know that I'm the one taking you to bed tonight and not her," Emma finally told him and in a way Emma was kind of over her jealousy. Sure, she'd probably still get pissed if any girls looked at Peter the wrong way but Emma also understood that Peter would never look at any of them. He was entirely hers.

"You're right about one thing," Peter said as he managed to smirk at her before pulling her close to him. Emma giggled as he planted a couple kisses against her neck. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?" Emma asked in amusement as Peter pulled back to look at her.

"I know your secret," He said smugly and Emma raised her eyebrow.

"And what secret is that, Parker?" Emma questioned, playing along with him.

"You're ticklish," Peter told her and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off," Emma said before attempting to give him a serious look. "And if you ever tell anyone about that then maybe I'll feel less inclined to do the nice things I do for you."

Peter immediately knew what nice things she meant and he pouted, knowing that Emma had won once again.

"You're mean," Peter said as he continued to pout. Emma just smirked at him.

"Yes and you still love me so I think that says more about you than me," Emma retorted and Peter playfully glared at her before an evil look came over his face. It was probably the first time Peter had ever looked evil. Emma wasn't going to deny it.

Evil Peter was really hot.

However, Emma's smugness vanished when she was hit in the face with a splash of water. Peter watched proudly as Emma looked at him in shock as water dripped down her face.

"Did you just fucking splash me with water?" Emma asked, pretending to be more angry than she was. "Did you not just hear what I told you?"

"Yes but I'm irresistible to you so I know you'll never stop being extra nice to me," Peter said, implying that he knew that Emma would never put a ban on certain sex acts. She enjoyed it as much as he did.

"If you splash me again-" However, Emma never finished her sentence as Peter splashed her with water yet again. He laughed at the angry look on her face.

"What are you going to do about it?" Peter teasingly asked her. He always made it an effort on his part to get Emma to loosen up and do childish things like goof off. She was always so serious that Peter just wanted her to act like the kid she was. The kid they both were.

"I'm not going to participate in this stupid game of yours," Emma said stubbornly and Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're just going to stand there and let me splash you in the face without doing anything about it?" Peter questioned and Emma glared at him, crossing her arms.

"I'm not going to encourage your stupidity," Emma grumbled and Peter just smirked as he reached over and splashed her again. This time Emma didn't even flinch as she stared back at him, her blue eyes boring into his brown ones. The water dripped down her face but she refused to play along.

"You're really not going to do anything?" Peter questioned before he splashed her yet again but Emma pointedly ignored him. He then decided to do something drastic to get a reaction out of her. The teenage boy abruptly lurched forward, grabbing his girlfriend and taking her by surprise before dragging her underneath the water. She struggled in his tight, unrelenting grip as he shoved her under the water. It took her a minute before she kicked him in the abdomen and managed to get back up to the surface with Peter quickly following her.

The minute Peter rose back up the surface and got a good look at her, he started laughing at the livid look on her face. Emma's hair was soaking wet and probably totally ruined by the disgusting lake water they were swimming in. She was glad her boyfriend found it amusing that she was entirely filthy from the disease ridden water.

"You asshole!" Emma cursed, her eyes furious as she glared at Peter. "You got my fucking hair wet!"

"This coming from the girl who gets people's blood on her all the time and doesn't even bat an eyelash," Peter said through his laughter.

"This water is dirty and probably filled with disease. I can't believe you did that," Emma said, still pissed at him. Peter finally managed to calm down from his laughter.

"I can always help you wash your hair in the shower," Peter flirted and Emma blushed from the suggestiveness in his tone. She really corrupted him, hadn't she? "I really don't mind. Maybe after we get out of here."

"If you think I'm rewarding bad behavior with you and me in a shower then you're more stupid than I thought," Emma said, her pride still hurt from the fact that Peter managed to catch her off guard earlier. "You're lucky that I'm still going to have sex with you tonight."

"So you're mad at me but not enough to take sex off the table," Peter pointed out smugly and Emma just glared at him.

"I'm going to go see what MJ's up to because I'm really angry at you. My hair's all disgusting now and it's entirely your fault," Emma said as she then turned around and began to swim away from him. Who knew Peter could be such a smug little shit? No wonder her father got pissed off at him all the time. He could be really annoying when he wanted to be.

Peter smirked as he watched her swim away. He fully knew how much he got under Emma's skin sometimes but a part of him enjoyed it. It felt nice that he could get a reaction out of her. Peter watched her leave for a minute as she swam to shore to join MJ. She grabbed a towel next to MJ's chair and dried herself off. Peter allowed his eyes to rake over her body, acknowledging how much he loved that swim suit she had on. He sincerely hoped this wouldn't be the last he'd be seeing of it. She was probably fully aware that Peter was leering at her because she flipped him off a moment later without even turning in his direction. The teenage boy just chuckled before swimming over to Ned.

God, he loved her.

* * *

"Oh my god, Peter, do you remember that time you peed your pants in the first grade," Ned said, laughing loudly as he held a bottle of beer in his hand. All five teenagers were seated around a campfire outside Flash's house. They had spent a few hours inside watching movies after each taking their respective showers post swimming in the lake but now it was dark and Betty thought it would be fun to have a campfire outside.

"No, I didn't," Peter denied, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks which Emma could only see because of the fire illuminating his face. Emma raised an eyebrow at him.

"You totally did," Ned said as he shared the memory with everyone in the group. Peter glared at him but Ned didn't seem to notice. He was too buzzed from the alcohol. "May had you wear that belt for picture day and you couldn't figure out how to take it off to pee."

"Thanks a lot, Ned," Peter grumbled, pouting as he stared into the fire with an embarrassed look on his face. "Just what I wanted my girlfriend to hear. They didn't stop calling me Pee Pee Parker until the seventh grade."

"Then you got upgraded to Penis Parker," Michelle remarked and Peter sighed heavily.

"Don't tell Flash this but I'll take Penis Parker over Pee Pee Parker any day," Peter admitted and everyone in the group laughed.

Emma just watched in amusement as the group recalled their memories from childhood but she couldn't help but feel a little sad or even envious of them. She didn't really have memories like that from childhood. There was fond memories she had of her and her father spending time together but that usually always involved a knife of some sort or blood played a part in those memories. None of her memories were normal ones like the ones everyone else had.

"Flash doesn't really have a talent for coming up with creative nicknames," Betty said observantly and everyone else was taken by surprise when Emma responded to her a moment later. However, her response wasn't laced with venom and she didn't shoot the blonde a cold look which was how she normally reacted to Betty.

"Obviously," Emma retorted but it wasn't in a mean way. "He gave himself the name Flash, after all."

"I kind of feel bad for Flash," Peter said abruptly and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

Emma wondered for a moment if Peter had been drinking again but then she remembered he turned down a beer from Ned. When Ned questioned him about it, the boy just blushed before glancing at Emma. Peter didn't want to get drunk again because he knew tonight was the night for him and Emma. He wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.

"What the hell are you smoking, Parker?" Michelle questioned, raising her eyebrow at her friend. Peter just shrugged.

"I just notice that Flash's parents aren't really that present," Peter said slowly. "Don't you think it's weird that his parents just left him alone at this lake house by himself for a weekend? I know May would never do that and I also know that there's no way in hell Emma's dad would ever do that either. Believe me. He barely let her come on this trip."

"My parents wouldn't do that," Ned murmured and Betty nodded in agreement, mumbling something similar. Emma knew that her father and Steve would never willingly leave her alone someplace for a weekend. Sure, they left for almost a year but that hadn't been their choice and Steve made sure that Tony took care of her.

"My brother wouldn't either," Michelle said quietly and Emma knew very little about her friend's home life. It was something the teenage girl never cared to discuss but Emma knew better than to push her. Just like Michelle never pushed her to talk about things either. They both acknowledged that they were both very guarded human beings so they gave each other space and only talked when they felt comfortable. However, Emma did know that Michelle was living with her older brother and that he had practically raised her.

"Maybe the reason he always acts so terrible is because he's compensating for his parents neglect," Peter suggested in a thoughtful tone and Michelle scoffed.

"Someone's taken up psychoanalysis," Michelle said sarcastically and Peter blushed but he seemed adamant about his new observation of Flash.

"I just think that maybe there's more to Flash than we all know."

Everyone was silent for a moment after that as they all considered what Peter just said. None of them said anything as they were left with their own thoughts. Emma was the first one to break the silence as she rested a hand on Peter's arm and gave him a small smile.

"Flash doesn't deserve your sympathy."

Emma truly believed that Flash didn't deserve Peter's kindness because she despised the teenage boy. He constantly mocked Peter's lack of wealth, making Peter feel shitty about not having a lot of money. Peter already worried about his aunt struggling to pay the bills on top of worrying about how he'd ever pay for college. He didn't need Flash reminding him of that all the damn time. Emma blamed Flash for Peter deciding that he needed to get a job. It was clear that Flash was just jealous of Peter but Emma didn't feel bad for him. Just because his mommy and daddy weren't around all too often didn't mean he could treat Peter like that.

"It was just a thought," Peter said quietly and Betty just shook her head.

"You're a nice guy, Peter," Betty said kindly and it seemed like Emma had put up with Betty being there long enough. However, there was some things Emma couldn't tolerate like Betty smiling at Peter.

Emma glared coldly at the small blonde and the girl's eyes immediately widened before she quickly looked away from Peter. She turned and saw that she had Peter's complete and undivided attention. He raised his eyebrows at her but Emma didn't seem guilty about scaring Betty. Peter just rolled his eyes before returning his attention to Ned who had already moved the conversation forward. It's not like he could ever stay mad at her anyways.

"So you guys ready for junior year?" Ned asked them in his usual jovial tone. "I just looked up my class schedule the other night. History, physics, calculus, French, English, and I'm taking sculpting 101 as an elective which sucks because art is so boring."

"You're only saying that because you can't draw worth a shit," Michelle retorted and Ned playfully glared at her.

"It sucks that we have to take art because of the credit requirement. It was either that or drama and I'd rather not," Peter said, already knowing he'd probably embarrass himself if he took a drama class. He always thought Emma would be an incredible actress but definitely not him. "At least, Emma and I will have a class together. This year we only have Painting I together and US history."

"You two are so mushy that it makes me sick," Ned complained loudly and sometimes he did feel like a third wheel around Emma and Peter. At least, he had become good friends with Michelle because of that. Michelle turned out to be a pretty decent friend and she wasn't as creepy as he originally thought which was a relief.

"You two should get a room," Michelle added and Emma just smirked into her lemonade as she took a sip from her glass. She and Peter fully planned on getting a room. This was something that had rested in the back of her mind all day because it was finally night and she knew soon it would come time for the moment she and Peter had been thinking about for months. Emma was still very nervous but she was also excited.

"You know, I technically had dibs on Emma first," Ned pointed out in a smug tone and Peter looked at his friend in bewilderment. Even Emma gave him a curious look.

"What are you talking about? You didn't have dibs on Emma," Peter told him and Ned shook his head.

"I asked her out to homecoming, remember? You asked Liz so Emma was all up for grabs," Ned explained to him and Peter scoffed, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"That doesn't mean you had dibs on her. In fact, I'm actually going to bring up something that's been bothering me for a long time," Peter said and the three girls seemed to almost roll their eyes in unison. "You asked Emma to the dance even though you knew I liked her. That's the worst thing a friend can do. That's a total betrayal."

"You asked Liz!" Ned argued and Peter seemed to ignore that. "You can't just call dibs on every single girl. That's completely unfair."

"Yes but you also knew that deep down I liked Emma back then even though I couldn't admit it to myself yet so as my friend you shouldn't have asked her out," Peter ranted which didn't make sense to anyone there. Ned laughed at Peter like he was being ridiculous. "It was your duty as my friend to not ask Emma out."

"You're acting like Emma and I made out at the dance," Ned said in disbelief and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"And would you have?" Peter questioned and Ned shrugged.

"I don't know," Ned said, looking nervous as Peter clenched his jaw and glared at him. "I thought maybe if the night went well that maybe we'd kiss at the dance."

"Wait, what?" Emma said incredulously as she turned to look at Ned. This was the first time she was hearing about this. She should've known Leeds offer to go to the dance as friends wasn't as innocent as he made it seem.

Fucking men.

"Yeah, but then the stuff happened," Ned said awkwardly, throwing a glance in Betty's direction because he knew he couldn't mention Spider-Man and Viper around her. She was the only person currently there that didn't know about Peter and Emma's superhero alter egos. "And hey, you two are together now so yay! Now you get to kiss her and go out with her. I mean, it would be pretty cool to date someone who's a…I mean, someone _cool_ like Emma but you really scare me."

"I'm glad," Emma said but refrained from threatening Ned since she was in the company of Betty. She couldn't really say the stuff she wanted to with Betty around.

"I can't believe you were going to kiss Emma," Peter grumbled, glaring into the fire and Emma wondered why Peter was so pissed off. It's not like Ned had actually kissed her or anything. Planning to do something was way different than actually doing it. "That's crossing the line. That's what Lancelot did to King Arthur."

"What?!" Ned exclaimed and Peter nodded furiously.

"Yeah, Lancelot stole Guinevere from King Arthur because he was a terrible friend that obviously didn't value King Arthur's friendship," Peter accused and Emma just looked at her boyfriend in shock.

"Since when did you study King Arthur?" Emma questioned, not knowing how Peter suddenly knew so much about the lore behind King Arthur. Peter then paused in his anger and took a moment to blush.

"I actually saw _Avalon High_ on Disney Channel when I was a kid," Peter admitted reluctantly causing Michelle and Betty to snort but Emma didn't know what that meant.

"King Arthur was the chick in that movie. Lancelot stole Guinevere from the _Wizards of Waverly Place_ werewolf dude," Ned argued and Peter groaned in frustration. "He didn't steal Guinevere from the girl."

"Yes, I know that but-"

"Can you idiots shut the fuck up for once," Michelle said as she stood up, glaring at the two boys who grew quiet at the livid look on Michelle's face. The dark haired girl seemed to have gotten tired of their male bullshit.

"Let me get one thing clear," Michelle started to say as she crossed her arms. "You don't call dibs on girls because this isn't the nineties. This is the modern age where girls can be with whoever they want. Not because of some dibs bullshit."

"I didn't mean it like that," Peter mumbled and Michelle sneered.

"I know what you meant but who fucking cares if Ned took Emma to the dance a year ago," Michelle pointed out to him. "It doesn't matter because she's here with you now. She's her own woman and she can pick who she chooses to be with. She's with you because she wants to be. Not because you and Ned have your stupid dibs thing."

"But, MJ-" Peter tried to argue but Michelle wasn't having it.

"She can also dump your sorry ass if she feels like it too so I would keep that in mind for the future," Michelle said, finally ending her empowering speech. Betty watched her in awe and even Emma was impressed. "Emma doesn't need a man. She's a badass woman who can do whatever the fuck she wants when she wants."

"Please continue to yell at Peter, MJ," Emma told her friend, looking highly amused. "It's really funny."

"Well, someone has to tell that boy to get his head out of his ass since you can't talk with his dick in your mouth all the time," Michelle grumbled and Ned choked on his beer while Peter's face turned a bright shade of red. Betty looked between Emma and Peter with wide eyes while Emma just playfully glared at her friend.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Emma retorted before rolling her eyes. Peter turned to look at his girlfriend in disbelief.

"You told her?!" Peter exclaimed and Emma scoffed.

"Don't act like you don't brag to Ned about us," Emma told him and Peter immediately grew quiet at that.

"Look, I'm sorry about the dibs thing, Emma," Peter apologized sincerely. "I don't want you to feel like you're my property."

"I don't give a shit about dibs," Emma said in annoyance. "I called dibs on you too so we're even. Betty's a witness to that."

"Unfortunately I am," Betty said quietly, trying to forget how scary the tall blonde was when she wanted to be.

"I can't fucking believe this," Michelle said, looking very disappointed with Emma. "You have all this…I mean, you're you and yet you let it all go to waste. You could be fucking Wonder Woman. You could start a revolution as Wonder Woman."

"No thanks," Emma said dismissively. "Wonder Woman means an island full of women and an island full of women means an island without Papa."

"What about me?!" Peter said, looking offended by Emma's statement. "What about Steve? Aren't Steve and I on this island too?"

"Yeah, sure," Emma agreed but Peter pouted because he knew her dad would always come first. He wasn't jealous or anything. He knew what her dad meant to her and he also knew that Emma was fiercely protective over a man who was probably the last person on earth who needed protecting. "You guys too."

"Who's Steve?" Betty asked and the other four teenagers suddenly remembered that she was there. Peter cleared his throat awkwardly before answering.

"Steve is uh…Emma's cousin. Yeah, her cousin," Peter lied and he knew it was a lame excuse but Betty seemed none the wiser. Emma didn't look impressed with his lie but she didn't say anything.

"Okay. Cool," Betty said, deeming that Steve wasn't that interesting of a person to know more about. She was probably right. Emma loved Steve but he could be boring sometimes but an adorable kind of boring.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm ready for some smores," Ned said, changing the subject and Michelle raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is food really on your mind? You and Peter were fighting a second ago."

"But we settled that argument," Ned told her. "Emma and Peter are together and it's all water under the bridge. Right, Peter?"

"Yeah, totally," Peter said dumbly, looking to have already forgotten his argument with Ned. Emma, Michelle, and Betty were at a lost. "Do you have the marshmallows over there?"

"Yeah, I'll toss you and Emma one of the bags," Ned told him and Betty just stared at them in wonder.

"Boys…" She trailed off and the other two girls nodded in agreement. Boys tended not to hold grudges and not holding a grudge was a foreign concept to Emma. Holding a grudge was like another superpower to her.

"Here," Peter said quietly as he took his jacket off and put it around Emma. "It's starting to get cold."

"I don't get cold, Peter. You know that," Emma whispered softly to him and Peter just smiled before shaking his head.

"Well, just in case then," Peter told her before getting up from the chair he was sitting in to go retrieve the bag of marshmallows instead of having Ned toss him one. His reflexes were superhuman and he was afraid he'd give away too much to Betty. The girl was an aspiring journalist so he didn't want to give her anything to stick her nose in.

Peter was back a moment later with not only the bag of marshmallows in his arms but a Hershey's chocolate bar and a box of graham crackers too. Emma gave him an amused smile at the excited look on his face as he sat back down next to her. She adored how excited he looked for something so simplistic.

"Yay! Smores time!" Peter said happily as he started opening the bag of marshmallows.

"You know, I've never actually had smores before," Emma told her boyfriend and Peter immediately stopped what he was doing, slowly turning to look at his girlfriend. She could've just told him that aliens were invading the earth(which wouldn't be the first time in the world they lived in) and he would've looked at her the same way.

"What?!" Peter said, sounding appalled and shocked by what she said. Emma shrugged.

"I said I've never had smores before," Emma repeated and Peter stared at her dumbstruck. "They weren't really in great supply in Siberia."

"Right, sorry but sometimes I just forget that you haven't tried a lot of things…that you've missed out on a lot of things," Peter remarked sadly but Emma didn't seem sad. Just curious. That was probably what bothered him the most. "I have an idea for this year."

"What?" Emma questioned in confusion. Peter gave her that goofy smile that came over his face whenever he got excited about something. Especially a new idea.

"We should make a list of everything you haven't tried or done and we should do it all," Peter told her excitedly and Emma couldn't help but smile back at him because his smile was so infectious. "It's wrong that you haven't had smores until now but what else haven't you tried?"

"I don't know. I've never had those things at Star Bucks," Emma told him after thinking about it for a second. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What things?" He asked her and Emma shrugged, trying to think of a way to explain it.

"Those things," Emma attempted to clarify but Peter was still confused. "They look like lollipops but they're not. They have sprinkles on them."

"Cake pops? Are you talking about cake pops?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"I guess so."

"Fine, then I'll buy you a bunch of different flavors of cake pops so you can see what one you like," Peter promised her.

"I've never had a slushie either," Emma added and Peter chuckled.

"Then I'll get you a slushie too," Peter promised her once again. "We'll make a day of it. I'll buy a ton of stuff for you to try and we'll try everything together. Just you and me."

"Papa too?" Emma asked, her eyes full of hope and even excitement. Peter should've been disappointed that she wanted to include her father in everything she did but he couldn't find it in himself to be disappointed. He was just happy that she was happy. Peter realized that he was going to have to share Emma with her father but he was okay with that. Even if the man hated him with a burning passion.

"Of course," Peter told her sincerely and Emma seemed happy with that. He then patted his lap, gesturing for her to take a seat. It wasn't suggestive or anything. It was entirely innocent. "Come here and I'll show you how to make a smore."

"Why do you have to make it? Why can't we buy it already made?" Emma questioned and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Because half the fun is making it," He tried to explain to her but he knew he was just going to have to show her himself. That was the only way to do it. "Now get over here."

Emma sighed but did as he told her anyways. She took a seat on his lap but noticed that he didn't blush for once. He seemed entirely too focused on getting the marshmallows out of the bag but Emma wasn't offended. She thought he was actually really cute with that crease that formed in between his eyebrows and the adorable way his tongue slightly poked out of his mouth in look then faded when he grabbed one of the camping forks.

"What is that?" Emma questioned.

"A camping fork."

"What does it do?"

"It's not what it does," Peter tried to explain to the curious blonde as he began to stick the marshmallow on the camping fork. "It's what it's for. See, you're supposed to put the marshmallow on the fork."

"Oh…" Emma said, looking perplexed by how simple it actually was. When Peter first lifted up the camping fork she thought it was some kind of weapon.

"Here, you try," Peter told her as he handed her a marshmallow. Emma stared at the marshmallow for a second, looking entirely confused by the whole thing. She didn't think she had ever seen a marshmallow before let alone eaten one. The teenager then slowly pierced the marshmallow with the fork. "See? Easy."

"I think you're forgetting that this isn't my first time stabbing something," Emma couldn't help but quip and Peter rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Funny," Peter remarked before then taking the camping fork with one hand and then grabbing Emma's hand with the other. He placed the fork in her hands much to his bewilderment. "Now just take the camping fork like this and stick the marshmallow in the fire. See? Like what Ned and MJ are doing."

"In the fire?" Emma questioned doubtfully and Peter nodded.

"Yes, the fire. You trust me, don't you?" Peter asked her and Emma's gaze softened as she looked back at him. She nodded silently.

"Of course," She told him and Peter smiled at her before placing his hands on her hips, holding her more securely to him. Emma realized that she couldn't possibly feel safer anywhere else.

"Then do it," He told her and without hesitating anymore, Emma stuck the marshmallow in the fire. She watched as the marshmallow rested in the flames of the fire.

"It'll toast and become all gooey in the middle so when it's done toasting we'll put it on top of the chocolate and graham cracker," Peter started explaining to her as she listened while watching the marshmallow toast. "Then we'll but the other graham cracker on top of it."

"Like a sandwich?" She questioned and Peter nodded, a large grin coming over his face.

"I've never thought of it like that but yes," Peter answered her. "But only the best kind of sandwich in the world."

"Even better than Delmar's?" Emma joked and Peter laughed.

"Even better than Delmar's," He said in agreement. "Just don't tell Mr. Delmar I said that."

"Then what?" She asked him and there was a childlike look of wonder on her face that Peter wasn't used to seeing. Emma looked overwhelmingly beautiful as the glow of the fire illuminated her face. Peter loved seeing this side of her. There were little moments like this where she forgot the world around her and just lived life as a teenager. Peter was grateful for those little moments.

"Then we eat it."

"How do we know it's done toasting?" Emma asked him and Peter tore his gaze away from her before looking at the marshmallow. He moved her arm back swiftly when he saw that the marshmallow was done, helping her pull the marshmallow away from the fire.

"When it's dark around the edges like that," Peter informed her and Emma watched in awe as Peter then maneuvered his hands in front of her, placing the plate with the half assembled smore on her lap. She stared closely as he carefully used the top piece of graham cracker to scrape the marshmallow from the fork. Looking something like a blob, the marshmallow plopped on top of the piece of chocolate and the other piece of graham cracker. Peter quickly placed the top piece of graham cracker on top of the gooey marshmallow and smiled in satisfaction at his masterpiece.

"See? It's all done," Peter said in satisfaction and Emma looked unsure of the thing sitting on a plate in her lap.

"It looks like a pile of goo," Emma told him honestly but Peter didn't look taken back.

"I know it doesn't look like much but it's really delicious. Trust me," Peter told her and he nodded at her, gesturing for Emma to go ahead and try it. "Just try it."

"I'm only going to do this because I love you," Emma said, still looking unsure about the smore. Peter shook his head in amusement but still smiled at her.

"Eat it," Peter insisted and Emma rolled her eyes but picked up the warm smore. She sniffed it and noticed that it didn't seem to smell disgusting. The blonde finally took a deep breath before deciding to go for it. She took a bite out of the smore and immediately was surprised by the flavor.

It was soft and gooey, yes, but it also seemed to deliciously melt in her mouth. Peter was right. It was one of the best things she had ever tasted. The chocolate was melting together with the marshmallow while the graham cracker was crunchy. It looked really disgusting and not to mention messy but it was also really good. Peter laughed at the wide eyed look on his girlfriend's face.

"Still think it's disgusting?" He said teasingly and Emma didn't have it in her to come up with a smart ass remark like she normally would.

"I admit…I was wrong," Emma said quietly before woofing down the rest of the smore like she was starving all of a sudden.

"I'm probably going to have to make about a dozen more of those with the way you eat," Peter teased, making a dig at Emma's super soldier appetite.

"How do you know so much about smores?" Emma asked curiously once she finished her smore and Peter's smile faded a bit but it didn't completely go away.

"Uncle Ben used to take me camping when I was little," Peter answered her honestly, surprising Emma with information about his uncle who he rarely talked about. "He called it male bonding time since May never wanted to go with us. We just camped for a few days during the summer. He taught me how to make smores, how to fish, and how to set up a tent. Stuff like that."

"You fish?" Emma asked in surprise and Peter chuckled before shaking his head.

"Not really. I was never any good at it. Uncle Ben was way better," Peter said, smiling fondly at the memory. "He was super patient with that kind of thing while I wasn't."

"I never knew any of that," Emma said quietly as she considered the information Peter just gave her.

"I know," Peter said regretfully. "Sometimes it just feels like another life. A life separate from this one. I forget to talk about it. It's not because I'm hiding it from you."

"You're not a person to hide things so I know," Emma told him with a sad smile on her face and Peter returned her smile with a small one of his own. He then took the time to notice that Emma had a bit of chocolate on her face from the smores which was kind of adorable.

"You have some chocolate on your face," Peter told her and Emma blushed from the way he stared at her. His gaze was so intense and unwavering that her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"Really?" Emma questioned but she didn't seem that bothered by the fact that there was chocolate on her face. He nodded.

"Yeah, I should help you…" Peter trailed off.

"Help me…" Emma said in dazed state from the close proximity in between her and Peter as their faces seemed to be growing closer and closer.

"Help clean you up," Peter murmured before his gaze fell to her lips. Emma didn't speak as Peter's lips descended down upon hers, capturing her in a very passionate kiss for the first time during their weekend vacation. The plate in her lap fell to the ground as Peter pulled her in closer, his hand moving to cup her cheek and her eyes fluttered close.

The world around them seemed to fade as it normally did whenever they were together like this. The disgusted look Michelle threw in their direction went ignored. Even Peter's spidey sense seemed to dull whenever he was with Emma like this. She was like a soothing balm to his senses which were usually dialed to eleven. The only thing Peter was aware of was the taste of chocolate and marshmallow on her lips.

The kiss was intense and powerful even though it only lasted for a short moment. It became clear with the kiss that they said everything they needed to in that moment. The kiss was a sign that their night was only just beginning.

The two teenagers pulled away from each other a moment later, their eyes locked onto each other as they both came to the same realization. They were both naturally on the same page without even trying to be. The kiss did all the talking for them.

"I um…I think I want to go to our room," Peter said nervously. He was blushing but he still felt sure of himself and unsure that Emma felt the same way. "If you're okay with that, of course."

"I thought you wanted your smore?" Emma asked him as she also blushed. Peter immediately shook his head.

"I don't want a smore," Peter told her which was the truth. It was true that smores were the only reason he had been so excited for the campfire tonight but after that kiss, the smores were long forgotten. "I-I want you."

Emma grew quiet at the sudden confident look that came over Peter's face as he stared back at her. It took him a moment to gain some confidence but he seemed adamant in getting his message across to her.

He was ready if she was.

"I want you too," Emma told him softly and Peter could feel the excitement coursing through his veins.

Emma wanted him.

She actually wanted him.

"You're ready?" He asked her once more, wanting to know that Emma was sure about this. Peter didn't want to scare her or worse.

"I'm ready," She confirmed with a nod of her head. "Take me to our room, Peter."

That seemed to be enough for Peter as he nodded his head furiously, feeling giddy that the night they both had been waiting for had finally arrived. He was still nervous, of course, but Peter thought he might've been more excited than nervous.

Emma quickly got off his lap and Peter immediately stood up after her. He wanted to grab Emma's hand and practically run into the house as fast as he could but he didn't know how Emma would take that. So he decided to just play it cool and try to act casual about the whole thing. It was the only thing he could think of to do.

"Hey, guys," Peter announced to the other three teenagers sitting around the campfire. Emma placed her hand in his and he gave her hand a squeeze in response. Ned, Michelle, and Betty turned to look at the couple questioningly, wondering why the two teenagers decided it was time to speak to the rest of the world. They were making out a second ago and were all over each other but now they seemed to acknowledge the fact that there were other people aside from each other there.

"So Emma and I are feeling pretty tired so we're probably going to go to bed a bit early tonight," Peter tried to lie even though that was a pretty lame excuse. Michelle raised her eyebrows at them questioningly.

"You're already tired? It's only nine," She told them and Peter shrugged.

"It was a long day with the swimming and all. The sun also makes a person pretty sleepy," Peter continued to lie terribly and Emma watched him in amusement.

"MJ's right. It's only nine," Ned added, siding with the dark haired girl. "I thought we were going to watch _Jaws_ tonight? AMC's playing it on a constant loop."

"It's on Netflix so we can watch it any time," Peter told him but Ned wasn't having it.

"Yeah, but we were going to have a movie night with popcorn and-" Ned started to say but Emma interrupted him, quickly growing impatient with this conversation. She just wanted to go upstairs with Peter and their friends were getting in the way of that.

"Peter and I are going to have sex now. Don't bother us for the rest of the night," The blonde said both loudly and bluntly.

All the teenagers around the campfire fell silent and stared at the couple in shock. Peter blushed again but he didn't scold Emma for being too blunt. In all honesty, he just wanted to go upstairs with Emma and embark on what would probably be one of the best nights of his existence.

"Ew…" Michelle said in disgust while a blush of her own formed on Betty's face but the small blonde didn't say anything. She just avoided looking at Emma and Peter.

"Awesome," Ned said in awe, his eyes wide with wonder. Emma just gave the teenage boy an unimpressed look before turning away and walking back towards the house, practically dragging Peter with her. She didn't notice the way Ned gave Peter an excited thumbs up before mouthing "good luck" to his best friend. Peter could only manage a sheepish smile before quickly and eagerly following his girlfriend to the house. The three teenagers watched as the couple left but none of them said anything until the two were out of ear shot.

"Let's not go back to the house for a while," Michelle grumbled, looking entirely disgusted by their friends' horniness. "From what Emma told me before, Peter moans and I really don't need to know what that sounds like."

"Me neither," Betty said with wide eyes, looking really horrified. Ned nodded as well because he didn't think he wanted to hear what his best friend's moans sounded like either. He and Peter were close but not that close.

"Totally agreed."

* * *

Emma and Peter finally made it back to their bedroom after a mutual silence as they walked up the stairs. Neither knew what exactly to say to the other because they had never done anything like this before. They were both nervous but also excited. However, the silence was broken when they walked into the bedroom and Peter turned to look at Emma with a nervous look on his face.

"Can you um…can you go into the bathroom for a couple minutes?" He asked her quietly and Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why?" She questioned and Peter blushed.

"I just have some stuff I want to set up for tonight," Peter told her shyly and Emma looked at him suspiciously.

"What kind of stuff?" She continued to question. "This isn't where I find out that you have a bunch of creepy sex toys in that suitcase, right?"

"Of course not!" Peter exclaimed before he began pushing her in the direction of the bathroom. Emma allowed him to do so but mostly out of amusement. She was glad Peter kind of broke the ice with his usual dorkiness because suddenly she felt a lot more calm than she did a second ago. Emma laughed at how dorky he was being. "I just have stuff that I want to set up so tonight will be perfect. Now wait in the bathroom and I'll come and get you in a couple minutes."

"Ugh! Fine but I better not come out of this room and find a sex swing, Parker," Emma quipped as Peter finally shoved her into the bathroom before slamming the door close. "I'll tell Steve."

"Don't be gross. It's just a surprise," Peter said from the other side of the door and Emma could hear him bustling around the room. She rolled her eyes before crossing her arms.

"I hate surprises," Emma grumbled.

"Well, I'm hoping you'll love this one," Peter told her and Emma could hear the smile in his voice which was infectious as it would seem. She started smiling as well as she waited in the bathroom for Peter to finish whatever it was he was doing.

While Emma was locked in the bathroom, she figured she might as well freshen up for tonight. The blonde examined herself in the mirror and noticed that her hair could probably use a brush right about now. She grabbed her hairbrush from the counter and started brushing her long blonde hair so she didn't look so disheveled.

Then Emma went through her entire appearance.

She brushed her teeth so they were minty fresh with no taste of chocolate or marshmallow on her breath before flossing and using mouth wash while she was at it.

Emma could hear her boyfriend moving stuff around the room and while she was curious, she ignored it for the time being and reapplied some make-up too. Michelle probably would've made fun of her for being such a girl but Emma was suddenly self-conscious about her appearance. She knew what tonight was which meant that Emma wanted everything to be perfect.

After she was finished reapplying her mascara, Emma took a moment to look back at her reflection in the mirror. Emma didn't think she looked like anything out of the ordinary. She was wearing her navy blue romper covered with cute floral designs and her bare feet felt cold against the hard wood floors. Emma and Peter made the decision to kick off their shoes when they walked into the house from outside. It would save them time and energy when taking off their clothes.

She realized that this was all still new.

The blonde continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror and she wondered if this was the face of a girl who was about to have sex with their boyfriend for the first time. Emma didn't really know what she was supposed to look like during pre-first time sex. She wasn't a virgin but this was still nerve-wracking because it was the first time it was her choice and the notion of it being her choice made Emma feel empowered.

However, there was one thing Emma noticed about herself that was certain.

She didn't look scared.

Which was good because she didn't feel scared either.

"Okay, I think I'm ready for you to come out now," Peter called out to her and Emma finally looked away from her reflection in the mirror. She quickly shed the jacket Peter lent her earlier and hung it on the towel rack by the shower. Emma then took a deep breath before exhaling as she waited for Peter to open the door.

"Can you close your eyes?" Peter asked her from the other side of the door. Emma stared at the still closed door in disbelief.

"Why do I have to close my eyes?" She questioned.

"Because it's a surprise," Peter told her.

"I still don't get why I have to close my eyes," Emma argued and normally Peter would sigh tiredly before bickering with her but he was too excited to do either.

"Please just close your eyes," Peter pleaded with her and Emma could hear the happiness in his voice which, in turn, made her feel even more excited for what the evening had in store for them. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her blood pulsing through her veins. Not from the nerves but just from the excitement. "For me?"

"Fine," Emma finally said, knowing that she couldn't resist Peter when he begged her for stuff. The blonde shut her eyes and a moment later she could hear the door to the bathroom creak open.

"Are they closed?" Peter asked her and Emma scoffed.

"Obviously."

"Then it's time for your surprise," Peter told her softly and she could feel him wrap his arm around her as he started leading her out of the bathroom.

When he led her out into the bedroom, Emma could hear music playing in the background at a low volume. The music didn't sound like the kind of music she normally listened to. Not Lana Del Rey's sad and morbid ballads about a dead lover nor was it Father John Misty's folksy rock songs about the world ending. It was slower but more sensual at the same time.

"You can open your eyes now," Peter whispered to her and Emma's eyes immediately shot open. The soft lighting in the now darker room filling her line of vision.

The room wasn't entirely dark though.

There seemed to be several candles littered around the area surrounding the bed, giving the room a soft glow. She could smell that the candles were scented. A pleasant floral smell filled her nostrils as she gazed curiously around the room that Peter had decorated. She could feel her boyfriend's nervous gaze on her as she walked closer to the bed, taking note of the fake floral petals he had littered across it.

"Are those blankets from my room?" Emma questioned as she noticed a couple familiar blankets from her bedroom. A soft blue throw she had stolen from Steve some time ago and then the Slytherin themed blanket that Darcy had given her a couple Christmases ago.

"I thought you might be more comfortable if I brought something from home," Peter explained and for a second he worried that maybe Emma wasn't okay with that. However, he was relieved when she gave him a small smile, her eyes lit up with appreciation.

"Thank you. That's very sweet," Emma murmured as she returned her gaze to the rest of the room. Peter nervously shifted his weight to the other foot as he anxiously watched her examine all the changes he made to the room.

"You don't think this is too cheesy, do you?" Peter asked her worriedly as he started second guessing himself. Emma turned back to look at him.

"I think it's incredibly cheesy," Emma told him and Peter was about to apologize to her when her gaze suddenly softened as she looked at him. "But I love it because it's something only you would do."

"I just want tonight to be special," Peter said softly, feeling relieved that Emma didn't hate the room.

"Where did you get the candles anyways?" Emma inquired as she tried to make small talk with Peter which was unusual for her. She always got annoyed when people tried to make small talk but Emma didn't know what else to say or do in a situation like this. Emma didn't know how to act normal.

"They're actually May's candles. I think she got them from Bath and Body Works or something," Peter mentioned to her as he joined in on the small talk. He was also clueless on what to do.

"It's probably a fire hazard. This house is entirely made of wood," Emma noted and Peter's eyes widened, wondering if he made a huge mistake with the candles. "There's literally wood everywhere."

"Do you think the candles are a bad idea?" Peter asked worriedly. "I can blow them out."

"No, keep them," Emma told him, sounding positive about the candles. "The thought of probably setting Flash's house on fire kind of turns me on."

Peter smiled although his face got a little redder at Emma's remark. However, he was kind of relieved in a way because Emma flirting was her usual behavior. Maybe they were both getting more comfortable with the situation at hand.

"I'm pretty sure that would make you a pyromaniac," Peter informed her and Emma shrugged.

"Not if Flash's house is the only one I'd get pleasure from burning down," Emma retorted and Peter chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at her.

They grew silent again.

Emma and Peter weren't sure how to start this which was weird because usually they had no problem with anything else. Her and Peter fooled around all the time but that was different because it always just happened in the moment. It was never planned like this was. Tuesday wasn't Peter and Emma's designated day for fooling around. There wasn't a designated day for any of it.

It just happened.

"You look really beautiful tonight," Peter started to say before he swallowed hard, wondering if maybe he said the wrong thing. "Not that you don't look beautiful all the time or that I think you have more value because of that but-"

"Peter," Emma interrupted, giving him a small smile and her eyes were suddenly filled with warmth. "Thank you."

"You put more make-up on," Peter observed after staring at her face for a moment. Emma's eyes widened and she blushed.

"No, I didn't," Emma immediately denied and Peter nodded, knowing that he was right.

"Yes, you did. Your make-up looks different than it did an hour ago," Peter told her and Emma looked embarrassed. Peter immediately felt guilty because he hadn't meant to make her feel bad.

"Whatever," She muttered and Peter feared that maybe he ruined everything.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you," Peter rambled, reaching for her hand and taking it in his own. "You didn't have to put more make-up on for me. Not that I'm saying that's why you wear make-up but I just want you to know that I think you look just as pretty without it."

"Peter, stop," Emma said, becoming more embarrassed the longer he went on about it but Peter just continued to ramble on. He always did that whenever he was happy or nervous about something. For some reason, Emma knew that he was probably both.

"Even that morning at the compound when you came out of your room and you hadn't brushed your hair yet and it was all tangled," Peter told her, smiling at her affectionately. "You ran back to your room because I saw your face without make-up but I thought you looked beautiful."

"You're not making this better," Emma grumbled and Peter started wondering how he was going to make this better.

"Look, I don't know how to do this and I'm scared of messing it up," Peter finally said when he realized that he still didn't know how to talk to girls even after all this time with Emma. This was still new to him in a way and not to mention that Emma was a very different kind of girl. He probably wouldn't ever figure out how to completely understand her.

"You're not messing it up," Emma said, feeling bad for making him think that he was. She gave him a small smile. "I don't really know why I fixed my make-up. I don't necessarily think it was just for you but I also wanted to…I don't know. It just makes me feel more comfortable, I guess."

"Your make-up?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded.

"I feel like people can see me without it," Emma said quietly, sharing something with Peter that she was even embarrassed to admit to herself. "Like, really see me. All the things I've seen and done. I don't really feel that way around you but I guess it's a force of habit."

"I never knew you felt that way," Peter said softly and Emma shrugged.

"It probably sounds really stupid," Emma said as she avoided Peter's gaze. Peter just shook his head.

"No, it doesn't," Peter told her comfortingly before his gaze softened and Emma looked back to meet his eyes. "And I really see you but I don't see what happened in your past. I see a girl who's like one of the smart people I've ever met. Like, you can have these super intellectual debates with Vision about Ernest Hemmingway and Edgar Allan Poe. You always win those debates too. You're also a huge Harry Potter nerd."

"I'm not a nerd. You're a nerd," Emma said immaturely and Peter playfully rolled his eyes.

"You took the Sorting Hat _and_ the Patronus Charm quiz on Pottermore. I'm pretty sure that means you're a nerd," Peter retorted before continuing to go over all the reasons he loved Emma and ignoring how she pouted at him for calling her a nerd. "I also see a girl who can totally kick ass and you have a comeback for everything. You can bicker with Tony fucking Stark for hours and you always have the last word. He's no match for you."

"You're right about one thing," Emma admitted, already knowing that she always won when it came to insulting Tony.

"I see a girl who's the best artist in the entire world. You can draw or paint anything and it looks like a masterpiece," Peter praised and Emma wasn't sure she believed him about that. She was pretty sure Peter was just biased when it came to her. "You're fiercely protective of everyone you care about. I feel pity for the person who would ever lay a hand on your dad or Steve. Even Tony."

"Or you," Emma said softly and Peter gave her a small smile before continuing.

"You don't like anyone knowing it but I know you're kind too. I know that's why you went to the dance with Ned and why you risked your life to save that little boy on the ferry all those months ago," Peter told her sincerely and Emma looked at him in silence. "Mr. Stark also told me about how you used to sit in the lab with him after his and Pepper's break up because you didn't want him to be alone."

"I liked watching Tony wallowing in his own misery," Emma said nonchalantly as she tried to dismiss what her boyfriend was saying but Peter's smile didn't waver. He just shook his head at her.

"It's okay if you don't want anyone to know how kind you are because I know," Peter said, not letting Emma fool him for a moment. "I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I didn't think you were a kind person."

"I really see you, Emma, and I hope someday you'll let other people see you too," Peter said, his gaze not faltering and Emma felt like she always did whenever he looked at her like that. She found that was even starting to believe him when he talked about her like that.

"I feel the same way about you," Emma said softly, feeling like she was being pulled into his warm brown eyes as they bore into her own. "I know I'm not as good at putting my feelings into words like you are but you're one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I also know MJ would get pissed at me for putting so much value in a man giving me happiness but it's nothing to do with that."

Emma took a deep breath before continuing.

"You're my best friend too and you've shown me that there's more to life than just superheroes and fighting," Emma told him, so much affection and love in her voice that Peter became lost entirely in her. Everything from her blue eyes, her smile, and the way she looked at him. "I'll never forget that. I'm so unbelievably happy. More happy than I've been in a-or maybe just more happy that I've ever been because I don't ever remember feeling happy like this. I have you and Papa. Steve left but we still keep in contact. I'm just getting at the fact that I don't feel sad anymore. I haven't in a while."

"I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy," Peter promised her and Emma didn't say it but her eyes told him she felt exactly the same. She wanted to spend the rest of her life making him happy too. Peter just smiled as he gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and suddenly the conversation began to take a different turn. "Which is why I really want tonight to be perfect for you. I just don't really know how to…start this. I mean, I know how obviously and how everything works but…"

"You're just nervous?" Emma guessed and Peter smiled before nodding. She returned his smile with one of her own.

"I'm nervous too," Emma told him honestly and Peter felt comforted by the fact that he wasn't the only one who was nervous. "I don't really know how people start this either. In movies they seem to show a couple kissing and then it cuts to them having sex. What happens in between?"

"I noticed that too," Peter said, laughing nervously. "But maybe we don't have to do anything right away."

"What do you mean?" She asked him in confusion.

"Maybe we could just dance?" Peter suggested, gesturing to the music that was playing softly in the background.

"Dance?" Emma asked him and Peter nodded. He felt as though he and Emma easing their way into something more would make everything feel more comfortable.

"Yeah…if you want."

"Okay," Emma said, being more agreeable to dancing than Peter expected. He thought he would've had to talk her into it but Emma honestly didn't mind. She wanted to wait a little longer before they did anything. Why should they rush into it anyways? The night was still very young.

Peter continued to smile at her as he gently put his hands on her hips and Emma hesitantly placed her hands on his shoulders, never confident when it came to dancing. Dancing was probably something she was really bad at. Maybe she and Steve had more in common than she originally thought.

 _Angel, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _Knew you were special from the moment I saw you_

 _I saw you, yeah_

 _I said, angel, oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _I feel you closer every time I call you_

 _I call you_

The song 'Angel' by the Weeknd came on in that second as if on cue. Emma almost laughed because she knew this was exactly what Peter would have on his playlist. He had a penchant for trying to put on songs by the Weeknd whenever they were fooling around in her room together because he seemed to think everyone had sex to the Weeknd's music.

"The Weeknd? Really, Peter?" Emma questioned, raising an eyebrow at him in amusement. Peter blushed.

"I like the Weeknd. What's wrong with the Weeknd?" Peter questioned and Emma laughed as they continued to sway side to side. So maybe it wasn't actually dancing but it was the only dancing either of them knew how to do.

"Nothing. I guess I should've known you'd curate a playlist of songs for us to have sex to," Emma teased him. "You're such a dork. Is Bruno Mars on that playlist too? Ed Sheeran? Beyoncé?"

"No," Peter told her firmly but hesitantly caved in a moment later. "But I might've put Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa on there. Haim too."

Emma froze when he said the last artist. Peter immediately thought he might've said something wrong as Emma just stared silently at him. Peter was about to ask her what was wrong but she spoke before he could.

"You put Haim on our playlist?" Emma asked him quietly and Peter practically melted at the fact that she called it _their_ playlist. Not _his_ but _theirs_.

"They're your favorite band so of course I put them on our playlist," Peter said as if this was a logical explanation. Peter was about to say something else but she interrupted him by crashing her lips against his. Her hand wrapped around the back of his neck as she pulled him closer to her and Peter's grip tightened on her hips. Emma pulled away a second later to look up at him with a look full of adoration.

"I love you," Emma told him even though she probably told him that multiple times that night but they seemed to be the only words she could think of to express what she was feeling. Peter smiled at her, their faces mere inches away from each other. Their breathing was heavy as they gazed at each other and Peter felt like this was the moment.

The moment he had been thinking about for a long time.

"I love you too," He replied and Emma knotted her fingers in his shirt, looking at him with a confident look on her face.

"I'm ready now," Emma told him and Peter's heart was racing in his chest as he stared at her.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked her and Emma nodded, looking very sure of herself. Peter didn't know what to say to her. He seemed to be at a loss for words but he found he didn't have to speak as Emma's lips descended down against his again, pulling him in for another kiss.

 _'_ _Cause all I see are wings_

 _I can see your wings_

 _But I know what I am, and the life I live_

 _The life I live_

 _And even though I sin_

 _Baby we are gonna live_

 _But I know, time will tell if we're meant for this, yeah_

 _If we're meant for this_

Peter and Emma's kiss grew more intense as they traveled to a world that was their own. The Avengers, Spider-Man, Viper, and even their friends outside were far from their minds. When they kissed before, it had been soft and sweet.

Almost innocent.

But the more they kissed, the more hungry the kisses felt. There was a lot of tension building up until this moment but it wasn't until now that they could really act on any of their emotions. There always seemed to be someone around. Someone to walk in on them and ground them but now there was no one around to do any of that.

It was just Emma and Peter alone.

Peter kissed Emma hungrily and she moaned into the kiss as he actually managed to pull her even closer to him. He felt warm against her but she felt warm too. Emma used to think that she couldn't get drunk but maybe she could because whenever Peter kissed her like this, she always felt intoxicated. She couldn't think about anything else but him.

It was all just Peter.

Their tongues battled for dominance as Peter slowly and almost clumsily backed Emma into the direction of the bed. He wasn't really looking where he was going because his eyes were closed and all he noticed was the way Emma felt against him.

They could've knocked into anything at that moment. Even the candles. Peter wouldn't have noticed if the entire house burned down around them. His spidey senses were always out of whack around her. Sometimes she calmed his spidey senses down but times like this, she just set everything on fire.

A small voice in the back of his mind was raving on and on that he was about to have sex but Peter tried to ignore it and stay focused on Emma. Peter thought he was amazing at daydreaming about Emma. The way she fit perfectly in his arms, the way the scent of her shampoo wafted through the air whenever she had just taken a shower, the green flecks in her ocean blue eyes, how her smile always sent his heart soaring, the way she tasted, and the way she moaned. The last two things were recent things he had discovered in the past couple months but everything else was familiar to him. However, there was no more need to daydream because the real thing was in his arms.

Peter broke away from her for a brief moment to glance down at her. Her skin was flushed and she was breathing heavy as she looked up at him, a bit bewildered that he had pulled away from her. She looked up at him with those blue eyes that always captivated him and Peter became a little too aware of the fact that his pants were suddenly tighter against him.

"Is something wrong?" Emma asked in confusion and that finally broke Peter out of his thoughts. He realized that he was driven stupid by the sight of her flushed skin and now swollen lips.

"No, I just-" Peter stopped, blushing as he tried to come up with a way ask this appropriately. "I was wondering if maybe…you would be okay with me taking that off."

He gestured to her romper and Emma realized he meant that he wanted to take the whole thing off her. It was actually really sweet of him to ask instead of just ripping it off her. Peter made it clear during all the times leading up to this moment that they needed to have boundaries. Mostly him just asking her permission for everything to make sure he always had her consent. Emma originally thought the whole thing was stupid and embarrassing but now she saw what he meant. He didn't want her to be scared. He just wanted to make sure she felt safe and comfortable.

"Yes," Emma answered him and Peter's eyes widened a bit as though he were surprised she said yes. She didn't know why since she wanted him to take a whole lot more off of her than just her romper. Emma wanted to take clothes off of him as well.

"Great, that's great," Peter said anxiously as he moved towards her, his hands on her shoulders as he stared at the confusing article of clothing she was wearing. He soon realized he had no idea how to take this thing off her. There was no zippers or buttons.

"Peter?" Emma said, capturing his attention.

"Hmmm," He murmured as he still stared at the romper, completely perplexed by it.

"Why are you just standing there?" She questioned and Peter blushed again, feeling embarrassed that he didn't even know how to take his girlfriend's clothes off.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to get this thing off," Peter finally said honestly. "Emma, there's no zippers or buttons. How do you go to the bathroom? Are you trapped in this thing?"

"Don't be silly," Emma told him and even though Peter was acting like a dork, she felt a little less nervous about what was happening. His dorkiness seemed to be the antidote for any weirdness before sex. "It's not that complicated, Peter."

The blonde then reached for the thin straps of the romper and gently pulled them down. Peter began to get the idea, feeling stupid for thinking of the romper as some sort of complicated math equation, and he pulled the romper down the rest of the way. The confusing article of clothing fell down and pooled down at her feet on the ground. Emma shakily stepped out of the romper, her heart racing in her chest as she tried to lock eyes with Peter but his gaze was no longer on her face.

Peter's gaze fell down to her scantily dressed self. He had gotten glimpses of her bare skin before when they were fooling around or when she quickly got redressed soon after but he never saw her like this. Emma standing in front of him in her bra and panties of which were a matching set. A powder blue color and primarily lace. Peter felt his mind go blank and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her.

"Peter?" Emma questioned after an awkward moment of silence and watching Peter gawk at her. Although she blushing under his gaze, she couldn't help feel a little proud that she got that kind of reaction out of her boyfriend. She supposed she was right to go shopping with Darcy last weekend.

"Those are v-very pretty," Peter complimented her after he broke out of his stupor. He then internally winced at himself because he probably sounded stupid. Peter honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was drooling at this point.

"Thanks. They're new," Emma told him, not knowing how to respond to his awkward compliment. Peter finally looked back up at her, his eyebrows raised.

"A-Are they um…are they for me?" Peter stuttered and he was already afraid to know the answer to that question because he could feel his erection throbbing. Emma shrugged.

"They're for tonight if that's what you mean," She answered coyly and Peter swallowed hard. Emma looked up at him, her eyes searching his as she wondered what Peter had planned next. Usually she would take initiative but during a rare moment in her life, Emma felt unsure of what the next step was.

Did he take his clothes off now too?

Were they supposed to get in bed next?

Or maybe they just stood there and stared at each other like they were doing now. Emma also wondered if they were supposed to have sex over the covers or under. People in movies were always under the covers but Emma just assumed that was because the actors had a no nudity clause but this was real life. There was no nudity clauses involved.

Emma's questions were answered in the next moment when he seemingly took the lead and placed his hands back on her hips but only this time she was more naked. She was also pretty sure they weren't going to dance this time either even though the Weeknd's music was still going on strong in the background.

Peter slowly, but more certainly this time, backed her into the bed until the back of her legs hit it. She sat down quietly as she watched him, wondering what would happen next but her thoughts were interrupted as Peter leaned down to kiss her. She laid back against the blankets he brought from home and Peter positioned himself over her.

It didn't feel awkward or rushed like she thought it would. Somehow it all felt right in that moment as he maneuvered over her and she made room for him in between her legs. As they both got more comfortable, their intense kissing resumed from earlier. Her hand on the back of his neck guided him closer to her and Peter put all his weight onto his arm as he became lost in Emma.

As time went on, their kisses become looser and more desperate. Emma's fingers knotted in Peter's hair, causing him to groan as he pressed himself closer against her looking for sort of relief. There was a thin barrier between them. Just her underwear and his pants but he wanted even less.

When they came up for air a second later, Emma tugged on the edge of Peter's shirt and he immediately knew what she wanted. He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and discarded it, quickly throwing it across the room. Emma froze when he did that and Peter looked down at her in concern, afraid that he scared her or that he was hurting her.

"What is it?" Peter questioned, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath but his brown eyes were full of concern. Emma blushed again.

"Nothing. It was just kind of hot," Emma admitted much to Peter's bewilderment. "You throwing your shirt like that."

"I doubt it but okay," Peter said, suddenly a bit shy. However, he didn't feel like arguing with Emma about her imagining how hot he actually wasn't. She sat up from her position on the bed and her hands immediately went to his belt, causing him to gasp in surprise as she unbuckled the belt. He realized that she was trying to help him out of his pants which meant that they were really moving this thing along.

Peter quickly stepped back off the bed, unzipping his jeans, before pulling them down. He kind of tripped in all his eagerness as he stumbled to step out of them. His face flushed red in embarrassment. When he imagined this moment, he was always very smooth. If there was a way dream Peter took off his pants for dream Emma, it was probably in a sexy way. Not in an awkward, klutzy way.

Emma didn't laugh at him but she looked amused. He was grateful she didn't laugh because he wasn't sure how his ego would take her laughing at him in a time where he wearing nothing but his boxers, the bulge in them clearly on display for her to see. Peter didn't need her laughing at him during a time like that.

"Very smooth, Parker," Emma couldn't help but tease and Peter glared playfully at her.

"Joke's on you. I planned to do that all along," Peter joked and Emma rolled her eyes but she smiled at him nonetheless, admiring Peter in all his glory. From his hair all disheveled, from the way he hurried took his shirt off and her fingers tangling in it, to his defined muscles she used to secretly admire during gym class before they started dating but now got to see all the time. Emma used to roll her eyes at Darcy's stupidity whenever the older woman went on about how she'd lust over a man's v-line all day. Emma now understood Darcy's sentiment about the so called male v-line as her eyes drifted down further south of Peter's body.

"You're a dork," Emma told him and Peter managed to actually smirk at her, further proving the fact that he could pull off being smug better than she ever thought.

"Really? I'm a dork?" Peter flirted with her as he got back on the bed and Emma took that as a cue to lay back down. He moved over her like before and she felt short of breath as he looked down at her like that. His eyes were dilated, dark with lust. She was struggling to think of a retort for his remark because she was sure her eyes were similar at this point.

"A fuckable dork but still a dork," Emma finally managed to say and Peter didn't respond to her with words. He responded by resuming kissing her. This time it felt different because there wasn't as many clothes between them. Her eyes fluttered shut as she knotted her fingers through his brown hair again, wanting him to be even closer to her.

Their kisses soon became quicker and harder, more desperate as they both were eager to progress this night to a place they had never gone before. When Emma nipped his bottom lip, Peter lost restraint and quickly turned his attention to her neck. He began to lead a trail of kisses along the expanse of her neck, sucking on that one particular spot on her neck that he knew drove her crazy.

Peter then started turning his attention elsewhere.

Peter planted kisses on the top of her breasts, causing Emma to gasp at the new sensation. Well, this was new. Not that she and Peter never fooled around but they never really took the time to explore each other's bodies. There wasn't time and most of the time they just wanted to get off but this was really nice. Peter's other hand palmed her other breast and Emma suddenly want to be rid of more of her annoying clothes which only seemed to be getting in the way at this point.

"I'm going to take this off," Peter told her and Emma only nodded hurriedly, not capable of thinking of anything else to say. She sucked in a breath as he reached around her to undo the clasp of her bra but a few seconds passed and he seemed to still be working on it. Peter looked to be in deep concentration as he kept trying to remove the bra but it wasn't working.

"I think your bra's broken," Peter told her, looking a little frustrated. He wondered if Emma would be okay with him ripping it off. He would rip it off in a heartbeat in a life threatening situation. This was sort of a life threatening situation. Her bra was trying to trap her and maybe it was even super uncomfortable for her. Peter was only thinking of her well-being, of course.

"It's not broken. You'll get used to it," Emma told him as she reached behind her and undid the clasp on her bra like it was nothing. Peter got a bit excited at that.

"Used to it?" Peter asked her and Emma giggled at the look on his face. He looked like he just got told he won the lottery. What a dork. "You don't know how happy you've just made me. I'm probably the happiest man on the planet right now."

"Happy because of you taking off my bra or happy because of us having sex?" Emma asked him.

"Both, of course," Peter answered seriously.

"If that's what makes you happy, I already know what I'm getting you for your birthday," Emma told him and a goofy grin crossed his face.

"I didn't even think about sex as a birthday present," Peter said excitedly, already looking forward to his birthday. "But yes. It'll probably be my best birthday ever."

However, the grin slowly faded from his face as Emma's bra straps starting falling down her shoulders. Peter grew very still as he hesitantly but carefully took her bra off the rest of the way. He didn't really know what he did with the bra after that. Peter couldn't remember if he threw it across the room like his discarded t-shirt or if he just simply dropped it on the floor next to the bed.

Peter did know that he probably stared at his girlfriend's boobs for way too long.

He had felt them plenty of times but it was his first time seeing them. It was his first time seeing _any_ boobs, actually. He had seen them on tv or in porn like most teenagers his age but he had never seen them in real life before.

Emma blushed under her boyfriend's gaze which was currently glued to her chest. She fidgeted under his gaze, wondering if maybe he was disappointed. However, her mind was changed a moment later when he reached a hand out and cupped her bare breast in his hand. His eyes met hers and there was a silent question in his brown eyes. He was asking her if this was okay and she nodded quickly, urging him with her eyes to continue so Peter started to experiment more. He already knew how she liked to be touched but it was a bit different with no clothes on.

Emma gasped as he leaned down and returned his attention to her breasts, pressing kisses to the top of them once more. She then felt his tongue swirl around her nipple before taking it into his mouth. His other hand paid attention to her other breast as Emma's head fell back from the new and incredible sensation, her hair splaying across the pillow. Emma fingers gripped his hair tightly as she held him there against her chest and Peter moaned against her breast. Emma felt a heat pooling in her stomach as he continued his ministrations.

"Peter," Emma murmured and it was half way between moaning and calling his name. Peter's head rose up from her chest, locking eyes with her and his eyes were blown wide with so much lust that it made Emma swallow hard.

"I need you," Emma told him, her voice desperate and her face flushed. Peter stared at her for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. He nodded.

"Okay but I just…" Peter tried to speak coherently but it was sort of difficult when Emma was naked in front of him. "I just want for you to be ready first. I don't want to hurt you."

Emma didn't know what he meant at first until his finger moved down to the hem of her underwear which was probably damp at this point. He looked at her almost shyly, telling her with his eyes what he wanted to do but also asking permission. This wasn't the first time Peter had done this but he never failed to ask permission before each time.

"Is this okay?" Peter asked her softly. It was something he asked her often and it wasn't always about sex. It was just something he asked her to make sure she was comfortable no matter the scenario.

"Yes," She confirmed and Peter took a deep breath before sliding her underwear down, reaching down and removing it completely from her. He took a short moment to admire Emma in her complete nakedness. He wanted to tell her she looked beautiful but she warned him of a few things that might trigger memories of her rape and that was one of them. Peter knew he would just have to show her how beautiful he thought she was.

He kissed her shoulder lovingly before his hand trailed down, sliding in between her legs. He groaned as he felt her wetness coating his fingers. Peter never ceased to feel a surge pride wash over him whenever he touched her like this because he knew he was the one making her feel like this. Peter really wanted to taste her but he didn't think he could survive much more foreplay with the anticipation of what would next coming to mind.

Peter started rubbing small circles on her clit and Emma moaned softly. During the past couple months, they learned a lot about each other and what they both liked. Peter seemed to have saved this to memory. Emma really wanted more but it was always wanting more with Peter. It hit her in that second that she was finally going to have more with Peter.

His fingers moved faster against her as he continued to rub and Emma bit her lip, trying not to moan too loudly. She knew she'd never hear the end of it if Michelle overheard her. Peter then slipped a single digit into her, moving slowly and carefully so he wouldn't hurt her. She grabbed his arm tightly, her fingernails digging into his skin, when he started to bend his finger before easing it in and out of her.

"Peter," She cried and Peter felt himself painfully hard against her, rubbing himself against her hip in an attempt to get some relief.

"More?" He panted. She nodded furiously and he carefully slipped another finger into her. Emma always felt like an impending orgasm was like a rollercoaster. She could feel herself getting higher and higher until that point where she reached the top and it was like an incredible fireworks kind of feeling before coming down from it. Right now, Emma felt herself getting closer and closer to that point. Especially when Peter's thumb started rubbing against her clit again.

"Peter, I'm close," She told him and he suddenly stopped much to Emma's shock and disappointment. Emma looked up at him, desperately searching his eyes for an answer.

"Why did you stop?" She almost whined as he slipped his fingers out of her. Peter blushed, swallowing hard as he looked down at her. Her hair was splayed across the pillow, her face flushed red, and her eyes wide with desire. Emma didn't just look beautiful in that moment but she looked enchanting too. It was only starting to dawn on Peter that she was all for him. She, for some strange reason, wanted him and Peter was still in disbelief over his luck.

"I want you to when I'm…" Peter tried to think of words to describe what he wanted. "When I'm in you."

"Oh…" Emma trailed off and Peter locked eyes with her. "I want that too."

"Are you ready?" Peter asked her softly and Emma nodded because she never felt more ready than in that moment. This was something she had wanted for a while now and it never felt more right until now.

"Yes." Emma said, sounding completely sure of herself and Peter took a deep breath before he started discarding his boxers. He annoyingly struggled a little as he fought to get them off from around his ankles but he finally succeeded. Peter turned back to notice that he had Emma's complete attention.

Her gaze traveled further south until she stopped at his throbbing member. He blushed even though he didn't know why. She had seen his penis before but he didn't think he had been entirely naked in front of her before like this and it was definitely something new.

"Do you have a condom?" Emma asked him as her eyes darted back to his face a moment later. Her words didn't compute for Peter until a second later when his brain made the connection.

Condoms…sex.

"Yeah, I left them on the nightstand," Peter told her before quickly leaning over and grabbing the box of condoms. They weren't condoms he had purchased himself but instead Peter had walked into his room at the compound a couple weekends ago and found them sitting there on his bed with a note attached.

 _'_ _No Spider Viper babies please'_

 _-TS_

It seemed like Mr. Stark didn't trust that he would remember to buy his own condoms. The gesture was both nice and weird at the same time. Peter chose not to tell Emma that Tony had gotten them condoms because he knew that it would kill the mood. He hurriedly opened the box, his hands shaking from the anticipation. His hand rifled through the box before he quickly pulled out a thin square containing the condom.

The teenage boy carelessly threw the box away from him and moved back over to the bed. He paused as he remembered that he actually had to put the condom on. He tore the wrapper away with shaky hands, pulling the condom out before staring at it and trying to recall what Coach Wilson taught them in Sex Ed with the cucumber demonstration.

"Are you having trouble?" Emma asked him with a raised eyebrow as she watched him struggle to put the condom on. Peter blushed because this wasn't going as smoothly as he planned.

"No," Peter denied and Emma was starting to get a little impatient because she wanted him now. Growing tired of waiting, Emma sat up and helped him. She took the condom and slowly rolled it up his length and Peter shivered from her hand gripping him as she slipped the condom on.

"Fuck, Emma," Peter groaned, trying to maintain some amount of control. Emma surprisingly didn't smirk at him like she usually did whenever she teased him. She wasn't really in the teasing mood anymore.

She just wanted Peter.

"I didn't think it was possible to get more turned on until you swore just now," Emma told him and anyone might've thought she actually was teasing him in that moment but she was actually being completely serious. Whenever Peter swore it was a huge turn on for her. Probably because he rarely ever swore.

"I didn't really think it was possible for you to get wetter than when I touched you just now," Peter said a bit smugly as he climbed over her and Emma opened her legs up for him, making more room for him in between her legs. She blushed a lovely shade of red from his comment.

"I've finally corrupted you, haven't I?" Emma asked him, trying not to let his words arouse her even more than she already was.

"Yeah but I don't really mind," Peter said, giving her that warm teasing smile of his that always sent her heart soaring. He then leaned down and kissed her slowly. The kiss didn't feel sexual or passionate, it was slow and sweet. The kiss was a promise. Despite his suggestive remark from a second ago, Peter was promising to be gentle with her and patient. It was more than what she had ever asked for.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Peter asked her for probably the fifth time that night. Emma just gave him a small smile before nodding.

"I'm one hundred percent sure, Peter," Emma told him, sounding certain. His gaze softened as he looked down at her.

"If you ever want to stop then just tell me and I will," Peter told her and she knew a part of him was worried despite how excited he was for this. They talked a lot about boundaries during the past couple months. Peter was worried about triggering flashbacks about her rape but the thing was that Emma didn't feel scared. This didn't feel like the same thing whatsoever. Maybe because this was her choice but Emma didn't even relate what happened in the past to this moment.

"Okay," She told him softly and Peter smiled at her again before leaning down to kiss her.

This time the kisses were full of longing which quickly built to a raw intensity that caused Emma to tangle her fingers in his hair again which seemed to be her favorite thing to do tonight. They both gasped when her breasts brushed against his chest and that seemed to feed into their hunger for each other.

Peter then broke away from her lips and started to lead a trail of kisses down her neck, taking his time despite the overwhelming need he had for her, before finally ending at her breasts as he seemed quite content with taking one of them in his mouth while cradling the other one in his hand. She moaned with need as Peter gently bit down on her nipple and suddenly she really needed more.

"Peter, I…" Emma trailed off, not sure how tell him how much she wanted him and how much she was ready. Peter pulled away from her neck to look down at her. Her face was flushed which looked lovely against her otherwise pale skin. Her blue eyes locked onto his face, her gaze not leaving him.

Peter swallowed hard before nodding.

Okay…so he was going to do this. He and Emma were finally doing this. Peter told himself to be cool and not freak Emma out even though inside his head he was jumping up and down with joy. Peter then gripped his length with his hand and slowly started guiding himself into Emma.

Emma tensed up as Peter slowly eased himself into her. Not because she was in pain or anything but it just felt different. She didn't really know how to describe the feeling other than the fact that it felt different.

Peter forced himself not to moan at the new sensation that washed over him. He always read about how good sex was supposed to feel and he saw stuff in movies but he never knew that it felt _this_ good. Peter hadn't even really moved yet and he was overcome with all these new euphoric feelings. Maybe this was why people had sex all the time. If it felt this good and it was only the beginning then he could definitely see himself wanting more.

Peter carefully eased into her until he was completely buried inside her and only then did he stop to look down and check on Emma who lying beneath him. He wanted to moan yet again at the way she felt around him and he also had the urge to start moving but he retained his self-control because he needed to make sure she was okay. His brown eyes looked down at her in concern.

"Am I hurting you? Do you want me to stop?" Peter asked her and Emma shook her head.

"No, it doesn't hurt but I…" Emma trailed off as she tried to find the words to convey how she was feeling. "I think I just need a couple seconds to adjust to your um…your size."

"Oh, okay," Peter said, willing to do anything to make this more comfortable for Emma.

Emma didn't think Peter was a scary big size. Not that she had a lot to compare him to. She just thought that he was bigger than average but thankfully not Thor huge. While it definitely wasn't Thor sized, Emma still needed some time to adjust to it.

"Can you just kiss me in the meantime?" Emma asked him and Peter nodded. Otherwise, Emma would've felt awkward just laying there as Peter waited for her to tell him it was okay to move.

He happily leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. She quite contently kissed him back as she tried not to think too hard about the situation at hand. At the fact that she and Peter were having sex which was crazy because even though they talked about it a lot in the past, it was finally happening.

"You can move now," Emma told him almost shyly once she pulled her face away to look up at him with eyes filled with certainty. Peter felt his heart leap out of his chest before he nodded and started doing what she said.

As he started moving, his thrusts were slow and a little unsure because he was only sixteen and this was his first time ever having sex. Every single thing he did was filled with uncertainty. Emma still seemed a bit tense so he was assuming she was still adjusting.

Emma started to worry that maybe she wouldn't find sex pleasurable. Maybe she was screwed up for life and she wouldn't be able to have something like this with Peter. However, before she could overthink it anymore, one of Peter's thrusts was a little deeper than before and she gasped.

Peter stopped what he was doing and looked at her worriedly.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Peter asked her in a panic and it seemed he was asking her that a lot tonight. Emma furiously shook her head, blushing as she looked up at him.

"No, it um…" She suddenly felt embarrassed but said it anyways. "It felt good."

"Oh," Peter said as he started thinking and then he started moving again. As he set them at a set pace, Peter managed to thrust a couple times deeper and marveled at the expression on Emma's face when he did so. Her breathing became sharper and she dug her fingernails into his skin, her hands on his back trying to clutch him closer to her.

Emma started finally understanding what all the fuss surrounding sex was about. She was feeling increasingly hotter by the second as Peter slid in and out of her. There was a tightness in her stomach and she felt intoxicated on all these new feelings. She didn't know if it was because of Peter moving or if it was the look on his face or the moaning of her name when he buried himself deep inside her.

Peter made one of those deep thrusts that really drove Emma crazy and she bucked her hips against his, causing them both to moan. From then on, their hips seemed to move in a rhythm of their own. It was kind of sloppy and awkward but it seemed to do the trick for the both of them as Emma started getting that rollercoaster feeling again, she thought the foreplay from earlier definitely helped, and Peter was struggling not to let go right then.

He kissed her sloppily in the midst of their hips moving frantically against each other while they both chased their release. When he pulled away, Peter slightly changed angles and Emma inhaled sharply at how different it felt but a good different. Peter so badly wanted to lean down and bury his face in her neck, losing himself in the sweet scent of her hair and all the sounds she was making but he didn't because he knew he wanted to see her face when she became undone.

"A-Are you close?" He panted as he stared down at her and Emma nodded.

"Y-Yes," Her voice shaky and it was true. The feeling was building again and Emma felt herself getting higher and higher. She wasn't quite at the top yet but she was close to the top.

"What do you want me to do?" Peter asked her, eyes filled with desperation as he sought to make sure she got her release because Peter knew he was close to getting his.

"More," She told him and it was the only suggestion she made but Peter knew what she meant. His thrusts grew deeper again, one after the other, and Emma fought hard not to moan. She was very self-conscious of herself all of a sudden.

"Please don't hide from me," Peter whispered to her as he moved. "I-I want to hear you."

Emma didn't restrain herself to be quiet after Peter's pleading. Just when she wondered if she would ever get there because she felt like she was on the edge for so long, Peter pulled all the way out and then drew all the way back in with one sharp thrust.

Emma cried his name.

There was something about the blissful look on her face mixed with the way she moaned his name and the way she clenched around him that sent Peter over the edge after her. His thrusts became sloppy and erratic as he released into the condom, moaning softly as he buried his face in Emma's neck. He slumped over her, feeling empty but it was a good sort of empty. An empty that filled him with bliss and sent him flying to cloud nine heights.

The only sound in room was their breathing after that which sounded louder than ever. Emma stroked the back of his neck gently as he remained on top of her, limp and unable to move. She felt unable to move too. Her legs felt quite a bit like jelly, actually.

Peter finally managed to gather his bearings and pull himself out of her before plopping down next to her on the bed. He pulled his condom off before tying it off and throwing in the trash can next to the bed. Emma flinched a little when he pulled out because she still felt very sensitive down there but the feeling passed a second later as she turned to look at Peter. Neither teenager knew what to say to the other as they just laid there in silence.

"Did I crush you? Sorry, I didn't mean to just fall on top of you like that," Peter apologized, breaking the silence. Emma shook her head and smiled.

"No, I'm fine," She told him and Peter looked over at her in worry.

"But I didn't hurt you when we were…" Peter trailed off as he was still in disbelief after the fact that he and Emma just had sex.

"Peter, you don't have to worry. I'm not hurt," Emma told him sincerely. "I feel like I can't move but in a good way. Not a bad way."

"That's good," Peter said a bit awkwardly, relieved that he hadn't hurt Emma. He knew he was stronger than her and it would be so easy to lose control but he was happy that she was okay. Emma moved to rest on her side as she seemed to regain some of her confidence.

"Can you believe we just had sex to the Weeknd?" Emma teasingly asked him and Peter laughed. The awkwardness of post sex seemed to fade with Emma's remark and Peter shook his head, his brown eyes lighting up with happiness as he looked at her.

"I just can't believe we had sex," Peter said excitedly, his mind blown over what happened. "I take everything I ever said before back. _This_ is the best night of my entire life."

Emma glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

"Peter, it was six minutes," Emma told him but Peter's happiness was unwavering. "We had sex during 'I Feel It Coming' and 'Die For You'. The second song hadn't even finished yet. The foreplay was actually longer."

"Well, it was the best six minutes of my life," Peter told her and Emma giggled. He reached over and pulled her into his arms, her bare flesh resting against his bare flesh. Peter kissed her softly and she sighed contently into the kiss.

"Tonight was perfect," She told him softly when they finally pulled apart, choosing to remain in Peter's arms and just exist next to him. Peter looked at her with a shy look on his face.

"Really?" He asked her and Emma nodded.

"It was more than I imagined," Emma assured him and Peter felt that she was being honest with him.

"It was like that for me too," Peter replied.

"I thought it would hurt more but it didn't really hurt at all," Emma said thoughtfully as she considered everything that happened tonight. "I liked it but I…"

"But what?" Peter asked worriedly, suddenly terrified that something was wrong. Emma's eyes locked with his and she suddenly looked very regretful.

"I wish you were my first," Emma said quietly as she quickly looked away from him. Her expression was sad because something got stolen away from her years ago. Something she wanted more than anything to give to him but couldn't. Peter shook his head and cupped her face with his hand, forcing her to look at him, with a determined look in his eyes.

"I am your first," Peter told her adamantly. "And hopefully your last if I get my way."

"But what about-" Emma started too argue but Peter shook his head.

"It wasn't your first time because you never consented," Peter interrupted and he was determined to make Emma understand this. "This is your first time because it was your decision."

"Thank you," Emma told him, wondering what she ever did to deserve him.

"You don't have to thank me," Peter said to her. "I'm just being your boyfriend."

"Well, you're a really nice boyfriend," Emma said, giving him a flirty smile as she felt a million times better than before. Peter was right. This was her first time and nothing would ever change that. "You've actually been a nice boyfriend all night."

"You really think so?" Peter flirted back and Emma nodded.

"Definitely," Emma confirmed before her eyes sparkled with mischief. "And I fully plan on being your last but I better be your only too."

"As long as you'll have me," Peter promised her before an idea popped into his head and he suddenly looked shy again. He wasn't sure what Emma's answer would be to this. "Hey, do you think that you might want to go again?"

"You want to have sex again?" Emma questioned and Peter blushed before nodding.

"Only if you want to though," Peter said quickly. "We still have the rest of the playlist I made to set the mood."

"To set the mood? You're so fucking cheesy, Parker," Emma said as she playfully rolled her eyes at him. Peter was afraid she was turning him down but he was relieved a moment later when she smiled at him. "But yeah. I could go for more sex. We need to make up for all that time we weren't having sex which seems like a hundred years ago now."

"Great!" Peter said a bit too enthusiastically and he blushed as a result of his unexpected enthusiasm. "I mean, good. Let's um…get started then. I don't actually know how we start this all over again but I think-"

Peter was interrupted by his girlfriend attacking him with a kiss, grabbing his face with her hands forcefully and Peter moaned into the unexpected kiss. It seemed like moving on to round two wasn't as difficult as Peter originally thought. It was starting to get really late and everyone else from outside was heading inside to get some sleep but Emma and Peter's plans didn't involve much sleep that night.

This was why Michelle, Ned, and Betty camped out in the living room and never returned upstairs.

* * *

Emma woke up to soft kisses pressed against her bare shoulder.

Sunlight was streaming in from the windows, peeking in through the curtains just like the morning before. Only this time Peter didn't have a killer hangover.

Everything was perfect this time around.

Serene and special.

It was perhaps the first time Emma ever felt like calling herself a morning person.

Emma almost forgot where she was until all the memories from last night came flooding back. She felt a bit shy when she remembered everything she and Peter had done the night before. After their first time together, they had sex two more times after that and thankfully the next two times weren't nearly as awkward as the first. It seemed like more the night went on, the more comfortable they became with each other. All in all, it was a night that Emma didn't want to forget any time soon.

"Morning," Peter happily said, her back against his chest as they spooned. Emma turned around in bed to face Peter.

He gave her that favorite goofy grin of his that she loved so much and Emma took in his appearance. He seemed to have an almost glow about him which Emma attributed to being a post sex kind of look. The same thing went for his hair which was all disheveled and Emma realized what characters in movies and books she read were talking about when they talked about sex hair. Strangely but also not strangely enough, Emma realized that Peter looked beautiful like this. She always knew he was attractive obviously but this was different from that. The glow he had combined with his sex hair and the still sleepy look on his face made him look overwhelmingly beautiful to Emma.

"Morning," Emma said softly and she noticed how Peter's gaze traveled to her chest. She was confused at first until she realized that the comforter had fallen off of her in the midst of her moving around in bed. Emma blushed at how Peter was staring at her exposed breasts and immediately grabbed the comforter to cover herself up.

"No, please don't," Peter pleaded as he stopped her from pulling the comforter back up. "I didn't mean to stare but you're so beautiful and this is still new to me. I wish I was an artist like you so I could draw you and never forget how you look. Last night still feels like a dream."

"Thank you. I think you look really beautiful too," Emma said shyly even though she didn't know why she was being so shy and weird about this. Peter had seen her naked last night so it didn't make sense that she was so awkward about it now. She supposed it was because she had been distracted last night that she hadn't really cared but now she was thinking more clearly which meant overthinking. "I don't know why I'm being silly about this. We saw each other naked last night and not to mention we had sex. I'm being ridiculous."

"You're not being ridiculous," Peter told her, wanting to assure her that he didn't think she was being silly. "We're in a different and new place. It'll take some getting used to. I just want you to know that I don't mind you not wearing clothes when I'm around. In fact, I think I prefer you not wearing any clothes."

Emma felt taken back by the confidence that abruptly came over Peter as he unabashedly flirted with her. She then started to wonder if men developed a new and immediate sort of confidence after having sex for the first time. The more she and Peter became intimate with each other, the more Peter seemed to become confident in the certain skills he had developed in the bedroom over time. Emma started to wonder if she should become used to an even cockier Peter after last night. Probably but Emma didn't think she minded that one bit.

She liked it when Peter flirted with her. Not that she didn't think it was adorable whenever he blushed and grew quiet when she flirted with him but sometimes she liked it when he flirted back.

"Sex has made you really arrogant, Parker," Emma told him although she wasn't really bothered by his flirting. Peter looked entirely unashamed.

"Well, I have a lot to feel arrogant over," Peter continued to flirt, referring to the fact that Emma was naked in _his_ bed. He still couldn't believe it. "God, last night was amazing by the way. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Me either," Emma told him with a small smile on her face and Peter had to admit how nice it was to see Emma like this after the night they just had. Waking up to her in his arms was a nice start to his morning. The soft pattern of her breathing while she slept and Peter waking her up with kisses pressed against her bare skin was a little more than nice too.

"Did you enjoy last night?" Peter asked her but there was no trace of cockiness this time. He seemed almost nervous as he looked at her questioningly. Emma just smiled before timidly nodding.

"I did. It was amazing," Emma told him, not wanting to go into details about all the things she liked. She didn't really know how to casually talk about that stuff yet. Nothing usually phased Emma but this was a whole new world to her. Sex with her boyfriend was still something she had to have some time with before casually talking about it.

"Because you can tell me if you didn't. I'd totally understand," Peter told her because even though that probably would've hurt his feelings, he just wanted them to be honest when it came to boundaries like this. He knew that this was even a bigger deal for Emma than it was for him. Peter needed her to tell him if she was having regrets about last night.

However, Emma just smiled at him before leaning over and pressing her lips against his. This reassured Peter in an instant. She pulled away and Peter could feel a smile begin to pull at his lips.

"Peter, I loved every part of last night," Emma told him sincerely.

"Even my playlist of Weeknd songs?" He asked her jokingly and Emma laughed.

"Yes, even your super corny playlist," Emma promised him before her gaze softened. "I loved all of it. So much that I'd like for us to have sex again."

"Really? When?" Peter questioned quickly and Emma laughed again but this time at her boyfriend's eagerness.

"I don't know, you dork. Whenever we have a moment to ourselves," Emma told him and Peter felt elated at this news. He knew that he enjoyed himself last night but he was very worried whether or not Emma had enjoyed herself too but now he was relieved to know that she did.

"I can't wait," Peter said, sighing contently as he was already looking forward to the next time they had sex. Hopefully really soon. "I'm just sad that we have to leave today. I wish we could stay here forever. It's nice when it's you and me. No one else."

"I know but someday when we're older it'll always be like this," Emma promised him, a hint of a smile on her face."We'll live together somewhere and we can always be alone whenever we want."

"We can be married and have kids too," Peter added, trying to sneak in his hopes and dreams with Emma's. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"You do know people with kids never have sex, right? Everyone knows that, Peter," Emma told her boyfriend seriously and Peter gave her a sheepish smile. "My father has me and he hasn't had sex since 1945."

"Well, we'd be different," Peter told her and he knew he would still have a lot of convincing to do before he got Emma to agree to marry him. Convincing her to marry him someday was the first step. After they were married, it would be easier to bring up the kids conversation and maybe Emma would actually want kids by then.

"Let's not talk about our nonexistent children, Parker," Emma mumbled as she snuggled against him. "I just want to enjoy this while it lasts because we have to leave in a couple hours and then it's back to the compound for us."

Peter wrapped his arm around her as he pulled her close to him. He thought he might've even enjoyed naked cuddling a lot more than normal cuddling. However, after a moment of laying there with Peter in silence, Emma become more than aware of something throbbing against her stomach. Her eyes shot open and she looked up at Peter.

"Peter?"

"Yes?"

"I can feel your hard-on against my stomach," Emma told him bluntly and Peter immediately blushed. He was hoping that Emma wouldn't notice. "It's kind of distracting."

"Oh, sorry. It's just that it's the morning and you're very naked and I also saw your boobs so I-" He started to ramble but Emma stopped him.

"Do want to have sex again now?" Emma blurted out as a blush quickly came over her own face. She couldn't believe she actually asked him that. Peter stared at her in bewilderment, freezing for a second, before he responded.

"You mean like morning sex?" Peter asked even though deep down he thought Emma's question was insane. Of course, he wanted to have sex again. Peter actually didn't think he'd ever say no to sex.

"If you want," Emma told him and Peter immediately crashed his lips down against hers, holding her face close to his. Emma giggled against his lips before melting into the kiss. Peter held her more securely to him as the kiss deepened. The covers fell off them as Peter then grabbed her by the waist and moved her on top of him. She felt breathless at the ease in which he moved her. Almost like she weighed nothing at all.

"M-Maybe you could be on top this time?" Peter nervously asked her and Emma looked down at him in surprise. "If you're comfortable with that, I mean."

Emma noticed that Peter started second guessing himself like he always did so she decided to reassure him. She leaned down and softly kissed him. Emma honestly felt a bit nervous because she felt like being on top would make Peter be able to see more of her. She felt more exposed this way. Little did she know that was exactly why Peter wanted her on top.

"Okay," Emma told him softly as she pulled away.

"Okay?" He questioned and Emma nodded.

"I want to," She told him and Peter swallowed hard as he stared up at her. He was able to see her better in the light than he had last night through the dimly lit room. Peter was driven breathless at how beautiful she looked with the sun giving her blonde hair an otherworldly kind of glow as well as the fact that she was naked on top of him. He could hardly believe any of this was real.

"Okay, cool. That's um…great," Peter said awkwardly and Emma just stared at him expectantly.

"Condom?" Emma said and Peter gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to get a condom?" Emma asked him. "I don't want to have your little mini spider-twerps and Steve told me how easy it is for me to get pregnant."

"Right, a condom," Peter said, trying to think clearly but it was more and more difficult to think with Emma on top of him. He quickly grabbed a condom from the box sitting on the nightstand. It was only then that his mind processed the second part of that sentence. "Wait…what do you mean you can get pregnant easily?"

"Just put the condom on, Parker," Emma said impatiently and Peter complied, pulling the condom over his length. He then paused for a moment and looked back up at her.

"Emma, wait," Peter said and Emma looked at him questioningly, wondering if he didn't want to do this, after all.

"What?" Emma asked and Peter gave her soft smile.

"I love you," Peter told her, his voice full of adoration as he looked up at her. Emma blushed and smiled.

"I know," Emma told him and Peter laid back as he watched her maneuver over him, gripping his length before sinking down. When she did Peter was left with an almost euphoric feeling, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he moaned softly.

She just quoted Star Wars to him right before she did… _that_.

Peter wanted this to never end.

* * *

After having a round of morning sex, showering, and getting dressed, Emma and Peter made their way downstairs. Peter and Emma tried not to get too distracted in the shower since it wasn't like they could dedicate the entire day to sex. The shower was actually very nice and sweet. Peter had been very caring and gentle when washing her hair, using the shampoo she so often used as he lathered up her hair.

There wasn't really anything sexual about their shower together. It was just very sweet and caring. For a brief second Emma could even picture them married…not that she would ever tell Peter that. However, it was so easy to imagine after this weekend where they did cute domestic things like falling asleep together, waking up together, showering together, and eating smores together.

Everything together.

Maybe Emma would even be open to it one day. Not anytime soon but maybe when she and Peter were really old, like Tony's age, maybe then she'd decide the hell with it and agree to marry him if that's what he really wanted. The kids thing was still a huge no. Kids ruined everything and Emma liked the idea of just the two of them together forever. No one else. Especially not a couple of brats who would ruin her and Peter's fun.

Emma put the thought of marriage to rest after the shower and getting dressed. Today was the day they had to leave, after all, even though she and Peter never wanted the weekend to end. She wished they could be like this forever but inevitably the weekend had to come to an end with the two of them forced to resume their lives of Spider-Man and Viper. It was so easy to forget all that superhero bullshit for a weekend but now they had to return to reality.

Well, it was amazing while it lasted.

Emma and Peter had already packed after getting dressed so they brought down their suitcases to the living room to later pack into Emma's car whenever they were ready to leave. Their friends were already all downstairs eating breakfast when the couple arrived.

Michelle, Ned, and Betty all grew quiet as Peter and Emma entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, guys," Peter greeted cheerfully as Emma followed him, giving their friends a nod while taking a seat next to Michelle and Peter took a seat next to Ned. Her boyfriend immediately poured both himself and her a glass of orange juice before reaching for a piece of bacon on the table. It seemed like the other three had gotten up a bit earlier and had time to make breakfast for themselves. Emma and Peter soon realized they were starving after the previous night and this morning. "Did everyone have a fun night last night after we left?"

"Well, we know you and Emma definitely had a good time," Michelle muttered as she stared blankly at the couple.

"What?" Peter questioned as Emma just stared at her friend.

"We could hear you guys last night, dude," Ned told Peter, elaborating on what Michelle was telling the couple.

"What? No, you couldn't," Peter denied, a blush coming across his face while Emma just stared challengingly at the other teenagers. Michelle scoffed before doing her best impression of Peter. She exaggeratingly made her voice higher much to Peter's annoyance and embarrassment. He honestly didn't know why Emma was friends with this girl. Michelle was always picking on him.

"Oh, Emma! You feel so good around me! I'm not going to last much longer!" Michelle said, making fun of the dork her best friend seemed to love so much. Peter looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole and never come back out. "We honestly heard you guys fucking the whole night. Why do you think we had a sleepover downstairs. God, and this morning too? Please tell me you guys aren't going to have sex all the time now. At least, don't do it when I'm around."

"So…" Emma said uncaringly but she was a little satisfied that this meant Betty heard everything. Which also meant that the girl knew that Peter was hers and hers alone. Although Betty didn't seem to care as much about Peter as Emma thought. The short blonde was glued to her phone, smiling at a post she was reading. Maybe Emma didn't have anything worry about, after all.

"So it was disgusting to listen to," Michelle complained and Emma shrugged.

"You didn't have to listen to it if you didn't want to," Emma told her and Michelle looked at her like she was crazy.

"I didn't want to listen to it! You two were so loud!" Michelle argued but Emma still didn't seem to care. "How could any of us not listen to you two moaning and the bed creaking all night?! It was the loudest sound in the world. I'd be surprised if Flash and the others didn't hear you from the woods."

"That's not my problem," Emma told her nonchalantly and Michelle huffed, looking annoyed at her friend because she totally blamed Emma for her not getting any sleep last night. Don't get her wrong. She was still curious and was totally going to ask Emma about it later but for now she was still annoyed. Ned then leaned over towards a still embarrassed looking Peter.

"You'll tell me all about it, right?" Ned whispered to him and Peter blushed again before nodding. He fully planned on telling Ned all about last night but he wouldn't disrespect Emma in any way. There were certain details about his and Emma's night together that he would just like to keep to himself.

Those memories were his and no one else's.

"Later, Ned. Later," Peter promised him before he took a bite of his piece of bacon. Ned smiled, looking very in awe of his best friend. This probably made Peter the leading expert on sex. Ned was sure of that.

The conversation then eased away from the subject of sex as the teenagers began talking about their first week of school. Michelle was almost finished with her plan for the first decathlon meeting of the school year. She planned to email everyone a study guide for decathlon finals which was about a month away.

When Michelle mentioned academic decathlon finals, Emma realized something important.

This coming week would mark the one year anniversary since she and Peter officially met in the cafeteria of Midtown. She came to an astonishing realization that she and Peter had only known each other for a year but somehow it didn't feel like it had only been a year. It felt like she had known Peter for her entire life.

A year seemed insignificant but so much had happened this past year.

It seemed almost insane that this week would be a year since the first time she laid her eyes on Peter Parker's face. Back then she had been so mistrusting of him and kept her distance from him but now she was head over heels in love with him and trusted him with all her heart as she proved last night.

It was funny how things could change that much in a span of a year.

"You okay?" Peter asked her quietly as Ned and Michelle bickered. Emma had seemingly become so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Peter had laid out a plate of breakfast in front of her. Emma just smiled softly at him before nodding.

"Yes, I was just thinking," Emma started to say as she then began to cut up her pancakes into little pieces before dipping a piece in the pool of syrup on her plate. "This Tuesday's a year since we first met."

"I know," Peter said, giving her a big grin as his eyes lit up with excitement. "I have so much planned for our anniversary."

"Our anniversary?" Emma questioned, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "But we didn't start dating until December."

"We have a bunch of different anniversaries, Emma," Peter informed her because apparently Emma wasn't aware of their many anniversaries. He then began listing off all their anniversaries."The anniversary of when we first met, first time we teamed up together as Spider-Man and Viper, the first time we kissed, the first time we held hands, the first time we said I love you to each other, our first date, and now the first time we made love."

Emma just stared at him in a stunned silence. It took her a moment before she could speak properly.

"What the hell, Parker! How the hell am I supposed to keep track of all that?" Emma told her boyfriend. Peter gave her a sheepish smile.

"Well, I have anniversaries for other things too. Like the first time you smiled at me, first time you trusted me, and the first time you called me your friend," Peter told her before blushing as he mentioned something else that made Emma roll her eyes. "The first time you let me feel you up."

"Just when I thought you were being sweet, you turn into a little pervert," Emma said although it was clear she was amused by him. "We don't have to celebrate every single one of those anniversaries, do we? Can't we just celebrate the anniversary of the night we first got together?"

"You don't have to do anything, Emma," Peter told her sincerely. "Because I have every single date memorized and I'll have a surprise for you for every one of those days."

"Please don't tell me you have a creepy surprise for the boob anniversary," Emma deadpanned and Peter just laughed before shaking his head.

"No, but I do have a surprise for you on Tuesday which I think is an anniversary just as important as the anniversary of the night we got together," Peter told her and Emma laughed.

"You're such a dork, Parker," Emma said in response before giving him an affectionate look, feeling incredibly happy or maybe she was still basking in that post sex feeling. "But you're my dork."

Emma pretended to find the idea of celebrating every one of those anniversaries silly but deep down she swooned over the fact that her boyfriend was so thoughtful and romantic like that. Emma fully realized that she was more like a teenage girl now than she was a year ago.

She didn't think she minded much at all.

Peter quickly swooped in and kissed her on the cheek before returning to his breakfast although he kept stealing glances at her, completely hooked on her and especially after last night. Emma tried to hide her smile as she ate her pancakes. It seemed like sex hadn't made things weird between them like they both secretly feared. In fact, they felt even closer than ever. Emma wondered where their relationship would take them now that they had taken a huge step.

Hopefully, things would only be up from here on out.

Flash and the others arrived soon after that, back from their camping trip in the woods. They listened to Flash brag about all the fish he caught which Cindy informed them was a lie. Flash made fun of Peter as usual but Emma and Peter didn't let that destroy their mood. It was impossible let anything ruin the perfect weekend they had.

Not even Flash could take that away from them.

* * *

They returned to the compound a few hours later after saying goodbye to their friends and promising to meet up on Tuesday before classes. The drive over was nice and sunny as Emma and Peter chatted about her moving back into the city Monday night. There was a different and new kind of happiness in the air between them.

Maybe Emma was wrong before.

Maybe things had changed between them but in a different way.

Last night was something they both wanted for a while. It was better than Emma imagined it would be and she didn't regret any of it. Peter had been worried that morning that she had regrets but last night was one of the best nights of her life. Not just because of the sex but because she felt more closer to him than ever. This changed their relationship but Emma thought it was a good thing. She was unbelievably happy with where their relationship was now.

Nothing could destroy her happiness.

So when the teenage couple set foot inside the quiet compound, they immediately alerted the others to their return with their loud laughter as it echoed across the nearly empty building. Peter carried both of their suitcases, being the gentlemen he was. Emma was teasing Peter about Flash being Spider-Man's little fanboy while Peter just laughed at her.

"He's obsessed with you, Parker," Emma teased. "He's always bragging to everyone about how Spider-Man stole his car to fight crime."

"I doubt he's really obsessed," Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"He dedicated that stupid Instagram account to you," Emma continued to tease and Peter playfully rolled his eyes. "Should I be worried? Flash is really good at this wooing thing. Maybe he'll steal you away from me."

"Whatever," Peter mumbled. "He likes Viper too. He always goes on about how hot she is and cool."

"He only likes Viper for Spider-Man," Emma told him as she thought of all the stupid gossip articles people wrote about Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin dating. People didn't realize how on the nose they were but it was still pretty lame to read about. She supposed there had been quite a few slow news days recently. "If I see one more link in the decathlon's group text to an article about how Spider-Man and the Viper Assassin are secretly married, I swear I'm going to murder that idiot."

"On the bright side, at least we have a fan," Peter said optimistically.

"What's everyone laughing about?" Tony questioned as he walked into the large and open space on the main floor of the compound. Everyone else seemed to come out of the woodwork too. Rhodey, Vision, Pepper, Darcy, and Bucky walked into the room to greet the teenagers. In all honesty, everyone missed them because the compound was actually very quiet and boring without the bickering teenage couple.

"Nothing," Emma told him before giving Peter a secret smile. Tony frowned because he was starting to feel like the lame old man who wasn't cool enough to be in on whatever inside joke the kids had between them.

"You two have a fun weekend?" Tony asked them but he already knew they did. It was obvious by the way they were all smiles and giggles. Even Emma seemed to be smiling more than he had ever seen before.

Yeah…they definitely had sex.

Tony didn't know whether or not to be proud of Peter or horrified that Mini Cap was having sex.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. It was a lot of fun," Peter insisted before glancing at Emma's dad who was in the room. He tried not to show his fear as Mr. Barnes stared him down. It really started to hit him in that moment that he had sex with Emma. Mr. Barnes made that obvious to him as Peter remembered the one thing Mr. Barnes said he'd kill him for. He really didn't want to die after the best night of his life. "We got a lot of studying done so I think we're all ready for decathlon finals next month. Right, Emma?"

Emma nodded as Peter turned to look at her but nearly everyone in the room fought the urge to roll their eyes except for Bucky. Everyone knew the studying excuse was a load of bullshit. Even Vision wasn't buying into it after he finally learned to stop floating through walls a couple weeks ago when he saw something in Peter's room that he didn't think he'd ever unsee. Emma had glared at him for a week after that incident.

"Yeah, I bet you two did a ton of studying," Tony said knowingly, raising an eyebrow at the couple. Peter blushed.

"Well, it was fun to just hang out with our friends and stuff," Peter said hurriedly as he tried to remain unsuspicious in Mr. Barnes eyes. No one knew why. Bucky seemed delusional in thinking that Emma was some sort of angel who would never have sex. It was clear that Bucky was clueless when it came to teenage girls.

"Sorry, I forgot to text you last night, Papa," Emma said innocently as she gave her father an apologetic look. "MJ and I stayed up late watching _Stranger Things_ again and we just lost track of time."

"That's okay. I kind of figured you and MJ were having fun," Bucky told her, not wanting Emma to worry about upsetting him.

Darcy kind of had a talk with Bucky the night before and suggested that he might've been acting a tad overprotective. He realized that maybe she was right. While Emma had always looked at him like she would a father, they had always been friends too. They were all each other had for many years and Bucky didn't want that to change or for her not to talk to him anymore.

"More like she and Peter were having fun," Tony whispered to Rhodey who snorted. "I doubt she was even rooming with her little girlfriend at this party like she wants daddy to believe. Her and the kid were probably shacked up together the whole weekend. Who wants to place some bets on that?"

"You're disgusting," Pepper told him before smacking him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I was a teenager once too. I remember what it was like," Tony bickered with his fiancé before giving her a questioning look. "Don't you remember, Peps? If you were staying at a weekend long party alone with your boyfriend, what would you have done?"

"Well, I didn't go to parties when I was in high school. I was too busying studying for SATs so I didn't have time to party like _some_ people," Pepper retorted and Tony looked at her in shock much to Pepper's amusement. "I didn't have my first boyfriend until college which I told you about a long time ago."

"Pierre was your first boyfriend? Not the French guy, Pepper. Oh my god, Rhodey," Tony told his best friend as he turned back to look at him with an appalled look on his face. Rhodey just watched his two friends in amusement. These two were almost as crazy as Emma and Peter. "I just realized that I'm marrying a nerd."

"You literally spend all day and night in a lab being a mad scientist," Rhodey pointed out to Tony. "If anyone's the nerd in this relationship, it's you."

"I feel betrayed," Tony complained as he playfully glared at his best friend. "You're taking Pepper's side."

Rhodey just rolled his eyes but before he could respond, Darcy and Vision walked over to them as Emma and her father started talking while Peter just stood there obviously terrified of the taller man. The woman had a big smirk on her face as she came over while Vision seemed to just be tagging along with nothing better to do.

"Hey, I heard you guys talking about some bets," Darcy said mischievously.

" _We_ weren't talking about bets. Tony was," Pepper clarified, wanting no part in all this madness.

"Well, I have a really interesting bet in mind," Darcy told them deviously. "Lets bet on how long it takes before Bucky murders Peter. I give it a year."

"I give it two months," Tony said, disagreeing with the brunette woman. "That kid is terrible at keeping stuff secret. Look at his face. He's practically glowing right now. It's so obvious that he got laid this weekend. Barnes isn't stupid."

"He's stupid when it comes to Emma," Darcy retorted, giving the billionaire a smug look. "I think it's kind of cute, actually."

"You think the Winter Soldier is cute?" Rhodey questioned, raising his eyebrow at her. Darcy blushed before shrugging.

"That's not what I said," Darcy denied as everyone else looked at the brunette in amusement. "I said that it's cute that he's all fatherly and stuff with Emma. Like, when they were playing Candyland the other night and then when he makes her those smiley shaped pancakes for breakfast. That's really cute."

"Emma wasn't kidding when she said you have a thing for DILFs," Tony quipped as he shook his head at her. Darcy's eyes widened in surprise.

"She said what?!"

* * *

"How was your weekend?" Emma asked her father as he braided her hair. It was nighttime and they were in the recreational area of the compound watching an old Humphrey Bogart movie. Peter was working on something in the lab with Tony so Emma decided to spend some more time with her father because she was leaving tomorrow night to move back to the city for school.

"Pretty boring. I just trained with Maria and then Darcy made me watch something called _Say Yes to the Dress_ ," Bucky told her and Emma laughed.

"God, I hate that show," Emma told him and Bucky chuckled.

"There was this bride that had this huge mental breakdown in the store and yelled at her mom for five minutes for not having enough money for her dream dress," Bucky recollected. "I don't know why Hydra didn't use that show to brainwash us. It's the most mind numbing shit I've ever seen."

"I feel like that show could turn me down a very dark path," Emma said in agreement with her father although she was kind of glad that her father was in a place in his life where he could joke about his past. It told her that maybe they were on the same page with issues in their life.

"Your weekend with Peter was nice?" Bucky asked stiffly and Emma rolled her eyes because she knew how much he disliked Peter. She gave him effort for trying.

"It was really nice. Just us and our friends hanging out," Emma told him, trying to make it clear to her father that she hadn't been alone with Peter. She didn't really need him murdering Peter after the perfect weekend they just had. "We swam in the lake at Flash's house. Parker got shit faced again which was hilarious."

"You guys were drinking?" Bucky questioned, sounding alarmed and Emma sighed.

"Papa, relax. Peter drank but I didn't. What would be the point anyways? It wouldn't do anything for me," Emma told him, trying to get him to calm down. Bucky just shook his head as he continued braiding her hair.

"That boy's a bad influence on you," Bucky told her and Emma rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure it was the other way around but whatever gave her father comfort.

"How the hell did you learn how to braid hair anyways? This is the last thing I expected you to know how to do," Emma told her father as she changed the subject. Bucky grew a bit quiet.

"My sisters taught me how," Bucky finally said quietly. "I used to do it for them all the time. Rebecca, Mary, and Ruth."

"You never really mentioned your sisters before," Emma said softly. She, of course, knew that her father had sisters because Steve told her. She even knew that one of them was still alive.

"I didn't really remember them that well until recent months," Bucky told her. "I also know that Rebecca and Mary are long gone and I guess it just makes me sad that I never got to say goodbye to them."

"The youngest one…Ruth. She's still alive," Emma mentioned to her father and he paused in his braiding but continued a moment later.

"She's also eighty eight-years-old," Bucky said as he shrugged. "The last time I saw her she was fifteen. Just a little younger than you are now."

"Tell me about them," Emma pleaded as Bucky finished up braiding her hair and she turned to look at him, her blue eyes filled with hope. She was desperate to learn everything about her father. He knew everything about her so Emma wanted to learn stuff about him that was beyond the stuff she knew about him from being in that base with him for all those years.

"What do you want to know?" He asked her and Emma shrugged.

"Tell me about the memories you have of them. Just anything," Emma told him and Bucky took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Rebecca was two years younger than me and she had this massive crush on Cary Grant. I don't know why I remember that so vividly but I think it's because she was always begging me to take her to see one of his movies," Bucky said thoughtfully as he smiled at the memory. "Mary was Rebecca's twin and she was very smart. She always had her nose buried in a book. I remember trying to get her and Steve to go out. I thought they were a good match but mostly I just wanted Steve to be my brother."

"What about the youngest one?" Emma inquired. "Ruth?"

"Ruthie," Bucky recollected as he remembered a small girl with brunette hair always following him and Steve around. "She was a tomboy. Ruthie always thought she was one of the boys. She wanted to do everything Steve and I did. A very annoying little girl. You remind me of her."

"Very funny," Emma said sarcastically before looking at her father in concern. "Do you miss them?"

"Sometimes," Bucky said softly but he looked confused. Like he didn't understand entirely what he was feeling. "But mostly I just feel sad that I didn't say goodbye to them or that I didn't get to see them get married and be an uncle to their children. I'm just sad about what never was."

"I feel the same way about my parents," Emma said quietly and Bucky turned to look at her. "I have questions for them that I never got to ask. Sometimes I wonder what kind of people they were because I never really got the chance to know them."

"I'm sure they were good people," Bucky told her because he heard nothing but good things about Margot Pierce. He also knew Steven Rogers must've been a great guy because he was Steve's son. Emma looked torn all of a sudden.

"Sometimes I hate them," Emma said which was something she had never said aloud before. Not even to Peter. Bucky just stared at her in surprise. "They should've known better than to have me. Anyone with Steve's blood gets a target on their back and my dad should've known that better than anyone else but he and my mom had me anyways. It was selfish of them."

"Emma…" Bucky said, still surprised by what she was saying.

"It was all for nothing anyways," Emma said bitterly. "Hydra killed them both and kidnapped me."

"I think you're wrong," Bucky said suddenly and Emma looked at him in confusion. "I think they did know the risk and they decided to have you anyways because they already loved you. They didn't know all the shit with Hydra was going to happen and if they did then they'd still have you because they were your parents and they loved you."

"I just don't know if I was worth their lives," Emma said quietly and Bucky realized what this was about. She probably felt guilty about her parents dying for her. How could she not? There were reminders of them everywhere. Tony was best friends with Steven, Barton was best friends with Margot, and not to mention Steven was Steve's son.

"I know I would give my life for yours in a heartbeat," Bucky told her seriously and Emma stared at him with tears in her eyes. "I understand what you're feeling because I feel it too. Self-loathing because of everything we did and not feeling like we deserve kindness. But maybe we can try to deserve each other and work through everything else later…together."

"I think I can do that," Emma told him before giving him a small smile. "As long as you agree to someday see your sister."

"Someday," Bucky promised and Emma seemed satisfied with that. However, before they could say anything, Peter walked into the room. Bucky tried not to groan at the fact that Emma's dorky ass boyfriend was going to ruin their nice evening. God, that kid really annoyed the hell out of him.

"Hey, you're back," Emma said as she practically beamed at her boyfriend. Bucky wrinkled his nose in disgust. He still didn't get what his daughter saw in him but whatever made her happy.

"It was so much fun in the lab, Emma. Mr. Stark was just showing me this new tech he's been designing with. He's figured out a way to make a Nano tech Iron Man suit and it's really cool because it-" Peter started to ramble but Bucky stopped him.

"We're watching a movie," Bucky deadpanned, signaling to Peter that he wanted him to be quiet. In all honesty, Bucky and Emma had been talking through most of the movie but he just found Peter's voice really annoying. The kid could never seem to stop talking.

"Oh, sorry," Peter apologized and Emma just rolled her eyes, telling Peter that it was alright but that her father was just ridiculous.

"Papa and I were just watching _The Maltese Falcon_ which we literally saw a month ago," Emma said pointedly to her father who ignored her as he stayed focused on the TV on the wall.

"What's it about?" Peter asked her and Emma just smiled.

"It's about a detective who has to find this valuable statue of a falcon that's been missing for a long time," Emma explained to her boyfriend and Peter looked more interested.

"That's cool. Has Sam seen this movie? Maybe he should because of falcons and all," Peter joked and Emma shook her head at his lame joke which she found amusing nonetheless. Bucky rolled his eyes. "You like this movie Mr. Barnes?"

"I saw it on a date with Mildred Burns when it came out," Bucky said through gritted teeth because this kid always got on his nerves. Couldn't he just stop talking and watch the damn movie?

"Wow…this movie must be super old then," Peter said without thinking and Bucky glared at him. Emma was grateful that she was in between them or else her father might've killed Peter.

"I just can't believe you dated a girl named Mildred. Gross," Emma said in disgust, cringing at the sound of that name. Bucky managed to forget about Peter's comment and give his daughter a smirk.

"She definitely wasn't gross. You should've seen the size of her-" Bucky started to say in that tone he used whenever he would try and make Steve uncomfortable back in the day.

"Ew!" Emma said loudly, looking even more disgusted by her father's sexual conquests from the forties. Peter stared at his girlfriend's dad in discomfort. He didn't really want to think of Mr. Barnes like that.

"Poor Mildred. She was a really nice girl, you know," Bucky remembered fondly. Emma shook her head.

"Yeah, nice for fucking," Emma muttered and unlike Steve, Bucky didn't scold her for her swearing. He just ignored her instead.

"I wonder what happened to her," Bucky wondered aloud and Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know. She probably married some asshole, had ten kids, and was miserable the rest of her life because she never snagged Bucky Barnes," Emma said, half joking and half not. Bucky gave his daughter a fond smile, ruffling her hair playfully.

"Yeah, probably. I was quite the catch back then," Bucky said in agreement and they both laughed, drawing a curious look from Peter Parker.

Peter was always interested in the complex relationship between Emma and her father. Watching them interact was new and different but mostly because he knew Bucky made Emma really happy. Peter could put up with the man's dislike of him because Emma loved him. Bucky Barnes was clearly her favorite person in the world but Peter wasn't threatened by that. Not when Bucky was Emma's father and one of the first people who ever loved her.

The three of them returned their attention to the movie after that.

"I like your braid," Peter whispered to Emma and the blonde blushed before thanking him.

"Thanks. Papa did it," Emma told him and Peter just nodded before subsequently leaning closer into Emma's side as she watched Humphrey Bogart on the screen. He made a move to hold hands with her but was interrupted by Bucky Barnes loudly clearing his throat. Peter jumped away from his girlfriend at the abrupt sound and turned to look at the man in question.

Bucky wasn't looking at him but he was glaring at the TV screen instead. For some reason, Peter had a feeling that it wasn't Humphrey Bogart that Bucky was glaring at either. Peter begrudgingly kept his hands to himself after that much to Emma's amusement.

It was so strange to sit in peace like this and watch a movie with both her boyfriend and father at her side. A year ago none of this would've seemed possible yet here they were together at the compound of all places. Steve was still gone but Emma kept in touch with him on a weekly basis.

Everything else was going smoothly.

Emma and Peter were in a new and amazing place in their relationship which they fully intended on exploring once she moved back into the city. Her father was also back for good this time and they were making up for lost time as much as they could. Hydra was over forever and a thing of the past. She was finally learning to leave her past in her past which Emma found to be very therapeutic. More importantly, everything was right in the world and there wasn't any evil assholes trying to stir up trouble.

Emma felt more at peace than she ever had in her life before.

It only took one weekend for her to realize that.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the final chapter. I know Steve didn't make an appearance but he might(definitely will) make a small appearance in the epilogue because how could I end this story without him? I'll try to have the epilogue out soon. It'll definitely be pretty short so I'm hoping within a week or a week and a half. Thanks again.**

 **GIJose: I'm trying to pace myself and stay organized with time management. I'm doing good so far. I passed Medical Terminology with flying colors and now I'm taking these other summer courses. One of which I really hate but I just need to pass it so I can take my other classes in the fall.**

 **I** **don't really want to lower the age of the OC in 'The Palace'. It would screw a lot of stuff up because she never would've met her grandparents because she would've been too old. I'm kind of leaning towards writing a Falcon story but after seeing Far From Home I've been thinking about making the story a Mysterio/OC one. Maybe I could make it an Iron Man's daughter villain story which would be different since most Iron Man daughter OCs become superheroes but I could make it a villain origin story. The more I think about this idea, the more I like it.**

 **I'm glad you liked the chapter. It felt like sort of a filler chapter for me aside from the stuff with Bucky staying at the compound. I just really wanted to get to this new chapter already because I knew this new chapter was going to be super big and important. Steve will return in the sequel. He'll probably be featured a lot in it post Infinity War and then during the Endgame storyline. It's so weird. So many people have commented to me about that line Peter gave Bucky towards the end of the last chapter. It's funny because that line wasn't originally there and I only added it when I was editing.**

 **I don't mind answering reviews in the updates. Sorry if I made it seem that way in last chapter but that's totally not what I meant. I heard about 'Teen Spirit' and I've listened to the soundtrack but I'm just waiting for it to come out on DVD. It was only playing in movie theaters in the large cities so I couldn't go see it unfortunately. I live in a small town that only shows blockbusters films at the movie theater.**

 **I saw your comment about the rude reviewer and thanks so much. That really means a lot. I always tend to second guess myself when reading comments like that but everyone made me realize that the reviewer was wrong. Only I know my story and no one else. They obviously didn't understand what the story was about either and I'll only say that there's no perfect story out there for you unless you write your own. That's why I wrote STNS and I suggest people do the same if they can't find any fanfics to their liking out there. Thanks so much for your support.**

 **Far From Home was so amazing and I already have a few ideas for it. I don't want to get too ahead of myself though. I'm trying to focus on the next storyline I'm going to have to write which is the Ragnarok one.**

 **Guest: Yeah, I'm just shit at navigating Wattpad. I have no idea how to manage my stories on there and get people to read them so I kind of gave up on trying how to work that website and now I just update the stories and whoever reads them reads them and that's enough for me. Matter of Time does pretty well on Quotev so I'm really happy with that. Thanks so much for your support. That really means a lot.**

 **Guest: I plan to update 'One Word From You' during the time off period I'll have between officially ending this story and starting the sequel. I have most of the chapter finished but I had to put it on pause with finally trying to finish this story and then other stuff going on in my life. Thanks and I'm glad you love that story.**

 **Mabel: Thanks! I can't give away too much on here because people who don't want spoilers could see this but I definitely have a lot of plans for the Endgame storyline. Not everything is planned but I have a brief idea of where I want this story to go during that storyline and I'm really excited. However, I need to focus on getting the sequel started and then doing the Ragnarok storyline. It's all really exciting and I can't wait to get started on the sequel.**

 **Guest: Emma and Loki will meet in the Ragnarok storyline in the sequel. There's going to be a few chapters before the Ragnarok storyline starts because I have to set things up for Ragnarok and I want Emma to have some nice moments with Peter and Bucky before everything goes to shit. I feel like she deserves that.**

 **Guest: I really love Emma and Peter together. Yeah, it would be cool if Emma was real and they could be together in the movies but that's not really the case. However, I love MJ. I was totally her in high school so I find her the most relatable to me out of all the MCU characters. I would've liked to have seen the exact moment where Peter started crushing on her but it was still pretty cute and I think they go together better than a lot of other MCU pairings. I never understood Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer or Natasha and Bruce. Those pairings never made sense. Especially the first one because I feel like it didn't have any importance in the film. If Peter had to be with anyone I'm glad it's MJ because I really like her. I wasn't a huge fan of Liz Allan but MJ's cool.**


	91. Epilogue

"How's Bucky?" Steve asked over video chat. Emma was in her bedroom at the townhouse chatting with Steve on her Stark phone. She wasn't exactly sure where Steve was. He didn't mention it and she didn't ask but locations weren't of any importance to them.

"He's doing really great," Emma told her grandfather with a smile on her face. "I mean, being stuck on house arrest is boring for him but he's passing time with reading and TV. Weirdly enough, he really seems to like _Game of Thrones_. That's the one thing he and Peter seem to bond over so that's good."

"I could never get into that show," Steve commented although Emma could tell he was pleased with this news. Pleased to know that Bucky was doing fine. "Too much blood and incest."

"I don't really like it either," Emma said in agreement. "Papa's also taken up cooking. He likes experimenting with recipes and practicing during the week before testing them out on me on the weekends. They've been really good so far except that water chestnut casserole but don't tell him I said that."

"I'm glad he's doing well. Bucky was never a great cook from what I remember but I hope he's gotten better," Steve said as he chuckled. "How about you? Is school going okay? How's Peter?"

"School's fine. It's only been two weeks but it's going good so far," Emma told him before visibly pouting a little. "Peter and I only have two classes together but we have lunch together so that's good, I guess."

"What kind of hell is this?! You and Peter only have two classes together?!" Sam's loud voice could be heard in the background. "Guys, call the press. Emma and Peter only have two classes together! What kind of evil assholes are working at your school? How dare they get in the way of true love. "

"Calm down," Steve said, looking somewhere off screen to wherever Sam was standing. He then turned to face Emma again. "You and Peter not getting all the same classes isn't the end of the world, Emma."

"I wasn't complaining," Emma mumbled, embarrassed that she might've come off as the typical teenage girl who wanted to spend every waking moment with her boyfriend. "But everything else is going fine. I'm supposed to see my school counselor Thursday to start talking about colleges and what I have to do to get in."

"I'm sure it won't be difficult for you to get into any college," Steve told Emma encouragingly like the supportive parent he was. "You're an intelligent young woman. A lot smarter than I was at your age. Any college would be lucky to have you."

"Stop being such a mom, Steve," Emma said teasingly although she blushed at Steve's high praise. "Enough about me. How are you doing?"

"Everything's fine. A couple missions here and there but nothing too out of this world," Steve informed her. "Nat, Wanda, and Sam are all doing good too."

"You still haven't shaved that disgusting thing off your face," Emma observed, still noticing how he had his beard.

"It's part of my disguise," Steve said defensively and Emma shrugged.

"Not if I call the Daily Bugle and give them a tip about Captain America's beard," Emma said nonchalantly. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Please don't," Steve said before realizing how late it was. "I have to go. We're heading out on another mission and it's past your bed time."

" _Papa_ doesn't care about bed times," Emma retorted, trying to pit her father and Steve against each other in hopes that Steve would just let her do what she wanted like her father did. Steve gave her an unimpressed look. "Well, I'm going to be having a talk with him so that he will."

"You're no fun," Emma told him and Steve just chuckled.

"I love you. Try and not give Tony too hard of a time," Steve told her and Emma smirked at him.

"I love you too and you know that I totally will," Emma informed him and the two finally said their goodbyes to each other before ending the call.

Emma was left alone in the darkness of her room. She missed Steve even though she was grateful she could keep in contact with him more now that he and Tony were on better terms. It had been a couple months since the Hydra takedown but Emma yearned for a day when things would completely go back to normal. A day where Steve could be here too.

For now, it was enough that she had her father and Peter.

It had been two weeks since the lake house and everything was going well for her. She saw her father on the weekends and they spent time doing things together. Whether it was training, watching movies together, or her father trying new recipes he learned on her. All in all, it was a blast.

Peter and her relationship had shifted to a whole new level. Somehow they felt closer than before if that was possible. The intimacy in their relationship had risen to new heights and they had even had sex a couple more times since that night at the lake house. Darcy would stay late working with Jane so Emma and Peter did only what two teenagers would do in the house when left alone.

Other than the new intimacy in her and Peter's relationship, things had gone back to normal or as normal as they could be. School was boring as usual but she had her friends and Peter to keep her occupied. After school, she and Peter would tend to their Spider-Man and Viper activities. There wasn't a ton of crime in the city but they kept themselves occupied with petty thieves and car jackings.

Emma was driven out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her window.

She set her phone down on her bed and curiously, but still very cautiously, got up from her bed and walked over to her window. The blonde then realized she had no reason to feel cautious when she saw who was outside her window. She rolled her eyes and smiled as she opened the window.

"Well, isn't it the best night of my life. Spider-Man's outside my window," Emma said sarcastically as her boyfriend clad in his Spider-Man suit was hanging upside down in front of her. She noticed that he was hanging up from the fire escape above her window. "Now what would bring a famous superhero like you to my window of all the windows in Queens?"

"Sorry, Miss," Peter said, dramatically deepening his voice in that lame way he always did to disguise it whenever he was Spider-Man. "I'm just doing my nightly rounds in the neighborhood to make sure everyone's safe."

"So you come to every girl's house like this," Emma flirted with him as she rested her arms on the window sill and leaned out. Truthfully, she had only seen Peter an hour ago when she was in her Viper gear in the city with him but she left early because she wanted to call Steve.

"Only ones as beautiful as you," Peter flirted back and Emma gasped, pretending to be surprised by his words.

"Spider-Man, I have a boyfriend. You shouldn't talk to me like that. He wouldn't like it," Emma told him, sounding appalled that Spider-Man would flirt with her.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Peter said, playing along with her. Emma nodded.

"Well, I do. His name is Peter and we go to school together. He's very handsome I'll have you know," Emma said as she told Spider-Man all about her boyfriend Peter Parker. "Not to mention intelligent, kind, thoughtful, and surprisingly good with his tongue."

Peter blushed under his mask but continued to play this game with Emma.

"If your boyfriend is so good then why has he left you all by yourself?" Spider-Man questioned, still keeping up the charade between himself and Emma. "If I were him I'd never leave you alone. You just never know when some other guy is going to come swooping in and steal your girlfriend away."

"You're seriously cocky for someone who never shows their face," Emma retorted. "How do I know what's under your mask? You could be an eighty-year-old man for all I know."

"Why don't you come here and find out," Spider-Man told her, smugness in his voice. Emma hid a smirk of her own as she leaned forward out the window, reaching out for his face. Her fingers trailed down the expanse of his mask and Peter shivered from her touch. She finally found where his mask ended and his suit began. The blonde pulled the bottom part of his mask down, revealing Peter's smooth skin and lips underneath.

"I guess you're not an old man then," Emma said flirtatiously before giving him an innocent look. "But I bet you're not nearly as good of a kisser as my boyfriend is."

"I guarantee you that I'm one hundred percent just as good as him," Spider-Man said, his voice was softer now at the close proximity between himself and Emma. "Why don't you see for yourself? Kiss me and see if I'm not just as good as your boyfriend."

"Okay but only as a test," Emma said in response, giving her boyfriend a knowing look. "Just don't tell my boyfriend."

"Your secret is safe with me," Spider-Man promised before Emma leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

Emma's eyes fluttered shut as her lips moved against his lips and Peter felt overwhelmed by the kiss. He had never kissed Emma upside down before but it was different than any other kiss he had experienced with her. In a way, it even felt magical as corny as that sounded. It felt like he had flown to new heights and he suddenly felt drunk on these new emotions.

It was a good drunk though.

They finally parted after a moment and Emma opened her eyes, a blush spreading across her pale skin as she looked back at her boyfriend. It was definitely the weirdest thing she and Peter had ever done but Emma liked it. The upside down kiss was definitely one to remember and she didn't know why they hadn't thought of it before.

"Why don't you come inside, Spider-Man, and show me what else you're good at," Emma said suggestively, her voice soft and almost a whisper. The lenses of Peter's mask widened before he furiously nodded.

"Right away, Miss," Peter said quickly as he then moved down from his webbing, pulling himself out of his upside down position. Emma held her hand out to him and he immediately took it, allowing her to lead him into her room through the window.

Emma smiled at him, still holding him by the hand as she kept leading him into her room. Her lips crashed against his again as soon as he was away from the window. She easily tugged the rest of his mask off and carelessly dropped it on the floor. As their kisses grew more loose, Peter pushed the Spider button on his suit. His suit then began to loosen before it fell down his body, pooling around his ankles and leaving him in nothing but his boxers.

A thought suddenly occurred to Peter as he abruptly pulled away from Emma in the midst of their passionate kissing. Emma looked at him, both confused and frustrated that he pulled away so soon. Peter gave Emma an unsure look.

"Quick question," Peter said, his breathing still a bit heavy. "Am I supposed to be Spider-Man the entire night or am I just Peter?"

"You're Peter, you dork," Emma told him, not knowing whether or not to laugh at him or kiss him senseless. Probably kiss him senseless. That was much more pleasurable for her. "Now get over here and take off my clothes."

"No problem," Peter said as he nodded and immediately resumed kissing her, grabbing her and pulling her close to him. Emma moaned into the kiss, completely wrapped up in Peter. They began to move towards the bed as Peter started removing her shirt, leaving her in her bra. He pulled back to take a moment to appreciate his half-naked girlfriend.

"So pretty," Peter said in contentment, hoping to memorize the way she looked with her face all flushed and standing there in front of him almost shyly. He gently placed her on the bed and then resumed kissing her as he climbed on top of her. Emma felt his throbbing erection against her stomach as he attacked her lips and she was suddenly reminded of something.

"Peter, you brought a condom, right?" Emma asked as she pulled away from him and looked back up at him.

Peter froze.

"I uh…not really," Peter admitted and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean not really?" She questioned and Peter blushed.

"I forgot to bring a condom," Peter said in a quiet voice and Emma grew frustrated. Mostly because he choose to tell her this when they were both all worked up and ready for sex. "But maybe we don't need one. Maybe I could pull out and we'd be okay."

"Are you insane?!" Emma snapped at him. "Do you want me to have your baby?"

"In a few years probably," Peter answered and Emma wondered how he could go from completely making her swoon to making her want to pull her hair out in frustration.

"Fine then. Do you want my father to kill you?" Emma retorted and Peter's eyes widened as he tried to imagine what Emma's father would do if he accidentally knocked her up. The man would murder him right where he stood. The scary part was that Peter didn't think Mr. Barnes would care about going to prison. He'd kill him anyways.

Peter gulped.

"I'd prefer it if he didn't," Peter said softly. Emma nodded before giving him a pointed look.

"This is why we need condoms," Emma explained to him. "I'm not going to have sex with you unless you use a condom."

"But I don't have one," Peter told her in confusion and Emma raised her eyebrows at him. Then it slowly started dawning on Peter. "So…I should get one."

"Or we could just hang out," Emma said, feigning nonchalance even though she really wanted nothing more than for Peter to get that condom so they could continue what they were doing earlier. "Maybe watch a movie."

"I'd rather get the condom," Peter said and he got up from the bed, quickly grabbing his Spider-Man suit from the floor. Emma sat up in bed and stared at him with a quizzical look on her face.

"What are you doing?" Emma questioned and Peter looked determined as he put his suit back.

"I'm going to go down to the bodega on the corner and get some more condoms," Peter told her in a serious voice that made Emma want to giggle. He talked about getting more condoms like it was another mission. "Then I'm going to come back here and we'll pick up where we left off."

"You're going to go get condoms as Spider-Man?" Emma questioned and Peter nodded before rushing back over to her to give her a quick kiss. His lips lingered against hers for a moment before he pulled away from her. He was then suddenly reminded of the condoms and why he was rushing around in the first place.

"I'll be right back and don't you dare move," Peter told her, putting his mask back on and pressing the Spider on his chest before the suit automatically fitted to his form. He put one foot out the window before turning back to look at his girlfriend who was still sitting on the bed watching him. He pointed his finger at her. "Don't get started without me either."

"I'll try not to," Emma teased, giving him a smirk. "Better hurry up, Spider-Man. The clock's ticking. I actually think I'm starting to get sleepy. If you're not back soon, I might just fall asleep."

"Please don't," Peter said as the lenses of his mask widened dramatically. The teenage boy then jumped out the window and disappeared into the night.

Emma fell back against the bed with a grin on her face, giggling to herself through the darkness of her room. She grabbed the stuffed _Spirit_ horse Peter had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday and clutched it close to her. With much care and tenderness, Emma ran her fingers through the toy's mane of cotton candy textured hair. Emma thought of her boyfriend and couldn't help but swoon at his adorable dorkiness.

Over the past couple of months, Emma was coming to the realization that she loved her life. It was something she never felt before. Her life used to be entirely made up of self-loathing and she used to dread waking up each morning to another day of self-loathing but not anymore. Emma was happy with her life and entirely content. If this was what true happiness felt like, Emma never wanted it to end. She just wanted to stay like this forever.

The one desire she had was to stay this happy and with Peter at her side along with her father and Steve, Emma thought she could achieve that. She felt lucky to have found peace and happiness at sixteen. There were people that didn't have that. Natasha was an example of that. Someone who was still struggling to find her place in the world while Emma was starting to feel like she had already found hers.

Emma then had an unusual kind thought.

Emma found herself wishing that Natasha could find the peace and happiness that she found. They were so alike in many ways. It made Emma wonder if it was wrong of Natasha to think that the key to resolving her past was to wipe out all the red in her ledger by trying to save more lives than she had taken. But how could you wipe out that much red? None of it erased the fact that she had killed men, women, and children. Emma too for that matter.

Maybe making up the difference wasn't the key at all.

Maybe the key was to feel loved enough by other people that you could begin to like yourself. Emma didn't think she could right all the wrongs she made in her life but she thought if people like Peter, Steve, her father, and even Tony could look past all her sins and accept her for who she is then maybe she didn't have to try and wipe out all that red. Neither did Natasha.

Emma thought she had a long way to go when it came to stopping the self-loathing but this was a start. Maybe Natasha would get a similar start someday too or maybe she wouldn't because everyone dealt with their past in different ways. Tony strove to wrap the world in bubble wrap, Steve searched almost obsessively for missions, Peter helped the little guy as he always put it, her father drew all his attention to her, and Emma learned to like herself.

Everyone was different but Emma found that this was her way of moving on from her past and she thought it was working great so far.

"I'm back!" Peter sang as he crawled back in through the window from outside. He was panting and Emma knew he must've been in an awful hurry. Peter immediately yanked off his mask. She sat back up in bed and looked at him, raising her eyebrows at the plastic bag in his hand. "I got the condoms so no more running out of them. Maybe you should keep this box here so we have them for next time."

"I can't believe you were that fast," Emma told him and Peter gave her a sheepish smile.

"I kind of used the superhero card and cut in front of a few people in line," Peter told her, a blush on his face. Emma looked amused.

"Peter Parker abused his power? What kind of parallel universe am I in?" Emma said teasingly and Peter playfully glared at her. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures," Peter told her and hit the Spider button on his suit for the second time that night, causing it to once again fall off his body and onto the floor. Emma just couldn't believe she got to see that lovely sight two times in one night.

"Get over here, Parker," Emma told him and Peter did as he was told. He was surprised he didn't sprint towards the bed at this point. "And don't forget the condoms this time."

"Don't worry, I won't," Peter said to her as he joined her in bed, climbing over her as she then pulled him down for a kiss but hopefully this time without any interruptions. She sighed contently into the kiss as Peter's lips continued to move against hers. Their kisses grew more intense and desperate as the minutes passed by.

As Peter's lips left hers and started making a path from her jawline to the length of her neck, her fingers knotted in his hair causing him to let out a soft moan against her neck. Being with Peter like this made her feel like she was on cloud nine. Overall, she felt happy and loved when she was with Peter. His kisses were like a drug to her and the pure love and adoration in his warm brown eyes as he looked down at her whenever they were about to make love also made her feel intoxicated.

"I love you," Peter whispered into her ear softly. They probably told each other "I love you" on a daily basis which was the kind of lame couple stuff she used to make fun of Jane and Thor for. But Emma no longer cared about being cheesy or for falling foolishly in love with Peter. She didn't have time to worry about stuff like that. All that mattered was that she was happy in whatever way that meant.

"I love you too, Peter," Emma whispered back and Peter smiled against her neck, continuing in his mission of kissing every inch of Emma's body. Her eyes fluttered shut as Peter showered her with the love and affection she never knew she craved. It wasn't him that made her realize that this was what she craved.

Emma made that discovery herself. Three years after Hydra and Emma finally knew what it felt like to live her own life and to be happy with that same life.

Although…she probably did need to get on birth control if she was being perfectly honest.

* * *

Emma and Peter lay sleeping in each other's arms after that. Emma was curled up against his side and Peter's arm was wrapped around her, holding her close to him as they slept. She knew it was okay since Darcy never checked up on her at night and May was fine with the fact that Peter was sleeping over at his girlfriend's as long as he used protection. It felt nice for her and Peter to rest peacefully like this.

The two teenagers were tangled in dreams of their own.

Peter was having a good dream. A dream about an older version of himself and Emma on vacation somewhere sunny and tropical. They went swimming in the ocean with dolphins and made love on the beach. It caused the corners of sleeping Peter's lips to pull up into the faintest smile.

The same couldn't be said for Emma.

The sleeping teenage girl's lips were pulled down into the slightest of frowns and her eyebrows knitted together, perplexed by what she was seeing in her own dream. She fidgeted in her sleep, tossing and turning in Peter's arms. What was going on in her head was nowhere near as peaceful as what was going on in Peter's head.

That was for sure.

 _There was a dark cave-like place Emma found herself in. She knew this was all a dream but at the same time it didn't feel like a dream. It felt like something else. Not quite like it was real but not quite like it wasn't real._

 _The blonde hesitantly walked through the area she was in. She didn't know what it was. It was all very medieval looking, feeling dark and dank. The dark area was only lit by flaming torches on the walls which illuminated her path enough for her not to trip and fall on her face._

 ** _"_** ** _Emma."_**

 _Something called her name in the darkness but Emma didn't think it was a voice calling her name. She didn't know how to describe it other than a feeling. She felt it through her entire body, the hair on the back of her neck standing up, but somehow she knew that it was calling for her. It wanted her for some reason._

 _ **"Emma,"** It_ _called and Emma's eyes wildly searched the dark room but she couldn't see anyone._

 _"_ _Who's there?" Emma called out. She was met by nothing but a deafening silence._

 ** _"_** ** _Emma,"_** _It called again and Emma felt like she was getting closer to whatever was beckoning her. There was almost a electric feeling sweeping over her body and she could feel it's vibrations growing the more she walked._

 _Then she noticed the oddest thing._

 _There were odd looking objects, almost trinkets, sitting on various pedestals within the chamber she was in. This place reminded her of a dungeon from Harry Potter but why would someone keep valuables or even treasure inside a dungeon? It didn't make much sense to Emma. To hide it was one thing but this was different than hiding it._

 _This was burying it for no one to ever find._

 _She knew that Tony always liked bragging about what he had. He placed modern art, that he spent thousands of dollars on, on the walls of the compound's main floor just so that everyone could observe the kind of wealth he had. Emma thought it was stupid and conceited because Tony didn't even care about art but he was an egotistical jackass so it made sense._

 _However, what she couldn't understand was hiding a bunch of flashy looking trinkets in a dark looking dungeon like this._

 _There were several of the trinkets that took up the pedestals in the open but dark room. However, only a couple caught her eye. A large looking piece of rock that looked like it had been broken from a side of a mountain. There were ancient looking runes carved into the stone and naturally it made Emma curious._

 _A large looking golden glove also caught Emma's interest. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion because it looked flashy and gaudy sitting there amongst all the other trinkets. There were six empty craters covering the metal looking glove. Almost like pieces of the glove were missing from those empty craters for some reason._

 ** _"_** ** _Emma."_**

 _The feeling, not the voice, that called her own name drew her away from the odd looking glove. She walked further down the passageway and Emma felt a pulsing sensation vibrating over her entire body. Emma then slowly looked down at her body and was left in awe of what she saw._

 _Her hands were glowing._

 _Emma's eyes widened in shock as she held her hands up and stared at them. She hadn't seen them this way since that day with Rumlow and even then she thought it hadn't been real. But if it hadn't been real then why was it happening again like this?_

 _As the feeling or sensation grew closer, Emma's entire body seem to be enveloped in that same glow as in her hands. It was an orangish yellowish glow that made Emma feel like she was weightless or floating through space. She watched from the corner of her eye as her hair flowed freely upwards as the pulsing glow ran over her entire body. It was only then that Emma noticed the blue energy that seemed to flow from her hands like ink from a broken pen._

 _Never in her life had Emma felt power like this._

 _She didn't know if she felt excited or afraid._

 _Emma finally came to a stop as the humming sound was louder than ever. The glow around her was mesmerizing and Emma couldn't pull her eyes away from her hands. The blonde, however, suddenly felt like something was watching her. It felt like someone's gaze was glued to her and she finally tore her eyes away from her hands and looked up. Only to be met with a familiar sight._

 _The Tesseract._

 _The glowing blue cube was sitting on one of the pedestals all the other trinkets were sitting on but somehow she was drawn to the Tesseract unlike the way she had been drawn to the other trinkets. It was still calling her name but not through sound._

 _By sensation._

 _The Tesseract was calling her and beckoning her to come forward. The closer she got to the Tesseract, the more powerful she seemed to feel. The sensation running over her body was addicting and Emma couldn't stop walking towards the blue cube. It was almost like she was in a trance-like state._

 _It spoke to her but not in a way that people spoke to other people. It's language seemed to be built on showing her things inside her head. Images of the universe. Planets that were far away from hers and species of alien races that she had never seen nor heard of before. Planets and species that not even Thor knew of. There were secrets it wanted to show her and only her because the Tesseract told her that they were connected in a way that no one else would understand._

 _Emma felt hypnotized by the blue cube as it promised her the one thing that she always desired._

 _A way for no one to ever hurt her or anyone she loved ever again._

 _All it would take was one touch and everything she already had inside her would be unlocked forever._

 _The temptation was something Emma would never be able to resist and somehow the Tesseract knew that. It's why it made her these promises, hoping she would succumb to her desire and give in. A part of Emma screamed at herself not to touch the thing as her hand reached out for it but she couldn't stop herself. Her body almost seemed to be moving on it's own accord, drunk on the power that was coursing through her body and too tempted by the promises the Tesseract made her._

 _Emma's hand was mere inches from the cube when suddenly a hand reached out and stopped her from touching it._

 _The person's hand was covered in a similar glow to the one who that covered Emma's own hand and Emma's trance-like state was broken. Emma blinked a couple times before looking up at the person in question and noticed a woman standing in front of her._

 _A woman that looked as equally as confused by all this as Emma was._

 _The woman's hair was a darker blonde than Emma's. Her eyes were brown and confused as they bored into Emma's own blue ones. She was a bit shorter than Emma despite looking to have a good ten or so years on her._

 _Emma immediately felt like she knew this woman for some reason._

 _Emma didn't know how to explain it since she had never seen this woman in her life before but the feeling of electricity humming through her body seemed louder than ever at the woman's touch. She was astonished by all of it as well as confused._

 _"_ _Who are you?" The woman asked her, genuinely confused by Emma's presence. Emma just stared at her for a moment, not wanting to give her name out to a random woman who couldn't seem to let go of her wrist. Normally, Emma would've broken the woman's hold and attacked her but something stopped her._

 _"_ _I-" Emma was about to say but was interrupted as the glow around each of them seemed to intersect and connect, tying them together in a luminous sort of bubble. The woman looked around in awe._

 _"_ _This has never happened before," The woman said softly, still not letting go of Emma. She turned back to look at the younger blonde. "I know you. I know I do. Tell me your name."_

 _"_ _I…" Emma trailed off again, dumbfounded by everything that was happening. Suddenly, her sense of rationality seemed to kick in and Emma shook her head. "No, this isn't real. It's just a dream."_

 _"_ _Wait," The woman started to say before Emma yanked her wrist from the woman's strong hold and then everything happened fast._

 _As soon as they stopped touching, Emma and the woman were both thrown apart by the energy from the Tesseract. Emma was thrown to one side of the dark chamber while the woman was thrown to the other side._

 _The jolt from Tesseract seemed to be enough to start to wake her up from the dream turned nightmare she was in._

 _"_ _Emma?!" A voice called out but Emma knew it wasn't the woman's voice nor was it the Tesseract this time. The woman was struggling to get up after that blast from the Tesseract but her gaze was entirely focused on Emma as Emma's gaze was entirely focused on her._

 _"_ _Emma, wake up! You're only dreaming!" Emma then recognized the voice as Peter's. She started waking up from the dream turned nightmare as her vision started fading. The woman along with the Tesseract and the dark room started fading to black._

 _However, the last thing she saw before she woke up from her dream was the woman. Her facial expression entirely confused as she stared back at Emma, her eyes never leaving Emma's face._

 _Not even for a second._

"Emma, wake up. You're okay…you're okay, I promise," Peter whispered to her as he held her comfortingly in his arms. He pressed soft kisses against her head as she finally woke up from the dream. Her eyes shot open and she was no longer met with the sight of the blonde woman nor the sight of the Tesseract. She could only see her dark bedroom and a worried looking Peter Parker.

"Peter, where is she?" Emma asked him demandingly as her eyes searched wildly around the room. Peter gave her a confused look as he looked down at her.

"Who?" Peter asked her.

"The woman. She was drawn to it just like I was. She was exactly like me," Emma said which all sounded like nonsense to Peter. The teenage boy shook his head.

"Emma, there's no woman. It's just us," Peter told her and Emma still looked lost. "You were having a bad dream so I woke you up. That's all it was…a bad dream."

"But I know her, Peter. I know I do," Emma said softly, trying to put the woman's brown eyes to memory. There was something about that woman that struck a nerve in Emma. "Maybe I met her somewhere or I maybe I saw her face in a crowd of people but I know her. She knew me too."

"Emma, it's just a dream," Peter said reassuringly to her and he pressed his lips against her cheek. "How could you know her if you don't even know where you know her from? See? She wasn't real and none of it was real. You're here with me now and you're safe."

"I guess you're right," Emma finally admitted as she started becoming rational again. It was only a dream but it felt so real. The woman's face was so vivid in her mind that Emma couldn't believe it was only a dream. Why did it feel so real? Even realer than real life? "Sorry for waking you up like that."

"Emma, it's fine," Peter told her, giving her a small smile. "Now let's go back to sleep. You need rest. We can talk about it more in the morning if you want."

"Okay," Emma said softly as she nestled against Peter again, forcing herself to relax.

Maybe Peter was right.

Maybe it was only a dream.

"I'll wake up if you have another bad dream. Don't worry about it," Peter told her as he closed his eyes, holding Emma close to him. Peter seemed to fall asleep in no time but Emma couldn't sleep. Her eyes remained wide open as she rested against Peter's side.

The only thing she could think about was the mysterious woman.

* * *

On the other side of the universe, in a solar system light years away from Earth, Carol Danvers had just woken up from a dream that was identical to Emma Rogers' dream.

Only...Carol didn't know that was the name of the girl in the dream.

Carol's eyes opened but the only thing she could see was the teenage girl's face along with familiar blue eyes that bored into her own. She knew the girl and there wasn't a doubt in her mind about that.

The dream was a dream but Carol knew that it was real. It felt too real to just be a figment of Carol's imagination. The dream was real and the girl was real too. The girl who was just like her which should've been impossible because there was no one else like her in the universe.

Right?

There was a strange new kind of power that felt like it had been awoken inside Carol. It was different than the power of a photon blast or even just the Tesseract itself. Carol had dreams of the Tesseract before but never was anyone else in them.

This had to mean something.

The _girl_ had to mean something.

Carol just wondered who the girl was.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So this is the official end of Some Things Never Sleep. I'm both happy and sad. Happy because I've finally finished a story and I can continue on to the sequel but sad because I love this story so much and I'm sad to depart from it. Thank you to everyone who's ever read this story and also to everyone who's reviewed. To everyone who followed and favorited this story as well. I love you guys so much. You're the best. I can't believe this story has almost a million views on here and almost 2,000 follows. It honestly doesn't feel like that long ago when I first started writing it and now over a million words later...**

 **Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to start the sequel for about a month. I'm just really struggling with this college class I'm taking right now. My instructor's literally no help so I'm really going to have to put all my focus into this class if I want to pass it. I might update a couple of my other stories in the meantime since the chapters for those stories are nearly complete. Good news is that once classes are over I have about a month before Fall quarter starts so I'll have a lot of time for writing.**

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger by the way but it's kind of just a preview of what to expect for the sequel. It's my own end credits, I guess.**

 **Guest: That's a really cool idea for an AU. I never thought of a scenario in which both Emma AND Peter survived the blip. That could be a one shot although someday I plan on doing an AU one shot of Steve and Emma on Vormir and how that would go down.**

 **GIJose: Thanks for the super long review. I always love long reviews. I feel like the longer, the better. Yes, I want Emma and Peter to have a little bit of space which I think will be healthy for them. I mean, they're teenagers so of course they want to be together all the time but in the sequel they'll do things apart. I want to develop Emma and MJ's friendship more, build on Emma's relationship with her father, and also write Emma going to therapy. She and Peter will spend a lot of time together still but as we get into the Ragnarok storyline, we'll see how Emma deals with things without the help of Steve, Peter, or Bucky. She'll finally be on her own and forced to make her own decisions without their influence.**

 **I really wanted to show the internship moment since it kind of happened off camera in the MCU. When I saw the picture in Endgame, I actually got the idea to give Peter the real Stark internship so he and Emma could have their own separate agendas. Peter could work in a lab with Tony as Emma reconnects with her father. I love writing a flirty Peter by the way.**

 **The campfire scene was one of my favorites to write. Especially the smore bit. The smore part was my favorite scene in the whole chapter to write because it just felt like Emma and Peter being two teenagers instead of two superheroes. The whole chapter was kind of like that but I felt like the smore scene really demonstrated that.**

 **MJ took a stand like that because she knows Emma doesn't really concern herself with politics or even feminism because in a way she never really has to face sexism. If she does then it's just like fuck you, I can totally murder you without even trying. A lot of people aren't capable of doing the same thing and I think Emma's eyes will be opened by MJ more in the future as she starts becoming more and more compassionate as she grows older. Emma will learn to care about things other than herself, Steve, Peter, and Bucky. There's going to be a TON of character development for her in the sequel.**

 **Peter being sympathetic towards Flash was totally inspired by me seeing Far From Home. I always hated how shitty he acted towards Peter but maybe there's a reason he's an asshole. Despite how much I dislike Flash, I couldn't help but feel bad for him in FFH. His parents are the worst. I won't spoil anything but after everything he went through and then coming home, you'd think they'd care enough to show up and greet him.**

 **They're teenagers so of course Peter was going to be cheesy about their first time. He wanted everything to be perfect because he loves her that much and he knows she's been through a lot. Peter totally swooned over the OUR playlist thing too. You're not alone there.**

 **Emma spent all this time worrying about being too tainted for Peter because of Rumlow but she realized that her first time wasn't with Rumlow because she never consented. She was assaulted and it was totally separate from what she did with Peter. Those are both two very different things. Emma obviously has a low self-esteem despite how confident she acts because of the rape which made her feel worthless for years. Last chapter and the epilogue was Emma starting to value herself and that'll be more explored in the sequel.**

 **The Star Wars reference thing is kind of a happy accident. I didn't totally realize the significance but Emma didn't either so I think that speaks mountains. She's come so far with trusting people that it's actually really nice to see. That marks one point of her life and when she said the quote again, it marked a new and different point in her life.**

 **Emma's still very against marriage and kids but she sees herself someday caving into Peter deep down. She'll deny it but a part of her might want something like that too someday. It'll take a while before she realizes that it's actually something she really wants but she'll realize it a little too late.**

 **I don't know. I still have a lot of ideas floating around for 'The Palace'. I feel like I might make Ivy an eventual villain in that story if I made it a Mysterio/OC pairing because I was already planning on Ivy and Tony to have a very complicated relationship. I'm also super interested in writing an OC who was an Avenger and then turns bad. The concept is really tempting to me but I'm still thinking things through and nothing's a sure thing. I just really need to make a lot of decisions in regards to that story because I'm all over the place with it. If I go the villain road with the story then I might make it an AU and not have Tony die.**

 **I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so much and I can't wait to show you guys what I have in store for you in the sequel. I hope the epilogue, at least, gave you a taste. Thanks for the review!**


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